A cliche on wheels - Stu's SS commuter

General Post your ride
1

So hey, here’s the first bike I’ve ridden in about 10 years. The last time I rode, it was on a kids MTB at age 14, so that should give some indication of how long it’s been. Moving to the Adelaide Hills and getting a drivers license sort of killed the whole cycling thing!

It’s an SE Draftlite bought from Glenelg Cycles almost on a whim, to ride to work to avoid sitting in traffic for hours and paying for parking.


The day I picked it up!


Didn’t take long to gain a better saddle and a luggage rack. Also played around with bar tape a little.


Just playing with Photoshop settings…


How it is today! Bring the cliches…

Specs, in no particular order…

White SE Draftlite frame
Alloy bullhorn with Charge tape
Selle San Marco nubuck saddle
Ritchey Classic seat post
Factory brakes, with Tektro carbon levers & stainless cables
Reid Cycles white rims
Vittoria Zaffiro 700x23c tyres
Lezyne front and rear lights
Lasco 44t crankset in white (waiting for new chain to arrive before installing…Also white.)
Factory square taper bottom bracket
Crud RoadRacer Mk2 mudguard set

Currently it’s running a 42/18t gear ratio, which is too short, when the new chain arrives (and thus a 44t chainring is installed) I’m considering swapping the 18t gear off for the original 16t, meaning I’ll be running 44/16t.

Items on the wishlist;

Headset - want to convert to a quill stem, mainly for the aesthetic value.
Polish up all other black parts and ideally replace black cable sheathing with white.
I have toeclips in the shed, but need straps, and also to be less of a clumsy noob to ride with them.

This is never going to be a race bike, I realise that. It weighs around 12kg. any modifications I do are mainly for aesthetic or ergonomic reasons. I’m a graphic designer by trade so being a little bit hipster comes with the territory. Yes, I also wear funny coloured trousers and boat shoes.

Looking forward to meeting some of you guys and getting more involved!

2

hey stu.

yet another user to buy a bike for commuting, you’ll own a handful soon enough! :wink:

but you need to sort out that saddle angle, needs to be flat like in the second pic, the last photo looks like it’s pointing waaaay down?!

bullhorns are gross, trust me, I held into mine for too long. rizors or drops.

my 2c.

oh, and it won’t stay white for long, even with the guards!!

welcome to FOA.

3

You won’t be changing to a quill stem.

That bike has an 1 1/8" steerer. Quill stems require a 1" steerer

4

I kind of figured as much, thought it’d be worth throwing out there anyway. The more I work on this bike the more it becomes obvious it’s a total parts bin special! Some weird measurements…

Saddle angle is fixed, I took the photo immediately after installing the post. I can sort of see the point about bullhorns, they’re pretty hard on the wrists I’ve noticed. I suspect I’ll end up back to flat bars eventually!

5

my first bike was much the same (mongoose Maurice, the 09 model in poo brown), random mish mash of parts with weird sizing etc, even had a bmx bottom bracket shell. coz of this I’ve still got the original headset/stem/seatpost. not gonna replace them unless they break. upgrade bits as you need to, I got new wheels first as the stock ones were woeful.

like I said in my first post, you’ll end up with a couple of bikes (at least) if you start to really enjoy it.

6

Oh cool, a Maurice was on my short list when I was buying this. The beige and bronze one with gumwalls. I probably will buy another bike soon enough, but as with cars, I’m a compulsive modifier. Nothing is really mine unless I’ve modified it. Hell my project car is my mum’s old 94 pulsar, which I’ve owned for 10 years… I’m a firm believer in working with what you’ve got!

7

Don’t change to a quill stem, threadless is much better. And the hassle of threading the steerer (if it’s even thick enough), replacing the headset… blurg.

But there are 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" quill stems out there. Mostly on hybrids & mtbs just before threadless was ubiquitous.

8

9

Yeah, unlike that I actually have taste… Of a sort… I face palmed in a big way when that show started.

10

I think there can be some aesthetically pleasing bull horns ‘base’ bars, that being said I prefer the visions base bar over cinellis
Nitto does some nice bull horns (pursuit ones)

But again these are all aesthetics, if you want something’s good for the wrists get drop bars with hoods.

11

Having said all that, riding to work today with a slightly adjusted saddle (further forward) actually makes the reach close to perfect. The frame is actually a size too big for me really, so I ride with the saddle a fair way forward and am looking at a shorter stem. But I actually quite like the bullhorns for cruising.

12

Looks good stu! I like bull horns I always feel like im on some sort of mission when im riding with mine…

13

I know right? Loving the proper bar tape too, it’s nice and squishy. Dunno, might buy drops eventually. Maybe when I’m cool enough to ride brakeless I can have a rack full of different bars, and change em on a whim each day. :smiley:

14

Keep an eye open for a smaller frame, riding that far forward isn’t going to do your knees any good over time, and super short stems aren’t great for handling.

15

Its not something to aim for.

16

Sweet looking ride! Reading this thread is like deja vu for me. I come from the same background. I love to modify things and make them uniquely my own. Which is the main reason I went with bulhorns. I went with one inconspiquous goldfinger brake lever. I couldn’t go back to risers, but drops are definitely the best out there (ergonomicly & performance wise). That being said, I’d still stick with bullhorns as they are much rarer.

Threadless stems are so much easier to work with, especially when changing bars. If you ride brakeless you could change bars on a whim.

As for sore wrists, judging from the saddle angle you may have too much pressure on your wrists, try leaning back into the seat for some sections. I’ve been riding no hands or 1 handed to keep my body upright and give the arms and back a bit of a rest. Also try gloves, or gel pads that go underneath the bar tape, or gel padded bar tape.

17

Thanks mate! :cool: It’s almost an affliction, isn’t it? The total inability to leave anything exactly as it was manufactured? I feel like in another life I would’ve been one of those compulsive hoarders, or frighteningly OCD, or a drug addict.

Saddle angle is back to horizontal, that photo was pre-adjustment. Thinking I might space the bar back up again and angle it slightly differently. I’ve always had crappy wrists, I’ve just been noticing it moreso recently, although equally it could just be the colder weather.

Regarding reach etc; I’m 179cm tall and the bike’s a 58cm frame. So really it’s within accepted parameters, I think partially it’s just my gut getting in the way of a proper riding position, lol. Workin’ on that one…

18

179cm on 58cm is almost definitely a bad fit, I don’t know the top tube size or your body dimensions but that will be too big.

I’m 177cm and I feel most comfortable on a 54cm, although I do ride a 56cm everyday.

19

And herein lies you answer

Yeah mate that’ll be fine, said the salesperson to clear the last model off the floor.