Got the bike last night, rode into work this morning. It’s 2.87 miles according to my bike computer. I carried my backpack containing 2 laptops in one saddle bag, and my U lock in the other. Not quite balanced, but whatchyagonnado. The backpack is pretty heavy, mostly due to my beloved 17″ Macbook Pro. On which I am typing to you right now!
The commute took 17 minutes, and that was with me forgetting to turn on 20th to cut through Ladd’s Addition. The drive takes 10 minutes, so the bike is almost just as fast, further proving some other theories I’ve read lately on the Shift List.
With that load, the front end felt light, and the rear end heavy, but neither was too far off from normal.
I really need to get clipless pedals for this bike. Riding without them is like trying to cut tomatoes with a hair brush.