Basically, Canada's just trying to live its life, while we're down here banging on the ceiling with a broomstick.
So why am I popping in during this auspicious holiday? Well, firstly I figured I'd let you know my new Outside column is up:
Basically it's time to move past the "here's a new bike lane" phase and into the "here's a bold new policy that's going to dramatically reduce the number of cars and trucks on the streets" phase.
Secondly, remember how yesterday I took a ride on the Jones LWB?
Well, today I took the exact same ride, only on the Jones SWB:
And when I say exact I really mean it. Not only did I leave at the same time as yesterday, but I also wore the same jorts!
So what did these two rides reveal? Well, the SWB is indeed a more nimble and playful bike, whereas the LWB is smoother and more stable. Going up steep climbs, taking tight turns, and riding smooth, undulating sections of trail is a bit more fun on the SWB, whereas riding over logs and rough patches is a bit easier on the LWB. At the same time, it's not like one does a certain thing that much better than the other, so while it all comes down to preference it's also not like you can really go wrong.
Or, if you prefer overblown bike review metaphors, look at it this way:
The LWB is like galloping through the woods on a horse, while the SWB is like ripping through the woods on a wild boar. On one you're sitting higher up and stepping over everything with grace, while on the other you're closer to the ground and being led by your snout--and I mean that in the best possible way, except that you will occasionally thwack your pendulous boar testis on a root or rock, since as we established yesterday the SWB is more prone to pedal strike.
All of the above is a bit unfair however, because as I mentioned the differences between them are ultimately not that stark, and the two bikes overlap way more than they don't.
So which would I choose? After all, Jones isn't going to let me hang onto two bikes forever. Well, yesterday I thought it would be the LWB, but after today I'm less certain, though I am very slightly still leaning that way since I do like the more generous proportions of the LWB and I also value my testis.
But it ain't over 'til the wild boar squeals.
31 comments:
Figured i'd check BSNYC for some pre-independence ride stoke, and suprise suprise. I will ride now, jonesing for a Jones LWB with a triple chainring/11-50 setup for the sisyphean hills I have to deal with around here. Those Jones sound like sick rides. Jeeses.
Is there a Jones MWB?
crap! I laughed out laud! you are a very funny man Mr Snob.
That was a finely written piece for Outside. Good Luck.
Your testis have served their biological purpose, so go for the bouncy and fun SWB, joyously battering your balls to a pulp. Then, power on to become one of those amusing 50-year-olds still behaving and dressing like they did when they were a teenager.
I bow. Powerful piece about what’s happening in your city.
Also, finally a bike tester who understands how critical it is to control for the jorts!
Still laughing... and looking forward to the squeal either way.
I do my daily commute/errands continuously trying to calculate what sort of driver interaction is going to kill me. Probably a lot of us do that. It's so mentally exhausting, to pedal down the more dangerous streets. A third-world sort of worry
I liked the wild boar analogy. The cat refers to me as a “wild bore”, but nobody is going to believe a talking cat.
I didn't compare geometry charts of SWB and LWB but I thought the SWB was too short for me.
"Even if we give Officer Negron the benefit of the doubt and assume he simply didn’t know that Robyn Hightman preferred they/them pronouns...."
Sheesh, political correctness run amok.
I can see Canada when l bike commute to work, really.
George Krpan,
Not really, it's just respecting the wishes of a dead person...
--Tan Tenovo
hello snob...
say, why not the Jones truss fork?
i'll take my answer off-the-air, thanks.
pqb
I think you’re on a solid streak of FIRE with the last three Outside columns. There aren’t many voices in US media that get it, that business-as-usual transportation is unworkable and the entire city traffic model needs a revamp. Larger Euro cities are changing but in some cases the widespread fascist government revival is working to revert to the old norm (i.e. Madrid.)
The Jones bikes are hot and today I think the SwB is the one. That could change tomorrow. Even the SWB has much longer than fashionable chainstays, though nowhere near as long as Rivendell’s latest designs. MTB geometry is basically crowdsourced by lemmings- with few notable exceptions, every company and rider accepts the current zeitgeist and changes it slightly year-to-year. Currently short stays are en Vogue.
Jones is on to something. I firmly believe longer chainstays have significant advantages, but it also makes a low BB more of a downside because of pedal strike. Do the complete bikes have the same eccentric BB as the framesets? If so Snob, maybe you could try rotating it up on the SWB and see if it makes much difference in pedal clearance.
More space between cars = higher speed = danger for cyclists pedestrians
Toxic, barely moving traffic = low speed = safer for cyclists/pedestrians
More area devoted to Pedestrians/Cyclists please!
Hooray for congestion pricing in NYC : )
While both the SWB and LWB Jones tread similar territory, I would take the SWB. Personally, when I go mountain biking, I want to play around . As you already have bikes that can transition from road to dirt minus more technical environs why not have a bike that has the edge in the technical? Plus you are pretty young still so having a bike that encourages more rowdy behavior will allow you to embrace your inner hooligan.
I think you've written that you use street parking for your car-that-the-bank etc. Do you think you'd ax the auto if you had to pay to keep it in a lot? All these new apt. buildings have parking garages, by law. I wonder how much of the space goes unused because of free street parking.
Watch today's TdF awards ceremony. Merckx grabbed the podium girl's booty. And he played it off like a pro.
paulb,
Actually I'd gladly pay for a lot if there were one close enough to me. (I would like to ax the auto in the not-too-distant future though.)
--Tan Tenovo
hellbelly,
Keep in mind I also have a singlespeed mountain bike that allows me to pretend I'm still young.
--Tan Tenovo
Did anyone else notice that during stage one of the TdF, one of the commentators used the term "salmoning" without crediting BSNYC, even though the other commentators congratulated him on how clever it was?
I've listened to all of your WBAI radio shows from here in Pittsburgh PA. You should try to get more women to call in, to improve the gender balance. Perhaps do a show devoted to the question "Why don't more women bike?"
Paul Heckbert,
I don't know if I want to subject myself to an hour of men calling in to tell my why more women don't bike. (Though I suppose it would inadvertently answer the question.)
--Tan Tenovo
Monday already.
Do you get more readers on the blog or on the Outside website?
I was listening to the latest show when around halfway in I heard a promo for another WBAI show - "Advocating for Justice" hosted by Mr. Yuba himself, Arthur Schwartz.
Any chance of a crossover episode?
Great Outside column, Mr. Snob. Keep lashing out at our lethal, addictive, diseased obsession with the cars-first transposition system that has caused about 4 million deaths due to traffic violence since 1910, in the USA. Entitled motorist in America have the full force of the police, auto industry and the insurance industry to protect them. While anyone that's not in a car is a second class citizen. Make no mistake, our corporate automotive overlords want to keep building more and more of their ecocidal profit machines until all of humanity is enslaved to a 4 wheeled shit-box.
"We will not leave the task of shaping future urban mobility to others." -Dieter Zetsche, Diamler AC chairman
I used top carry an assortment of tools, tubes, patching kit for my daily commute until I realized that if I break down on the way to or from work, I'll either huff it to a subway or call a rideshare...
I have a SWB Jones and found I was hitting stuff with my chainring when I was crossing logs and rocks. I ended up moving the eccentric Bottom Bracket into the 12 o'clock position in the frame and have no issues with striking the chainring. I was surprised at how 12 mm could make a difference in clearance.
Meanwhile, in Milwaukee: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.jsonline.com/amp/1698585001
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