Questions for Bicycle Riders

[Pho King]

With the crazy gas prices, I decided to start riding a bike to work. I've picked up a decent bike and now I've been seeing all these accessories that I want. I'm just having a trouble deciding what to get.

I definitely want a bike computer; to see speed, distance, etc - I've seen the cateye a lot - any opinions on these?

A lso, seeing as I don't have a huffy with a kick stand anymore, I need a bike stand - something that fits in my garage.

Something like this?
http://www.rei.com/product/751357?vcat=REI_SEARCH

Any tips would be great!

 

[S Freud]

Check out the cycling link in my sig. Mainly check out the commuting section and you will find all sorts of info.

As far as the stand goes, check out performancebike.com and nashbar.com for accessories and all things bike related.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Good luck

 

[ISAslot]

As for racks, i got this one. It works fine. http://www.nashbar.com/profile...t%3A%20Storage%20Racks

 

[Dirigible]

First things first: You have your spare tube, tire levers, and patch kit in an underseat bag already? And a frame pump on your bike? Flats come all too frequently and you want to be prepared. You have your good floor pump at home? You have your basic tools and the Park web site bookmarked for repair info? Ok, good. Moving on.

I've got a cheap wired computer on my road bike and it works fine. Does everything I need. People with wireless ones seem to have trouble with 'em more often than I do. There may be advantages to wireless, but I don't know what they are.

Do you want a bike work stand like the one in that REI link, or simply a storage rack like the one ISAslot linked? A work stand is to hold your bike while you work on it. It lets you rotate the cranks so you can switch gears and adjust the derailleurs, and stuff like that. Handy to have if you'll be doing your own wrenching. There are ones significantly cheaper than that one in your REI link. You'll want one that clamps easily and has an adjustable height clamp.

If you just want a place to store it, you have all sorts of options that depend on where you're storing it. This'll be cheaper than a work stand. I just screw a big metal hook into a piece of wood and hang my bike from its front wheel, the rear wheel just barely touching the ground. The hook probably cost like $2 at a hardware store. Lots of friends put two hooks in their garage beams, and hang their bikes up out of the way from both wheels.

Edit: Took another look at the REI rack, and that doesn't look like a work stand after all. I'm a dummy. That seems to just be a really expensive storage rack. I wouldn't get that one, when there are good ones much cheaper and you can make your own easily and cheaply as well.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Dirigible
First things first: You have your spare tube, tire levers, and patch kit in an underseat bag already? And a frame pump on your bike? Flats come all too frequently and you want to be prepared.

Everyone says that, but I've never gotten a flat on my bike. Am I just lucky? Every other bike rider seems to talk about them as if it's a monthly ritual or something.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Dirigible
First things first: You have your spare tube, tire levers, and patch kit in an underseat bag already? And a frame pump on your bike? Flats come all too frequently and you want to be prepared.

Everyone says that, but I've never gotten a flat on my bike. Am I just lucky? Every other bike rider seems to talk about them as if it's a monthly ritual or something.

You're very lucky. Or you have Specialized Armadillo tires. My flats dropped to almost zero (less than one flat every thousand miles) when I started using those. I've tried many tires that claimed puncture resistance, but these actually seem to work.

 

[OdiN]

First things first:

Replace both of your tubes with those slime tubes. They are invaluable. With a normal non-slimed tube, it takes VERY little to puncture and there you are changing a tube off the side of the road and being later to work or something.

Yeah, you're on the road, but still you can have little things that poke a hole and with the slime tubes they'll just seal right up.

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: OdiN
First things first:

Replace both of your tubes with those slime tubes. They are invaluable. With a normal non-slimed tube, it takes VERY little to puncture and there you are changing a tube off the side of the road and being later to work or something.

Yeah, you're on the road, but still you can have little things that poke a hole and with the slime tubes they'll just seal right up.

Are your first things firster than my first things?

I don't like slime tubes, but some people swear by 'em. Try 'em if you're interested, OP.

Oh, and here are some pics of cheapo storage:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Dirigible/234217wl.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Dirigible/garage.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Dirigible/IMG_2.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Dirigible/IMG_1600a.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/Dirigible/P1000536.JPG

 

[mechBgon]

Regarding computers, Cateye's Velo 8 is a pretty good basic computer for a decent price. That's what I use on my commuter these days. Speed, average speed, maximum speed, trip distance, odometer, time of day, and even estimated calories burned.

As for a stand, shoot, I just lean my bikes against the wall but it might be nice to have a Park Tool consumer repair stand that you can actually use to do cleaning & maintenance on. Maybe they're not the ultimate in storage stands, but again, bikes can lean against walls just fine, or hang 'em up like in Dirigible's garage (tasty!).


Oh, and if you're commuting, you might be interested in these topics: cycling visibility info and bicycle locking info. Regarding online stores, aebike.com makes Nashbar and Performance look like bad jokes when you look at the selection. In many categories, Performance and Nashbar basically have what they could buy closeout deals on, but AEBike has the majority of what QBP carries.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: Dirigible

Originally posted by: OdiN
First things first:

Replace both of your tubes with those slime tubes. They are invaluable. With a normal non-slimed tube, it takes VERY little to puncture and there you are changing a tube off the side of the road and being later to work or something.

Yeah, you're on the road, but still you can have little things that poke a hole and with the slime tubes they'll just seal right up.

Are your first things firster than my first things?

I don't like slime tubes, but some people swear by 'em. Try 'em if you're interested, OP.

I replaced my tubes with slime tubes after I got a flat. Never gotten a flat since.

 

[Agentbolt]

We should make this an official thread or something, I bet a lot of people are doing this. Starting May 27th I'll be biking 9 miles to work each way to shave some money off the ol' gas bill. And, let's be honest, to get in shape.

I am a little worried about flats, as this is a new job I'm starting and being late in the first month would look pretty bad. I also need to figure out if they have a shower or something there, anyone have any hot tips on how to de-stink yourself if you're biking in 100 degree heat and got really sweaty on the way there?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: Dirigible

Originally posted by: OdiN
First things first:

Replace both of your tubes with those slime tubes. They are invaluable. With a normal non-slimed tube, it takes VERY little to puncture and there you are changing a tube off the side of the road and being later to work or something.

Yeah, you're on the road, but still you can have little things that poke a hole and with the slime tubes they'll just seal right up.

Are your first things firster than my first things?

I don't like slime tubes, but some people swear by 'em. Try 'em if you're interested, OP.

I replaced my tubes with slime tubes after I got a flat. Never gotten a flat since.

Self-sealing tubes don't deal with pinch flats very well, because one of the punctures will be on the rim side, and they tend to be slit-type punctures rather than pinpoint-type punctures. So if you get pinch flats, then you want the super-thick tubes commonly referred to as "thorn-proof" tubes, which are very difficult to pinch-flat. Plus slime. Specialized has these in some sizes pre-packaged as the Desert Protection tube. edit: I guess any mention of pinch flats deserves a mention of (1) keeping your tires topped off will reduce the risk, and (2) so will larger tire casings, other factors being equal.

On the other hand, they are very heavy. At the moment, my commuting bike is rolling on Panaracer Pasela TourGuard folding 26 x 1.25 tires with Continental Race 650 Light tubes, which have a combined weight of 320 grams a wheel. That's less than a typical slime tube without a tire, and as you might imagine, they accelerate pretty well due to the low rotational inertia, and cruise pretty well since they have relatively low air drag for a mountain-bike tire (they're only 29mm wide).

All things considered, I'll opt for the speed and acceleration in the spring/summer/fall seasons. Which is where our Cheetah avatar is derived from, actually... I tend to be quick off the line in traffic.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Agentbolt
We should make this an official thread or something, I bet a lot of people are doing this. Starting May 27th I'll be biking 9 miles to work each way to shave some money off the ol' gas bill. And, let's be honest, to get in shape.

I am a little worried about flats, as this is a new job I'm starting and being late in the first month would look pretty bad. I also need to figure out if they have a shower or something there, anyone have any hot tips on how to de-stink yourself if you're biking in 100 degree heat and got really sweaty on the way there?

Take a stick of antiperspirant and a few changes of underclothes to work, so you can swap out your sweaty base layers for fresh ones and reapply antiperspirant if you need to. In that kind of heat, even a modest exertion will leave you sweating profusely, so if they don't have showers, you might have to just take a really mellow pace on the way to work.

 

[Pho King]

Wow this thread grew, I thought it was going to get buried! Anyway - I actually don't have any of those things yet- spare tube, tire levers, and patch kit! I've been riding a borrowed Specialized FSR Stumpjumper to work and although it's not very fast, the cushion and being able to run over pretty much anything does have it's advantages. Now that I'm switching over to a roadie for my commute I'm a bit worried about the ride and getting flats - I have some bontrager race lite tires on my bike - should I be worried?

 

[EvilYoda]

<--Paying very close attention, as I intend to live close enough to work to bike there (albeit, it might take me a while to adjust to 100+° heat). My friend in Chicago got me hooked on biking, I can't wait to buy a good bike...and then a mountain bike...and then...and then...

 

[Jessica69]

Well, when I was much younger than my 54 years of today, I used to bike commute and did so for almost a decade. Some things I learned are all here.....antiperspirant left at work, change of undergarments at work, etc.

Get a flat repair kit.....you'll regret it if you don't. Hell when the flat finally happens and costs you so much time walking in that you miss that important meeting.....I carried two tubes, flat repair kit, and a CO2 gun/head and two of the large CO2 carts. While CO2 is not a permanent fix for flats, it is quick and great for using for a day.......

Slime can be great, but as noted it adds a lot of weight and does make a difference in your riding experience. And, as was noted, slime is rather worthless for pinch flats. And many times, you find two holes with pinch flats, matching both rim edges......tire flattens out and pinches the tube on both sides. Gives a very distinct pair of holes on tube. But you tend to see more pinch flats in mtn. bike tubes than road bike tubes.....lower air pressure in the mtn. bike tires/tubes.

I started out commuting on a mtn. bike and quickly moved to a road bike. Difference was night and day between the two.....and I had my mtn. bike equipped with some Continental mtn. bike high pressure slicks.....think they were the Grand Prix (I don't think they're made any more, but other companies like Kenda and Specialized make essentially the same thing), 26 x 1 and around 100psi.

Also, give yourself some time to adjust to commuting.....at first, you'll sweat like never before and if haven't ridden distance like that before, hurt in places like neck, etc. A month later, sweating is much reduced and no more pain.....body adjusts.

And you'll soon discover some of the "minor" roads that most car traffic ignores.....and end up getting across town faster than cars.


Lot of good cycling etailers out there........


http://www.jensonusa.com/ <---great site, watch for sales!

http://www.pricepoint.com/ <---another good site, decent prices

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/home/ <---good etailer, but more expensive like Nashbar and Performance.

http://www.cambriabike.com/ <---one of my favorite places...great prices!

http://www.thethirdhand.com/ <----the place for any/all small parts you'd ever need

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: Agentbolt
We should make this an official thread or something, I bet a lot of people are doing this. Starting May 27th I'll be biking 9 miles to work each way to shave some money off the ol' gas bill. And, let's be honest, to get in shape.

I am a little worried about flats, as this is a new job I'm starting and being late in the first month would look pretty bad. I also need to figure out if they have a shower or something there, anyone have any hot tips on how to de-stink yourself if you're biking in 100 degree heat and got really sweaty on the way there?

Take a stick of antiperspirant and a few changes of underclothes to work, so you can swap out your sweaty base layers for fresh ones and reapply antiperspirant if you need to. In that kind of heat, even a modest exertion will leave you sweating profusely, so if they don't have showers, you might have to just take a really mellow pace on the way to work.

In addition to the above, baby wipes can clean you up a bit.

(None of those pics were of my garage, sadly. I don't have a garage, merely a shed. And I only have six bikes when including road, mountain, and tandem.)

Originally posted by: Pho King
Now that I'm switching over to a roadie for my commute I'm a bit worried about the ride and getting flats - I have some bontrager race lite tires on my bike -should I be worried?

Don't be worried, just be prepared. Have the right stuff to fix a flat, practice some if you don't have much experience. It doesn't take long at all once you've fixed a few.

 

[spacejamz]

just out of curiousity for those that bike to work?

do you bring a change of clothes? do you just spray on more cologne when you get to work? i would be willing to be that most companies don't have place to shower and riding 30+ minutes would cause some perspiration...

 

[JulesMaximus]

Cateye is fine for computers. Make sure you read the manual and set it up properly for your wheel size and tire size.

As for storing the bike, I just bought 2 hooks from the hardware store that screw into a stud in the ceiling and hang the bike from them.

I'd carry a couple spare tubes with you and check your tires before each ride to make sure they have enough air in them. I ride a road bike with 700x23c tires and inflate them to 110psi. I rarely have flats, maybe a couple a year. I can change a tube on the road in a matter of minutes. Carry a small multi-tool with you as well for minor adjustments or if something loosens up.

I can shower at work so I ride in wearing cycling clothes and keep a towel, an extra pair of work shoes, and toiletries at work so I'm not carrying all that extra weight on my commute.

My commute is 10 miles one way. Most I've done it is 4 days in a row...my commute route is pretty hilly.

 

[sobriquet]

As someone who has had to deal with end-of-life wheels before, I would strongly recommend keeping a couple of spare spokes in your seat tube at all times. It's a terrible thing to have a broken spoke 10 miles from home, because you either wait for someone to come pick you up or you disengage your brake and keep riding, potentially screwing up the tension on all your other spokes. Granted it's usually a rare thing to have a broken spoke, but I had 4 of them on my old wheels within a few months. Call me paranoid.

I have a 37-mile round trip commute. I bring a change of clothes with me, and of course a stick of deodorant. My strategy is to show up at least 30 minutes in advance, which is usually enough time to totally stop sweating. I don't change my clothes before that happens. I use a wet paper towel to get the sweat salt off the skin on my face and arms, then apply deodorant, then change. Usually no one can tell that I've just exerted myself for 90 minutes.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Pho King
Wow this thread grew, I thought it was going to get buried! Anyway - I actually don't have any of those things yet- spare tube, tire levers, and patch kit! I've been riding a borrowed Specialized FSR Stumpjumper to work and although it's not very fast, the cushion and being able to run over pretty much anything does have it's advantages. Now that I'm switching over to a roadie for my commute I'm a bit worried about the ride and getting flats - I have some bontrager race lite tires on my bike - should I be worried?

Depends, what are the roads like? Are there lots of pot holes and goat heads to contend with? I ride to work on a road bike and almost never have flats.

Make sure your tires are properly inflated and not overly worn and you should be fine. Still, flats are inevitable. You can minimize the chances but you'll still get them occassionally so be prepared.

 

[Pho King]

37 mi commute?! I thought my 8mi commute was pushing it! The roads on my commute are decent - there are a couple of train tracks and a lot of debris from the trees.

Lots of great info in this thread - I have to admit I'm a bit hesitant to ride my bike now, but it's definitely better to be prepared!

Also, to make the most out of my bike - does anyone know of any good paved trails around the SF bay area?

 

[Dirigible]

Originally posted by: Pho King
37 mi commute?! I thought my 8mi commute was pushing it! The roads on my commute are decent - there are a couple of train tracks and a lot of debris from the trees.

Lots of great info in this thread - I have to admit I'm a bit hesitant to ride my bike now, but it's definitely better to be prepared!

Also, to make the most out of my bike - does anyone know of any good paved trails around the SF bay area?

Where are you? This for just general enjoyment? There are some paved trails, but with all the use they see from joggers, dog walkers, etc. I tend to mostly ride roads. There are a lot of great road rides, many without much traffic. I've lived in the Oakland/Berkeley area for most of my life and in Palo Alto for a few years, and know a lot of good rides all over the place. East Bay, Marin, Peninsula...

Here's a sample of what's available from local bike clubs. It's a link to the Oakland Yellowjackets' route sheets for rides: http://www.oaklandyellowjacket...access/routesheets.htm

 

[Pho King]

I'm down in san jose, though the peninsula is more accessible for me with caltrain. Thanks, that's a good link, I think im going to check out hellyer park.