Yesterday I confessed to inentionally stoking worry of a battery-powered, digital biking future through which metal bikes with rim brakes stop to exist. However how can I not when it’s changing into nearly not possible to discover a regular street bike? And for those who’re questioning what a “regular street bike” is, right here you go:
See that? Regular! It’s metal. It takes mechanical elements. It makes use of quick-release axles. It’s fairly racy and you’ll experience as quick as you need on it, however you may as well set it as much as be snug as you’d like, and it has medium-reach brakes in case you need to use wider tires or fenders. It’s NORMAL.
Sure, there’s the odd firm that will get means an excessive amount of credit score for nonetheless providing token racy metal street bikes that use rim brakes and are made out of metal (although they principally promote bikes with dick breaks), like Ritchey:
And sure, as a fan of racy rim-brake street bikes I actually acknowledge that it seems like a really good bike:
But it surely has short-reach brakes, an built-in headset, and a plastic fork–which is ok! Particularly on a racy street bike. The truth is a number of the bikes I’ve loved driving probably the most through the years have had a number of of these attributes:
Nonetheless, the explanation I not have that Litespeed however I do nonetheless have the Milwaukee is that the medium-reach brakes specifically make the bike a lot extra helpful, and with completely no drawbacks. I imply I assume a medium-reach brake could be a tiny bit flexier than a short-reach brake, which you don’t discover. It’s additionally a tiny bit heavier, which you additionally don’t discover. But it’s the distinction between becoming 32mm tires with ease for those who really feel prefer it versus perhaps 25mm or probably 28mm for those who’re fortunate–plus there’s nothing stopping you from utilizing these outdated 23s or 25s on a motorcycle just like the Milwaukee anyway, for those who’re like me, you could have a bin or two stuffed with them out of your racing days, and also you type of like driving skinny tires generally as a result of they create the phantasm of velocity although they’re probably not any quicker while additionally being extremely impractical. (It’s type of like stuffing your self right into a pair of tight denims in a comical try and reclaim your youthi.)
That’s why once I moved some bikes alongside again in 2024 (which turned out to be an train in futility since I’ve acquired at the very least three new bikes since then), the Litespeed went however the Milwaukee stayed. Even within the rim brake days medium-reach street bikes have been considerably scarce, and now that it’s 2025 and more and more the one choices are restricted runs of boutique bikes* I’m taking this one to the grave** with me.
*Sure, after all there’s the much-vaunted Roadini, however that’s a long-reach brake bike and due to this fact extra-normal:
And no, I don’t really feel the necessity to justify proudly owning each the Milwaukee and the Roadini. One’s my common street bike and the opposite is my deluxe street bike. Principally, the Milwaukee has every little thing I would like, however the Roadini with its lugs and fancy paint and extra clearance and extra snug match is every little thing I would like and extra:
**This isn’t to be taken actually, for when the Cassette Of My Soul is lastly indifferent from the Freehub Of Existence, I cannot be buried, I will probably be donating my physique to an unnamed firm that makes use of human bones in its tire sealant.
Anyway, this was the Milwaukee simply previous to its most up-to-date replace, earlier than the Roadini assumed its position as my plump-tired, friction-shifted all-around street bike:
And right here it was again in 2015 once I first received it:
That’s principally the way it got here from Milwaukee aside from the tires and the saddle, and actually the saddle that’s on there now’s the unique one which the Cambium changed
After divesting myself of the Litespeed and a number of other different bikes I figured I’d reconfigure it as a contemporary (by my requirements) street bike, although I nonetheless felt prefer it was lacking somewhat one thing till I added this sticker yesterday:
That’s irony, after all, as a result of the bike is Shimano by and thru:
Proper right down to the hubs:
General I proceed to choose friction drivetrains at this stage in my biking life. I’m not racing and even attempting to maintain up with anyone so I couldn’t care much less if I mess up a shift every now and then, I benefit from the really feel and the method of shifting levers up and down, and I particularly get pleasure from having the ability to use no matter cassette I really feel like no matter speeds. But it surely’s nonetheless enjoyable to return to built-in shifters, and the 105–which principally represents the top of of the street for mechanical rim-brake street bike shifting from Shimano–works very, very nicely:
The truth is it really works so impressively nicely that it’s actually laborious to think about why anybody who’s not knowledgeable racer may desire a system that requires a battery. Then once more I even have a tough time imaging why you’d need the kind of street bikes they’re promoting as we speak as a substitute of 1 you may simply breathe new life into each decade:
Although as this represents the final of the mechanical street teams I suppose from right here on in it is going to be built-in shifters from the components bin…or I’ll simply return to friction ultimately.
