Commuter bikes... Post your pics; advice on building

There's one basic thing that will guide the kind of bike you build up - will you park it outside? People who use bike to just commute to work and have secure storage can build up a nicer bike like a crosscheck or Jake the Snake. Since you're trying go car free, I'm guessing you'll need to park it outside while shopping etc.

The other aspect is being able to easily see traffic. Flatbar road bikes and mtb's give you a more upright position than drop bars, and hence allow you to more easily watch the road.

I bought an old 1990 steel mtb (if you do a seach on my user name you can find the pic) from the buy n sell and it's worked great for commuting. I use cheap panniers(I'm not excactly hauling 40lbs around on an expedition) on a rear rack. I can easily take panniers into store with me.

Older mtb's are perfect for this application and you see them everywhere on the commuter lanes. They often have longer chainstays which are perfect for heel clearance on the panniers. Look for one with fender and/or rack mount eyelets to make your life easier. Look for rigid forkst too - again, keep the thieves away and requires less maintenance.

Hope this helps!
Mike

Second what Islander says

and think ugly. The more bling stuff you put on it, the more likely it is that you will come back to a busted open U-Lock and no bike.

Here was my rig for a while:



Even this was prolly too much bling to leave outside in Oakland, but I had secure bike parking at the time I was commuting on this bike. Also, the gearing was way too easy to spin out on the road. My top gear was 42*12 and running a 3*8 drivetrain. I would suggest taller gearing.

I dunno where you are, but here in the SF Bay Area, craigslist is the shiznit. You can find tons of used early 90s rigid bikes for cheap... and probably pre-uglified. Put some good low key stuff on there, tune them up and you will be rolling big time for well within your budget.

Fenders....

If you are going to be at it day in and day out, they're a must. I went with Planet Bike for my Cross Check. I also added extensions to the rubber flaps on them by cutting up an old bike water bottle. couple of holes and tiny wire (zip) ties. A good rear blinker is a must. I live in rural Lancaster County, PA. (about 5 miles from where Floyd Landis grew up.) We have a huge population of Amish and Mennonite folks here. LOTS of people use bikes for transportation, yet you'd still be surprised that people still don't see you a lot of the time. My advice, BE SEEN!
That, and if you'll have to carry much, a good pack and bike panniers/bags. I use the ones from Soma. www.somafab.com They're foldable, easy on and off (they snap onto a standard rear rack) and you can pile a TON of groceries in them. They're designed to perfectly fit a stardard paper grocery bag. In fowl weather, I've just taken a plastic grocery bag and slid over the top and down the sides over the paper grocery bag & Soma bags and it has kept out any rain/snow.
Gosh, there's a ton of places to look for tips. Rivendell has a lot of info. Yet, still, trial and error and posting places like this are great things!
I have to park my rig outside. I'm in low crime though. I never leave home without at least one plastic grocery bag to cover my seat.
Looking forward to seeing what other things people post. Enjoy it!

Recently

built up a on-one il pompino SS road bike with a flat bar, full v brakes, big 28c 700c tires, running a 42-16. its a blast. But i ride my roadie most of the time.

my commuter is probably my favorite bike. Sure doesn't hurt that I didn't pay for it(not stolen!)! Its an old trek roadie I had canti studs brazed onto for better braking. I also HIGHLY stress getting at least a flat bar so you're up and able to see all around you. Awareness is key to not getting klobbered by a car. I'm also a huge fan of fenders(mine are yellow now. Being seen is way to important!). So they're dorky. BFD. at least you won't have a mud stripe up your ass.

my work rides.
the fixie is gettin some cross tires this week

My old Schwinn

I've had the Schwinn since new and still use it for commuting and running local errands to the store and such. The car comes out on special occasions or when I'm running late.

gard_nerd said:

My winter project is to put together a commuter bike and to be as "car-free" as possible beginning April 1st. I'm still trying to decide between building up an old steel MTB frame, find a retired steel cross bike, or spend the bucks building up something nice like a Surly Cross Check.

To go cheap or spend some money for a sweet ride since I'll be doing a 10 mile RT commute each day? Not a roadie so a road frame is out of the question. I envision spending $300-500 on such a bike, including lights and fenders.

I was also thinking of going with 9-1 drivetrain.

Any pics or your commuter, or your suggestions?

Thanks!

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i'm in the process of building up a commuter from pieces-parts i have lying around. my thought on commuters is to go cheap. it's going to take some abuse riding in some non-ideal conditions and it will be sitting outside for all to see (and steal despite the fact that it is locked securly). i don't plan to spend more than $100 to buy what i don't already have. so far i have spent $25 on a Gussett 1er single speed conversion kit, $20 on a saddle (a friend was selling my absolute favorite & discontinued saddle so i had to buy it eventhough i have about 8 other saddles sitting around in my parts bin that i could have used), & $25 on a cane creek C2 headset. all i have left to buy is a set of brake calipers. i'd like to get a set of shimano 105 calipers but for $30 i might have to reconsider. ebay is good but not that good! (or maybe i'll get really lucky??)

the final build will be a 3x1 (3 front, 1 rear) franken-commuter with a road bike frame/fork and a mix of mtb/road parts:

frame: nashbar road frame (steel)
fork: trek OCLV carbon fork w/alloy steerer tube
headset: cane creek c2
stem: titus 100mm, 5*
handlebar: profile design carbon flat bar
brake levers: sram 9.0
brake calipers: (ideally) shimano 105
shifters: xtr trigger (need shifters for front & rear even though the rear will only have 1 cog)
grips: schwinn silver sparkle grips
seatpost: syncros
saddle: serfas arc dd pro
cranks: truvativ stylo (mtb, triple)
bb: UN72 (square taper)
front der: xtr
rear der: xtr
chain: sram pc-69
rims/hubs: ??? velocity (boat anchors)
gussett 1er ss conversion for rear hub
pedals: no-name cage pedals (though i might go with some crankbros pedals)
tires: not sure yet - either cross tires (if i have clearance with my brake calipers) or 700x25s.

no pictures till she's built up but suffice it to say she will not be pretty with a gun metal grey frame, a royal blue fork, and a bright yellow saddle. ouch!

oh, and a thought on your drivetrain. a 1x9 is probably a good choice but make sure it is appropriate for the terrain you will be riding - as someone else mentioned you need to be sure that your gearing is tall enough for riding on the road. my commute is 12.5 miles and is rolling hills with a couple steep grunt climbs thrown in for good measure. with the mtb triple on the front i will be using a really small cog on the back (probably a 13 tooth) so that i don't completely spin out on the flats.

rt

gard_nerd said:

OK, this may be a bit of a naive question but what's the appeal of running a fixed gear or single speed as a commuter? Can someone please explain.

Otherwise, thanks for the pics and suggestions.

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simplicity. less crap to mess with. no worries of messed up drivetrains. and they are wonderful in ugly weather. grab it and go. far less work invovled to keep them rolling, other than the intitial setup to figure out what gear ratio you want to run. great in ice/snow, especially with some tires with tread rather than slicks.

mine. getting the rack and fender treatment as soon as another bit of ugly weather comes through. just built it up, and can't bear to put that stuff on yet....yeah, it's a nice commuter, but i have nice secure spots for it at my work, and it'll get ugly quick as soon as some ugly weather rolls in.