Jerome's Bikes: August 2010

Well, okay, it wasn't mysterious I guess. But it is gone. After giving long thought to my cycling needs, and the style of riding that I do most often, a skinny tired road racing bike was a ride that would be much use by me. So, I found it a good home. Or a good home found it. Jeff is going to put it to good use and is going to use it in some triathlons. It would indeed be a fine ride for that. Quick, but comfy. Man I will miss that bike.

Back to further thinking of my cycling needs. When I consider what bikes I actually ride, and where I actually like to ride them, I can't really dream up figures and stats. What I ride is what I ride. What I ride is my LHT and my Karate Monkey. That's pretty much it. My fixie used to see a lot of use, but after a bit of a close call earlier this year (my foot slipped off the pedal while trying to do an emergency skid stop) I kind of wonder if it's the smartest thing for me to ride a brakeless fixie, when I have a wife and family at home. I love them, they love me, and they do want me to make it home safely.

Put brakes on the fixie? Well, the kicker for me and that bike is it's pure aesthetic. I love how clean it is. When there's brakes installed, it just doesn't look as good to me. It's the clean and pure line of just bicycle that I love about that bike.

So, I'm selling it. I posted previously that I was going to sell it, but I didn't have it priced to sell really. I think I was trying to sort of go through the motions of selling a bike, minimizing my possessions, without actually having to do it. Now it's time. I'm listing it for $400. Maybe that's high? Don't think so. Paul Hubs, hand built wheels. It's a solid bike and it's well put together. If I can't get $400 for it, I'll sell it for less. I will sell it though. That's the sure thing.

I'm not sure why, but there's something about having lots of bikes that really doesn't sit well with me anymore. Not sure why. I used to revel in the fact that I had 13 bicycles, all road ready, and all mine. Not all were fancy or worth bragging about, but I like to have them. Now, I'm constantly weighing the pros and cons of each one of my bicycles. So far this year I've rid 6 from my collection. I feel as though I'm not done yet.

The question is always in my mind: "if I could only ride the KM or the LHT, which would be the best for me." I can't say. I could get some gears for the KM, and set it up for more of a utility bike that would still do well off road. I could get some slightly more aggressive treads on the LHT and use that as my only bike. I had a little email dialog with a local cyclist this week who suggested the Salsa Fargo would be the perfect in between bike for me. Yes, it might very well be. But, chances of finding one of those used are slim to none. And, I'm not going to be buying any new bikes in the near future.

For now, I continue to weigh the options and ponder what to do next. And of course, ride my bikes!

Cheers,

Jeremy