kimbo305 posted:

• Do I need fenders? No,

McPhearson posted:

shipping being delayed again due to weather,

Oldsrocket_27 posted:

As promised, here's the before and after so far on my commuter/ around town bike, in preparation for tomorrow's forecasted 6" of snow:

Before:


After:


Still needs new brake pads and a much shorter stem, but it's rideable while I sort all that out. The parts I threw on were the quill to threadless stem converter, the free 120mm Orbea stem, and the 42 cm wide compact drops I took off my road bike. The fenders are the same Portland Design Works ones I used last year, the tires are the same 45North Gravdals I used last year.

I kind of also want to find a way to further modify the front fender to reduce interference with the shift cables, but it hasn't felt like it's having a noticeable effect yet, so I guess I don't feel too pressured to do it. Once the reach is more manageable I might drop the handlebars down a bit further too, I'll have to see how it feels.

CopperHound posted:

Mudguards are your friend. Except when they aren't.

CopperHound posted:

Let's just say there are a few edge cases where the mud is too much for them to handle.

They did a good job of keeping my water bottle clean clean until the wheels could no longer turn.

IDK if snow is capable of doing the same thing.

EvilJoven posted:

Less aero

Invalido posted:

The snow clearing crew in my part Stockholm was on point this morning! About 80% of my commute looked like this. The brine they spread out after sweeping away the snow really does a number on my chain, but chains are cheap. The other 20% is really slushy now and colder weather is coming. Things could become interesting on monday morning.

evil_bunnY posted:

Just so we're clear, Gates is amazing but you have to be OK with the IGH life, which means Shimano's that don't like torque or GERMAN-ENGINEERED, couple house payment-costing rohloff.

Leng posted:

Bike storage and access should absolutely be a non-negotiable in apartment hunting.

Unsinkabear posted:

Hello, commuting thread! What is your recommendation(s) for bike headlamps?

evil_bunnY posted:

Ursus stands are horrible pieces of poo poo so not that.

evil_bunnY posted:

Those are made better but not really wide enough. Good if you don’t have kids seats tho.

The Wiggly Wizard posted:

I just changed from a brooks leather flyer to a c17 all weather and what the gently caress why is this thing so grippy? No wonder goons are always complaining about wearing holes in their pants. It has the same texture as my handlebar grips.

Parrotine posted:

Are there any Euro goons with pockets who have tried out this thing?

https://hovding.com/

Actually looks pretty neat but they don't ship to the USA sadly. Also the price is wow!

EDIT: Aw the app to get it to sync isn't available in the USA, looks like it's a bust.

DOUBLE EDIT: Haha it only works once?! https://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/2012/08/portland_bicyclists_can_now_bu.html

marshalljim posted:

cebrail posted:

I'd like to add that a more upright position also provides a better view of your surroundings than an aerodynamic one. An aggressive drop bar road bike gets annoying really fast if you constantly have to look ahead and to your left and right imo. It's the main reason I don't use a road bike for city commuting.

wooger posted:

It’s possible, though a bit specialised to combine discs and hub gears. It’s a touring setup really, which might mean custom.

wooger posted:

You can get disc brakes with hub gears sure, but there aren’t many bikes like that about in my experience - how many people will spend ~ £1000+ on what’s essentially a hybrid bike?

wooger posted:

Besides, from what I’ve read alfine 11 is not well regarded at all.

learnincurve posted:

Hybrid is a bad bad term in 2022, it belongs 10 years ago when bad companies shoved pannier racks on bottom of the range heavy MTB frames with whatever road bike forks they had an excess of, and 700c wheels, and made a fortune because it turned out there was a demand for people who wanted to commute on flat bar.

The Wiggly Wizard posted:

Ideas for carrying a gym back on a rear rack? My back and front basket are sometimes occupied and even with a super tight bungie my gym bag flops off the side

Cugel the Clever posted:

While we're on the subject of panniers, I'm curious what folks use for groceries. I picked up these a couple years back and they work great (albeit less so for 12-packs of soda), except the S hook is too small for the girth of the rack on my new Allant. I've seen trailers in use that would probably be a little more viable for large grocery runs, though now that the rack has proven unusable for these and not great for another pannier I've got, I'm worried I'll wind up buying and returninga bunch of stuff.

cum jabbar posted:

My bike (Brilliant L-Train) wants to fall over with the kickstand with the slightest load in the panniers, which is basically the only way I ride. Any recommendations on center kickstands? Reviews of the Velo Orange offering suggest it's poorly made.

evil_bunnY posted:

The stand that came on our gen 1 GSD closely ressembled this and it was a absolute piece of garbage in the scandinavian weather.

evil_bunnY posted:

Oh that's cool, Tern must have specc'ed a loving copy to save 10 bucks or whatever.

ThirstyBuck posted:

I bought a new cheap rim from the LBS for my
old beater schwinn. Unbeknownst to me they handed me a 584 mm rim and spent a good 30 min breaking levers and cursing to get my 622 mm tire on it. Then it hit the brakes so I had to tear it all down afterwards and go back to the wobbly 622 mm wheel.

evil_bunnY posted:

I use di2 but holy poo poo never having to gently caress with shift cables/adjustment ever owns so much

kimbo305 posted:

If anything, IGHs are more sensitive to tiny issues with the shift cable than derailleurs.

EvilJoven posted:

Wait you guys clean your winter drivetrain? I just throw it in the garbage and put new stuff on.

abraham linksys posted:

* How do yall carry locks? I see that the Kryptonite locks come with a bracket, though if I get two locks, that's basically shoving 10 pounds of extra weight on the bike as I ride it. Does this get annoying in practice?

Chillyrabbit posted:

The brackets that come with the kryptonite locks are terrible and move around a lot no matter what.

You could buy a ulock bike holder, like the huldit. Or make your own it's literally some velcro straps that will be more secure than that single bracket.

Right now I'm actually waiting for the foldylock forever to actually ship as while ulocks are secure they are inflexible with shape. Not as secure as a hunk of metal but it seems pretty good for a folding lock as it gives you more flexibility in locking locations.

Groda posted:

Literally Lewis Hamilton posted:

Also for Ulocks you can stick them between your belt and pants, usually best for shorter trips:


Or there’s even belt holsters:


Commuter specific pants also can have a spot to hook the lock:

Groda posted: