First commute

I did my first commute on the new (old) bike last week. This is what I had waiting for me at 6:45AM on Halloween!

Yup, dark.

Not scary at all. Actually the scariest thing about the ride is the sound of big truck air brakes hissing behind me!

Here comes the sun

 The gravel was in great shape. It was packed pretty good and almost like asphalt with a few washboard sections here and there. The ride was 13 miles each way. It is not a bad commute. I saw a handful of deer and a bat that was on the ground. Not sure what he was doing there but pretty cool.

The bike rode really well. Actually, I am pretty surprised at how well this old bike rides. The issues are minor. The seat was pointing too far down in the front and as a result I kept pushing myself up with the handle bars. That is a quick fix. The only other issue is that the gears are pretty steep! Best fix there is to strengthen my legs...

Of course I have plenty of upgrades to do but it is pretty fun riding as is for now.

1" threadless 350mmm steerer tube fork

I found a great fork for my project the other day. It is pretty much perfect. The steer tube is 1" and threadless but the great part is that it is 350mm long. It should allow plenty of stem height adjustment. It is also made with curved lower legs that will give it a stock look. I particularly like the gussets on the inside of the fork legs.

- Tange Infinity CrMo
- Lugged flat crown
- Cantilever bosses
- 44mm rake
- Axle to crown: 389mm
- Double set of dropout eyelets
- Low rider pannier mounts
- Chrome-plated
- Extra long 350mm steerer
-Available in threadless 1" or 1- 1/8"

Before pics of the project bike

I picked up my gravel grinder project bike the other night. Bought it off of Craigslist and I am very happy with the purchase. On my first test ride in the parking lot the whole thing was creaking and pining. But the frame felt solid unlike other whippy bikes I have ridden.

I spent a little time taking off reflectors, foam bar grips, truing the wheels and lubing the chain. The stem shifters needed a little help because they would drift out of gear, but a quick turn of their bolts fixed it.

Over all the thing rides great. I kind of forgot how finicky friction shifter are. It definitely makes me appreciate my SRAM Rival setup on the Gunnar. The seat is ungodly uncomfortable and the seat post is way too short. Also the cranks arms are only 170mm but oddly it was not too bad spinning away. The handle bars are only 40cm wide and feel way too narrow. But all that will be fixed.

I took two rides on it this weekend. Both were very fun. One was just around the block and the other one was a night ride where I tried out some gravel roads. On the gravel it worked awesome even with the original parts. I am looking forward to getting it all customized for the gravel.

Tires are 1 1/4" (31.75mm) on 27" wheels

Tires are 1 1/4" (31.75mm) on 27" wheels

170mm crank arms

Way narrow 40cm bars

Comuter/Gravel Grinder Build

I am looking to build up a new project bike this winter.

Come November I am moving to an area that has many miles of gravel roads, so I am going to build a bike that can handle the terrain using an old lugged steel frame.

I am also going to use this bike for commuting as well. Right now I do my commutes on my mountain bike mainly because of some short dirt sections in my route. A bigger tired road bike should help speed up the commute.

I am going to purchase an old 66cm frame and braze on some cantilever brake bosses and racks. Maybe even some fenders and generally bring it close to modern standards.

I have found a great candidate frame on Craigslist and am hoping to pick it up this weekend.

Photos and build sheet to follow.

Craigslist tall bike find