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[ My Road Bike ] [ My Touring Bike ] [ My Other Touring Bike ] [ My Commuter Bike ]My Commuter Bike(Now "Sold" as I have retired and no more commuting for this guy - Whoo-hoo!)
This bike was my sport road bike until I purchased my Cannondale R1000si. My intention was to trade the Trek in, but trade-in values being what they are - negligible - I decided to hang onto the bike and convert it into my commuter vehicle, thereby alleviating premature wear and tear on my touring bike, which I was using for winter commuting. Winter commuting will take a significant toll on any bike; especially so in the Pacific Northwest where I live. Lots of rain and wet roads to contend with, together with gritty sand deposits that find their way into a bike's remotest crevices! The bike wasn't designed for wide tires and fenders, and it was installing these two items that proved to be quite a headache! The fenders are Esge/SKS and fortunately are well made with an aluminium strip sandwiched in between some tough plastic. For the rear, I had to use a round rasp to file two large grooves to allow the fender to fit into the brake bridge of the seatstay, as I required the fender to be as high as possible in that area. Next I had to drill and tap the dropout to accept the fender stay (and rear rack) screws. And finally I used some suitably sized plastic cable hangers to fasten the front end of the fender to the chainstays. The front fender was a little easier to install, but still required some work with the round rasp. Zip ties came in real handy as a replacement for mounting brackets and bolts for both the front and rear. Even after this, the widest tire that I could mount was a 700 x 25C; adequate for commuting though. I mounted Kevlar belted Schwalbe Blizzards, which have reasonably thick rubber treads and good sidewalls. I later upgraded to Schwalbe Marathon Plus, which for many years gave me no problems with punctures, pretty well bomb-proof tires for commuting and the added weight was negligible when considering the peace of mind I had from not having to repair flats at the side of the road in sometimes very inclement weather. I fashioned up a pair of mudflaps from some canvas reinforced rubber and pop riveted them to the fenders as an added precaution against wet spray. The front mudflap works really well in keeping the rain and road crud from washing onto my chainrings and chain.
That's about it, a few mods,
As mentioned in the header, I have sold this bike as I really couldn't justify keeping it and probably wouldn't ride it much more as I have several other options for recreational riding and touring. I thought that I'd keep this page up though as the information may be useful to others contemplating something similar. The bike served me well throughout year-round commutes but winter riding, even on highway shoulders, took its toll on the braking surfaces of the rims and the bike was on it's third set of rims when I sold it; also I had worn out numerous chains and cassettes etc. I rode this bike back and forth to work for a 65 km round trip for over 11 years and figure that it must covered well over 150,000 kms during that time. It was still in very good shape when I sold it and is now serving another bike commuter hopefully for many more year and miles.
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This page last updated June 30, 2010
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