This week I was planning on test riding the HP Velotechnik Streetmachine I have on loan from Bikes at Vienna. Since I do not own the bike, I am being careful not to ride it in rainy weather. I did manage to ride it in gusty conditions during my 31-mile test ride the other day. The bike handled just fine. The weather forecast for the last two days has called for intermittent rain so I haven’t ridden it since.

Yesterday I decided to ride the Tank, my Surly CrossCheck instead. The reason was twofold. First, I don’t much care if the Tank gets messed up with rain. Second, I needed to test out a problem I had after my Streetmachine test ride. It involved sharp pain in my left hip.

Back in 2019, I rode The Mule 3,000 miles from Indiana to San Francisco. My left knee and hip were screaming at me the entire way. When I returned home I had a series of cortisone shots that put things right. An MRI revealed that my left knee has very little cartilage in it. I suspect that several crashes on my bikes which nearly always involve a fall to the left have damaged my hip as well. As long as I am careful and refrain from mashing big gears, both the hip and the knee behave themselves.

After riding the Streetmachine, the sharp pain in my left hip returned. Aside from my decrepit anatomy, the cause could come from a number of factors.

First, when I stop the bike, I have to put my left foot down. I need my right foot ready for the first pedal stroke at start up because my left knee won’t tolerate the initial mashing. Also, the seat is rather high so when I stop, the bike leans hard to the left. The bike (and the engine) are quite heavy. I suspect this weight is part of the problem. When I stop the Tank, also a heavy bike, I only put my left toe down because much of the weight is borne by the wheels. My body weight is mostly on my arms and my right foot which is pushing on the right pedal. On tour, there’s an additional 30 or 40 pounds of gear to add to the equation. Thus, the pain during my 2019 ride.

Another issue with the Streetmachine is the process of getting started. Getting rolling is ungainly to say the least. It usually takes me two or three tries to get rolling. Each time I have to start, I have to re-weight my left hip.

A third possible issue is the shape of the seat. The sides of the seat curve up. When I stop my left hip bumps awkwardly into this curve.

Finally, when I get off the bike, I swing my right foot over the front of the bike, supporting the bike and all my weight on my left foot. I then pivot on my left foot toward the rear of the bike. This spinning motion probably adds stress to the left hip.

My wife took a short video of me riding away from the house the other day. I rode down my front lawn, over some root heaves, and into the street. The bike was quite stable but I noticed in the video that my shoulders and head were leaning forward. All the videos I have seen online show the riders’ shoulders pressed against the seat back. So I might just not be riding the bike properly. Given my lower back issues, this may not be correctible.

The forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday looks pretty good. My plan is to take the Streetmachine to a local park and practice starting and stopping, mounting and dismounting. I will also try to concentrate on committing to the seat with my shoulders more.

I have until Friday to make a final decision. Fingers crossed.