Here are some photos from my local Greenway with the Rans Street:
It sports the Rans Rear Rack, Avid BB7's, Nitto albatross bars and the polished riser spun 'round toward the rider.
These are pix from my phone, so they aren't as clear as I'd like. The photos certainly don't do the metallic red color justice. It is quite a good looking frame, even it there were no other components on it.
I've been on a couple of "training rides" in preparation for the Tour To Tanglewood MS150 Ride, in Central North Carolina. We'll ride 90 miles over two days with a wonderful campout after the first 45 miles. The rest of my rides have been mostly along this greenway, which I can get to by cutting through a couple of nearby subdivisions, where I can easily make a 10-15 mile ride from my door to the greenway and back without having to load it up in the car. I like being able to ride my bike to my favorite riding area. My goals now are to get my city to provide spurs off this greenway to make it more utilitarian, that is to give cyclists destinations they need and want to ride to IN ADDITION to the picturesque ribbon that rolls quietly through a dozen miles of a large city and winds through several Industrial/Office parks. I'm also working on an idea to get a local University to start a "borrow-a-bike" plan like the ones I've read about at Ripon College and Duke University.
The Rans Street is a wonderful platform. There have been no comfort issues, no soreness aside from muscle soreness from healthy use, and I've ridden more this year so far than I have in the last 15 more years combined. That's what the Crankforward format can do. For people who have found typical mountain bikes and road bikes to be uncomfortable, the Rans design offers a true alternative that's similar enough to the standard upright bicycle that you have no learning curve! People who have taken my Street for a ride have come back smiling talking about how easy it is to ride. It's the joy of cycling like when you were a kid, without having the kid's body.
Your RANS Street looks like a beautiful bike. Did you buy it in North Carolina? I am interested in trying out the RANS crank-forward bikes, but haven't found any in the bike shops around Chapel Hill. Where did you find yours?
ReplyDeletestrack@mail.com
I bought mine from out-of-state, from NorthShoreWheels. Their site is www.Northshorewheels.com and the owner is very helpful. I don't know if he could ship to you or not. Rans has a try-it-out policy where you can purchase directly from Rans, and if you don't like it, you have 30 days to ship it back, and pay only the shipping charges. Also, Spincyclz.com will sell you a bike and ship it to you. Nanda Holz is the owner and I've conversed w/ him a great deal through email. He can help w/ any questions.
ReplyDeleteIf you live in Chapel Hill, you should check out my friends at CYCLE9, they're right on US54 out of Chapel Hill toward Carrboro. THey have some really neat stuff, but don't carry RANS right now. They do have Day6 bikes, but I didn't dig them near as much as the RANS. THey carry Xtracycle, and Yuba Mundo's and electric kits for bikes. They have the coolest tandem I've ever seen, it's a Kidz Tandem, and is setup for a kid to ride up front while the adult rides in the back, but still controls the brakes and steering.
The Clean Machine in Chapel Hill is supposed to be a RANS dealer, but they don't keep any stock, they'll order for you if you know what you want.