Out on the line
I took the IGH project bike out for a 100k this afternoon. Not a particularly fast 100k (mainly because I’m still out of shape) but a good shakedown ride for the thing nevertheless.
I find that, even when I’m tired, I tend to ride it as a single-speed with bailout gears – I rode ~70 miles today and only switched out of the +33% gear ratio when I was climbing the east approach to the Sauvie Island Bridge, the west approach to the Morrison Bridge, and the Powell Ave overpass + climb up 8th Ave in Brooklyn (a total of 69 miles in +33%, 1 mile in direct drive.) If I wasn’t sure that climbs like the Eaden Road ramp on the Estacada 100 (et al) will end up needing that -33% ratio I’d just replace the chainrings with a 50t one so I could get a 100 inch +33% gear.
The Electra saddle is worse on a bicycle with 13cm of saddle to bar drop than it was on the old project bike’s 6cm saddle to bar drop. Guess I’ll have to start shopping around for a used Berthoud again.
And speaking of a 13cm saddle to bar drop: holy goodness that’s a lot of drop! The first 10 miles of the loop I felt as if I was stretching to reach the bars and I didn’t start getting really comfortable until I was approaching the Sauvie Island Road turnaround. I hope I can drag myself back into shape soon because I’d really like to try and ride this thing on a 200k just to see how annoying that drop (plus the lack of gears) would get after the first 100 or so miles.