Situation: near-daily commute (7.5 miles earch) way along the Hudson River from the UWS to Lower Manhattan. Mostly flat with some short steep hills uptown. Also take on errands and occasional long rides (park or up to GWB).
Current bike: Marin Muirwoods 2018. Streel frame. with 700x40c tires. Loaded up with a Timbuk2 Pannier.
- What I appreciate about it –
- feels indestructible. Potholes and bumps can be jarring as it takes them kind of soft, but I imagine on a lighter bike with thinner tires it would be a lot rougher with maybe a few spills or flats along the way.
- What I have come to dislike:
- with the long reach and wide handlebars, my hands hurt after a long ride. I mix in CitiBike e-bikes from time to time and appreciate having a relaxed ride.
- Also the maintenance. I will say, I get free tune ups from the amazing LBS where I got it, but it's been a 5 year battle of gears slipping and slowing down/getting sluggish. In the winter, pushing against a stiff headwind coming home at night, I have found myself cursing the gods.
Me:
- I'm in decent shape, I like to be able to go fast. Because of some knee/ankle injuries I have not been able to run for years, so this is my cardio. At the same time, there are days when I want to just relax and enjoy the ride (I would really be tempted for an e-Bike but just can't risk/deal with charging). Depending on light/traffic I'll avg 13-15mph for the whole ride and will hit 17-19mph on straightaways (again with loaded up bag).
So this leads me to my priorities, which I feel like are in tension with each other and I'll note the bikes that are appealing for these reasons:
Overall, I am only focusing on carbon belt drive bikes. I just don't want to deal with the derailleur and gear issues.
I also love being able to go back to my LBS for issues. So I'm looking at bikes that ship, but
- Commuting warhorse (including winter/nighttime riding): Priority Continuum Onxy. This is at the top of my price range – frankly a bit more.
- Comfort: The Priority Turi Comfort. Candidly, I'm struggling to accept this "look" but realize it could really check the box for comfort. But Can I go fast enough?
- To that end, I've read a lot of critical feedback on the Enviolo hub that drives both of these feeling "sluggish." I have the leg power to get up hills but don't want to feel like I'm always having to work "harder."
- Speed/overall performance: Marin Presidio 3 (or maybe the 2). My LBS has both of these in stock, though the Presidio 3 in stock is a large and they talked me into the Muirwoods LG 5 years ago and I kind of regret it. (I have a 30" inseam). Without fenders/lights the Presidio 3 price would approach the Continuum. The 2 doesn't have the Carbon Drive, but is at a better price point of course. My concern with these bikes is that dropping to these 32 tires could make me feel a lot more unsteady on the rough parts of my ride.
- Also in that vein, I've been looking at the Priority – L Train. or the Spot Acme. Both of these also come with 700x32c tires.
- Back to the warhorse/confidence thing: I've started to winder if the Hot Sauce could fit the bill.
Any confident recommendations or experience from people looking to balance these needs? Other suggestions that can cause me to spiral further? 🤣
by AreaManNYC