"hey try riding a bicycle to work, but your job is to carry a Glock 17 at the DMV! 🤣🤣🤣"
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Here's the quick stats:
Expected basic maintenance costs $138.90 / year or 22 cents a mile
Expected amortized hard costs $110.65 / year or 18 cents a mile
Combined costs: $249.55 / year or 40 cents a mile
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I've had two flats in two months. ($5.95 * 2 = $11.90) * 6 = $71.40/year
I've lubed up my bike, including to get rid of the annoying squeak that is common on the BB3 three times. Lube costs $30 for ~8 applications ($30 / 8) = $3.75 * (3 * 6) = $67.50 / year
A lot of bicycle equipment I already had on hand from my Nishiki:
Foot air pump - $36.99
Hand air pump - $14.99
U lock - $70.95
Multitool - $19.99
Tire levers - $4.50
Adapters - $7.83 (i got mire free from the nice guys at redacted)
Microfiber cloths - $14.99
Helmet - $35.99
Shoe rain covers - $74.99
1800 lumen light - $169.99
Motorcycle gloves - $26.99
Disposable gloves - $13.25
Then there's an assortment of things I purchased to add to my collection
Bicycle odometer - $36.63
Frame bag - $105
Rain jacket - $135
Rain pants - $89.95
Rear light - $35
Bicycle bell - $19.95
Rhinodillo's - $24.95
So what's my experience riding a lefty as a commuter about 3.75 miles (20 minutes) to work, wearing a Glock, in Colorado?
Well first of all, this spring has been exceptionally rainy. Early on, I made the decision to just buy the rain pants and a new actual gore-tex rain jacket, knowing full well that it was a possibility that it wouldn't rain for 4 months and, boy, has that decision paid off. It has rained about 5 out of the possible 7 days each week.
I wish I had fenders. But that's an option I can still add on, for now I'll just bite the bullet and ride naked.
Speaking of the rain, I've lubed my bike a few extra times just to stay on top of the washed away protection. I also commute on a major roadway that big rigs drive down everyday, schools and apartment complexes love watering the concrete sidewalks, and the local landscapers come from a non-high desert landscaping university because all of their creations leak out onto the sidewalks. So every day is a battle to keep my beautiful new Bad Boy 3 free from excess sidewalk contaminants.
I used to commute gun free and I experienced a lot of what I call "road terrorism" where people would swerve at me and yell dumb things out their windows, but now that I open carry, I noticed people stopped trying to intimidate me. Also, the bike does look pretty badass all on it's own.
The goat's head is a killer. It's actually the reason that I started riding my Meepo Voyager electric longboard more than my bicycle, because back 2 years ago I bought an old Nishiki road bike for $150 bucks and by the time it fell apart in December of 2022, the replacement tubes had cost more than the bike itself. So this time around, the Cannondale got the royal treatment of the dillo's.
How is the bike looking after 2 months?
It hasn't undergone too much tribulation, but no one is treating the Bad Boy like a princess. There's a few tiny scratches here and there, but nothing that takes away from the awe-factor when people see it.
What's it like going from a steel road bike to a urban aluminum?
Well, it's bulkier. The few times it got thrown onto the RTD bus bike carrier, it was noticeably more difficult to get up and onto the bus than my old Nishiki. As far as gearing though, it is an absolute life saver going from manual post shifters to the modern handlebar clickers. As long as I'm not wearing goretex, I don't even break a sweat. Those old shifters were too difficult to adjust on the fly so I often just powered through as if it was a single speed bringing me to exert so much effort to commute.
The Cannondale Bad Boy 3 fits my aesthetic, it's sleek, it's edgy and it's economic. Coming from a life of never buying a bicycle over $500, taking the next step up doesn't quite give me the same paranoia as if I went straight to $3k+ bougie bikes. Not that someday I won't find myself buying those either, but the 3 at least seems like a good mix of bicycle science and tradeoffs.
I will comment on the sizing, I am apparently 5' 6" (all my life I thought I was 5' 8") and I purchased the Medium sizing. It is a smidge too big for me. But all my life I rode bicycles that were a smidge too big for me so in this context, it works.
So far, by my calculations, I've ridden about 104 miles on the bike. (1.67 mi/day or 612 mi/year)
But keep in mind, I generally take my Meepo (it's hard to beat 28 mph at 1 cent a mile) when possible and every once in a while I take out my motorcycle.
Also full disclosure, I never wear a helmet, not on my bike. Going 8-17 mph while wearing high-vis clothes and using an 1800 lumen light is something I just don't see as requiring a helmet, and there are people who subscribe to the belief that wearing a helmet encourages you to do things that are more dangerous. So I just imagine people don't see me and if I have to ride in the road, I move often and take up as much of the lane as possible without seeming rude.
So while it is listed with my gear, it's more of an reference just because I keep it for only special circumstances (I'm not sure why I keep it, I don't ever plan on using it again.)
Finally, I'm a complete nerd and have a spreadsheet for almost everything. Here's a screenie of the items I've purchased and how much they will cost over a 10, 20 and 30 year lifetime.
And just as an addendum, I'm not a gym rat or super in shape. I weigh 197 lbs with a 46 inch waist so bicycling isn't particularly in my DNA. And if you've never heard from me before, one of my heroes is MrMoneyMustache although I don't actually keep up with him all that often anymore.
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Rider weight - 197 lbs / 89 kg
Location - Aurora, Colorado, United States
60 day review / ~ 105 miles ridden
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