patrick schneider

I’ve recently (for the past year) been in the market for a heavy-duty road bike/touring bicycle. There are a good number of them out there, but a lot of them are made by specialty companies and run in the range of several thousands of dollars. What’s more, local bike shops tend not to stock even the most basic touring bike, such at the Trek 520.

Anyway, Kona and Bianchi both have some interesting options that I asked my friend (who is a bicycle mechanic) to compare. He did a very awesome and very in-depth in his comparison of the ‘05 Sutra and the ‘05 Volpe, so I thought I’d post his thoughts for anyone else that’s interested. The two bikes I’m talking about are available here:

2005 Bianchi Volpe

2005 Kona Sutra

Those two bikes appear to be an interesting comparison.  You've
got a more classical design versus a more modern design.  So right
off the bat we've got a nice rift between the two.  

The first thing I see with both bikes is that the Kona has disc
brakes, and no options for other brakes.  I don't see any
cantilever posts, and the fork has the word "disc" in the name, so
I don't expect to find threads to insert any posts if you ever
want to use regular brakes.  Disc brakes in my opinion are more of
a headache than they're worth.  Plus these particular brakes are
cable drawn, which manufacturers began doing so that disc brakes
would begin to appear on lesser costing bikes.  You're not even
getting the full benefit with hydraulics.  Now the Bianchi has
cantilever brakes.  Nice and strong, they will allow wider tires
than road caliper brakes, and you're left with WHEEL OPTIONS.  You
won't be limited to disc-specific hubs.  You can build a
superlight wheelset for rallies, or you can run daily beaters
which it comes with.  You could even throw some linear pull brakes
on there for more power over the canti's, and even continue using
your standard pull STI brake levers with minimum modification.  As
for which is more reliable, disc or rim, I'm not sure.  I'd bet
though that there's as much chance of breaking a rim brake arm as
there is braking a disc pad caliper.  If you're running for three
weeks across a few states, either carry a few extra brake pads or
a spare rotor.  If I were running disc brakes on a touring bike,
they would have to be cable drawn, because bleeding brakes on the
side of the road is just stupid.  And a cable drawn disc brake is
stupid.  So my personal choice is to stick with rim brakes.

Next I see the differences in the two frame designs.  The
Bianchi's geometry is certainly relaxed from a racing bike, but
not quite as upright as the Kona.  The Kona has an extrememly
sloping top tube, and the cranks appear to be kicked a little
further out.  That's all good and fine for comfort, but I would
think it gives you less control.  I would wager that the Bianchi
probably rides more like a road bike, the Kona more like a
mountain bike.  In a perfect world there's a shop in Austin
carrying both Bianchi and Kona.  If so, go ride them both, one for
as long as they'll let you, and then the other for as long as
they'll let you.  See how they both feel, but try not to just
coast at five miles per hour doing quick turns in the parking
lot.  Although that may be your only option.

Those are the two most obvious concerns that stand out to me.
Frame design, because that determins what kind of bike you have,
and how it will handle undernieth you.  Then brakes.  Not becuase
brakes are so important, but because they affect the wheels.  And
wheels are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.  Plus the ease of regular
maintenance, and more critcally, roadside-friendly repairs.  

Aside from that I'd sum up the rest of the two bikes as the Kona
utilizing the most modern components, the Bianchi sticking to
classic work horse components.  That GXP crank on the Kona is
Truvativ's answer to Shimano's external bottom bracket setup.
Notice that it's hollow, you can see straight through it.  It
pushes the crank arms further away from the frame, which will
increase stability (great for off-road), but it's main goal is to
be lightweight.  Plus the design is brand new.  It has yet to
become a standard, or to flop.  The Bianchi has lower gearing on
the crank, and a very wide range cassette.  It is certainly more
cargo and touring friendly, and without bling-factor.  The only
thing I could set next to the bling category on the Bianchi would
be that suspension seat post.  I would trade it out for a regular
seat post.  The Kona has 105 shifters, the Bianchi has Tiagra.
Honestly, the Tiagra shifters are keeping the cost of the Bianchi
down.  The 105's are better, but you'll still get years out of
those Tiagras.  Maybe not as many as the 105's, but certainly your
money's worth.  And if you have a "new rider wreck" that will
graduate you into "experienced rider" (doesn't happen to many
people, but we see it with road bikes often enough), and you total
your shifters, you're breaking less, and possibly replacing it
with more.  Also, the Bianchi comes with clipless pedals, the Kona
does not.  They appear to be SPD style mountain pedals, but that's
okay.  Trade them out for some road pedals, or throw them on your
mountain bike.  

If I had to choose one of these two bikes, based on package only,
no money concerns, you can probably deduce from my comparison
which it would be.  If not, good.  That means my personal opionion
won't be contributing in any way to your method of balancing what
you think about the two versus what I think about the two.  

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention wheelbase.  I couldn't find a
geometry chart for the Kona that included wheelbase, if you do
email me a link.  The Bianchi does give wheelbase, and yes, it's
nice and long.  The Kona probably builds its long wheelbase with
that sloping top tube.  You'd ride a bigger number frame for the
Kona than you would the Bianchi, because the standover is so short
on the Kona.  You might ride the 55cm Bianchi, but a 58cm Kona.
Both will probably have a wheelbase about the same.  Unless Kona
is crazy and puts a short wheelbase on that bike.

So the smoking ban in Austin passed. It basically means you can’t smoke anywhere inside in Austin, period. Including bars. There is an exception, however. Bingo parlours.

How do you get such an odd “public health” policy passed?

My thought: old people go to bingo parlours. Old people vote. Some old people also smoke. Old people that smoke are not going to change their ways. (Old, stubborn, old & stubborn, crotchety, etc… did I mention old?) So, make an exception for them, and let them decide how the young ‘uns should live their nightlives.

I voted against the ban. Early. Personally, I don’t smoke. And I’m selfishly glad that I can now go out and come home without smelling like smoke. But a bingo exception? Seems a bit odd… does the Austin City Council value old peoples’ lives less? If the law is in the name of “public health”, it would appear so.

This is a long time overdue; however, the story is worth telling.

Even after having a great Day 2, I was still a bit miffed that we had missed Ratatat. After all, they were most of the whole reason I purchased a wristband. Luckily we stumbled across a little gem on the web: http://showlistaustin.com/. What a find! Ratatat was playing a free day show at The Victory Grill. So I immediately took the rest of the day off, headed over there, drank free beer, and even had enough time to watch the ridiculously awful opening act (called something like Cheeseburger?).

The second act was M.I.A., which was an unbelievably pleasant surprise. Definitely worth checking out.

Ratatat took the stage last… well, maybe not last, but we left after they finished. They were very loud. And very awesome.

Wave of the future. This is the most exciting thing I’ve heard about in years.

If you haven’t heard of biodiesel, first, check out www.biodiesel.org. Afterwards, run out and purchase a Volkswagen Golf, and go driving.

www.greasecar.com also is a fascinating site.

So, America, it seems like our energy “problems” are not really problems at all. Simply an opportunity for some fantastic alternatives to further develop.

I was trying to find information about their sotware engineering degrees. And their site is down. Hrm:


Server Error
The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.
JRun closed connection.


Update: Right after I posted this, their site came back up. Hooray for them!

…I will get to it one of these days, for sure. Be patient.

And go to hell Real World jerks.

I’m currently enjoying the leftover half of a Philly Cheesesteak that I purchased from Barton Hills Market. I thought it worth noting that they make one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had; tops here in Austin. Or, if not tops, definitely in the top 5… I can’t think of anywhere else that I like this much. Their Italian sub is phenomenal as well. But be prepared to wait awhile for either of those sammies — 15 to 20 minutes. Call ahead if you can. I’ve had limited success with doing so, but it’s usually worth a shot.

btw, hamburger != sandwich, at least not in my book.

Thursday night started off with two fun bands, The Like Young and Hockey Night. The Like Young has the Mates of State thing going on… a guy and a girl that are seemingly in love, on stage, making music. They were a bit more “standard rock” than Mates, though. Hockey Night put on a great show and called the crowd “dudes,” as in “Thanks dudes” after a song.

After Hockey Night, we booked it over to Elysium to see the whole reason for buying SXSW wristbands in the first place (or at least my main motivating factor): Ratatat. The line was blocks long. My brother made it in to the venue over two hours before, and from the looks of it, there was absolutely no way many more people were getting in. This set me off; I was utterly pissed. Nothing could cheer me up.

So, we figured the best thing to do would be to head over to La Zona Rosa to catch The Futureheads who started in an hour, and Hot Hot Heat and Doves following. And when we got there, I was crushed. Twice the line of Elysium, and no concievable way that we were getting in before the night was over.

Despondent at this point, I really was not capable of making any more decisions for the evening. Not that decision making was really my strong suit last night anyway. So we stood in line. Cold. Dark. Etc.

After about an hour of being in line, we can hear The Future heads going on inside. Damnit! About that time, we start up a conversation with the guys in front of us. They are in a band called Melee from California (playing tonight, midnight at Redrum). Super nice guys, and fun to chat with.

A cop walks by us around 11:15 with one of those disposable Gladware containers. Robin says, “Aw, he’s got snacks…”, and a conversation is started from there. The APD officers tells us that if we make it inside, he’ll give us some of his snacks (which were cauliflower and celery… hey, anything would be okay at this point, huh?). 30 or 40 minutes later, he walks out with two pieces of cauliflower left… one for me and one for Robin. What a nice guy! We laughed and ate some fresh vegetables as he put his Gladware back in his cruiser.

On his way back into the venue, he asks Robin and I how many are in our party… two, we say… and then he says, “Come with me.” !!!. This was right at midnight. We walk behind him, straight into the venue, skipping hundreds of people still in line, and get stage-center right as Hot Hot Heat starts playing.

What a night. We found our friends inside shortly thereafter, and HHH and The Doves put on amazing shows. Hooray for the Austin Police Department. They saved SXSW for at least two of us. Thank you again to the officer that let us in, wherever you are. You made our evening )

So, two nights ago, for my first night of SXSW ever, I headed out to The Parish right when their doors opened. The Wrens were playing last, and from what the paper said about their show last year, I figured the only way to get to see them would be to show up early. Not sure if that was accurate or not b/c I never got to see the line again once inside.

Here my overly simplified opinion of the evening: The Wrens were incredible. Everyone else ranged from moderately okay to horrific.

The Real World was there. I was on camera, but I didn’t sign their waiver, so I guess I’m going to be one of those blurred faces on TV. It also means that I can say whatever I want about them. (I took a copy of one of their waivers and read it over at a later time. You essentially give the “Producers” the right to do whatever they want with you and your likeness throughout the universe, indefinitely. They actually used that phrase. “Throughout the universe.”)

Anyway, the main crew consisted of 4 or 5 people with varying duties. Lights, cameras, guy with a bunch of wireless equipment, etc. The cast looked like standard Real World folk. From what I was told, the cast of the Real World is given an “assignment”, which is something like a job. They don’t just get to live in the house and do nothing. It looked to me like their assignment is/was to film SXSW, or at least catalog it in some manner.

So there was this weird cascading camera crew thing going on: the crew that was filming the “Real World” show was actually filming cast members that were, in turn, filming the acts performing on stage.

One of the cast members (most likely a cast member, though I suppose she could have been a production-er) tried to steal my girlfriend’s seat. I lean down, got right in her face, and said, “No fucking way.” She seemed completely shocked that anyone would say such things. Well, stop stealing seats, Real World jerk. I understand you have an “assignment” to do. But the rest of the world paid to get in to this venue, and we’re not going to be inconvenienced by your pseudo-fame.

I suppose the Real World deserves no more of my time. On with SXSW.

Saw Mates of State this past Saturday at Emo’s… for the 4th time, at least. I think this was the first show I had been to where I watched the opening bands as well. Aquaduct from Seattle… and some other people… from Austin I think.

They played well… three new songs, and they didn’t end with that ridiculous Nico song.

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I drove past the tollway development in Cedar Park yesterday. Wow. You should check it out if you haven’t seen it. The AAS cover story that day happened to be all about it… so you should check that out as well.