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I have a big head and the Giro Chronicle in the appropriate size works well for mountain bikes, and I found some purple specialized monstrosity of a road helmet that fits great and is fairly nice. It makes me look even more like a divorced dad but still very pro that helmet.
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Sep 3, 2020 03:41
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Killswitch posted:Put your helmet on or just road-crayon your loving brain on your own time New thread title please. Yesterday I just straight up forgot to put my helmet on, and I swear to god all the lovely drivers in the area received an APB to go buckwild with close passes. My commute is only a mile and I had at least four of them, half of which were within 100 feet of red lights. Wear your helmets, kids.
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Sep 3, 2020 13:18
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DeesGrandpa posted:I have a big head and the Giro Chronicle in the appropriate size works well for mountain bikes, and I found some purple specialized monstrosity of a road helmet that fits great and is fairly nice. It makes me look even more like a divorced dad but still very pro that helmet. What's the name of the purple one? Giro went to all 'universal sizing' at least on Amazon and it sucks.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:18
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Only their lowish end helmets are universal sizing, the nicer ones come in s/m/l/xl. Also there is usually a women's, men's, and an XL size on the universal fit ones. The XL giro helmets are listed at 62.5-65cm and Bell XL say 61-65btw.
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Sep 3, 2020 15:53
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Mauser posted:The psychological analysis of the driver's attitude here is interesting because I would struggle to analyze drivers' behavior in my city where I have anecdotally been yelled at for cycling in the clearly marked bus/cycling lane while stopped at a red light. Otherwise agreeing that it's always better to ride a bike than not to ride a bike regardless of helmet use and availability. I never get yelled at either on the Brompton or riding the Recumbent. Even when controlling the lane on roads like Ventura Blvd. or PCH (Brompton). I suppose size DOES matter? 
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Sep 3, 2020 19:31
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e.pilot posted:I have a stupidly large misshapen dome (7 7/8" hat size) and Giro and POC L helmets both fit my head just fine. That's good to know about the fit. I stupidly kickstarted the Park & Diamond: Foldable Bike Helmet in hopes I would have a great helmet to go along with the folding bike. https://www.park-and-diamond.com A fool and his money ...
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Sep 3, 2020 19:36
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Hello, I was inflating my tire the other day and noticed some cracks:  Does this need to be replaced? And what do I look for in a replacement tire?
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Sep 4, 2020 20:47
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Tippecanoe posted:Does this need to be replaced? And what do I look for in a replacement tire? All tires are compromises. You can't have a super light tire optimised for speed that lasts long and also have puncture resistance and good grip on all surfaces at a low price. I don't like flats and have come to trust schwalbe's tires with "plus" in the name for my e-commuter. On my road bike I care more about wet grip and comfort than speed. Odds are you'll get a tire that's a reasonable compromise geared towards at least one of the different desirable qualities as long as you get a name brand tire of some sort.
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Sep 4, 2020 21:12
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So I'm planning on becoming a winter commuter for the first time this year because COVID/public transit. How much should I expect to shell out for appropriate winter clothing?
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Sep 8, 2020 17:54
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Flip Yr Wig posted:So I'm planning on becoming a winter commuter for the first time this year because COVID/public transit. How much should I expect to shell out for appropriate winter clothing? Gonna need to know where you are. We've got British, Californian, Canadian and Winnipeg winter cyclists around here and it's a way different answer from everyone
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Sep 8, 2020 17:56
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SimonSays posted:Gonna need to know where you are. We've got British, Californian, Canadian and Winnipeg winter cyclists around here and it's a way different answer from everyone Ah, yeah. Great Lakes. It gets nasty.
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Sep 8, 2020 18:09
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I'm interested to see what your responses are, I'm also just between Lake Erie & Ontario  I just went for my first ride in a rain storm yesterday morning going to the gym and it was... actually a ton of fun? The little visor on my helmet kept the rain out of my eyes admirably. I have some super thin rain coat and the hood was big enough to go over my helmet (although it blew off immediately  ) that I kept velcrod-but-unzipped and that kept me mostly dry, hydrophobic pants didn't do much and my socks were quite wet despite the long pants + goretex shoes. Got the gym, changed, didn't really need to dry off. I wonder how much worse for wear I'd have been without fenders on though; didn't feel like they did much of anything. Yesterday being a holiday also meant I saw all of 3 cars actively driving in the financial district too which was quite pleasant - haven't had any bad interactions with cars yet in my ~month of biking 2-4x week.I've always been a "windows down regardless of weather" guy with my car, so it was just a new level of being exposed to the elements on a bike that I actually really enjoyed. The luxury of it being a choice rather than a necessity also probably helps, but now I'm curious what it's like to go biking in a snow storm.
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Sep 8, 2020 18:23
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Flip Yr Wig posted:Ah, yeah. Great Lakes. It gets nasty. Id rather ride to the north pole than the great lakes region in winter. Great lakes = damp forever. Do everything you can to stay dry. Waterproof boots. Wear wool everything so you can keep warm when you inevitably get damp. Don't worry too much about the temperature variations, it's all about dealing with the soup. Bring extra gloves and maybe even consider rubber gloves or a neoprene liner. Buy a nice fleece blanket and plenty of hot chocolate/warm cider mix so you can try to warm up when you get home. It's gonna kinda suck but once you figure out your layers it's gonna suck less and in a pretty neat way.
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Sep 8, 2020 22:52
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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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aparmenideanmonad posted:my weather preference was Milwaukee>Indy>Syracuse. I'm in Buffalo so  ?
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Sep 9, 2020 02:16
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VideoGameVet posted:
This is from a highly disputed study with a really small sample size and a dubious premise. Average passing distance doesn’t matter because all it takes is one occurrence of passing too close or someone just straight plowing into you because “I never saw him.” Individual people aren’t killed by averages. Anyway, as someone who both drives and rides bikes, I give more space when passing at low speed to riders who look wobbly or otherwise can’t hold their line. It has nothing to do with whether they’re wearing a helmet.
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Sep 9, 2020 02:19
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TobinHatesYou posted:This is from a highly disputed study with a really small sample size and a dubious premise. Average passing distance doesn’t matter because all it takes is one occurrence of passing too close or someone just straight plowing into you because “I never saw him.” Individual people aren’t killed by averages. It may be a bit dumb, but when riding solo when a car approaches behind me, if I am not in a situation where I'm just taking the lane, I will make a bit of a wobble back and forth just to make it feel like they can't pass super close. No clue if it really makes a difference.
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Sep 9, 2020 02:32
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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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drat I didn't realize Syracuse got that much more. It is pretty flat, but I'm a delicate snowflake new to biking so the ~150ft of elevation gain on my ride home from the gym is tough. That said it has gotten easier for me each week.
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Sep 9, 2020 14:12
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TobinHatesYou posted:This is from a highly disputed study with a really small sample size and a dubious premise. Average passing distance doesn’t matter because all it takes is one occurrence of passing too close or someone just straight plowing into you because “I never saw him.” Individual people aren’t killed by averages. Ah yes, this I agree with. Hence: Crazy Mikes is a tactic where you swerve left and right to get the attention of distracted motorists and keep them from crowding you. Here’s the story of “Crazy Mikes”. Mike Vanderman was an infamous anti MTB troll on forums and Usenet. However he did talk about erratic riding on the road as a way of getting motorists attention. In honor of that and one of my favorite films (The Hunt For Red October) I came up with “Crazy Mikes.” https://forums.mtbr.com/california-norcal/whatever-happened-mike-vandeman-973410-2.html
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Sep 9, 2020 15:46
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VideoGameVet posted:Ah yes, this I agree with. Hence: I am old enough to have gotten into arguments with him on rec.bicycles.off-road
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Sep 10, 2020 04:00
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When I started commuting, this thread was probably one of my biggest sources of advice and motivation. I’m wondering: are there any other good forums/discord chats/blogs etc that are good to keep up with? I’d love to have links I can easily send to non-goons who want to get into commuting more.
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Sep 15, 2020 13:59
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The reddit page is fairly popular: https://old.reddit.com/r/bikecommuting/
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Sep 15, 2020 14:04
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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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Tippecanoe posted:Does this need to be replaced? And what do I look for in a replacement tire? Invalido posted:The second picture looks like the beginning of this happening.  Rubber cracks and gets sliced all the time. What holds it all together is a carcass made of fabric. If that is starting to fail you will see bulging or loose threads. That is when you absolutely need to replace your tire.
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Sep 15, 2020 16:42
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Glad I found this thread. I began commuting back to school last week. It's not a bad path, 20.2 km round trip (some 100km a week) with bike paths the whole way through, so I feel very safe and secure. I love it and I never want to take public transportation again. I had to today, because my bike is having some small hiccups (posted in the other thread about it), but I'm sure that'll get fixed up in no time. I commute in Paris from one Parisian suburb to another. This takes me along the border of the city, over the Seine, and along some woods. Couldn't ask for a nicer route. Well the path by the woods is very poorly paved, so it's super bumpy, which is likely the source of my problems, but the air is as fresh as you can get around here. There's some crazy steep hills, because don't let anyone tell you Paris is flat, but I'll live. It helped immensely that I've been a semi-serious runner for the last 6 years or so. I use the bike share program in town to get around otherwise, since I've haven't met a person in France whose bike hasn't been stolen, so my bike goes from my basement (we don't have a bike garage) to the school's enclosed bike parking area, which is pretty well protected aside from students but if I'm going to start judging them as thieves I might as well not teach. Maybe they'll something like a spare tire, my cheap sunglasses, or a screwdriver from my bag but whatever. The racks in there are a goddamn joke just self standing thin metallic structures, but there's a tall gate with an electric lock to get in so that helps. I'll take pictures next time I remember. Anyway, best decision I've made in a while, and I'm looking forward to the rain and the winter. It never gets that cold here, probably 5 C at worst, and being from New England that's a joke, and I already experienced some poo poo weather last year during the strikes during which I used the city bikes and that was a nightmare, so now that I'm more properly equipped I'm excited to take it on. Just wish we had a real changing room at work with showers. Oh well!
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Sep 15, 2020 18:03
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I got my front wheel caught in the Google Fiber groove they've cut all around town and haven't filled in yet 
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Sep 15, 2020 19:05
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Jesse Ventura posted:I got my front wheel caught in the Google Fiber groove they've cut all around town and haven't filled in yet Yeah I hate when the city decides to work on the bike path. I mean ok, it's actually great in the long-term but it tends to throw me out into the road, and there is definitely not enough of a bike culture yet, so combine that with the Parisian drivers natural aggression and it's super intimidating.
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Sep 15, 2020 21:19
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What's the current hotness for cargo racks and mirrors? Looking to get some upgrades for my commuting.
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Sep 16, 2020 03:58
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Urzza posted:What's the current hotness for cargo racks and mirrors? Looking to get some upgrades for my commuting. Racks? Tubus
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Sep 16, 2020 04:42
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Urzza posted:What's the current hotness for cargo racks and mirrors? Looking to get some upgrades for my commuting. 
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Sep 16, 2020 04:47
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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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I wore a helmet mirror on a tour of California State Route 1. It was the dorkiest poo poo I've ever worn (this coming from a guy who wears SPD sandals). Useful but far outside the realm of 'current hotness'
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Sep 16, 2020 14:04
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Man I really wanna buy SPD sandals
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Sep 16, 2020 14:46
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So here's my set-up: Those bike-stands aren't bolted, cemented, nothing. I can kick them around. Sure they're heavy but the bars are very thing and themselves are moveable. That's probably the best one there, the others are newer but feature even thinner bars and there's another longer one that's rusted to hell and back. However they are behind this gate:   It does however open with merely a button push once inside, and frankly I'd say it's scalable with anyone with half a mind to do it. The suburb is still pretty far out from the city and if it were to be targeted it'd have to be someone in the know, like a student, but again I don't want to suspect them of anything. My bike far from the only one in there, you also have scooters and small cc motorbikes. At home since there's no where to really leave the bike, I carry it downstairs into the basement which gives it 3 locked doors to have to be gotten through (the building was broken into a few years back so not an impossibility but still). My biggest fear there is a rat deciding to nest in the saddlebags over the weekend. I'm not particularly worried I really like this commute and I think it's one of the highlights of the day. My partner's trip is far scarier as she's got some serious time with no bike path and while it's a road with 4 lanes, two on each side, it's a fast road over 40 kmh and honestly Parisians do not have a bike culture and so driver's are particularly aggressive and dangerous about it. She bikes less than I do, just shy of 8 km with me going a bit over 10km one-way.
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Sep 16, 2020 19:05
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Awww, I was hoping that you were teaching at Institut Catholique de Paris, where I went for a semester, but that doesn't look like it at all. What neighborhood is your school in if you're willing to share?
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Sep 17, 2020 02:06
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My partner got her bachelors from La Catho. That’s proper Paris and a very pretty area. Lots of my students go on to Study there too. I teach in Saint Maur. A suburb that follows the Marne, is quite well-to-do, and to the south east of Paris. Paris and it’s suburbs aren’t really that big, it’s populated and very dense so it’s good for biking. On the other hand it’s pretty hilly. Hillier than I realized anyway.
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Sep 17, 2020 11:38
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I just started commuting to my new job - 12,5 km each way. Today is my second day and God drat, my rear end was sore on the last leg of the trip this morning. I got a Bergamont Grandurance RD5, an entry level gravel bike. There's a free adjustment that comes with the bike purchase, required for the guarantee to take effect, and I'm already getting a few slips from the chain. Is this something I need to fix immediately, or can I just shift away from the gears that give me issues while I'm riding?
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Sep 18, 2020 19:47
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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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I just watched that video before my baby-steps little ride around the neighbourhood, trying to get into commuting on my bike. Park Tools is great.The Excellent OP posted:99% of very casual riders you see out there have their seat too low. 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. Today, I rode about 2.5 km just around my local streets. I'm very gradually building up to commuting, which will be about 6 km with a 70 m rise at the work end, according to Google (the university sits on a hill, most of the town is pretty flat). Just my little zip around got my breathing and heart rate up, and my quads feel (very lightly) like they were not getting stretched out enough when I coasted. I'm going to raise my seat by a little bit for the next ride, but I know my wife is going to tell me to lower it. She is firmly of the opinion that a seat should be so low both feet can be nearly flat on the ground when stopped, the bike perfectly upright not leaning to either side. I would have uncomfortable legs pretty much immediately if I ride like that. Obviously, my bike, my body, my ride, but I'm just pre-emptively whinging on the internet about a very minor thing. Anybody else get contrary advice from loved ones?
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Sep 20, 2020 05:30
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