albino [this could be offensive]
vanilla [this is actually a pretty stupid name, nevermind]
vanilla latte [yeah… that’s much better]
angel [i was going for a reincarnation theme]
tupac [did you see the photos?]
monro [i like this name]
whitey [i think i’d get my ass kicked with a name like that, or i can just add, “my other bike is black”]
lumination [where did that come from…. i think this coffee is doing something weird]
anyway, back to my story. i rode my new nameless bike to work on wednesday. this was the first time i actually rode it further than up and down my street. i was pretty excited. this was actually my second attempt at riding it to work, the first attempt failed miserably because i couldn’t get it into 5th gear. i didn’t know how to adjust the gears, back then… or now for that matter, but they now seem ok.
it’s kind of weird test riding a new bike. i have to be super sensitive to anything that is bothering me. there were a few things.
1. the seat was too low, now any of the components fault, the the dork that put it all together.
2. the handlebars were tilted wrong…. again not the handlebar’s fault.
3. the brake hoods were too far down, i felt like i was sliding forward on the bars the whole time. ideally i should have tilted the bars down more, and put the hoods way up so i could rest on them.
4. the hub doesn’t seem to free wheel for very long. all the gearing in the hub provides enough resistance to prevent it from spinning freely for very long. i think i could feel this as i was riding, but it might have been something else.
5. the shifter worked well, but every time i shifted i had to stop pedaling for a moment, or even back pedal to let the gears snap into place. this could be kind of a problem for some people, but my old bianchi uses friction shifters, and the best time to shift is before you need to. in general, i think that people shift too much. i’ve seen people shifting gears while in the middle of some pretty rocky technical sections. then i usually see these same people on the side of the trail pulling their chain out of the little area between the bottom bracket and chainring.
6. the breaks were too loose. actually i don’t know… they may have been too loose, but maybe it’s just not what i’m used to.
7. i don’t like the pedals. they are huge. i’m a little worried to take these things off road. also, i couldn’t fit my spd’s into the clips. i had to ride platform all the way. i think they are too heavy as well.
8. on most of the little hills, 5th gear was too hard and 4th was too easy. i should look into putting a bigger chain ring on the front. right now there is a 38T. when i was figuring out the gearing, i think that my gear calculator was using the SP5 cargo hub, instead of the one that i have. anyway with the small tires and the really long crank arms, i think the bike is a bit under geared.
good things?
1. well the bike is super light. i think i can ride this bike up anything.
2. i really like the metal frame. it’s so much more comfortable than my road bike.
3. the padded bar tape is wonderful.
4. i love they way my bike looks.
i really can’t comment on too many thing, because there were so many little bad things earlier that once i fix the above i will have better things to say about the rest.
by the way, i really need to put a speed odometer on this thing… i really feel like i’m not going that fast. maybe i’m not, but i just gotta know. does anyone want to go bike riding with me? i need a feel for how i compare to other bikes.
later