Back on a 26 Incher?
sorta sucks
this morning I got up thinking I better start pushing some bigger rings. there is a race under a month away and all I have been doing this winter is eating bon bons on the couch and some less than occassional spins on the single speed (then there is the requisite short commute to work, better than nothing, or so I hope) so this am I got out a commuter bike that I have no great love for, a Cannondale Bad Boy. this bike was purchased because in its price range it was the only rigid fork bike that I could get through my local shop hook up. initially I was pleased. before the monkey my love for this bike had started to fade, now with the monkey....I am ready to put this bike up for adoption. the aluminum frame and fork create a very numbing feeling in hands and balls, an hour is all I can handle on this ride and well, that is not a good selling point for any bike. to add to the misery, the 26 inch wheels make the whole riding experience awkward. the wheelbase and top tube length seem so compact. the monkey is the first bike that fit me, now my variety of other rides are all awkward in comparision. the Karate Monkey has become a mirror for me as I mount my other 26 inch machines, I can see how my bear like frame dwarfs the diminutive wheels and frames......
now I need a 29 inch hardtail built up for dirt rides and for racing
starting to think about the C&O canal ride
186.2 miles in a day (plus the ride home, another 4 or so miles from its start, my rides end in Georgetown
my long rides tend to be about an hour and a half
not exactly a roadie over here
so this ride is a real battle of the spirit
but what bike would I ride
the cross bike has its selling points
but the dropbar hand position for touring really sucks
and the bad boy, as mentioned, is not a distance bike ((especially on suck pebbley terrain))
sorta sucks
this morning I got up thinking I better start pushing some bigger rings. there is a race under a month away and all I have been doing this winter is eating bon bons on the couch and some less than occassional spins on the single speed (then there is the requisite short commute to work, better than nothing, or so I hope) so this am I got out a commuter bike that I have no great love for, a Cannondale Bad Boy. this bike was purchased because in its price range it was the only rigid fork bike that I could get through my local shop hook up. initially I was pleased. before the monkey my love for this bike had started to fade, now with the monkey....I am ready to put this bike up for adoption. the aluminum frame and fork create a very numbing feeling in hands and balls, an hour is all I can handle on this ride and well, that is not a good selling point for any bike. to add to the misery, the 26 inch wheels make the whole riding experience awkward. the wheelbase and top tube length seem so compact. the monkey is the first bike that fit me, now my variety of other rides are all awkward in comparision. the Karate Monkey has become a mirror for me as I mount my other 26 inch machines, I can see how my bear like frame dwarfs the diminutive wheels and frames......
now I need a 29 inch hardtail built up for dirt rides and for racing
starting to think about the C&O canal ride
186.2 miles in a day (plus the ride home, another 4 or so miles from its start, my rides end in Georgetown
my long rides tend to be about an hour and a half
not exactly a roadie over here
so this ride is a real battle of the spirit
but what bike would I ride
the cross bike has its selling points
but the dropbar hand position for touring really sucks
and the bad boy, as mentioned, is not a distance bike ((especially on suck pebbley terrain))