Joel Hainley

I ordered a Motobecane Messenger last week from bikesdirect.com, it was half-priced through the end of January, couldn’t pass it up. The reason for the bike being that I wanted something I could leave in the bike rack at the school when I went to class. I wasn’t comfortable leaving my Cannondale locked up sitting out side with the Brooks on it, for hours on end. This seemed like a good compromise and it allowed me to buy a fixed gear, something i’ve had a fascination with over the years.

The first ride was rather shaky, but i quickly got myself able to start, stop on the bike ( no track stands just yet ). Then I stood up on the pedals and rode up to the top of the street, tried to coast and it INSTANTLY reminded me that coasting is for wimps. Then headed back down the hill and got used to the idea of using my legs to slow the bike. The bike came with brakes which, while not being “pure”, is a necessity for me.

Once I had acclimated to the bike, I made sure that things were screwed down and tire pressure was good and headed to work. Got to my first sizable hill and really had to dig in to get up the hill. Once at the top of the hill there was a nice stretch of road and I was able to start hammering and the bike responded instantly and took off faster than Barbaro ( RIP ) on EPO.

I made it to work, then to class, then home without much incident, a few spooky moments as I am not used to riding a bike you’re not allowed to coast on, but overall it wasn’t bad, in fact, it was kinda fun. I can see why people get addicted to them, they have a different feel than a regular bike, a really connected feeling.