We moved last June, and I was very happy as I contemplated the changes we were anticipating. One of them was that I was going from a scary 24 mile round trip bike commute through Mordor, NY - sometimes called New Square, to a 17 mile round trip ride in suburban Bergen County, NJ. Riding through Mordor had a post-Apocalypse feel to it, and was best navigated on my Surly LHT, head down, feet locked in, and the touring tires biting at the crumbled pavement. A multitude of school buses marauded haphazardly around the wandering mini vans, making me feel like prey in the times of the dinosaurs.
I was very happy about our move, because suburban NJ afforded the opportunity to get a route and a bicycle which were more appropriate for my stature in life. My honey laughed at that one too. It's okay to laugh with her. I was also claiming my reward for having lost 20 pounds and kept it off for a year. The deal my honey made was that I could buy any bike I wanted. I thought about buying a racing bike for over $6,000, but wouldn't I look stupid in my slacks on a carbon fiber bike, with no where to put my stuff?
Instead, I looked for a bike that would provide an upright ride so I could see and be seen better. I also wanted a comfortable riding position, so I could wear my business casual work clothes, and wouldn't make me think I had to race to work. Riding hard means I sweat hard, which makes me aromatic. I also wanted a bike that had style, and would make the trip enjoyable. I carry my lunch everyday, in the summer I carry swim gear for my side trips to the pool on my ride home, and occasionally I carry a laptop. I also do light shopping on my ride.
My initial focus was to look at the many bikes on the major manufacturers' Web sites. The variety was mind-boggling. I then visited a few bike shops to discuss my options, and every shop I visited wanted to sell me a bike from stock, and recommended tri-cross bikes, road bikes, and a few urban rides, which are basically mountain bikes that are modified to road ride.
Then one day my honey sent me a link to the Gary Fisher Simple City 8. I loved the look of it, except for the basket. The basket is seriously eye-catching. After a bunch of phone calls and e-mails, I found one bike shop in the area that was willing to order the bike without obligation on my part. Tenafly Bicycle Workshop responded immediately to my e-mail, a week later I test rode the bike, and a day later I purchased it.
I rode the bike home from the shop, and as soon as I got home, I posted the picture on the left of this page on Facebook. The first person to comment asked "Who mugged Forrest Gump?". The basket is an eye catcher. Have I mentioned that yet?
The basket is actually a nice thing to have, and made it simple to run to the store to pick up items, such as Sunday morning pasties, and library books. I also use it for my laptop, lunch, and to place my shirt in on warm days. It holds a lot, and doesn't impact the ride much. The basket has two parts - an outer skeleton, and an inner mesh basket that is attached, but has small holes to keep your stuff from falling through. To compensate for the basket and the potential for over steer, there's a stabilizer spring between the front of the frame and the back of the fork. This keeps the wheel from flopping to the side when the basket is loaded. The spring is also great for carrying the bike on stairs and through doorways, since it keeps the wheel from hitting the walls and railings. If you use the basket, be sure you use bungee cords or rope to tie down your stuff. The inner mesh of the basket will act as a trampoline, and when you come off of a bump, will propel your stuff onto the road.
As my bike commute became darker last fall, I pondered where to mount my lights. The basket posed a challenge. I'd have to purchase additional accessories to mount the lights. So I purchased an Axiom Phoenix DLX rear rack, and removed the basket. Adding the rack provided me the ability to carry panniers, and allowed me to add lights to the handlebars. This week I reinstalled the basket, because I missed the convenience of being able to run to the store without the minor complications of a pannier.
The fenders are stylish, have a low profile, and keep the water off of me (and off the bike). They are also stable, and I haven't had to tweak them yet. Fenders are so highly underused in America. They keep me dry, keep the bike clean, and provide places to put reflective materials.
Both tires have whitewalls, which are highly reflective. The light jumps off of them at night. This provides great side visibility for other road users. The tires themselves are fairly bullet proof, they are Kevlar lined and the only flat I had was a pinch flat from not doing my ABC check.
I'm not a bike parts techie, so I won't get into the component makes and comparisons. I will just say that the front brakes are alloy calipers, and if you fix a flat, you will need to inflate the tire after you install it. The calipers don't have the little lever to widen the space to allow the filled tire to pass through them. These brakes work. I especially like the roller brakes on the rear. On wet days, these are not effected by the water.
The rear hub is the Nexus 8 speed internal hub, and at the 800 mile point, I have not even thought about the hub. It is bullet-proof, and works. I haven't had to change a flat on the back yet, but will learn how to take the rim off when this happens. Okay, maybe I will do this tonight, since Murphy is probably snickering right now at my lack of technical expertise.
The kickstand is great. It's a Pletscher
, and scissors open. When I arrive at work, I enter from the back door, ride the elevator up to the 3rd floor, and park the bike near my cube. Our facilities management team offered to get me a bike rack, but I declined. If they get me a bike rack, I will be expected to leave my ride outside. I pointed out the kickstand, and how I don't touch the wall. They approved my request to park the bike inside. I attribute this to the kickstand. It is also great for parking in our garage at home. I can stand the bike next to the car, and still have room to walk around it. The kickstand also allows me to load and unload the bike without worrying about gravity sucking my bike to the earth, potentially damaging this work of art. The stabilizer spring also helps loading and unloading immensely.
One of my favorite activities on my commute is to eyeball any riders in Lycra gaining on me. I then split the difference, and slowly pick up speed. Don't let the pressed slacks, mirror, brass bell, and my overall geekiness fool you. I can put the hammer down at will. I then ride with a smile on my face, and keep the rider a few bike lengths behind me. Because I can. Eventually, either they wear me out, or I tire of the game, and let them pass. I usually give them a "hello", and a few rings of my brass bell (purchased separately) as a greeting. My other favorite is to let them pass, and then drop in behind them. I then wheel suck - with the smile. Eventually they hear me, and look back, completely startled to see me smiling, with my basket loaded, easily riding along with them. "Nice bike, does it go fast?" is one of my favorite questions to ask. You should see their bikes wobble as they process that question.
As the saying goes, it's not the bike, it's the rider. Or another one - expensive basketball shoes won't put the ball in the hoop. This bike is fast when it has to be, as long as the rider is fast. So if you are bike commuting between Oradell and Montvale, and see me on my ride, catch me if you can. You'll get to hear my bell, but only if you work for it.
Reference information:
Who is Gary Fisher?
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I was very happy about our move, because suburban NJ afforded the opportunity to get a route and a bicycle which were more appropriate for my stature in life. My honey laughed at that one too. It's okay to laugh with her. I was also claiming my reward for having lost 20 pounds and kept it off for a year. The deal my honey made was that I could buy any bike I wanted. I thought about buying a racing bike for over $6,000, but wouldn't I look stupid in my slacks on a carbon fiber bike, with no where to put my stuff?
Instead, I looked for a bike that would provide an upright ride so I could see and be seen better. I also wanted a comfortable riding position, so I could wear my business casual work clothes, and wouldn't make me think I had to race to work. Riding hard means I sweat hard, which makes me aromatic. I also wanted a bike that had style, and would make the trip enjoyable. I carry my lunch everyday, in the summer I carry swim gear for my side trips to the pool on my ride home, and occasionally I carry a laptop. I also do light shopping on my ride.
My initial focus was to look at the many bikes on the major manufacturers' Web sites. The variety was mind-boggling. I then visited a few bike shops to discuss my options, and every shop I visited wanted to sell me a bike from stock, and recommended tri-cross bikes, road bikes, and a few urban rides, which are basically mountain bikes that are modified to road ride.
Then one day my honey sent me a link to the Gary Fisher Simple City 8. I loved the look of it, except for the basket. The basket is seriously eye-catching. After a bunch of phone calls and e-mails, I found one bike shop in the area that was willing to order the bike without obligation on my part. Tenafly Bicycle Workshop responded immediately to my e-mail, a week later I test rode the bike, and a day later I purchased it.
 |
| Who mugged Forrest Gump? |
The basket is actually a nice thing to have, and made it simple to run to the store to pick up items, such as Sunday morning pasties, and library books. I also use it for my laptop, lunch, and to place my shirt in on warm days. It holds a lot, and doesn't impact the ride much. The basket has two parts - an outer skeleton, and an inner mesh basket that is attached, but has small holes to keep your stuff from falling through. To compensate for the basket and the potential for over steer, there's a stabilizer spring between the front of the frame and the back of the fork. This keeps the wheel from flopping to the side when the basket is loaded. The spring is also great for carrying the bike on stairs and through doorways, since it keeps the wheel from hitting the walls and railings. If you use the basket, be sure you use bungee cords or rope to tie down your stuff. The inner mesh of the basket will act as a trampoline, and when you come off of a bump, will propel your stuff onto the road.
 |
| Axiom rack, with wood top |
The fenders are stylish, have a low profile, and keep the water off of me (and off the bike). They are also stable, and I haven't had to tweak them yet. Fenders are so highly underused in America. They keep me dry, keep the bike clean, and provide places to put reflective materials.
Both tires have whitewalls, which are highly reflective. The light jumps off of them at night. This provides great side visibility for other road users. The tires themselves are fairly bullet proof, they are Kevlar lined and the only flat I had was a pinch flat from not doing my ABC check.
I'm not a bike parts techie, so I won't get into the component makes and comparisons. I will just say that the front brakes are alloy calipers, and if you fix a flat, you will need to inflate the tire after you install it. The calipers don't have the little lever to widen the space to allow the filled tire to pass through them. These brakes work. I especially like the roller brakes on the rear. On wet days, these are not effected by the water.
 |
| Kickstand and stabilizer spring |
The rear hub is the Nexus 8 speed internal hub, and at the 800 mile point, I have not even thought about the hub. It is bullet-proof, and works. I haven't had to change a flat on the back yet, but will learn how to take the rim off when this happens. Okay, maybe I will do this tonight, since Murphy is probably snickering right now at my lack of technical expertise.
The kickstand is great. It's a Pletscher
, and scissors open. When I arrive at work, I enter from the back door, ride the elevator up to the 3rd floor, and park the bike near my cube. Our facilities management team offered to get me a bike rack, but I declined. If they get me a bike rack, I will be expected to leave my ride outside. I pointed out the kickstand, and how I don't touch the wall. They approved my request to park the bike inside. I attribute this to the kickstand. It is also great for parking in our garage at home. I can stand the bike next to the car, and still have room to walk around it. The kickstand also allows me to load and unload the bike without worrying about gravity sucking my bike to the earth, potentially damaging this work of art. The stabilizer spring also helps loading and unloading immensely. |
| Catch me if you can (yes, that's my helmet) |
As the saying goes, it's not the bike, it's the rider. Or another one - expensive basketball shoes won't put the ball in the hoop. This bike is fast when it has to be, as long as the rider is fast. So if you are bike commuting between Oradell and Montvale, and see me on my ride, catch me if you can. You'll get to hear my bell, but only if you work for it.
I really love the ride on this bike. It is very comfortable, has solid components, and is nicely balanced. I have over 800 miles on it, and I am still as happy with the bike as the day I purchased it.
Reference information:
Who is Gary Fisher?
If you like this post, subscribe to my feed, and feel free to share this blog using the cleverly hidden social media buttons below.
___________________________________
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