Ok commuter....

So, errr yeah...bikes. I've got some. Anyway, I've been commuting most of the year on the singular which whilst good fun to ride has me hanging by Friday (15 miles each way). It's also got no bottle mounts, has a fairly brutal saddle to bar drop and..well sometimes it'd be nice to freewheel.

So I've bought myself a GT grade - the alloy 105 version. Turned up from tweeks pretty much ready to go. I swapped out the seatpost straight away for a salsa ti one I had and also changed the shit fsa cranks (22mm spindle??) For an ultegra one I had in the spares box. Oh yeah, and mudguards. Gotta have mudguards.

Compared to all my other bikes it's comfy but stupidly upright. So first job is to swap the stem out for a shorter negative rise one (this is 130mm!). Second job is to maybe go 1X11 as I never use the inner ring anyway - flat commute brah - but I can't find a narrow/wide in shimanos funky bolt pattern. Third on the list is some better wheels cos these are heavy and shit.

I'm not going with a rack because A) I don't like em and B) there's no rack mounts.. so I'll stick with the Aero backpack for now. What I really want is one of those carradice bags but they're mega money so maybe not..

Check ma seat pack whut...it's also a big bastard considering it's a 56...

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So, this morning's commute involved me being run into by a taxi which bizarrely apart from knocking me off (sat at a red light at the time) only broke the rear mudguard. Checking everything else it looks OK (well, it looks bent but I think its meant to be like that) so I ripped off the remainder of the guard and carried on. My bike now looks like a bobber type chopper but I was never that impressed with the SKS guards anyway so something more Audax'y could be on the cards.

A name change is also needed - its now the Uber Commuter....HA!

I've also been looking at 1x cranks and think I'm going to plumb for a Rival job off of Bike24. I'm going for a rather manly 50t ring as oppose to the 42 they also offer. And possibly a set of the Ksyrium wheels as I'm fed up with tightening spokes in the current set. Win

Okay doke - this morning I has mainly been shopping on the internet.

Bought some of these to get the ball rolling

Needed some new tyres as the GP4000's aren't great for the commute

And on the crank front, bought one of these with a 50t ring

Also purchase some new shimano PTFE cables in dark grey and I've got a Fabric saddle on the way to replace the Fizik

However, one thing I didn't purchase was a new rear mudguard. Idios!

you're gonna desticker those, right?

Of course*

*I haven't yet. But then I haven't put the new mudguard on either so it has bigger issues currently than the 'special' rim stickers...

50 teeth. You'll be first person in the office everyday!

It's frigging huge!

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In other news I tried to fit the Challenge tyres at the weekend. I can see why they're called Challenge....after blowing the tyre off the rim three times (once while riding it down the road) I gave up and stuck the 28mm GP4000's back on again. So no skin-wall goodness any time soon until I figure out why they won't stay on the rims. I've had similar issues before with them albeit on a 25mm fitted to Aksiums so maybe Challenge tyres just don't like Mavic rims.

Temporary post and guards fitted, new Thompson purchased at lunch to replace the bendy one.

Picture below taken over lunch while fitting a new chain in the works bike lockup. Looking like more of a weapon than usual fixing my bike whilst wearing a suit...

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Day off today and a planned ride with the bloke who does 'the rules' book - think his name is Frank...

Anyway, new post fitted along with one of those super comfy fabric saddles. Rear guard replaced - couldn't be arsed to do the front as it was bloody freezing doing this outside. And replaced the rear brake pads.

Turned up for the ride and everyone is on crabon road bikes and I'm on this nail. Thankfully a double puncture meant an early bath and cake...which was nice. Still need to desticker the wheels and I'll fit the front guard when I can be bothered, just so they match.

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So, I've clocked about 1000 miles on this so far and its working out quite well. Longest ride so far is 85 miles, which was the 'long' commute for me to and from work. I've got a much longer one planned for 23rd December as part of a charity thing where I'm riding to and from my mums house in Suffolk, around 120 miles each way. Grim

Anyway, there isn't much spending I can do on this so I took to improving the Cervelo R2 I bought a while ago on a whim but don't ride much. When I bought it I had a 'professional fit' done which felt comfy for about 10 miles, then it just felt odd. So that needed changing. I also swapped in a set of DT wheels I had in the garage. It currently looks like this, which I'll class as 'inflexible pov-spec MAMIL'. 1.2w/kg all day long

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Anyway, it looks a bastard so I did a bit of buying. New saddle, bars, stem, tyres and I cut the steerer down. Also re-wrapped the bars in white bar tape (I'm sure there's a rule about not doing this). Also swapped out the frankly wank Tektro brakes for some duel pivot shimano ones I had in the garage in day-glo black. I've got an Ultegra chainset to go on once I get the stupid BB converter and I've got a set of shallow crabon tubs, but the Dugasts fitted won't fit the frame so I'll need some new tubs before I can fit them. Then maybe a groupset upgrade, possibly to Di2. However I need to start riding it a bit first.

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Fizik bars are a bit odd - hella short on the drops. Might change the seatpost for an inline one at some point too, its a bit stretched at the moment.

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If one of the ten people in the world who run tubs and have a frame wide enough to accept these tyres wants them, then let me know. They're 28mm Dugasts, pretty new and leak air like a bastard (not punctured, they all do that sir). You can have them for gratis, unless you want them posting. This is on the basis that I can get them off without ripping them

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Chuckled a few times reading this through. GT looks a bit weird with the bendy top tube but otherwise solid commuter choices so far. What's next?

Cheers!

We'll I've still got to fit the Challenge tyres that I bought, and the brakes still aren't brilliant even with new pads. I've got di2 hydro on another bike which would be cool on this, but I don't really want to drill the frame and external wiring looks crap. So maybe etap hydro depending on a) how much it is and b) whether the cold will kill the batteries.

I would be interested in them if you get them off (will pay postage)

So, after 2500 miles of commuting it was time for a bit of an update. I finally succumbed to a smaller chain ring, fitting a 42t Narrow/wide effort from superstar. Unfortunately they only had lime green in stock and as I didn't think I'd get on with it (previous one was a 50t) I thought it wouldn't matter. Anyway, turns out the bike is MUCH nicer to ride and my knees and hips don't hurt nearly as much...who knew! Actually faster as well, guessing because I now get some recovery in rather than smashing myself to bits on 50/28. Looks a bastard but it's normally covered in so much shit it's barely visible anyway.

Other additions - nutted up and bought a Carradice - so much nicer than a bag on the back or that stupid bag thing I had on the bars. Plus I feel like a proper commuter now. Still run a dry bag inside it but it's been mega.

Finally gave up on TRP Hy/Rd as they needed constant adjustment. Stuck some RS785's on it which are SO much better in every sense and having stuck about 400 miles on them I haven't had to touch them yet (compared to the Hy/Rd where adjustment was a weekly thing).

Got rid of the horrendous Salsa bars and stuck some Zipp SC ones on in their place. 42mm because #aeroiseverything or something.

Wheels - after 2.5k the ksyriums feel...fooked! Not sure if its because I've changed the rear tyre to a harder compound (4 seasons) or if its just standard Mavic build quality but I'm getting some choice noises from the rear and the front has a nice wobble despite adjusting the front hub. They just feel draggy and not nearly as sweet as they did. Maybe a service is needed, or maybe I should just move them on and get something else. I've got Hunt's on another bike but they feel a bit fragile compared to these. Who knows...

Spends wise, i've probably done nearly 2x the value of the bike upgrading it over time. However the position is now much better and I've saved a fortune on rail fare. I've also got better fitness than I have in years which is always nice...

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New wheel time...Hunt 4 seasons with 28mm GP4000s fitted and a new ultegra 12-32 cassette. Also swapped out the 42 ring for a proper sram one - £80 though! Oh and a new hope ceramic bb as the old one was goosed.

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ceramic

Y tho?

I see I'm not the only one running a Grade with a -17 stem... Damn thing is too tall!
I used to run SKS longboards in mine, much better feet coverage

Because it's purple! That is literally the only reason - they didn't have a standard one in purple in stock

Mental high isn't it. I actually bought another frame originally and moved the bits across to get a lower front end, but it was a Kinesis and like everything Kinesis it cracked. Probably an ideal time to list it for sale actually....

Cheers for the tip on the guards, I'll give them a try.

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What size is it? Cracked you say?

Where'd it crack, out of interest?