Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Boys and their toys...


Singlespeed, originally uploaded by lesleykng.

Now that the cold days have moved out and the weather is once again cycling friendly, it is noteable that more cyclists are on the road commuting to work.

Cycle-commuting is quite a new concept to me as one would never think of doing so in the unfriendly environment in Metro Manila. My parents would probably have thrown me into a mental ayslum had I even considered it.

Adelaide, on the other hand is different. The weather is certanly permissive. The air still fresh, and the pathways friendlier. My workplace has a steel bike cage to park you bike and a locker room with proper shower facilities.

In other words, there was more than enough reason to cycling to work.

The final problem was that I had 2 bikes. A roadie and a dual-suspension MTB. Both of which were too pricey to commute with and leave chained... even in a steel cage.

The solution... build a new bike.

Considering that I had 2 bikes in the garage, and my missus was not really into cycling, I'm sure she had a hard time comprehending the need for a third one. I didn't have to explain anything because I purchased the parts online and had kept the bike parts in the garage... which was really privy and off limits to her anyway. She'd only find out when the whole bike was well complete.

Parts were individually selected and bidded for on ebay. Those that had to be new were purchased online. Once I had enough for a complete bike, took a day off and voila! I have my singlespeed commuter.

No gears meant less parts. Less parts less maintenance.
Also, less gears = more effort = more exercise.

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