A quick check of my (then) current circumstances (ten years older, five stones heavier, very unfit etc.) led me to think that drop handlebars were no longer an option; and besides, I thought - and this is where my keen sense of anti-fashion kicks in - "nobody seems to ride racing bikes these days."
Despite thinking that drops were no longer an option, I did know that I didn't want a cart horse of a hybrid/mountain bike with big knobbly tyres that need you to pedal down hills as well as up.
So I took my list of requirements: a road bike (for that's what they call racing bikes these days dear reader) with flat bars and skinny-ish tyres, and trawled the local bike shops (or LBS as we, ahem, cyclists say). This wasn't as straightforward as you would think: one callow youth in Leisure Lakes, on hearing my requirements, took one look at me and then spent about ten minutes explaining that what I actually needed was a hybrid... without mentioning that he thought I was too fat for a racing bike!
Unperturbed I found a bike online that I wanted, at about a third of the price in another LBS. It was a Claud Butler Chinook with flat bars and 23mm tyres. I was a little worried that the wheels wouldn't be er, wheel enough for the job of carrying my 18 stone frame around but I could always buy a stiffer back wheel if necessary.
Apparently, Claud Butler's aren't fashionable any more - of course. But I liked it; although for the first couple of years of ownership it didn't get used much. However this summer I have ridden like the wind, we even took our bikes on holiday. Unfortunately we were at the highest point in quite a wide area, so wherever we went we had to cycle up hill to get home, leading to a complete hissy fit from me one day when we seemed to be going perpetually downhill on the way out, without even a pub at the end.
Despite loving my Chook (short for chinook - keep up), there are a couple of issues with it, not least the flat bars. As I previously mentioned, I thought I might be getting a little old for drop handlebars, but actually, I've found that flat bars have only one position to hold them. After a few miles I was desperate for another position to relieve the pain in my hands, wrists and shoulders. Drop handlebars have several distinct holds which can alleviate the pressure on those areas. I find myself "holding" the bars by my fingertips to stretch my back and shoulders out, especially going up hill. By the way, did I mention I don't like going up hills? Yes? Okay then. Also, for a cheapish commuter, it was a surprisingly stiff set-up, with the combination of all aluminium frame and cheap 23mm tyres making every bump on the road feel like I was riding over cobbles. There's a pedestrian crossing on the way to my mum's which has one of those ultra grippy surfaces on it; the surface is largely destroyed, but in strips so it feels like your fillings are going to be rattled out as you ride over - a bit like driving over a cattle grid. I should point out that the bike's ability to transmit every road blemish through its frame has been largely offset by buying some 25mm tyres.
And then there's the issue of its gearing: it's got a triple chainset (three chain rings at the front).. Now I don't have much experience of modern gearing, my last bike had only12 gears, pretty techno for 1981! However, no matter how much I adjust, I can get the two extreme chain wheels to work flawlessly, but the middle one, which of course I use most of the time, only has about three gears which don't make a noise. You can move the "chatter" to the top or bottom few gears, but I can't seem to index it across the board.
So my wish list for a shiny new bike would be: drop handlebars for more hand positions, comfortable, non-jarring ride, compact double chainset instead of triple, and a "granny" gear to help me up the hills.With a new 18 months interest free credit card winging its way to me, a set limit of £500 and a list of last year's models at clearance prices, I've spent hours of fun, comparing one to another, reading reviews and specifications, and whittling down the shortlist until I had only 3 or 4 of the best value and well regarded bikes left.
My shortlist was,
Genesis Volant 20; at the top of my price range at £499, but stuffed full of good gear componentry; unfortunately the size I think I need was out of stock by the time the credit card came through,
Genesis Volant 10; same frame as the above but slightly cheaper components; same price as above,
Vitus Zenium; an own brand from Chain Reaction, but warmly reviewed by the cycling press,
Giant Defy 3: has the advantage of a massive company with a lifetime warranty on the frame. Probably a bit too popular [fashionable?] for my taste
Felt Z95; my personal favourite along with the Genesis bikes; some very grudgingly good reviews.
In the end I went for the Genesis Volant 10
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