12-speed vindication

NBD a little more than a week ago: P Line 12-speed in Midnight Black Metallic. I chose the 12-speed despite living in a mostly flat place (Chicago) because the idea for this bike, and the other one just like it that we picked up for my wife at the same time, is to take them with us when we travel to who-knows-where (we’re recently retired). Still, I thought carefully about the gearing, plotting graphs to compare against other bikes I’ve owned, concerned that maybe 12 speeds would turn out to be more than we need.

Well, it didn’t take long to dash that notion. The next day was dark and windy and threatening rain, but I went out anyway for an out-and-back shake-out ride on the Lakefront Trail. Heading north, I caught a ~40 km/h tailwind and within a few minutes found myself sailing along in top gear: 4 on the left x 3 on the right. Of course I knew that eventually I’d have to turn around and face the music. And so it was: a long slow grind back, which near the end included a short but steep climb out of an underpass. I could have probably muscled that in 2nd or 3rd, but I figured, might as well see what 1st gear can do.

So there it was. Second day out on the bike, and I had legitimately used all 12 gears. In Chicago.

(The picture is from a much less windy ride yesterday.)