July 26, 2007

Big Stiffy

Hey, this is a family show, jerk-face.

ANYways, I think I'm going to officially name the new commut-a-beast "The Big Stiffy", simply because of the initial impressions after my ride to work this AM.

This leads me back into materials discussions, and reinforces the technological wonder that was the Cannondale frame. Blends and alloying aside, there is something to be said for shaping and butting of tubes with regards to comfort. Where the Cannondale completely changed my mind about aluminum from a comfort AND lightweight standpoint, the Specialized Sirrus changes it right back again. It's not NEARLY as bad as the old Schwinn Passage, but the straight-gauge, all-round aluminum tubing certainly transmits energy well! It's like... I wonder where my sit bones are.... oh, wait, THERE THEY ARE! ouch. Nothing a suspension seatpost won't fix, but I actually will probably try to swap on the Pasela 32s first and lower the pressure a touch. It's just as stiff, however, as the Cannondale, and it climbs VERY well out of the saddle, WITH a load of panniers, to boot. A very capable machine, and something that will take away road-salt worries this winter. But, ultra-cozy it's not, and probably not brevet-ready unless REALLY big tires will fit. It's Stiff.

Plus, it's a 58cm frame, technically, but the wickedly sloped top-tube makes it perfectly fit for standover height, and the stem and handlebars are perfect fit thanks to slack tube angles. So, there's where you get the "Big" part of the title.

The "the" part of the title is just an article. Just FYI.

It's just finally nice to have my stable back in some sort of ORDER again, and bikes placed in roles where they are best suited. The Kogswell looks better than ever, and this new steed is mighty sharp-lookin', and gave me a chance to clean up a lot of the stuff that I'd kinda thrown randomly onto the Steamroller when it was tasked with daily-duty. Ahhhhhh.... the sun sets on another stable-reorg. You'd think I was some gigantic conglomerate doing a workforce reduction. Don't get me started on THAT.

Roll on.

Just don't ask me which bike I'm gonna ride.
"Hey, man, which bike you gonna ride, you gonna ride the.... nevermind."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

there's a black schwinn circuit what needs a bit of love some time before october ... ;)

warbird.