I love riding with my bike club, really I do, and they're wonderful people and great riding companions, but can I just rant here, among like-people, for just a minute?
I swear, when someone shows up at my club with a new bike, the first and only topic of discussion is weight. WEIGHT IS NOT THE ONLY CRITERION WHEN PICKING BIKE FRAMES AND BIKE PARTS. Thank you. I'll lower my voice now. I was very good today on my clubs bike ride, 29 miles, 3900 feet of elevation, lots of sections in the high teens in grade. I kept my mouth shut, mostly, did not swear, and did not mention that I thought my companions' bikes were ridiculously overgeared for what they were trying to do with them. I did not say... ...No, a compact double is not significantly lighter than a triple, and if you can't climb that hill without weaving back and forth and getting in my way, not to mention dangerously cutting across the center line, you should put a triple on your bike. ...You can't notice a two pound difference in weight. You can't, unless you can tell me with a straight face that you climb significantly faster when your water bottles are empty. ...If you weigh 98 pounds, stiffness and compliance in a bike are irrelevant for you. Also, if you weigh 98 pounds, you're not climbing faster than me (when you do) because your *bike* is lighter than my *bike*. I could ride a weightless bike, and I'd still weigh more than you and your bike put together. Yawn. As I said, I love riding with my club. But jeez, there's more to bikes than how much they weigh. -- -- Anne Paulson My hovercraft is full of eels -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
