Hmm… I forgot how much bike riding sucked… or how much I suck at bike riding. So I think after one half of a commute, this idea is dead. I’ll try and dial back my suspension some though and see if I can’t make the return trip a little more comfortable this evening. It probably would have helped if I had a) worn shorts and b) had any sugar in my system to speak of this morning.
I don’t know why I never did this before, but I took the time last night to compute the gear ratios and shifting patterns for my bike. It has a 22-32-44 chainring up front and 32-11 in the back. Interestingly, only two gears on the 22 cog are even useful, and in practice I can’t ever see using them anyway. 32×17 seems to be the starting point for any real riding, and I get too easily winded even four or so gears above that.
So…aren’t cars awesome?