# First commute on new bike



## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

Hitting the Ocean at the halfway point


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*Hitting the Ocean at the halfway point*

Hitting the Ocean at the halfway point


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

Entering Golden Gate park


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Short cut in park


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*Commute*

Sun coming up in the park


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Speed Trap


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Take 8th to the Presido dead ahead.


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Crissey Field


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Yacht Club


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Fort Mason


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Alcatraz


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

alcatraz


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Fishermans Wharf


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*commute*

Downtown


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*new bike*

new bike


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

[email protected] that is a sweet commute.

Do we get to see close-ups of the bike?


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## badder2 (Jun 26, 2006)

Love the ride and love that coffee mug.

btw, what are the those rear brakes??


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*First Commute*

I commute year round and sometimes I take it for granted that I ride thru a couple of national parks and some of the greatest views in the world. That is only the second half of my ride. The first part is usualy dark and is from my house in Pacifica along and above the coastline.

Here is a great picture a friend took. I picked up the bike on Friday and rode a 300k in Portland on Saturday in the rain. This shows the super clean look I was going for.


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*Brakes*

Brakes are Avids and the mug is Starbucks. It is the only mug that will keep my coffee warm until I can drink it. The first 10 miles of my commute are either up or down so do not get to drink until I get near the zoo along the Ocean


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## the_dude (Jun 25, 2004)

where ya been, stranger? i miss your ride reports. does this make 2 vanillas in the stable now?

sometimes i dream about your bikes. this one will be no exception.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*A 300k first ride?*

I love that first photo with the spokes nowhere to be seen.

What is your light setup?

That is a darn big bag for a 300k, did you find yourself needing it what with the rain and all?


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*Rear Bag*



MB1 said:


> I love that first photo with the spokes nowhere to be seen.
> 
> What is your light setup?
> 
> That is a darn big bag for a 300k, did you find yourself needing it what with the rain and all?


I only needed the rain coat out of it but I had an entire change of clothes. I wanted to see how it worked since I have never used it and I have been on enough very wet rides to know a change of clothes can save the day. Compared to eh hills in the Bay Area the hill on teh 300k were very mellow. In fact in the Bay Area we call those uphills "Downhills".


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

IIRC, that ship in the foreground is the Balclutha... believe it or not, I remember buying a ticket to get onboard for 10c, during an elementary school field trip (that included Alcatraz) many many years ago


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

That is 1 SWEET green bike. I looked up Vanilla, and everything looks great, especially the extras you can add, really love the "V" in the drop out, but a 4 year wait, wow! I don't think I could wait that long for a bike. Are other custom builders backed up that long? Is it really worth the extra time, besides if you can't get a bike that fits nicely, really tall or odd proportions. I guess for people like Willy in Pacifica and other who do the brevets and the like, the custome fit makes life a bit easier, though, that is a lot of self inflicted torture. (I need to make time to do the like).

Sledge


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

*Nice...*

I kind of miss the look of caliper brakes, but discs are very cool! The only things I would change would be to add a fender-mount light/reflector (those bar-end lights are cool, but fairly minimal) and I would use LED headlights (3W each). But those are minor issues. That is one of the sweetest bikes I have ever seen...


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*Some are, some would like to be but most aren't.*



Sledgehammer03 said:


> T.....but a 4 year wait, wow! I don't think I could wait that long for a bike. Are other custom builders backed up that long?...


Most custom builders take around 4-6 months in season (right now) and somewhat less off-season. It is easy enough to check with a builder to find out or ask what folks in your area are riding.

BTW yes, IMO customs are worth it for everyone not racing (wouldn't want to crash a sweet custom in a parking lot criterium).


MB1
Waterford guy.
Well, Rivendells too but that is another story.


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*lights*



Andy M-S said:


> I kind of miss the look of caliper brakes, but discs are very cool! The only things I would change would be to add a fender-mount light/reflector (those bar-end lights are cool, but fairly minimal) and I would use LED headlights (3W each). But those are minor issues. That is one of the sweetest bikes I have ever seen...


The rear lights are the type you usually put in your bar ends and the batteries are expensive so usually cheaper to replace the lights. When I ride in the dark i always have a light on my bag and one on my helmet both front and rear. I need a light on my helmet in case I get a flat at night as the generator puts out nothing if it is not moving.

But the two E-6 lights up front put out plenty of light. I have not used this bike inthe dark yet but my Co-Motion I have used for 3 years and the lights are fantastic. Plus it is jsut so cool to create your own juice to run them. Very Green.

The discs were put on because I have been in too many rain storms wehre the brakes did not work well at 3 am in the rain heading down a hill I have never been on. Plus the sound of grinding brake pads on rims is like fingernails on a chalkboard. But it also allows the top of the bike to been very clean looking. I had him build it so it will take long reach brakes if I did not like the discs.

Nobody has mention the "Vanilla" script onteh down tube. Since i wanted the bike to have a tough industrial look to it he painted the raised script instead of polishing it. In the future if I ever wanted to go for beauty I can repaint the bike and have the script polished.

willy in pacifica


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*bikes*



the_dude said:


> where ya been, stranger? i miss your ride reports. does this make 2 vanillas in the stable now?
> 
> sometimes i dream about your bikes. this one will be no exception.


Yes this is the brother of the road Vanilla and the cousin of the others.

Now that I have this bike not sure what I will do with the Co-Motion. I have way too many bikes but I jsut cannot see myself to getting rid of any. I would never get the value out of them that I got out of riding them. I was thinking about jsut striping down the frame and hanging them up as my own kind of Hall of Fame. Then take the parts and build new bikes.

I now have 2 Vanillas, 3 Co-Motions, 2 Ritcheys, a Merlin, IF, Santana triplet, and a custom Bilenky tandem. Damn, I know I am leaving someone out : )


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*I'm a Waterford kind of guy but I keep thinking about a Vanilla.*



wily in pacifica said:


> .....if I ever wanted to go for beauty I can repaint the bike and have the script polished.
> 
> willy in pacifica


Tell us again how long you waited for it.


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*Wait*



MB1 said:


> Tell us again how long you waited for it.


The wait was initially 15 months but it ended up being about 18 months due to paint issues. I was getting a bit worried as this bike was ordered for PBP this August. But it should be fine since the saddle is the An Atomica which does not need an break-in time and I have had it on my other bikes for a few months now.

the saddle did get wet during hte 300k and got very loose. I was able to tighten it up but am running out of adjustment screw. this was the first time it got wet and I know there was an issue with other having a stretching problem. 

Does anyone know if it only need adjusting once after getting wet?


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

*I'm a Brooks kind of guy so I can't help you there.*



wily in pacifica said:


> ..... But it should be fine since the saddle is the An Atomica which does not need an break-in time and I have had it on my other bikes for a few months now.
> 
> the saddle did get wet during hte 300k and got very loose. I was able to tighten it up but am running out of adjustment screw. this was the first time it got wet and I know there was an issue with other having a stretching problem.
> 
> Does anyone know if it only need adjusting once after getting wet?


Maybe get yourself a saddle cover for the wet, you should be in pretty good shape with those sweet fenders.


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

That bike is droolfest. Oh my god. 4 years would kill me. I've heard that about Vanillas as well. I have to wait 8-9 weeks for my IF and it's killing me.

Some Nitto cages would look sweet on that, but I like the color of the cages you have.

Do you pick places to ride that match the bike?


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Very cool -- the pictures, the commute, the bike. Was the bridge the inspiration for you color scheme? Amazing how close the colors match.


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## YuriB (Mar 24, 2005)

wow. you need to do more reports.
seriously.


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## Andy M-S (Feb 3, 2004)

Lights...

I'm sure the E6s do welll...I've used a BiSy in the past, and they're closely related. Lots of lights is a reasonable motto for us nightriders.'


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

the housing for those rear lights are badazz, but my experience is that those lights are not very good, small bumps and perhaps even road vibrations will turn them off.

your fenders are also very clean in that they match the curve of the wheel/tire very well... are they Berthoud? or custom?


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*New bike*



DrRoebuck said:


> That bike is droolfest. Oh my god. 4 years would kill me. I've heard that about Vanillas as well. I have to wait 8-9 weeks for my IF and it's killing me.
> 
> Some Nitto cages would look sweet on that, but I like the color of the cages you have.
> 
> Do you pick places to ride that match the bike?


When I put down my deposit the wait was only 15 months whch was perfect for riding my 2007 brevets and taking the bike to PBP. But that got pushed back to 18 months due to painter issues. I am not sure I would wait 4 years for a new one but come 2011 I probablay wished I had. There are plenty of aother builders who can do the same thing and now that I have a couple of Vanilla's I may try a different builder. There are a couple others in the same neighborhood up in Portland who build beautiful bikes.

I am even considering taking one of those frame building classses where you end up with a frame at the end of the class. I am sure if you put the right paint on it it will come out looking half way decent. But I have to come up wiht a cool logo first.

The seat i have on it is the Sella An-Atomica "Watershed" which is extreamly comfortable but a few have had problems with it stretching after getting wet. One of the selling points is that it is waterproof so I should not have to worry about putting a cover on it. I have an e-mail into the owner and will see how it pans out. I believe there was a bad batch of leather, or maybe it was a bad batch of unhappy cows.

The color was picked by the builder. I showed him all the bikes I liked on his web site and those I did not. I particularly liked a grey single speed and thought it would be painted that color but I like this color scheme better since it is one of a kind. When I was riding the 300k after picking up the bike I saw this bridge on the way out and had to stop on the way back to take picctures. So I guess the bike is Mill City bridge green. Up until then the best I could come up with was Porta Potty Green.

willy in pacifica


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

Great bikes, great commute... looks like you have it made in the bike department!

I like the triplet. How do you transport it?


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## dclements0 (Mar 2, 2007)

i am totally jelous of both the bike and the commute. I live in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and although I do have a nice commute, it is short and doesn't contain the amount of quality scenry. Very nice...


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## nachomc (Aug 31, 2006)

I think I see my corporate headquarters in your 'downtown' photos


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## wily in pacifica (Sep 4, 2003)

*triplet*



nonsleepingjon said:


> Great bikes, great commute... looks like you have it made in the bike department!
> 
> I like the triplet. How do you transport it?


the triplet rool backward right into either of our Chrysler T&C mini vans with both wheels on. Unfortunatly once in I do not have access to my cup holders. Major flaw if you ask me.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2007)

The bike is stunning.

What is really important though is the bag.

What is the rear bag, where'd you get it and how is it mounted and to what??


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

wily in pacifica said:


> the triplet rool backward right into either of our Chrysler T&C mini vans with both wheels on. Unfortunatly once in I do not have access to my cup holders. Major flaw if you ask me.


You may be able to use the bottle cage on the bike! I have fork mounts on the side of the bed on my truck, which puts the vertical bottle cage perfectly within reach of the sliding window in the rear window of the cab. I have often found myself thirsty after a ride, opened the window, grabbed the water bottle, and kept on driving. Very convenient!!


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## pedalingyak (Mar 3, 2009)

That sure is a beautiful bike, I love your choice in color and setup. Your Nor'Wester is also truly a pretty and excellent ride. I have a Nor'Wester Co-Pilot myself, it is fast, comfortable, stable, predictable, smooth. It is my go to bike as well, even though I love my two Serotta's, my Co-Motion is just something really special in its own way. I will be having an Espresso built up very racy, cannot wait to post reviews and pics on it when I have it.
Safe riding and good health to you.


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## cpcritter (Sep 24, 2008)

Don't take for granted the ride or the rides that you have. I would find it hard not to get side tracked with the views that you posted. I love the Van bikes, beautiful. 

Maybe some day I will post the slums that I ride through.


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## pedalingyak (Mar 3, 2009)

I wish I had a commute to my job, it has to be by car. Its funny in life, the path you wind up on, where you live, the free time you have, the intensity of your job, and so on. The only time I have to ride anymore is strictly on the weekends, my job is too good and stable to give up, plus I do get 5 weeks vacation, going on 6. Still though, you always want what you dont have. I feel bad for the kids who grow up in the favelas of big South American cities, like Rio, or Bogota. 
Happy cycling wherever and whenever you can have it.


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## pedalingyak (Mar 3, 2009)

I love the colors of this bike and the color choice on the Vanilla logo panel. Sweet!


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