Geared hubs

This is the first new bike I've had since I was 12 or so. A Globe Daily 3. I commute on a bike, so it was a natural choice. And I admit, it's a clean design, and sexy in black.

Photo taken with a late 50's Yashica Mat TLR on Ilford HP5+ film, developed in HC110 in my bathroom.

I have a bicycle because I go places on it. I don't own a recreational bike. No spandex zippy suits with the built in water bottle pockets for me. No alien head aerodynamic helmet. No pretending my saturday ride is the Tour de France. I'm firmly in the elastic-band-to-keep-the-pant-leg-out-of-the-chain camp.

Bicycles do two things in my world. They make me smile, and they get me from point A to point B. And as such, I prefer low maintenance machinery. I don't really like wrenching on bikes. There are pros that do that. I prefer to be riding.  I know enough to get my bike to limp to a shop, and that's about it.

Which leads me to an admission:

I'm not a fan of derailleurs.

I know, puts me smack dab in the middle of geek territory. Sheldon Brown world.

But the first bike I built had a three speed Shimano hub on it that was bulletproof. So the new one has a Shimano Redline 7 speed. It was a selling point. It gets me to work, and home, to farmer's markets, to other towns close by, and down every bike path I have found. I'll probably put mustache handlebars on it soon, maybe a front rack to enhance the touring range.

Like I said- I'd rather be making pedals go around and tripping shutters than anything else.