This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in
history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,
dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better
understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!
I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.
The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,
and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior
monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

What's wrong with this picture?

It's Michigan, it's April 7th, it's 58 degrees F, 
there's not a cloud in the sky,
it's Saturday, about noon
and there's nobody on the local MUP!
I think the sunshine and warm weather must have scared everybody away.
That's OK with me since I wanted to do 25-30 miles to  test a new drivetrain.
Since I donated the rear wheel and crankset from my roadie to my son's new build,
I tried something radically conservative to replace it.  
I got a nice Velo Orange Polyvalent crankset and coupled it with a 12-36 HG cassette.
That gives me a wildly wide range of gears with 46/30 chainwheels up front.
That big thing in back really is a cog
not a pie plate. 
 This beautiful day gave me an excellent chance to test drive it without the usual 
multi-taskers baby/dog walking while listening to their ipods and sending texts to friends.
The Polyvalent Cranset is a super compact unit made for all-purpose riding.  
It really has a nice finish, it includes chromed bolts and a really beautiful integrated chaingaurd.  
I especially like the way they lined up the lazer engraved logos on the rings.
Everything worked out fine, I gave up a bit on the high end but gained an incredible 30/36 granny gear
on the bottom.  There is no route planning to avoid hills with this.
  Just look 'em in the bricks and keep pedaling!
With this light (20 lbs or so) a bike, I feel like I can climb trees.
I plan to leave this on the bike for a couple of months and give it a real workout at the Michigan Mountain Mayhem in June, but really feel it belongs on a hybrid type bike.
Velo Orange developed the crank for their Polyvalent bike which is an all around city/country/credit card touring frame and I think it completely suited for that type of riding.  
I have a project in mind for this later in the summer.

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