Why I got a new bike
and why I named him Frankie

For a long time I thought my GT Windstream was the perfect bike for my needs. I couldn't imagine ever wanting another bike. The very idea seemed somehow disloyal.

My needs had changed since I had started cycling four years earlier though. I had changed. When I started riding, I was really out of shape. I wasn't expecting to ever be fast. The more I rode though, the stronger I got. I lost weight, and my legs got really muscular. Sometimes I was still slow, especially if I was feeling depressed, but sometimes I felt energetic and could move faster. The problem was, I could be zooming along in my highest gear, and it felt like I should be able to shift to one gear higher. But there wasn't one. And I still wasn't moving as fast as I wanted to go. I felt like I should be able to move faster.

I realized that one thing that was slowing me down was all the bumps and potholes. Geez, why is it every time they fill in a pothole they have to turn it into a bump? Can't they make it level and flush with the surrounding street surface? Apparently not. I realized I was going much slower on these bumpy roads than I was on the rare smooth roads because I had a subconscious fear that if I went faster either my teeth would break or my bike would. Maybe it was time to consider suspension. And something lighter weight. And with different gearing so I wouldn't "run out" of gears.

When I went to Nova Scotia to meet my partner John and his other partner Lisa for the first time, I decided it would be a lot easier to rent a bike there than go through the hassle of transporting my bike there and back, and I could get something a lot lighter weight and with suspension, so I'd have half a chance of keeping up with John, who was always telling me what his latest speed record was. With my bike, there wasn't a chance. I knew he wouldn't leave me behind, but I've ridden with cyclists who were half my speed, and it just wasn't any fun trying to ride at half my normal pace.

So at John's recommendation, I emailed Bill at FrameWork Cycle & Fitness. We emailed each other several times, discussing what was available, my needs, size, etc., and I reserved a 17" Sentinel hybrid with a suspension fork and seatpost, toeclips, rack, lock, bottle cage and pump. (He said I could buy some tubes and return what I didn't use.) The bike ended up being quite comfortable, aside from the handlebars, which made my hands go numb on long rides.

I did have to spend a little bit of time getting used to the shifters, so John and I rode around an empty section of a parking lot for around 10 minutes. My GT had grip shifters, which I loved, and I thought I might have a really hard time adjusting to anything else. John had raved about his EZ-Fire shifters, insisting they were superior to grip shifters, and I thought they just sounded complicated. I was used to just moving my hand one way or the other, not remembering which finger to use. But the Sentinel had EZ-Fire shifters, so I had to get used to them. I tried not to panic.

Eventually I got to the point that I didn't have to think about what I was doing. Then we left the parking lot and went out for some actual riding. I got a taste of speed. I liked it.

With the lighter weight bike and the suspension, I was able to ride faster than I'd ever ridden before. John said, "I thought you said you were a slow cyclist?" Most of the time I managed to keep up with him with no problem, the only exceptions being when he really cranked it, and when we went up hills. With my asthma I simply can't go up hills fast.

I really liked riding fast. Simply put, it was fun. It was a rush, no pun intended. I was totally sold on suspension. And I definitely wanted less weight. I realized I was going to have to switch from my wire baskets to a rack and panniers. After doing some googling, I found that the baskets I had weighed 10 pounds. That was just the baskets; that didn't count anything in them. I had been used to just wheeling my bike into a door at ground level, but I knew at some point I'd be carrying my bike up and down stairs. With that much weight on the back, I wasn't sure I could do it.

I was still pondering whether I should get a new bike or get a suspension fork and seatpost for my old bike and have the baskets taken off and replaced with a rack. I didn't know how much a suspension fork would cost. I probably couldn't get much money for the old fork. I probably wouldn't get much money for the old seatpost or baskets either. And when I started thinking about selling parts, one by one, of my beloved bike, that seemed rather gruesome. It seemed like it would be more fitting for it to go to someone the way it was, intact.

What clinched it was what happened my first morning back in Ann Arbor after visiting John and Lisa. John and I had talked about how different my bike would feel after getting used to the Sentinel; he said, "Your bike's going to feel like a dump truck." He was right. I just couldn't go. But what I hadn't anticipated was when I first got going and went to shift. My finger reached for the EZ-Fire trigger that wasn't there. I guess I really had gotten used to them! Now I had to get used to the grip shifters again. And I had to admit, I liked the EZ-Fire shifters better.

Well, if there were that many things I wanted to change on my bike, it definitely made sense to get a new bike. So I'd get one with a lighter weight frame, and I decided disc brakes would be nice while I was at it. I decided once I had time I'd stop in at Ann Arbor Cyclery. And once I saw the "20% OFF ALL BIKES" sign in the window, I decided I had time.

So I became the proud new owner of a 2004 Giant Cypress LX. It has an an aluminum frame, disc brakes, front suspension and seatpost, and EZ-Fire shifters. Exactly what I was looking for, very comfortable (aside from the handlebars), and with the sale it ended up being almost the same as what my old bike cost. I had them switch the handlebars from my old bike because those are much more comfortable for me (my wrists are at a better angle). Once they changed the handlebars, I had to raise the seatpost a little bit more, and then I noticed it was past the minimum insertion mark, so they swapped it with one from another bike.

I had them add a rack and bright yellow fenders (I'd been seeing these around town in the last few years and thinking, "Ooh! How wonderfully conspicuous!"), a taillight to the rack, a kickstand, bottle cage, and switch my better pedals from my old bike. I put my "Cars suck" water bottle in the cage and headed for home.

I decided after two or three miles that the new saddle wasn't very comfortable, so after I took a bus to the shop the next day and rode the old bike home I swapped the saddles. Actually the saddle from my old bike had originally been on my ex-husband's bike, so it's on its third bike now. Musical saddles, anyone?

After I added a bunch of reflective tape to the frame and rack to match the tape on the handlebars and affixed a "Bikes just smell better" sticker to the frame, then it really looked like it was mine.

I got a couple different kinds of panniers to use, depending on how I would be using them. For grocery shopping, I bought two Arkel Utility Baskets at Two Wheel Tango. I've been very happy with these. They're well made and durable, and the two panniers hold a week's worth of groceries for one person and two rabbits. For commuting I ordered a Jandd Commuter Pannier. It's a pannier with a flap on the back that can be rolled up and secured with velcro at the top out of the way so it can be used as a pannier, or rolled down and secured with velcro to cover up the pannier hardware and worn as a shoulder bag. So I use it as a pannier when I'm riding, then as a shoulder bag when I reach my destination. I would have preferred a pannier that converted into a backpack, and I found several, but most of them were much too small. None of them met my needs; I posted my findings here. Aside from not converting into a backpack, the Jandd pannier meets all my needs. It's roomy, durable, and the conversion is quick and easy. Later I realized I needed something to put things in if I was just going on a recreational ride and didn't want to take one of the big panniers, but still wanted some carrying capacity, so I picked up a trunk pack at Ann Arbor Cyclery.

I ended up selling my old bike to my cousin Hope, and I was glad to know it was going to a good home. She was happy to get a bike whose history she knew and which fit her well. She wanted to bike commute more; she was an occasional bike commuter, but the bike she was using was a long term loan, and the frame was really too large for her. She didn't feel safe on it. She was very happy to get a bike that was the right size for her. I was very happy my bike was going to someone who would use it. It was very important to me that it wasn't going to just sit in someone's basement or garage, collecting dust, unused, unloved.

Frankie

A name had never come to me for my old bike. I knew a lot of people had names for their bikes, but one had never occurred to me, so the bike remained nameless. I hadn't intended to name my new bike either. The topic of naming bikes actually came up on the CarFree list. Lots of people name their bikes; lots of people don't. Someone suggested that he thought it was more of a female thing to name bikes. I replied, "I call my bike 'my bike.'"

A few weeks later I was talking to John on the phone. I told him it had occurred to me that my bike was a "Frankenbike," i.e., it was mostly a Giant Cypress LX, but it has the handlebars from my old GT Windstream, the saddle from Pete's Marin, the seatpost from some other bike at the shop -- it's made up of four bikes! It's a Frankenbike! Jokingly, I said, "I should call it Frankie!"

The name stuck though. One of my rabbits, Frida, always wants to chew on my right toe clip strap. Before I was always saying, "Step away from the bike!" Suddenly I found myself saying, "Leave Frankie alone! Don't you hurt Frankie!"

I decided that I like the name Frankie. I just think of my bike as Frankie now. He's a great bike! I really like having disc brakes, and the derailleurs function more smoothly. When I shifted on my old bike, there was sometimes a delay before the derailleur would actually move the chain. With Frankie there's no delay at all. That's so wonderful! And I love having suspension!

Frankie originally came with tires that were ridiculously wide in my opinion. They needed to put narrower tires on to accommodate the fenders, and I was happy about that. There wasn't a lot to choose from at the time though since it was late in the season. In the spring I decided I wanted much narrower tires with less rolling resistance, so I got Continental UltraSport 700x28c tires, and I love them.

I'm able to ride so much faster now than I was before, even with two panniers full of groceries. I'm having so much fun! When I come home with groceries, I just take the panniers off and use the bags to prop the door open, carry Frankie down the stairs, go back up the stairs, carry my two bags down the stairs, unlock my apartment door, carry Frankie in, go back out and get the groceries. It's very easy. I'm so glad I got Frankie.