City Bikes Article Inspires Response About Frame Geometry
I just picked up your Jan/Feb momentum at Cars R Coffins (www.carsrcoffins.com) in Minneapolis. First time I’ve seen it. Very cool!
I’ve been biking over 50 years. They got me a bike at age 7 and I haven’t gotten off yet. Early on I was a city biking commuter and adventurer. Just for fun. In my 20s I met up with some “racers” and became a roadie, but continued also with my city biking ways. Gave up the racing after just a couple of years but the roadie mentality stuck for a good 25 years.
Then my son spent a semester studying in China. He came back telling of the joys of owning/riding one of the Chinese city bikes. It sounded great. I converted my old Peugeot racer into a pseudo “roadster” (top left photo) and loved it. I was hooked. Since then I have added a Trek L200 European citybike (top right photo) to my stable and it’s my most-used ride – usually 30 to 40 miles at a crack. And my wife acquired a Pake Urban 6 (bottom left photo) for her two mile commute and general short distance duty.
I read with great interest Wendell Challenger’s “City Bike Shakedown” article. I firmly believe that the US needs this type of bike and that we Americans need to be educated in its beauty.
But I do take issue with your statement “the geometry and handling of ‘hybrid’ and/or ‘comfort’ bikes have been designed with urban riding in mind.” These bikes, at least all I know of, have too-high bottom brackets and do not handle at all in a way befitting city use. They are hard to balance and are “twitchy” in their handling. And the seat is way up off the ground when set to achieve proper leg extension.
I know this because my Trek is afflicted with this problem. It has only 65mm of BB drop where my old Peugeot has 75mm. I had to order it in without a test ride, I should have known better. I am a good rider and can compensate for this and I do get along fine - but everyone else who has ridden this bike has hated it.
On the other hand, I recently built up a “comfort/hybrid” for my wife using a Salsa Casseroll frame (bottom right photo – sensible equipment added since). The Casseroll has a 76mm BB drop and rides and handles great. She likes it MUCH better than her old frame with 70mm drop. Rides better too. And everyone else who has tried it comes back with a huge grin on their face and wants one. It just feels right. I like it so much that I’m building one for myself (with full commuter equipment and Nitto Albatross bars) for this year. The Trek will be on Craigslist soon.
If you talk to the Civia folks they will point out that their commuters are aimed at high-end sport riders, and that this group expects a quick-handling bike. But their 70mm racing-standard drop is much better than usual hybrid 65. And fine for racers who want to commute.
The thing is, people need to know how BB height (along with other geometry) affects the riding experience. And that HIGH IS BAD! Your article would have been a great place to introduce the concept. I believe that the wrong choice can mean a bike that is not ridden. Many of my friends now have a bad impression of city bikes – based on riding my Trek. What a shame!
Scarier still: “cross” bikes are popular around here right now. They are appealing, with their cantilever brakes and ample tire/fender clearance. But cross bikes are most often the worst offenders – sometimes with only 60mm BB drop! And the buyers are getting them to use as city bikes, not for cyclocross. I talked to a shop owner just this week and he says he tries to dissuade these purchases but usually fails.
That aside, the bikes in the Shakedown article all look right. I will definitely point friends to your mag. Keep up the good work.
Mark
Saint Paul, Minnesota
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Thank you for producing such an outstanding publication. I just received my third magazine since subscribing and each one is more amazing than the previous. The fact that you cover everything, from culture, to different commuter bikes, to food and books (two of my major loves after my bicycle), and legal issues is just astounding. I always pace myself, reading one article a day to make each issue last longer. This issue, with the story about Jan VanderTuin and the CAT was incredibly inspiring. I’m an active member of my local CSA and reading about the connections between food and bicycling was a welcome treat. Thank you for providing us with such positive inspiration on a regular basis. I wish you all the very best.
Todd Barnell
Flagstaff, Arizona
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Love your magazine. I’ve been reading it since I discovered a copy about 5 years ago. My bike gave me my first real independence. I used my bike to commute to university and to work and for pleasure use on my days off. I now have two girls who will be four and two this spring and who have enjoyed various trips in their Chariot trailer. Both are keen to master two-wheelers and we’re looking forward to much happy biking together!
Loyal reader,
Rachel Lautard
Greenwood, BC
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Mr. Forester’s Fans Write In
Thanks for publishing John Forester’s letter in momentum #31. I have read his book, and own a copy. It is very difficult to argue with his work and conclusions, and that letter is a welcome pragmatic antidote to the pie-in-the-sky hipsters’ dreams that afflict our time. Rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel, you would do humanity a greater service by promoting his findings, conclusions and recommendations.
I remain thankful you have taken up the utility-cycling banner.
Larry Manuel
Kingston, Ontario
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I wanted to add a few comments to those of Mr Forester (Mr Forester weighs in). I really don’t have any strong objections to making separate bikeways if they help get more people out to ride or commute (there is a difference). The problem I’ve found with separate bike ways such as the Galloping Goose in Victoria or the Panhandle in San Francisco is that these paths soon fill with obstacles: pedestrians with or without dogs, rollerbladers, strollers, joggers. It’s wonderful to see everyone out there getting healthy in a non-fossil fuel way. But when you’re commuting you want to move; you’ve got to be somewhere by a certain time. You certainly don’t see strollers and dog walkers strolling in the middle of the road. So when I commute and I’m not just riding I go on the road. It’s more hazardous but faster. So I agree with Mr Forester that anything that can make riding on the road safer should be done. In that regard I would include keeping the road shoulder clean. Debris is frequently the reason for my veering into traffic.
Thanks. Love your magazine. I’d like add “A Biciclette” by Le Comte de Fourques as a bike tune.
Cyrus Farivar,
Victoria, BC
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I have been cycling for over 70 years, the last 40 in the greater Victoria area, with excursions to many US and Canadian cities. I cycled to work and, with a folder, on work trips away from Victoria. When I became familiar with John Forester’s wisdom, some 25 years ago, it transformed my riding, making it both safer and more pleasant. My experience reinforces what I learned.
On the other hand, the drive to create bicycle “facilities” in this area has done little to actually improve safe cycling. Bike lanes can be littered with glass, even if frequently swept. Some are downright dangerous, such as a narrow car-side one on a down-hill slope. In addition, they give the impression that it is safe to pass on the right of the rightmost regular lane. Our most recent fatality was a mother of young children, passing on the right, but failing to stop when the car to the left of her did to permit a motorist to turn left into a driveway. She was dragged under the car to her death. She was reported as being “extra cautious,” but obviously did not recognize this common hazard.
I wish John Luton would push cyclists’ education instead of “facilities.” If the bicycle is to serve a useful purpose for transportation and not just be a toy, cyclists will have to assume some responsibility for practicing basic traffic skills. Otherwise, no matter what new “facilities” are built, they aren’t going anywhere!
Robert McInnes
Victoria, BC
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I Guess I’m Living the Dream
I picked up my first issue of Momentum today while visiting Aaron’s bicycle shop in Seattle. I was immediately struck by Jan Heine’s article about his friend’s beloved 1947 Alex Singer classic.
I picked up a late 1970s production Bridgestone made for the Japanese market a few years ago from a private seller for just under $100. I fell so in love with its ride that I sold my road bike. I admit that I have added a Brooks saddle and sometimes use my Frog pedals, but otherwise I regularly commute in street clothes on this production bike in Seattle. It is not quite as sexy as the Singer but it is relatively fast and nimble. When I go on 15-40 mile errands in Seattle, I find it quite easy to avoid the serious hills. I love my city bike.
Micheal Lentz
Seattle, WA
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The Future
I've just noted an article in The Futurist for May/June 2007 that shows a Big Boda load-carrying bicycle written by Cynthia G. Wagner. The lightweight bike can carry hundreds of pounds of cargo or two additional passengers, and at a lower cost than other forms of human-powered utility vehicles: www.worldbike.org/big-boda
Everett Horlacher
Find a pdf of this article at http://www.wfs.org/wfsvisions.htm
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