AbundantChoice

So I was riding a Worksman Cycle for 2.5 years. It was...alright. Certainly solid enough, but dear god was it heavy and hard to get going, and the click-click-click of the in-hub gear would get annoying at times. I found myself getting increasingly un-motivated to take that big tank out for a ride, especially this summer. So I just got my replacement this morning, a Redline Monocog 29er. It's... pretty different from the Worksman. more of a hyrbid / offroad bike, one gear, huge 29" wheels....

AND I LOVE IT. Sure, some of that is the fact that it weights 1/2 as much so it's so much easier to get going, but it's just.. I don't know if it's something in the geometry or whatnot, but it's a blast to ride. It's like being a kid on a BMX bike or something. The huge knobby tires made jumping off the road and into a park a total blast. And i'm on the bigger side of this forum (6'4" and 360pds, down from 400+ when I started riding) and this thing feels just as rock solid underneath me as the Worksman.

It definitely is not designed for long-distance riding, and the one gear means it's not going to go too fast (i'd guess the stock gear ratio would make it top out around 12mph or so), but for general farting around 5-10 mile trips on a bike this thing is just silly fun. I might replace the knobbies with something a bit slicker in a bit (given i'm mostly on roads), and maaaaybe change up the gearing a bit for a bit more top-speed, but i'm digging the heck out of this thing.

TrojanHorse

How much of that is just new-bike-itis? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Daspydyr 

Congrats on the new bike and being down 40 pounds. I had a similar rush when I upgraded from a good 1994 HT to a 2008 Really good F/S bike. I like being a kid again. The geometry, better wheelset and gearing make a big difference.

Homeyba

It's like switching from an 18wheeler to a full sized pickup, of course it's going to perform/feel better. The "1/2 the weight" makes a huge difference. Scrap metal prices are up, you could probably get a few bucks for that Worksman.

AbundantChoice

I'm half tempted to bring the Worksman with me to BurningMan this year, use it into the ground, and give it a pyrotechnic sendoff at the end of the week.

marmot

My wife, who had been a reluctant rider, got a new bike 10 days ago. She replaced a $100 department-store MTB with a Devinci Wellington, a lightweight, road-oriented hybrid. Now she wants to ride all the time and can't stop talking about how smooth, speedy and pretty her new ride is. For the price of a decent bike, I have a new biking buddy.

Mark Stone

Good post. Most people don't realize how much the quality of the bicycle plays into the enjoyment of the activity - I've had lots of friends try to ride, then give up because it's too hard. All of the ones who quit were starting out on BSOs. My niece rode around a BSO for a while and wanted to give up, but a co-worker of hers (with my help) talked her into a decent Cannondale road bike (cost her only 6 bills) and she has officially and progressively fallen in love with bicycling.

1FatBikeRider

Congrats!

Post up a pic of this beast!

MadCityCyclist

Changing the bike type, weight, and the wheel size is going to make a big difference. I commuted on a MTB with wide 26" tires, thinking it was just as good/easy as any other bike. Then I test-rode a hybrid with 700cc tires and realized I had been punishing myself all that time, especially on a couple of steep hills that used to kill me on the MTB.

29ers are a blast, too, they roll over so many previously alarming obstacles with such ease. They don't work too well on really technical MTB trails with extremely steep grades, but for just about anything else they are great.

Seattle Forrest

50 %?

When I got my first really nice road bike, the new-bike-itis lasted about three years. It was unlike all the cycling I'd done all my life, in some ways ... the bike was more like an extension of my body than a vehicle. I'd choose to ride instead of going hiking or kayaking most days. Eventually the honeymoon started wearing off, and I was back to cycling being great fun, good exercise, a way to be outdoors, and a profound good time ... but not like crack cocaine. But I still appreciate the really nice bike.

It's easy to forget what a big difference there is, if you haven't been on a very mediocre bike in a long time.

Homeyba

Your first bike wasn't a Worksman!

Seattle Forrest

Where's ... what's his name, the guy who's always saying Worksman is the only kind of bike anyone who isn't built like a swimmer can ride?

TrojanHorse

Nightshade... been waiting for him to pop in. Wait, I know how to do it.

Say, have you put clipless pedals on your bike yet?

mcrow

Changing bikes can be a very big deal for your enjoyment of riding.

I went from a department store POS MTB to a Raleigh Talus 2.0 and it was a world of difference in comfort, performance of the drive train and the overall ride quality. The Talus is just a basic MTB but a clear step up from department store bikes. The department store bike had shifting issues , warped rim and busted pedal within the first month and the Talus has had no such issues in the first year. The ride is just a lot better too, better designed bike with better fit. I'm built like a fire hydrant so finding bikes that fit you properly almost requires going to a bike shop.

need2ride

maybe Nightshade will be interested in your Worksman

AbundantChoice

No clipless pedals yet, I might grab toe cages though. Next change is going to be to swap the super-knobby tires it comes with for something a bit smoother. I actually had fun with the knobbies on some broken up gravel and dirt trail yesterday, but 90% of my riding is going to be on pavement or hard-packed trail. But yeah, on that broken up stuff, the 29" wheel just... soaks everything up. Suspension not required. I'm learning the "single speed means you plan your lines with respect to hills" thing as well too; it's all about carrying as much momentum as you can into them. Luckily, where I live is pretty flat, so it's not a big issue. And the lighter bike + huge wheels means once you're up to speed you can just coast, and coast, and coast, if you want. But that might also be a factor of the low gearing, it seems to lend itself to spin-spin-spin-coast-coast-coast on flatland; I might be swapping out the cog to sacrifice a touch of low-end torque for higher top speed in a bit (although that will make hills even more challenging... hmmm).

I don't bear any ill will towards the Worksman or anything. I mean, I think that frame can survive a nuclear blast unscathed and those wheels could support an elephant, and it served me well for a few years. But I am coming to realize it was/is far from the only option for the super-Clydesdale set, and going into a real bike store to talk with knowledgeable people can open up a number of different alternatives.

Oh, and here's a pic of the new Redline:

bigfred 

I see what you did there. Be careful.

TrojanHorse

hee hee. He's certainly not the only person who holds that opinion but he might be the only fan of Worksman bikes.

mprelaw

Throw in riser bars and I think you've hooked him.

To seal the deal, maybe post that you don't mind having aluminum under your keister at 30 mph.

mcrow

So what's the deal with worksman bikes?

Being new here, I'm not sure if people seem to like them or hate them or why.

TrojanHorse

Read the intro on their webpage and I think it says it all: I have no idea if they make great bikes, lousy bikes or just regular bikes but they're not targeting the demographic that I live in.

Welcome to the Worksman Cycles Factory Direct Store, the home for Worksman industrial bicycles,industrial tricycles, adult tricycles, vending carts & trucks, delivery cycles and so much more. Our industrial and classic American bicycles have been hand-crafted in the USA for over 100 years, and continue to be good for the environment, good for your well-being, and good for your budget. You won't find a more rugged human-powered vehicle anywhere in the world.

Homeyba

Nothing, it's more a deal with the nightshade guy. He seems to think that anything that isn't Worksman is going to self implode once you get it home. Worksman bikes are fine if you want a $300 bike that is designed for factory use. They are very heavy and slow but they are sturdy. They put the heavy in heavy duty.

mcrow

Thanks.

I thought there was some sort of hate for them or something. They seem good for the intended purpose, but not something I'd buy.

However, most bikes these days are rated to 400-500 pounds so that covers most people I think.

Seattle Forrest

Yeah, there's no hate for Worksman bikes, and everything I've heard makes it sound like they're a pretty good thing, if you need a bomb-proof bike that you can haul stuff in. Some of us got a little tired of hearing how they're the only bike anyone over 200 pounds can ride without dying, though. This one guy used to post that to answer just about every bike question in here ... and those of us who remember him find it amusing that, well, someone else who's actually owned one for a while doesn't share the guy's opinion.

That said, sorry for bringing that up in your thread.

krobinson103

Switchiing between my modded mtb and my racked out commuter I get that feeling everytime. The commuter is a truck. It hauls groceries, kids, and its ugly enough to park outside and no one will want to steal it. Its setup with ok gears, good brakes, and a rack that can carry 60kg if need be. Needless to say its... slow. Now my mtb, it feels like a race horse compared to that thing. A good bike makes a big difference. But, I can't go shopping or commute and expect to find my bike when I finish work on my mtb so I need both.

When was I still 220 pounds I rode the wheels off a cheap mtb several sizes too small. Sure I bent a few seat posts, broke a chain, Destroyed a rim, bent the frame a little,and generally killed the poor thing, but it was easy to ride, and cheap enough to fix as well.