Your new single speed is $252, today only!

I've wanted to replace my commuter roadbike* -- an old Cinelli from the mid-80's -- for probably about a year now.

I mean, it's been a great workhorse over the years (especially in the days when I was Caltraining it down to Mountain View and then riding over to Santa Clara for work most of the workweek), but the frame has always been *slightly* too small for me.. and, well, it just never fit 100%. We even had a little tiff back in July -- and this was the final straw with respect to me riding this bike regularly -- involving an attempted sprint through a SOMA traffic light, a rear derailleur failure, and, ultimately, a trip to the emergency room for my first real stitches. (Oddly enough, no actual crash happened; I stayed on my bike through the whole episode and, in fact, rode most of the way to the hospital. Can you guess what happened?)

Yeah.. so I've had my eye out for a well-fitting road or cyclocross bike ever since; I've even considered getting a single-speed (with a freewheel, thank you very much). I know, me getting over my aversion to the too-cool(-but-usually-not-deservedly-so) style of the single-speed here in the city: whoa! And, haha.

Admittedly, I haven't really tried too hard to make a purchase because I still have two *other* bikes.. bikes which basically fit most of my two-wheeled needs these days: a dusted-up-but-so-solid citybike (i.e. one I can feel ok about locking up around town), and a great 2006 Giant TCR C1 roadbike for my long(ish) rides (and very occasional race) up in the Marin "countryside".

But today; today, I came across a deal-almost-too-good-to-pass-up at performancebike.com:

Scattante Emerald City Single Speed Road Bike
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?sku=26052

Right now, it's on sale for $280; and with a today-only 10% discount, this bike is $252.. down from an original price of $599. For real. (By the way, Scattante is the house brand of Performance Bike, not some fancy Italian shizz.)

I've tried to do a little online research to see what folks' thought of it, but I didn't really come up with too much. The Bikes for the Rest of Us blog wrote a post about it, but didn't *review* it. And the Blog Snob NYC railed on the whole Performance Bike "Courier Series" (of which the Emerald City is a part), but, again, didn't say too much about the actual bike itself. I'm just looking for some comments in the way of its comfort or speed or durability.. or just it's general utility/value.

Man, it's $252.

So cheap. And Performance Bike has a pretty good return policy. In fact, I just chatted with customer service and if I need to switch the bike for a different frame size there's no restocking fee; you just take it to the store and do an exchange, even if you've ordered the bike online (they may not have a replacement bike in-store, but in this case, you just have to wait for them to order it).

I'm on the fence; my main concern is that if I'm going to get another bike, I should get something more versatile (read: more gears!) for any future long commutes, cyclocross or touring opportunities.. or whatever. More gears = peace of mind? Yeah, but, that said, I'd have to drop at least $800 for something decent in one of those categories.

In any case, I have until midnight to decide (at least if I want to take advantage of today's extra 10% off online coupon).. so, on the off chance that anyone has any knowledge/experience on the Emerald City here, let me know asap!

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* That's not me in the picture. ;0

It was time for a diet

Now I know I've always said I try to limit the amount of "gear" I have around, but every once in awhile I feel the pull of possibility and excitement through consumerism. haha. Yeah, so I upgraded a key piece of my racing bike today - the first time since I bought it mid-2006 - and I'm psyched to take it for a spin tomorrow to really give it a go.

You see, Performance Bike is having a sale (aren't they always?) on components and I couldn't resist the double-digit discount on some of their high-end offerings. So, I said to myself, why not go big and replace my crankset?

I replaced my crankset.

For some reason, the Performance Bike website doesn't show the discount for the model that I bought - the SRAM Force HCT Crankset w/ GXP Team Bottom Bracket - but when all was said and done (including a 10% SF Bike Coalition discount) it was 35% off the original price at the store downtown.. which still ends up being of lot of money, but, well, I'm amortizing the cost in my head from 2006 onwards. My corporate accountant would be proud.

And how can you put a price on shaving half a pound off your ride? ;) See you on the road!