# Waterford commuter



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Here are some shots of my newest bike, a Waterford RST-22 that I plan to use for commuting and light touring. Picked up the frame, fork and headset for a nice price and swapped most of the parts from my Bob Jackson touring bike for the build. I found the BJ a little harsh riding for daily commuting, and the Waterford is a perfect fit. It's specs are very close to the Salsa Casseroll I got in the spring, and I like it so much that I didn't have to think twice about buying the Waterford. The components are mostly Dura-Ace 9-speed triple, with Open Pro wheels w/ Ultegra hubs.

I initially planned to leave the fenders off and ride this bike on good weather days, and the Salsa on rainy days, but after 8 straight days of rain in NC, I decided that fenders are a must. The frame has mounts for fenders and racks, but oddly no pump peg. It rides like a dream, much more compliant than the BJ, so I assume it also won't be able to handle as heavy loads. So I might just hang onto the BJ in case I ever do that cross-country tour I've been wanting to do for the past 40 years.

My only complaint so far is that the paint apparently chips if you look at it wrong. It had a few chips when I got it, so I carefully touched up all the spots with factory paint. However, I noticed a few more after the build, around the seat binder bolt, derailleur hanger, etc.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

Needs down tube shifters.

BTW I believe we ride the same size frame. Be sure to lock your garage!!! :yikes:


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I love my bar-ends. If the STIs ever wear out on my other bikes, I'll be putting DA bar-ends on them.

I'm a bit worried about leaving this locked at the bike rack at my new work place, so I'm gonna try sneaking into my office and hopefully nobody will complain.


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

Beautiful Waterford and I like the barend shifters.


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## goodwij (Sep 15, 2008)

Very nice. I had been looking at Waterfords also. You going on CNC and taking it?


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I wish I could ride CNC but I'm too busy at work right now. However, I'll probably take it on the spring ride next year. The spring CNC ride seems to work much better with my work schedule.


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## esXso (Jan 29, 2010)

Do those silver Cascadia fenders still come with the dorky Planet Bike logo on the rear?


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

esXso said:


> Do those silver Cascadia fenders still come with the dorky Planet Bike logo on the rear?


Mine have the logo, but it doesn't bother me. It's not that visible, just another shade of silver.


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## Jesse D Smith (Jun 11, 2005)

Nice "pick up". Gotta love it when you take a shot and it works out.


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## fredstaple (Jun 2, 2003)

*Well ...*

... done!


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

People talked about the paint chipping on Gunnars. I built mine up from the start with fenders so my paint has held up well. Nice ride, almost too nice for a commuter but using the MB1 philosophy, don't go cheap on the bike that sees the most use.


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## skh (Mar 4, 2011)

nice lookin' bike.....
i had the DA barends on my Soma Stanyan but changed them out for DA indexed dt shifters. sometimes they tend to get in the way...go figure. still have 'em though, just in case. the the dt shifters are really nice albet a little loud on the shift. 
enjoy your new ride!


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## agroudan (Aug 14, 2007)

Wow - surprised to hear the paint quality is so poor. I have an almost 20 year old Waterford Paramount and paint still looks great. There are only a few chips on the chain stays.

Was thinking about having Waterford restore it now that I finally got a new road bike. Probably not based on this thread.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*awesome bike*



tarwheel2 said:


> I love my bar-ends. If the STIs ever wear out on my other bikes, I'll be putting DA bar-ends on them.
> 
> I'm a bit worried about leaving this locked at the bike rack at my new work place, so I'm gonna try sneaking into my office and hopefully nobody will complain.


awesome color and spec
awesome bar ends, that's how it's 'sposed to be


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## chrisclougherty (Mar 23, 2007)

I've had 2 Gunnars for 8 yrs. (Waterford's little brother.) I've never seen a chip on either one, and I'm on the bike 3 to 4 times a week for a fair number of miles. Waterford's overall quality really can't be beat IMHO.


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## rmsmith (Feb 15, 2007)

Very practical looking commuter. BTW, what size tires are you riding there?


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Tires are Conti GP 4 Seasons, 28 mm.

Regarding the paint, the frame has an incredibly beautiful paint job, it's just that apparently it chips relatively easy. By comparison, I recently sold an Eddy Merckx Corsa 01 that I had ridden more than 20,000 miles over the past 8 years and it didn't have a single paint chip. I previously owned a Gios Compact Pro with over 10,000 miles and no paint chips, and this was an Italian frame, not known for durable paint.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

That's a classy looking ride.


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## dfltroll (Nov 27, 2006)

Hey TW2, congrats on the new acquisition. That's a beautiful bike. Will it accommodate Jack Browns or Grand Bois and fenders? 

I'm down with the BE shifters although prefer Silver (Dia Compe) ones.


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## esldude (Jan 3, 2009)

I have a couple Gunnars. Made by the same folks as Waterford. Beautiful paint on both. One chips much too easily. The other seems to have quite tough paint. Not sure why. Paint chips are a common complaint with Gunnars and Waterfords. It does appear the one with tough paint has a much thicker paint job so maybe that is the difference.


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## theBreeze (Jan 7, 2002)

I bought my Gunnar in 2001. For a while they were putting on the decals over the clear coat, so within a few years they were peeling pretty badly. In 2007 they had a paint special, ship them your frame and they would strip it, do a complete inspection for cracks and repaint. It came back with a beautiful much more durable paint job. Been sturdy ever since. I have a few chips, but then I ride it hard on a variety of surfaces. They sent a bottle of touch up paint and I just dab a little on. No worries.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

dfltroll said:


> Hey TW2, congrats on the new acquisition. That's a beautiful bike. Will it accommodate Jack Browns or Grand Bois and fenders?
> 
> I'm down with the BE shifters although prefer Silver (Dia Compe) ones.


The frame will accommodate much larger tires than I am running, at least 32 mm with fenders. It was a custom frame apparently built for someone who was a commuter or randonneur or tourer.


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## seeborough (Feb 3, 2004)

Great looking frame, indeed. Explain the computer mount, please.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

seeborough said:


> Great looking frame, indeed. Explain the computer mount, please.


My wrench put the mount on it because he installed an oversized flat handlebar and apparently thought existing mount wouldn't fit. I didn't like it and have since removed it, realizing the existing mount was adjustable and fit just fine.


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