I remember back in the day, i hugging and puffing on the bike path. Then, out of nowhere, a Lance Armstrong lookalike came flying past me.
He wasn’t huffing and puffing. No sirry. In fact, while my legs were treading circles so fast you could barely see them, he was just casually moving his feet around, as of to say, “Yeah, I’m basically coasting and leaving you in the dust buddy. Try running . Everyone looks like they’re dying while running….”
We’ve all thought it:
Am I really that out of shape, or is it just the bike? It’s gotta be the bike!
Well issues and gentlemen, I’m here today to tell you one thing.
It is, indeed, the bike.
I recently bought a road bike that was so cheap, I wouldn’t speak of it lest I was bringing news for the good of all non-elitist humanity!
I’m not taking about a Walmart bike. No, ma’am. I’m talking a used Walmart road bike.
On my beautiful GMC Denuli, it is exactly as I thought:
I’m coasting up hills. I’m passing those young 20-somethings like I’ve been biking hardcore my whole life. I’m biking so fast that the children assume I must be a superhero.
But I’m not I’m just a dude with super pretty calves.
Seriously
Let me tell you what it’s actually like in case you were thinking about getting one.
Now I’ve only been on mine 3 times, and I’m sure it won’t wear me out much once I go on some civilized paths in Minneapolis. But for now, I can just say, it’s busy.
This must be how people feel driving a manual car for the first time.
There are basically three ways to grip the handlebars. One is good for casual riding but it’s harder to break. Another is good for going downhill, it looks badass, and you go fast, and it’s also the easiest to break. The last is good for climbing hills.
But with all the changing from one grip to the other, it really wears me out . It probably doesn’t help that I don’t yet have my biking legs this summer.
But seriously, these things go really, really fast! You’re tempted to petal downhill instead of coast . For some reason, it’s easier!
That means the little hill by my house gets me to 25 mph (40.2 kph) almost instantly. I have to brake halfway through because it turns a blind corner!
So if you just want a casual bike, staying with your hybrid is just fine. But if you wanna go fast….