I rode my Infinity to work for the first time today. More about this bike can be found HERE and HERE. I elected to take the Infinity because it had a rack on it and I needed to carry some lunch items for the next few days. Also, it was already in the middle of the garage floor and ready to go.

This is the second trip of any duration on the bike and on this morning's 20 mile trip into work, she was showing her age. Maybe it was the chilly morning (mid 40's) or maybe it was due to the idiot I have for a mechanic (me), but I was definitely hearing some noises I did not hear on Sunday. Nothing bad, nothing that seemed like imminent trouble, just a "tick" here and there and something in the crank. I'm thinking bottom bracket. I put it together hastily for a quick ride and at the time, was figuring to tear it back down for overhaul. I don't believe I greased it and probably didn't torque the lockring down well enough. Anyway, whatever it is can be easily remidied. The other thing was my front brake. It was squealing badly this morning, which it did not do Sunday, at all. Because of this, I leaned on my rear brake a little more than normal. I'll need to adjust both before heading home this afternoon.

There were a couple places I was concerned about getting over with this bike, because it isn't really geared for much climbing. However, the bike did pretty well and was a pleasure to ride. My chest got chillier than normal, so I was glad I was warmly dressed. It soaked up the bumps pretty well, but one particularly choppy stretch of pavement was still a tooth loosener. I know enough to slow down and take it easy through this part of my trip... It's real short and I'd rather take a couple minutes than get a pinch flat or a flat spot on a wheel. Overall, it may have taken me a few more minutes than it would have on my Cruzbike, but I was carrying a pretty good payload, too.

Nice ride.... I love bicycling to work!

Mark

Congrats, Mark!

Yeah, rough pavement was another reason I asked about 20" vs. 26" front wheel in the chat on Sunday. I have a stretch of about a quarter of a mile in my 7.5 mile commute where the asphalt in the marked bike lane on both sides of the road is really starting to break up (more rock than asphalt in it).

The EZ Sport 20" front wheel on the stiff fork seems to take quite a beating, whereas the big 26" knobby tire on the Rockshox of the Giant MTB-turned-comfort-bike seems to absorb it pretty well.

It is on the first part of the morning ride, and since it is at around 5:30 AM there isn't a lot of auto traffic. I have been somewhat successful with checking to the rear and moving left into the real lane where the pavement is much smoother. No help coming home, though, in the rush hour traffic; I'm thinking about getting a boxer's mouthpiece to keep from biting off the tip of my tongue and having my singing sound like Mick Jagger.

BluesCat

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The afternoon return trip was uneventful except for a young lady that yelled out, "Cool bike!" I chuckled to myself wondering if she would think it so cool if she knew it was older than she is!!

At some point during the ride, I felt like I was really getting into the groove on the bike. It's taken some sixty miles, but I guess that's not too bad for a different pedalling position, steering arrangement and RWD instead of FWD. I had to make some minor adjustments tonight to a few things, but I'm going to ride it again tomorrow. I'm going to get my money's worth out of this bike, yet.

Mark