This is "The Mule", my commuter/"not afraid to lock it up and leave it"/truck bike. Was a 1997 GT Arette that I picked up for $60 on Craigslist. I learned a lesson about "cheap" bikes though, since it took a complete rebuild and another $400 to get it to this point. New bottom bracket, headset, seatpost, and saddle, not to mention every single one of the usual wear items. I changed from flat bars to north roads, and upgraded brakes from canti to linear pull since the canti's just did NOT work with the silly "triple triangle" geometry in the back.
Still, I'm happier with her than I expected to be. The only tweaks I'd like to make would be either moustache bars or some kind of super long stem (it's a little cramped with the swept back bars), and 175mm cranks (the 170's feel pretty short).
Next project: I have an old aluminum child's trailer that I'm going to tear down and use for dump runs with this bike.
