When approaching from the West, the sight of this mural on the side of Osman & Joe's Steak 'n' Egg restaurant is a sign of victory. From a dead stop (if you respect the four-way stop sign at the start of the block), you have climbed yet another hill in DC. [Photo attribution: Lorie Shaull. Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0.] I'm not a cycling purist, so I have no problem walking my bike up a particularly ferocious hill. But if my trip takes me over several moderate hills, which frequently happens in DC, I'd rather keep pedaling. Especially if walking to the nearest bikeshare takes me on a detour, I'll be disappointed if I have to walk for significant stretches of what’s theoretically the biking portion of the trip. That’s why I invented the Osman & Joe's Steak 'n Egg Bikeshare Challenge. Reaching the Steak ‘n’ Egg Restaurant from the West requires climbing Chesapeake's moderate hill, which features a four-way stop sign one block from the destination. The triathlete riding the single-speed spin bike in the Sadie Dingfelder’s article apparently managed to pedal throughout the uphill race, but my “dad bod,” as they say, almost certainly couldn't handle that. Might the gearing of any of the other bikeshare cycles be better suited to my fitness level? To find out, I personally tested bikes from Capital Bikeshare (CaBi), JUMP, Mobike, Lime Bike, ofo, and the new three-speed Spin. With their electric-assist power, JUMP bikes can handle much more intimidating hills. I recommend making a reasonable gear selection when starting uphill from a dead stop, but even this wasn't an issue during the Steak 'n Egg Challenge. Maybe I should have made this portion of the Challenge more interesting by eating Steak 'n Egg takeout meal while I pedaled. (My spouse pointed out that anything I call a Steak 'n Egg Challenge ought to involve enjoying the delicious food this landmark restaurant provides.) Mobike, Lime Bike, and ofo failed the Challenge, as far as I'm concerned. The grinding feeling of battling gravity and laboring to bring the cranks around made me realize I'd rather walk even this moderate hill. I held out some hope for Spin. I noticed Spin recently switched their single-speed bikes for three-speeds. Maybe they created custom gearing with DC's hills in mind? Alas, Spin fared no better than the other non-electric bikes. Spin confirmed in a tweet that its upgrade to three-speeds was for all its bikes and not a special accommodation for DC's hills. CaBi was the biggest surprise. Earlier in my CaBi ride, I gritted my way up a hill that was slightly steeper than the Chesapeake approach to Steak ‘n’ Egg. It wasn't pleasant. On a subsequent downhill I realized, though, that I had tackled the hill in CaBi’s middle gear. Would the bottom gear let me achieve a decent cadence during the Challenge? Spurring my CaBi steed into action from the stop sign at the bottom of the hill, I noticed a significant difference. I'm not sure if CaBi uses a custom gear hub or simply a smaller chainring, but CaBi’s bottom gear felt much more like a granny gear than that of any of the competing cycles. With a steady spin rather than a painful grind, I reached the top and felt like I could keep on going--perhaps even to DC's highest point at nearby Fort Reno. Personally, I'd like to feel that the new dockless ventures--which are trying to make good impressions in DC during their trial period--are investing at least some effort in customizing their offerings to DC’s specific needs, including its physical terrain. Consistent with what may be an emerging pattern, JUMP stands out from the other dockless ventures. Instead of sprawling across the entire United States (or, in some cases, the globe), JUMP focuses on only two cities, both of which happen to be hilly: San Francisco and D.C. Regarding hills, JUMP clearly meets our needs. JUMP also experimented with an eight-speed transmission. Given JUMP’s electric boost, I don’t miss the extra gears, and I actually appreciate the simplicity. But I would love to see the other dockless companies take a page out of JUMP’s book. A Mobike cycle with a rear light (still lacking, I believe?), a seat for taller riders (improved, I think, by still not great), and eight speeds? Or even just a smaller chainring? I would try that in a heartbeat. Comments are closed.
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