My 19-inch blue bike is the favorite in my small stable of three single-gear rigs -- all set up for an urban environment. Its steel frame, fashioned by Chinese craftsmen who didn't bother to sign their work, has held up well over a year of bumping along Cleveland's notoriously potholed streets. The components also deserve credit for the bike's durability, particularly my ENO Eccentric hub laced to a Sun C-18 rim (front's a Mavic). And let's not forget the beefy Sugino XD crank and 41t Tuf-Neck chain ring. Avid SD3s/SD7s provide stopping power and a WTB Laser V saddle offers sit-bone comfort over the roughest roads. To add pizazz, I recently stuck an energy-drink decal featuring lizards on the headtube. Personally speaking, I never touch the stuff.

Everyone ride carefully.

David Farkas

Cleveland, Ohio

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