[moefosho]

After using my SS 29er to commute on last year, I decided it would be good to have some more top end speed and something more dedicated to commute with this year. Picked this up super cheap on CL. '99 Gary Fisher that someone had converted. Going to put a different stem and some carbon bars on it. Cateye computer works perfect. Surprisingly light. LX front shifter and Der. X7 rear shifter. The fork moves about 20mm which will be good for bump compliance.

 

[Harold]

keep the purple bars

 

[moefosho]

The purple bars with the green bar ends are pretty sexy. I know.

 

[TenSpeed]

I would yank the bar ends for a road commuter and rock that purple bar in a heartbeat.

 

[codwater]

I must say that I like the color scheme as well. Stick with the anodized bits!

 

[Harold]

The purple bars with the green bar ends are pretty sexy. I know.

That is an understatement. I think they make the bike.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[vaultbrad]

Keep the bars and bar ends. Cool bike and congrats. New bike day is always awesome.

 

[moefosho]

Got my first commute in today! it was great.
The fork is super stiff, but soaks up small bumps.
The bars are way too narrow, but when I use the bar-ends it works great.
I didn't tighten the seatpost enough and it slipped a notch so i was out of saddle the last couple miles to work.
The brakes are decent, but I am used to having way more power and modulation.
Anyone know if some 105/ultrega brakes would be a good upgrade?

Thanks

 

[Guest]

The brakes are decent, but I am used to having way more power and modulation.
Anyone know if some 105/ultrega brakes would be a good upgrade?

Upgrading from V-brakes to calipers? I think I'd go for some new brakes shoes.

 

[moefosho]

Are side pull calipers a downgrade in braking force?

 

[Guest]

Are side pull calipers a downgrade in braking force?

Yes and I don't think they would be compatible with your frame/fork (Rear brake would need to be longer reach than either brake you mentioned and there's no mounting point on the fork for a caliper) or brake levers. With cyclocross bikes, if you convert from cantilevers (which use regular road brake levers) to V-Brakes you have to install an adapter to correct for the length of cable movement required to activate the brakes (V-brakes need more cable movement).

 

[moefosho]

Thanks man.

 

[sc10pc]

It sounds like because that bike is a little older you might just need to replace the brake pads. When i had one of my first mountain bikes with v-brakes i used kool stop brake pads, and id get about a season or two out of them! You could also look into cane creek or tektro v-brakes are nice as well for a commuter bike.

 

[wschruba]

For vintage bling, you want a set of LX/XT v-brakes with parallelograms. They're floating around fleabay every now and then.

Just seconding what's been said: any caliper brake that would fit would be a massive downgrade in stopping power.

 

[moefosho]

For vintage bling, you want a set of LX/XT v-brakes with parallelograms. They're floating around fleabay every now and then.

Just seconding what's been said: any caliper brake that would fit would be a massive downgrade in stopping power.

Thanks man. I will keep my eyes open for some.

 

[newfangled]

Just try some koolstop pads: Search results for kool-stop | Jenson USA Online Bike Shop

It's a cheap fix that will make a huge improvement over old, hardened pads.

 

[moefosho]

I have become used to the old brake pads. I put a nice vintage american classic seatpost on there so my saddle angle stays put. It looks fantastic.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Sweet! Similar to the ride I am working on, my old Fisher Paragon. Or at least it is it's descendent.

I am thinking about putting the original caliper brakes back on, but the v-brakes that are currently on mine have more stopping power than the old XT calis. Just FYI based on my experience.

 

[moxnix]

Hydro rim brakes?

 

[Guest]

Hydro rim brakes?

Yes, old school stopping at it's best. Why didn't these catch on in more segments?