Boris Bajic
Guest
My flip-flop fixie was so grotty this morning that I had to do a 30-mile round trip to a meeting on a geared road bike.
I set off on the fixie, but it was a wasted effort. The chain sounded like an asthmatic, whispering Frenchman and one of the brakes was annoyingly draggy. I'd been riding and not maintaining it through the winter and it sort of refused to be good today. So.. Quick change and out came Geared Bike.
Wow! Like, WOW!! Oh... My... Actual... GOD!!! Like.... Just..... OMG!
I do like fixed, but this geared toy was a sensation! It's been bolted to a Turbo since November, so I'd forgotten what it did. It does lots of things terribly well.
Through a series of clever linkages, I can change between several gear ratios by tapping with the fingers and thumbs behind the brake levers. Extraordinary. Just extraordinary.
I found the lower ratios (of those available) were excellent for those pesky climbs one comes across. Meanwhile, the outer chainring (of two) made descents a jet-powered scream-dream of adrenaline. It was like fixed-gear, but with freewheel and the ability to change gear. Zappy!
Suddenly I was Lance Armstrong. The road was damp in places, but not wet. It was windy, but there was a ratio for every wind speed the atmosphere threw at me.
(Oddly, I spent much time on the flat in a gear very like that on my fixed (72") but that was lack of imagination more than anything.
I do love fixed-gear. I do, I do, I do. I love it.
But... this gears & freewheel fashion might catch on. Has anyone else tried it lately?
I set off on the fixie, but it was a wasted effort. The chain sounded like an asthmatic, whispering Frenchman and one of the brakes was annoyingly draggy. I'd been riding and not maintaining it through the winter and it sort of refused to be good today. So.. Quick change and out came Geared Bike.
Wow! Like, WOW!! Oh... My... Actual... GOD!!! Like.... Just..... OMG!
I do like fixed, but this geared toy was a sensation! It's been bolted to a Turbo since November, so I'd forgotten what it did. It does lots of things terribly well.
Through a series of clever linkages, I can change between several gear ratios by tapping with the fingers and thumbs behind the brake levers. Extraordinary. Just extraordinary.
I found the lower ratios (of those available) were excellent for those pesky climbs one comes across. Meanwhile, the outer chainring (of two) made descents a jet-powered scream-dream of adrenaline. It was like fixed-gear, but with freewheel and the ability to change gear. Zappy!
Suddenly I was Lance Armstrong. The road was damp in places, but not wet. It was windy, but there was a ratio for every wind speed the atmosphere threw at me.
(Oddly, I spent much time on the flat in a gear very like that on my fixed (72") but that was lack of imagination more than anything.
I do love fixed-gear. I do, I do, I do. I love it.
But... this gears & freewheel fashion might catch on. Has anyone else tried it lately?
