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Of all the bike threads now in TGO, this is necessarily the most pragmatic. In the previous thread, there was a growing contigent of e-bike riders. This thread can still support ebikes for their cycling components, but now there's a dedicated e-bike thread. This thread is about buying, riding, maintaining, and upgrading bikes for commuting or transportation. For other sweet forms of cycling, see the bottom of this OP. Credit to last OP for much of the content here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3627612 With time and effort, you may one day attain as much steaz as this rider:  FAQs
Help Me Find a Bike Questionnaire  Crazy goons with mad Craigslist Skills are waiting to help you out. If you want help with buying a bike, include the following in your post: Location: Height: Inseam: Budget: Length of commute: Terrain: Link to local Craigslist or equivalent (if looking for second hand): Measure your inseam like this. Do not post your pants inseam. This is critical to finding a bike that fits you.  General guidance on buying a bike A major source of contention between experienced cyclists and newbies looking for advice is how much a bike costs. You can get a nice or new bike for $400-500, not including accessories. You can get a good deal on a used bike for $250-300. Thread regulars enjoy trying to find these deals for you on Craigslist. You will not enjoy or be able to maintain a new bike that costs $150. This is the kind of bike you might find at Walmart. None of the components are meant to last, nor can you buy cheap replacements. The bike will have a $5 brake on it, that once it quickly decomposes, you'll need to replace with a $20 brake. And so on. This video, while terribly lit, walks you through an extremely comprehensive checklist for looking over a potential used bike purchase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0hEfwWg8vY If you follow no other advice in this thread, then heed this: don't buy a used $100 bike with a suspension fork. Rigid is the way to go in almost all cases for commuting. Testimonials Posts from people who went there and did it, who managed to start bike commuting: Leng's big long post with nice auxiliary advice AreWeDrunkYet on opting to wear normal clothes and prioritizing carrying little iospace with tips for wintry commuting https://. https://. https://. https://. Roadside repair The #1 unexpected inconvenience you'll run into with your bike is flat tires. You gotta learn how to replace a punctured inner tube if you wanna commute. If you carry no other parts on you, at least take these: - inner tube - tire levers - hand pump - tire patch You could carry only tire levers, or for a couple more ounces, a more capable multi-tool. My personal recommendation: https://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Hexus-X-Multi-Tool/dp/B078HTKKBY The Hexus X prioritizes versatility (spoke wrenches, chain tool, torx heads) over precision (the hex keys are kinda sloppy) or efficacy (the levers are pretty small). For a slightly heavier, better, and pricier solution, you could go Pedro's Levers + Crank Bros M19. For pumps, I'd say get one with a little base so you can step on it and pump against the floor (instead of your other hand or own body): https://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Road-Morph-Mini-Pump/dp/B07C3TJ8MZ A hose is a must for not having to hold the pump head perfectly still relative to the rim. Leave the ultra-compact stuff for sport rides. Maintaining your bike At least once a week, do your ABCs: Air -- check that your tires have enough air. A floor pump at home ($40-50 for a nice one) is a great investment. You don't want your tires rock hard, as that negates their ability to deform over road bumps and smooth your ride. Picture rolling at speed over a 2x4 -- you want enough air in your tire so that it keeps the sharp edge from pushing into your rim. If the rim hits the obstacle, you could damage the rim or cut into your inner tube or tire, getting a flat. Here's a detailed chart for various weights vs tire sizes. Pretty quickly, you'll develop a sense for proper inflation just by squeezing the tire after you pump it up to the correct psi. Brakes -- check that you have enough pull in your levers to stop you, and that your brake pads haven't worn down to the metal. Adjust your brakes as necessary (there are tons of good tutorial videos), or get a bike shop to do it for you. If you hear any grinding when you brake, check for grit/debris embedded in your brake pads. Chain -- lube your chain, regularly, and definitely if your hear squeaking. Even if you don't do this every week, try to do this every few weeks. Chains loosen as they wear out, and no longer mesh well with your cogs/rings, causing those to wear out faster. You should replace the chain before it gets stretched out to preserve the more expensive components. There's no formula for how long chains last -- it's largely a function of how much rain/grit you ride through and the model of chain. Figure worst case, several hundred miles, and best case, a few thousand miles. For anything more complicated, bike repair thread. Long-term maintenance Things also slowly wear out or get out of tune: - brake pads - tires - cassettes - derailleurs - brake/shift cables - cassettes / bottom brackets / chainrings - rim brake tracks All of these can be fixed easily or replaced at a bike shop. Many can also be fixed at home once you learn how. However, the point of saying all this is to emphasize that you should budget some money, say $100 a year, to keep your bike running. If you're starting out from scratch (meaning you didn't regularly ride bikes before), it may be hard to know what's a sudden change that indicates a failure/break, and what's a result of wear / drift that can be addressed by tuning or replacing a wear item. Don't be paranoid, but don't ignore things that you concretely notice. If you're new, bring the bike into a shop and describe the change or symptom. As you get more familiar with bikes, your ability to diagnose (and fix!) issues will grow, and you'll need to rely less and less on prememptive checkups or reactive trips to the shop. Alternatives to normal Local Bike Shopes are Bike Collectives/Cooperatives. These are weird and wonderful places run by punky/hippyish people dedicated to fixing up bikes and helping people fix up their own bikes, with a strong emphasis on recycling and reuse. Bike collectives tend to have a full range of tools to do anything you need to on your bike, as well as bins full of used parts that will save you money when it comes to repairs. They also often have knowledgeable volunteers and occasionally paid staff who will teach you bike repair skills. There is a fairly up-to-date list of bike collectives here: http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Community_Bicycle_Organizations Links More riding that you can shake a hand pump at: Bike Repair, for more detailed repair questions, issues, and puzzles Bicycle Touring: Seeing the world via pedal power General Bicycle Megathread Mountain Bikes Catching the Spirit of Gravel: a thread e-Bikes Competitive Cycling - Fast is Fun, and we have the most fun Biking the Great Below are more posts covering equipment and safety. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 20:08 on Mar 11, 2024 |
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Jul 26, 2020 02:21
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Riding Safety Some quick tips, borrowed from a riding course Leng attended.  The below is adapted from a writeup I did for a friend who wanted to start bike commuting (and did for a month until she moved an impractical distance for her inexperience to take on). The bulk of this focuses on riding on roads shared with cars, with a small bit of general riding skills at the end. Unlike self defense advice, which places "avoid dangerous situations" as the highest strategy, bike commuting strategy for many (maybe most in the US) riders cannot avoid addressing sharing the road infrastructure with 4000lb vehicles driven by the average public motorist. You should consider yourself lucky if you're able to ride any part of your commute on dedicated bike paths or at least no-car roads. For me, I can ride 4.5mi all on roads, or 3mi on road, 3mi on Multi-Use Path. If I'm feeling slow or less focused, I usually go for the longer, slower, but safer option. ======================================================================================= Navigation and route planning [this section was written with Boston in mind, which is relatively good for the US in terms of bike infrastructure and commuting culture] Google Maps makes decent suggestions for getting on bike paths and roads with bike lanes, though it is not perfect. I would generally pick busier roads with dedicated bike lanes over quieter roads that do not have bike lanes. Drivers usually begrudgingly accommodate cyclists when they’re in bike lanes (there’s strength in numbers, too [obviously locale-dependent]), whereas they feel more inconvenienced when passing a cyclist on a normal street. If you are riding a route regularly, get a feel for the overall traffic picture. Are there certain intersections that are busy / dangerous? If so, explore alternate routes. At the very beginning or end of your trip, if it would be majorly convenient to go on the sidewalk for half a block, just walk your bike the rest of the way. I cannot stop you if you coast up to your door/garage. Other cyclists There will be other cyclists out there, and usually they aren’t a factor, because bikes are so much smaller than cars and occupy less space even when they’re closer to you. Two rules of etiquette: 1. At traffic lights, stay in single file and don’t try to move past other stopped cyclists. Other cyclists will do this to you, and they’re just being rude. 2. Give wide berth when passing slower cyclists. I generally don’t call out or ring my bell when making a pass as long as I have several feet of space. Certainly you can, but reactions will vary and might not actually help your pass. Don’t pass someone on the right. Road conditions There will be times when there is a big crack, pothole, or other hazard in your path. Don’t stare down at the ground 10ft in front of you, but frequently check what you’ll be rolling over in a few seconds’ time. When you see a hazard, slow down and figure out whether you can pass around on the left or right, or if you can roll over it. Avoiding debris and potholes is ideal to protect your tires. Avoiding larger potholes is good so you don’t get steered/bucked off your line. Specific traffic scenarios By far, the most common adverse interactions with cars come when you are traveling in a straight line on the right side of the road and a driver pulls across your path, either to stop or to make a right turn. Whenever a car passes you slowly or is traveling at your speed very close in front of you, you should be on alert to brake in case they do pull over and stop. This awareness and anticipation is the core skill for bike commuting. Right hook From the above scenario, if a car is on your left and goes to turn right, that’s called a right hook. Illustration:  [source: http://www.illinoisbicyclelaw.com/p/types-of-bicycle-accidents.html] The driver, not paying attention, thinks the path is clear and turns right in front of the cyclist, who needs to brake, veer, or run into the car. The most important thing to do when a car looks like it could be turning right or pulling over is not to stay to its right, but to get behind it. Thus, you avoid getting right hooked and make yourself more visible to cars and bikes behind you. This is illustrated by the right column below:  When you are not in a bike lane, the concept of getting behind a car is called taking the lane -- behaving like the fully entitled road user that you are. Taking the lane is a crucial maneuver when interoperating with cars taking right turns. I cannot stress enough that taking the lane is the correct move over slowing down and staying to the right of the turning/stopping car. Even if you’re looking to turn right at the same intersection, if there is no turning bike lane, you are better served taking the lane and turning behind the turning car. Back to the picture -- look at the center column. This maneuver is a natural extension of taking the lane. In the case that the right-turning car is slow or stuck in the intersection from crossing pedestrians or other traffic, you might (in a car) pull out to the left a bit and pass around the turning car. You can do the same on a bike, with the same precautions -- that there is no one behind you and there is room on the road to pass on the left. You might find yourself part of a line of bikes passing a car this way. This is fine; just go with the flow. Other times, in tight space, there will be a car stuck behind you unable to pass to the left. Make sure they are not moving to pass, and then pass on the left. More taking the lane discussion Let’s say you come to an intersection that has a right turn lane and a going straight lane. If you’re headed straight, you’ll need to avoid being stuck on the far right of the road, which will herd you into the right turn lane. By planning ahead, you can take the lane ahead of the intersection and then get behind the traffic going straight, avoiding any cars turning right into you.  In this illustration, red is the bad path, and green is taking the lane. Note that in the picture, the 2nd lane of travel is both straight and right-turn. This again illustrates the value of taking the lane -- by being fully behind a car, you cannot get right hooked by it. Sometimes you will be biking on a road with street parking, with cars sparsely lined on the road. You might be tempted to pull over into any gaps where there aren’t parked cars and let cars pass you. You can think of pulling over into a gap as a form of yielding the lane. You don’t want to do this. While there is a certain mental discomfort with holding up a car that is having trouble passing you, it is more important that you don’t trap yourself. Two things could happen if you pull into the gap: - Cars will underestimate how much space they need to give you when you’re pulled over, so when you pull left to get around a parked car blocking you, a car will pass dangerously close. Closer than if you’d stayed in your lane. - The flow of cars is so heavy that you can’t easily pull back out onto the lane you had made for yourself. So don’t be tempted by gaps in parked cars -- keep going straight and set firm expectations to cars behind you that you aren’t going anywhere. Left hook This is a relatively uncommon, but still dangerous scenario. It can arise with stop-and-go traffic in both directions, so don't let your guard down if cars are slow.  In stop-and-go, a car going your way may want to let a left turning car coming the other way through, even though you’re traveling through in your lane. In traffic, pay attention to when cars on your left suddenly stop. This could be yielding to pedestrians at (or not at) a crosswalk or letting an oncoming car turn in front. In either case, slow down and use caution. Parked cars and getting doored Lots of streets allow for street parking. In stopped traffic, it can be useful to roll up to the light. When doing so, pay attention to cars that have flashers on or drivers in the car. In these cases, the slower you’re going, the less likely you’ll run into an opening door. When street traffic is moving, try to give yourself as much space from parked cars as you can without sticking too far into traffic. Making left turns This is extremely situationally dependent. On a bright day, on a slow street, you should be able to easily look back, see that there’s no cars coming behind you, and take a left turn at an unsignalled intersection. In other conditions, you may choose not to do so because you can’t easily check traffic behind you. In these cases, you could always stop at the intersection and walk your bike across. At a busy signalled intersection, you make a hook turn, where you bike past your left turn, stop in the lane of traffic going in the direction of that left turn, and then wait for the light to change. Details: http://cycleguide.dk/2010/05/how-to-do-a-hook-turn/ A few intersections are painted for hook turns, though you don’t have to use them. When you have a protected left turn lane and a green arrow, you should take the lane and make sure the car in front of you is not going to go rogue and go straight instead of turning left. Roundabouts I generally don’t recommend riding through an unsignalled roundabout unless you are a pretty fast rider and can more or less keep up with cars slowly driving around the roundabout. Walk on crosswalks as needed. Other scenarios A lot of other less common scenarios are documented here: https://bicyclesafe.com/ Riding skill Knowing how to negotiate cars and various traffic scenarios is important, but being comfortable on the bike can make bike commuting a lot less stressful. A lot of this will only come with practice, though you don’t have to ride on the street to get better here. Looking around You should be able to look 180deg across your front with only slight turns of your head. Use common sense and adjust accordingly if you see a situation approaching. Looking back If there is a stopped car or road hazard or pedestrian walking into the street ahead of you, you want to look back just to assess what kind of car traffic is behind you. Looking back momentarily while riding straight ahead isn’t completely natural, especially if you have a stiff neck or aren’t flexible. This is something I would practice a lot. You can mount a mirror on your helmet or handlebars, but a mirror should not be regarded as granting you the same situational awareness as looking back. Riding slowly Having the ability to ride close to walking speed gives you confidence that you’re not going to fall over if you suddenly have to come to a stop. Basically, if you’re able to creep along at 2mph and then have to put your feet down and stand off the bike, that’s a lot more comfortable than not being steady below 5mph and having to sort of hop off the bike as you drop below that speed. In this way, any time something unusual arises, you can slow way down and assess from your bike, instead of standing still. Riding slow means you can sometimes slowly pedal the bike around something instead of awkwardly velocipeding the bike around. A secondary benefit is that you can start timing traffic lights on your regular route, saving yourself a lot of energy and hassle from dismounting and remounting the bike. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Jul 26, 2020 02:22
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Equipment Helmets There are riding infrastructures and bike cultures out there that do not normalize wearing helmets. In this fairly US-centric thread, you'll hear mostly advising to wear helmets as common sense, with plenty of pretty vituperative dissent. I can no more prevent these inevitable debates than I can prevent you from riding without a helmet. Helmets are fairly cheap (or expensive, if you like) insurance for certain kinds of crashes you can have. They won't protect the rest of your body from huge wrecks, but they can save your noggin if a wheel slips out and you slam the deck. Current US testing standards for helmets (CPSC) aren't well correlated to the kinds of crashes currently understood to commonly cause head injury. One of the tests is to put a metal head in the helmet, invert, and drop it from several feet. Most crashes have some degree of rotation, with the head swinging at the end of the torso. The European standard is CEN. If you want a detailed breakdown comparing standards, here you go: https://helmets.org/stdcomp.htm Virginia Tech is accumulating bike crash data and applying it to their modeling for frequency of types of crashes and damage incurred. This program is an offshoot of their similar work for football helmets protecting against concussions. VT has its own crash standards to match their model, and their own ratings: https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html If you click on the <$100 tab, there's plenty of 5 star helmets, so go wild. Some helmet manufacturers take crash safety very seriously (devising their own crash standards testing), and bake some of the R&D and materials costs into their prices. But for the most part, $300 helmets are that expensive because of nicer materials that touch your head and style. As with most items that fit your body, you'll do best to try helmets on in a store. A helmet needs to fit your head decently -- not have any big gaps, but come down low enough to cover your cranium. When cinched snugly, it shouldn't rotate over your head. If it did that in a crash, it wouldn't protect you. On the other hand, you don't want a helmet that pinches your head and hurts after riding for a while. There are plenty of counterfeit helmets that you might see on Amazon or eBay for $30 that will not pass the crash tests; don't buy these. Clothing When starting out, wear what you want, but be aware that the effort of cycling means you can dress cooler than you would if you were walking somewhere. If you’re wearing anything loose by your ankles, make sure you roll it up or strap it down so it doesn’t run into the chainrings. I have no direct experience, but if you’re wearing a skirt, you might use a coin and rubber band to convert the skirt into skorts to make it easier to get on and off and pedal around. People sweat to different degrees. Some may be able to pedal to work even in the summer without sweating so much that they need to shower/change. Others will have to invest not only in the having extra sets of clothing, but also add that time into their commute. Pedaling, Saddles, and You Bike fit is important. The more miles or hours you ride, the more important it is. You can wear anything and ride any bike for a few minutes. But as riding time builds up, you want your bike and your gear to be fully refined to work for you. Let's start with bike fit. 3 fundamentals: 1. you want your saddle height to work for your leg length. Take the inseam from the OP, multiply by 0.883, and that's the distance from the center of the cranks to the top of the saddle. If you're new to biking, setting that from the get go might feel much higher / more stretched out than you like. It's ok to start a couple cm low, get used to other aspects of riding, and then come back and fine tune your height. 99% of very casual riders you see out there have their seat too low. 2. you want your hands to be not too far, not too cramped. The more weight your hands support, the less weight on your feet and more crucially, your taint area. However, plenty of commuter bikes are very upright and give people no problems. Handlebar width ought to reflect your shoulder width, but it can be kinda fudged for commuting, which shouldn't be razor's edge all the time where you need perfect handling. NOTE: adjusting handlebar position can be somewhat easy or rather involved, depending on your bike's componentry. 3. you want to avoid saddles that are too puffy, as all that padding will push up against your soft bits, possibly cutting off blood supply, which is bad. Ideally, you want a less padded saddle that lets you place just your sitbones in contact with the saddle surface. Some illustrative pelvis modeling:   Of course, there's flesh between the sitbones and the saddle, but far less so than in other areas around your butt. Getting used to any saddle when you start out takes some days/weeks to work up to, so don't be surprised if figuring out what saddle works for you is a journey. But also don't be satisfied with a saddle that hurts, doesn't feel right, or worst, makes you go numb. In my own opinion, you can ride in any clothes for up to 5-7 miles. To tie this back to clothing -- past a certain distance/duration, you might feel more comfortable in cycling shorts. Normal clothes can have fabric or seams that chafe you a lot at the saddle contact points. Additionally, they might not stretch well and can hinder your pedaling some. Not enough that you can't ride, but it can get annoying. You could also simply test around and see which wardrobe items work best for you while cycling. I switched all of my jeans to a few brands that work for me. Rain and Snow Skip if you live in a nice arid climate. In general, I check the forecast a couple times a day, more frequently if it’s going to rain. Even if you don’t plan to ride in the rain, you still need to know when to avoid it. If you are going to commute in the rain, you need full coverage fenders. A quick example:  Most hybrid/commuting bikes have mountings to let you add fenders. Specific fender recommendations should be a common thread topic. Fenders protect your body above the knees from water spray and gross road dirt in the water. Below the knees, if you’re rolling through standing water, you might still get splashed on a lot. Bring a spare set of socks and maybe shoes. Depending on how much it’s raining, you might need to accept that you’re getting soaked. This is fine in warm weather, but pretty lovely in the fall and winter. Bring more change of clothes as needed. A waterproof jacket helps, but you may still get water coming in at the neck and up the sleeves. You might also have trouble fitting a hood under your helmet. Compared to rain, snow is generally more of a problem on the ground than when it’s falling, though visibility can be similarly reduced in heavy snow. Generally, bike lanes are plowed/cleared at the same time as car lanes, but sometimes a day behind. Slushy snow is gross but doesn’t really present a safety issue. Ice is of course dangerous and needs to be treated with utmost care if it might form in places on your commute. There are studded bike tires for riding on ice, but I find them to be really uncomfortable when not riding on ice and packed snow. The number of days where I see ice in Boston are few enough that I don’t mount studded tires any more. Lights Lights are safety essentials in northern latitudes with short winter days. Here's where I editorialize the most -- I recommend only one battery-powered light for regular night time commuting, the B&M IXON IQ Premium. Here’s its beam pattern:  It’s not super bright, but it’s got a fairly wide beam, so if you see an obstacle, you can also see what’s around it to plan how to navigate around it. Additionally, it has a sharp cutoff at the top, so that light doesn’t bleed forward into the eyes of oncoming drivers. Blinking white front lights are extremely distracting and should not be used. On a road without streetlamps, the bright setting is more than enough to ride at normal speeds. It uses normal AA batteries, so it’s easy to carry spares. It lasts ~4 hours on bright mode, and ~16 hours on dim mode. This is an $80 light, but I would say it’s worth it. The housing and plastic build quality isn't even that great, but the lighting itself is superb. B&M do make a light that's even brighter and more expensive, but I've never used it. I have 3 IXON IQ Premiums. There are plenty of reasonable lights out there that can work for your needs. I'm just advising that the longer you're riding at night, the more dollars it's worth putting into the light. Blinking red lights can be distracting if they’re not diffuse (frosted) or have ramping brightness change. I recommend pulsing lights so that you’re always in the visual field of the driver, instead of sometimes disappearing. I recommend the Nite-Ize TwistList. Buy a couple so you have a spare. It uses CR2016 coin batteries. Carrying things There are a million different options. If you’re just carrying a laptop, a backpack or messenger bag could be fine. Bring a plastic bag if it isn’t waterproof. More clothes -- maybe a waterproof backpack. There are a variety of basket/rack solutions. Again, this should be an active thread topic. Locking Long term parking your bike outside is a risk that can only be partly mitigated by a good lock. If at all possible, park in a secured bike cage or attended parking garage. The point of a lock is to discourage the thief from targeting your bike. Maybe they’ll go for another bike that’s not locked up as well, or with a crappy cable lock. Maybe they’ll decide it’s not worth the time to cut through the lock. If you must park outside, pick a good bike rack to lock to. One that has concrete poured around the pole, if possible, instead of 4 bolts holding it to brick or cement, which can easily be yanked out. Try to get a U-lock. The folding link locks aren't as good, and braided cable locks are very insecure (and yet I've used them for some lockups). Yes, you need to find a place to store the thing, either a backpack or somewhere on the bike. The most secure method:  Only needs one big U-lock. I have never done this. My bike has never been worth so much to me that I wanted to spend the extra 30s setting up the front wheel. A very secure method:  Can be a smaller U-lock. You have U-lock coverage for everything but the front wheel, and a cable lock that would still take 30s to saw through to get the front wheel. The less secure variant to this would be to not have the cable lock. Faster to lock/unlock. Almost equal level of security:  Just need the U-lock Here, you secure the front wheel and sacrifice the rear. Which takes maybe 5 more seconds to take off than the front wheel. Only the rear wheel, though the rear triangle:  If they don't cut the U-lock, they can destroy the frame to get your rear wheel, or your rear wheel to get everything else. Likely, this kind of loss will deter thieves looking to steal your bike for value. Acceptable for quick trips into a store -- just locking the frame:  If they don't cut the U-lock, they can leave you with just the frame, or they can gently caress up your day by destroying the frame, too, for ??? reasons. Now some bad lockups --  Unhook the front wheel, take the rest of the bike (maybe wheelie away into the sunset).  Cut the cable lock and ride off, or come back with a truck.  Cut the cable lock or just pull it up around the signage.  Loosen the seat post, remove lock, put back seat post, ride off. More examples: http://www.poorlylockedbikes.com/ Match your locking to the risk -- how long you're parked or how bad bike theft is in the area. No U-lock can prevent bike theft. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Nov 14, 2021 |
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Jul 26, 2020 02:23
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The Answer Sleestak is cheaper, but maybe good only to 30F or so. I can do 20F on short rides. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Answer-Sleestak-Cold-Weather-Gloves/402260303538 Note that it's 1-3 for finger distribution, not PI's 2-2. I kinda like it cuz I shift with the middle finger.
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Jul 27, 2020 01:12
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Hadlock posted:Not a terrible OP, can you make this more prominent? Number of times "my butt hurts, should I get <some 3" gel padded monstrosity I saw I target in the bicycle section> to fix this?" will come up in this thread is going to number in to the hundreds Added to the FAQs.
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Jul 27, 2020 06:41
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Al2001 posted:This is the Sheldon Brown method, and it is pretty safe, imo. He used a mini D-Lock/U-lock. Because the lock is within the rear triangle, a thief would have to saw through the wheel to steal the frame, so unless your frame is super-desirable... Of course if you have a full size D-lock you may have room to go around either the chain-stays or seat-stays anyway. That's true. I didn't explicitly say that destroying frame or wheel was self-defeating for the thief, but I've I bumped it up. Mauser posted:Petition to add an encouragement to wear helmets in the OP with the caveat that it's better to ride a bike without a helmet than to not ride at all and maybe a blurb about fitting or recommendations and a disclaimer that helmet use derails down thread are probation-worthy. I snuck it to the top of the equipment post. I didn't want to launch that debate off that bat, so bided my time. kimbo305 fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Aug 8, 2020 |
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Jul 31, 2020 01:37
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FireTora posted:I just threw my VO rear rack on my old commuter finally to complete the look. What the gently caress is the point of a rear rack this size? Is it even usable beyond bungee cording a outer shell on?
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Jul 31, 2020 16:05
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FireTora posted:Yeah, my Ortliebs will hook onto it no problem, but my feet will smash into them. I have to pretty much slam them to the rear on my other one with a Tubus Cosmo to get any clearance. It's probably just not expecting a short chainstay. I've had some tiny rub with most non-touring bikes I've run panniers on.
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Jul 31, 2020 16:17
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For slushy (but not frozen) conditions, I don't mind following the rut left by a car tire, especially if I can see the asphalt through the slush. The main benefit is not riding over something that's been completely snowed over, a pothole or sewer grate.
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Aug 3, 2020 17:15
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I love the exercise, but I don't think I'd want 2+ h of commute and forced exercise no matter how I felt every work day. Maybe if it was bike path 95% of the way. I'd consider road ebikes, given the distance. Personal rec for an ebike is: https://www.karmicbikes.com/shop/karmic-koben-m bicievino posted:A dynamo is probably the purchase that has given me the most peace of mind on my commuter. Yeah, I'd think about it even with an ebike, so that if the battery craps out, you still have lights.
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Aug 4, 2020 17:04
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I added the graphic to the top of the safety section, and also started a Testimonials section in the OP.
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Aug 8, 2020 05:38
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Slips as in the two crank arms go from 180 deg apart to some other angle? Is it loose when you jiggle the crank by hand?
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Aug 17, 2020 21:01
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kecske posted:180 to 45 Yeah, that spindle end is gonna be metal dust when you unbolt. Take a pic and report to the repair thread, but going by the 2 bolts, I'm guess it's Shimano and you'll need a new crankset.
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Aug 17, 2020 21:59
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There's no way the stock bolts would be too long, unless something else is severely hosed up, which it might be.
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Aug 18, 2020 22:09
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I have one jacket whose hood was thin enough for me to wear under the helmet. If I know it's gonna be raining a lot, I can switch to a helmet with no vents.
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Aug 26, 2020 21:31
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I'd like to avoid fenders if I can just because it seems like a big addition to the bike for only two miles, but idk
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Aug 27, 2020 00:21
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Entropist posted:Have a look how it's done in the only country where bike commuting is a normal and widespread practice: Most people aren't gonna be moving countries to bike commute.
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Aug 27, 2020 05:17
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Entropist posted:p.s. About the Asian perspective mentioned earlier, my sister lives in Tokyo and bike commutes there and yeah no, I'm not erasing things by saying it's not normal there to commute by bike. There is no dedicated infra It’s really loving racist to equate Tokyo’s cycling infrastructure with all of Asia’s, based on your sister’s experience no less.
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Aug 28, 2020 10:41
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aparmenideanmonad posted:Would be cool and good to hear from a seasoned rider like yourself who happens to participate in this forum about awesome Dutch bike and bike riding stuff that you experience regularly so the rest of us can be jealous and hopeful of a better state of affairs in the relatively hostile-to-bikes places that we live. 
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Aug 28, 2020 14:52
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Anachronist posted:Wow. This is a pretty loving racist take right here. No, not all of Asia is exactly the same as Tokyo, and the perspective of foreigners riding there is not the only one to consider. Have thought some more about this, and I think it's ok to ignore the several Asian cities with populations bigger than the Netherlands.
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Aug 28, 2020 18:17
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Sab669 posted:China definitely comes to my mind long before Japan when talking about "Asia" and "cycling" I wonder if Entropist knows that there’s Chinese cities that have bike share programs bigger than most countries’. Probably not.
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Aug 30, 2020 03:15
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42x14 at a comfy 60rpm is 14.5mph, assuming 700x35 tires. So yeah, you should have enough gearing now to demand more from your cadence.
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Aug 30, 2020 18:50
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Within a reasonable range, at a given speed, any cadence that gets you that speed costs you the same energy. So spinning more doesn’t necessarily make you sweat more.
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Aug 30, 2020 19:01
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Fwiw, the thread is visible outside the login wall.
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Sep 15, 2020 15:16
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Urzza posted:What's the current hotness for cargo racks and mirrors? Looking to get some upgrades for my commuting. Mirror mounted to bike? https://www.rivbike.com/products/german-mirror Mirror mounted on helmet/glasses? https://www.amazon.com/Bike-Peddler-Cycling-Eyeglass-Mirror/dp/B001VTQNVO
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Sep 16, 2020 07:52
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You should take a stab at adjusting your rear derailleur: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkL1vze6M4A Just memorize how many turns you've done so you can reverse back to your starting point, if needed. If you don't have a stand, you'll have to rig something up to hang the bike by the saddle, or do an adjustment, hold the bike in one hand while pedaling, and repeating.
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Sep 18, 2020 20:39
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ExecuDork posted:I find myself in a disagreement with every bit of advice I've been given in-person on this point - I agree with the OP. I'm taller than most people I know (6 foot 3 / 188 cm) and most of my height is in my legs (103 cm from the hip socket to my heel). My legs have always become rapidly uncomfortable when I have to sit for a long time without the space to extend my legs fully, like airplane seats or the backseat of typical car. When riding a bike I've always preferred being able to fully extend my knee without lifting myself from the seat, though not necessarily on every rotation of the pedals. ExecuDork posted:I took for a test ride, the first real ride ever! Just down the street to the end of the block and back, but I ran through all of the gears and nothing bad happened. Success! How is the saddle height now, and how does the bars' position feel? My gut look at that photo is it's 1, maybe 2 sizes too small.
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Sep 20, 2020 07:28
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ExecuDork posted:That's the bike, and the seat is at that height, I think. Any chance you could pedal it in a pic or video?
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Sep 21, 2020 04:02
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Al2001 posted:I'm a cycling instructor, and my boss has to specify to new recruits not to turn up at primary schools like this. Roadie culture is a helluva drug. Like spin cycling? Cycling coach? Who are the recruits in this case?
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Sep 22, 2020 17:52
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Giant Metal Robot posted:I'm doing it myself because I'll have to cut it down in half inch increments until I find what feels good. Couldn’t you just move around the brakes and shifters to get a decent idea and then make that first big cut?
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Oct 3, 2020 00:35
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE posted:My work is now just far enough that I can't run commute both ways (5.5 miles one way by the short route, 7.5 by the pleasurable route) and I'm debating whether to keep bikeshare commuting or not in the Boston area. quote:Basically, I think for it to be worth it, I'd need a decent road bike that'd be nice for weekend cruising, but it seems like most people don't use good road bikes for commuting; even if I got a road bike to solve the weekend riding issue, would I want to use it in place of the bike share? Looking for opinions from people who've been commuting a lot longer than I have. I have ridden a couple of my commuter bikes on the occasional long weekend ride, and it wasn't as fast as on a nice road bike, but it was still good. One ride, the forecast called for rain, and I intentionally took a commuter for the fenders, and it was the right choice. How tall are you? I have my commuter langushing in the basement of my office in DTX, unused since lockdown started. You could borrow it to see if a dedicated commuter works for your commute, which sounds pretty similar to mine -- 4.5 over Longfellow, 6 on the bike path. Also, why you avoiding the Boston thread?
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Oct 5, 2020 02:34
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Sauer posted:I find straight bars incredibly uncomfortable, but my wrists are trashed from years of computer touching and factory work. First modification I made to my Trek was putting some no name 35 degree sweep bars on it. They're not bad but I've been eying a set of Jone's H Bars for a while. Try them for sure. You'd be surprised how much the extra sweep feels. And you can sell them on with not too much loss if you don't like them.
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Oct 5, 2020 02:36
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Are you mouth breathing both inhale and exhale? I try to set up my buff so exhaling through the nose doesn’t fog up as much. That’ll keep your sinus from drying out as fast.
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Oct 6, 2020 22:49
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Zonko_T.M. posted:I have more money to play with than I've ever had in my life. I'd like something with click-shifters and drop-bars and lighter and faster than a rusted road bike from the 70s. I'm honestly not too picky about the rest. Are disc brakes a good idea? I don't know! It doesn't rain much here. I'm very open to any suggestions. quote:Height: 6 feet Depending on when you need the bike, check out the $1400 State Black Label All-road: https://www.statebicycle.com/collections/gravel-all-road-cross-off-road That may or may not restock some time soon.
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Oct 21, 2020 06:01
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Shibawanko posted:to a dutch person this looks insane and while i don't agree with the "second class citizen" stuff or whatever this poster is correct about cycling, and most western countries get cycling wrong completely. it will never become a widespread practice if you keep treating it like a specialist activity for which you need to buy loads of gear and go at high speeds. it will need to become a widespread practice to enable high density living in cities while sparing the environment, so i would say promoting bike commuting is pretty important That many countries' cycling infrastructure is bad/insane should not prevent people from bike commuting despite the conditions. It's reasonable to discuss cycling in these environments but also to have totally different goals in bike advocacy. We can ask our cities to make separated bike roads that would let us ride at <10mph with masses of other cyclists. And yet still pull onto a tiny paint-demarcated bike lane for every commute until that infrastructure comes around. I don't see this as some form of selling out.
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Oct 21, 2020 10:09
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ExecuDork posted:The wet steel rims and the half-worn-out (and only barely aligned) pads were ineffective. After they wiped most of the water off I actually had some braking power, but it was a little dicey. Disk brakes are a high priority for my next bike, even though this junkyard frankenbike is hardly a fair representative. For sure get some new pads. Always worth it.
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Oct 22, 2020 05:19
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DELETE CASCADE posted:theoretically you could make a bike with steel-like tubing sizes out of carbon fiber, yeah? it's just that nobody does because it isn't aero Light carbon have big tubes than maximize strength to weight, tubes that are bigger and less aero than steel tubes or simple cylindrical carbon tubes. Aero carbon frames require more material and still have a deficit in weight to pure lightweight frames.
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Oct 25, 2020 21:46
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ExecuDork posted:My brakes worked fine, but this morning I had to adjust the rear pads because if I squeezed hard while moving, one pad would pop under the rim. It would not pop under if I was standing still, fiddling with the brakes, I had to be moving. That was a slightly unhappy surprise. Have you spun the rear wheel to see if there’s a real high point somewhere? Having the entirety of the pad face miss the brake track seems off.
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Oct 29, 2020 00:41
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ExecuDork posted:I find adjusting brakes very fiddly. Tightening the nut on the bolt seems to cause all the parts to move a little, and I don't have enough hands to hold everything still and turn the wrench. quote:Now, I feel like I have to move the lever a bit further than I'd like before the front brakes start to really grip, so this weekend I'll fiddle with them, too. Right now, after the adjustment, you probably increased the pad gap. You reduce the pad gap by either using barrel adjuster if available or by opening the brake cable clamp bolt and pulling through cable. The tighter the gap, the more evenly your pads need to be balanced side to side.
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Oct 30, 2020 01:52
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:27 |
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How many weeks have you been riding the same commute? Were you doing it regularly before the weather cooled off? It is possible that with the extra cooling you are getting, that you’re working harder without hitting a natural backoff point, namely sweating.
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Nov 7, 2020 12:13
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