[whoneedsbrakes]

Hi,

Currently I live in Chicago and commute about 5 miles each way to work. I have been commuting on a mid-eighties Trek 520 for about a year. I love my Trek except for two issues 1. I never got used to the down tube shifters 2. The frame is simply too small for me. I've had my awesome LBS do all the reasonable adjustments but I've realized that if I want a comfortable commute this year, I need a new bike.

So I've been saving and now I have about $1,000 budget. Fun! I was all set to buy an 08 Raleigh One Way because I would really like to have a single speed bike which is perfect in Chicago.

But now I have a problem. I just found out that I will be moving to Santa Cruz, CA this fall. Does anyone know if it is feasible to have a single speed bike as a commuter in Santa Cruz? Will I be sorry if I invest $1k on an SS bike in Chicago, ship it to Santa Cruz, and realize that I need gears?

Thanks for the help!

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[jinws]

will you only be commuting in santa cruz, or surrounding areas?

I used to visit santa cruz a lot and i don't remember seeing any hills you couldn't do on a single speed. but you know, why not just buy a bike there? that way you don't have to ship it, and you get to check out your neighborhood.

oh yea, welcome to the bay area!

[SanJoseBob]

Although fixies, single speeds and cruisers are popular there (being a beach college town), I think you'd want gears. The hills rise pretty quickly going out of town. Just going up to UCSC is a whopper of a climb for a single speed. The whole area is bicycle heaven, why limit yourself if you plan on only one bike?

That being said, a single or three speed bike should be fine for commuting there.

[msincredible]

I'd agree. If you only want to commute then the single-speed would be ok.

But you'd be missing out on all the fun rides just outside of town!!! :(

[x136]

One thing to consider is that if you find yourself there with a singlespeed and want more, you could build up a rear wheel with an internally-geared hub.

A Raleigh Eight-Way would be pretty neat. :)

Look at Harris Cyclery's 8-speed-modified Bianchi San Jose (http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/bianchi-sanjos8/index.html) for an example of such a thing.

[whoneedsbrakes]

Thanks for the replies!

I'll be a student at UCSC and I won't have a car. Therefore my bike has to be completely functional and capable of getting me all over the area.

The only reason I don't consider waiting to buy a bike is that I really need one to commute in Chicago for the rest of the spring and summer.

The internally-geared hub sounds like an awesome idea!

BTW, does anyone know how much the Raleigh One Way weighs? Would an internal-geared hub add much weight?

Other options I'm thinking about are a surly crosscheck, the raleigh sojourn, the Bianchi san jose.. I'm looking for something light, steel, and with rack and fender mounts. Thoughts on those bikes or others?

Thoughts on good places to live that will make the bike commuting a little easier?

Thanks so so much!

[relyt]

Just get a used mountain bike on Craigslist, god knows there are a million of them. You don't want a nice new bike for a college town. Plus, there are mountains in the area to ride on...

There are a few hills in Santa Cruz where you will appreciate gears. And if you ever plan to ride over the hill, you will definitely want gears.

[Asmith20]

Hello from a current UCSC student. Whether or not you'll be happy with a single speed/fix gear around here really depends on a couple of things: how good your legs are and if you're going to get the bug to ride outside the metro (heh) area of Santa Cruz. I think coming from Chi your going to feel like SC is nothing but hills. You might check out the terrain on google earth.

On a side note, If you live on campus, heading down from campus to the downtown area almost invariably involves heading down Bay Ave, which from what I hear can be a bit hair-raising on a fixie.

If you're living off-campus, well, let me just say if you're not in shape you will be very quickly.

If I was in your situation. I would probably by something cheap and used in Chicago now, and wait til I got out here to buy something new. Or the other option would be just to wait until you got out here. it will save you on the shipping, and in Santa Cruz there are enough bike shops that if you didn't like the one you're at you can walk down the street 10 mins and find another one.