A sinus infection took me down. For the past two weeks, my life revolved around Amoxicillin and Robitussin with codeine. Needless to say, I haven’t been on the trainer.  

Not being able to ride my bike (even indoors on a static trainer) left me plenty of time to research potential bike buys. I don’t need a new bike (I have a solid 2002 Ellsworth Truth and 2003 Fuji Roubaix Pro). However, I’ve wanted to add a fixed gear and/or a cyclocross steed to my stable for quite some time. It has been five years since my last bike purchase.

With a fixed gear, I rotate between the Bianchi Pista and a Fuji Track. Both are affordable, reliable introductions to fixed riding. I could pull the trigger on a track bike for less than $500. Building a fixed gear is another option, but I know my follow through would delay the process indefinitely.  

On the cyclocross end, there are the Kona Jake or Fuji Cross Comp options, as well as a host of other inexpensive entry bikes (although neither are steel). Walking out of a local bike shop with a cyclocross bike wouldn’t require little more than $800 at most. 

If you haven’t noticed, I’m a fan of Fuji bikes. My Fuji road bike serves me well. You can’t go wrong with a reasonably-priced steel road bike weighing less than 19 pounds. I would have no problem choosing another Fuji. 

Surly also lands in the “covet” category. The Steamroller fixed gear and Cross-Check cyclocross bikes are two potential options. I came inches from purchasing a single-speed Karate Monkey with a top-notch build kit two years ago. Instead, I foolishly devoted the money to a down payment on our town home (stupid responsibility). 

Back to the task at hand. Today, a light bulb of an idea popped into my head. Why not get the best of both worlds?

Two bikes make this a possibility. The aforementioned Surly Cross-Check and the Bianchi San Jose. It would only require a flip/flop hub on a cyclocross bike with horizontal dropouts. Another option is to slap thicker tires on a Surly Steamroller. The bike has ample clearance to handle cyclocross tires and comes equipped with a flip/flop hub.

My current question is if I can get away with a single-speed cyclocross ride in Colorado. I would ride the cyclocross primarily through winter and rain. However, there are several trails around that I could get some good off-road fun in on the weekends.  

Would a single-speed jeopardize the cyclocross fun? Uphill would be painful, but I’m more worried about the flats and downhill. Would limiting my gear selection to handle uphill slow down the decent enough to impact my speed-thrills?

There’s nothing like being sidelined with a cold to kickstart bike-buying dreams. The question is if I’ll pull the trigger within the next year.