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I’m DC RAINMAKER…
I swim, bike and run. Then, I come here and write about my adventures. It’s as simple as that. Most of the time. If you’re new around these parts, here’s the long version of my story.
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Here’s my most recent GPS watch guide here, and cycling GPS computers here. Plus there are smart trainers here, all in these guides cover almost every category of sports gadgets out there. Looking for the equipment I use day-to-day? I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). And to compliment that, here’s The Girl’s (my wife’s) list. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!
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So, Shimano or SRAM on it?
That brings back memories. When I was young (long ago), I had a Huffy that was very similar, although I didn’t need a sissy hand brake. Did you make the rear tire skid with the coaster brake? Dirt would be perfect for that.
Love
I am a bit disappointed that you did not actually install power meter pedals on it and recorded an activity (showcasing the lack of functionality on the Pixel Watch to them first hand).
A fixie seems an odd choice. Very few people are accustomed to riding a fixie and it does take a bit of getting used to, particular the stopping part. Perhaps the rationale is it’s less desirable to steal, less accommodating of riding longer distances (e.g. off campus), and it tends to keep speeds lower. A hub with a basic freewheel certainly incurs no significant cost.
Pretty sure he misspoke. They are single speed, with kickback rear brakes. One can coast while riding these.
I’m guessing it’s a single speed with a coaster brake, not fixed gear. Looks like it freewheels in the video.
link to youtube.com
Also, I understand that this “review” is for entertainment, not accuracy, but my inner bike nerd insists on commenting:
-I wonder if the tires are airless, and not “pumped up to seemingly about 30 psi.” I don’t see any valve stems.
-Watching the video, I think it’s more accurate to say that the front of the bike weighs 34 pounds, haha. For a durable and cheap fleet bike with a low-step frame, basket, airless tires, chain guard, fenders, hub brakes, and dynamo (?), 34 pounds would be pretty good.
Thanks for the review Ray.
The bike is clearly not a fixie, there’s even mention of this second breaking option: “2) Pedaling backwards via drivetrain braking”
We don’t really see the non-drivetrain side so it may be possible that you can flip the wheel to turn it into a fixie (my single speed bike has that option) but I highly doubt Google would do that.
FWIW, way more companies and actual campuses (universities) should offer the option of free bikes.
Brilliant! (and thorough as ever)
Huge L for journalism – we didn’t get accurate PSI measurements using calibrated equipment for each tire plotted over the course of usage in 10min intervals
Lol, just kidding. Thanks for the entertaining review and good humor.
Reading this was worth it just for this:
This ensures the bikes are redistributed when they pile up in one spot (such as after Google kills off a product).
Chef’s kiss…
The earlier gbikes were a mixie design, like the gift shop model. They rode fantastically flexy and had air tires. The current one is typically a run flat. I regret not liberating a mixie model when they were still around – just a joy to ride.
“Pedaling backwards via drivetrain braking”
By far the worst type of braking as it can so easily be triggered by mistake, but oddly popular in the US.
Great review though, thanks Ray!
As a kid in the Netherlands my bikes where drivetrain braking. Handbrakes only came on my bikes when I was older. I remember it needed a steep learning curve for the handbrakes, not only because braking by leg motion is much more intuitive than braking by squeezing a hand, but also because braking with the front wheel brake is very dangerous if not done overly prudent. Plus it costs more, and is more expensive in maintenance I assume, as it is more delicate.
I don’t see adults riding drivetrain braking bikes in the Netherlands or Belgium. This article made me wonder why. It is an excellent system, robust and intuitive.
You write they are popular in the VS. For non-race bikes, that certainly makes sense to me!
As a kid in the UK we just use to ram our heels into the ground to brake, regardless of what our bikes were fitted with :-) Wish I’d thought of fitting metal heel segs, the sparks would have been awesome (and my shoes might have lasted more than a month).
It’s not an excellent system: if the chain breaks or falls off, you no longer have a brake.
Hand brakes are more delicate and thus have a greater risk of breaking, I’d say. And if the chain breaks or falls off you can always use Neil Jones method above…
One of the best reviews ever, even if for the lol’s side. Thank you very much!
I was on the street near my office in Washington, DC and recognized this same bike with a local hotel’s branding on it. I never would have noticed it without your video Ray. Also, the $55 teaser made me think for a minute that Google was selling the actual bike at some kind of fire sale price!
A Bendix 2-speed kickback hub would resolve the gearing problem. Google has the funds available to buy the patents and revive that product, maybe even improve the actuator spring that would have tines fail.
Campus cycling is not new. I worked at a bike shop in the 70s that serviced the 3-wheel trikes used inside a large manufacturing plant. Similar utility concept, but the basket was between the two rear wheels and capable of carrying tools and parts for the industrial machinery.
The biggest problem was employees would jump off without stopping and the front fork would get bent from uncontrolled impacts.
When I was at Google one of the members of our internal road cycling email list took a GBike up Hicks road Mt Umunhum and wrote a great ride report, unfortunately I can’t remember his name of find the Strava ride (it was recorded). I think he picked the earlier generation bikes that at least had inflated tires.
The angle of the forks on the picture on the front of the box hurt me just to look at. I think even if you’ve never seen a bike in your entire life, that must still look wrong.
I love these bikes, they’re a blast. I used to ride them up the hills behind the Shoreline Amphitheater and bomb down the dirt descents at very unsafe speeds. They’re the definition of “underbiked”.
There have been several generations of g-bike models and this is just one. They also have bigger, geared bikes that you do have to check out and return, that are suited to traveling between campuses, for example from Mountain View to Sunnyvale. That program also has e-bikes. You can get between those campuses entirely off road, which is nice.
I got one the last time I visited. They gave me a Trek FX3 and I used it for a trip from Mountain View across the Dumbarton and back around the bay.
it’s weird that I came here and actually read your review of the google bike. ;).
I tried taking one of these bikes along the Bay Trail. I was only able to sustain something like 4 mph because I had picked an especially windy day and the headwind was really strong and that bike was indeed very heavy. I thought of abandoning it and walking but the rules are to not leave them off campus so I pushed through the whole ride.
Being directly involved with the G-bike program, I really appreciate your G-review as it was spot-on!
Mattg
I worked at Google X and then just [X] from 2014 to 2017. This brings back some memories.
Fun fact: people have, in fact, raced on these things. For example, I won the bike race at a company sponsored team building event back in 2016. Indeed, I set a Strava KOM on a G-bike in that race which still stand to this day (2014-09-08). It is a very slow bike and the KOM is very much beatable on a real bike, so I won’t say too much more, but yeah. They also swapped out pneumatic wheels for foam wheels starting in late 2016 which had a very meaningful and negative impact on performance. It’s hard to tell from the video, but it looks like the foam has stuck around.