Winter Paddy Wagon

So I accidentally built a commuter that is too nice to commute on year round. Or at least once there’s grit on the roads.

I’ve been sourcing bits and bobs for a potential winter build for a while: have bars and levers, saddle, wheelset, chainring and cogs, tyres.
I’d imagined something pretty similar to the now deceased Rory O’Brien that the Brother was based on:

I started to flirt with the idea of a Genesis Day One Alfine, with the prospect of gears for the commute being pretty attractive when the weather gets bad - it’s a hilly 11 miles after all. But I realised that I was shopping way beyond what is already a non-existent budget.

I’ve also been on the lookout for a Kona Paddy Wagon, and this turned up on eBay for cheap:

It looks basically unused if the chain is anything to go off. £110 picked up, probably £20~ in fuel.
So that’s that! Probably wiser than getting carried away chasing something fancier.

To do list:

• Change bars and levers.
  Have some SRAM s500 levers I picked up from @chokalateboywonder and think I’ll rob the bars off my road bike (as I need to convert that to a TT cockpit anyway). Looks like I’ll need to re-cable them as well.
  
• Swap tyres to the GP4000 25c courtesy of @Chalfie
  
• Fit guards of course. Hopefully some PDWs come up, but realistically it’ll be chrome plastics or race blades.
  
• Swap on some better brake pads from the deceased commuter.
  
  

And that’s that for now.

Nice

A good start. It what I should have done, instead of riding the good commuter though a couple of winters.

Thank you for helping justify this harebrained plan.

Honestly mate it’s the best plan!
1 fucked custom fork
1 bent rim
1 Phil front hub
1 cracked pair of carbon bars
Rusty everything
The list is lengthy and sad.

that looks mint!
i nearly picked up a paddywagon from a local charity shop a couple of weeks ago for £95 but i dithered and someone else grabbed it. probably for the best as i didn't really need it.

is 25mm the max you can fit on these frames? wouldn't something a bit wider be nicer for winter duties?

this thread is also a good reminder that i need to get my winter singlespeed out of the shed and start sourcing parts to make it roadworthy again before the roads get shitty

Looking on ebay, it's amazing how cheap these are. Especially when you compare it with something like a Steamroller.

Without guards it looks like you can get 32-35mm

I've got 32 mm paselas on mine. Could probably go slightly wider. I'd have thought it'll only take a 28 mm max with mudguards on (and any winter bike should have mudguards).

Nice, I always wanted a Paddy Wagon.

Fit guards of course. Hopefully some PDWs come up

I’ve got some of the skinnier PDW guards that I’m no longer using. I think they say max 25mm but I ran them with various 28mm tyres (Paselas, GP 4 seasons) and they were great. DM me if you’re interested and I can send some pics.

IIRC people have said 25/28 max with guards, and I kindly got the tyres off @Chalfie for nowt, so 25 is ideal really. Can’t commute without guards as @andyp agrees!

Fuck me, it’s absolutely mint condition. And he threw in a set of SKS race blades.
And it matches my car-ish.
I feel like I’ve got an absolute steal tbh. Clearances look good with the 28c on there already too.

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Looks mint. For £110 plus petrol that's a steal.

Don't go getting any daft ideas about it being too good to commute on through the winter, will you!

It’s nice, but it’s not “custom-built wheels with Phil Wood hubs, Chris King bottom bracket, and Paul brakes” nice.
It is the sacrificial lamb to save the Brother All Day.

My Paddywagon was a 56 and I could squeeze in 30mm tyres underneath SKS Bluemels

amazing deal. the one I saw for £95 was deffo more rat bike territory, and that still felt like a good deal

Sold mine for 150€ a few years back with a creaky BB and destroyed crankset threads. Wish I hadn't everytime I see one, it was the bike that got me into bike commuting, but I didn't (and still don't) have the space to keep it.

Please keep the praise on the down low so I can buy one for cheap in a few years 😬

Quick test ride with some random v8s and straps I had in the parts bin.
Rear wheel has a decent wobble. They’re unsealed bearings and generally cheap as possible. So I’ll probably throw on the set of wheels I bought off @Jakub96

Needs drops asap.

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Sick reflectors

There’s nothing cooler than being safe.

They also slide up and down like spokey dokeys.