Bike Shopping

November is the start of trainer season and I'm trying to remember that putting work in on the trainer now will only benefit me in the spring when I finally get to ride outdoors again. To counteract the boredom of riding indoors I have started building a collection of Tour De France videos which seem to entertain me enough to get me through my workouts.

Of course more time off the bike means I have more time to shop for my next bike...or in my current case bikes. Yes, I have a problem, but honestly you can never have to many bikes...right? Currently I have a Cannondale Synapse (color: jet black, plus it has a triple) which is the bike that got me into cycling. I also have a Cannondale Flash F3 Feminine for rides that feature a lot more dirt. I haven't taken this bike out too much, but I just need to build my confidence more on trails, but in the meantime dirt roads are more of my thing.

In December I'll be adding a Cannondale Supersix EVO Womens 4  to the mix which I have been dreaming about all year. I anxiously awaited the day the Cannondale catalogs came out and then an afternoon at the bike shop discussing all the various options for my next bike. I had been deadset on the Supersix for over a year now but when I saw the color options it wasn't exactly love at first site. I was originally going for the Supersix EVO Womens 3 but the all white bike just wasn't my thing. So for a few extra dollars I'm upgrading the cranks and wheels plus the paint job and settling in with the EVO 4. Before I went in to test ride bikes to determine sizing and such the bike shop was nice enough to order me one so it would be in as soon as possible. Of course it will be December by then and I'm not holding my breath that I will actually be able to take it outside and ride it. Upstate winters with salt and bikes don't mix, so it looks like I'll be enjoying some trainer time with my new toy. I have a feeling this bike will be pretty fun to race next season and can't wait to take it out on the road!

A few weeks ago Erik added a new bike to his collection, a single speed no name cross bike that he can commute to and from work on and not worrying about beating it up to badly. For around $400 bucks he has a fun new toy and jealously snuck its way in as we quickly realized that his frame was just to big for me so I couldn't even ride it. Actually, I rode it down the street in a stretch out superman position but finally succeeded to the fact that the bike just wasn't ride-able for me. I spent the next day riding his single speed Surly Karate Monkey and although the gearing was way to low, I still had a blast spinning away. I spend a lot of time riding wondering if I am in the right gear and a single speed makes life so easy.

I have been toying with the idea of a single speed around town fun bike for a while and since hipsters have made them super popular it's easy to find a large number of places that sell that online. You can customize practically everything and basically have one heck of a colorful bike when your done. Of course since these seem to be more of a fashion statement than anything the bikes aren't that great of quality and you're pretty much paying extra for the chance to color coordinate your bike to your favorite outfit. So I looked away from those sites and started looking for a cheaper no name brand alternative that didn't completely suck. Sure for under $300 dollars I could buy a bike and ride around town but the quality wasn't there. Plus, you never regret buying to much bike. Well, maybe you do if you never ride your bike...

Anyways my Internet searching turned to finding a quality bike and plus I know had a nice bonus from work in my pocket burning away. After searching around I stumbled on a Jamis Sputnik and I'm pretty positive I've found my bike. Now I just need to get to my local bike shop and talk sizes and figure out if they are even in stock to buy. The gearing is a bit high with a 46 up front so I'll probably find something smaller if I plan on tackling any hills, but for my favorite weekday flat look this bike will be a beast.

I'm thinking the next MS century needs to be on a single speed...you know, just to mix things up a bit. I'm starting to think next year is going to be one heck of a cycling season.