Victor Solanoy

To further my commitment to my objectives of competing the 545 mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, I picked up a bike for training and riding.

I don’t have a whole lot of money to dedicate to this, but I also didn’t want to get something that I would end up regretting. I was choosing between the Fuji Absolute 3.0 and the Schwinn SuperSport, both flat bar road bikes. I had seen the Fuji Absolute 3.0 on sale a few days ago and thought that it might be the bike based on some of the tech specs and the reviews, unfortunately, they had only one in the wrong size.

When I got some help, the bike shop guy pointed out that there was another alternative — the GT Legato 4.0. It’s another flat bar road bike that appeared to be lighter than the Fuji (roughly 24 lbs from what I gathered on the web). I still wanted to try the Schwinn. These were the only two bikes in the price range I could barely afford.

I got fitted for both bikes, they took my driver’s license and my debit card, signed my life away and did a quick test ride on both. The first out was the GT Legato — wow was this bike nice. Nice solid ride without being jarring. The gearing ration was such that I could get this bike up to speed and maintain my speed with little effort on level ground. Since it’s gearing is more road bike than mountain bike, I’m a bit worried about hills. Since I live in east hills of San Jose, I’ll find out what I’m in store for once I get it on the road. Unlike my mountain bike, this bike doesn’t have a climbing gear. Good thing I’m starting the training regiment… only long sucky hills will suck, just suck less when I’m in better shape. I’m not too keen on the thumb/index finger shifting… it could just be that I’m not used to them. I’ve been using the twist shift on my mountain bike for quite some time. Anyway, to the bike. The bike’s seating position was perfect — there was nothing unnatural about my position and could feel that the energy I put into the bike translated into movement… instantly. The Legato felt great!

I returned to the shop and tried the Schwinn. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t feel solid. I could feel some of the road reverberate though the frame of the bike, and the stock handlebars were a bit too narrow for my taste. The effort I put into the bike didn’t seem to translate into immediate movement either. I had to put a little bit more effort into the bike to get it up to speed, and worse yet, I had to put more effort into maintaining my speed. They did check tire pressure before taking it out, I don’t think it had anything to do with the tires. Something about it didn’t feel as satisfying or fulfilling. It just wasn’t for me.

In the end, I walked out of the store with the GT Legato 4.0… I might have a chance to ride a little bit on Friday, but more Sunday than anything else… This was one of those cases where I had a budget, walked into the store and walked out under budget (including tax). Yay!

Next I have to formulate a plan for fundraising. The ALC rider pages won’t be up until late Friday… more info to come.

My wife is still unsure about whether or not she will be participating. She’s worried about riding 545 miles — so am I, but I figure that tons of people have done it… so why can’t I.

Also, my sister is riding the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Start to Finish Tour in October in Southern California. It’s kind of neat the both me and my sister are doing something in common. Although we’re really close, we really haven’t had much in common — she’s really out going and I’m a geek…