the GOT bike

 Wednesday morning, in my quest for a errand bike that fits 29" mountain bike tires yet doesn't require a ginormously long rigid fork, as most 29" mountain bikes would, I experimented with my first 27.5" mountain bike. That bike was a cheap experiment, originally retailing in the mid four hundred dollar range and depreciating more than two thirds by the time I bought it, and I was genuinely astounded by how good cheap bikes had become. In addition to riding shockingly well, it has chainstays that are fifteen millimeters LONGER than my primary mountain bike, a Kona Taro that was sold with 29" wheels. I checked. Yes, a 29x2.2 tire clears the frame, not by a lot, but it does, and by starting with a 27.5" frame, I could use a much shorter fork to lower the bottom height back down after switching to bigger wheels. Sure, the angles will be steeper, but with a modern mountain bike 68° head angle to begin, nothing becomes unreasonable for an errand bike. I dropped ...