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Bicycles

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 7:31 pm
by Alan
Anyone bike to work?

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 7:57 pm
by quantus
I'd like to, but affordable housing makes it too far. I could do Amtrak from near home, but it's too unreliable with delays. BART will get me much closer to work in 3 to 5 years. Then, I'll be able to bike the last 6-8 miles without much trouble. If I were going to SF, I couldn't bring the bike on the train during commute hours, but I'd be kinda counter commuting, at least until they extend all the way to San Jose. It'd probably be an 50-75 minutes each way though. That's more predictable than driving which can be 30-90 minutes. I doubt I'd bike the other 16 miles or so.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 9:24 pm
by Jonathan
Yarr.

Bicyclists inevitably wind up talking shop with other bicyclists.

I know a man who does five or six miles without a change of clothes, but judging from his physique and ride (commuter fold-up) he is going at a relaxed pace.

More than that, and you should plan on a shower.

I personally roll with my stuff on my back. A lot of people feel they need panniers but I have never found that to be the case for my commute.

Due to traffic and street conditions the shortest ride may not be the best. Try it out first. Experiment.

Pacific NW rain is ready to deal with. I wish I had bought wet weather gear my first winter and just stuck with it.

Brifters are nice. A smooth shift is worth way more than all the carbon fiber forks. My first hybrid had roll shifters and was fine.

A cushy saddle will probably serve you well until you are really acclimated.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Tue May 14, 2013 9:29 pm
by Jonathan
Bicycles are kind of like cameras in that you want one that will grow with you as you improve, but you can fall into a trap of overspending if you are not careful.

There was a slightly more expensive hybrid that I liked when I bought my first bike. I probably should have spent the extra $75 and delayed purchase of my current ride a bit more.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 3:02 am
by Alan
This is what I got from my local bike shop:

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bikes/ ... s#features

Took a test ride and really enjoyed it. Putting a rear rack on it with a pannier bag, picking it up tomorrow evening. My commute is pretty short (~3 miles, mostly downhill toward work) so I'm hoping to get away with baby wipes most of the time.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:41 am
by Jonathan
I bike 2 miles each way in Hillsboro plus another ~.5 mile in Portland. Ain't no thang. When I first started I toweled off when I got in, but I never need to nowadays and you look like you are in better shape than I was when I started bicycling.

Main thing is I find tucked-in shirts to be an inconvenience, which does tend to reduce one's dressiness. Don't know if that matters at your job. You want a certain amount of airflow around your body.

When you get up around 1000 miles you may want to start checking for signs of wear. At 2000 you almost certainly will need a tuneup or a bucket of elbow grease.

Buy some lights.

Here's my bike
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 6f9ab30228
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/20 ... e/portland - this looks like an XS, seriously. Mine is the XL.

Here's my first bike. I added a rear rack and use it as my grocery hauler.
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/archive/7200

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:58 am
by Jonathan
Given an 11-32 8 speed cassette and a 48/38/28 crankshaft, here's my shifting advice. Roll in 48 going to work and 38 going home. Start from a stop at 28 (32 seems way too loose) regardless of whether you are going home or not. Downshift as the hills make your legs work.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 2:05 pm
by Alan
Jonathan wrote:I bike 2 miles each way in Hillsboro plus another ~.5 mile in Portland. Ain't no thang. When I first started I toweled off when I got in, but I never need to nowadays and you look like you are in better shape than I was when I started bicycling.

Main thing is I find tucked-in shirts to be an inconvenience, which does tend to reduce one's dressiness. Don't know if that matters at your job. You want a certain amount of airflow around your body.

When you get up around 1000 miles you may want to start checking for signs of wear. At 2000 you almost certainly will need a tuneup or a bucket of elbow grease.

Buy some lights.
I think I'll probably arrive a little early and bring a change of clothes, because I anticipate that I'll sweat at least a little no matter what.

Any suggestions about lights? Or will anything do?

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 4:13 pm
by Jonathan
Catriona dislikes her lights and is constantly changing them.

I have been happy with this on the front:
http://www.ridepdw.com/goods/lights/spa ... E2%84%A2-3

I think in an urban environment you aren't going to need more lumens than that. But definitely at least a couple AA batteries, weatherproofed if the bike is in weather. Anything less than that is just non functional. Attached to the handlebars but easily removed is definitely a plus. I've never had any issue with helmets, but there is a bit of a black market for lights and stuff.

I'm not happy with my rear light. Maybe try a rear helmet light. Mine attaches to my saddlebag and projects poorly and gets stolen. (It's the Danger Zone from PDW.)

I sweat a little, but it evaporates on account of I'm going 25 miles an hour.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 3:02 pm
by Alan
Had the morning off so I went on my first ever ride!

http://app.strava.com/activities/54500158

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:12 pm
by Jonathan
Gone on any more pleasure rides? How is the commute?

People don't really "get" that I like to bicycle. I get offered rides to go like 4 miles, which I turn down because I would rather bike. Give me a car ride to go 20 miles. Thanks.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 6:49 am
by Alan
Yup been riding a couple times a week. Last weekend I commuted to my current job, about 5.5 miles each way. The mornings were nice, mid 70s so I sweat some but really manageable. The way home was in 85-90 degree weather so I was drenched. It was definitely way more fun than riding the subway. Depending on the weather I may do it this coming week.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 3:39 am
by Dave
So whats the over-under on if Jon or Alan gets hit by a car first?!

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/p ... t-2011.pdf
http://www.bikewise.org/

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 11:13 pm
by Jonathan
The answer to that is Catriona, who got nailed by an SUV trying to cut her off while moving into the right turn lane.

I win the "eat it while drunk cycling" prize, though.

Alan, bought any cold weather gear?

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 3:25 am
by Alan
Not yet. I have some waterproof overpants that I use for snowboarding. Don't know if I'll be biking during the winter though, I might use the subway/buses once it gets snowy.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 2:45 am
by Jonathan
Chrome Soyuz Review
Laptop Backpacks
Currently 2.0/5
Overall avg rating 2.0 of 5 based on 1 review. Most recent review: October 11, 2011


Street Price: $160 | Compare prices at 3 resellers
Pros: Fully waterproof, extremely durable, easy access front pockets.
Cons: Heavy, sternum strap is poorly positioned for women, main compartment has small opening and is hard to organize, poor velcro closures on front pockets, no external side pocket, only one zippered pocket, poor fit for shorter people.
Best Uses: We don't recommed this bag.
User Rating: (0.0 of 5) based on 0 reviews
Manufacturer: Chrome
Review by: Max Neale ⋅ Review Editor, OutdoorGearLab ⋅ October 11, 2011
Overview
The Chrome Soyuz is a very sleek, indestructible, and completely waterproof laptop backpack best suited to tall men who bike to work in wet climates carrying a seventeen-inch laptop.
Hello.

I had a Victorinox laptop bag I bought soon after moving to Oregon. It was a great bag, but after I started biking I really started to notice its limitations. It is a business bag. It has compartments for business cards and file folders, which turns out to be very little of what I want from a bag while on a bike.

I have been stuffing 17 inches of laptop into a bag that could not quite take it. I broke the zipper a few weeks ago. I looked at the Apple store and Victorinox, but they did not try to cater to my needs.

Chrome, on the other hand, thinks I am their target customer. I care about biking, in the rain, with my laptop. Sometimes I want to bring home groceries. This is the only bag for me.

Like the review says, it is not a good bag if you are not me.

It has phone accessories so you can store your phone in a convenient place, but they were sized for iPhone so my Galaxy S5 did not fit. I would buy such an accessory if they ever make one for man phones.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:19 pm
by Alan
Anyone have a bike rack for their car? I'd like to get a hitch mount rack so we can take our bikes further out to ride.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 12:12 am
by Jonathan
This is second time in less than three years that the cable to my shifters has frayed making it unusable.

The shifters I have are Shimano Tiagra STI, 9 speed (ST-4501? a discontinued product model, I think).

My LBS reports other people have the same problem I do. Boo Shimano. Boo.

It's about $80 to replace both cables. A replacement of the shifters I have seems to be around $200.

I wonder what shifters with the cables underneath the drop tapes instead of by the side would cost (was staring at a dude's bike on the train yesterday with that exact cabling system). I bet that would help. That, or not having shit shifters.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 5:16 pm
by Jonathan
Ugh. Hit Catriona again, fucked up my rear wheel and shifter. Replacements cost almost as much as my first hybrid did.

Re: Bicycles

Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 12:48 am
by quantus
You couldn't hit her if you were both on a tandem... You could stop poorly and take both of yourselves down though.