I finally made the leap in my commuting and bought a commuter specific bike.
Giant Seek 1 (2009)
I'd been riding a variety of rigs up until now - cyclocross racer, Kona Ute and most often the BUSS (blue urban single speed) fixie with a front disk brake.
For lots of justifiable reasons, I wanted a dedicated commuter. I hate carrying a backpack so strapping a rack onto the 'cross bike was becoming a pain - not to mention switching out road wheels. The Ute is a nice kid/grocery hauler, but a little unwieldy for the internal bike parking afforded me at my workplace. The fixed gear is so en-vogue, but now that we've moved the 12mi commute each direction it was pushing the limit - especially with winter headwinds coming on.
As a year-round commuter I wanted two specific things: disk brakes and an internally geared rear hub (IGH). Low maintenance for both and stopping power in whatever Cleveland's winter can throw at me.
Search and search. Test ride after test ride. Nothing seemed to fit the bill. I was almost ready to start building a Soma DoubleCross DC then realized I was going to be $1400+ into it when the bike was complete.
Then I saw 'white light.' Actually, I saw the Giant Seek 1 (2009). Aluminum frame, rigid front fork, lots of wheel clearance, Alfine 8 drivetrain, Shimano hydraulic brakes... Good friend Dave Bole at the Bicycle Chain in St. Paul was kind enough to order me one with some goodies.
Dave shipped it direct and bike setup was pretty easy. Attach handlebars, seat/seatpost, front tire, adjust disk brakes for center, tweak gearshift.
I made a few mods - lights, full-wrap SKS P45 silver fenders, a seatpost mounted rack, Ergon grips and saddle from the fixie, and Time ATAC clipless pedals.
The fenders took a little finagling - not too bad though. I had to bend the left front stay around the disk brake. Nothing mechanical is in the way, just the bottom of the mount. The rear required a spacer and the mounting tab on the disk brake side - nothing on the drive side.
The Seek has threaded mounts at the bottom bracket and seat stay where the standard mounting bolts from the fender kit fit in perfectly. The fenders are tight!
This is my first IGH drivetrain so I wasn't sure what to expect for maintenance. Good news - the Alfine is a cinch to adjust. I got it dialed in on the stand, but when I hit the street it seemed a little off. A few twists of the adjusting knob on the trigger-shifter and all was good.
So today was the first commute. Impressions?
Solid - square chainstays welded to a mongo BB with a fairly compact rear triangle means there isn't going to be much flex. Not overly twitchy, but rigid and responsive.
A little heavy - I'm used to racing a 16.5lb road bike and a 19lb cyclocross bike. At nearly 26lbs with my additions, the bike is comparatively a tank. But for its purposes, a nice durable ride.
Finish - not sure yet. The rubberized white is supposed to be super reflective. That's a good thing. Grease smudges should wipe off easily.
Fit - I ordered a small (17"). I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam and wanted decent bailout clearance. That's good. The bad is that the top-tube feels a bit short and I have the saddle pushed all the way back on the seatpost. Still tweaking, but I'll need to get a 120mm stem (90mm is stock). I'll probably also trim 2" off each end of the handlebar to make a tighter cockpit.
Tires - not a big fan of the stock tire. Seems a little "dead" - maybe heavy and too grippey. I'll ride the Maxxis Columbieres through the winter and then switch to a set of 28mm Panaracer Pasela Tourgaurds in the spring.
Overall ride is quick though - the bike just goes where you want it to go. I'll get over it being relatively heavy and use that as an asset on the pitted, slush covered streets of Cleveland this winter.
OK - only 12mi on the bike so far so these are REALLY first impresions. I'll report back once I have the fit dialed in a bit more and have a few hundred miles on it. Oh yeah, glad I mounted the fenders right away. A dry ride in has given way to a rainy afternoon ride home...
5 weeks ago
Posts
