On Clipping In

Let this blog post forever serve as an advert for the greatest concept in cycling... alright maybe it's not that special but holy smokes does clipping in help. I am sure I have expressed my distaste for the old steel frame Coppi here somewhere. That bike felt slow, it felt rickety, it felt bumpy.

Now to be fair those old friction down-tube shifters were, and are brutal, getting in a gear so that the cogs don't rub and make funny noises is damned difficult, reaching down to change gears is a pain and getting into the right gear is trying at best. The steel frame is no treat either on Toronto's pothole feast that us locals often confuse with roads. The front wheel isn't true either, this is a new thing, actually it is not that the wheel is untrue, it has a flat spot and being that up until now I haven't cared enough, I was not about to piss away a hundred bucks buying a new rim.

Then something changed. My friend from out of town brought in a brand new shiny pair of clip in pedals that I put on Erin. I took the old pedals off and put them on the Coppi and suddenly the Coppi went from an unwieldy heavy old clunker into a steal frame rocket! What a world of difference clipping in makes. You would think I would have noticed that earlier, but the thing is my Roubaix, be it the 2006 stock Specialized Roubaix I bought at the bike show (Amy) or my custom build (Erin) were both clip in from the first kilometer. I always figured the Coppi was obsolete and therefore slower (shades of a computer guy there I guess) I did not realise sure the technology is not so great, but on a level surface the extra weight on the Coppi really is not that big a thing. Makes me think, save my good bike for the group rides and use the Coppi for commuting year round. Sure I love riding on Erin or heck any bike with STI shifters and a carbon frame, but risk damaging a good bike just for a 7km ride to the office? Suddenly the Coppi seems like a good way to get around.

Ironic, I saw the Coppi the exact same way back in 1994 and '95, before and just after I got my licence. Difference is now I hate driving and get jealous of cyclists when I do drive, back then I got jealous of people in their cars.

There should be a law, people should have to bike to work at least once a week year round. It would be good for their health, good for their stress, reduce fossil fuel emissions and traffic, make car drivers more considerate of cyclists and of course improve bike access. (Best of all, on a bike I'd be one of the fastest vehicles on the road... oh wait a second, during rush hour I already am!)