Some eight years ago, I wrote about buying a fast, aluminum-framed, single-speed, fixed-gear bicycle. It was to be my all-in minimalist replacement for a $50 WalMart mountain bike, which, in turn, replaced a beloved Raleigh 3-speeder.
When I wrote that post, I was a true believer. But now, my enthusiasm for fixies has waned. A track bike is not a city bike. Fixie virtues--fast & light—also make for an annoyingly rough ride over something less than smooth asphalt. Plus aluminum frames are much noisier than steel ones. Add in tires inflated to 130 PSI and the ride is unavoidably harder than, say, 85 PSI. Plus the fixie has no gears to help on hills, and there's observably more continuous stress on knees than a bike that allows coasting with a freewheel.
All of which is to say, I started to indulge a nostalgic remembrance of my Raleigh 3-speeder. Could I get another one?
Alas, new 3-speeders are not readily available. The classic Raleigh with a Sturmey-Archer internal hub is history. The only new 3-speeder I found available in Portland was the Linus. A beautiful bike inspired by European bicycles of the 1950s with a contemporary spin from a Venice, California, outfit, but manufactured offshore. The stopper was the price: $800.
When one is not finding something locally, the next choice is usually online. At bikesdirect.com. I found it. A Windsor Oxford 3-speed with a Shimano Nexus hub (reputedly the equal of the storied Sturmey-Archer). The best part, the price of $350, free FedEx delivery anywhere in the lower 48.
Of course, the bike came in a cardboard box, mostly assembled, but ....
I was really impressed with the quality of the components, the paint on frame and fenders. Sure it's made somewhere unknown in mainland China, not Nottingham, England, like the old Raleighs, but it has the same Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub as that spendy Linus.
And the final proof was in the ride itself. Compared to the fixie, I felt I was floating over rougher city streets, the ten-pounds-heavier steel frame resisted road imperfections where the light aluminum frame didn't. And those wider, lower PSI tires also sopped up road noise. Add in three different gearings--not one--and my pedalling takes on a more interesting rhythm with shifting and coasting. Gone is the relentless push the pedals or the pedals push you.
Moreover, when I'm coasting, that tick-tick-tick of the freewheel is oddly reassuring and can only bring back past times I enjoyed with my old beloved Raleigh.
Image credit: bikesdirect.com
Read Charlie Dickinson's story collection (and feel free to share with a friend) The Cat at Light's End, as an ebook in these downloadable formats:
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