My 3 Favorite Simple Bikes (and two new bikes that could replace them)
So, yes, it's Spring and that new bike fever is upon me.
As you may know already, I grow more simple-minded simplicity-minded as I grow up. If you place a complicated thing and a simple thing in front of me, I will be drawn to the less complicated version 9 times out of 10. And this is especially true of things with wheels.
By the way, I replaced both derailleurs and both shifters on my old mountain bike this weekend. And, well, um, ugh. It's needed repairs for a long time. But I've been putting it off. It's complicated. (Literally, the mountain bike is much more complicated than the ones you'll see below.)
Here's what I've been riding while the mountain bike has been incapacitated:
Favorite Bike 1: The Coaster-Brake Worksman Klunker (No Cables, No Levers, No Shifters)
It's not complicated. See the klunker in action here
The old klunker has no cables, no levers, and only one thing that needs adjusting - the chain. When I look over the handlebars all I see is the path ahead. If I want to go forward, I pedal forward. If I want to slow down or stop I pedal backwards. If I need more power (or speed) I stand up on the pedals. This is my favorite bike for short trips, for intermediate trails, for filming, and for just putting around.
Favorite Bike 2: The Single-Speed Schwinn Midway MTB/Cruiser (2 cables, 2 Levers, No Shifters)
Favorite Bike 2 is pretty similar to the first one, but #2 has more complicated (and more effective) brakes. First of all, it has both front and back brakes and both brakes require levers and cables. This bike also has a freewheel rear sprocket. This combination makes the bike much better for riding tougher terrain and much less terrifying when descending steep hills. The brakes add more maintenance, but they also add more confidence when riding the rough stuff. This is my favorite bike for riding (by myself) out at the local mountain bike trails. I also like that this bike has 29" wheels. They do roll over a lot of bumps more smoothly than the 26" wheels on the other two.
Favorite Bike 3: The 3-speed, Coaster-Brake Schwinn Heavy Duti Cruiser (1 Cable, No Levers, 1 Shifter)
This is my do-it-all bike for anything under 75% of hardcore riding. I ride it on the street, on gravel trails, in alleys, on a boat, across a moat, without a goat, etc. It is smooth, low maintenance, simple, and dependable. And the three-speed internally-geared hub (IGH) makes it easier to ride in the ever-present West Texas wind. (Yesterday I rode the klunker into the wind and uphill. For the whole trip I was grumbling about the dumb bunny who chose the one-gear klunker over the three-gear cruiser for that ride.) This bike stays close to the garage door because it is the one I ride most often.
Actually, if I had to drop down to just one bike, it would be this bike with more aggressive tires and a front brake. But I REALLY do like it just the way it is.
Before We Move On: Let's talk about three things my top 3 bikes don't have: suspension, derailleurs, and disc brakes.
Suspension - it was BMX and a 1975 Cadillac that ruined suspension for me. My first BMX bike had full suspension. It was a lot of fun to ride, but it was terrible to race. My second BMX bike had no suspension. It was faster, lighter, easier to work on, and all of that made it more enjoyable to live with.
Suspension components add a lot of weight, and they dull the feedback from the vehicle. My grandmother drove a 1975 Cadillac. When you drove the beast, you never really experienced any of the world around you. You didn't know if the road was really smooth or had bumps like recently terraced farmland (which she did occasionally drive the Caddy across.) The car smoothed everything out and you only needed one finger and a few toes to drive the thing. It was a mushy ride. And mushy is seldom inspiring or enjoyable.
Derailleurs - for me, it's easier to spell "derailleurs" than it is to keep them working well.
I know some professional mechanics in town who are astounding at keeping those rascals working well, and I have tremendous respect for their work - but I am not that guy. I struggle to keep the chains, shifters, cables, and derailleurs all lined up / cleaned up / lubed up, and happy enough that I can jump on a bike and have faith that the whole will continue to hold up to my mediocre riding and wrenching skills.
Disc brakes - I love disc brakes and I really love hydraulic disc brakes. They're easy to align and service. Decent disc setups are not terribly expensive, they work really well, and they even make fixing flats / swapping wheels so much easier.
So, here's my list of attributes I want in a bicycle
Say NO to:
- Suspension
- Derailleurs
- Other unnecessarily complicated stuff
Say YES to:
- Comfy riding position
- Internally Geared Hubs
- Slightly larger wheels/tires (but not fat tires)
- Disc Brakes (especially if they are hydraulic)
(And I think I'd like to try a belt-drive bike just because it should require less maintenance, less petroleum, less hand cleaner, and less laundry detergent. I've never actually tried a belt-drive bike, but it's something that sure makes sense to me.)
On to the (Possible) Replacements (The portion of this post where I talk about bikes that you don't have to build yourself, but you may be able to divide it up into payments.)
The Priority Sauce has been high on my list of cool stuff to drool over for a while now! I've been a fan of Priority Bicycles since they put out the Priority Coast - a corrosion resistant beach cruiser. They have also been early adopters of belt-drives on bicycles. I'm impressed with just about everything they put out. (If you want to see something extremely impressive, check out their approach to creating a belt-drive mountain bike - the Priority 600HXT.) But let's get back to the Sauce:
- No suspension
- No Derailleurs
- Slightly larger wheels/tires (27.5"x2.4" tires)
- Hydraulic Disc Brakes
- Belt-drive
- and a Comfy Riding position
- (and it has "Moose bars!)
The Sauce is my kind of simple bike except it's been missing one thing:
- an Internally-Geared-Hub
Yep, it's a single-speed. And I love single-speeds when I'm cruising by myself, but single-speeds are tough when you're hanging with your my crew.
See how intimidating my crew is!
My crew (aka the old guys I ride with) all ride multi-speeds. I struggle to keep up when I'm on a multi-speed. The single would make me the even odder man out, snagit!
Luckily, I've found two bikes that meet all the requirements AND even have an IGH:
The Momentum UX 3SThe Momentum UX 3S (Originally $950, but currently on sale at $530)
First up is a cool and quirky bike made by a company you probably haven't heard of - Momentum. (Momentum's parent company is one you probably have heard of - Giant.) It comes in blue, red, or gray. I'm partial to the blue.
The UX 3S ticks all of the boxes! (Even if it does not have a cool name like "The Sauce".)
- No suspension
- No Derailleurs
- Slightly larger wheels/tires (27.5"x2.1" tires)
- Hydraulic Disc Brakes
- Belt-drive
- a 3-speed internally geared hub
- and a possibly comfy riding position
I saw one recently in one of our local bike shops, and it looked pretty darn cool. I tried not to let Keith see me drool, but yes, it was definitely my kind of oddball! And it looks to be a low-maintenance workhorse that a simpleton like myself could live with.
(Another sidebar: If you don't mind chains and derailleurs check out the Momentum UX 9S.)
And now, feast your eyes on the other bike that ticks all the boxes: The Priority Hot Sauce! ($999)
And it's just what you think it is - they took the green Sauce, added a 7-speed Shimano IGH, and they painted it up like a habanero!
Steamy!
So, that's my list of bikes that make me want to go spend money (this week). I hope you enjoyed being dragged down the trail with me and I hope you find the bike that checks off all your boxes. May you be well and constantly better!
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