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The Galfromdownunder went coast to coast on her wide gear range Crusoe. Photo by BF Club of Rhode Island co-leader Rob Giovino
JUST BACK from her 6-week Coast-to-Coast book tour promoting her popular travel tale The Handsomest Man in Cuba, the Galfromdownunder reports that her personal Touring Crusoe is her 'best performing Friday yet'.
"In 8 years of work and travel around the world as a Bike Friday owner, my wide-gear range Crusoe is probably the most versatile, dependable and best-performing Friday I've owned," she says.
The Gal hauled her suitcase trailer through the dirt roads of Vermont, put her bike and Travelcase on and off trains, down subways, up elevators, from NY to LA and beyond.
Her itinerary was so hectic she is still updating her online tour chronicles, where you can read plenty of takes, view pictures and movies. "My first Friday was an Air Friday, which I loaded up mercilessly to ride from the bottom of Great Britain to the top over three months - largely because the touring version of the bike - the Air Glide- was still a twinkle in Hanz' eye.
She then traded across to a base grade New World Tourist, which served her well through 4 years of travel through Ireland, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba ... which you can read about on her site.
She then switched to a Rohloff Pocket Llama to try this jewel of a gearing system, but as beautifully engineered as it is, it made the bike too heavy for its 5 foot nothing 95-pound rider.
Finally, she traded it for a Crusoe, set up with Dura Ace triple.
When the new Shimano Capreo cassette came in with the 9-tooth cog, making large front chainrings a thing of the past, she had her bike converted to that system. The Capreo is being incorporated on many of the Bike Friday models now, including many of the petite and racing models.
What the Gal has now is a bike that "shifts great, I can take up the steepest hills loaded, yet keep up with the pack on fast-enough rides," she enthuses.
Bear in mind, she weighs 95 lbs wringing wet - this bike is not designed to be punished with heavy loads for average-weight riders. However, it will take any person up to 180 lbs credit-card touring in style.
SOME GAL TRIPS ON HER CRUSOE
THE GALFROMDOWNUNDER'S FRIDAY: WIDE-GEAR RANGE POCKET CRUSOE
 Frame: Pocket Crusoe Accessories: Rear Rack: Bike Friday GD Folding Rack Best things about this bike: "Fantastic gear range - 17.34"- 106" with the 18.5" tires as specified." "Great handlebar setup." |
A NOTE ABOUT GEARING: By Bike Friday Sales Consultant Stephen Strickland
 Most riders will not need Lynette's Capreo 9-34 tooth cassette modification. You can achieve close to this gear range with the following which is a more standard design offering from us Bike Friday: Chainrings: 26, 36, 46 This gives a gear range of 95" - 18.5". 95" is plenty high for most people. Lynette weighs only 95 lbs, so tends to get left behind by heavier riders on the descents. That is why she benefits from having a 106" high end, so that at 30 mph downhill she has a chance of keeping up. Most people are heavier and will not need this modification. Similarly, the 18.5" low gear you can achieve from the configuation I list above is pretty close to her 17.34" low gear. The benefit of the standard 9-26 cassette is you can use a short cage derailleur - more clearance from the ground. |
The super comfy handlebar setup of the Galfromdownunder's Friday
Air Glide owner Nancy Meredith has a variation on this theme - and she likes aerobars. You can set your bars up these different ways in the comfort of own home - I did! See more of Nancy and the Austin BF Club
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