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Quote is not edit, apologies
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Jul 19, 2023 13:31
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EvilJoven posted:That is an extremely dope $20 commuter. iospace posted:New: evil_bunnY fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Jul 20, 2023 |
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Jul 20, 2023 18:20
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I dig the bull horns.
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Jul 21, 2023 14:15
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Huge thanks to everyone who responded! I really appreciate it. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable riding around now. Still pretty clueless about maintenance, but my co-op should be able to help with that. I'm reading the "Just Ride" book kimbo recommended and it's a hoot. 
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Jul 23, 2023 17:20
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I do my extensions with Gorilla Tape, and they last 2-3 years at a go.
kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Jul 24, 2023 |
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Jul 24, 2023 01:09
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kimbo305 posted:I do my extensions with Gorilla Tape, and they last 2-3 years at a go.
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Jul 25, 2023 19:11
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evil_bunnY posted:I use tarp material. When advertisers put banners up on the bikelane bridge to advertise to the cars below, free craft materials. Now this is the kind of crime I support.
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Jul 25, 2023 19:18
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Stockholm municipality put up a metal sign with a super sharp corner at forehead height, advertising their bike lane.
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Jul 25, 2023 19:22
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Groda posted:Stockholm municipality put up a metal sign with a super sharp corner at forehead height, advertising their bike lane. In a similar vein the city installed a new signal at a super popular ped crossing, and the mast was literally 25cm into the bike lane. The local bike union just about lost their marbles, and every cyclist going through knew exactly how much cycling the city staff does.
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Jul 25, 2023 20:16
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One of these days I'll wear a camera on my commute and point out every awful bike lane design choice, it's pretty depressing. The worst part is that I've been to some of the planning meetings for future work and it's pretty clear the planners know exactly how stupid some of it is, but get forced into doing it badly. If you press them a little bit on why they'd make such dumb choices they carefully and diplomatically imply they were given impossible requirements by the city.
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Jul 25, 2023 20:40
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Location: Seattle, WA Height: 5'11" Inseam: 33.5" Budget: I dunno, I'm not gonna say money is no object, but... this is something I plan to use a ton, seems integral to my safety, and helps me continue to make income, so, like, up to $5,000 I guess? Length of commute: A couple of options, either .75 miles, light rail, .75 miles, or ~6.5 miles straight biking Terrain: Paved, and hilly; Google Maps says my ride to work is 440' of ascent, 300' of descent, mostly on roads shared with cars. I am hopefully going to be moving in the next month and change. I have had a 20-minute walk to work for the last decade, haven't owned a car in... I don't know, 12 or 13 years? And my new place has an almost hour-long commute, whether I choose to ride the bus and deal with traffic, or take the longer walks and the light rail but with a lot of hill (or a transfer to a street car). I don't relish the idea of an hour-long commute, and a car is right out (parking at work would be ~$4000 a year). I suppose this is less of a "tell me what bike to get" and more of a "tell me what my best bet is for commuting" (I haven't ruled out an e-scooter or something like that). Even if I bike to and from light rail instead of handling it the whole way, I figure it would shave ~20 minutes or so off my commute each way, every day, which is a ton of loving time. My work starts fairly late in the morning (9:30am), so here in the Pacific Northwest, my morning commute will pretty much always be in the daylight (unless I have to come in early in the winter) and my evening commute will be in the dark aside from late spring to early fall. When it comes to biking, I am basically a complete neophyte. I haven't been on a bike in well over 20 years, I'm a fatass, and I am something of a klutz. While the drivers in Seattle aren't any more aggressive than drivers in most places (probably significantly less so), they are terrible drivers. I also tend to be a fairly confrontational pedestrian, in that I'm very disinclined to put up with bullshit from drivers; I will smack a car hard enough to hurt my hand on its side or hood if they take my right of way or block a crosswalk, I have hit cars that drive past in crosswalks I'm in, I will stand in front of a car that honks at me for crossing the street through a couple of light cycles just to extract a price from them. I don't know if that would necessarily translate to being an rear end in a top hat cyclist--I feel like I'd be a lot less confident at it than I am at being a pedestrian--but there's a good chance it might. Which all makes this seem like maybe not a great idea (but I figure I'd lay it out for the thread so I get informed advice). I also have a grocery store that's not quite a mile away that I think it'd be nice to be able to bike to as well, though I'm not sure if I should be looking at a different kind of bike for that purpose (the new place has lots of storage, could definitely have two bikes there). It seems like with the hills, the distance, and my lack of fitness, e-bike is the way to go (even if I take light rail, I have hills at both ends), but I figured I'd start here and see what people can recommend, and any tips for commuting you'd have. I read through the recommended posts in here, and I will say I'm doubtful I can find a commute buddy given my hours (bicycle commuters are mostly morning people, and getting to work at the crack of dawn). Accidentally cross-posted this to the ebike thread, such is life.
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Jul 26, 2023 01:45
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I have a similar commute as you, just longer stretches of biking. I definitely recommend an ebike. The last thing you'll want to do at the end of a working day, unless you're really serious about biking, is manually bike uphill. Especially if it's hot.
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Jul 26, 2023 01:57
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I'll leave the bike recommendations to the e-bike thread. I have an e-bike myself and I'm a huge advocate but mine is kit I added so my knowledge of the market is pretty bad. If you're comfortable doing it you might want to give your approximate weight too. Seattle streets are awful and something without a stout frame and wide tires might not last long for you if you're heavy enough and want a relaxed ride. There are options out there that'll work for anyone but it's gotta be right for you. As to the commute specifics, I can help. I've commuted into downtownish Seattle from both the north and south at different times and have generally ridden all over the city over the years. If you want to PM me a general neighborhood you're commuting to/from, feel free. There are definitely safe unprotected streets to ride on, and "bike lane" streets that are terrifying and its hard to know without having done it. One way to start evaluating routes is to simply use the cycling option on google maps. If you scroll up a bit there was a discussion about how it overemphasizes the official bike routes, but its a good starting point. Whenever I move houses or jobs I spend the first couple weeks trying alternate routes to and from. I rarely end up using the officially recommended route. Once I settle on a route I almost never deviate from it. This is partially to save time, but also because I gradually learn all the trouble spots along the route and how to deal with them. Until I think I know all the danger points I go slower than I could. Next time you're on the light rail, take a look at the way the bike racks work. You have to hang them vertically from hooks and a heavy rear end e-bike can be tricky. It's not an automatic disqualification but something to keep in mind. As you said, Seattle drivers are terrible. Not malicious, just completely obvious and also confused by our terrible infrastructure. If you're already an aggressive pedestrian, you will absolutely be an aggressive cyclist and for good reason. When you're sharing the road with drivers who constantly do stupid poo poo that puts you in serious danger its hard not to get angry. The key to staying safe (and sane) is to only be aggressive when it helps you stay safe, and to let it go when it won't. Drivers react 10x more to cyclists doing things like blocking the road than they do with pedestrians, so deliberately antagonizing drivers will end badly eventually. Yes you will need to scream at a driver once in awhile, yes you will need to slap a window a time or two a year, but only if they really really hosed up and put you in danger. Otherwise you just have to let it go, which can be tough sometimes. The other thing you should aim to do is follow traffic laws pretty much as written. If you haven't driven in awhile you should brush up on the details of traffic rules. Drivers might get bewildered that a cyclist is following the rules but it will keep things calm and safe. I hope I didn't scare you too much, biking is awesome and I hope you join us.
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Jul 26, 2023 03:13
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:I'll leave the bike recommendations to the e-bike thread. I have an e-bike myself and I'm a huge advocate but mine is kit I added so my knowledge of the market is pretty bad. If you're comfortable doing it you might want to give your approximate weight too. Seattle streets are awful and something without a stout frame and wide tires might not last long for you if you're heavy enough and want a relaxed ride. There are options out there that'll work for anyone but it's gotta be right for you. oXDemosthenesXo posted:As to the commute specifics, I can help. I've commuted into downtownish Seattle from both the north and south at different times and have generally ridden all over the city over the years. If you want to PM me a general neighborhood you're commuting to/from, feel free. There are definitely safe unprotected streets to ride on, and "bike lane" streets that are terrifying and its hard to know without having done it. oXDemosthenesXo posted:One way to start evaluating routes is to simply use the cycling option on google maps. If you scroll up a bit there was a discussion about how it overemphasizes the official bike routes, but its a good starting point. Whenever I move houses or jobs I spend the first couple weeks trying alternate routes to and from. I rarely end up using the officially recommended route. Once I settle on a route I almost never deviate from it. This is partially to save time, but also because I gradually learn all the trouble spots along the route and how to deal with them. Until I think I know all the danger points I go slower than I could. And yeah, I 100% buy that drivers will be way angrier at a bicyclist than a pedestrian. I get away with a lot as a pedestrian just because I think drivers are in shock to see someone doing poo poo like that, whereas the rear end in a top hat bicyclist is a huge stereotype; I'll probably have to learn to let things go, but I'm definitely not great at it. Then again, people up here are ridiculously non-confrontational, maybe it'll be fine. oXDemosthenesXo posted:The other thing you should aim to do is follow traffic laws pretty much as written. If you haven't driven in awhile you should brush up on the details of traffic rules. Drivers might get bewildered that a cyclist is following the rules but it will keep things calm and safe. oXDemosthenesXo posted:I hope I didn't scare you too much, biking is awesome and I hope you join us. Not at all, I appreciate the info dump, and if you've got any tips for the specific ride, I'd love to hear them. EDIT: Also, consider dropping by the Seattle thread in LAN. It's mostly a bunch of leftists talking about gardening and weather, but biking and hating cars does come up occasionally. Ham Equity fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Jul 26, 2023 |
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Jul 26, 2023 04:14
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Ham Equity posted:biking and hating cars does come up occasionally. Probably half the people in AI's Electric Vehicle thread hate cars too. E-bikes didn't exist when I was in Seattle. It was kind of nice how in the winter my route was pretty quiet except for a couple other regulars I'd meet once in a while on the way. I went from pioneer square to Seattle Center though. Pretty flat. I probably would have taken the bus if I'd had to go up Capital Hill every day. Let us know what you wind up with!
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Jul 26, 2023 04:27
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Othello to/from First Hill is a pretty lovely route. South end is underserved with bike infrastructure. I'd lean towards escooter-> light rail -> escooter, personally.
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Jul 26, 2023 14:44
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the Aventon Aventure is rated for your weight and is a pretty good price. https://www.aventon.com/products/aventure-ebike?variant=42467740025027 kind of a standard hub-based motor. It ships as a class 2 but can be modified to be class 3. I tihnk theres a deal right now where you get racks fenders and an extra battery
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Jul 26, 2023 14:47
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Ham Equity posted:Also, the fact that you can take a right turn on a red arrow in this state is some bullshit. A thousand times this. I moved from Australia late last year, and this is absolutely insane to me. Not to mention incredibly pedestrian-hostile: can’t even rely on being able to use a crosswalk on a walk signal if drivers are giving all their attention to whether there’s a gap in traffic for them to turn into.
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Jul 26, 2023 16:20
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It's slowly becoming less of a thing in Seattle, at least.
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Jul 26, 2023 17:19
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Ham Equity posted:Also, the fact that you can take a right turn on a red arrow in this state is some bullshit.
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Jul 26, 2023 18:51
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Vinz Clortho posted:A thousand times this. I moved from Australia late last year, and this is absolutely insane to me. Not to mention incredibly pedestrian-hostile: can’t even rely on being able to use a crosswalk on a walk signal if drivers are giving all their attention to whether there’s a gap in traffic for them to turn into. I nearly got run over once by a guy turning right on red. He screamed "gently caress YOU!" at me, floored it through the crosswalk, and ran the red light a block away you can be 100% sure he went home and told his wife that someone jumped out in front of him too
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Jul 26, 2023 19:00
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Ham Equity posted:I also have a grocery store that's not quite a mile away that I think it'd be nice to be able to bike to as well, though I'm not sure if I should be looking at a different kind of bike for that purpose (the new place has lots of storage, could definitely have two bikes there). You would benefit from getting some panniers for any bike that can mount a front or rear rack. Coupled with judiciously taking more frequent trips to the store, you should be able to handle things with just two panniers and maybe a backpack.
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Jul 26, 2023 19:35
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They also implemented a thing (in Seattle) on alot of intersections where the walk sign switches a few seconds earlier than the light turns green. It doesn't help with right-on-red but it definitely helps with right turns in general.
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Jul 26, 2023 19:43
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evil_bunnY posted:Right on red is insanely dangerous and gets cyclists/peds hurt *constantly*, it's a really salient symptom of the car-first system design prevalent in most of the US. having it legal by default also means drivers are much more likely to ignore the no turn on red signs they put on the most dangerous intersections. there are a couple by my house that just rack up constant wrecks and debris despite the signs
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Jul 26, 2023 20:33
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evil_bunnY posted:Right on red is insanely dangerous and gets cyclists/peds hurt *constantly*, it's a really salient symptom of the car-first system design prevalent in most of the US. Seattle made No Turn On Red the default a few months ago. It means that as the city replaces or modifies each intersection, it will get "no turn on red" signage. So at least there's that. https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/05/04/no-right-turn-on-red-is-now-the-default-in-seattle/
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Jul 26, 2023 20:53
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oXDemosthenesXo posted:They also implemented a thing (in Seattle) on alot of intersections where the walk sign switches a few seconds earlier than the light turns green. Hmm, I'm trying to remember if I've seen ones that start concurrently with green lights. It feels like it's always been given a couple seconds buffer for places I've lived and bike commuted.
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Jul 26, 2023 20:55
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Safety Dance posted:Seattle made No Turn On Red the default a few months ago. It means that as the city replaces or modifies each intersection, it will get "no turn on red" signage. So at least there's that. Ok but lets be real traffic laws are pretend
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Jul 26, 2023 21:00
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evil_bunnY posted:I use tarp material. When advertisers put banners up on the bikelane bridge to advertise to the cars below, free craft materials. Coroplast rules.
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Jul 27, 2023 00:28
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kimbo305 posted:Hmm, I'm trying to remember if I've seen ones that start concurrently with green lights. It feels like it's always been given a couple seconds buffer for places I've lived and bike commuted. It's default same time in my city except for one section that I'm aware of where the school of public health students lobbied for it as part of a class project
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Jul 27, 2023 00:40
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kimbo305 posted:Hmm, I'm trying to remember if I've seen ones that start concurrently with green lights. It feels like it's always been given a couple seconds buffer for places I've lived and bike commuted. Leading pedestrian intervals are very common outside of the anglosphere.
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Jul 27, 2023 01:21
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Ham Equity posted:Not at all, I appreciate the info dump, and if you've got any tips for the specific ride, I'd love to hear them. Check out this generic Othello-First Hill route. It's sort of a greatest hits of bike friendly options through that part of town. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47....0!3e1?entry=ttu The Chief Sealth trail on the southern end of the route is a particularly nice ride. It crosses over roads constantly but they're all small residential streets. Once you get up in Beacon Hill you have a choice of zig-zagging through the neighborhoods like I highlighted, or just bomb 15th. Here's the "fast" version. It does involve some sketchy high speed stuff on 15th. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/47....0!3e1?entry=ttu After crossing over I-90 on the 12th St Bridge it gets dicey for a few blocks, but if you try a couple routes there are some safe options. The area around the Boren and Yesler intersection is a shitshow and one of the few places I'll abuse sidewalks and crosswalks. Also don't go up that awful Broadway bike lane any further than you need to, it sucks. If you're going to be riding in First Hill I have one specific piece of advice - A decent percentage of people driving in that area are there for the hospitals and are either not from the city, having a really bad day, or visiting someone having a really bad day. Given all that drivers there are more clueless than normal so take it easy and be accommodating. edit: added second route oXDemosthenesXo fucked around with this message at 06:49 on Jul 27, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 06:47
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Platystemon posted:Coroplast rules. Ooh! I've got a stash of old election signs I snagged long ago for general crafting, trying that.
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Jul 27, 2023 07:26
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I need to get around to making one for my rear wheel.
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Jul 27, 2023 07:30
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Ham Equity posted:Leading pedestrian intervals are very common outside of the anglosphere. And in the Anglosphere, just maybe not in the USA. Lights work like that in the UK - are you telling me there’s no safety margin delay between the lights changing and the crossing light changing?
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Jul 27, 2023 07:33
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A friend did send me this the other day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhW1TrkFstQ
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Jul 27, 2023 09:38
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wooger posted:And in the Anglosphere, just maybe not in the USA. I've never seen it in the US
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Jul 27, 2023 15:42
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wooger posted:And in the Anglosphere, just maybe not in the USA. Our urban planners are complete trash.
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Jul 27, 2023 17:08
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spiritual bypass posted:I've never seen it in the US they do it in chicago
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Jul 27, 2023 17:26
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spiritual bypass posted:I've never seen it in the US Most of the US still relies on pedestrian beg buttons to activate the walk signal, so even getting a "WALK" is a special case. Most cities I've been in where pedestrians get a walk signal by default incorporate a leading interval. Anecdotally, the leading interval in Seattle seems longer than in NYC.
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Jul 27, 2023 17:46
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Safety Dance posted:Most of the US still relies on pedestrian beg buttons to activate the walk signal, so even getting a "WALK" is a special case. Most cities I've been in where pedestrians get a walk signal by default incorporate a leading interval. Anecdotally, the leading interval in Seattle seems longer than in NYC. There's actually an equation in (I think) the MUTCD about this timing. There's a minimum time, which is now considered deprecated, but places like NYC might go ahead and implement anyway because they have such a high volume of traffic. I cannot walk across the street when the timing is set to the minimum, because I walk slowly. At the intersection where this is the biggest problem, cyclists tend to queue up before pedestrians, cutting critical seconds off the walk sign interval for people who need it most. (Bicycle traffic here gets shunted onto the sidewalk due to a 50-year-old bridge.) I imagine traffic control design to be a game you can't win. You have to balance a bunch of irreconcilable demands and hope that nobody's pissed off enough to start making noise with elected officials, because after that happens, it's a never-ending stream of a new group of road users being ticked off.
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Jul 27, 2023 17:50
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