fxdgrjedi

<coolstorybro>

My poor road bike is getting jealous this summer. With good reason too. To begin with, its a REALLY nice bike, to me at least. a 90s Serotta Colorado II make in the USA with full period Campy and Mavic. Its light, its fast, its beautiful, and its just been hanging in my shed most of the time (with the exeption of this month, as I am using it to train and race a brutal hillclimb next weekend).

It vast majority of the time, I am riding my old beat to crap 80's Atala fixed gear conversion and LOVING every mile. I guess the Atala is a pretty nice ride, seeing as that it has that Italian steeze, Columbus SL with some nice Campy bits. But for some reason, I have more fun on it on the same rides than I do on the Serotta. There is a pretty intense hill circuit here in Boise that is one of my favorite rides for training and enjoyment. I usually do it on my Serotta because it has gears and stuff and can go really fast downhill. However, the last time I rode it I threw a brake on the Atala and had so much more fun. Sure, the 15% grades sucked real bad, as did having to ride down the other side, but there is something about having only one gear that made it such an enjoyable experience.

I feel that way about all the long rides I complete on the fixed gear. Maybe its the sense of accomplishment, maybe its the simplicity and worry free nature of the FG driivetrain, maybe its the feeling that whenever I am on my Serotta that I feel like its a "training" ride and I have to suffer through it. Regardless, I kindof actually feel bad that my nice geared road bike has been largely neglected for the last three years while the bulk of my miles are ridden on a crappy old conversion that might die of rust in the next few years.

Has anyone else experienced this?

</coolstorybro>

prooftheory

this + tl;dr

caloso

I may be feeling that way in a few weeks. I've gotten kind of burned out on my road bike but I just built up a new SSCX frame. I'm lucky to have two sets of SSFG wheels so I'm going to keep one set with knobbies and a freewheel for CX and another with slicks and a fixed cog for commuting and road rides.

RGNY

totally understand.

just sold off my geared commuter. stable is now all ss or fixed.

i do have an '80 Raleigh 12spd, but that's mainly for fun/nostalgia.

Stealthammer

My two geared road bikes (a Salsa Campion aluminum and a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Fiber) have also hung on the wall for most of the past three years while my Pake Rum Runner FG and Fisher Opie freeride/urban assault MTB get ridden daily. The Salsa too is light, fast, and beautiful with a nice aggressive geometry that is very spirited actually exciting to ride, and the Synapse is so relaxed and comfortable that 30-40 mile rides often become 80-100 mile rides. For the most part though, regardless of which bike I intend to ride when I leave my apartment, I seem to be on the FG or MTB when I leave the garage. Both the Pake and the Opie are just like old shoes to me and I am more relaxed and enjoy the rides more aboard either one.

I really love the Serotta Colorado II as well though and would love to add one to my stable again, but I fear it too would just hang on the wall most of the time. The upside is that I don't even think about buying any new bikes because no matter what I buy I will likely continue to ride my FG and Opie instead, and I have several other bikes that suit all of my needs when I am doing more focused rides.

Jaytron

I love riding my road bike much more than riding the Kilo TT. It feels so damn slow.

misskaz

I put up with a heavy backpack in 90+degree heat just so I can ride my FG to work even though I have a geared commuter with a rack and panniers. Pikachu is just more fun. But I don't know how much of that is because it's so much smaller and lighter than the commuter.

ThermionicScott 

My girlfriend asks why I ride the fixed-gear beater everywhere, when I have a nice classic road bike that I've completely cleaned and rebuilt. It's hard to explain succinctly...

SteamingAlong

I hear ya...

I had a hybrid that I used to commute with and had taken apart to clean, do so much needed repairs, and upgrade some components. Over the course of my delaying the re-build due to my being out riding my FG, I realized I hate that hybrid and parted it out. Some components were OK, the frame was mass (over) produced crap.

My Jubile Sport is in pristine condition, so I only ride it occasionally to avoid putting too much wear and tear on it. It's my "57 chevy" bike. A Nice and Shiny throw back to another time.

I haven't riden my Mountain Bike in ages, ever since my favorite riding area was over run with nitwits who started dictating trail rules to guys who had been riding that area for 20 years.

I'm just not missing derailuers at this point. Pedal and go, love it.

The shop down the street from where I work has a 2010 KHS that is NOS and they can't get rid of it.

It's not a bad looking bike, but I think the price is still a little high for a bike that is almost three years old, 2013 come out in what....2 months? I sort of know the owner of the shop, I am hoping he's up to haggling, because I'd love to add that bike to my stable.

First off, the bike name? That's awesome. My Jubile Sport is the only bike I've liked enough to name. Although, my Steamroller may some day be "Henry".

Second off, lighter than what commuter? It sounds like Pikachu IS the commuter, the other bike is now your luggage rack.

Reeses

Yeah I've been neglecting my roadie for about 3 months now since I built up my fixed gear... I feel bad!

jraul7

These threads don't help. I have a Trek mtb (that has not seen dirt in more than 6 year)... and for a second bike, I am torn between getting either a geared road bike or a fixie/ss road bike. I thought I had made up my mind.... decisions, decisions.....

Maybe converting the mtb to as much road worthy as possible and getting a fixie is a good idea... that way I have one of each.... however I do crave the speeds of a geared road bike!

Antaresia

Yes, yes. I have an expensive fitted CX bike for commuting/long rides/light weekend tours, now it's hardly ever ridden. I bought a crappy, cheap, old, HEAVY franken-bike SS conversion for chucking on a train for Seattle adventures, you know, something I didn't have to give two ****s about. I bought it when I was slightly drunk and didn't even test ride it. I love it more than my other bikes and ride it almost every day.

Whhhhhhhy