Bike experiment with my nephew "It's the bike ... "
07-25-06, 01:11 PM
#1
Barbieri Telefonico
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Posts: 3,522
Bikes: Crappy but operational secondhand Motobecane Messenger
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
Bike experiment with my nephew "It's the bike ... "
Schedule has not permitted nor left any energy for riding. Yesterday my nephew coaxed me into riding with him. "Fine ... " I said, trembling with fear of getting my butt handed on a silver plater my the said youth.
He was riding a hybrid with cages, and I was riding my fixed gear (1971 frame, some OK wheels and really good tires, 42x15 -I cannot find my 13t cog for the life of me).
He has been riding consistently and he has lost some girth along the way, which was his primary objective. He has also gotten muscular and his legs are barely fitting his pants.
Mind you that I still smoke over 10 cigarrettes a day, drink, take antidepressants, and sometimes I do all that before 2 pm.
To my surprise, I could still climb pretty well in this fairly hilly parts of SE PA, and my nephew would be coming really far back.
He said, almost without breath "It is that bike of yours, isn't it?"
We traded bikes, I gave him my shoes, and the next hill he stalled and almost fell sideways. A few corrections on his form, he was climbing an 8% hill at 7 mph .... on a single speed. I was going 4 or 5 mph on the non suspension hybrid, trying my best to resist the urge for shifting. I did not catch him till the third hill.
I had a hard time convincing him that rather to put together a similar abomination such as mine, he was better off saving his money to buy a quality bike like a Filmore or a 925.
"It's the bike, isn't it?" ... smart fellow he has become.
This is for you all who argument against some people riding fixed up and down the hills, for it is doable and perfectly fine.
He was riding a hybrid with cages, and I was riding my fixed gear (1971 frame, some OK wheels and really good tires, 42x15 -I cannot find my 13t cog for the life of me).
He has been riding consistently and he has lost some girth along the way, which was his primary objective. He has also gotten muscular and his legs are barely fitting his pants.
Mind you that I still smoke over 10 cigarrettes a day, drink, take antidepressants, and sometimes I do all that before 2 pm.
To my surprise, I could still climb pretty well in this fairly hilly parts of SE PA, and my nephew would be coming really far back.
He said, almost without breath "It is that bike of yours, isn't it?"
We traded bikes, I gave him my shoes, and the next hill he stalled and almost fell sideways. A few corrections on his form, he was climbing an 8% hill at 7 mph .... on a single speed. I was going 4 or 5 mph on the non suspension hybrid, trying my best to resist the urge for shifting. I did not catch him till the third hill.
I had a hard time convincing him that rather to put together a similar abomination such as mine, he was better off saving his money to buy a quality bike like a Filmore or a 925.
"It's the bike, isn't it?" ... smart fellow he has become.
This is for you all who argument against some people riding fixed up and down the hills, for it is doable and perfectly fine.
__________________
Giving Haircuts Over The Phone
Giving Haircuts Over The Phone
