My New Commuting Pannier is the Best Pannier

A few months ago, I began to feel like my twin Axiom panniers were just not quite what I needed for my daily commute. One pannier was always nearly empty. And the other, filled with my U-lock, cable, gloves, saddle cover, and other small accessories, often required a fair amount of digging to find what I needed. They were also not terribly convenient for on-the-go removal when my bike was locked up in an exposed public space; I didn't have any interest in removing both panniers and then carrying them around in the store or restaurant or wherever I happened to be.

I needed something with some organizing capacity, rather than a big, open well. I also needed something that could be easily removed from the bike and carried. And of course I needed a pannier that looked good on my vintage Peugeot. That's when I discovered the Blackburn Central Rear Pannier. Basically, it's a messenger bag - complete with shoulder strap, organizing pockets, and a laptop sleeve - that clips onto a bike rack. It has a built-in rain cover, which is outstanding, and the shoulder strap has magnetic clasps so that it stays tight against the body of the pannier when riding. Best of all, it's terribly handsome, made of a sort of gray cotton twill fabric. Plus it holds all the same stuff that my dual Axioms held.

Now that I've put a few miles on the Blackburn Central pannier, I can't say enough about it. Admittedly, it doesn't quite cut it when I have to carry an unexpectedly voluminous load, but I've been shocked at its carrying capacity. In fact, last weekend I hauled a 64oz growler and a 750ml bomber, in addition to all the other stuff I normally carry, which included a mini-pump, a well-stocked tool roll, and my jacket. It unlocks from my rear rack with ease and the magnetic shoulder strap is a particularly ingenious feature, so it transitions to shoulder bag duty seamlessly when I'm on foot. And it's a great looking accessory, regardless of whether I'm wearing a suit for work or jeans and a t-shirt for a trip to the pub. However, I should note that the rack hooks can be pretty uncomfortable when walking around with the bag for extended periods of time. They're not exactly low profile, and they tend to dig into my ribs and catch on my clothing, which is definitely an annoyance. But between the outstanding functionality of this pannier and its above-par aesthetics, I've been beyond pleased. This one's a winner for sure.

Modern Cantilever Brakes on a Vintage Touring Frame: A Cautionary Tale

In general, older brakes don't have quite the same stopping power and responsiveness of newer versions. The return springs tend become less sharp in pulling calipers or cantilevers back to their resting positions and the parts just don't seem to engage with one another quite like a brand new set of brakes. Plus, my Panasonic Touring Deluxe uses cantilever touring brakes, and finding original-era parts can be difficult and expensive (used versions of the Shimano AT-50 cantilevers that originally came on the bike can easily fetch $50-100 for a full set on eBay - comparable to many brand new cantilever brake sets).

Luckily, the resurgence of touring bicycles and the creation of multi-use styles such as cyclocross, hybrid, and gravel bikes have brought cantilevers and V-brakes back onto the market in a big way. So after reading numerous reviews, taking careful consideration of my limited budget, and accounting for the look and aesthetics that I'm targeting with the finished machine, I decided to go with Tektro CR720 cantilever brakes on the Panasonic touring bike. The CR720s have a fantastic, vintage-touring look and feel, are fairly well regarded by other touring cyclists, and are somewhat inexpensive. I found a great price for the brakes online and bought them.

Soon after receiving my Tektro CR720s, though, I discovered a problem. When I slid the brake arm and return spring over the post, I immediately noticed that the arm was extended so far outward that it was slumping downward. And the brake pad hit the braking surface of the rim at an angle, so no matter how much I fiddled with it in the slot of the brake arm, it was always contacting the rim along the edge of the pad where it would do almost nothing to slow or stop the bike. There just wasn't enough room for the brake to contact the rim appropriately. The rim and cantilever post were too close to each other.

I read through bicycling forums and quickly found that others had run into the same problem. Cantilever post spacing on older bikes is much more narrow than on modern frames and often won't accept newer canti brakes. So I was left with two choices: bite the bullet and pick up a set of vintage cantilever brakes at a premium price or keep buying different models of cantilever brakes until I found a set that worked through trial-and-error.

That's when I remembered that I had stashed away an extra pair of old Shimano Altus CT91 brakes that I had mounted onto my GT Outpost mountain bike. I dug out one of the brake arms and slid it over one of the Panasonic's front cantilever posts. After a bit of tinkering with the position and angle of the brake shoe, Voila! It fit perfectly! Even better, the CT91s are still widely available and can be purchased new very inexpensively (it's not uncommon to find them on sale for under $10 a pair). Admittedly, they don't have the same vintage look of the Tektros - in fact, I'd go so far as to call them ugly as hell. On the other hand, they've got fairly long brake arms that are pulled tangentially to the arm's direction of travel, giving them a decent braking force compared to the more widely-set touring and cyclocross brake arms of other models. And speaking from years of experience using them on my GT Outpost, they're pretty much indestructible.

They may not be pretty, but the Shimano CT91 brakes should work out well. In fact, they may be the only modern cantilever brakes that will work on my vintage touring frame.

My Next Pair of Gloves

If you've ever signaled a left-hand turn on a dark night and taken your lane with traffic approaching from behind, you'll have felt the apprehension that comes along with hoping - just hoping - that the car behind you has noticed you signaling your turn and isn't going to plow into you as you merge into traffic. Similarly, you'll also probably covet these new reflective crochet cycling gloves from VEEKA. I discovered these ingenious gloves via CycleEXIF, and I must say, they're right up my alley. Old school looks, with modern safety technology. Does it get any better?

Pulling The Trigger On Clipless Pedals

Between commuting, weekend riding out in the county, training for RAGBRAI, and riding RAGBRAI, I'd estimate that I logged about 1,500 miles last summer. Over the winter, I began to ponder whether it was time to pull the trigger on clipless pedals. The increased efficiency afforded by clipless doesn't matter much when I'm bebopping around town, so my little halfsy clips with All-City pedals are perfect for that type of riding. But a bit of increased efficiency over the course of an 80-miler is non-trivial, so I decided to buy a pair of clipless pedals.

After suggestions from a couple friends - my sister's fiance, Steve, in particular - I decided to go with the Shimano A530 pedals. They can be used with SPD cleats, or flipped to be used as platform pedals, so they're very versatile and are highly recommended for touring. Plus, they look great and will work with my existing shoes, which require the two-bolt SPD-style cleats.

I received the pedals in the mail this week, put them on my bike yesterday, and took my inaugural ride with clipless pedals last night. I'm proud to say I didn't fall over! But give it time...it's bound to happen eventually. At some point, I'd like to build up a touring rig and transition these pedals over to it, so I can go back to my All-City pedals for commuting and around-town riding on my Peugeot. For now, I'll probably switch out the pedals on an as-needed basis until I can hunt down a suitable frame or project bike.

Buy a Brand New Bicycle

I've been reading Chin on the Tank and a handful of other motorcycle blogs that focus on resto-mods for a few years now. I love seeing some of the wild design concepts those guys come up with. While I occasionally entertain the idea of making the leap into motorcycle restoration, it's not something I've had the money, time, or drive to pursue. My small fleet of bicycles keeps me plenty busy and - for the most part - pretty happy. So I think I'll stick to simple, human-powered machines for the foreseeable future.

Earlier this week, Ed published a great post called Buy a Brand New Motorcycle and I couldn't get over how much it paralleled my experience in giving people guidance on buying a bicycle. When shopping for a bike, it's easy to get on Craigslist and be enticed by the $50-100 price tags of used machines. But two of the things I've learned from working on old bikes over the years are: 1) shit breaks and 2) people don't take care of their shit. Shearing old brittle anchor bolts and snapping derailleur hangers are pretty much par for the course if you work on an old bike long enough. And you can pretty much bet on dealing with bent chainrings, hubs and bottom brackets filled with molasses-like sludge, and derailleurs that have never been cleaned or serviced.

I enjoy a challenge and I take great pleasure in tinkering on my bikes, so bringing a neglected bike back into working condition - and fixing everything that gets jacked up while doing so - is all part of the fun. But not everyone has the time and energy to do this. And yeah, you're only going to spend $100 up-front for that 1970's roadster, but then you've got to pay to have the thing tuned up. That'll get you out on the road, but if you want it in really good working order you've then got to drop another $100 for an overhaul, plus an additional $100-200 or so in parts (cables, housing, tubes, rubber, brake pads, etc.). Now your investment is up to around $400-500, which is about as much as you'd pay for a pretty sweet flat-bar road bike. On top of that, most shops will service your bike free of charge if you buy it new from them, which is a major cost savings for ongoing maintenance.

So yeah, old bikes are cool, but don't fool yourself into thinking you're saving any money or getting some kind of bitchin' deal.

Staying Dry In My Commuter Pants

It's April, and that means rain showers and thunderstorms. We've had a pretty soggy couple of weeks here in southwest Missouri. Nothing unusual, but I've had some sloppy rides to and from work. Lucky for me, my wife and son gave me a shiny new pair of black Levi's Commuter trousers for my birthday last month. I had seen a couple of videos on YouTube showing that the pants were water-repellent, so I figured I should give them a try.

After unwrapping the Commuter trousers, I went straight over to the sink and put them under running water. Sure enough, the water rolled right off, leaving the fabric dry. I've worn them a handful of times now, and the pants have a great fit, strategic reinforcement in key areas of heavy wear, and reflective seams such that cuffing the pants gives you side reflectors. Ginger heard that the water-repellent properties eventually wear off, which makes sense considering the material itself isn't intrinsically water-shedding. But whatever; they're heavy duty and totally weather proof for the time being.

Now I just need to pick up a couple more pairs in other colors. Collect the whole set, eh?

We're really jamming now!

I've been jonesing for a way to listen to music on my bike for quite some time. Having a sound system on my machine would be sweet for group rides, pub crawls - both planned and impromptu, or just riding around town. So I pulled the trigger this week and bought a Photive Cyren portable bluetooth speaker. I looked at a number of speakers, and ended up settling on the Cyren due to its favorable reviews and its attractive price. It's basically just a blatant knockoff of the Jambox, but it feels sturdy, solid, and well-made. It's got a battery life of 10-12 hours, which is awesome. But most importantly, it sounds great.

For the last couple days, I've strapped the Cyren onto my bike's rear rack for my daily commutes to and from work. Even at full volume, it can be a little hard to hear when moving at a good clip. And it's definitely a prime theft target, so I have to remove it every time I leave my bike. Because of that, it's probably not something I'll continue to use every day, especially with my commute as short as it is (less than a mile). It'll be a necessary piece of equipment for weekend rides and future Cruisin' for a Brewsin' bike pub crawls, though. My guess is that I now have the loudest bicycle in town, and I'm very cool with that.

Rain shmain

Traditionally, I've been a total wuss when it comes to riding in the rain. Even with decent rain gear, it's hard to stay dry. And, once wet, the constant air movement sometimes does a great job of thoroughly chilling you to the point of misery. I travel by bicycle to work pretty much every day, and I've reached a point wherein driving a car feels unbearably like admitting defeat. So I'm trying to man up when it comes to bicycling in the rain.

I added fenders to my bike so that I could ride after a rain to keep the wet road grime off of me, but riding while rain is actually falling from the sky is something I've continued to avoid...until I had to do it a few times recently because I got caught in unexpected rain showers while riding home. In so doing, I realized that there are worse things than biking in the rain.

I normally carry a light waterproof windbreaker in my panniers, which helps keep me and my clothes dry in the case of a light shower. My primary concern, though, was my leather saddle getting wet, so I recently went out and bought myself an Aardvark waterproof saddle cover. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of sitting on a plastic shopping bag and I decided the Aardvark would look nicer and perform better. And at about $12 a pop, it's not a bad value. I've heard that the cover doesn't do well to keep the saddle dry if stored outside in drenching downpours, but then again, that's not what it's made for and that's not what I need it for. I just need something to keep the saddle dry when I slide off of it at stop lights. And this baby does just that (as I found out during a light rain as I rode home this afternoon).

The Big Lock Up

Shortly after moving to Springfield, Ginger's bike was stolen. Her (very appropriate) response was to buy a big-ass U-lock and keep on riding - albeit on a different bike. She picked up a Kryptonite Series 2, which thus far has kept her machine out of the hands of would-be bike-thief ass-clown losers. A couple of notable drawbacks are that it's quite heavy to haul around and also limits your ability to lock to large diameter objects like lampposts. It's also exceedingly difficult to lock up multiple bikes simultaneously with a single lock. With that said, it's definitely a heavy duty lock that will help deter thieves.

Meanwhile, I'm still riding around with my ultra-cheap 1/4" cable lock. It's definitely been a source of concern for me. On the one hand, I never leave my bike out overnight and our security guard at the office has an unimpeded view of the bike racks at work. On the other hand, my rig is locked up in the same place every day, making it easier to premeditate a theft. So last week, I finally upgraded my lock, opting for a Kryptonite Evolution Mini with a 4' Flex cable. I also bought an extra 4' Flex cable for Ginger.

I'm certainly resting easier having a big scary lock keeping my bicycle secure. The Evolution Mini fits nicely in my panniers, so it's easy to carry. I'm not trying to endorse Kryptonite by any means. They make a great product, but so do a number of other companies. The Evolution Mini is just what was available to me at my LBS. Thick cable locks, heavy chains, and U-locks from any reputable manufacturer (Knog, Avenir, Blackburn, Abus, OnGuard, etc.) are great ways to keep your machine in your possession.

Cody's Bicycle Buying Guide

In the past few weeks, I've had a couple different conversations with friends who were shopping for their first bicycle to begin commuting and doing some light recreational riding. I had a bit of difficulty really giving clear advice on this issue, so I thought I'd readdress it here to help me firm up my own thoughts and recommendations.

The most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for a new ride is comfort. I recently had a good friend who was in the market for a bike to do some utility riding around town and also some light recreational riding - mostly on the Katy Trail. The guy at his LBS told him he should start off with a Trek 7.1 hybrid bike. But my friend was more interested in dropping the cash on a much more expensive cyclocross bike. While the dude at the shop wasn't wrong to recommend the hybrid, if a $2,000 cyclocross bike is what's going to feel most comfortable, then so be it.

That brings me to a second recommendation: keep theft in mind. If your rig will rarely be locked up outside, especially overnight, then this isn't much of an issue. But if you're going to be locking up to an unmonitored bike rack in a shady part of town for 12 hours a day, then this may be pretty important. You can invest in a very good lock, but if someone really wants your bike and they're given ample opportunity to steal it, then its theirs. High end road, mountain, and cyclocross bikes have a tendency of eliciting this type of desire. Unless you can count on almost always storing your bike indoors in a secure location, don't use a Trek Madone as your daily commuter.

Another reason that high end racing bikes may not be the best choice for utility cycling is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, to add accessories like racks and fenders to them. If you plan on consistently travelling around town by bicycle or using your machine as your primary mode of transportation, a decent set of fenders and some cargo capacity can quickly become a priority.

I hesitate to make specific recommendations on particular bicycle models, because there's no way I can be comprehensive. But I can make some recommendations on styles of bicycle that I've found to be ideal for around-town utility use and light recreational/trail riding. Hybrid bicycles are designed with casual riders in mind, so these are often the best choice - especially for inexperienced commuters. These bicycles have become very popular in recent years and nearly all manufacturers are now producing entire catalogues of hybrid/comfort bikes. Lower end mountain bikes are also often designed with a more casual rider in mind, so these can be a great option too.

If you plan to put in heavy duty mileage, a touring bike, or even a cyclocross bike, can have some benefits. Touring bikes will have a relatively comfortable geometry, will often be made with lighter weight components and materials, and normally come with drop bars, which give you a number of different hand positions that can make longer rides more bearable. However, these bikes will generally be quite a bit more expensive than the other types that I've mentioned.

If you're somewhat handy or interested in learning how to work on bikes, an old road bike or cruiser can be a lot of fun. Going the vintage route is often pretty inexpensive initially, but older bikes require continual upkeep and maintenance that can bring the overall cost up substantially over time. I should also mention that there are a number of manufacturers that are making bikes that have a classic look and feel, but are made with modern materials and components. Dutch-style bikes, in particular, have become fairly popular and these bikes can give you the styling of a vintage roadster without the constant upkeep of an actual vintage machine.

I've based these recommendations on my personal experiences and those of my friends, but I'm in no way an expert. As I said, comfort is the key rule. If you feel most comfortable riding an S-Works Epic to and from the grocery store, then by all means, do it. The most important thing is getting out there and riding. So grab your rig and get out there and ride.