Great Bike
Great Bike
That is a wonderful bike & a great picture. It reminds me of a very funny story that only true bicycle enthusiasts can appreciate. I had started a men's biking group of guys that were pretty fit. We would put in some 30 mile rides during the week, and work hard on a 100 miler on Saturday.
A really rich guy (Gene) moved into the neighborhood and liked our guys and wanted to join the group-which was very democratic, but you had to be able to keep up. If you couldn't keep up you got dropped. (When this started happening to me, it was one of the first clues of my deteriorating valve--fortunately I had a young Dr., who was part of the group).
Gene asked me where I got my biking stuff, and we went together to the high end bike store where I got all my bike equipment. Gene had already purchased a few private planes, and had no hesitation at purchasing the most expensive bike in the store. (And no one could talk him out of it.) At that time one of the best bike you could get was a Trek aluminum frame with dura-ace components. A truly professional quality bike. But, bikes of this type are set-up for very fit riders. The free-wheel is on the small side for fast & sure shifting. Really good riders don't want a big range between gears.
The setup on a really good bike makes you fast if you are fit, and will practically kill you if you are not. The funny part of the story for you bike enthusiasts: Gene was very upset with the bike when delivered. I was literally drooling over it, and asked what was wrong. He said "when I pay that much for a bike, I expect it to come equipped with a kick-stand."
But the rest of the story was the most important to me. Gene never got in shape, and, for obvious reasons didn't like the bike. He was a nice guy, and we were friends, just not biking friends. One day he came over determined to sell the bike. I told him my budget for a bike was about one-third of what he had payed. He said "sold" and brought over the bike, with two spare wheels, all sew ups. And I rode that bike (with undiminished love) for thousands of miles all over the country. There is something about a great bike that fits just right. It is more than the sum of it's (lovely) parts.
