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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).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 04:29 am (UTC)I hated all of them. Clever is really into comfort cycling though. Very upright. Swept back handle bars. Bottom bracket far forward of the saddle.
Ugh. I hated them all. They all felt SUPER foreign. Also, they're all single ring 6-8 speeds. God forbid I have something heavy and go up a hill!
These were all like...Electra Townie, or Electra Amsterdams plus a Freeradical conversion. Blech. I'd like to try a couple MTB/Hybrid + Free Rad conversions.
I loved riding a Big Dummy, but I don't like the $2,300 price tag for one.
Sometime next week I'm going to track down an 18 speed Yuba Mundo and take that for a spin.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 04:36 am (UTC)Here's a good one (http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilymonster/3803924497/).
I'm not sure it's a good idea to have drops on a utility bike. Not sure why. Just seems like they might be harder to maneuver that way. But I've seen lots and lots of hybrid/road bikes with Xtracycles on them.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 10:21 pm (UTC)They all felt so twitchy in handling.
I rode the Mundo today. I didn't have my 200lb+ friend with me to act as human cargo, so I asked the shop guy. He went and got their microwave and chucked it into the saddlebag, along with 20+ U locks.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 10:38 pm (UTC)If they'd put it on a dutch-style bike (not the same as a comfort bike!), with a good hub gear range, even that would be better!
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 10:48 pm (UTC)I got legs to get the job done, I just need geometry that lets me use 'em!
I'm pretty in love with the Mundo though. They were downplayed to me, but riding them... felt nice and solid. It weighs 48lbs (The first ones were 60). It doesn't feel like that much when it is moving though.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 10:57 pm (UTC)Or as I like to point out to people: If the bike advertises that you can put your feet flat on the ground while in the saddle, RUN AWAY. Unless you live somewhere completely flat.
Amusingly, clever cycles has an article on the subject: http://clevercycles.com/?p=193
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 11:21 pm (UTC)What I got from Clever is they bias away from MTB and Road posture. That article you linked even calls it "Hurts so good".
At this point, I don't "hurt so good" until I start hitting mile 50. Maybe it's youth, maybe it is physical discipline from riding harder miles, but... I'm not burning gas, so I can afford to run my engine a little harder.
Also I was a little worried that I just had a bias against Electra (They're really ugly bikes), but once I rode a couple of them I felt better about my bias. The townie+xtra just felt...cheap. It handled unsteady and jittery. I got around the corner from the shop and just wanted to get off and walk it back.
Plus, both the Electra+Xtras I rode had leather all over them. Grips and Saddle.
It's nice that Trek puts that stuff out there, but man... if I can get a better ride feel from a $100 Pacific, why would I advise anyone to pay for a $750 Electra?
I'd like to try a dutch style bike. The closest fit I've had to dutch is piloting a Bakfiets, which ... admittedly, feels pretty nice. That comes at a stiff premium though. I certainly wouldn't want to pilot one up from OC very often.
I think at this point, my own bias is going to keep me in the Road/MTB spectrum of geometry for a good while.
no subject
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.