Since I’m starting grad school and parking and transportation around central campus is a pain, I decided to start biking it.
Only problem: My very good and nice and fabulous Bianchi Lynx bike is still in San Francisco because I had problems attaching it to the Jeep securely enough for a 3,000-mile trip to Michigan and so had to leave it behind.
It’ll cost about $150 to ship it and my ex-roomie will have to go to some pains to do it.
In the meantime, I need a really good bike now. I’ve narrowed it down to basically five choices:
- First choice (tie): Marin Bikes Bobcat Trail hardtail alloy mountain or Trek 7500 FX hybrid
- Second choice: Marin Bikes Hawk Hill hardtail alloy mountain
- Third choice: Marin Bikes San Anselmo hybrid street
- Fourth choice: Giant Bikes Cypress LX
Some of my thinking: I like the hybrids, but if we move to Santa Fe or a similar place in a year, it might not be versatile enough. I want disc brakes and the Trek doesn’t have them. The Trek is also $150 or so more than the Bobcat Trail, but I like the wheels better. The others are kind of also-rans. The Hawk Hill is a step up from the Bobcat Trail, but curiously doesn’t have disc brakes.
I took six test rides Tuesday; two at a shop in Chelsea and four at Ann Arbor Cyclery, which was an enjoyable experience. Both places were very helpful and non-pressuring. If I buy a Marin or the Cypress, I’ll buy from AAC, since it’s halfway between here and campus, so if something goes wrong, I have a convenient repair point.
Decisions, decisions.