BMC AC01
The official vehicle of the Bike Mayor of Palo Alto.
I have a lot of bikes. After 20 years of buying multiple bikes, I’ve decided that I have had enough. Well, my wife decided for me, still — a decision was made. We’re way past S-1 if you know what I mean. This is the new Quan Collection.
I’m going to share one of my bikes on the first day of each month. This is a forcing function for me to pare down my quiver to just 12 bikes. That’s still a lot, but it means I have to get rid of half my bikes, and only keep the ones that I truly love. The aspirational minimalist in me is up for the challenge. Let’s go!
Bikes And Coffee
Let’s start the new year with a new (to me) bike. I didn’t think I’d have this one built up in time, because I wanted to use a very specific set of tires on it. As with most parts and accessories for the Bike Industry in 2020, they were backordered for months. I was pleasantly surprised when a big box from Cycle Force showed up on my door a few days before the end of the year. I love the folks at Panaracer. Global Good Guy Jeff Zell is truly a man of the people. He’s a local boy, but the Panaracer brand has global reach, yet still remains hugely under appreciated. They make really great tires. I use them on all my gravel bikes, and I knew I wanted the soft supple ride, and tubeless compatibility for my townie. Excessive? Maybe. But I’ll be using this bike a lot around town.
Bike Mayor of Palo Alto
While most people think a townie should be a cheap, beat-up old bike, I take the opposite approach. This will likely be the bike I ride the most over the next few years. I wanted something fast, light and lockable. As the unofficial Bike Mayor of Palo Alto, I had to have something high tech, yet subtle enough to fly under the radar. My favorite coffee shop is less than 2 miles from home, and it’s flat all the way.
The BMC was nicely spec’d with Shimano’s Alfine internal gear hub. It worked great, but I would never use the shifter in town. The simple solution was to steal the Roval wheels from my kid’s bike, and make it into a single-speed. I started riding in NYC when fixed gears were cool urban workhorses, but my old-man knees need the freewheeling ability, and hydro disc brakes are industry standard now. I think the bike still looks great, with clean lines and the low maintenance of a Gates Carbon belt drive. It’s also easy to lock up if needed.
As we’re entering the last few months of a year-long lockdown, I remain hopeful that we can rebuild our towns, and our relationships in this new year. I started the #bikesandcoffee hashtag as a way to combine two of my favorite things. But the purpose of these morning coffee rides is to connect with people. To listen to their stories, and difficulties, and hear how their lives are going. If I can help, I’m always happy to. Sometimes people just want to be heard. I’m really looking forward to the day’s ahead when I can ride this thing!
