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| My new ride: a Pure City Langdon |
The trouble with finding a step-through bike is that a lot of these bikes are only three gears, or even single speed. That's just not enough to get me up the hills around Vancouver. To get a step-through with a gear range that enough to get me up Ontario Street without standing up in my pedals, I think I'd need at least a 5-7 speed internal gear hub. Which starts to get pricey--somewhere between $700 & $1000, usually. That's just not in the budget right now, so I have put my search on hold.
When I went to Momentum Magazine's annual gear sale, I wasn't really looking to buy a bike, but as soon as I walked in, the white Pure City Langdon grabbed my attention. $200 for a lovely step-through, ridden for about a month when it was reviewed for the magaine. My hestitation was because this one, like so many others, was only a single speed. However, my DIY gears started turning & I called Oliver to discuss whether or not we could add an internal gear hub to the rear wheel to make it a functional ride for me.
I decided to jump on it. I am now in possession of a (fairly) shiny, new (to me) step-through bike. I had ridden to the Momentum gear sale, so I couldn't take it home with me that day, but decided to pick it up the next day. Oliver rode down to Chinatown with me & Bronte on the back of the Yuba to get me there & I rode it home. As I suspected, a single speed was not a fun ride up Ontario Street. I stopped for a brief break half way up & was grateful for the red light at Broadway.
Next step is to look into what internal gear hub is going to work with this bike, find new fenders (the front one is missing for some odd reason), then kit it out with lights, bell, front basket, & possibly a rear rack. I'll probably get new more swept-back handlebars & larger pedals too. Even though it's a project bike with a lot to do, I'm pretty excited that I've finally got my own omafiets!
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It looks like a great bike. I love upright riding style bikes. They're just so comfortable and stable.
ReplyDeleteBased on my experience I think seven gears is the minimum for Vancouver. Any fewer just isn't enough. I have seven gears and occasionally wish I had eight.
I much prefer internal gear hubs to derailleurs especially when going up hills. (I find derailleurs often slip into a higher gear when under the stress of a hill and then you've lost momentum.)