Two Wheel Blogs

I enjoyed a great ride today. The weather/wind made for a really fun time. At one point I led a short pace line over about a mile stretch where we were tempeted to pass a few cars. I was spinning a 53x11 at what felt to be a very high cadence during a nice tail wind.

One thing about today’s ride that was really neat to me was the way my bike felt. That had a lot to do with my wheels (I was using a different set than usual). More about that later.

Having kids has progressively changed my perspectives on a lot of things. To say it a better way; having kids has caused me to see things from a perspective that I abandoned as I exited childhood so many years ago. This is a great thing! My six-year-old has a pair of shoes that he *knows* give him special powers (not limited to running faster than he can in any other shoes). Perhaps you can recall having such a pair of shoes…may be it was a special shirt?

Back to my bike. About 10-15 years ago, when I was in school, I saw a set of wheels that were beyond cool. I decided then and there if I could find a buyer for a kidney (the only way I could afford such a wheel set) I would use the money to immediately buy this mystical set of wheels. I figured I would never afford such a set of wheels…and who would want one of my kidneys anyway (I abused them pretty hard in college).

Well, many years later(5 years ago), technology changed what people thought they needed in the way of wheels, and I got out of school and started a decent job. Between these two occurrences, I found myself able to afford that wheel set I had lusted after years prior. I snatched up the first set of these wheels I could find on an online auction. They cost me a fraction of the price they once sold for. Oh happy day!

As I said technology had changed, so it was not long and I decided that I should get with the program and use the wheel du-jour that all the pros were using. I put together a bunch of money and bought a set, and hung my wonder wheels from a hook in the basement (about 4 years ago).

Today even these wheels du-jour have suffered devaluation. They are no longer sexy. Technology/marketing has once again rendered my wheel selection un-sexy.

Back to my kids. Their spirit of doing things because they are fun has inspired me to do a lot in recent years. Ask anyone I know, they can attest to me giving away, loaning, or selling all sorts of high tech bike stuff, and keeping only the items that I find to be fun. Today I took it a step further and put on my wonder wheels (the ancient artifacts that I bought at auction that most young riders stare at in wonder because they have never seen such a wheel).

Every year, I contemplate giving away or selling these wheels, but I never have since they are the earliest bike part that I can recall wanting…and now that I have them, why let them go?

Today, I pulled them off the wall and put them on my bike. I thought to myself, “Why do I not use these wheels more often?” It seemed silly to let these wheels (the subject of my dreams 10-15 years ago) to gather more dust.

I love technology as much as the next guy, and we would all like to believe that most of the marketing is based in fact and modern wheels are superior. Sometimes I wonder though. How many people are out there riding bikes that the most recent bike mag says is best but they are not really enjoying the ride as much as they could. Sort of like my son's shoes...I am sure he could probably run faster in just about *anything* other than his bright orange flip-flops, but I doubt that he would enjoy it as much.

It took only moments on my bike for me to come to an epiphany. I am not sure what the pros use anymore, and I doubt anyone has any wind tunnel data on a wheel set this old, but there is no doubt in my mind that my bike feels like the fastest bike on earth with these wheels!