Gravitating Towards Certain Bikes

What determines your bicycle of choice? Avid cyclists tend to have more than one bike, so I've been thinking about why we choose, what we choose. And often, one bike is ridden more than others in the stable.

There can be many factors at play: length of ride, terrain, type of ride, climate, and comfort. Do you ride 10 miles or less? Is it hilly, rolling, or flat? Is the riding purely for exercise or are you shopping en route? Do you need fenders and rain gear or do you live where it's predominantly dry year-round? Are you comfortable with drop bars or prefer an upright posture, wider tires or skinny, etc.?

Since I ride mostly for exercise on flat terrain, but love to be able to haul stuff, whether that's tools, a thermos, or be able to stop for groceries, my Peugeot Saint Laurent ticks all the boxes. It's stable with wide tires, easy step through mounting, has fenders, and sports panniers with front and back racks. It's my most useful two-wheeled machine. And yeah, it's an older bike, one I don't mind locking to racks.

What is the bicycle that you gravitate towards, and why?

One Step Forward

Keeping the fire alive through winter night rides.

As the temperatures slowly warm, I'm heartened that the world is beginning to emerge from it's Covid cocoon. It may be baby steps - rightfully so - but I'm feeling hopeful that more travel will be on our horizon. I talk daily with customers who are planning bike trips abroad. I'm amazed at their optimism, or fortitude, or devil-may-care attitude, or...I don't know, but they possess more gumption than I've allowed myself! I've been extremely cautious for family reasons, but I'm planning a simple overnight aboard my Dahon Boardwalk, with cooperative weekend weather, as soon as mid April. I'm not yet ready to fly, but taking Amtrak last year has boosted my confidence, enough to plan a similar adventure for later in 2022. And, if anything, adventure by bike is surely much safer than most forms of transportation - at least that's what I tell myself.

How is everyone else feeling about bike travel?

Trek Marlin 7 Handlebar Update - Ritchey Kyote

Taking comfort up a notch with Ritchey's Kyote bar.

I've owned the Trek Marlin 7 hardtail for more than a year. After dialing in the perfect seat, the next step was to gain more comfort in the cockpit. Also, it's become apparent that I can no longer tolerate flat bars for prolonged periods. Priorities were: seeking a comfortable hand position, more forward reach (if at all possible), with more rise - all without compromising leverage required to snake through the woods.

whatbars.com - curvy Ritchey Kyote compared with existing flat bar.

I used whatbars.com to help confirm the bar switch on my Clem-entine so I felt confident applying the same process on the Trek. First, I researched several handlebars before leaning towards Ritchey's Kyote handlebar. The Kyote's price and reputation, confirmed with online reviews and YouTube videos, sold me. Then, whatbars.com was proof that the Kyote bar's forward curves and sweep put my hands along a similar if not slightly forward reach, seemed ideal, all while possibly using the existing stem. 

Voila! The Kyote bar looks like it should work.

Our son talked me through the replacement, even teaching me how to use a torque wrench! We agreed to cut the bar one inch on each end for starters (he did that), then with further testing I may want the bars shortened further. 

I'm pleased with how nice these new bars look on my bike!

There's no question the Kyote bars will be a huge improvement. I'm sure there will be further adjustments once spring mountain biking season rolls around. At least the difficult portion of the project is finished. Currently, we're navigating snowy bike paths on studded tire bikes!

What Model of Studded Tires are the Best?

Last winter I used the 1.75" studded tires on the right and fell in love with snow travel on plowed bike paths. There was adequate traction except when rolling through deep slush. The tires had sat unused for many years, but once purchased for our son's middle school commutes. A couple months ago he reclaimed the tires to use for cold weather transportation. No problem, I thought, I'll just get new ones for myself!

Buoyed by Schwalbe's reputation and my own experience with their tires, I figured I couldn't go wrong with their Marathon Winter Plus model (left in above photo), also available in 1.75". Ideally I'd prefer wider tires, but fender clearance would then be an issue. The new tires seemed to work well until maneuvering through an inch of snow. The front has purchase but the rear tire frequently fishtails as I struggle to move forward, keeping momentum. I could ride my son's full suspension bike, equipped with the previous studs for comparison (brand unavailable), but his bicycle would obviously feel quite different.

The primary difference, visually, is his tires sport a deeper tread. Does that alone provide more purchase? Or does tread pattern? Air pressure? Does the weight of a bike also matter? I'm sure there are a lot of factors at play, but I only mention this because there are a wealth of studded tire options. Had I done better research, at the very least, I would've investigated another Schwalbe offering - the Ice Spiker Pro.

Using any model of studded tires for winter riding is better than none at all. I may experiment with air pressure. Next time I'm in the market for new winter tires, I'll make an informed choice. Enjoy January's sunshine and lengthening daylight. Dress for the weather and get out there!

Ideas for 2022

While plans could change in an instant, I expect 2022 to be similar to 2021, so it's important to roll with whatever situation arises. But that doesn't mean we'll be stagnant. On the contrary, there are plenty of ideas to be creative, get outdoors, and ride!

I have a few fun bike projects on the agenda, focusing on further fine-tuning bike setups and go on more bike overnights, whether close to home or planning mini-vacations. Amtrak is set to roll into Burlington sometime in 2022, so close proximity for a one-way adventure is always a possibility!

• Replace rear panniers on my commuter bike. I appreciate smaller panniers for shorter rides, reserving large capacity bags for touring. While the Delta panniers have held up well for low-cost storage  for 10+ years, they're falling apart. I'm interested in trying Vincita's economical roll top version. The bags are offered in a variety of colors and include a rain cover.
• My goal with my folding bikes is figuring out a solution to carry additional gear on the handle post. I'm limited to bags attached in this manner (without a frame block), so I'll need to pay attention to upfront weight. I'm considering a bag with Klickfix handle post adapter setup in addition to my purple bag. At present, I'm interested in the thoughtfully designed Head Tube Bag by Downtube Nova. As a fallback, there's always the option to carry a small backpack. For rear loads, I'm attracted to Downtube Nova's low cost rear Coconut Bag with foldout pockets. While I currently use the retrofitted sling bag converted panniers, the trunk bag may offer larger capacity at a nominal cost plus consolidate rear bags into a one piece design.
• Replace handle bar on Trek Marlin 7 for more comfort. I plan to swap the straight handle bar with an ergonomically friendly version. I was initially interested in the Tumbleweed Persuader, Soma's Odin and Dream Riser. I'm currently leaning toward Ritchey's Kyote. The Kyote seems like the sweet spot between comfort, affordability, and correct width. In addition to a more enjoyable hand position, my son has already purchased a beefier front tire for me so I'll be shredding mountain bike trails with more traction and comfort in 2022.
• I hope to commute to work part-time at some point if our current health situation improves. I'm looking forward to pedaling to an office again!
• We're attending a wedding on Cape Cod in June, where I hope to spend a few extra vacation days to enjoy riding on trails to more Atlantic beaches.
• I have a new camping stove, which makes me want to expand my local overnight camping horizons. It would also be an opportunity to test the new setup on the Dahon.
• And, quite the opposite, I'm also dreaming of riding to a cabin or hotel for an easy, pampered overnight experience. That would be a fun, novel adventure for my husband and me!