Getting Back on The Bike
Getting back into cycling can be a daunting experience and especially when things have changed quite a bit. Not only do you have road and mountain bikes, but now you have different segments of each category: freeride, all mountain, comfort hybrid, cyclocross, sport hybrid.... The list goes on. Our addition to the Brodie family Mike talks about his experiences.
Going into a bike shop when you have not ridden a bike in decades canbe a bit of a nail biter. That is how I felt two winters ago as I looked around at the two wheeled beauties on Broadway in Vancouver."How do aluminum frames ride?" I asked. I was excited, bicycles had changed quite a bit over the years. After asking a few more questions trying not to look like a complete fish out of water I finally decidedon a Brodie Dynamo with an aluminum frame and disk brakes. This wasgoing to be my get acquainted with biking again bike. I wanted apositive experience. Sizing was important and I wanted the frameslightly smaller so I could have comfort and control. For the weatherI asked for fenders and for utility a rear rack. A week later and it was ready.
Getting reacquainted with my new two wheels was a joy. I loved the smooth ride of the aluminum frame and the stopping power of the mechanical disk brakes. My street machine was almost perfect. But I had some ideas of my own. I had a few goals: make it more comfortable and a better performer. In situations like this it is great we live inthe age of Ebay. After a bit of research I decided to see if I could move the bars closer to me so I didn't have to reach forward so much. Maybe I have short arms? After some helpful emails from Brodie I decided on a Truvativ stem that was shorter by a few inches so thebars were that much closer to reach. I ran into a few snags on the wayI ordered the wrong part that was for larger size head tubes. I also needed to get new spacers to fit exactly the new stem. Finally the black Truvativ stem looked beefy and awesome and did the trick helping my riding position. The next new piece of modding was a Truvativ compact crankset. Referencing the Brodie site was very helpful in looking up parts and specs for my bike so I could find parts that would be compatible. As you can tell I was starting to like Truvativ. The crankset looked great and was much lighter while still holding up in the strength department. By now I was feeling like I was almost at perfection but I still had a few ideas. The riding position still wasn't perfect so to match the Truvativ stem I went for some Truvative bars with a slightly greater rise. That brought the bars that much closer. Some more research and I found that you could move your riding position forward with something called a "zero offset seatpost" I found one at a nice price by you guessed it Truvativ and when I finally had it installed I knew I had found the great combination. Now the riding comfort was truly better than on any bike I had ever ridden.
Fast forward now two years and pretty much everything is the same. A new set of Vittoria Randonneur 28c narrow tires and a new chain helped to keep things flowing. Right now what excites me is getting rid of the heavy greasy waterproof lube on my chain for the lighter oil in preparation for summer riding.
Mike A
