Recently, screwtape mentioned needing to pick up bike lights, as winter is
coming in his part of the world and his early-morning rides will be in darkness.
I gave him my quick suggestion, but then thought this might be a good topic for
the phlog, so here we are.
Bike
2005 Trek 1000. Aluminum frame, carbon seatpost and front fork. The frame is
listed at 54cm, which is actually slightly tall for me, but it works
Wheels/tires
Rims: AlexRim AT450. These are machine built rather than hand-built, but
have held up well regardless, only needing truing once (when my daughter
smashed into my rear wheel and bent it noticeably)
Tires: Continental 700Cx25. I usually run these around 100 psi/7 bar, but
that is probably higher than necessary for my weight
Drivetrain
Shimano Tiagra, 30/42/52 triple front with 12-24 8-speed cassette on the
rear. Even in 2005 this was low-end gear from Shimano, and it has its
quirks, but it gets the job done. In theory, the brifters will handle a
9-speed cassette, so I have considered adding one more big cog to make
climbing easier on my aging knees, but at that point it might just be
time for a new bike
Lights
Front: Busch & Müller Ixon IQ Speed
Rear: Serfas Thunderbolt
Having battery powered lights is not as convenient as dynamo lights, but
this bike does not have a dynamo hub. The B&M headlight has a pattern
designed for road riding, with a large pool of light on the road, and a
sharp horizontal cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming traffic. I've had to
replace the battery pack and charger once over the life of the light (8
years and counting), but the light itself is still going strong.
Other sundries
Garmin eTrex Legend Cx GPS unit. Has been out of support for years but will
accept maps in OpenStreetMap format, and routes well when given CyclOSM maps
Bell, because I hate shouting, "On your left!" at people on the trails
I used to have pannier racks and full-coverage fenders, but I don't commute by
bike or ride in the rain, and this bike was never very accommodating of such
things anyway, so I removed them some years back.
