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October 21st, 2006
12:31 pm - wheeee
I got a new bike! Finally. And I just came back from a hop to Hertzliya and back on it &mdash about 20 miles &mdash it’s totally fun to ride!
It’s a hybrid, Trek 7300, though the exact specs are a little different than the ones you see online. I must have been in ten bike shops around town and tired at least a couple in each; apart from a Jamis these were the only ones I liked immediately. Tel-Aviv is full of mountain bikes, and many Israelis are also crazy about high-end roadies, but for some reason city bikes haven’t gone into fashion here yet.
They’re light and pretty, completely silent, and shift like butter. The prominent features are 700x35c wheels (so elegant!) and a mix of Shimano Deore and Alivio drivetrain components. I wasn’t used to having any suspension on my old beloved bike, and it’s nice to have it now.
The handlebars are MTB style, which is too low and boring for me. My excellent bike man will help me with the low bit by swapping my stem with an adjustable one (for free!). I don’t know about the boring part; I’m used to my fun North Road bars and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cruft++ set me all lusting after Moustache bars, but those are hard to find around here and I’m not sure my shifters will fit them. We’ll see.
Another thing is I found myself spending more time on the lower gear range. I think maybe this ‘train was designed with 26“ wheels in mind? I suppose I’d better learn to make use of the oh-so-smooth shifting and go over to the granny bar sometimes, or just let my quads strengthen a bit. Or, I could take it easy and not push as hard: I don’t use a cycling computer, but it certainly felt like I was going faster than my old bike.
Yay! You should have seen me the day I got them. Immediately after picking them up, I went to buy a phono preamp and the guy in the tiny shop, who probably never sees more than a handful of customers all day, was effusively talkative. Under normal circumstances I’d have icily ran away quickly, but he had a couple of bicycles on display too(?) and I was so gleeful that I just listened and listened as he told me about his daily commute and the equipment he takes with him and his weekend off-road excursions. I ended up looking at photos from a bike trip he and his friends made in Switzerland, which was kinda surreal, but the pictures were beautiful and hello, bicycles, and yay again! I have a new bike!
Current Music: Beethoven - "Pathétique"
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