Sunday, August 14, 2011

Naked

Today was bath day for the trucker. I don't wash the bike as often as I would like, as I always find it to be a pain getting into the various nooks and crannies. Because the racks and fenders don't help at all in this regard, I thought I would remove them to make things a little easier.

Although it did end up being easier to clean bike without them. I don't think I'll make a habit of it. The hassle of removing them doesn't offset the ease of cleaning.

Another reason I had for taking them off was to see what the bike would look like without them.
It turned out as goofy looking as I thought it would. Between the 26 inch tires and the 62cm frame, it definitely needs the fenders and racks to help even things out.

I plan on riding it like this for a few days to see if I notice any difference in the way it rides. The weight went down from 36 to 29 pounds. That's quite a difference, although it's only 3% of my body weight, so I don't think I'll notice a thing.


 Racked
A proper touring bike.

Unracked
Goofiness

4 comments:

  1. Yes... That is quite a contrast. I ride my heavier cross bike with fenders and a rack just so I feel faster when I feel a need to ride the road bike.

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  2. I rode it yesterday and set a new speed record to the local fire hall 5 miles away, although that may only be because I pushed myself the entire way. Overall it didn't seem any different. I put the fenders and racks back on when I got home.

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  3. You must live up in Fredenberg judging by the scenery. I ride that area quite a bit, and my brother lives on the Taft Road.

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  4. I actually live on the southern edge of Rice Lake Township. I like to go up that way just so I can ride down Lavaque.

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