I bought a Sugino Alpina for Arielle. To tell you the truth, I knew I would. I'd thought about getting a Velo Orange Grand Cru fluted double crankset. But, even though I like some "retro" stuff, I don't do "retro" for retro's sake. And that's what I feel the Grand Cru crankset is.
But most important, with the Sugino, I know what I'm getting. I've ridden several of their cranksets before, and they have always been good, functional items that were good values. And the Alpina is definitely one of the prettier cranksets I've seen.
Now, I have some Velo Orange accessories on my bikes. But I haven't used one of their major components yet. (They offer brakes, among other things.) If the crank were defective in some way, I'm sure they'd take it back.
The difference in price between them is not great and therefore would not have been a factor in my purchase. VO is selling the Alpina for $175 and their own crank for $190. When I admitted to myself that I was leaning toward the Alpina, I found it for $150 at Ben's Cycle and Fitness Center of Milwaukee. They sell on eBay as well as on their own website and in their store, and I've bought a few things--mainly track cogs and other track-related parts--from them previously.
On top of the good price, I got free shipping via UPS.
I think Arielle and I are going to be happy with the Alpina.
08 January 2011
07 January 2011
PC Bikes, Florida
Last week, while spending the holidays with my parents (and riding their neighbor's beach cruiser), I stopped in the local bike shop, PC Bikes of Palm Coast.
It's a small shop, but Jeff (l) and Jake (r), pictured below, are friendly and helpful.
They sell road, mountain and comfort bikes from Trek, Gary Fisher and Giant. They also have, as one might expect in a Florida shop, a couple of adult tricycles. But what I found most intriguing were the locally-designed Sun bikes, which I had never seen before.
This model seems like a cross between a mixte and a baloon-tired utility bike like the current Worksman or some of the old Schwinns. I rather like the way the rear rack seems to be a continuation of the tube that intersects the top and down tubes.
I really liked the looks of this one, though:
Although I didn't measure it, I am almost entirely sure that it has one of the longest wheelbases I've seen on a single bike. What that means is an ultra-stable, even cushy ride, which Jake cited as one of the goals in design . Part of what gives this bike such a long wheelbase is a feature I don't recall having seen before:
This is probably the first bike I've ever seen in which the frame's seat tube doesn't end in the bottom bracket shell. I don't think I've ever seen another bike, save for a recumbent, on which the pedals were so far forward from the seat. And, with the exception a tandem I saw once, I don't think I've ever seen another bike with a rear wheel that was set as far back from the cranks and pedals as this one is.
Just what I need for cruising down the boardwalk at Daytona Beach!
It's a small shop, but Jeff (l) and Jake (r), pictured below, are friendly and helpful.
They sell road, mountain and comfort bikes from Trek, Gary Fisher and Giant. They also have, as one might expect in a Florida shop, a couple of adult tricycles. But what I found most intriguing were the locally-designed Sun bikes, which I had never seen before.
This model seems like a cross between a mixte and a baloon-tired utility bike like the current Worksman or some of the old Schwinns. I rather like the way the rear rack seems to be a continuation of the tube that intersects the top and down tubes.
I really liked the looks of this one, though:
Although I didn't measure it, I am almost entirely sure that it has one of the longest wheelbases I've seen on a single bike. What that means is an ultra-stable, even cushy ride, which Jake cited as one of the goals in design . Part of what gives this bike such a long wheelbase is a feature I don't recall having seen before:
This is probably the first bike I've ever seen in which the frame's seat tube doesn't end in the bottom bracket shell. I don't think I've ever seen another bike, save for a recumbent, on which the pedals were so far forward from the seat. And, with the exception a tandem I saw once, I don't think I've ever seen another bike with a rear wheel that was set as far back from the cranks and pedals as this one is.
Just what I need for cruising down the boardwalk at Daytona Beach!
05 January 2011
We Made It!
Lately my wireless connection has been misbehaving. That's why I've posted only once this year before tonight.
At least I rode to work yesterday. I'm teaching a winter intercession course at my "second" college. They offered me a course before my main job offered me one, and I couldn't have taught both. Plus, this course is an elective called Readings In Prose Fiction. Basically, I can assign anything I want in it. The other course I was offered was a required course in writing research papers.
The college at which I'm teaching is the one that had the full bike rack almost any time I rode in. It's also the one where I saw a Pinarello parked in the rack. That bike wasn't there yesterday. In fact, I was a bit surprised to see any other bike at all. Although the temperature reached the 40's (5-8 degrees Celsius), there were still piles of snow and ice around the edges of the parking lot, and at the bike rack.
Even if we weren't blessed with the remnants of last week's storm, there wouldn't be very many more bikes parked on campus. The campus feels like a ghost town, at least in comparison with the regular semester. To be fair, that's the case in most schools: Fewer courses are offered, and fewer students attend. As I understand, financial aid isn't available for students during the winter session.
Anyway, it's nice to be able to park my bike without having to maneuver others. On the other, I miss the crowded bike rack: It's nice to know that there are so many cyclists in the college. Plus, the prof with whom I'd been riding home toward the end of the semester isn't teaching during the intersession. Sometimes I like riding home alone, probably because I interact with people on my job. But I was enjoying the company of that other prof. She and her husband had recently begun to take some longer rides on weekends, she told me.
Somehow I imagine that she'd be riding in if she were teaching. After all, she cycled through the coldest weather we had at the end of the semester--in a skirt. So I know I wasn't the only crazy one in the college! She has nicer legs, though. ;-)
Mine got me to work, which was about an hour and fifteen minutes from my apartment. One other person at the college could say the same thing.
At least I rode to work yesterday. I'm teaching a winter intercession course at my "second" college. They offered me a course before my main job offered me one, and I couldn't have taught both. Plus, this course is an elective called Readings In Prose Fiction. Basically, I can assign anything I want in it. The other course I was offered was a required course in writing research papers.
The college at which I'm teaching is the one that had the full bike rack almost any time I rode in. It's also the one where I saw a Pinarello parked in the rack. That bike wasn't there yesterday. In fact, I was a bit surprised to see any other bike at all. Although the temperature reached the 40's (5-8 degrees Celsius), there were still piles of snow and ice around the edges of the parking lot, and at the bike rack.
Even if we weren't blessed with the remnants of last week's storm, there wouldn't be very many more bikes parked on campus. The campus feels like a ghost town, at least in comparison with the regular semester. To be fair, that's the case in most schools: Fewer courses are offered, and fewer students attend. As I understand, financial aid isn't available for students during the winter session.
Anyway, it's nice to be able to park my bike without having to maneuver others. On the other, I miss the crowded bike rack: It's nice to know that there are so many cyclists in the college. Plus, the prof with whom I'd been riding home toward the end of the semester isn't teaching during the intersession. Sometimes I like riding home alone, probably because I interact with people on my job. But I was enjoying the company of that other prof. She and her husband had recently begun to take some longer rides on weekends, she told me.
Somehow I imagine that she'd be riding in if she were teaching. After all, she cycled through the coldest weather we had at the end of the semester--in a skirt. So I know I wasn't the only crazy one in the college! She has nicer legs, though. ;-)
Mine got me to work, which was about an hour and fifteen minutes from my apartment. One other person at the college could say the same thing.
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