This afternoon I had a long talk with my bike guy (vendor-repair person), Dave, who owns Bfold in NYC, and he gave me a good understanding of the changes the U.S. market is going through right now. I have a somewhat decent shot at getting an EVO 3-speed later this year, but we’re both thinking that there probably aren’t enough C1s left for Ming to ship any more of them to N. America. And we don’t expect the C2 (if one ever comes out) will be a two-speed; that would add too much weight.
So as much as I would like a super light bike, the EVO is probably better for me anyway, since there are occasionally very steep (albeit short) hills on the rides I do; and that top gear ratio, helpful for going fast down hills, I will also need, because local traffic where I ride in upstate NY sometimes demands extreme acceleration downhill to get around cows, geese, tractors, etc., before they try to get around you, if you know what I mean. Otherwise loss of altitude with no gain in speed can occur, and that’s something I can’t have.