crawdaddio

Just wanted to show off my new(ish) ride.

This is the John Deere Steamroller.

A friend of mine (mechanic/welder) built this bike. (Head wrench at Upgrade Bikes on Chicago Ave in chicago-- great dude)
Surly Steamroller frame.
Welded brake bridge, cable stops, and fender mounts on. Powdercoated john deere green and frame saved.
Massive clearance center pull tektro brakes.
Truvative rouleur cranks, geared low for winter.
King headset.
Handbuilt wheels--phil on the front, paul on the rear. DT swiss spokes.
Panaracer 32 crosstown on the front, panaracer 32 urban max on the rear. Planetbike fenders.

This thing is a joy to ride through the brutal Chicago winter.
It's kinda dirty right now...

Kimmitt 

Dude, if you ride this in a Carhartt jacket, steel-toe boots, and a cap which advertises seed corn, I will save any pics you take as lifetime mementos.

crawdaddio

I do ride in a carhartt and steel toes in the winter. No corn hat though...

Mos6502

Man if you had some yellow tires....

Sixty Fiver

The original John Deere bicycle...



They were poorly made bicycles produced for promotional reasons and were not of the same good quality as the company's farm implements.

Sixty Fiver

And a John Deere Bike with yellow wheels... and a reel mower.

Mos6502

They were also from a historical standpoint interesting for being amongst the very first Taiwanese made bicycles available in the U.S. (maybe even the first?).

Sixty Fiver

Yep... I read some comments from a person who was involved in their production and because of the high demands in the 70's during the boom there wasn't an American or Canadian factory that could handle this order so they outsourced to Taiwan.

At the time Taiwanese manufacture was not what it is today.

I have see a few and being a hick they have quite the cool factor and are not really that rare.

I like the OP's bike much better.

crawdaddio

Hey those are nice 65er...

noglider 

crawdaddio, that's an elegant city bike, appropriate for your weather and terrain.

fuzz2050

That is one cool looking bike, I just have to ask, why did you go through all the effort to mod a steamroller, when the end result looks a lot like a cross-check. Sorry that it sounds kinda mean, but I intend it out of purest curiosity.

crawdaddio

I don't know, to be honest. This was a friend's bike. I think he modified it to work for what he wanted after he already had the frame...
Its a nice ride. Versatile and lightweight.
I really only bought it off of him to help him out with some $$$, and I'm glad I did. It replaced my 29er that I was using for my winter bike.
And he gave me one HELLUVA deal deal on it.
Lifetime warranty too...(from him)
...Couldn't pass it up.

CliftonGK1

Good lookin' bike. I love the modifications to the Steamroller to make it more functional for your purposes.
I thought I recognized those brakes; I've got CR720s on my Cross Check. I just didn't recognize them because the usual reference I see for "center pull brakes" is to a centerpull caliper like the Paul Racer or old Dia-Compe CP brakes, and traditional centerpull cantilevers just get called cantis.