I've been using my trusty Cannondale (mid 90's MTB variety) shod with Schwalbe Marathons, mudguards and rack. It's a good package for bimbling, shorter commutes, and with the previous set of tyres did go like stink. (Those tyres weren't so good if you actually wanted to go around corners though!)
On the last ride home using the 'dale I average just over 11 mph. On the previous, it was 9 mph. At my peak thus far(I've just had a month off the bike due to chest infection) I got up to about 13 mph. I think a lot of it is the tyres. But also, especially since the accident, I find those flat bars making me very uncomfortable towards the end of the journey.
Last night I had a horrid nightmare in which I was riding a road bike again, for the first time since I was knocked off, and the front wheel imploded. As a result, my knee was smashed up. I woke up in a state of anxious panic, thought I really could feel pain in my knee and went back to sleep believing there was no way I could ride a bike again. When I eventually did get up, I grabbed evil bike (the Focus Cayo) out of the garage, pumped tyres up, fitted lights, put cleats onto my new cycling shoes and set off to work on it.
First off, how comfortable it was! Secondly.. the brakes are bloody brilliant. The first road bike I've had with branded callipers! I freewheeled without applying the brakes (most the way) down evil hill (Eaves Knoll) for the first time. Woo!
Then I got to work in 50 minutes of cycling ... moving average 19.4 mph over nearly 17 miles! Considering the top start traffic once I got 6 miles into the journey, and red light after red light, I arrived at work feeling pretty well chuffed. Then, coming home, I beat the time I would have arrived home on the train and averaged 16.4 mph ... 17.4 mph before I started to climb evil hill! That's like 5 mph average faster than the other day.
Going to work everyday on evil bike is of course, not going to be practical. No mudguards for one, and in Manchester it's always raining! Not to mention the nickability factor. Oh, and the effort making sure I was faster than every other law abiding cyclist because, well, there's no excuse for being slow when your riding a bling (by my standards
) bike.
Sooo I've just come in after a loooong fettling session encompassing lots of swearing (in my head) and even some percussive therapy. The Kona Honky Tonk I bought over three months ago now sports kool stop pads, mudguards, SPD pedals, lights, water bottle holder, Garmin mount and saddle/handle bars positioned (almost) as I like.
The mudguards were fiddly to fit and boy is the clearance tight. I think I've just about got away with it in combination with the bikes stock 28 mm tyres. I might have to swap them out for some 25s or 23s. The cheap/nasty pedals took a hell of a lot of effort to remove from the cranks. A lot of persuasion was required using a hammer. In the end persistence paid off.
I took the Kona on it's (very short) inaugural ride. First impression was positive - although it appears the council have gritted the roads up here in anticipation of overnight frost and what ever they used was getting picked up on the tyres and wedged between tyres and guards. Oh dear.
The indexed dura-ace down tube shifters work very well. The original saddle proved to be comfy. That bars seem a nice shape. It's not a light bike.. with the guards fitted I'm guessing over 11 kg.. but it still climbed nicely up the 1 in 7 to 1 in 5 hill. The brakes and brake levers are just adequate.
I'm quite pleased I got one of the 2009 models. Even if Maffie, on my wheeling it out the shed, practically said I'd bought a girls bike!
