Ha, yes, I don’t have pics to hand, but my once proud Marin Nail Trail, a veteran of the Alps no less, is also reduced to skinny tyres, plastic crap on the back and a bottleholder. It was the tyres wot did it though – welcome to Dorksville.
But I track my commutes on Endomondo, so my phone is effectively my bike computer. Plus it means I don’t have to stop and get it out the bag if I get a text/call and I have the option of listening to some tunes. 🙂
njee20 – I’ve also bought a road bike. But that’s as far as I’m prepared to go. Its sits unloved amongst the ‘proper’ bikes. Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra?
My Cove Handjob has gone the same way skinny tyres, bar ends, mudguards & panniers but I love it (I will post some pics tomorrow). I have done a few 70 mile plus rides and have the touring bug.
I don’t commute through the winter months so it is actually in MTB form at the moment. I ride MTB in winter and road in summer now.
njee20 – I’ve also bought a road bike. But that’s as far as I’m prepared to go. Its sits unloved amongst the ‘proper’ bikes. Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra?
Huh? I’m confused… Are you calling me grandad? You’re so awesome because you waste money on things that you don’t deem cool!
(Although admittedly, the knobblies there wore out in five minutes so I put some more commuter friendly hybrid tyres on, not that it stopped me using it for hard core offroad)
njee20 – I wasn’t having a pop. Merely pointing out that I too have made the ultimate sacrifice. But there are things that are just a step too far – Mudguards? Bell? Reflective strips? Panniers? Lycra? 😀
Despite many years of resistance I fitted mudguards a couple of years ago to the winter/commuting bike and they really do make sense! Still look crap though.
Some kind of tourer or cross bike would be a good thing (though obviously I’d want one with gears), especially if it had suitable mount points for my mudguards and a pannier rack 😀
Fit some decent mudguards.
Suggestions? These crud catchers seem adequate – I don’t mind a bit of mud as I get changed at work anyway, I just don’t want to get soaked or get crap in my eyes.
SKS is my recommendation. I haven’t done this with a suspension fork, but someone will have. They follow the curve of the tyres, so don’t look quite so awful. I assume you have eyelets on the rear? If not P clips are your friend.
I’ve gone the full hog this year and fitted full length mudguards, rack and panniers and puncture proof tyres to my hardtail for the commute. A good dose of reflective stickers have been applied too. It may not look good, but it is well worth it in my opinion as everything from my clothes to the drivetrain don’t need cleaning every day, and so should last much longer. Dare I even say it, (touching wood) I’ve never had a puncture since either, even though the hedge trimmers were out last week.
I couldn’t bring meyself to do it to a mountain bike, so got my dad’s old 80’s road bike, put on full mudguards, touring pannier on the back, lights….just need some trouser cycling clips to complete my commuting look.