Hallelujah for stumbling upon this sub this morning! Googled Bridgestone X-01 fenders and here I am. I live in the west, small town, avid mountain biker… Bought a road bike during COVID and rode that some but I am not down to be pancaked by a drunk and/or texting driver. Spent last week on vacation riding my BIL’s commuter bike all over their city and realized I miss just getting around on 2 wheels like I did as a kid. Also, I just moved closer to my job. Also, my father in law was a super avid classic bike guy and when he passed away I claimed this Bridgestone. Anyway, I’m going to clean it up and put fenders on, and start riding to work and around town. Might need some drive train upgrades, new bars, way to carry my laptop and coffee,etc, but it’s actually pretty functional. Here’s the bike as it just came out of the shed. Tires for now and a wash. Then fenders which is what I was googling. Advice on fenders, other updates?
by camiltonian
4 Comments
It’s definitely a good bike for commuting but since it’s so collectible, and a bit dated, you might want to sell it and purchase something more modern. Like a gravel bike with 700c wheels, disc brakes, modern drive train. Upgraded this XO-1 will cost money and probably depreciate it more, and it still won’t ride as well as a modern bike. It’s up to you though.
This is a really amazing bike super sought after!! Amazing ride and quality! Update it, you’ll have a lot of fun with it 🙂
I own a xo-2 and love it!
Looks like a sweet ride.
Maybe you can get a modern group set, new wheels
I don’t see anything wrong with the drivetrain at all. New cables and housing often makes everything smoother (brakes and shifting). I’d consider new tires/tubes/brake pads if it’s been sitting a while and condition/use is unknown. Otherwise ride it!
Summer time in the West Coast means you don’t need to worry about fenders for a while. Are you in a place that rains the rest of the year? For this bike, I’d do something nice like honjo or velo orange fenders, or maybe something from Soma. Metal for sure. SKS are really the only decent, plastic fenders imo, but this bike calls for class.
Handlebars are definitely a personal choice. The moustache style bars that originally came in this one offer a lot of hand positions and a unique style, but really, try what you have now before dropping coin on a bunch of stuff you may not really like.
Oh and buy a good u-lock to keep it safe and register it on bike index. It’s a special bike, be sad to see it get picked off. Good luck and hope you enjoy the ride – you lucked out on a very unique piece of recent bicycling history.