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Aug. 30th, 2009 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aprilstarchildI have a bad habit of updating facebook instead of livejournal. Hmmmm.
Had too much beer at a party at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_fool's house on Friday and spent all of Saturday recovering, which means I missed the Hostelling International stuff I posted. Dammit.
Today I helped_fool out with a bike move. The biggest one Portland's seen, with 41 people! Also, first time moving a refrigerator, apparently. There are pictures by our friend Carye, they are here. We took the lane on the Broadway bridge, that was fun. The new house is totally awesome.
Rode up to the Bike Gallery on Sandy. Their normal guy who's the miracle worker at frozen seat posts is currently in New Zealand. And their repair workload is a week and a half out. But the guy told me to bring it in Tuesday morning anyway. They won't do any of the other stuff the bike needs, but they're willing to do the seat post. That's what's bugging me the most, so hallelujah!
Out of curiosity, I spent some time with measuring tape comparing the Miyata and the mixte. The biggest difference is in the drop of the bottom bracket, the mixte's is lower by an inch and a half. Other than that, the bikes are different in very small ways, a half inch here, a half inch there. So why do the bikes feel so different? Is it just the weight and the handlebars? I'm amazed to realize that, even though the cranks between the two bikes feel VERY different, there's only a half-inch difference in crank length! WTF?
I mean, seriously...if I'm in the bottom of my drop handlebars on my mixte, I feel weird. The tops of the handlebars on the Miyata start just under the bottom of the ones on my mixte. And yet I feel feel fine on them. They're also almost two inches wider...
Oh god. I've lost 99% of my readers. Sorry. I know, I know, I'm obsessed.
Shawn just bought a third bike too, but he's turning it into a single-speed (not a fixed-gear).
Had too much beer at a party at
_fool's house on Friday and spent all of Saturday recovering, which means I missed the Hostelling International stuff I posted. Dammit. Today I helped
_fool out with a bike move. The biggest one Portland's seen, with 41 people! Also, first time moving a refrigerator, apparently. There are pictures by our friend Carye, they are here. We took the lane on the Broadway bridge, that was fun. The new house is totally awesome. Rode up to the Bike Gallery on Sandy. Their normal guy who's the miracle worker at frozen seat posts is currently in New Zealand. And their repair workload is a week and a half out. But the guy told me to bring it in Tuesday morning anyway. They won't do any of the other stuff the bike needs, but they're willing to do the seat post. That's what's bugging me the most, so hallelujah!
Out of curiosity, I spent some time with measuring tape comparing the Miyata and the mixte. The biggest difference is in the drop of the bottom bracket, the mixte's is lower by an inch and a half. Other than that, the bikes are different in very small ways, a half inch here, a half inch there. So why do the bikes feel so different? Is it just the weight and the handlebars? I'm amazed to realize that, even though the cranks between the two bikes feel VERY different, there's only a half-inch difference in crank length! WTF?
I mean, seriously...if I'm in the bottom of my drop handlebars on my mixte, I feel weird. The tops of the handlebars on the Miyata start just under the bottom of the ones on my mixte. And yet I feel feel fine on them. They're also almost two inches wider...
Oh god. I've lost 99% of my readers. Sorry. I know, I know, I'm obsessed.
Shawn just bought a third bike too, but he's turning it into a single-speed (not a fixed-gear).
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Date: 2009-08-31 11:41 pm (UTC)That's one thing that bugs me about the aesthetic...leather EVERYWHERE. If you ask "hey I'm doing long-distance touring, what saddle should I get" three-quarters of the people say "Brooks!" So far I like my new (to me) Specialized saddle, even though I know it's probably not as comfy or long-lasting as Brooks. But it's not the cow's fault I want to ride fifty miles in a day, y'know?
It does bug me that people who advocate "city" bikes discount the weight thing. Speaking from experience: heavy bikes make some things just a pain in the ass. Like taking it on a bus, or up or down any amount of stairs, or locking it in weird places. That's one reason I was thrilled that the Miyata is so light.
On the downside on light weight bikes, I put my rear basket on the Miyata to carry stuff to the post office, and having an unbalanced load seems to effect handling more than it does on the mixte.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 11:50 pm (UTC)He's going all the way down the roadie hole.
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Date: 2009-08-31 11:57 pm (UTC)I sometimes wonder if I'd have ever become a cyclist if I hadn't moved to SE Portland.
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Date: 2009-09-01 12:05 am (UTC)Don't misunderstand where I'm coming from. My goals in cross are "just don't come in last." That's kind of transferred over to distance riding as well.