Now a 2-bike household...

[christob]

When the ebike went out of commission this month, I had a feeling it might be a slow turnaround... (needed a new bottom bracket and a new controller, under warranty.) Turned out to be a total of 25 days without biking. (Everything's back to good with the ebike now.) But during that time I thought, "you should look at a second bike, a pedal-bike, so if the ebike has downtime in the future, you can still bike commute." Feeling fairly confident now, after 6,000+ miles & some nice weight loss, plus building strength and stamina, that I could tackle a pedal bike easily enough for my 5-mile commute, at least.

I checked out various models, basic research only, and figured test-rides would be the next step. But before I could set a date to test ride, I discovered I already OWNED a second bike, and had, for the whole time I've had my ebike -- I "rediscovered" my original, ~1991 Bianchi Advantage 21 speed! It was down in my condo storage locker -- out of sight, very much out of mind -- I would've bet money I'd sold it in a yard sale years ago. Untouched for 25+ years; as a result, nearly mint condition.

That is the bike (mentioned in my ebike intro thread elsewhere) which I only ever rode a scant handful of times in my 20's. Every trip was painful then, primarily because I'd give up on riding for awhile, after every painful trip. Never creating any stamina or endurance; soon, I entirely stopped thinking about riding it.

Of course after 25+ years unused, it needs new tubes, tires, brake pads, etc. And it will need lights, a rack, a lock, etc., to go into regular use.
And I'll need to familiarize myself with a bike having 21 gears -- relearning how to shift gears in combination with the front 3 chainrings!

I pick it up from the shop tonight (after its tires/tubes/double-check...)
Very excited to be able to ride & conquer this former "object of torture"! And, with 2 bikes now, I suppose I finally need to think about naming each one

 

[Marci jo]

When the ebike went out of commission this month, I had a feeling it might be a slow turnaround... (needed a new bottom bracket and a new controller, under warranty.) Turned out to be a total of 25 days without biking. (Everything's back to good with the ebike now.) But during that time I thought, "you should look at a second bike, a pedal-bike, so if the ebike has downtime in the future, you can still bike commute." Feeling fairly confident now, after 6,000+ miles & some nice weight loss, plus building strength and stamina, that I could tackle a pedal bike easily enough for my 5-mile commute, at least.

I checked out various models, basic research only, and figured test-rides would be the next step. But before I could set a date to test ride, I discovered I already OWNED a second bike, and had, for the whole time I've had my ebike -- I "rediscovered" my original, ~1991 Bianchi Advantage 21 speed! It was down in my condo storage locker -- out of sight, very much out of mind -- I would've bet money I'd sold it in a yard sale years ago. Untouched for 25+ years; as a result, nearly mint condition.

That is the bike (mentioned in my ebike intro thread elsewhere) which I only ever rode a scant handful of times in my 20's. Every trip was painful then, primarily because I'd give up on riding for awhile, after every painful trip. Never creating any stamina or endurance; soon, I entirely stopped thinking about riding it.

Of course after 25+ years unused, it needs new tubes, tires, brake pads, etc. And it will need lights, a rack, a lock, etc., to go into regular use.
And I'll need to familiarize myself with a bike having 21 gears -- relearning how to shift gears in combination with the front 3 chainrings!

I pick it up from the shop tonight (after its tires/tubes/double-check...)
Very excited to be able to ride & conquer this former "object of torture"! And, with 2 bikes now, I suppose I finally need to think about naming each one

Christob,
Maybe a 3rd bike for you (2nd ebike?). ??. Lol
That way, whichever bike you leave at home while you’re riding, will never feel lonely.
That’s what I told hubby when I brought home 2nd ebike and had the non-used acoustic bike sitting in the garage. Of course he simply shook his head.
Now have 3 bikes. And non of them are lonely!! Lol

 

[christob]

Well, there is that trusty scientific formula developed to determine your personalized, ideal number of bikes...
{n+1}
where {n} is the number you own today.

But... a carbon fiber ebike with front suspension could be #3... someday...

 

[christob]

And here at last it is! Tho I can feel a substantial shopping spree coming, to finish it out... new clip pedals, new handlebar grips, a rack, a lock, lights...

 

[Marci jo]

And here at last it is! Tho I can feel a substantial shopping spree coming, to finish it out... new clip pedals, new handlebar grips, a rack, a lock, lights...

Looks great! Purple rocks.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Dammit!
Now I have to dig out my Norco Lobos Comp from what... 20 years ago?

 

[christob]

Today was my inaugural ride on "the old beast." I rode my morning office commute, stopping partway through at a weekly morning coffee gathering (all pedal-bikers in the coffee club; all very friendly to me with my ebike on prior stops, but all were also very excited to see the pedal bike today!)

Coming from the ebike, the main thing that startles is the weight -- the Bianchi almost feels "insubstantial" under me; it probably weighs about 25 pounds {edit: actually 30} naked. (Vs. ~52 for the naked VEB Cafe.) I laughed each time I went to pick it up, because muscle memory still kicks in, "prepared" to hoist a 52-pound ebike.

My ride in wasn't bad at all -- it is 5 mostly flat/gentle rolling miles, if I go direct. I was very comfy, pedal-effort-wise. (The saddle comfort is another story, and it must be destroyed and replaced! Perhaps 27 years ago, a fair chunk of my misery came from this awful saddle??) Thank goodness I chose to wear padded cycle shorts today -- I don't normally do that on my daily ebike office commutes. I was curious about the skinnier tires vs. ebike - but I can't say I felt any negative from them. Hitting bumps actually felt less jolting -- perhaps because of the lighter weight? I do have one short, medium uphill grade in my commute, right near the beginning, so I tried out the "granny gear" for that little climb, switching to the smallest front chainring while staying in whatever rear gear I'd been in just before that hill... easy!

I don't have a rack yet, so everything that normally goes in my Bontrager Large City Shopper bag on the ebike rack (full work clothes, breakfast, lunch, towel, etc) plus the Abus lock, wallet, phone, keys... all went into a messenger bag which I wore across my back. I would say my arrival at work was a little sweatier than a typical commute on the ebike -- but still not so bad as to require a fresh shower (primarily I deal with head/face sweating on my rides -- today was just a bit moreso.)

An almost direct comparison, via stats captured in Apple Watch Workout app:
7/1 ebike commute: 67 degrees, 5.8 miles, 28 mins, 12.3mph avg speed, 242 active calories, 307 total calories, 86 feet elevation gain, 101 average heartrate
7/31 pedal commute: 74 degrees, 5.1 miles, 26 mins, 11.3mph avg speed, 218 active calories, 280 total calories, 86 feet elevation gain, 113 average heartrate (wearing the messenger bag, plus taking 30 minute coffee-break pause in the middle.)

So now it comes down to deciding each day, which bike to ride...
Once the Bianchi is properly outfitted (rack, lights, clip-pedals, new saddle, rear-view mirror) it could be a tough decision some days! They each have their merits, their positives...

 

[Alaskan]

Great thread here with such rewarding results in so many ways. Thanks for sharing all the good news, What a treat to "find" such a classic, vintage road bike and now being able to enjoy it more than you did when it was new.

I have been considering an acoustic bike myself, feeling that ebiking has eased me into sufficiently good condition to make it not only possible but fun. After test riding a really nice specialized carbon bike with Ultegra DI2, I concluded that, if not for the steep hill on which I live and the others in our area, a road bike could be in my future. Unfortunately, although my conditioning would allow me to climb local hills without expending any electrons, my heart rate elevated too close to the level that my cardiologist says I must avoid. This makes a minimal assisted bike like the Orbea Gain or the new Specialized Turbo Creo look like the next item in the quiver.

Thanks again and congratulations.

 

[christob]

Thanks, @Alaskan! Yes, it was rewarding this morning, being able to ride the Bianchi without dread! I even avoided falling over when extracting my feet from the "toe cages" I installed in the 90's... (in contrast to the VERY LAST ride I ever made on the Bianchi back then, when I did fall over at a stop, mortified that the passing traffic and pedestrians saw this, as I was unable to get my foot out of the toe cage fast enough! That was the final straw, and the Bianchi retired that day...!)

I definitely have the last ~16 months of ebiking to thank for reaching this particular surprise moment. Very specifically the ebike decision in 2018 was based on the hope it would bypass the pain & misery I so vividly recalled from those few 1990's rides on the Bianchi. (And of course, the ebike exceeded my wildest hopes, as it turned out!)

Before now, I certainly never thought I'd own a 2nd bike, let alone a pedal bike again. Honestly, if I hadn't "found" the Bianchi in storage, I'm not sure when, or if, I'd have convinced myself to spend money on a new, second bike... that recent idea was really only driven by "what if the ebike needs another 25-day service outage in the future?" -- which hopefully, is a very rare / not-to-be-repeated event!

So it really is a marvelous kind of turn-about / full-circle journey that I now find myself back on the very same bike, but able to enjoy riding it like an average cyclist would, and only because I'm in a better physical condition (not to be confused with "fit or athletic" by any means!) which was brought about by ebiking!

 

[christob]

The ebike needed new rear brake pads (and a new Mirrycle mirror, as the bike fell over today while I had stopped to pick up litter along the trail)... so a stop at the LBS was in order. While I waited for them to install the pads, I couldn't resist a little shopping for the new-old Bianchi. Forgetting that I only had my 1 bag on the ebike rear rack, I got quite a bit of the accessories I ultimately needed; front & rear lights, an Abus Lite lock, new pedals (flats one side, clips the other), new Ergon grips, a Mirrycle, and a new saddle. Somehow, it all just barely fit in the bag (which had some camera gear already stored) for the ride home! However, I'm still in need of a rear rack, and perhaps fenders. Then ultimately, I may consider a new handlebar that is slightly wider... On and on it goes... Dunno where I thought I'd "save money" by refurbishing the found bike!