The West Side

I had poo-poo'd them for years.  Brooks saddles .  How in the world could anyone ride one of those?  Weren't those relevant back before we invented plastic? I did what most people did when they saw one.  I "knocked" on it.  "God, that's hard", I would say. I built up this bike a few years ago.  I had just begun playing with "functional" bikes.  As I was nearing completion I thought, "A B17 would look really good on this thing".  I ordered one. I mounted it on the bike, and it did look good.  Then I had to do a test ride.  I threw my leg over the bike with no small amount of trepidation.  To my shock (and relief), all the horror stories I had heard about Brooks saddles were......unfounded.  It was supportive, not hard, and comfortable. I have 3 bikes that I ride on a regular basis.  They all have Brooks saddles.  At this point, I can't imagine riding anything else.  Ninety nine percent of my commuting m...

Over the last 2, or 3 years I've gotten quite used to having some sort of carrying apparatus on the front of my bike.  I find it useful to be able to see, and access things without actually dismounting. I've found the most useful configuration to also be the least expensive.  The tried, and true Wald wire basket.  Essentially unchanged since the early 1900's, all Wald baskets are still made in their factory in Kentucky. With the supplied mounting hardware these baskets mount in no time.  You can also remove the hardware, and mount the basket to a front rack (as I've done here).  I prefer this option as it keeps the basket low, and the top of the handlebar clean. It's amazing to me that in this age of $10,000.00 bikes, you can have something so useful for less than 40 bucks. What's your preference?  Bag, basket or naked? Ride on!