Wifey and I wake up at 4.30am and begin our prep.
Padded Shorts? (Discretely worn under our nylon sweat pants) Check!
Bike Helmets? (Required) Check!
Gloves? Check!
Gatorade? Check!
Commerce Bank 5 Boro Bike Tour Vest? Check!
As mentioned previously…
The 5 Boro Bike Tour is a car-free ride through New York City and the largest recreational cycling event in America and the ultimate tour of this great biking town... The journey starts in Lower Manhattan, north through the heart of Manhattan to Central Park and up on to historic Harlem and the Bronx, returning south along the East River on the FDR Drive. From there we'll cross into Queens and then Brooklyn. The route is 42 miles, mostly flat except for the bridges.
A friend of mine likes to put these trips together. Horse back riding, white water rafting, hot air ballooning. Whatever exciting thing strikes her fancy, which I think is cool as it’s a way to get some fresh air, socialize, be active and get to do something that most big city folk don’t normally get to do.
So when I received her Evite for this event, I was immediately on board. As a kid, I could always be found outside riding about on my BMX’er. This past mom’s day, Ma talked about that wistfully when I mentioned the tour to her. She smiled as if recalling a fond memory of something she loved seeing me do.
I always had a bike, in college when the big mountain biking faze first started, me and a bud got on board. It was the best way to get to class. After graduating, after my first job promotion, I rewarded myself with a brand new Specialized Hardrock which quickly became a part of my weekend warrior gig. Eventually I got rid of the Hardrock as I moved into a smaller apartment and had very little room for her. (Sniff!)
With the upcoming Bike Tour, I saw an opportunity to jump back in the saddle (in a matter of speaking). So, I sent an IM to the 'Significant'…
‘Bike Tour. 42 miles. U in?’
She replied. ‘I’m down. Definitely’
We had a number of weeks before the tour to purchase our bicycles, train and ride so we got to shopping around right away.
Here’s what we decided we would require:
My first ‘real’ bike was a considered a Rigid Mountain Bike or a Hardtail. Meaning that there were no suspension components at all (front or rear). However it did have very good components for the time...
The Specialized HardRock Sport
Chro -Moly frame
Shimano cantelever brakes
Shimano-Altus front and rear derailer
Sram 21 speed gripshift
Weinman aluminum 26x1.5 wheels
Specialized Crossroads 3 26x1.95 tires
Avocet cyclometer 15
The only drawback were it’s knobby tires which while good for the dirt trails, were not efficient for the road rides especially the one we wanted to undertake.
We decided that we would need a pair of hybrid bicycles.
A hybrid bicycle is a bicycle designed for use on roads and bike paths, with influence from both the road bicycle and the mountain bicycle. Each manufacturer is free to bias their hybrid closer to one type or the other, making it difficult to define precisely what a hybrid is. A relatively recent type of bicycle, the hybrid aims to retain the features of mountain bicycles which have made them accessible and popular, but are designed to be more suitable for urban use.
In general, hybrids use mountain bike gears to make riding in hilly environments easier, and have an upright riding position similar to a mountain bike. Handlebars are neither downturned like a road bicycle nor flat like a mountain bicycle. Rather, they have a slight upturn, providing for a more upright seating position.
There are 2 types of hybrid bicycles:
Road-biased hybrids
A road-biased hybrid has a frame similar to a racing or touring bicycle, and 700C-size wheels with slick or semi-slick tires between 32 and 40 mm wide . This additional tire width over a road bicycle is intended to give the hybrid some ability to deal with rough surfaces that might be encountered on bike trails, such as gravel, hard-packed sand and shallow mud.
and
Mountain-biased hybrids
A mountain-biased hybrid has a modified mountain frame with a taller head tube for a more upright riding posture, and 26-inch wheels with semi-slick tires around 1.95 inches (5 cm) wide.
So, being that we would be doing mostly road riding (I knew would do some off road), we decided to go for a pair of road-biased hybrid models.
The other thing is that 'Significant' would use a ‘unisex’ frame. Most bikes built today are unisex, meaning that they should fit most people with minor adjustments. This is not always the case. Women are built different than men — the typical woman has a shorter torso, shorter arms and longer legs than a man of the same height. She also has a wider pelvis and smaller hands and feet.
The average woman needs a bike with shorter overall "cockpit" length than the typical man's bike. Cockpit length is affected by three things: top tube length, handlebar stem length, and seat position.
Traditional "women's" frames, with the top tube that slopes/curves way down instead of going straight across, have the shorter reach but are not as strong as the diamond frame. For an entry-level recreational bike a "women's" frame is adequate, but it's performance is too compromised for the enthusiast.
We did our internet research and continued to seek advice and found that what we needed not wanted, should cost us approximately $1000 all together.
As mentioned above, I knew that I wanted to do a little bit of off-roading with my bicycle, I decided that I wanted something that with a front suspension and tires that while tall would have a bit more tread for the dirt.
'Significant' would go with a completely rigid road hybrid which would suit her needs fine.
While walking down 6th Ave one day, we found a pair that we instantly fell for.
The Gary Fisher Utopia for me...
Gold Series aluminum Frame
Shimano M475 disc hubs; Bontrager Ranger disc rims, WTB Interwolf tires, 700x38
SRAM X.7 rear derailleur, SRAM X.5 shifters, SRAM X.5 front derailleur, Shimano M443 48/36/26, Octalink crank, Avid BB5 mechanical disc" brakes, (Full Specs)
SR Suntour SF8-NRX, adjustable w/lockout, 63mm travel
Color: Black
MSRP: $880
Pros: Great bike, Tall wheels. Lightweight.
Cons: Too expensive. Less than robust warranty
and
The Trek Soho S for her...
Frame Alpha Black Aluminum
Fork Cro -Moly w/lowrider mounts
Wheels
Wheels Alloy flip flop high flange hubs; alloy rims
Tires Bontrager Race Lite, puncture resistant, 700x28c; 60 tpi
Crank Bontrager Nebula 44T w/chainguard
Cassette Shimano 17T freewheel/16T cog
Pedals Nylon body w/alloy cage
Components
Saddle Bontrager Select City
Seat Post Bontrager Satellite Nebula
Handlebars Bontrager Crowbar Sport, 25mm rise
Stem Bontrager Soho, 15 degree
Headset Aheadset Slimstak w/semi-cartridge bearings, sealed
Brakeset Alloy dual pivot w/Tektro alloy levers
Color: Black
MSRP $549
Pros: Great Price, Lightweight, Looks good, Very practicle
Cons: Poor Component Selection
While yes, this was in our price range, we had one issue with this bicycle. It was only 1 speed. Duh. More of a messenger bike than anything else. Useless for all the hill climbing we could expect.
As we shopped around, some more we ran into others who were planning to do the tour as well and offered advice about what would suit our needs as well as the importance of warranties and such.
We finally settled on the shop Bicycle Habitat, which is where we decided to test drive 2 models:
For me?
The Specialized CrossTrail Expert:
RST Vouge Comp, magnesium legs, alloy steerer, steel stanchions, coil sping w/ hydraulic lock out, Specialized Body Geometry, super light foam grips
Avid BB-5 mechanical disc brakes, G2 Clean Sweep 160mm rotor
Specialized Crosstrail Disc rims, double wall w/ machine sidewalls and eyelets
Specialized Borough XC tires, 1.9" w/ aramid bead, 60TPI
Color: Silver
MSRP: $940
And for her?
The Trek FX 7.3
Frame FX Alpha Black Aluminum
Fork FX Alloy w/tapered wall thickness, straight blades
Wheels Alloy front hub, Shimano RM60 rear hub; Bontrager Camino rims
Crank Shimano M341 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Rear Derailleur Shimano Deore
Color Metallic Black
Fathom Duotone
White-Silver Duotone
Color: Black
Color: $549
These bikes were winners! Very light, very fast (The Trek FX was faster than the Specialized which the salesperson told us would guarantee Significant kicking my butt.)
However, the same old problem reared it’s ugly head. The prices of both prices combined were still above our budget.
So we decided to take it down a notch.
The Specialized Crosstrail Sport for me:
Rocks ox Tora fork, 29er
Specialized Body Geometry, super light foam grips
Shimano M-761 Deore XT rear derailleur
Specialized Crosstrail Disc rims, double wall w/ machine sidewalls and eyelets
Specialized Borough XC tires, 1.9" w/ aramid bead, 120TPI
Color: Black
MSRP: $660
And the Trek FX 7.2 for her:
Frame FX Alpha White Aluminum
Fork High tensile steel w/lowrider mounts, straight blades
Wheels Alloy front hub, Shimano RM60 rear hub; Matrix 750 rims
Crank Shimano M191 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Rear Derailleur Shimano Alivio
Sizes 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25"
Color: Matte Smooth Silver
MSRP: $459
While slightly over our budget, we were still very willing. These were great bikes at a great price.
And we were / are very happy.
The 5 Boro Bike Tour? We did it. Finished in the first 7,000 or so (out of 30,000) and in personal best record time of approximately 5 hours 30 minutes (5 hours if you count that we only actually crossed the start line a half hour after the race actually started.)
Any problems? Not really. I had a front derailer problem that started re-occuring from the day we picked the bikes up. This was resolved by replacing the cable connected to the derailer. On the ride I locked up once or twice, but I think that can be fixed with an adjustment. I don't believe that this is a problem with the line, most probably a defect created when the bicycle was assembled.
We had lots of fun (although somewhere around Williamsburg, 'Significant' settled on cursing me every time we crested a hill.) After a night in the Epsom, we were good to go.
Although she’s swearing off the saddle for a little bit, we are already planning a ride out to Montauk next month. A 30 miler.
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