Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Been riding, not writing

I've been commuting on the Trucker and I'm impressed.  It's been a long time since I've ridden a bike with 700c wheels (15+ years) and I had forgotten the feeling of "rolling."  It's an amazingly comfortable bike and now that I've taken the rack from the Bleriot and put it on the LHT, it has become quite a bit more useful and an outstanding bicycle for getting to work.

When I first returned to biking, I went from a Specialized hybrid to the Rivendell Bleriot, a jump in magnitude akin to leaving the rutted and muddy oxcart trails



for the TGV


Adding the LHT wasn't so much a revolution as an evolution.  The Bleriot handles well enough, but with the smaller 650b tires and the low bottom bracket, I snag a pedal fairly often while pedaling around a turn.  I've just now un-learned the "no pedaling while cornering" habit and that has made quite a difference in commuting.  The feel of the bike along with the larger tires gives a completely different ride and I've come to really like the impression of ease of motion I get with the Trucker.

I am looking forward to adding a front rack and getting on the road for a little camping and/or distance riding with it.  The Bleriot has a many good features, but touring is most definitely not its strong suit -- especially with a load much beyond my expansive posterior.  I've added a Minnehaha Bag Company Medium Bag to it after moving the rack to the Trucker.  I'll probably get some bigger tires for it and use it as a day-tripper.  I've also a mind to sell it and save up for the Pugsley that I've been dreaming of.

Anyway, the stable is, uh, stable for now and I'm looking forward to riding more, but that will probably wait for a couple of weeks yet as the gardens need planting.  More on this later.

TTFN, Yam.

3 comments:

rlove2bike said...

It's always good when a plan comes together and it sounds like you have done that. The LHT that is...too early to tell on the garden. :-)

WheelDancer said...

I got a LHT last fall as my commuter and I just love it. It's the most comfortable bike I have even though it weighs better than twice what my road bike does. It has a rack for my gear so I don't have to be constrained by the pack I wore on the road bike. We are talking about some touring as well but it may not be this year.

Unknown said...

I love my bike, I go to work on it! (and the shops, and the pub, and the allotment, and .........everywhere -