In defense of heavy bicycles

It's been a recent thing that I seem to be catching a bit of crap from other cyclists as to how heavy the TARDIS is. This is up to and including in bike shops, on the part of the employees (which seems a bit backwards as a customer service strategy, but that's neither here nor there). So yes, I know my bike is heavy. Unloaded, it comes in around 35 lbs. The kickstand alone weighs over a pound. The rack has a sufficient payload that if you have an ass that doesn't mind the bars, a person can ride on it. It's not a lightweight.

But for every person that likes to rib me about the weight of my bike compared to theirs, it's amazing how quickly their tune changes as soon as they get a flat, need a quick repair, or are using my bike to lean theirs against because it actually can work as an impromptu portable bike rack. Observe:



That is the TARDIS, kickstand down, supporting two bikes leaning against it from either side while my friends ran into a convenience store for refreshments. We were parked directly next to a flock of singlespeeders with large messenger bags who seemed a little boggled in my choice of velocipede. Later, they were parking their bikes on mine, and it was decided upon that the TARDIS and I are sort of the Medics of the Austin Social Cycling world. We aren't the most glamorous, the fastest, or the slickest ones on the block, but in an instant can be called upon for something useful.

And that's my defense of my heavy bike. No, it's not light. But it's stable, comfortable, and has so many uses I haven't found them all yet. As a person, I am usually opposed to unitaskers, and so my bike is built to have almost infinite uses. So yeah, it's heavy. But damn if I don't absolutely love it.