Never Had a Bike be So Good.

mrjeffmccarthy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:54:14 +0000

I’ve been nagging my manger for months now about getting a new bike. This past Sunday she ran the numbers and relented. My old bike, a Cannondale I converted to a single speed, was tired. I’ve had the thing since ‘97, and my brother had it for a few years before that. I’m guessing with all the mountain biking and commuting, the thing has over a thousand miles on it. Time to upgrade. We visited Bike Gallery’s Hollywood location and I test drove three bikes. Our salesman was busy, but gave us just enough attention and zero pressure. I know a bit about bikes, and once he realized that gave me plenty of space. I liked that. First I rode the Kona Dew Plus, a multi-geared commuter bike. Kate has this bike, and she loves it. It felt good, the disc brakes were responsive and the gears were…geary. Second, I tried the Trek Soho S, a single speed. I felt this bike had been engineered with me in mind. Sleek and sexy, a razor in a stiletto heel. The third bike I rode was way out of my price range, but I had to try it. The Trek District sported a new carbon fiber belt drive instead of a chain. It was so quiet and precise, a triumph in cycle design. In the end, the Soho was the one we took home, being the best value, fit, etc. Also: all black. A ninja among bikes, a light weight karate chop of forged aluminum.

Jeff McCarthy » bike

Never Had a Bike be So Good.