If you are a biker who uses a bike mostly for in-town commuting and just getting around, and you live in a place without too many hills, single speeds are great bikes. They're durable, efficient, and usually people don't want to steal them (though this is changing as they are suddenly becoming "cool"). They are workhorses, they're fun to ride, and they're easy on the pocketbook.
I've put over 10,000 miles on my single speed in the time I've been riding it, but this past April convinced me that it was time to have a decent bike with gears. A combination of very high winds and muddy conditions made me start to worry about what riding a single-speed in those conditions might be doing to my knees.
So I put up some cash and bought a 1998 Trek 5000 off of Ebay. I'm still keeping the single-speed for getting around town, but when I take longer rides, it will be nice to have something that can handle the Kansas winds a little better.
Here's a picture.
For those of you who like looking at pictures of bikes, there are more pictures here.
I also shaved my beard this weekend.
2 comments:
sweet bike ben. how does she ride? i've been having bike dreams out here at camp for the last few weeks. i found a minty mid 90's MASI road frame in my father in law's garage a while ago and i'm gonna swap all my gear over it, since my current frame is slowly rusting to crap and its starting to make me look like a real shlope mutz. along with the new frame i'm gonna get some clippy pedals and shoes to match. its gonna be hot. may you and your new ride become one. adios. hi andrea.
Hey Luke,
It's a pretty nice ride. I've only really ridden it about 40 miles since I got it, but I think on average I go 3-6 kph faster than I did on my single speed. More if it's windy.
Your bike project sounds awesome. You'll have to show it to me when I'm up there in July.
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