Nouvo Retro Trek, a real test drive.

   Sunday was such a nice day to take the Trek out for a nice little 25 mile spin.  I wanted to have a chance to put an hour or more in the saddle and see how the new handlebar height and freewheel felt for real.  I didn't try to make things difficult, but have a regular ride with a variety of hills to see how this Hyper glide freewheel actually performed.  I rode across town to the MUP that travels up through the Nature Center.  The hills are not that steep, but there is a variety of grades to encounter within a few miles.

When I reached the Nature Center I was surprised to see the trail as clear as it was. The trees being bare of leaves apparently helped the sun keep the snow and ice to a minimum.  Altogether there was a great time of moderate climbing with a couple of steep grades mixed in.  I had the opportunity to shift up and down several times from the 24 - 34 tooth cogs and was seriously impressed with the smoothness of the action over that huge leap.  I also liked the slower bailout gear which did just that, bailed me out without a triple crank.

Riding back through town, I had a chance to stop at the local coffee shop to take a break and visit with a couple others who were enjoying a late fall ride experience.    We had a good time chatting over bikes and coffee.  They had a few years experience and were looking for good charity rides to try the coming year.

We did have a good time chatting and exchanging information before heading on home.

On the way, I decided to "attack" a hill with this new gear ratio on the bike.

This is a  challenging   grade for nearly a mile.  I rolled up that in my lowest gear without any heavy breathing.

I just crawled right up like I was walking around the block.

The bike proved to be really comfortable and more pleasant to ride with two changes I made.  

I am now wondering about a new stem, a really wide ratio 9 speed cassette and maybe a true compact crank.

Sounds like a winter project coming up.