Here's the rationale. If I can't run then I have to ride commute to work. I don't really fancy riding my racing bike through the city, seems like overkill for a 4.5km commute each way. It was a decent run (an extra 45kms in the week) but virtually not worth even getting on the bike for such a quick roll. I started riding my old mountain bike, but the derailler was bent so I could only use a couple of gears and then the brakes (which had always been dodgy) finally went completely and I was almost completely brakeless for a little while so I got a bit tired of that.
I figured if I can't run to work I might at least make my bike commute more fun and interesting, and slightly more of a workout. And I've always wanted a single speed bike... so I bought one. City Bike Depot, I looked at a few but managed to get a great deal on an ex-demo Cannondale Capo. Light as anything, raw unpainted aluminium frame. Flip-flop hub so I can run it either with a freewheel or fixed. I threw on some eggbeater pedals I'd bought on sale a few months ago with the idea in mind that I'd get this kind of bike down the track.
So it's been about two weeks and I'm LOVING IT! Have run it freewheel the whole time so far and the biggest challenge is getting up my Mt Everest of a driveway. Otherwise it's so much fun to have the simplicity of no gears and the only way to go faster is to spin your legs faster. I feel like I get much more of a feeling for my bike and the terrain and I have to be much more present to see what's happening ahead so I can plan for it. It's an absolute pleasure to ride. I'm all about the simplicity lately.
For the technically minded, the gearing is 48-17 which gives about 74.5 inches. Here she is:
2 comments:
r the untechnical, how fast do you go when you spin at about 90 RPM?
Looks like it works out as 32 km/hr. I don't have a bike computer on there, but that's just from an online calculator.
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