Bamboo Bike - Part Four: Testriding the Jungle Baby

Now that my bamboo bike is completed, I had to take her on a spin to see how she performs. Should you have missed the post about building it, take a look at part one, part two, and part three.

I decided to use the relatively low-key Saturday morning for my test ride in Chapultepec park. No way I'd take her down busy Insurgentes Avenue during Friday afternoon rush hour! But at this time the park is relatively quiet... while on Sunday it'll be overrun with weekenders. Before anything I had to get there, opting for the numerous bike-lanes in my area. It's really not too far...

Less than five minutes after leaving I got my first flat and had to take it back to the shop. It was that poorly designed drain, where the holes run parallel to the street! Even though I tried to be smart about it, crossing the drain diagonally, my rear tire got caught in it. I suddenly heard and felt the quick psssst from the loss of air, and I knew I would probably need to change my tube. Bummer!

Never mind, at least I didn't have too far to walk it back to, and I got to practice taking off my wheel, the tire, and the tube. I didn't have to use any water to find the torn part either, it was so big and clear. Oh well... Putting things back together was actually quite fast, thank you fixie!

Once we were rolling again, I made sure not to take unnecessary risks, and rather picked up and carried the bike across the drain. Being used to my loaded touring bike, this Jungle Baby felt incredibly light. At home I even checked its weight, which is exactly 11 kg (24 lbs). I was so happy, as this was precisely the idea: I didn't want to worry about having to hop off quickly and shoulder the Baby, if I had to take it past stairs, or other kinds of obstacles.

And there was no shortage of obstacles. Ugly pavement, broken pavement, giant holes in the pavement, and worse, are all too common around here, unfortunately. And yes, with my touring bike I would probably get quite frustrated.

To get to the park I needed to take a pedestrian / bicycle bridge across Periferico, an insane freeway of at least 12 lanes on two levels, just another typical feature of this city. Fortunately there was a decent ramp on both sides of the bridge.

Going up the ramp was no problem. Sure, having no gears I really had to step into the pedals, but once I was rolling, all I had to do was keep on going. Coming down on the other side was a bit trickier.

I really had to control my speed with my legs. Once again, I had to put my weight on the pedals, but this time on the back side. As scary as it was at first, I quickly got used to using my legs for more than just going forward. A whole new experience for me! In the end it was not too bad.

Once I was in the park, I could really go ahead and make use of the generous space. On the two sides of a virtually empty road there are two separate bike lanes. Here you can see, the one on the right side is being blocked by the police car. (Thank you, amigo!)

Past the cop I really tried my speed, pedaling as fast as I could for a while. I have no idea about the exact speed I reached, but I'd say it was somewhere in the neighborhood of exciting to thrilling. Now, I wanted to see if I could handle an abrupt stop. Wow, another new experience! It's not even that easy!

Once the momentum is carrying me forward, I really have to make sure to be determined about stopping. A simple pedal suggestion is not gonna cut it. Instead it pushes back on you! I managed to slow down first before stopping, but that is nowhere enough if I really need to stop. So I tried again.

Another straight and flat bike trail with nobody on it. Perfect for another serious brake test. Speeding up I could do with confidence now, so all I needed to do was to apply the same confidence in stopping. Whooooaa! Standing up and putting my weight on both pedals, while keeping my legs rigid, did bring me to a sudden stop. It actually worked! But, I kinda felt sorry for my poor drive train for having to absorb all that force. Though it seemed to have handled it quite well. Still, adding a front brake may not be a stupid idea after all...

The bike trail through Chapultepec also gave me the chance to practice more ramps, as it takes the cyclist up and down bridges weaving in an out through the lanes and ramps of Periferico. So I tried to pay attention to riding downhill without hitting any pedestrians.

It went quite well, actually. It's all about control, and the fixie seems to be quite good at that. Holding the pedals with both feet, letting it roll just as slowly as I thought was safe, and even calling out to the jogger, letting him know I was coming, and then waving at him, was no problem at all. But the Gods know what I would do if my feet suddenly slipped off the pedals...

I was also told how useful foot straps would be on my pedals. While those things had been recommended to me even for my bike tour, I never felt I really needed them. At least I never missed them. For a fixie, however, I can see how they come in handy (or rather footy).

Back in my neighborhood I once again sought out the bike lanes. Bright and green, painted on the asphalt unmistakably, didn't stop cars (including cop cars) from parking right on it. Oh, well... Though I was riding downhill again, I felt I could handle it much better. Slow and easy I was holding back on the forces of momentum and gravity, as I gave only a little bit, then a bit more, coming safely to a stop at the red light.

Past the intersection I only had one more block to go. This is the street where a bike accident got me to break my clavicle, about five years ago. I remember, I was so excited when they finished this bike lane, which I thought was so well planed: Instead of placing it next to the motorist lane, where it would become annexed by cars, they put the parking lane between. What I hadn't considered though, was that pedestrians were just as likely to annex this extra space.

In the end, my brief test ride got me even more excited about going again, and riding further. All in all I am quite satisfied with my Jungle Baby. She is light, rides smoothly, can go nice and fast, and in spite of not having brakes, she can be stopped quickly. Certainly, a riding a fixie is something to get used to, but I believe it's a worthwhile experience. Though I think I am going to get her a pair of pedal straps, a couple of grips, and a small front brake.