So am I crazy, or do I need a new bike? ;)
I've been commuting since August, ~11 mile round trip. I love it. The route is sort of stupid -- I have to hop up on the sidewalk at one point, and at a couple of other points get off my bike and lift it over obstacles (oh the suburbs) -- but its not that bad.
I've been doing it on my Trek FX 7.2 hybrid, which isn't a BAD bike. It's the bike I got when I first started riding but was intimidated by road bikes. Of course now I love my roadie and hate the hybrid. I feel like such a dork in the upright position, but more importantly I feel like my angles are off -- not that the bike fits me poorly, but like, if I'm trying to do a standing climb up a hill -- I don't have the power under me I have on my road bike. I would like to be able to do the commute a little faster / feel a little stronger.
Does that make sense? Or am I just slowed by my loaded pannier and am blaming it on other things?
I also struggle with frequent brake rub, which is annoying. My amateur mechanic DH messes with my brakes often but no matter what I do, it seems like the v-brakes get knocked out of position at some point and rub. I also get annoyed by not being able to duck under the wind, but thats not really NECESSARY.
When my student loans are paid off (HOPEFULLY next year), I am dreaming of upgrading to a cross bike for my commute, but I am wondering if it will actually be a more enjoyable/powerful ride?
The follow up question is about bike parking -- currently I lock it to a rack in front of my federal building (which is located in a strip mall). There's often security out front, but then again DH once stopped by to fix something on the bike while I was working and no one said anything to him about messing with a locked bike. I'm not sure how comfortable I am with leaving a new bike out there, and don't love that it is out in the elements. Another option is I've been told by the security guards I can leave it in the foyer (you come in one door, walk through a short foyer, and then open a second door where all the guards are as you go through the metal detector to get in). So, technically the bike wouldn't be in a locked area, and there's nothing for me to lock it to -- but work often leaves wheelchairs in that foyer too, and it would be pretty ballsy to walk into a federal building to take a bike under the eyes of the security guards. I could lock the wheel to the frame with a u-lock so that someone would have to carry it out as well. Do we think that's a better bike parking option?