Ultimate commuting bike

david2
david2 Posts: 5,200
edited May 2011 in Commuting general
No, not another request for which bike should I buy 'cause I want to start commuting.

I'm back after a long departure from this site.

I have been cycling and cycle commuting in my absence from the site. As such I have now found the perfect commuting machine - I thought I'd share details with you all.

I was thinking of buying a Pashley when I found this beast. Pashley had an 8 week delivery time and I was impatient.

At the same shop, in the second hand rack, was a big red bike for £120.

I had to have it.

Its a steel mixte frame with a full chain case, bright red with gold pinstriping, beautiful.

It came fitted with a Sachs 5 speed hub and a wierd dynamo on the front wheel that required engaging by flicking a plastic lever to engage with the spokes.

The gears never really worked and were impossible to do anything about. I got no support from Sachs. The dynamo kind of fell apart.

So now its fitted with a Sturmey Archer 8 speed hub and a sturmey archer hub dynamo powering B&M Lumotec IQ cyo on the front and a 4dLite plus on the back. The sturmey hubs carry drum brakes - tidy :) I can get all the spares I need from Sturmey Archer and theres loads of info on line. Now its absolutely perfect for work.

I don't have far to go to work but once there I can easily find myself riding 30 miles in a day along canal paths and roads, and then a nice ride to and from the pub, it really is the perfect machine.

Trying to work out how to attach a picture. Until I do you can get an idea of what its like here;

http://www.utopia-fahrrad.de/Fahrrad_Ht ... h_103.html

Being older mine has a full steel chain case and colour matched steel mudguard, I think they've dropped the pinstriping now - guess thats progress for you.

So for all those thinking of starting cycling to work my advice is to ignore all the adds and ridiculous claims for how wonderful carbon fibre is, or how compact gears will make life easier and go out and find an appropriate machine in a second hand rack and upgrade it as your requirements change.

Some day all bikes will be built this way :D [/img]

Comments

  • snailracer
    snailracer Posts: 968
    Allow me to introduce the forum to Andre Jute, the web's foremost Utopia Kranich fetishist:

    http://coolmainpress.com/AndreJute%27sUtopiaKranich.pdf
  • david2
    david2 Posts: 5,200
    Andre Jute's bicycle is beautiful, but I prefer my steel crank case. Pleased to hear I'm not the only person who thinks what is available to british cyclists can be vastly improved.

    You may be able to see pictures at the link below.
    Dunno if this will work, I think I made the album publically available - if not let me know

    https://picasaweb.google.com/1169453765 ... 5196062786

    That was the bike when I bought it. I'll get some pics now I've pimped it up[/img]
  • Blue Meanie
    Blue Meanie Posts: 495
    Nice Bike :)
    Having been an owner of several stadfiets I now ride the bike in my sig, whilst not having the dynamo hub (yet) I can concur to the civility of hub gears, guards, non-rim brakes and sturdy load carrying capacity.

    Taken any scalps yet?
    FCN16 - 1970 BSA Wayfarer

    FCN4 - Fixie Inc
  • david2
    david2 Posts: 5,200
    Not being sure what a stadfiet might be (though I kinda guessed) I did a little search and Wikipedia told me this (translation courtesy of Google translate).

    "The wheels of a bicycle city in the middle of a mountain bike, big wheels and bikes of course, thin wheels. They are therefore not suitable for forests and fields to ride along or participate in a contest."

    I must say I haven't found such restricions with my bike - so perhaps its not a stadtfiet afterall :?

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