camwyn: Me in a bomber jacket and jeans standing next to a green two-man North Andover Flight Academy helicopter. (Default)
[personal profile] camwyn
I tested the bike yesterday.

First thing: I have got to get used to drop handlebars again. I haven't really used a bike with drop handlebars since college, and the far-forward posture was weird. When I tried the more upright posture of holding onto the cross-bar portion, I found that i was reaching for brake levers I had had in college- levers that aren't there on this bike. The prospect of 'AAAAH MUST MOVE CENTER OF GRAVITY' combined with 'AAAAH NO BRAKES' was a bit weird. So was adjusting the height of the seat- I finally got the saddle angled forward properly,b ut the height of the bike frame is different, so it all added up funny. Not to mention that the gear shift is a lever thing that hangs from part of the drop bar on the right, rather than a rotary dial built into the horizontal handlebars like on the bike I've been riding.

This is not a complaint. This is just 'it's weird'. This is a very light bike. It runs far more smoothly than Wanda did. This bike flies. I just have to get used to it. It's a bit like riding the horses at Seaton Hackney Stables for years on end and then being offered a mount that's more than happy to let you gallop; it takes some getting used to.

She's lovely. I'll figure out her name as we go.

Date: 2006-08-31 02:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snowcoma.livejournal.com
Drop handlebars freak me out because I always think I'm an inch away from eating pavement. Score one for irrational phobia!

On the other hand, your posts are making me really miss having a bike. Luckily there's a big used bike shop in town and as soon as I have more than lint to put in my pocket I can get one.

Date: 2006-08-31 09:56 pm (UTC)
the_croupier: (Default)
From: [personal profile] the_croupier
At the risk of revealing just how little I know about bikes these days: do you have the option of buying a different set of handlebars and swapping them in instead (probably taking a hit in having to deal with more wind resistance, but maybe having a more familiar posture)?

Date: 2006-09-01 04:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rajrr.livejournal.com
Oddly I kind of know what you mean - with the pickiness and trying to get used to new equipment - but my parallel situation has to do with art pens.

Sounds much more badass, your way.

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camwyn: Me in a bomber jacket and jeans standing next to a green two-man North Andover Flight Academy helicopter. (Default)
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