Two Bikes

If you read this blog on a (semi)regular basis, you know I am a big fan of bicycles and bicycle riding. Recently my friend and I did a ride on a couple of “classic” bikes that we own.

I’m sure some of you may wonder why we would ride these “old” bikes when we have much newer, “better” bikes. Well, newer isn’t necessarily better and that’s the case with both of these bikes. Here’s a quick description of each bike.

The first is my friend’s Klein Quantum. It is a 2000 model and I believe the color is called purple haze. That name certainly fits as it turns various shades of purple, orange, blue, silver and who knows what else. It just depends on the light.

Over the years, he has changed a lot of the components (the parts on a bike other than the frame). I have the Rolf wheels that came on the bike for instance. He included them on a black gravel bike he sold me a few years back. That bike is gone now but I still have the wheels. Components wear out or get upgraded while the frame, the bike really, soldiers on.

My bike, as near as I can tell, is from 1996. It appears to have had all the components updated at some point in the past as well. In this case, it appears everything was upgraded at once as all the components are from the same group.

In any event, what makes both of these bikes special is not only how they look and their parts, but how they ride. We have been wanting to find that out for a while now. We thought a ride with both of these bikes would be about perfect! Think of it as a trip down memory lane or maybe a trip back in time, at least bike wise.

That day finally came! I have to say it was a lot of fun to see the bikes together when we stopped for a break and to discuss how well they still rode and how they handled. Things like how smooth a titanium bike rides, how light an aluminum bike is and how beautiful Klein paint is. The best part though, was riding the bikes, especially with a friend on another old bike on one of our favorite trails!

What I’m trying to say is gather your friends, find an old bike, or any bike and hit the trails! Especially as fall is about to arrive! No better season to ride! In the end, I’m not sure I can think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.