depthq - ccm|mac

My first bicycle in Beijing was a black Gelei. It was light. It was responsive. It was pretty simple and fun to ride. It faithfully carried me to the office and could even carry another person on the back with no issues.

I was happy but I wanted a better experience. So I decided to spend a bit more and got a Giant Hunter 2.0 (mine was gray + black). It was a pretty big improvement from the Gelei and I really liked it. It felt way much better. But this state of happiness ended after about 3 months or so. I became a victim of the Beijing bicycle thieves. I guess I have myself to blame for not keeping my bicycle far away from those thieves.

I still had my black Gelei, which was surprisingly not stolen after leaving it unlocked for a few months in a bicycle garage. But then I remembered that Sally won a new bicycle for buying some stuff in a shopping complex. So I went to retrieve it from her and started using it.

The bike is a Cherokee from cnforever. It was a total disaster. The only problem I had with the Gelei was getting a flat tyre a few times. A simple patch work was all it needed. The Cherokee is a totally different animal.

Initially the Cherokee felt really sluggish. I had no idea why until I brought it back on the first day. The brake pads weren't aligned properly and was stuck on the wheel almost permanently. It took me a while to figure out how to set it properly so that I doesn't happen too often; another issue that made it harder to configure was that the wheel doesn't rotate perfectly.

Once I was done with that, it felt much better. But still something is wrong, I seem to tire easily when cycling on the Cherokee. It felt much worst compared to the Gelei. Most of the time I just can't keep up with Ben or Xiao Feng when cycling to work and back.

I made sure that the tires had enough air and there was a decent improvement. But what I didn't realise is that the tyres seem to lose air pretty quickly. I'll need to get it check at one of the bicycle repair dudes that are abundant in Beijing.

One other complain is the gear change lever. Its not really a lever because its built into the hold of the handle bar. It is brutal! I think my skin will peel off when using it because its almost impossible to turn. Because of that I don't use it often and I haven't found a good gear ratio yet for most of the cycling I do.

But I did something today that has totally improved my quality of life, at least the cycling aspect. I bought a new saddle for the Cherokee. It was the best RMB27 that I have ever spent. I finally figured out why cycling on the Cherokee was so wrong. The position of the saddle wasn't high enough and the I had to waste a lot of energy to pedal the bicycle. The new saddle has a lot more padding and thus raises my seating position quite a bit. It feels so much better. I almost feels like I am flying.

I am really taking this as a challenge to setup the Cherokee to be as optimal as it could be. The one thing that I am pretty happy with is the braking. It is pretty good for my current use.

There is still something wrong with my cycling position, I think. My hands would sometimes feel a sharp pain. Maybe its the handlebar. Maybe the bicycle is too stiff. I am not sure. But I guess I'll figure it out in time.

I'll have to say that the Cherokee has a lot more character than my previous 2 bicycles. But it really comes with a cost!