Post pix of your commuter bike.

[enduramil]

Originally Posted by Buster Bluth

Also, any of you guys run a mirror on your bike? I think my commoot bike is going to have a mirror on the left for monitoring idiots. Seems like a pretty important thing to me.

Nope. Best thing is to keep your head on a swivel... meaning always check over your shoulder as well as scan every where at all times.

[Buster Bluth]

Originally Posted by enduramil

Nope. Best thing is to keep your head on a swivel... meaning always check over your shoulder as well as scan every where at all times.

Jesus Ima gitta sore neck.

[LostBoyScout]

More meant for going a lot further places, but comfy around town as well, especially with the cushy new tires shoehorned in there.

[Mic]

Dang!!! That is one sexy bike right there! Only thing I'D change be some spd pedals. Actually I was thinking about buying a steel commuter frame in a few years, and Salsa came to mind, along with Surly.

[Buster Bluth]

I agree. The salsa is damn near perfect although I'm not really into the racks (I like to carry a stylish manbag strapped to my beautiful backside) and I'd go with a different colour than brown. But I love the seat, fenders, dropbars and overall steel vibe of that thing. 2 thumbs up. WAAAAY up.

[walleater]

I'm following the hipsters by riding an old steel road bike that is the wrong size (too small rather than too big though.....), but it was 100 bucks in a rad colour and Shimano 600 Arabesque kit on. I've cleaned it up and am in the middle of stripping out the 30 year old grease from all the bearings.

[Buster Bluth]

Originally Posted by walleater

I'm following the hipsters by riding an old steel road bike that is the wrong size (too small rather than too big though.....), but it was 100 bucks in a rad colour and Shimano 600 Arabesque kit on. I've cleaned it up and am in the middle of stripping out the 30 year old grease from all the bearings.

Call me insane but that might be cool with some bmx bars.

[patrolskid]

sorry buster , you're insane . . . i'm gonna come right out and say it . . . that would nor be cool with bmx bars , that would suck . ass . bigtime .

that is a very nice in original condition period tenspeed bike representing the point at which entry level japanese engineering was rivalling what the euros were doing .

take good care of it wall' . . . it's a classic

[Uncle Duke]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1342374071.723883.jpg

[walleater]

Originally Posted by patrolskid

sorry buster , you're insane . . . i'm gonna come right out and say it . . . that would nor be cool with bmx bars , that would suck . ass . bigtime .

that is a very nice in original condition period tenspeed bike representing the point at which entry level japanese engineering was rivalling what the euros were doing .

take good care of it wall' . . . it's a classic

Thanks. It's surprisingly high spec as all other similar bikes I've seen have fairly cheap kit. This has Shimano 600 Arabesque drivetrain and 600 brakes. I love the cranks. I'm assuming the wheels are newer as the rear is 6sp and running a freehub body with a screw on small sprocket and seemingly no way of getting the freehub body off.


Edit - done a bit of nerding, and the hubs are Shimano 600 Uniglide jobbies from around 1980 so they are probably the original wheels too. One needs a bearing puller to remove the freehub body and no idea on replacements so I'll just have to hope it doesn't get any more wobbly!


I've got the original (shorter) seatpost but the saddle is ripped and I think the retro BMX saddle looks pretty good.

[morgman]

With bikes of that era, forged dropouts and aluminum rims were usually the best indicator of reasonable quality. I've got an '81 Sekine made of Tange #2, also with 600 Arabesque, that has been through so many phases with me over the past 6 years – currently a single speed, Honjo-fendered runabout/lockup. I did my first bike tour on it, my first cross race, and so on...

Make no mistake, though, most of the 600 Arabesque group is complete garbage by even modest contemporary standards.

[walleater]

Ha yeah, the braking is certainly pretty bad compared to lower end modern stuff, and I'm just waiting to stick my fingers in the spokes or throw myself over the handlebar by changing gear. Some of the modern lower end road stuff (Tiagra cranks....) weigh as much as a small house though.

[Buster Bluth]

Originally Posted by patrolskid

sorry buster , you're insane . . . i'm gonna come right out and say it . . . that would nor be cool with bmx bars , that would suck . ass . bigtime .

Well...at least my mother loves me.

[old_school_n00b]

Originally Posted by walleater

Ha yeah, the braking is certainly pretty bad compared to lower end modern stuff, and I'm just waiting to stick my fingers in the spokes or throw myself over the handlebar by changing gear. Some of the modern lower end road stuff (Tiagra cranks....) weigh as much as a small house though.

Braking can be much improved via a modern lever upgrade and a set of Kool-Stop salmon pads, but there's only so much you can do before having to throw aesthetics and budget out the window in favour of long-reach dual-pivot calipers.

Shimano took dead aim at Campagnolo Nuovo Record with 6hun Ay-rab, and they did an admirable job. Both gruppos strada-style cranks suffered from stress riser issues along the sharp edges of the spider where it meets the crankarm - inspect them regularly for cracks and if you're feeling nerdy, take some sandpaper and radius the edge of the spider. That said, they can snap at the arms, too. I broke Morgman's when I borrowed his Sekine.

Y U beef with Tiagra? 10spd 4600 is nice stuff; truly the epitome of affordable excellence. The price jump to 105 cranks is hideous.

[patrolskid]

my beef with tiagra only lies with the brifters . . . there's one tiny weak link in all that somewhere and you can pretty much expect them to break .

i don't know how other shops stood behind them but the shop i dealt with wouldn't even consider exploring the warranty route , so i got rid of the bike and have been shit-talking tiagra ever since