I commute on a fixed gear with a brake. I find it more comfortable and easy to control than a coasting bike, specially in traffic. Slow speed control becomes easier with a fixed gear, since you do not have to reach for the brake all the time, but that might be just me.

Perhaps you missed the beginning of this thread when a poster was criticized for only providing his wife an "unworthy" bicycle for commuting a flat 4 miles in Philadelphia during the public transit strike. And that the use of such a comical bicycle would induce scorn and/or laughter from those who appreciate and use "worthy" bicycles.

My point: the bike types laughed/sneered at by some (maybe most) "experts" may be the most suitable for the actual task. Conversely, those bicycles designed for sporting events and specialized competitions may be least suitable for city cycling; especially for beginners/non-club-type enthusiasts considering bicycling as an alternate way to commute during (and possibly after) the strike.

The use of esoteric competition bikes for routine city cycling may be good for stroking ego and impressing a relative few bicycling aficionados, but I wouldn't know.

In an effort to return this thread to a happy place, may I refer everyone to this nice article about bike commuting in today's Inky: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...t/13076597.htm.

Here's a login for the Inky site from bugmenot.com:

cpunk@cpunk.org
cpunks

Happy biking, all!

While I agree that, in principle, the bike in question is far better suited to practical tansportation than nearly anything available on the American market, the OP explained that the "comical" appearance while riding and unsuitability for the commute stemmed from a grossly low gear ratio, which he is working to fix. Would you rather have the OP's wife struggle along as if stuck in the low gear of a multispeed bike? I should think a bunch more gear-inches to be ia huge improvement.

I'd have to assume that the OP's purchase of the bike, along with his wife's fondness for it, show that its good qualities are appreciated. Personally, I think it is great to see a picture of something that looks like a real bike.

Paul

We are in agreement about the bike's "worthiness" for commuting. If only LBS's, and better yet, department stores would offer such a choice at a decent price as found elsewhere in the world.

For a non-enthusiast just starting out, better a "comedy" of easy cycling in a low gear ratio on a single speed than a "tragedy" of strugling and giving up in a too high gear ratio. Unless she is looking to race taxis to her destination from day one.

Just wondering, did the wife in question have a problem with the installed gear ratio? If so, then hubby is doing the right thing by suggesting/installing a higher gear.

Thanks. That article does make me happy.

She didn't have a problem with it when we lived in CC. But, with a 4 mile commute that is a lot of crank revs. Plus she has 24 x 1.75 tires on there which have a significantly higher resistance than do 700 x 23. But, her friend is lending her a moutain bike which should allow her a better selection of gear ratios.

I did notice that by 6:30 pm the traffic has pretty much cleared out. I don't know if more and more people are leaving earlier to "beat the traffic". If that is the case, productivity in a lot of businesses must be suffering.

Best line in that article: "Guys in suits, women in heels, the confident and the wobbly are taking to the streets and - illegally - the sidewalks, forcing pedestrians to watch their step."

At least they pointed out that sidewalk cycling in CC is illegal. That is my one pet peeve about all of the new commuters is that so many of them are on the sidewalks. I have seen some of them really moving too, and they get annoyed when peds don't get out of the way.