AlTheKiller

got a facelift. New Velo Orange Postino bars, new Velo Orange headset, and probably the biggest difference are the tektro cr720 canti brakes which are a huuuuuge improvement over the janky shimano alivio(or whatever level) cantilever brake.



Edit: Oh and new SKS longboard fenders too. And extremely overkill mt500 waterproof pants! El Nino can eat my shorts.

bmthom.gis

HEre we go..I present my Miyata (again), but this time it is commuting ready. I still want to change the bar tape and will be getting a different saddle at some point. When I do the tape, I might try a bit longer of a stem...I'll know in a few more rides. It has half step + granny gearing, which I think I like but it will take me a few rides to get used to.

the sci guy 

fine looking specimen you have there.

RidingMatthew

that is a pretty looking set up..
i like it
i agree it is nice looking.

how is this different from what you were riding?

bmthom.gis

Thanks! Well my other commuter is an 87 Peugeot made from Carbolite so the ride is different for sure. I thought this actually felt a little flexy, maybe it was the steel fork and stays against the less flexy alloy frame. It was a fairly smooth ride. Once I put some wider tires on it, I imagine it will be fantastic. Probably the biggest difference is this one is set up with half step + granny gearing. If you aren't familiar, the two bigger chain rings are similar in size, so fine tuning what gear you are in is done more with the FD.

noglider 

@AlTheKiller, I changed the brakes on my Bianchi from Alivio to cr720, and I'm not pleased. Can you post pictures of the setup? I probably need to adjust the yoke cable length.

RubeRad

FWIW I've got CR720s on my crosscheck that I'm satisfied (but not overjoyed) with, the yoke is set pretty high to clear my biga$$ 29x2 tires. I just measured, and the straddle wire is pinched off at about 27cm; that is, ~3cm across the yoke piece that comes with the brake, and ~12cm down to either side.

Phloom

My Oryx mountain bike fully commuterized.

OnyxTiger

That is NOT fair... your camera game is on point. I don't even know what kinda bike that is but it looks like a gift from God.

Archwhorides 

This bike has been my steady commuter for 1 1/2 years now; finicky Swiss engineering, but it has held up well and gotten me through most every condition, although the Shimano IGH tends to ignore the shifter when the temperature is below 12F.

the sci guy 

Sorry can't help it - photographer at heart.
It's a 1984 Raleigh Sportif I rebuilt from the frame up to commute with. (https://www.instagram.com/p/-Z-VhRqe...=thesurlybiker)
Check out my instagram (link in sig) for lots more, uh, photogenic, ride/commute pics Or my Flickr has way more (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rattleandhum/)

Fargo Wolf

My "Trusty Rusty" AKA the "Hyundai Stellar" when I go back to work int the spring:

no motor?

I replaced the craptastic Deor brakes on my GFs bike with a set ot Tektros and they were a huge improvement too.

the sci guy 

well she won't win any beauty contests but if she gets you from A to B reliably then you're all set.
But i bet it'd clean up really nice with some extra loving TLC. She's got great looking bones.

RubeRad

Wow, such low seatstays! I guess it can't transmit that much vibration to the seat, since it's so far away?

RubeRad

Nice, good disguise for theft prevention!

AlTheKiller

aside from angling the new bars better, I think I'm about set.

MileHighMark

Taken during yesterday's ride home. Temp was approx 34f with snow flurries.

PatrickGSR94

Ah man I'm jealous, I wish my KHS frame were like that one, instead of the MTB frame I have. That one looks like mine with identical cable routing, but mine has no mounting points for anything other than bottle cages.

rebayona

This is my bike. I own it since dec 2007 and it has over 15.000 miles to date. Front tire is still that one from the picture.
I'm 5'5" so it's kinda difficult to find bicycles of my size, so I had to build it myself. Brand is my design too, it is how my lastname is spelled in french. It is the only one with that brand anyway
When I started to commute from home to college 22 years ago (1993) commuting was very rare in Bogota, despite we're a bicycle country (Colombia), now we are around 350K people on a regular day. We have around 400km of bike paths all around the city (Bogotá).
To date I have 74.500km (46.000 miles) just commuting. I take note every day from my cyclocomputer and recently source is GPS data as well.
Frame is a generic standard aluminum 26" MTB frame, size 15". Groupset is a 8spd Shimano Alivio 2007 which 3 years ago I upgraded to a 48TT chainring. Blackburn rack.

You can #ShareYourCommute on video too.

AlTheKiller

Just did a really quick, imprecise measurement on the front brakes. I have about 13cm of cable from the straddle to either brake arm. That's not counting any of the horizontal cable taken up by the straddle. Also the brake pads are quite low on the arms, nearly bottomed out up front for what it's worth (I could probably get a 650b wheel in there and still use the brakes, hmmmm). To be more specific: they still feel like Cantilever brakes. Which is to say, nearly any V brake will instantly outpower them with minimal set up time. But they feel a whole lot less mushy than the old horrible brakes. Probably most of it has to do with just how impossible it is to set up those old school canti pads without throwing my bike off a bridge, so I settle for "well, it stops me usually". They feel as good as any canti I've set up, and stop quite well, with much less hand strength required before lock up. I'm also much less critical of "braking power" than many people, and I actually prefer needing to use a bit of force before lock up as I've had a bit of a bad injury due to an accidental skid out in gravel with skinny tires + disk brakes...

The biggest improvement for me is peace of mind knowing the next time I need pads it will be a dream, even if I replace the whole thing and not just a cartridge. I figure the main adjustments won't have to be touched for a few years of every day commuting otherwise. I really did no fine tuning of the straddle, I just put it nearly as long as it would go with the supplied cable, since I am running 2.25" tires AND fenders.

AusTexMurf

Tubus stainless steel rack mounts work very well and look better than most other options.
Use the rear rack of your choice….


Price: $9.99

Tubus Seat Stay Mount

Stock status: 5+ in stock
Sold as a pair
Use these Seat Stay Mounts if your bicycle frame doesn't have eyelets above the brakes on the seat stays for mounting a rear rack. These stainless steel mounts attach to the upper struts of your rear rack.

The Tubus Seat Stay Mounts include 2 long stainless steel brackets that are bent around the seat stays. The rack mounts in the outer hole and the inner hole is used for clamping to the seat stay. By isolating the clamping to the seat stay from the clamping to the rack, these mounts are a very strong and tight fit for mounting the Tubus Vega or other Tubus rear racks.These Seat Stay Mounts also work for the Racktime Rear Racks.

Measure the diameter of your seat stays to determine what size mounts to order. The best place to measure the diameter of the seat stays is above the brake caliper posts. The most accurate way to measure the diameter of your seat stay is to measure the circumference of the tube by wrapping a string or flexible tape measure around the tubing, take this measurement and divide it by pi (3.14).

Available sizes:
14mm, 16mm, 18-19mm, 21-22mm, and 24-25mm. (If your seat stays are in between sizes, use the next larger size, with a shim)

https://www.bikebagshop.com/tubus-se...T4PhoCpb_w_wcB

Cheap, light duty front racks that don't need much to mount:


https://sunlitecycling.com/products.php?cl1=RACKS+FOR+BIKES


Or, better, but spendier:

https://www.bikebagshop.com/omm-pion...ck-p-2649.html

Double0757

Been blessed with this beauty! It's a Litespeed, Ultrega Di2, Reynolds CF ds rims and Hutchinson sector 28 tubeless, tubus rack and Son dynamo. Smoothest and quickest responsive bike I ever ridden.

jogya03

my bikes that has commuter set up, but yellow one goes out on weekend mostly for leisure ride - and red one on working days to work,..

https://picasaweb.google.com/1078674.../January312016

bikemig 

I have three bikes I commute on regularly; a 1987 Specialized stumpjumper comp; a 1992 Trek 950; and a 1992 Bridgestone BB-1: