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Giant Metal Robot posted:I'm replacing a stolen commuter hybrid and doubled my budget so I can add all the accessories on day 1. Didn't realize how much I put into that bike until I started building a cart for racks, fenders, light mounts, bottle cages, wheel reflectors, etc.
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Aug 6, 2020 22:23
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 09:38 |
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They don't make those compatible with the latch system that car seat carriers use? 8 years ago, but I had a 3 wheel jogging stroller/carrier combo that was great for my kiddo and always assumed someone would eventually sell a combo with a bike trailer as well.
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Aug 21, 2020 13:14
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Fitzy Fitz posted:OK, tell me how to make this work in the rain. It rained non-stop for a month when I first tried to start bike commuting in February. It was dry all summer while I was quarantined. Now I'm back at work and it's raining every day again. Distance of your commute, ambient temp, and the facilities available at your workplace (shower/changing area/locker/etc.) can greatly influence which method will be best for you. When I used to have a 2mi commute, I would typically go full rainsuit (jacket, pants, gaiters/shoe covers) if it was less than 70*F and I'd show up with only wet hands and a wet face even in a downpour. But if you have a long ride or it's hot outside, you'll be wetter from sweat than from rain with that setup. You definitely need a hood/helmet brim as well because getting slapped in the eyes repeatedly with water drops is dangerous/blinding, especially if you wear contacts. Visibility with glasses is even worse. I've never owned a helmet with one of those visor things and I always wondered if they would work if you Rain-X'd them or something equivalent. Fenders are amazingly helpful for keeping you dry/drier. Definitely belong on any commuter bike unless you live in the desert.
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Aug 26, 2020 22:21
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The worst part about Entropist is that they are in a great position to provide a cool biking perspective, especially in this thread, but instead they poo poo on everyone for taking commuting "too seriously", aka, not doing it the way they do. I gave them the benefit of the doubt for a solid 2 years of mostly lurking before coming to this realization. And my perspective is that of someone who got into bikes from commuting to classes in undergrad/grad school/early academic jobs on an old rear end hardtail MTB I got as a teenager that I would probably still ride to this day if it hadn't been stolen.
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Aug 28, 2020 04:03
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Entropist posted:Well, it did take at least 2 years of getting shat on every time I made a post here to arrive to this particular way of presenting my perspective. But it's a pretty genuine perspective, you'll find similar ideas expressed by well put together channels like Bicycle Dutch and Not Just Bikes. I'm not sure what else I can say about it that hasn't already been said by them or that I haven't already tried to express in the past here. But if there's anything you want to know about bike commuting in a culture where it is normalized and well-supported by infrastructure, feel free to ask! To dial back the thread meta-posting, I still have yet to bike commute since moving and getting a new job this spring. It would be about 17 miles and 90ish minutes one way with some hills, so it's not something I'd do daily, but it would be a nice way to occasionally replace an hour of driving with three hours of biking. I do have access to a full gym/locker room/shower situation at work that would make it possible to put that many sweaty miles in and still be presentable. Unfortunately, all of those facilities are closed at the moment due to COVID. Maybe next year!
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Aug 28, 2020 14:26
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aldantefax posted:Ah, I have back and flexibility problems, so this is more of a "how to enjoy biking as a commute method but also not spend the rest of the day and following day without pain in the butt and lower back" kind of question. If that's reserved exclusively for athletes and bike racers, then I'll see myself out. Your questions are good and you're in the right place. The butt pain is something that will gradually go away as long as you have a good seat fit. The two protrusions at the bottom of your hip bones (aka sit bones/ischeal tuberosities) should be what is taking the majority of your weight through contact with the saddle, not the fatty, muscular, or genitally-adjacent tissue of your rear end. Making sure that your saddle is the right width to do this with clearance for your legs to move freely with little to no pressure on your baby-making-bits is a good idea. There are a variety of ways to measure this, but sitting on a piece of aluminum foil that's on thick carpet is one of the easiest and best. You can then measure the distances between the two dimples your rear end will have crushed into the metal and look up your saddle specs to see if you're in the ballpark. You may also need to adjust saddle angle and height to make sure you're not just getting pain from other aspects of how you are sitting on the bike. I would look into/ask for recommendations in the main bike thread for bike fitters in your area if you feel like you'd benefit from in-person help here (almost everyone does, but be warned that bike fits aren't free). As far as stretches/exercises, anything that works to stretch your hams, quads, calves, back, and neck can be helpful depending on what kind of pain you're dealing with. A weak core can end up causing a lot of pain as well - you may be compensating by putting too much weight on your hands or changing your seat position. Planks and other core work can be helpful. If you don't have much experience with specific stretches and exercises, this is a pretty good resource for both: https://exrx.net/Lists/Directory
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Aug 28, 2020 16:22
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Flip Yr Wig posted:Ah, yeah. Great Lakes. It gets nasty.  You will learn to love temps below 25*F because it's the only time you'll be dry. I've winter commuted in Milwaukee, Syracuse, and near Indianapolis and my weather preference was Milwaukee>Indy>Syracuse. Milwaukee had much less snow/sleet/cold rain and more dry frozen days, though the occasional temps plunging toward the negative *F were rough and require a different approach with covering skin (all of it) and especially gloves/bar mitts and shoes/boots. Indy, to me, will always be the freezing rain capital of the Midwest, but nothing tends to stick very long there. Studded tires and some normal rain gear over warm clothes were always fine - once you've got studs, the worst part about the freezing rain is how dangerous other vehicles are. There's also always a decent amount of ~40*F days where minimal gear is required that are pretty pleasant to do with just a coat and gloves. Syracuse got 2-3x the snow and had constant slush and freeze/thaw. There were some bike lanes and low-traffic sidewalk options during the nice weather but once there's a few feet of snow down, all that poo poo is buried. Most people there tend to understand driving slow in the mess and aren't too dickish when they have to share with you, but you still have to be careful, especially on hills. tl;dr
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Sep 9, 2020 00:35
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Sab669 posted:I'm in Buffalo so Buffalo is rough but it tends to get less snow and my impression from visiting (never biked there) was that it was flatter, though I bet that's dependent on your route. Winter is still an unpleasant wet mess there for sure.
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Sep 9, 2020 13:30
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Fitzy Fitz posted:I'm very much a mouth breather, during both exertion and normal conditions. I think this is why I keep getting a cough. kimbo305 posted: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. I like to run for exercise in the winter rather than bike, and I have found that inhaling via a partially closed mouth and exhaling through the nose really helps to prevent mucous membrane and lung irritation, especially when it's bitterly cold and dry. Increasing the passage length and the turbulence of the inspired air through your mouth helps warm and moisten it before exposing it to your lungs, and it gives the more sensitive and drier passages in your nose a break by only being exposed to moving air coming out of your lungs. The downside is that it does restrict your airflow, so you may have to take it a bit easier to avoid getting winded and consciously fight the urge to gasp, but I've also found that you can relax a bit once your body has warmed up (usually 5-10 min in). You might try this in combination with the buff if you haven't already. .
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Oct 7, 2020 04:46
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ExecuDork posted:First bike commute in at least 11 years this morning. I made it about halfway up the hill at the end before I stopped for a rest (and got passed by somebody in better shape than me, but he at least gave me the nice Aussie "How ya goin', mate?" as he powered past). I'm stupidly happy to have taken this picture of my bike at the rack just outside my office. 
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Oct 9, 2020 03:01
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ExecuDork posted:Yeah, when I googled "Norco" the page was an interesting mix of bikes and dairy. I'll have to see if I can get a Norco (dairy) water-bottle to fit a bike. Or just clean out a chocolate-milk bottle and see if it fits. Y'know, get a bit meta.
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Oct 16, 2020 12:26
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learnincurve posted:My favourite “gently caress I’m old” thing is from this year.  My wife gets dusted by my son atm and he's only 8. I'm hoping I have 5-6 more years of superiority but more of that depends on me than him I suppose.
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Mar 17, 2021 01:27
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It's 100 but it's still nice.
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Apr 14, 2021 02:00
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Beautiful day and beautiful weather, I am unsure of how much pollen and how many bugs I'm swallowing. Being used to riding with a mask on has had unexpected benefits in this department.
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May 10, 2021 17:57
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Invalido posted:Yeah hybrids are sweet, though I don't own one at present. I'm torn regarding drop bars. There are pros and cons. Biggest con for me at least is the feeling of less control compared to flat. Not sure if true, not sure if wider drop bars would help. On longer rides they're comfy and fast, but not what I would prefer on a commuter that's used a lot in traffic. My fairweather commuter is a used cross bike. Having the extra brake levers on top of the bars is very nice for when you want to be a little more upright and in control at slow speeds. Best of both worlds imo.
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May 11, 2021 20:32
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I feel ya. It takes some getting used to if you've only ridden flat bar. Riding non-technical dirt/gravel on it with my kid on his MTB helped me adapt faster. It can clear 42s no problem so it handles roots and rocks just fine while keeping things interesting for both of us.
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May 11, 2021 22:47
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The clear solution to these situations is to just tow your car to the auto parts store with your bike.
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May 12, 2021 15:24
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EvenWorseOpinions posted:I don't think my son would be keen on wearing a helmet and I'm not certain I could get him to wear one, but I'm guessing the recommendation is for kids to wear one? Yep. As a fellow spawn haver, I've never had trouble getting a toddler+ kid to wear one. Present it as something awesome that makes them look cool and most of them will wear it around the house non-stop if you let them.
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Aug 25, 2021 15:00
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I commuted in year round in Wisconsin, upstate NY, and Indiana for 10+ years. I started with a MTB with pretty aggressive 2.5" tires and moved on to a hybrid with 35mm schwalbe studded winters. You should absolutely ride studded snow tires in the winter if you're dealing with near freezing temps + precipitation. Morning commutes especially after a day of above freezing temps with a below freezing night are just not happening safely without them. And while the points about studs and car tires are interesting, it's a whole different thing on bikes. There's a lot more contact area for the rubber to matter on a car, while the much lower amount of inertia on a bike lets even a few studs make a huge difference. And unlike a car, any ice at all is a huge threat to your balance on 2 wheels, especially when you're going slowly enough to lose out on a lot of your usual gyroscopic stability. Studs keep you going straight and allow you to speed up or slow down. They keep you from eating poo poo on the tiny slippery spots hiding under snow or slush as well as the black ice and obvious glare ice that's sometimes unavoidable without putting yourself into a more dangerous place on the road. You are also not heavy enough or spinning your wheels enough to be doing any appreciable damage to an asphalt or concrete road surface on a bike with studded tires. You are going to maybe scrape some paint off the road markers, but otherwise the biggest downside is how much more effort studs are to pedal. It's good winter training though - you feel like a god in spring when you get to take them off!
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Jul 28, 2022 22:10
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abraham linksys posted:I got a cheapo pair of USB head/tail lights when I got my bike (as required for night riding in NYC), but they completely run out of battery after a week of sitting unused. I only bike at night like a couple times a month so I don't think to recharge them often, it's pretty annoying. https://www.amazon.com/CAT-EYE-HL-EL135-Headlight-Commuting/dp/B0041D0XFO Last one of these I had lasted 7 years in rain and snow, easy to take on and off, 2 AAs, and only $20 at the moment (I think I got mine for $12ish). I had to swap batteries maybe twice a year at most with 6-8hrs of use a week. It's not going to let you go fast on strange paths in the dark but it has decent cutouts so cars can see you from a wide angle from the front and sides.
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Sep 16, 2022 02:35
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Cheapest option is to get a roll of 3M or knockoff sew-on reflective tape and go to town on whatever comfy t-shirt/jersey you're wearing now: https://www.amazon.com/Safety-Silver-Reflective-Clohting-25mmx10m/dp/B07G3BNZCR Tshirts are going to be flappy, and a jersey that doesn't suck/fall apart won't be cheap. I am all for being as visible as possible, but it seems like more lights, reflective sidewall tires, or reflective tape on your bike/wheels would be a good solution if you're concerned about wearing extra stuff.
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Nov 11, 2022 20:53
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 09:38 |
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Yeah I yearn for the days of more diffuse patterns. The sharp edges of modern headlights are so much worse for accommodation - if you get even a little into the lit zone your retinas are fried for a scary (if objectively brief) amount of time. They are definitely a better experience as a solo driver, but I'd get rid of mine in a heartbeat if it meant no one else had them. Of course I'd also love to get rid of cars, but that's a different conversation.
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Feb 18, 2023 20:04
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