I really miss riding my little Cinzia folding bike.
Following it's sad demise, I've been riding my wife's old bike - a modern 6-speed ladies-frame hybrid bike.
I miss the simplicity and ease of the Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub, which I've loved ever since I first used one more than 35 years ago.
I miss the short wheelbase, which I found handy when crossing those roads with a central pedestrian island placed between the two directions of traffic - the size of the islands varies, and with the shorter ones, I need to keep the bike at an angle to keep the ends of the wheels on the pedestrian island and out of the traffic.
I miss the low bottom bracket height, which, due to my creaky knees, was a major benefit. Most modern bikes have a bottom bracket about an inch higher than my Cinzia, which means that I have to bend my knees more.
And, of course, I miss the quirky little bike that I have owned for the best part of twenty years.
It still is the only bike I have ever bought new for myself.
To be honest, my wife's old hybrid is a "better" bike for almost everything I do:
- better load capacity
- less frame flex (the Cinzia has a simple hinge in it's U-frame)
- better brakes (the mediocre side-pull calipers just don't match up to modern V-brakes)
But on the other hand, my Cinzia was better for:
- riding at night (I had a hub dynamo and a lovely LED front light installed)
- putting in the back of our car (automobile)
- tyres (I had a Schwalbe Marathon on the back, while the hybrid has OEM "cheapies")
Like I said, fixing the Cinzia just isn't economic.
If I want a similar bike again, I really ought to get another one from eBay (after Christmas, when prices are lower).
On the other hand, the Cinzia has a plain steel frame - no fancy thin wall, high-strength alloys here!
And an arc welder isn't as expensive as it used to be ...
Where there is steel, there is hope ...
to be continued (hopefully!)
Following it's sad demise, I've been riding my wife's old bike - a modern 6-speed ladies-frame hybrid bike.
I miss the simplicity and ease of the Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub, which I've loved ever since I first used one more than 35 years ago.
I miss the short wheelbase, which I found handy when crossing those roads with a central pedestrian island placed between the two directions of traffic - the size of the islands varies, and with the shorter ones, I need to keep the bike at an angle to keep the ends of the wheels on the pedestrian island and out of the traffic.
I miss the low bottom bracket height, which, due to my creaky knees, was a major benefit. Most modern bikes have a bottom bracket about an inch higher than my Cinzia, which means that I have to bend my knees more.
And, of course, I miss the quirky little bike that I have owned for the best part of twenty years.
It still is the only bike I have ever bought new for myself.
To be honest, my wife's old hybrid is a "better" bike for almost everything I do:
- better load capacity
- less frame flex (the Cinzia has a simple hinge in it's U-frame)
- better brakes (the mediocre side-pull calipers just don't match up to modern V-brakes)
But on the other hand, my Cinzia was better for:
- riding at night (I had a hub dynamo and a lovely LED front light installed)
- putting in the back of our car (automobile)
- tyres (I had a Schwalbe Marathon on the back, while the hybrid has OEM "cheapies")
Like I said, fixing the Cinzia just isn't economic.
If I want a similar bike again, I really ought to get another one from eBay (after Christmas, when prices are lower).
On the other hand, the Cinzia has a plain steel frame - no fancy thin wall, high-strength alloys here!
And an arc welder isn't as expensive as it used to be ...
Where there is steel, there is hope ...
to be continued (hopefully!)
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