*to Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Κυνόσαργες
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Need a fixed-gear 'rain-bike'
I only have my road bike in Tokyo, but it rains all of June, and more often through the rest of the year than in Toronto, so I need a fixed-gear 'rain-bike' for commuting.
These are the only two appropriate bikes sold in my size in Japan:
Specialized Langster Steel
Fuji Feather
Or I can order one of these from the states and have it sent here, but it requires using a mail-forwarding company, and paying something like $200:
Iro Angus
Windsor Timeline
The order I introduced them is the order of pretty, I think, and the Langster has slightly better/lighter components. On the other hand, the Timeline has space for fenders... and the others really don't but I can fudge something unsatisfactory. And only the Timeline and Angus have bottle-cage brazes, but the one on the Angus is on the wrong tube.
Then there's the money (bike, shipping and necessary modifications):
Specialized Langster Steel: $950
Fuji Feather: $850
Iro Angus: $650
Windsor Timeline: $600
Yes, the Timeline is much cheaper, and the right rain ride... but it's not pretty! The ideal is the 2010 Surly Steamroller.
Labels:
bicycle,
BikesDirect,
cycling,
fenders,
Fixed Gear,
fixie,
Fuji Feather,
Iro Angus,
Japan,
Langster Steel,
singlespeed,
steel
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No more bikes!
ReplyDeleteYou want me to ruin an $1800 bike in the wet, or a $600 bike? Using the road bike for both is a false economy.
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