Just started throwing a leg over my blessed X4 and figured a great way to test its capabilities would be through commuting. This will definitely simulate a lot of the DC2PGH ride this fall.
For the past year, I’ve been doing my 15-mile, round-trip commute to the Pittsburgh Technology Council on a Windsor track bike set up as either a fixed 48X18 or 48X18 singlespeed. I typically ride to work a couple times a week and I cut through a lot of jammed up streets, a few parks and just about everything else in between. Lots of mixed terrain from fire roads, trails to plain old pavement.
So far, the X4 is great at handling the diversity of terrain. It feels snappy blasting through Schenley and Frick parks. Even handles well on technical singletrack trails. Crushed gravel paths are a joy with my Continental Twister tires and the Easton carbon fork mutes vibrations to minor squabble.
The bike feels pretty porky on pavement. I’m a little spoiled with my Cannondale System Six road bike, however, everyone knows cross bikes aren’t meant to be speed demons on the road. With about 4 commutes on the X4 under my rolled-up jeans, it’s been a pleasure so far. Especially since I installed a shorter stem to shrink the cockpit.
The bike accelerates great, is super stable on the rough stuff and requires a little patience on smooth roads. I really encourage everyone to learn more about commuting to work by bike. It’s a lot of fun, good for your health, better for the environment and just plain old makes you a happier person. Lemme know what you think…
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DC2PGH :: A Biker's Blog 