Don’t Downgrade, Ride Down Grades…Or Something – Bike Snob NYC

Friday it was rainy, but when you feel like a ride you feel like a ride, and so I headed out be-fendered and undaunted:

While I’d been using a “racy” (at least by mid-20th century standards) Brooks Swift on the Homer lately to complement the drop bars…

…it turns out the narrower shape and lack of side skirts allowed my thighs to make contact with my Banana Sax (yes I realize how bad that sounds), and so I’ve reverted to the B17, and this is no longer an issue:

Note the deer in the background, blissfully unaware than I’m wearing them on my hands:

See?

You’re not riding a Rivendell unless at least two different kinds of animal have died to equip you, and that’s not even counting the sheep that had to be shorn for my WoolyWarm sweater, or the possum that also had to get a haircut for my socks.

I’m deeply sorry for my speciesism, and I hereby promise to take the flower by the thorns and do better:

Just kidding.

In fact I’m still using whale oil to lube my chain, but it’s getting really expensive:

By Saturday the rain had stopped but the temperatures had dropped, and I headed out on my Milwaukee, which had received new wheels thanks to Ben’s Cycle:

I realize with those tires it looks dangerously like a so-called “gravel bike,” and that this surface looks suspiciously like “gravel:”

Nevertheless, please note that this is not in fact a gravel bike, nor should it ever be ridden on gravel, for not only does it lack proper disc brakes, but the head tube angle is at least a degree outside of the acceptable gravel range, so under no circumstances should you attempt the above, and by reading this you hereby indemnify me from any and all liability should you do so anyway and inevitably sustain serious bodily harm, which you surely will.

As I mentioned last week, I received some items from Pearl Izumi, and in addition to the gloves they sent me their NeoShell WxB Jacket:

“Nice jacket!,” I thought as I tried it on. Then I happened to notice the price on the tag dangling from the sleeve and exclaimed, “HOLY CRAP!!!”

Indeed I was so shocked I stripped it off immediately lest someone materialize with a bar code scanner and actually charge me for the thing–though looking at the Pearl Izumi website I see it’s on sale so now it’s merely expensive and not shockingly expensive:

While ostensibly a rain jacket, Pearl Izumi says it “has the feel, stretch and breathability of a softshell with the weather-blocking force of a traditional rain jacket, so you can wear it comfortably for cool weather riding even when dry.” Well, it was dry and I was in fact quite comfortable:

Temperatures were in the mid-to-high 30s (that’s AMERICAN FREEDOM DEGRESS of course, we don’t deal in Celsius on this blog) and with a couple layers of wool underneath I was able to achieve an ideal climate in my torso. Now, I’m not going to tell you that you need to go buy an expensive rain jacket that I haven’t even worn in the rain yet, but so far I like it, that’s all I’m saying. I’ll certainly keep wearing it and as I do so you’re welcome to consider it, reject it, or simply resent me as you see fit.

But if you’re looking for cleated shoes and don’t want to spend a lot of money I do feel extremely comfortable recommending Pearl Izumi’s footwear, since I’ve been wearing the $100 Quest road shoes since October of 2022 and they’ve been great, and more recently I bought (yes, bought) some lace-up Tour road shoes for my vintage bike slotted cleat project:

Not only are the Tour shoes really nice, but they’re on sale for under $50, which is like canvas-sneakers-from-Target price. All of this is to say I’ve been genuinely impressed by what a bargain the inexpensive Pearl Izumi shoes are, and the road shoes are worth it for that rubbery heel thing alone, which not only makes them quite walkable (for road shoes) but has saved my ass on more than one occasion.

But while I’ve been quite well-shod on the road side for awhile thanks to Pearl Izumi, my recessed cleat shoe situation has been pretty dire as of late:

And that’s my good pair.

So I requested a pair of the $90 All Road v5, which seemed just right for the Milwaukee, which I’ve been riding with mountain bike pedals:

Given how similar it is to the Quest (apart from the sole) I figured I’d be pleased with it, and so far that is indeed the case:

The sole is soft and rubbery as opposed to the hard plastic you find on a mountain bike shoe:

This is because it’s a more road-oriented recessed cleat shoe as opposed to a mountain bike shoe, and I guess the idea here is to appeal to the group ride rest stop set:

You need all the traction you can get when you’re cueing up for the porta-potty or loading up on bananas:

The focus on ultra-stiff shoes for cycling is odd since the sole really only needs to be stiff enough to keep the pedal from digging into your foot, and all the inexpensive Pearl Izumi shoes I’ve tried so far seem to be just right in that regard–light and firm but not pointlessly unyielding. Similarly odd is the fact that I’ve been using Sidi mountain bike shoes for years and years and never once asked myself why I was wearing what are essentially clipless-compatible soccer cleats that caused me to slip any time I was forced to walk over rocks or logs. 

Sometimes the best way to upgrade is to “downgrade.”