Allrounder

(Part 3 of 4) Got this old photo from a few years back. That red bike she’s riding- it’s that 1990 Trek hybrid model from the last post. We might not have met if it weren’t for that bike as she wandered into Manifesto Bicycles, the shop where I was working at just a few years ago. She had a big tour planned with some friends, riding from Portland to SF, and wanted “to know if there’s anything glaringly wrong with the fit.” I remember those words so clearly, which were received rather deafly by the folks a the front counter. Manifesto didn’t do ”bike fits” really. So they pointed to me, the mechanic in the back. I’d been a fitter several previous shops, but Manifesto had been my much much needed refuge from all things “industry”. I’d been recovering from a bad case of SBCU-induced propaganda and never wanted to propose ever again that I knew what anyone else’s body needed. Not under their wing anyway. But deep down I knew I could help. I thought I could maybe help her figure out how to figure it out. So we made an appointment and figured some things out. And after a few appointments we concluded that another bike would be a better investment. I found one for her on Craigslist, a $500 Trek 400 Elance. The original bike wasn’t incapable of fitting her with drop bars. It just handled so poorly when it did. Too slack of a head angle cause the wheel to flop at lower speeds, feeling heavy and sluggish hard to control even. It was really meant for flat bars or riser bars. A year later, after we realized we were a fit for each other, we used it for a “Mama bike” and installed some risers with a little backsweep. Pregnancy isn’t aero.

(Part 1 of 4)