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fredrikegermanActually, first off, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
desireearmfeldt is directing Arms and the Man, which opens tomorrow and plays this weekend and next. I expect to see you there! I'm very excited and proud.
With the weather perking up, I took the time to head out to Wheelworks Belmont to test-ride bicycles. You may recall that I had mostly narrowed down my search to cyclocross and touring bikes. The goal was to get something with a longer, lower geometry than my mountain bike, but which could take a rack, fenders, and fat slick tires.
In the end it was between two very nice Bianchi cyclocross bicycles, and I ended up buying the Volpe. A nice triple-chainring steel-frame Tiagra bike. I was a bit unsure whether I'd like the Shimano shifters, but they're definitely nicer than using bar ends, andnonnihil assures me that his have held up very well. The other option was the Axis, which is a similar bike in many respects but has the stiffer aluminum frame with carbon in crucial places. It's got a slightly lower, tighter geometry with a longer reach, and felt very good. And boy, is that bike light (well, compared to a steel bike anyway). But I liked the smoother feel of the steel, and have faith that (eg) a steel fork can take a bit more schlepping in and out of the trunk versus a carbon one. Also, the list price is like $500 more, but Wheelworks Belmont had Such a Deal. If this sounds like something you might like (you listening, ?) hie thee on over to the annex in Belmont and give it a spin. It is a good bike.
Also in contention: the Surly Crosscheck I test-rode earlier. The Volpe is largely equivalent; the Surly actually has the longer geometry, the Volpe is triple and has the Tiagra levers at the same price point. The LeMond Poprad is a darn nice-looking bike; sadly they only had giant frames, and the new model year only offers the disc version (pricey!). I also rode a RedLine (not the geometry for me) and the Specialized Tricross (as with previous mountain-bike shopping, I found their frames stiff and slightly awkward---also the one I rode was the Comp, a fancier version built on the same frame.
Mad props to WheelWorks in Belmont (where I went to look at the bikes on clearance) for offering to build up the Volpe frame and have it sent to Ace in Somerville so I could test ride it. This is how you make a sale.
Now I'm getting the whole thing outfitted. I've had a rack put on, and adapted the Mt. Zefal fenders we had kicking around spare in the basement (I wanted the front fender to be easily removable for the inevitable stuff-in-the-trunk incidents). I had to drill a hole in the back fender (plastic) to admit one of the rack bolts. Back fender, not coming off so easily... Still deciding what I want to do about slicks; they only had through x28s at Ace. I know Continental makes slicks in 700x32 and 700x38, which are the sizes I actually wanted.
Considered buying an LED headlight, but decided to move across the old headlight from the Trek. Sure, halogen eats batteries---but an affordable LED light is still 2x more expensive and doesn't give enough light for those occasional nighttime trips along the Lexington/Arlington stretch of the Minuteman.
Anyone have clever mounting suggestions for rear reflector or taillight when riding with a rack?desireearmfeldt has a reflector mount on the bottom of her rack, but my rack doesn't have the same set of screws. Also, it'd interfere with the fender. What do you do? I don't currently have any sort of rack bag. I need to sort out what I'm doing about this. Not clear I can strap my courier bag to it... I'd like to use this for commuting, and I need something which can deal with laptoppage. Anyone with commuting advice? I can always resort to the milk crate method, but I'd like to avoid it as it'd stick out pretty far back beyond the rack (I keep my seat at the back of the rails, and need butt room). I suppose I can go full-on eccentric and build panniers from trash cans, like a certain colleague (yes, arcanology, that one).
desireearmfeldt is directing Arms and the Man, which opens tomorrow and plays this weekend and next. I expect to see you there! I'm very excited and proud.With the weather perking up, I took the time to head out to Wheelworks Belmont to test-ride bicycles. You may recall that I had mostly narrowed down my search to cyclocross and touring bikes. The goal was to get something with a longer, lower geometry than my mountain bike, but which could take a rack, fenders, and fat slick tires.
In the end it was between two very nice Bianchi cyclocross bicycles, and I ended up buying the Volpe. A nice triple-chainring steel-frame Tiagra bike. I was a bit unsure whether I'd like the Shimano shifters, but they're definitely nicer than using bar ends, and
nonnihil assures me that his have held up very well. The other option was the Axis, which is a similar bike in many respects but has the stiffer aluminum frame with carbon in crucial places. It's got a slightly lower, tighter geometry with a longer reach, and felt very good. And boy, is that bike light (well, compared to a steel bike anyway). But I liked the smoother feel of the steel, and have faith that (eg) a steel fork can take a bit more schlepping in and out of the trunk versus a carbon one. Also, the list price is like $500 more, but Wheelworks Belmont had Such a Deal. If this sounds like something you might like (you listening, Also in contention: the Surly Crosscheck I test-rode earlier. The Volpe is largely equivalent; the Surly actually has the longer geometry, the Volpe is triple and has the Tiagra levers at the same price point. The LeMond Poprad is a darn nice-looking bike; sadly they only had giant frames, and the new model year only offers the disc version (pricey!). I also rode a RedLine (not the geometry for me) and the Specialized Tricross (as with previous mountain-bike shopping, I found their frames stiff and slightly awkward---also the one I rode was the Comp, a fancier version built on the same frame.
Mad props to WheelWorks in Belmont (where I went to look at the bikes on clearance) for offering to build up the Volpe frame and have it sent to Ace in Somerville so I could test ride it. This is how you make a sale.
Now I'm getting the whole thing outfitted. I've had a rack put on, and adapted the Mt. Zefal fenders we had kicking around spare in the basement (I wanted the front fender to be easily removable for the inevitable stuff-in-the-trunk incidents). I had to drill a hole in the back fender (plastic) to admit one of the rack bolts. Back fender, not coming off so easily... Still deciding what I want to do about slicks; they only had through x28s at Ace. I know Continental makes slicks in 700x32 and 700x38, which are the sizes I actually wanted.
Considered buying an LED headlight, but decided to move across the old headlight from the Trek. Sure, halogen eats batteries---but an affordable LED light is still 2x more expensive and doesn't give enough light for those occasional nighttime trips along the Lexington/Arlington stretch of the Minuteman.
Anyone have clever mounting suggestions for rear reflector or taillight when riding with a rack?
desireearmfeldt has a reflector mount on the bottom of her rack, but my rack doesn't have the same set of screws. Also, it'd interfere with the fender. What do you do? I don't currently have any sort of rack bag. I need to sort out what I'm doing about this. Not clear I can strap my courier bag to it... I'd like to use this for commuting, and I need something which can deal with laptoppage. Anyone with commuting advice? I can always resort to the milk crate method, but I'd like to avoid it as it'd stick out pretty far back beyond the rack (I keep my seat at the back of the rails, and need butt room). I suppose I can go full-on eccentric and build panniers from trash cans, like a certain colleague (yes, arcanology, that one).
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-22 02:41 am (UTC)You might want to see what they have at Paramount (the little bike shop right by the Powderhouse rotary) for slicks.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 12:47 am (UTC)I'll probably swing by at some point, but I'll have to admit to Tyler that I didn't buy the Surly. :-) I'm hoping to milk the 10% discount I get at Wheelworks for a bit longer, though, so I'll probably check both Paramount and Belmont.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-22 03:25 am (UTC)On my motorcycle, I have a dedicated tailbag that straps to the pillion seat that can take my laptop. Probably not practical on the bicycle, unless you can make a fairly wide platform on top of your rack for some stability. The bag I have is essentially a duffle-style gym bag with bungee hooks built into the underside for strapping it down. Works well, so long as you remember to strap down the bungies. DAMHIK.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 12:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 08:42 pm (UTC)Since you probably don't need heavy-grade nylon, you could probably get away with getting a nylon duffel bag and some bungee cords, and doing some sewing to attach the two together. I bet you can get nylon bag material at a good fabric store.
So, perhaps a piece of plywood or something similar attached to the rack to serve as a platform, and a duffel bungeed to it? Treat the inside of the bag with scotchgard or some sort of rubberized coating for some water resistance, and presto. Bike bag.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 10:14 pm (UTC)Looks like it's in the same price range as (or cheaper than) "goofy bag designed for bicycle rack." Thanks for the pointer, it's useful to see how the motorcycle crowd deals with the problem. I'd generally trust such a thing to be a bit more industrial-strength than some of the bike stuff I've found.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-22 12:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-03-26 12:50 am (UTC)