h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Have new bike. Don't like it much. Want old bike back!

The new one is considerably heavier, and combined with the very heavy D-lock I am now carting around, I arrive at work out of breath and sweaty (particularly in this weather). Our head porter, also a cyclist, assures me that I will get used to it and be able to get out of 2nd gear on the flat, but I'm not optimistic.

Oh, bummer. I sympathise. My old bike - the rusting one that I have turned into a symbol of a master/pupil relationship - weighed a ton and I was glad to get shot of it, but cycling is fun and a good way to get around; hence my interest in the foldy-up electric job.

The trade off between having a bike (freedom) and arriving at work in a sweat is a bit too much of a 50:50 call IMHO.

Drugless

Indeed - but I'm not prepared to walk (40 minutes each way) every day, there isn't a convenient bus route, so the bike is pretty much my only option. I wouldn't go back to having a car, after 10+ years without one.

I think I'll give it a few months, and see if I get fitter. If not, I may have to cut my losses, sell it, and look for a more suitable secondhand one.