why a chap with a recently broken leg, a rocky mountain steel & carbon beauty, a 20 year old lugged steel Specialised fast day tourer with a brooks swift waiting for it, a swift xootr folder, an 18 year old santana tandem, a half share in a Trek fx7.5 and a Scott load lugger

should be making arrangements to try out a CoMotion speedster tandem and a Kona Band Wagon fixie on next weeks trip to UK.

No reason at all, and I trust you'll all spray me with an outpouring of derisive rationality.

I am sitting here also with a broken leg, femur, dog attacked me, I feel your pain, literally .

Yeah, go right ahead and buy it, that will give you reason to get well sooner.

Hope you get well soon.

It's about time that Tandem got changed- It's almost as old as the length of time I have been riding Cycles- so it is old.

The Kona Fixie though**********???

About the time the Santana was new- I got a Kona- A Kona Explosif and that was when Kona's had a good name in my mind. But since then they seemed to have lost their way. Bikes are still good but they have been a the Pies too much and spec has been downgraded just a bit too much for my liking. They haven't progressed as much as other bikes so hopefully you will get the chance to try a few other makes at the same time. But Why are you thinking about a Fixie-- I thought one broken leg was enough for this year.

Hey, while you're over there stop in at Leeds and pick me up (or at least touch) a Woodrup Giro tour for me? Okay, now I have to go dream...

As far as I'm concerned I think you're fully justified.. You have to be ready for anything when the ol' anchor heals.

The Kona Paddy Wagon (with the drop bars) is more my style, kind of like my Rodriguez Shiftless - a track bike with slightly slacker angles that takes front and rear brakes. But the Band Wagon is an interesting take on this recent trendy market niche (hipster bikes): track bikes built for street use with flat bars. This whole concept has set off a burgeoning market, and companies like Velocity (Deep V rims), Formula (hubs and track parts), and any company offering thick-treaded white tires or colorful BMX chains have benefited. Of course, to be really hardcore hipster-fashionable, you will have to remove both brakes, cut about 6" off each side of the flat bars, install a lock ring over the rear cog, and learn to do skidz stops on nasty Seattle descents! I agree with Stapfam, but that broken leg is just the start!

Luis

Thanks! Maybe different model names in different places, but the Kona Band Wagon I've seen publicised in the UK shops is a drop bar Paddy Wagon with lighter wheels and chainset - oh, and a pearl green paint job for those who like it, but of course I'm far too rational for that to matter.

It also has a flippable thingy, so it's possible to start with the wheel freewheel side to the chain, which means I don't have to rebreak my leg until I'm really proficient.

Oh, and to the previous respondent - I'm sorry I can't go from this response box to check your post-name - I hope your femur heals up fast. It's no fun, is it? I broke mine in a 2 mph topple off a folder on a greasy road. I wish you fast healing.