I was just thinking today how I tend only to use one of my two bikes (well, I've got three but I wouldn't count the cheap old mountain bike as it's too heavy to merit road use consideration). Neither of bikes I use would be referred to as a 'good bike' by anyone other than the absolute scabbiest of people but it strikes me as rather a waste how I seem to use my old Reynolds 553 framed Peugeot 5000 Performance ahead of my Fausto Coppi Lombardia and rarely have the Lombardia on the road at all. In fact, it was the 5th of May when I last used the Lombardia and that was only because the Peugeot was having problems and needed a new freehub body.
With further thought, I realised there are a few reasons for my using the Peugeot so much more:
- I don't feel as bad if I don't clean it so well (it doesn't show dirt as readily)
- It has mudguards and therefore less cleaning to do for both it and myself
- Albeit a lightweight and cruddy one (with a bend in it from when I got knocked off about a month ago), the Peugeot has a pannier rack on it and this lets me put a rack pack on it, to bring sandwiches etc. with me. I do so love having a snack when I'm out
- This is certainly among the most vital points: The Peugeot has a bottom gear of around 39/28 (or should that be 28/39? I can never remember) whereas the Lombardia has a bottom gear of 39/23. I'm not a strong cyclist or good on hills, so the thought of having to grind up them is rather unappealling
I know this doesn't make for the most interesting reading but I reckon most blogs are for people to write wittering rubbish as they're thinking it, rather than concentrating on writing interesting and poignant articles.
Moving on a bit, I should be getting a new bike within the next few days. Again, it's not going to be what most people would call a 'good bike' but it'll be the best bike I've ever owned and I'm terribly excited about it. Part of this excitement is because it'll be the first bike I've ever owned with a 'granny wheel'. I'll be looking forward to the 30/29 gear. It may get more use than it should.
Just for the sake of sticking a couple of images here to break up the text, here are the bikes I was referring to (although the Lombardia has different wheels now):
Moving on a bit, I should be getting a new bike within the next few days. Again, it's not going to be what most people would call a 'good bike' but it'll be the best bike I've ever owned and I'm terribly excited about it. Part of this excitement is because it'll be the first bike I've ever owned with a 'granny wheel'. I'll be looking forward to the 30/29 gear. It may get more use than it should.
Just for the sake of sticking a couple of images here to break up the text, here are the bikes I was referring to (although the Lombardia has different wheels now):
Peugeot 5000 Performance
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