Hi, I’m Amber DaSilva. You may remember me from such takes as “Motorcycles are perfectly good year-round transport” and “You really don’t need anything bigger than a kei car.” As Jalopnik’s resident tiny-vehicle proselytizer, I’m always talking about how smaller vehicles are better for traffic, the environment, and general society at large, and now I’m taking what may be the final step in that pipeline: Getting around via bicycle. I’m gonna be so insufferable.
I considered going down the Collin Woodard route, getting myself some fancy e-bike, but it turns out that those are hard to come by on an auto journalist salary — even harder still when you have New York apartment requirements, like a removable battery for indoor charging. So, rather than anything electric, I ended up with a simpler daily driver: My shiny new Orbea Terra H40, the bike that will (hopefully) make me finally understand gravel bikes.
What’s the deal with gravel bikes?
Before working at Jalopnik, before I moved to Brooklyn, I was a mountain biker. I never understood the gravel bikes I’d see out on the trails; even from the dropper post-adorned seat of my hardtail, the idea of riding a rigid fork off road never made much sense. Living here, though, I understand the use case much more. A drop-bar road bike with some extra tire for hopping curbs, potholes, and cobblestones? Perfect.
My specific gravel bike comes from Orbea, a worker co-op out in Spain. It’s not the lightest for its price point, but a sale online made it the cheapest way to get drop bars, hydraulic brakes, and a high-quality groupset (the fancy cyclist word for a drivetrain). Even Facebook Marketplace couldn’t get me a better price, and nothing on Marketplace had a front fork that looked like it was covered in sprinkles.
Small is good
When I started at Jalopnik, I owned a 2014 Scion FR-S. That gave way to my incredibly short-lived track Miata, which then disappeared in favor of a series of motorcycles. Now, finally, the Orbea fills the hole left by my old mountain bike — nearly every vehicle smaller than the last. This isn’t an accident, but I think a natural consequence of writing about cars for years. Constant exposure to the news means constant exposure to the ills of infrastructure built around private vehicle ownership, and eventually you just want to opt out entirely.
I still love my motorcycle, it’s not leaving the fleet, but I still know every time I ride it that it’s no better for the planet than a car. Plus, in traffic, it’s a slower way to get around New York than my little bicycle — the smaller, lighter, cheaper, greener option is also often faster. Isn’t it nice when things work out that way? Am I insufferable enough about this bike yet, or do I need to start buying lycra?
