Peter's Ranting: Blurred bike categories

Gone are the days when choosing a bike was easy. It's no longer a case of picking a hybrid or fixie for the city, a road bike for the road, a hardtail for cross country, or a full suspension bike for downhill. The most obvious case in point is the wheel size debate, but that's been fleshed out by every cyclist on the internet. I'm more interested in the blurred lines between categories for casual cyclists. Hybrids are still the general go-to at Cyclepath when a new cyclist wants to get into riding, but a lot of people see hybrids as either pure fitness/workout machines, or as a soft option for the indecisive. New and casual cyclists seem to be (from my experience, I'm not quoting a survey or anything) more interested in "niche" bikes. I'm generalizing here, and the hybrid categories available are so varied that there really is something for everyone, but the style and aesthetic of a fixie, cyclocross, or steel framed cruiser seems to be more appealing to new and casual cyclists. Personally, I love any well built bike, but I can certainly see the appeal of these more unique bikes. The fixie evokes fantasies of being a bike messenger, the cyclocross feels like a machine built to survive a war, and those classic looking cruiser bikes are the perfect image of summer once they're set up with some fenders and a nice basket or rack.

The problem with all this is that these specialty bikes can be harder to ride than an ergonomically designed hybrid, and that can put people off riding. The cyclocross bike forces riders to "assume the position" with each ride, and the cruisers can be incredibly inefficient, making long rides are especially tiring. Their comfortable positions and well damped rides can also lead to chafing or numbness after hours in the saddle. Worst of all for new (and even some experienced) cyclists is the fixie. Most have freewheels to help remedy the fear, but a true fixed gear bicycle has the wheels connected directly to the pedals. The pedals do what the wheel does. Forgetting the fixed gear properties of the bike and attempting to coast leads to a harsh bucking towards the front of the bike, which can lead to loss of teeth. Fortunately, the whole bike industry is in flux right now, completely restructuring the way marketing, design, and technology are used. Blending these niche categories with tried and true ideas is a no-brainer and super easy right now.

Cyclocross bikes have been blended with touring bikes, and bikes like Norco's Search have more comfortable geometry than traditional CX bikes with loads of mounts and clearance for accessories. This way they can be loaded with fenders and racks for commuting or riding long distances on the road, but they're still aggressive and tough enough to tackle some dirt and gravel. Plus it's available in a British Racing Green so you can pretend it's an Aston or a Jaguar. Awesome.

The other solution I find fascinating is Haro/Del Sol's way of solving the fear factor of fixies. Like I said before, most fixies have a free wheel to allow coasting, Del Sol's Projekt included. The problem is that it's a single speed, which isn't great for hills. In Mississauga, ON, we have plenty of hills. The whole city is rolling and lumpy. And lets be honest, if someone doesn't want to use the fixed cog, they really just want the look or ride quality of the thin steel tubes and skinny tires. So Del Sol took the Projekt, added an 8 speed derailleur from Shimano (because anything else would be unreliable), added a new paint job, and the Projekt 8 was born. All the looks and comfort of a fixie, none of the danger of the fixed cog. 

Now I wonder if the category cross overs will hit the freestyle world. Brandon Semenuk is already using a freecoaster on a mountain bike. Maybe we'll see dropper posts on freestyle fixies or something?