A New Bike

Last Friday I bought a new bike. That’s something I do less often than vote in a presidential election, but not by much. By coincidence, I also marked my ballot on Friday. As I write this post on Election Day, I’m wondering if the country will opt for a new ride or keep its present one for another term.

In my case there wasn’t much choice. My old Diamondback, purchased in late 2007, had so many mechanical problems that fixing it would have cost two or three times what it was worth. Basically it wouldn’t shift properly or stay in gear due to a stretched chain and wear on the gear teeth, and every part that contributes to making the wheels turn, save perhaps the pedals, needed to be replaced. In addition the brakes were shot, the wheels needed truing, and there were probably a few other defects the bike mechanic who checked it over didn’t mention.

On its final ride the shift cable broke. Fortunately I was on the North Shore Road, a level stretch where you can almost get by with a single gear. The next day I bought a new bike at Silverdale Cyclery.

The Diamondback wasn’t an expensive bike to begin with. It also had an owner whose idea of maintenance is fixing flats and occasionally oiling the chain. Clearly with that kind of care it wasn’t going to last forever. Still in five years I rode it almost 12,000 miles. I have no idea if that is remarkable or not. Given our wet weather and grit-covered road shoulders, I think the Diamondback gave me everything it had.

The new bike (see photo) is a Raleigh Route 4.0. (Diamondbacks are also made by Raleigh.) The Raleigh web site puts it in the “lifestyle: city/path” category. The salesman called it a hybrid. Whatever. I like the level handle bars, the slightly oversize tires, and the sloped top tube. I don’t need 24 gears, but that’s how many it came with. While the Route 4.0 isn’t considered a road bike, it’s perfect for me for riding on, well, roads.

The best part is that all of the parts are new and work perfectly. I cannot believe how much easier my 7-mile daily ride is. Maybe I need to lengthen it. :) The last time I noticed this much difference in performance in going from old to new was when I replaced my 10-year-old Gateway computer last year.

The Raleigh is 40 miles into its new term. I hope it is still going strong the next time I vote for president.