City Bikes + Hills?

[elk]

Curious if an upright position on a bike...like an Electra....with enough gears... is appropriate for hilly terrain? Mountain bikes have a pretty upright positioning don't they?

[KnottedYet]

I have a friend with an Electra Amsterdam, a mtb, and a Surly Cross Check.

Lots of hills.

The mtb and the Cross Check do fine on hills for her, but the Electra does poorly because it is so heavy and because the geometry makes it impossible for her to stand on the pedals.

She rarely rides the Electra any more, which is kind of sad because it is a really cute bike.

[Zen]

OTOH, my Electra is very light, has eight speeds and does fine on hills. I haven't tried standing yet.

Don't tell the others but I think Miss Plum (Electra) may be my favorite.

[elk]

Mr elk needs a new bike...he went to the fitter and discovered that...as I feared...the Bianchi I got him on ebay was tooooo small, and just plain wrong for him.
He likes the looks of that Tocino....like Miss Plum....and he does like a more upright ride...hates drop bars....thus my question.

[KnottedYet]

The Ticino is a VERY different bike than the Amsterdam.
(I want one, too!)

Snobby just did a review of one. Lemme see if I can find it...
http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2010...ticino-8d.html

[elk]

ooooolove snobby. thank you!

[hebe]

OTOH, my Electra is very light, has eight speeds and does fine on hills. I haven't tried standing yet.

Don't tell the others but I think Miss Plum (Electra) may be my favorite.

I love your bike, and am now covetting the winter mint one very badly. I think your rack looks perfect too.

Elk, sorry for the hijack. I haven't ridden up a hill yet, but just wanted to agree how lovely Zen's Ticino is.

[sfa]

I have a Townie; I got the version with 21 gears because you can't go more than a mile from my house without hitting some unpleasant hills. I don't ride it much because nine miles seems to be my butt's limit on that saddle, but the gearing is such that it can handle just about any hill easily. Your seated position on the bike is a little odd, though, so you have to rely on the gears and not your own stamina nearly so much as on a regular bike. When I ride it I always feel like I'm using my quads almost exclusively. I'm sure that's not true, but that's how it feels. The "flat foot" position gives you less of a true upright position and more of a laid back position, so it's nearly physically impossible to lean forward and really pedal hard, and you absolutely can't stand and pedal. It's a lot of fun to ride, though, and I do like the "get on and go" aspect of the step-through cruiser design. The bike doesn't feel especially heavy to me (although it's big and awkward to carry up and down stairs), but I don't have a lightweight road bike to compare it to.

I sometimes feel guilty leaving the Townie on the porch while I take out my other bike (a steel touring bike). I keep threatening to take the Townie out on the Iron Girl triathlon bike route to see how it does, or just take it on my regular commute (12 or 13 miles with a lot of hills at the start), but it really feels inefficient for any ride longer than a short errand in town, so I make excuses to go to the library or the post office just so I can ride it.

Sarah

[elk]

have ya seen the most adorable Belleville???