A little update

I had today off, but I didn't get to enjoy the nice weather. I was too busy running around trying to raise funds by selling stuff that I own.

Why don't I have my road bike yet? Well, a few reasons.

1) Nick, the guy who's thinking of trading me a bike for a car, has a pretty funky schedule.
2) I'm kind of holding out to see if my Escort will sell so I can get a Trek 1200 instead of the 1000.

Nick wasn't there when I took my car up to the bike shop Wednesday night. I went in there today (details below) and Nick had one foot out the door. I may go again tomorrow, hopefully I can catch him at a good time.

After talking to another bike shop (same company, different branch) I was convinced to look at a closeout Trek 1200 as well. I test rode that bike today and it's really nice. I hadn't actually ridden the Trek 1000 yet, so I went out to the other store today and also took it for a spin.

My initial reaction is that I really, really like road bikes. My next reaction is that I don't particularly care for the Trek 1000's Sora brifters. The thumb button thing basically requires you to retreat to the hoods when you're shifting. Minor downshifts on the RD can be performed in the drops, as can upshifting the FD. If you need to pick up the speed a bit, you have to move to the hoods to bump up a gear or two. With the Tiagra brifters on the 1200, I can pretty easily upshift or downshift from within the drops or over the hoods. On either bike, I think I might want to add some Cane Creek Crosstops. We'll see if I have any room for things like my handlebar bag, light, and cyclo-computer first.

My final reaction is that even though the 1200 is a better bike, it only came in one color scheme last year. While it's a nice looking bike, it's hard to beat the eye-grabbing Orange color. That's a really sharp looking bike.

About my other problem... last night, I went ahead and posted my Escort for sale for $750. That's about how much I'd need to pick up the Trek 1200, because it's on closeout pricing. I'm still kind of confused, but I think I might go for the 1000. It's a perfectly decent bike. Like any new bike, it'll take some getting used to, but I'm certain that it'll serve me very well.

Tomorrow looks like lots of rain again. It figures, since I spent a lot of time cleaning the drivetrain after Wednesday's grimy, wet commute.