Commuter bike confusion

[ridethecliche]

Have a bit of an interesting decision that just popped up and I thought I'd open things up just to get some additional input.

Back in college I used to have a 1984 trek 760 AND 520. When I moved to Boston I commuted to work and rode around on the 760 using the 520 for grocery duty and such. In grad school, I wasn't riding much and a friend had his commuter stolen so I sold him the 520 back then so he'd have something. A few years ago I moved again, converted the 760 to a 105-5800 setup rode out for a bit then sold it to a friend of a friend as a first road bike when I was riding a different bike far more.

I'm in Philly now, working at the children's hospital and live 15 minutes away. I picked up a used charge plug that I've been using for commuting. Its got disc brakes and claris on it, which is totally adequate, and does well with the rear rack. I bought some spyres on here and upgraded the brakes as well. I also have newer claris shifters I'm waiting to install as well as a triple crank I picked up from a forum member to run as a subcompact with an outer chain guard.

Here's a link : https://www.wiggle.com/charge-plug-2...re-road-bike-1

The friend I sold the trek 520 to is leaving Boston and offered to sell the bike back to me. It's setup the way I sold it to him, with 1x front with a bashguard, bar end shifter for the extended range 8 speed rear, and rear rack. He had the wheels rebuilt with the ultegra hubs when the open pro rims wore out and put a new headset on there when that wore out as well.

I'm a bit torn on what to do because I can only have one commuter. The nostalgia is hitting me a bit but it's really nice to have disc brakes on a commuter and I really like the brifter option. The cantis on the trek were fine but my least favorite kind of brakes ever. The trek is also steel and has now been through 5 Boston winters without an additional application of frame saver which I last used ages ago.

Would it be silly to pick up the trek and sell the charge given being able to keep only one? If I could keep both, I think it would be fun to gut the trek and start fresh on it but I'm a bit worried that nostalgia comes with baggage. The trek is definitely the cooler bike, but what I have now works just fine and the spyres are pretty solid. I also don't have to worry as much about rim wear and wheels being out of true. I can fit much wider tires on the plug even with the fenders on there which is quite nice. It's also much stiffer than the 80s steel bike which is nice when loaded up with groceries.

And just for show and tell, here's the 760 before I sold it. Originally came with suntour superbe that I flipped for campy parts and raced the bike with a shimagnolo setup for my first collegiate races. Then sold all that and had it set up single speed for a while before going back to the geared setup then sold.

[mg2ride]

nostalgia is over rated.

Jus sayin

[charliedid]

Me, I'd ride the TREK

[coffeecherrypie]

Wide tires are pretty key here in Philly when it comes to a grocery getter, the potholes are bad enough and then there’s the trolley tracks. If you can’t bear the thought of letting the trek go the IMO buy it back, part it out, and hang up the frame for a time when you have more space.

[ridethecliche]

Here's the bike in question in any event



Maybe this gallery will work?

https://imgur.com/a/0Ndje94

Originally Posted by mg2ride

nostalgia is over rated.

Jus sayin

Haha I'm too young to be that nostalgic. The trek is 5 years older than me! I always thought that was kind of cool though.

Originally Posted by charliedid

Me, I'd ride the TREK

I mean... I DID ride the Trek! Past tense though.

Originally Posted by coffeecherrypie

Wide tires are pretty key here in Philly when it comes to a grocery getter, the potholes are bad enough and then there’s the trolley tracks. If you can’t bear the thought of letting the trek go the IMO buy it back, part it out, and hang up the frame for a time when you have more space.

Yeah, I currently have 35s on the commuter with fenders and a rear rack. They're some continental ride tours or whatnot but they have good puncture protection to the point where I might try getting a set for my fiances commuter because they've been decent. I might even be able to go up to 40s with the fenders because I got annoyed at the fork clearance of the fender and used tin snips to get around it.

I doubt the trek would clear anything over 28s with fenders.

My current plans for the charge plug was to swap cranks to a 42/30 setup and put on new claris shifters to ditch the older Shimano style sti shift cables coming out the side of the brifter.

[tellyho]

Me, I love old steel bikes for commuters. But I'm not at all attached to mine. To my mind, either of those bikes does the job just fine. Since a commuter frame is disposable in general, you should ride the one that makes you happier and replace it when it dies.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Me, I'd ride the TREK

DITTO. I’m sure the Charge will do the job. But for a 15 min commute (what’s that, 2-3 miles?), any bike will do. I just have a very soft spot for vintage Trek’s. Which is why I still have an ‘83 520.

[ridethecliche]

Here's the charge for reference

[lorenbike]

That trek is cool! Ditch the pedal cages for nice modern flats, keep the fenders, spend too much money on some fancy Rene herse tires, keep 1x but strip off the chain guard.

[ridethecliche]

Originally Posted by Loren090

That trek is cool! Ditch the pedal cages for nice modern flats, keep the fenders, spend too much money on some fancy Rene herse tires, keep 1x but strip off the chain guard.

I like pedals like I have on my charge.

Flat mks pedals with composite toe caps that don't need straps.

[ridethecliche]

Was really close to putting in a offer on the trek but I don't think it's something I really have time for right now. I'm honestly pretty pleased with the commuter I have now and already have a small parts collection to make it even better.

While my commute is short, I ride the bike around the city and to get groceries as well. I think the more stout frame on the charge will behave better under heavier leads in the rear as well!

[CNY rider]

I’m a bicycle commuter too.
You made the right decision.