If you are just stopping in on our Group Build of the perfect commuter bike let’s catch you up. After introducing who will be riding the bike, the overall landslide of bicycle frame choice was a Surly Long Haul Trucker. As I’m building this bike out of pocket I decided to buy the stock built bike. This stock build comes with bar end shifters, even though the poll showed STI shifters to win the debate. I plan on keeping the bar end shifters as the thought of a STI shifter breaking in the middle of the Blue Ridge Parkway is frightful, plus I would rather update other things like the headset or seat and seatpost than put another $200 into shifters.
This leads into the next question, what type of components would you run on your perfect commuter bike? As I’ve stated, I’ll be leaving the stock build alone for the most part but let’s see what you guys would put on your perfect commuter. I’ve started a list of standard Shimano parts, but feel free to add your own.