streetsmarts
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@LhasaCM 165153 wrote:
Saturday’s 40* States ride was the debut of my new commuter (and every other type of ride) bike. It’s a Rose Activa. I got it to replace my Breezer Beltway 8 whose bottom bracket was starting to get to me (it was a weird externally bearing ecccentric, so was very creaky), as was the rear hub. Since the majority of my mileage is with a trailercycle attached, I wanted something that had a bit more range, and with the whole drive train a bit more solid and able to cope with the load I put on it, without getting into eBike territory since this still is my one and only bike for all occasions. Here it is sitting in our garage (before I put the car back in).
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I opted for the Rose because, once I settled on getting a Pinion gearbox (I started looking at a Rohloff as an upgrade for my Alfine 8 – but then got smitten by this), it was the most affordable and most accessible option of the various companies that sell Pinion bikes, even with the cost of shipping it from overseas. It was probably 2 months of obsessive research/reading reviews/watching reviews/etc., and literally looking on the websites of every company listed on the Pinion website (relying heavily on Google translate) before I made the decision. I still need to fiddle with a few things to get the fit just right (maybe change the stem length if the microadjust isn’t enough), but fortunately, I picked the right size
All in all – it was about 2 weeks from placing the order to the bike shipping, and it arrived 2 days after it left the shipping center in Germany. There really wasn’t much assembly involved – rotate stem and adjust handlebars and seatpost, ensure everything is properly torqued, install the pedals, and add air for a usable bike. One minor issue with the purchase – while they got my other substitutions right, they did not heed my request to swap the standard tires (2 inch wide Schwalbe Mondials) for something slightly less suitable for off-road and slightly lower rolling resistance (e.g., 1.6 inch Marathon Supremes). Since I did not want to attempt the 50 States on the Mondials, I got some 1.5 inch Panaracers from Bike Rack just before they closed Friday, which I’ll probably keep on for the foreseeable future. As a result, there’s a bit too much fender clearance right now for my liking, so that may be an upcoming weekend’s project. I also need to look at replacing the front thru-axle or front rack since, as currently setup, I cannot remove the front wheel without also disconnecting the front rack (the “handle” can’t turn because the rack is in the way).
* I only made it to 40 before the guilt from my daughter for being gone so long (and driving my wife crazy) was sufficient to convince my tired legs to throw in the towel before the rest of the hills of NW. I’m hoping to finish on Wednesday so then I can wear the t-shirt honestly (since it just says that one rode the 50 states; it says nothing about how long it took over how many different rides).
Nice bike and nice to ride with you!
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