bysykling

Last year I got myself a new everyday bike. It's much heavier than the previous bike I had, and it makes me so much happier.

Uh, wait... Something sounds wrong here, right? Maybe. But everything is just right: Adding weight to your bike might be the best thing you ever did – as long as you add something really useful. My previous bike was a light and sporty hybrid, with an aluminium frame, a rigid fork, lightweight rim brakes and… well, not much more, actually. It was really light, and really fast.

But a few complaints soon developed:

- The outboard drivetrain wears fast during daily, all year, all weather riding

- The rim brake pads grind down the rim walls fast in wet or mucky conditions

- The gears and the brakes need frequent cleaning, lubing and adjustments

- The bike has no racks, leaving my backpack as the only cargo room

- The bike had short, low-quality fenders that kept breaking, causing me to ride without

The bike needed regular love to keep going, and I had no time for that.

I wanted a new, simple bike that could do it all and still cause me no worries. 

That's why I got a Civia Hyland with internal gears, disc brakes, long aluminium fenders, racks in both ends and even a basket - and of course a dynamo hub for the lights. Pannier bags and a suspension seat post added even more feelgood points. Even if I noticed it being a quite different ride, more stable and relaxed - I never really pondered about the weight issue. All that mattered was utility.

Until the other day, when I was geeking over the concept of a perfect urban utility bike, in a discussion with a few weight conscious buddies. I thought about the features that I love on my own bike, and started looking at the numbers - just for fun.

Whoa... Compared to my previous commuter in it's basic incarnation, I have attached a whopping 6350 extra grams of metal to my new bike!

In my other cycling universe of die hard mountain biking, I would never fathom how anyone could do such a cruel thing to a high quality bicycle. So I guess it's time to explain myself: Why did I do this? OK, here goes...

(NOTE: The weights listed are approximately right, let me know if I'm way off) 

WHY: No more drivetrain maintenance. This is a no-brainer, really. An internal gear hub tucks the moving parts inside the hub shell - leaving only the chain and a sprocket exposed to the elements. During the last 9 months of daily riding, my drivetrain has worked flawlessly. I have cleaned and lubed the chain once - that's all. No more gears out of adjustment, no more suffering chain noise. Lovely. 

The dynamo front hub:

500 grams added compared to my old Shimano 105 front hub

Shimano Alfine

WHY: Because it makes life easier and safer. I have always had a battery-driven, powerful light on the handlebar. It worked fine, but I had to bring it with me inside everytime - and make sure the batteries were ok. With a dynamo hub and a permanently mounted light, I never have to think about this. I switch on the front light and roll away - with full power to the Busch & Müller IQ Cyo light every time. 

The disc brakes:

Around 500 grams added compared to standard rim brakes, v-type

Magura Julie (old version)

WHY: Because they are more powerful than rim brakes, because they work perfectly well no matter the weather, don't cause rim wear at all - and require so much less care and maintenance than rim brakes. Need more arguments? Switching to hydraulic disc brakes for my everyday bike has really been such a relief. Besides, the Maguras looks cheap and ugly, which is just perfect downtown. 

The front and rear racks:

900 grams added

Tubus Vega (rear) and Racktime Topit (front)

WHY: Would you buy a car for your daily transportation without any luggage capasity whatsoever? Of course not. Your bike is able to carry way more stuff than you think. Put on some racks, a basket and a couple of bags. You'll be surprised by how much you'll bring home by pure muscle power! An urban bike with no racks seems more like a toy - while I like to think of my bike as a tool.  

The basket:

300 grams added

Wald 137

WHY: Because it's incredibly useful. My little basket has carried groceries, a tent, a football, a camera bag, my jacket when I get too warm on the climbs, my helmet when I stop for a rest - not to mention a decent stack of firewood for a campfire in the woods. Once you got one, you'll find lots of uses for it. Riding with a load on the front wheel took me a few rides to get used to. Now it's no issue at all. 

The suspension seat post:

500 grams added compared to my rigid seat post

SR Suntour SP8-NCX

WHY: Because it feels so much better. Two steel coil springs inside the seat post driven by a parallellogram on top takes the egdes away from all those cobblestones, tram lines, curbs, potholes, stutter bumps and all kind of messy road surfaces I encounter on my daily rides. If you ride with a heavy backpack, you will really appreciate how a high quality suspension post like this one softens your ride.    

The pannier bags:
950 grams each (I sometimes use two)

Ortlieb Backroller Civia Edition

WHY: Because  it feels much more comfortable riding with nothing on your back - so cool air can flow beneath your shirt when you break a sweat. I resisted for years and always rode with backpacks, because those pannier bags looked so incredibly dull to my mountain biking eyes. Actually, they still do. But they carry more stuff than my backpack, and makes me feel better when riding.  

The big lock:

1600 grams added

Abus Bordo Granit X-Plus

WHY: Because I don't want my bike to disappear, but hate having to carry a lock around my waist or in a bag. It seems outrageous to bolt an anchor like this on a high end frame. But high end bikes need high end locks, high end locks are super heavy - and mounting it on the frame means it's always there, ready to fold around a pole or a rack in seconds. Ugly, heavy and unfortunately necessary.  

The fenders:

600 grams added

Civia Market aluminium fenders

WHY: Because I don't want the weather to decide if I should take the bike or the bus. I keep seeing people riding without fenders. They probably feel sporty, even if it must be a pain having that wet stripe of muck going up along the back of your pants and jacket. These Civia fenders have the longest front fender I've ever seen. Meaning: My pants and shoes stay dry, even if the road is flooded.

There is something missing from this list, I know. I haven’t bought myself the swiss-made, two-legged Pletcher center kickstand I know I would love – being able to park everywhere, being able to load the bike with groceries without struggling to keep it upright and the front wheel from flopping.

I know where they stock those.

I know I can afford one.

But come on… a kickstand on a high end bike? And hey, it’s another 542 grams!

You are looking at a commuter bike with a $8700/€6750 retail price. For anyone looking for a utility bike for the daily commute, it's pretty hard to see beyond a price tag like that. Nevertheless, the new Seven Parcours tries hard to make sense for anyone looking for a bike to last them a lifetime. Of course it's easy to get totally hung up on prices gone wild, but I'll try to leave the business side alone here (including the prospect of leaving it unattended outside), and look at the bike instead.

If the Seven brand doesn't ring a bell, you should know that the American company for the last decade have been at the very high end of the road and mountain bike market, specializing in individually custom tailored titanium bike frames, made-to-order in Watertown, Massachusetts.

The customers range from experienced bicycle connoisseurs to image-obsessed, overpaid male professionals without a clue, who simply want to buy whatever is on the top shelf (this latter group somehow manage to ruin the potential pleasure of owning a Seven for some of the folks in the first group...).

The Parcours have two stand-out features perfecly fitted for a long run as a trusty commuter:

1. Frame, fork and handlebars all made of titanium
In short: Titanium tubes for bicycle use do not rust, they are light and they are strong. In other words: An ideal choice of material for a bicycle challenged with daily, all-year use through rain, mud and salty winter roads. Downside: Titanium won't be shaped into this kind of tubes without a lot of trouble, hence the astronomical price. But if your bike means more to you than your car - and you're ready to put your money where your heart is, well, no problem then...

2. Rear hub with 18 internal gears by Rohloff of Germany
This is the Rolex of the bike hub world. The bike in the picture have an ordinary 9-speed Shimano drivetrain with all the gears/sprockets/whatever on the outside, just waiting to be worn down. Internal gear hubs have only one chainring on the outside, and all the gear mechanisms hidden inside. Guess who's the best bet for folks who want less maintenance? Right. There are many internally geared hubs out there, Shimano Nexus and Alfine are often mentioned as the industry standard, but translated into the watch world, those hubs are Timex.

Rohloff is Rolex (only without the sleazy "hey-look-at-me-I've-got-low-self-confidence-and-no-control-of-my-spending-whatsoever" image).