dxmachina | New Bike

So, despite all the rain, I went bike shopping yesterday. And, surprise, I bought a bike. It's a Fuji Silhouette, and it's very shiny. Got a good deal (about 25% off list) because it's last year's model. The most significant difference between this year's model and last seems to be the paint job. The thing is light as a feather (22 lbs.), about half of what my Univega weighs.

Here's the thing. This is the bike, even to the model, I wanted to get, based on what I'd seen on the net. Actually, that's not quite true. What I really wanted was my Univega with an aluminum frame, rather than steel, and this was the closest thing I was able to find. In fact, it's quite a bit closer to what I actually wanted ten years ago when I bought the Univega than the Univega was. What I'd asked for then was a road bike with a mountain bike's handle bar. That's what this new bike is. It's a road bike with a straight handlebar. The Univega was a true hybrid. That's all to the good. So why am I suddenly filled with doubts about it?

First of all, since it was raining hamsters, I wasn't able to test ride it. (That was actually pretty stupid of me not to come back at another time, but as a practical matter I might not have been able to come back to the shop for weeks, so... I really did want to get it in time for Daylight Savings Time.) Second, they use a different method of attaching the saddle than on older bikes, so I'm not sure if my ancient, oh so comfortable, leather saddle will even work with this bike. That would well and truly suck. Third, it is a road bike, so it comes with road gear ratios, which means it'll be faster, but harder to get up hills than the old bike. It has two more sprockets on the back, meaning 27 gears total instead of 21, but the extra gears all seem to be in the range that I'd only use going *down* hill. Great if you're doing time trials or something similar, but I'd rather have had the extra gears at the other end of the range. (There's a whole mathematical thing I did yesterday comparing gear ratios between the two bikes. I may post it some time, after I've actually had a chance to ride the bike to see how it all works in practice.)

Anyway, it's sitting in my living room, all shiny. Now if it would just stop raining for a little while...