Probably the worst thing you can do for a bike habit is work in a shop, as 
you get used to the ready access to workstand, tools set up and the 
constant access to replacement bits. If one bike feels a little crunchy, 
you use that one to ride to work, then strip and clean it a bit on your 
lunch break, or stay a bit late to get it humming again.  Without such an 
immediate setup at home, certain bikes get regular treatment, while others 
get bits poached off of them and rotated to the back of the rack and 
storage areas.  

My Quickbeam is far and away the first bike I think of when it comes time 
to ride.  The Hilsen next.  Both have been through all kinds of iterations 
of race bike, commute bike, rando bike, bike bike...   The Quickbeam just 
has something about it - the combo of saddle type, position and 
simplicity.  One Gear Always Works.  (Well, ok.... I did bust a chain once 
which made for a quick and not-quite-nasty moment of non-locomotion 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclofiend/4811477802/ )  The last couple 
rides on the Hilsen, the chain slipped a bit in the 6th or 7th position.  
When I got home and poked at the cogset, it turned out to be loose - the 
lockring had backed off just enough to let things shift under load.  

Now, I know those things happen.  And I know that if I rode one bike 
exclusively, I'd be more directly attuned to the quirks and clicks and 
entropy.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclofiend/3787167021/  

And other than component wear, either of those bikes would work. Moods 
strike me and I typically end up favoring one bike for a few months at a 
time.  The shifting system on the Hilsen is direct and positive and won't 
degrade over time.  If the Hilsen were orange, it would probably be a 
tougher choice.  But, as my father likes to say, it's a "high class 
problem".

- Jim / cyclofiend.com

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