does the bike path to work involve hills? if you're staying flat, I'd keep the gear numbers down. unless you really need gears, they're just another thing that can break, not to mention slow you down, which on a long commute is the last thing you want.
also, i'm assuming if most of the ride is on a bike path it's going to be very smooth for the majority of the trip. don't see a reason then to not go with road bike/skinny tires.
focusing on what your needs sound like, the only big concerns seem like they would be maximizing speed & comfort. most durability issues would come from rough city streets or non-pavement riding, imo.
all in all i'd suggest getting a used road bike off Craigslist (shouldn't be more than $350) and maybe adding on a comfortable leather seat. if you're staying totally flat i'd get a single speed, otherwise 3-7 gears.
30 miles each way. . . that's more than 2 marathon's chief. In one day.
Good luck with that.
lol
b/w
seriously though, it's admirable that O would even think of doing this. If there were decent bike paths in my city, I'd ride a whole lot more than twice a summer.
i'm in a similar situation, need a commuter, 8 miles each way, completely flat, mostly on a crushed limestone path, the rest on paved roads. would only ride 2-3 times a week only for that purpose.
found a single speed schwinn letour on craigslist for $150, is this a good price? it only has a rear break.
I know there is a lot of single-fixed backlash, but seriously, sometimes it is the tool for the job. 6 miles/day, flat? Enjoy. Quiet, not a lot of maintenance, smooth ride.
As for if $150 is the right price... I bought mine used off CList in August, and it had paid for itself in saved subway fare by December... Now, everything is gravy/maintenance.
O...youre in LA? hit up those swap meets...cypress, goldwest. go a couple weekends and not only will you find a sweet bike for under $150, but you'll find records and some dr.seuss books for the kid.
i dont know a hell a lot about bikes, but i can fix basic things (brakes, replace cables, clean out bearings, true tires) and ive been buying at fleas and reselling for years. i dont buy huffy, i feel if its relatively light weight (pick it up, youll know) lookover the parts and get use my intuition to tell me if they are cheap or not and spend around $50. out here, you can get fancy joints at the fleas for $100. usually needs tuning up.
you must have a bike savvy friend. bring them to the swaps with you a couple mornings and youll be rewarded.
props to you on the 30 mile commute. that is long. but if you go through with it, you the man
I do long(ish)-distance commuting,and I'm a bicycle technician by trade. My ride is 12.6 mies one way in hilly terrain east of the Twin Cities. I do this 4 times a week in nice weather, and can give you some pointers.
If you're serious about this big of a commute, and I think you are, you'll need a reliable bike. Spend as much as you can afford and then a lil' more. The better bike will really make the ride more enjoyable as you get more fit. The better bike won't break down and wear out as fast. This is a serious issue. Change your chain every 2000 miles. You'll want a road bike. With gears. Consider some of the more upright road bikes out now. Short top tube, taller head tube. Relaxed, but still effecient. I'll give examples if you like.
YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN SHOULD BE HOW THE BIKE FITS. I can't stress this enough. You have to be comfortable on the bike. Your upper body must be able to freely move around to use ALL the handlebar positions. Your legs must get proper extension. Your effeciency is raised and amount effort you have to exert is greatly reduced with proper fit.
Invest in bib shorts. wear something over them if you're modest.
Layered clothing is key, Buy all the good clothing you can afford
Clipless pedals. Start learning now.
Consider fenders. and a rack to carry panniers with your stuff.
And learn to change a flat.
It's awesome you're up to this O.....let me know if you need help with anything.
bike nerds are, as has been said, pretty much some of the biggest gearwhores. They fall for all sorts of trends. A three year old bike that sold for 1000 dollars can be yours for 400 bucks in an hour on CL. All the fit/bike type advice in this post is sound. Component level does matter, and it starts getting very good around the 600 dollar msrp level. Most frames are made in three factories in China, there's not as much difference in brand names as there used to be. You get what you pay for, up until about 1000 dollars. Anything over that isn't really necessary for anyone who is just looking for a bike.
I'd suggest a cyclocross or touring bike, too. They're fast enough for anyone but a roadie nerd, and you can put racks and bags on them...
Get a something for under $150 on craigslist. Check for rust, wear, setup, ect before buying. If you are mechanically inclined tune it up. Apply oil liberally.
Beater = no worries of it getting stolen Seat = Upgrade to something cushy, with that grooved out part for your junk. fenders = recommended, no water up your backside gears = 5 - 10 speed lock = get a ulock
Logistical question: if I'm rolling with a laptop, what's the best way to secure that shit in case of a crash? (If my childhood experiences with bikes are any indication, this is going to happen sooner or later).
Put it in a pannier or a padded backpack. If you are carrying it every day, you'll get tired of it sweating your back out, so a pannier is better for this.
I try and leave as much stuff as poss locked up at work doe, saves carrying it with you. Pair of jeans, shoes, fresh T's etc.
when you crash, you generally hit the ground with the front of your body first. Learn to "tuck and roll", I'm serious. I've walked away unscathed from many a serious incident like that. That being said, anything on your back would be rolled over, not a good thing for a laptop. Go with the panniers if that makes you nervous. But remember that it's more efficient to carry the weight on your body. 1 lb on your wheels is equal to 3 lbs on the bike and 7 lbs on your body.
As far as what specific bike to buy................well, there is no magic in the bike industry. no company can offer a vastly superior bike to any other company at a set price. test ride, test ride, test ride. get the one you LOVE, you'll be spending a lot of time on it.
find a shop and mechanic you trust and like.
if you want specific bike suggestions, let me know.
i can't stress the importance of clipless pedals enough!!!!!!! You get twice the "stroke" out of your pedal revolution, you can pull up, not just push down. and stiff soled shoes make sure the power goes to the bike and doesn't get lost in sole flex.
Over 30 miles, all these things add up. A LOT!!!!!
I'm very serious when I say that a 30 mile commute can be a very enjoyable, easy experience. but it'll only be that way if you do some things to make it easier on you.
What is the terrain like? Hills, gravel? Car traffic? Road, bike lane or separate path?
Logistical question: if I'm rolling with a laptop, what's the best way to secure that shit in case of a crash? (If my childhood experiences with bikes are any indication, this is going to happen sooner or later).
Throw the laptop in this jammy, maybe wrap it in a towel too.
Sorry, couldn't help it. Clearly, I'm not a serious biker.
What is the terrain like? Hills, gravel? Car traffic? Road, bike lane or separate path?
I don't know yet. It should be mostly flat based on the bike maps I've looked at but since much of this runs down the San Gabriel River bike path, I don't know what the paving will be like. I'm trying to avoid city traffic as much as possible but it's impossible to avoid for the first third.
Thanks for the advice on crashing. I don't know if I'll have the presence of mind to remember to tuck and roll but we'll see. And I guess I should look into some kind of ballistic casing for the laptop just as padded insurance (pun intended).
Sorry, couldn't help it. Clearly, I'm not a serious biker.
What is the terrain like? Hills, gravel? Car traffic? Road, bike lane or separate path?
I don't know yet. It should be mostly flat based on the bike maps I've looked at but since much of this runs down the San Gabriel River bike path, I don't know what the paving will be like. I'm trying to avoid city traffic as much as possible but it's impossible to avoid for the first third.
Thanks for the advice on crashing. I don't know if I'll have the presence of mind to remember to tuck and roll but we'll see. And I guess I should look into some kind of ballistic casing for the laptop just as padded insurance (pun intended).
the "tuck and roll" becomes totally instinctual. you'll crash, roll, and be on your feet again before you have any idea what happened. don't worry about it. timbuk2 makes a great padded laptop sleeve. then you put it in any bag you choose.
I haven't owned a bike since high school so I'm completely clueless on how to go about getting (literally) back in the saddle.
I mostly am looking for a bike to commute with; it's about 30 miles from where I live to work and there is a pretty decent bike path (along the San Gabriel river) for much of it. I don't want a mountain bike but I'm getting conflicting advice between either a road bike or a hybrid.
I'm sure Strut has its share of bike experts - any advice on what I should be thinking about in terms of what I need out of a bike?
Budget? Brands?
30 miles each way? a couple years back i bought a new bike and went to check out a bike path, it was 23 miles total. That was the first and last time for that and i was in good shape. No joke.
30 miles each way? a couple years back i bought a new bike and went to check out a bike path, it was 23 miles total. That was the first and last time for that and i was in good shape. No joke.
It's nothing I'd ever try to tackle in one fell swoop. My friend Ernest is an avid biker and he's been on biking outings with folks who start off the day, feeling pretty good, and then decide, spontaneously, "let's try a century" without having a clue of what they're getting themselves into.
I figure getting up to tackling a 30 mile ride - as a commute - is like training for a marathon. I'm not about to lace up and expect to make it through 26 miles on day one.
18 months later and I've made exactly ZERO headway. Clearly, not properly motivated. That said, my daughter has gotten to the point where me getting a bike is going to be necessary just to keep up with her (I took her down to http://www.ciclavia.org/ today and she was motoring through downtown LA...not so fast and kind of wobbly but her attitude was, "let's go farther." Anyway...
So my local mega-bike geek friend was trying to sell me a Swobo Baxter but I can't fuck with $1000+. His "budget" option was a Specialized Sirrus Sport, which I can probably get for sub-$500.
Another friend has had good experiences with this dude: http://hbbikeshop.com/ Good prices, the guy who runs it is very good at what he does but I don't know shit about racing bikes from the '80s except that most of them have steel frames rather than some (to quote an earlier joke) uber-light "unobtanium" material. I also am not crazy about drop bars but I'm assuming swapping those out for risers isn't a big deal.
Any further suggestions? If the Sirrus Sport passes basic muster, it's the path of least resistance and given the crazy rabbit hole that full-blown biking nerdery can throw you down (note: no shots), that seems like a tempting way to go.
My rides are far shorter than 30 miles. I use my dad's old 10 speed Motobecane Super Mirage. He bought it top of the line and the thing sat untouched in the basement for 30+ years. It rides like a dream. I get it tuned up once a year. I use it to take rides on the weekends and pick my daughter up from daycare a couple days a week when the weather is nice. She loves it.
A couple of points if you decide to get an older bike off craigslist though. The sun tour components on my bike are great, but finding a bike shop to fix them can be a hassle. They don't make the parts anymore so you need to be a bit more DIY sometimes. I have a great shop in Richmond, but I was doing some riding out of town this weekend and one of my shifters broke.
The area I was in is full of hills and I couldn't get out of the higher gears so I needed to fix it if I wanted to ride. I called every shop in town and only one had down tube shifters and they were shitty plastic ones $30 bucks to replace them. Most of the techs I talked to just acted like assholes on the phone, one guys was nice enough to direct me to a community bike shop. I found the right shifter on the wrong mount in their scrap pile. I was able to take it apart myself and switch out the broken internal spring and get it working, it only cost me $10 and it works even better than before.
If I had a newer bike it would have been easier to get fixed, but probably would have cost me more.
The only major thing I have upgraded on my bike is the saddle. I got a brooks and it is way more comfortable than the gel foam cutout job I used to have. It takes some riding to break it in, but is well worth it.
Don't worry about getting some magic perfect bike, any decent bike in good running shape will cut it and after you've ridden it a bunch you can modify it if you want. Just figure out what style bike you want and buy one
Agonizing over this decision is keeping you from riding.
Don't worry about getting some magic perfect bike, any decent bike in good running shape will cut it and after you've ridden it a bunch you can modify it if you want. Just figure out what style bike you want and buy one
Agonizing over this decision is keeping you from riding.
No doubt but this is my process whenever I embark into a new (and costly) product realm. I mean, I've gone 21+ years without a regular bike. Another few weeks ain't gonna kill me. And I'd rather buy something now and not have to futz around with it down the road. Customization sounds like a deep deep hole I'm trying to avoid falling into. Not because it's meaningless; I'm just aware of how obsessive it can get (esp. knowing my personality).
That all said, I'm aware that my price ceiling actually works in my favor since I'm cutting myself out of the mid/high end of the market.
from the sound of it, i would just get a single speed. if you get the right ratio, you won't ever have to worry about shifter maintenance, which is the reason so many people have bikes wasting away in garages. that's the reason "fixies" are so popular, but there's no reason you can just get a track frame with a coaster bottom bracket. look for a used surly. you can probably get a great one for $600.
I considered that but that doesn't make sense to me given the topography I live in. I don't need 20 gears but at least 7-8 would make sense.
Honestly a basic derailleur set-up isn't that hard to work on. There are enough decent videos online to walk you through basic fixes, and unless you are really hard on your bike you won't have to do much to keep it working smoothly.
I overheard a girl at the community bike shop saying how she wanted a fixie. This was in Charlottesville Virginia, which is basically one giant hill after another. She said it would just be easier in a lot of ways. Easier to walk it around maybe. Topography is very important in picking the right bike.
Comments
also, i'm assuming if most of the ride is on a bike path it's going to be very smooth for the majority of the trip. don't see a reason then to not go with road bike/skinny tires.
focusing on what your needs sound like, the only big concerns seem like they would be maximizing speed & comfort. most durability issues would come from rough city streets or non-pavement riding, imo.
all in all i'd suggest getting a used road bike off Craigslist (shouldn't be more than $350) and maybe adding on a comfortable leather seat. if you're staying totally flat i'd get a single speed, otherwise 3-7 gears.
thats the fourth time ive heard that this week....
lol
b/w
seriously though, it's admirable that O would even think of doing this. If there were decent bike paths in my city, I'd ride a whole lot more than twice a summer.
LOL!
found a single speed schwinn letour on craigslist for $150, is this a good price? it only has a rear break.
As for if $150 is the right price... I bought mine used off CList in August, and it had paid for itself in saved subway fare by December... Now, everything is gravy/maintenance.
i dont know a hell a lot about bikes, but i can fix basic things (brakes, replace cables, clean out bearings, true tires) and ive been buying at fleas and reselling for years. i dont buy huffy, i feel if its relatively light weight (pick it up, youll know) lookover the parts and get use my intuition to tell me if they are cheap or not and spend around $50. out here, you can get fancy joints at the fleas for $100. usually needs tuning up.
you must have a bike savvy friend. bring them to the swaps with you a couple mornings and youll be rewarded.
props to you on the 30 mile commute. that is long. but if you go through with it, you the man
If you're serious about this big of a commute, and I think you are, you'll need a reliable bike. Spend as much as you can afford and then a lil' more. The better bike will really make the ride more enjoyable as you get more fit. The better bike won't break down and wear out as fast. This is a serious issue. Change your chain every 2000 miles. You'll want a road bike. With gears. Consider some of the more upright road bikes out now. Short top tube, taller head tube. Relaxed, but still effecient. I'll give examples if you like.
YOUR BIGGEST CONCERN SHOULD BE HOW THE BIKE FITS. I can't stress this enough. You have to be comfortable on the bike. Your upper body must be able to freely move around to use ALL the handlebar positions. Your legs must get proper extension. Your effeciency is raised and amount effort you have to exert is greatly reduced with proper fit.
Invest in bib shorts. wear something over them if you're modest.
Layered clothing is key, Buy all the good clothing you can afford
Clipless pedals. Start learning now.
Consider fenders. and a rack to carry panniers with your stuff.
And learn to change a flat.
It's awesome you're up to this O.....let me know if you need help with anything.
I went to meeting today w/ my Skyscraper managers - and i axed him about under 1000 dollar bikes - dude said JAMIS.
bike nerds are, as has been said, pretty much some of the biggest gearwhores. They fall for all sorts of trends. A three year old bike that sold for 1000 dollars can be yours for 400 bucks in an hour on CL. All the fit/bike type advice in this post is sound. Component level does matter, and it starts getting very good around the 600 dollar msrp level. Most frames are made in three factories in China, there's not as much difference in brand names as there used to be. You get what you pay for, up until about 1000 dollars. Anything over that isn't really necessary for anyone who is just looking for a bike.
I'd suggest a cyclocross or touring bike, too. They're fast enough for anyone but a roadie nerd, and you can put racks and bags on them...
Beater = no worries of it getting stolen
Seat = Upgrade to something cushy, with that grooved out part for your junk.
fenders = recommended, no water up your backside
gears = 5 - 10 speed
lock = get a ulock
Plus you can find cheap models all over Craigslist. I rocked a Jamis road bike that I got for $70 from some old dude in Marin a few years back.
This is what I rock these days (cost me $450 a few years ago):
http://www.marinbikes.com/2010/bike_specs.php?serialnum=207
I try and leave as much stuff as poss locked up at work doe, saves carrying it with you. Pair of jeans, shoes, fresh T's etc.
As far as what specific bike to buy................well, there is no magic in the bike industry. no company can offer a vastly superior bike to any other company at a set price. test ride, test ride, test ride. get the one you LOVE, you'll be spending a lot of time on it.
find a shop and mechanic you trust and like.
if you want specific bike suggestions, let me know.
i can't stress the importance of clipless pedals enough!!!!!!! You get twice the "stroke" out of your pedal revolution, you can pull up, not just push down. and stiff soled shoes make sure the power goes to the bike and doesn't get lost in sole flex.
Over 30 miles, all these things add up. A LOT!!!!!
I'm very serious when I say that a 30 mile commute can be a very enjoyable, easy experience. but it'll only be that way if you do some things to make it easier on you.
What is the terrain like? Hills, gravel? Car traffic? Road, bike lane or separate path?
Throw the laptop in this jammy, maybe wrap it in a towel too.
Sorry, couldn't help it. Clearly, I'm not a serious biker.
I don't know yet. It should be mostly flat based on the bike maps I've looked at but since much of this runs down the San Gabriel River bike path, I don't know what the paving will be like. I'm trying to avoid city traffic as much as possible but it's impossible to avoid for the first third.
Thanks for the advice on crashing. I don't know if I'll have the presence of mind to remember to tuck and roll but we'll see. And I guess I should look into some kind of ballistic casing for the laptop just as padded insurance (pun intended).
raer break > rear break
the "tuck and roll" becomes totally instinctual. you'll crash, roll, and be on your feet again before you have any idea what happened. don't worry about it. timbuk2 makes a great padded laptop sleeve. then you put it in any bag you choose.
30 miles each way? a couple years back i bought a new bike and went to check out a bike path, it was 23 miles total. That was the first and last time for that and i was in good shape. No joke.
Good for you if you can stick with it.
It's nothing I'd ever try to tackle in one fell swoop. My friend Ernest is an avid biker and he's been on biking outings with folks who start off the day, feeling pretty good, and then decide, spontaneously, "let's try a century" without having a clue of what they're getting themselves into.
I figure getting up to tackling a 30 mile ride - as a commute - is like training for a marathon. I'm not about to lace up and expect to make it through 26 miles on day one.
So my local mega-bike geek friend was trying to sell me a Swobo Baxter but I can't fuck with $1000+. His "budget" option was a Specialized Sirrus Sport, which I can probably get for sub-$500.
Another friend has had good experiences with this dude: http://hbbikeshop.com/ Good prices, the guy who runs it is very good at what he does but I don't know shit about racing bikes from the '80s except that most of them have steel frames rather than some (to quote an earlier joke) uber-light "unobtanium" material. I also am not crazy about drop bars but I'm assuming swapping those out for risers isn't a big deal.
Any further suggestions? If the Sirrus Sport passes basic muster, it's the path of least resistance and given the crazy rabbit hole that full-blown biking nerdery can throw you down (note: no shots), that seems like a tempting way to go.
A couple of points if you decide to get an older bike off craigslist though. The sun tour components on my bike are great, but finding a bike shop to fix them can be a hassle. They don't make the parts anymore so you need to be a bit more DIY sometimes. I have a great shop in Richmond, but I was doing some riding out of town this weekend and one of my shifters broke.
The area I was in is full of hills and I couldn't get out of the higher gears so I needed to fix it if I wanted to ride. I called every shop in town and only one had down tube shifters and they were shitty plastic ones $30 bucks to replace them. Most of the techs I talked to just acted like assholes on the phone, one guys was nice enough to direct me to a community bike shop. I found the right shifter on the wrong mount in their scrap pile. I was able to take it apart myself and switch out the broken internal spring and get it working, it only cost me $10 and it works even better than before.
If I had a newer bike it would have been easier to get fixed, but probably would have cost me more.
The only major thing I have upgraded on my bike is the saddle. I got a brooks and it is way more comfortable than the gel foam cutout job I used to have. It takes some riding to break it in, but is well worth it.
Agonizing over this decision is keeping you from riding.
No doubt but this is my process whenever I embark into a new (and costly) product realm. I mean, I've gone 21+ years without a regular bike. Another few weeks ain't gonna kill me. And I'd rather buy something now and not have to futz around with it down the road. Customization sounds like a deep deep hole I'm trying to avoid falling into. Not because it's meaningless; I'm just aware of how obsessive it can get (esp. knowing my personality).
That all said, I'm aware that my price ceiling actually works in my favor since I'm cutting myself out of the mid/high end of the market.
Honestly a basic derailleur set-up isn't that hard to work on. There are enough decent videos online to walk you through basic fixes, and unless you are really hard on your bike you won't have to do much to keep it working smoothly.
I overheard a girl at the community bike shop saying how she wanted a fixie. This was in Charlottesville Virginia, which is basically one giant hill after another. She said it would just be easier in a lot of ways. Easier to walk it around maybe. Topography is very important in picking the right bike.