Sylvia the Linus Dutchi and her changes; part 2

The wheel set my dear husband got me for Christmas made all the difference in my riding. The roller brakes let me stop with out having to put my feet down and my pedals no longer take a bite out of my calves every time I stop. The 8 gears instead of 3 means I'm now able to go as fast as I want without spinning like a lunatic and I can easily get up all the hills in my area without needing to get off and walk. With the exception of the stupid overpass, but I will conquer that one eventually! I'm saving up for a dynamo light set to go with the generator, then I'll have light anytime I want it. The rims are way beefier than her originals and the spokes are a bit thicker so I don't worry when I hit a pothole or take her off a curb. Supposedly these rims are lauded by mountain bikers and BMXers for their strength and durability.

As she is now. Ready for anything.

Her grips are now natural cork because the bike shop that spread her for the new gears cut my nice foam ones and I wanted to try something different. As soon as I get a job I'm going back to the foam though. I don't like how hard the cork is. I'm a squeezer and these just don't have the give I like.

Her new basket helps balance her out and can hold a lot of stuff. It's the perfect size for my bag and has made her even more stable feeling than she was before. I definitely like the added weight in the front. It's not the first basket she's had, but I think this one is the winner!

Cyclops bike.

There are still a few small changes I want to make. I want dynamo lights,  better tires and maybe a beefier kickstand. I really want another water bottle holder and I've been playing around with where to place it. I think the basket may be where it goes. 

She goes well both on pavement or dirt in the alleys. She is cheerfully oblivious to most bumps and can carry a very nice load. We can toodle along at a stately 8.5 mph or if necessary fly along at a zippy 15 mph. (Fastest we've gone was 22 mph, but I couldn't sustain it for more than 2 blocks.) She's comfortable for long rides/distances and makes our usual short jaunts fun too.

I'm so glad we found her! She's practically perfect in every way! At least for me!;)

Princess approved.

Sylvia is home!

Sylvia had no problems getting her rear spread for her new hub and her upgrade went of with very little issue. I'm really glad we decided to take her to the professionals. I would have probably broken something.
We picked her up from Ajo Bikes yesterday evening and I'm so glad she's home! I took her for a test ride around their parking lot to make sure everything was in working order and Max was kind enough to make any adjustments that were needed. I love them there and the customer service is top notch. It's definitely my favorite bike shop, now if only they carried more commuting stuff...
The new gears are great! It's good to have options and she felt much zippier. The heavier wheels made her stick to the ground better and I took a few slooow turns to see how she cornered. Before she would almost topple if I was going less than 5 mph but now she sticks to it and goes around smoothly. There's also less wobble when I start from a stop and once we get going it feels like we could go forever. I love the gyroscope effect of her heavier new wheels and hubs!
What's funny is that she's now a 10 lbs heavier than she was before. Once I put her baskets and rack back on she will weigh a whopping 57 lbs. Without them she's still a hefty 44 lbs.
We moved her seat forward a bit like Dan from DBC City Bikes had suggested and I really like the new position. He was super helpful when I called to inquire about his bikes and gave me lots of information.

Happy to be home.

The roller brakes have huge cooling disks on them and I think they look very nice. Her new spokes are thicker and the deeper rims really make the Linus tires feel so much more plush. She rides much more smoothly over bumps now too.

Front wheel.

Back wheel.

It's a very nice set up so far, but I'll have to get new grips. They cut my old one to fit and the gap pinches a bit. I don't mind though, it'll be fun to pick them out.

We can really go now!

Her old 3 speed hub had this gearing:

0.733, 1.000, 1.364

Her new 8 speed hub has this gearing:

0.527, 0.644, 0.748, 0.851, 1.000, 1.223, 1.419, 1.615

We can now go faster, which was the goal, and slower than ever before! I love it!

Big cooling disk!

This morning it was drizzling so I took her out to splash in the puddles. It's one of our favorite things to do. Plus it was a great way to give her a proper test ride. We went for a 6 mile jaunt down our favorite bike path.

We're back!

I love this path because it has everything. Hills, flats, potholes, and dirt. It's a short little 3 miles to the road closed sign that has been up forever, but it really gives a taste of it all. It was so much fun! I rode along to my Irish pub rock (I only were one earbud and they're the nice ones that let ambient sound in) and smiled at everyone I saw. A nice construction worker even smiled back! On the way to the sign I pushed it and played with the gears. 

I got going super fast on the downhill through an underpass and we hit a large puddle. With her old rim brakes that would have been game over and I would have had no braking power. (Not that they were good when dry or anything.)  I panicked a little and squished the brake levers. I didn't expect much, but the roller brakes slowed me down just fine. They aren't as forceful as I'd heard, but they actually work. That is a very nice change from the way I had to stop before. No more putting my feet down to stop! No more bloody calves! This is great! I pedaled away with a huge smile and a ton more confidence.

I made it to the sign in less than 20 minutes, which made me very happy! I don't think I'd ever gotten there that fast before. The old gears meant anything over 12-13 mph would have me spinning like a mad person to get more speed. I was actually shocked at how easy it had been to get there.

This is a good place to rest.

It's not just closed, it doesn't exist!

I tootled home really slowly to play with the steering some more, plus there's a nasty hill I have trouble with coming back out of the under pass on the way home. Most of the time I would get off and push her up it, but I was determined not to today. 

I built up as much momentum as I could on the gentle downhill and thanks to the higher gears I kept most of it as I started the uphill. I made it to the top and only had to downshift to 2nd! At the end I was only going about 3 mph, but it was a win for us! 

I love these wheels! Zac 2000!

Right after cresting the hill the sun came out and lit the way back home. I'm taking it as a sign of great rides to come. I'm so grateful my husband got these wheels for me for Christmas!!!

A glorious ride.