I’ve built dozens of bikes over the years, and lately have gotten really into 70’s and 80’s Japanese steel. My latest is this 1986 Bridgestone T700, converted to Townie duty.
But this spring I saw an opportunity to finally buy a cargo bike. I didn’t buy it for my self but for my company/book shop. It gives me the opportunity to haul big amounts of books and vinyl from one of my warehouses to the shop and vice versa. It also acts as the ride for our dog. We haven’t really been able to take cycling trips as our dog does not want to be left alone at home. Now she can ride with us.
I’ve been really really happy with it and it’s also a really good way to advertise our carbon neutral book recycling business.
i used to, back in the days.
but now i prefer workhorse-style bikes that require near-zero service and last forever (thanks to freeride components from 2005–2009 era, they were a bit heavy, but truly indestructible).
Done about 3000 km on this one in 2021 so far… Mostly on nice gravel roads around Oslo but also on some overnight trips carrying a tent & sleeping bag. Dynamo lights front and rear + full length mudguards make it super practical.
used to race all the time, but have raced maybe twice since first lockdown. Might go back to it next year, but getting back to race fit might be an ordeal.
I have a fixed gear bike that I built 12 years ago around a frame I stripped from an old 80s Raleigh Record Sprint. The bike is all black everything, with a Nitto handlebar, BLB pedals with straps…the whole urban shebang lol. It was my trusted commuter bike when I lived in London and now in Berlin I still use it occasionally when I want to enjoy a smooth, quiet ride.
I also have a Ridley Compact that I enjoy for more performance focused rides, but nowadays it’s mostly attached to a Tacx Neo 2T, which I love.
I know that feeling… I was ok during the first lockdown because I went into it already doing a lot of riding, the weather was good and the roads were empty, so it was great.
I went to Girona then from early Sept to mid Dec, obvs still doing lots of miles there… but coming back to UK doom and gloom I had zero motivation to get out, so I’ve fell off since then and need to build it back up.
This fall off has also coincided with me going hard on music making again, and buying all the sequencers, samplers and synths…
Schindelhaur Ludwig XVII, Gates belt, Rohloff hub, and Formula Cura brakes all stock, swapped the bar for a Deda Dritto 0°, the pedals for eggbeaters, and added a motorcycle bar end mirror. Next up is seeing if I can swap the sprocket and or front gear to get the drive ratio into the Rohloff up by ~30%, because I don’t really use the lowest three gears right now.