Post pix of your commuter bike.

Braking can be much improved via a modern lever upgrade and a set of Kool-Stop salmon pads, but there's only so much you can do before having to throw aesthetics and budget out the window in favour of long-reach dual-pivot calipers.

Shimano took dead aim at Campagnolo Nuovo Record with 6hun Ay-rab, and they did an admirable job. Both gruppos strada-style cranks suffered from stress riser issues along the sharp edges of the spider where it meets the crankarm - inspect them regularly for cracks and if you're feeling nerdy, take some sandpaper and radius the edge of the spider. That said, they can snap at the arms, too. I broke Morgman's when I borrowed his Sekine. :D

Y U beef with Tiagra? 10spd 4600 is nice stuff; truly the epitome of affordable excellence. The price jump to 105 cranks is hideous.

Cheers for the heads-up on the cranks. I'll keep an eye out but I only ride a few blocks a day (to very close to you. Maybe I asked you to cut some spokes on Saturday) and I'm more Lars Ulrich than Jan.

Shimanos lower end stuff is great if you want high performance at a good price. I'm fat and lazy, and like cheap old stuff!

my beef with tiagra only lies with the brifters . . . there's one tiny weak link in all that somewhere and you can pretty much expect them to break .

i don't know how other shops stood behind them but the shop i dealt with wouldn't even consider exploring the warranty route , so i got rid of the bike and have been shit-talking tiagra ever since :lol:

Was that obsolete 9-spd Tiagra or 2012 10-spd?

9 spd on a RM

I agree. The salsa is damn near perfect although I'm not really into the racks (I like to carry a stylish manbag strapped to my beautiful backside) and I'd go with a different colour than brown. But I love the seat, fenders, dropbars and overall steel vibe of that thing. 2 thumbs up. WAAAAY up.

Well thanks! Stylish manbags have their place but this along with my full compliment of Ortlieb panniers and trailer can handle a pretty serious bike packing tour :-)

If I was baller enough I'd have separate touring and city bikes but this does double duty very well.

Cheers for the heads-up on the cranks. I'll keep an eye out but I only ride a few blocks a day (to very close to you. Maybe I asked you to cut some spokes on Saturday) and I'm more Lars Ulrich than Jan.

Shimanos lower end stuff is great if you want high performance at a good price. I'm fat and lazy, and like cheap old stuff!

Saturday was a blur. Half the shop was out in at the Tour De White Rock attending to service course duties. I would have been the bearded guy yelling and swearing at everything.

I'm big into matching up new Alivio rear derailleurs and nickel-plated cassettes with Sora front derailleurs and Tiagra/FSA MegaExo road triples these days. Affordable touring excellence, truly.

Ortlieb

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If I was baller enough I'd have separate touring and city bikes but this does double duty very well.

I previously didn't call my bar bike my city bike, but that's kind of silly actually as I ride my bar bike for almost all in-town travels. Only if I need to carry more than 20lbs of gear do I ever go for the Vaya if it's in-town.

Said bar bike:

Started life as a standard '69 Raleigh Twenty. Upgraded every part except brake calipers. Norco catalog wheelset with ACS freewheel, 1.75" Marathons, Sugino Supermighty cranks, half link chain, Chris King headset with custom steerer (threadless conversion), Velo Orange bar, alloy seatpost, etc etc etc.

It used to be more pimped out than this but that was when it was my 'good' bike.

Sugino :clap:

:lol:

F*ck me! This is hardcore.

:rocker:

We just sold our last Neck Romancer Pug yesterday to be used as a Fort MacMurray commuter and daily driver. LOVING the new 45 North studded fatbike tires!

Been commuting since August. Good times. Loving the single speed as well. Added some fenders since that photo was taken.

Not so great when it snows tho… That Surly looks fun

Latest iteration of my commuter, gears reduce to one, knobbies tyres return as slick tyre burst, fenders off for the summer, mtb stem for comfort. It does most everything OK

I've had this old frame sitting for the last 3 years and finally scrounged up enough parts to build it up as a sweet ass commuter.

New-old stock Titanium Hillside/Sandvik frame, built up with disc brakes on 700c wheels, running on a 2x9 SRAM drivetrain.