I've been riding the bike for about 20 miles and have grown to really like the bike.
To recap, my wife and I bought new bikes to ride in parks with our son and our friends. I bought a 2007 K2 Easy Street Deuce, medium, for $299, which was a steal. I originally thought it was a return, but after digging around the 'net I realized that it was just last year's model at a reduced price. Not really sure why it was discounted so deeply because some of the components were the same as the 2008 model (mid-year updates, maybe) and other components are actually better (front forks, etc.).
It's a medium, which means it is supposed to go up to 5'10". Large is from 5'10" to 6'1", which would be ideal for my height. After searching around the 'net for a while I found out the change is in the height of the vertical parts of the frame. For example, compare the fork tube on my 2007 (above) and the 2008 pictured below:
Notice that on my bike the top tube and down tube almost touch, while the other bike has about three inches of space between the tubes. Notice also that the rear geometry is positioned so that the top tube doesn't flow into the wheel supports in the 2008 model. In my opinion the shorter frame looks better than the longer one and looks like it would be stronger. Besides, the silver looks much better than the retro dark red & orange paint job.
The handlebar height can be adjusted. I originally pulled it up as high as it would go (added 3" to it). I also raised the seat to what felt right (but was wrong, as I found out). I rode it for about 10 miles in a couple of trips, but it felt wrong. I bought toe clips but it still didn't feel right.
I bought a bicycle repair book and followed its recommendations on adjusting the bike: I moved the handlebar back down to its lowest (default) setting, raised the seat even more so that my leg was almost extended when the pedal was at its lowest position and moved the seat to its farthest back position. So much better! I went to a local park with a few hills this past weekend and had a much easier time powering up the climbs.
On a side note, I bought a new helmet for about $35 on sale at Sun & Ski (Giro Indicator). My previous helmets were a $16 one from Target and a skateboarding helmet. The Target one was huge, uncomfortable and had very few holes for air. The skateboarding one looks like a small football helmet, and is comfy, but it has no airholes at all. This new one has tons of holes and an easy-to-use adjustment system. For the first time ever, I can ride in high 60's, lower 70's without creating a soaking wet head of hair.
K2 Bike
Monday, March 10, 2008
Mini Review - K2 Easy Street Deuce
4 comments:
Do you still like it? LLBean is having a 20% off sale at the new store in our area, and I thought I might buy one based on your enthusiasm!
It's still nice. I have since bought a mountain bike to go off-road. I used this bike during my Orlando ride:
http://blog.herseysoft.com/2008/04/biking-in-orlando-west-orange-trail.html
(can't make it a link in a comment)
I'm considering this model of K2 for a grocery getter/around town ride. We have lots of hills, tho...how does your bike handle hills (if you have them LOL)?
Regarding hills, there are a few here. I don't know what you consider a hill. As an example, Mulberry Park (http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/departments/parks_rec/pdf/LittleMulberryPark.pdf) has a pretty hilly multi-use path that the bike handles with great aplomb. The twenty-one speeds on the bike seem to be geared more for hills than for speed, which makes sense since the bike encourages casual riding, not racing. The gearshifts are indexed, using triggers to step up/down a gear, so it is very easy to go to a lower gear quickly and confidently.
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