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Maiden voyage of the new snow bike

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Maiden voyage of the new snow bike

Old 01-23-07, 08:41 PM
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Maiden voyage of the new snow bike

The new 7.2FX on Kenda Klondikes got her first ride to & from work today. Observations:

The studded Klondikes roll suprisingly well on dry pavement, are plenty grippy on wet pavement, with a light covering of snow, and in a couple of inches of snow & crud accumulated on the shoulders. One the way home I did a few miles on the towpath trail and they performed well there too, both when the snow was loose and when it was packed and rutted with footprints. All in all I the 700x35 Klondikes rolled better and gave me just as much traction as the 26" Nokians I had on my old MTB on dry pavement, wet pavement, pavement with a dusting of snow and on 2" or so of snow & crud built up on the shoulders. In deeper snow on the softer path, I'd still prefer wider tires with lower pressure.

The flat bars on the Trek defintely made me feel more stable than the drops on the SS it replaced, and having gear choices made climbing much safer. Climbing out of the saddle, as I had to do on the SS, on snowy/icy roads, just plain isn't fun. I never budged from the 38t chainring and the 11-32 cassette gave me all the gear choices I needed, with my butt planted on my B17. I might just scrap the FD and use a single chainring on the front, since the vast majority of my winter commuting is on pavement. But then again, I might come to like that 28t granny ring in deep snow.

Bottom line - I think I like this hybrid better than either my old MTB or the SS for my commutes on snowy days. The flat bars and gear choices make it better for the climbs and deeper snow than the SS, while it's lighter than the old MTB and the thinner 700c tires roll better in all but deep snow/soft ground.

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Old 01-23-07, 08:57 PM
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re: the granny ring
when facing a 25mph headwind going uphill with snow, it is a necessity

no need to scrap the FD, it doesn't weigh anything anyhow, but you already knew that, so why am I posting....... time to go have a smoke
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Old 01-23-07, 09:03 PM
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Don't ditch the granny. Deep snow is a little like deep mud.
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Old 01-23-07, 09:05 PM
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Originally Posted by CrosseyedCrickt
re: the granny ring
when facing a 25mph headwind going uphill with snow, it is a necessity

no need to scrap the FD, it doesn't weigh anything anyhow, but you already knew that, so why am I posting....... time to go have a smoke
You mean that 100 grams less weight won't make it easier for me to drop the guy in the snow shoes? How about if I lose the dork disk?
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Old 01-23-07, 09:16 PM
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Originally Posted by chipcom
You mean that 100 grams less weight won't make it easier for me to drop the guy in the snow shoes? How about if I lose the dork disk?
the dork disc maybe
but you'll still be .000000001w away from 400
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Old 01-24-07, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by chipcom
You mean that 100 grams less weight won't make it easier for me to drop the guy in the snow shoes? How about if I lose the dork disk?
Lose the dork disk, you'll beat 'im on style points.

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Old 01-24-07, 12:26 PM
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I've been thinking about a Brooks for awhile. Looking at your pic, they are not dorky looking like I imagined they would be. I know they are heavier than normal saddles, so do you notice it at all while commuting? That's a nice bike, and good to know that 700c isn't a penalty to ride in the slop. I, on the other hand, fell off my bike in some deep slush. No studs, and prolly too much air (70psi).
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Old 01-24-07, 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by chipcom
Bottom line - I think I like this hybrid better than either my old MTB or the SS for my commutes on snowy days. The flat bars and gear choices make it better for the climbs and deeper snow than the SS, while it's lighter than the old MTB and the thinner 700c tires roll better in all but deep snow/soft ground.
i could not agree more with this comment.

disclaimer: must say that i commute in the city and that my previous winter bike was a super-cheap mountain bike that happened to be just too small for me...
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Old 01-24-07, 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted by flipped4bikes
I've been thinking about a Brooks for awhile. Looking at your pic, they are not dorky looking like I imagined they would be. I know they are heavier than normal saddles, so do you notice it at all while commuting? That's a nice bike, and good to know that 700c isn't a penalty to ride in the slop. I, on the other hand, fell off my bike in some deep slush. No studs, and prolly too much air (70psi).
At 230lbs myself, the 100 or so grams difference in weight between a B17 and an a$$ hatchet makes no difference. I do run a Team Pro Ti , which is a few grams lighter, on my road bike, which is why I can drop the neighbor's 5yr old daughter when I ride it and dial it up to 400 watts...at least until she takes off the training wheels.

Seriously, the little bit of extra weight is well worth the ability to spend hours in the saddle in comfort and not having to wear padded shorts for my commute.
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Old 01-25-07, 09:36 AM
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Thanks for the input, Chip! Just itching to get me a Brooks!
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