*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.

2 comments:

  1. You want me to ruin an $1800 bike in the wet, or a $600 bike? Using the road bike for both is a false economy.

    ReplyDelete