The comment I left in the other thread was much wittier than this one.
Do you cycle while wearing ice skates?
I have this vague memory that Bromptons have different pedals. One folds and the other doesn't. Is it one particular pedal that is breaking, am I crazy, or does your Brompton just hate you?
3 is right. This time, it was the non-foldy pedal that broke, and I think it was the non-foldy pedal last time as well. What happened is that a couple of screws worked loose and fell out, and the rectangular 'frame' that forms the outside of the pedal was swinging freely, attached only at the end farthest from the bike. I didn't notice this had happened (that is, it happened quietly, while I was riding), and putting my weight on my foot bent the thin aluminum frame all to hell.
I still have a vague interest in seeing if I am capable of making the ride to work, at least for the summer. I also have no bike and a strong interest in not being hit by a car.
I can't tell you anything about traffic, I've got a bike path almost all the way. But other than that, I can't recommend it more. It's really, really pleasant opening and closing the workday with a longish bike ride.
You could have seriously injured yourself! Lawsuit!
Are Bromptons known for this kind of thing?
I don't know if Brompton's are known for that, but any very lightweight bike or any tool made out of thinnest possible steel/metal is going to be prone to that. The lighter the weight, the less resilient they are.
What happened is that a couple of screws worked loose and fell out, and the rectangular 'frame' that forms the outside of the pedal was swinging freely, attached only at the end farthest from the bike.
OTOH, what you need here is a new pedal and some threadlocker, so the screws won't come loose. Again.
m, is it made in china?
It's really, really pleasant opening and closing the workday with a longish bike ride.
Maybe, but I find taking the bus really lowers expectations and makes the rest of the day seem more cheerful.
I'm no expert, but this is the Internet! So: you could get some "loctite" type stuff to stop the screws working loose. If that brand isn't available this is just a spray-on or paste that locks threads. You don't want the super strength stuff 'cause at some point you might want to change the pedals.
Furthermore! Pedals should have different hand screws depending on which side of the bike they're on. This is a fun fact that trips up amateur (*cough*) cycle mechanics. Turning the pedals should actually tighten the pedal, not make it looser. You should probably sue however made your bike.
Turning the pedals should actually tighten the pedal, not make it looser.
I haven't clearly described the location of the screws that came loose, but this isn't an issue. Vibration, I suppose, is, and the threadlocker stuff is a good idea, but the pedaling didn't unscrew them.
Pedals should have different hand screws depending on which side of the bike they're on
The attachment of the pedal spindle to the crank on the left side of the bike is reverse threaded. It sounds like the screws that worked out on LB are attachments of the pedal body to the spindle which would all be normally threaded.
...be normally threaded.
Clockwiseist.
(a) think you could take a picture of the pedal that failed? That would make it a lot easier to get a sense of what's going on.
(b) They sound like pretty non-standard pedals, but if the connection to the crank is standard (and you were willing to give up a little foldy-ness) you could just put some normal pedals on there. (Yep, you can.)
(c) Just to gang up on W. Breeze, one of the pedal bolts is, in fact, threaded opposite from normal, but it's not for the reason he thinks it is.
(d) This: "I don't know if Brompton's are known for that, but any very lightweight bike or any tool made out of thinnest possible steel/metal is going to be prone to that. The lighter the weight, the less resilient they are." is almost wholly useless when it comes to bicycles. The interaction between cheapness and lightness is the inverse of that stated, and the interaction between cheapness and strongness varies the same way as the interaction between cheapness and lightness. Which is to say, bicycle components generally get both stronger and lighter as they go up in price (at least until you get up to the super high end).
(e) I still have a vague interest in seeing if I am capable of making the ride to work, at least for the summer. I also have no bike and a strong interest in not being hit by a car.
Do it do it do it! You can get a bike for not much money.
16.last: Somebody has offered to give me a bike, a very old one, but good enough to see if I can ride to work. I'd rather have the extra space in the garage since I'm unlikely to ride the bike because of that whole fear of being hit by a car thing.
the pedal that failed
The title of my new novel.
This is the threadlocker to use.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=25511/Product/MEDIUM_STRENGTH_BLUE__242_THREADLOCKER
There's also a red formula, but like Breeze said, that's to be avoided if you want to be able to get them back off.
Bike mechanics will often be sort of grumpy about using threadlockers on bicycles, and will instead recommend that you grease the bolt (or in this case screw, apparently? Those sound like some cheap pedals) before tightening it down.
16(a): Your wish is my command.
Well that's plumb odd. I just checked the four different models of platform pedals I have easy access to, and none of them has a regular threaded screw there (three have a single molded piece and the fourth (a fancy old-school pedal) has two rivets where those have one screw). I would replace the pedals, if you can live without the folding one. It doesn't seem like a very good design.
21: My office has the same carpet.
Bike mechanics will often be sort of grumpy about using threadlockers on bicycles, and will instead recommend that you grease the bolt
Definitely this. I just had to remove the pedals on one of my bikes to regrease the threads. There is no reason that the connection of the spindle to the crank arm should need thread locker. Other screws on the bike would be candidates for thread locker though.
There is no reason that the connection of the spindle to the crank arm should need thread locker.
This would not be the connection to be locked. If you look at the picture, the screws (maybe bolts? I never looked at them before they were gone) are on the sides of the pedal.
I would replace the pedals, if you can live without the folding one. It doesn't seem like a very good design.
This seems true. That looks like a cheap, barely functional pedal.
And there are nice platform pedals out there.
I just called the shop where I bought it, and they'll put a regular pedal on for me. The one that broke is the nonfoldy one, so I'll just leave the foldy one as is, and have a stronger one on the other side.
Were I to be slightly more serious about pedal recommendations, I would first try to get you to consider clipless, then try to get you to consider these, then once both of those failed recommend pedals like these (which actually should work fine with the holdfasts).
This would not be the connection to be locked. If you look at the picture, the screws (maybe bolts? I never looked at them before they were gone) are on the sides of the pedal.
Yeah I know. I was responding more too other earlier posts that seemed to say you might want to put thread locker there. I was just trying to head off any confusion. In short, thread locker on connection to crank arm bad. Anywhere else probably not a bad idea.
then once both of those attempts to convince you failed
Just by way of comparison, a friend recently sent me this link with the subject,"ultimate platform pedals?"
I want.
On the other hand, these are much more reasonably priced and the one pair that I got seemed good.
bicycle components generally get both stronger and lighter as they go up in price
I was talking to a cousin of mine who makes space ships, and he got to rhapsodizing about high end bike materials. He was saying that his space ship company could never make anything so nice for so cheap. Of course, they only ever make one of something, so they never get the advantage of mass production.
33.1: What's with the included jar of funny bolts?
Sifu, your link in 27 isn't loading for me, but given the name, I desperately want to see them. They sound like the sort of thing I'd like.
Huh, I have no idea what happened to the links in 27 and 30.
none of them has a regular threaded screw there
Mine (Shimano, I think, with clip on one side and clipless on the other) do, but I've never had any issues with them. People on this forum mostly agree on not liking their Brompton pedals, but for other reasons. If you don't need the foldability on the other one, you're probably best off swapping them out.
Those holdfast things are toe clips?
39: more or less, yeah. They fill the same role.
On the other hand, these are much more reasonably priced and the one pair that I got seemed good.
Platform pedals with spikes, great. You need to wear special shoes so you don't fuck up your other pairs, but you also don't get the benefit of going clipless.
I have these. I actually can't figure out if the holdfast straps would work on them—based on the installation instructions it looks like not.
(Sifu, the last link in 30 is broken.)
29:so I'll just leave the foldy one as is, and have a stronger one on the other side.
But then you'll ride in circles.
I think Bromptons have quite a few proprietary components. You might be able to swap the problem pedals out for something a bit better. For instance, there's a Shimano pedal that's double sided: SPD clips on one side, flat on the other.
Mmm. The store that sold me the bike appears to be run by obsessive lunatics who would know this sort of thing, so I plan to show up there after work, and tell them to sell me something that won't break again. And maybe ask about toe clips or similar -- are they really a big plus?
Platform pedals with spikes, great. You need to wear special shoes so you don't fuck up your other pairs, but you also don't get the benefit of going clipless.
Your pedals also appear to have spikes. I don't think the ones on the platform pedal are, like, sharp enough to puncture a leather sole or anything.
As #38: if you're putting down enough weight / power to break pedals, you really should give clipless pedals a go. And maybe a bigger chainring or something.
44: toe clips are a small plus. Hold fasts are apparently a relatively big plus, as long as you tighten them down. Clipless pedals are a huge plus, but require special shoes.
All of the technical issues are another reason why I don't take-up cycling. It's like cars back before computers, Jiffy Lube, and weird plastic bits came and gave me an excuse for not being able to work on the thing myself.
48: there are plenty of bike shops who will be willing not only to work on your bike, but to convince you that it's for the best that you don't.
Your pedals also appear to have spikes
Eh, there are little, uh, protuberances, but they're pretty thick and flat.
All of the technical issues are another reason why I don't take-up cycling.
Why don't you "take-up" correct hyphenation?????
51: Every morning I wake up and say, "Today is the day I'll stop over using the hyphen." It's a journey, not a destination.
50: if you look at the enlarged view, so are the "spikes" on the platform pedals. Plus, they look removable.
46: I weigh about 160 -- I think that's around 11 1/2 stone to you people -- and I'm not going alarmingly fast or anything. I don't think there's anything remarkable at all about the stress I'm putting on the pedals, just that they appear to suck.
Which is to say, bicycle components generally get both stronger and lighter as they go up in price
Whenever I'm tempted to upgrade my nice bike in order to shave off a pound or two of frame or component weight here or there -- and god knows bike component pr0n is a wonderful world of engineering -- I have to remind myself that by far the cheapest and most effective way to decrease the total weight-to-be-moved value by, say, 20lbs, would be for me to lose 20lbs.
Meanwhile, Brompton! Brompton, Brompton, Brompton! What a great word. I took my Brompton to the Homptons.
Further to 54: If that sounded touchy, it's because the bike shop guy said the same thing when I said this was the second pedal I'd broken: "You must be very strong." Honest, I'm not doing anything weird, just riding at a very moderate rate of speed.
Sifu -- thanks for backing me up on the "spikes" question. They really aren't anything that would mess up a show. And they are generally removable, but I've never felt the desire to do so.
I have to remind myself that by far the cheapest and most effective way to decrease the total weight-to-be-moved value by, say, 20lbs, would be for me to lose 20lbs.
These aren't completely comparable. On one hand losing weight yourself may be better because it will do more to lower the center of gravity. On the other hand I love having a light bike and one of the advantages is that, it's frequently the case that you're effectively absorbing a shock from the bike (of hitting a bump, for example) with your knees, and the lighter the bike is the less shock it generates.
There's also the difference between rotating mass and static mass, but that's probably less important.
There's also the problem of how hard it can be to lose 20 lbs.
I like to think of any extra weight I'm carrying as making my bike ride more effective as a workout. Sure, I'd lose weight if I wanted to, but that would just be wimpy.
60: You go faster downhill, too. Wee!
You could always just add weights to the bike.
That would be ostentatious. Sure, I'm powerful enough to rend my bicycle limb from limb, even without meaning to, but I don't want to show off.
63: Plus, Randians might think you were making a Harrison Bergeron reference and then try to talk to you. No one should have to endure such pain.
Have any of you tried these pedals?
If you add mass to the Earth, you can increase the weight to the bicycle without any change to the bicycle itself.
16: (d) This: "I don't know if Brompton's are known for that, but any very lightweight bike or any tool made out of thinnest possible steel/metal is going to be prone to that. The lighter the weight, the less resilient they are." is almost wholly useless when it comes to bicycles. The interaction between cheapness and lightness is the inverse of that stated, and the interaction between cheapness and strongness varies the same way as the interaction between cheapness and lightness. Which is to say, bicycle components generally get both stronger and lighter as they go up in price (at least until you get up to the super high end).
Well, let us say that it ought to be that way which is not the same thing as saying it IS that way.
For instance (econ time, kids!), last August all the dog food manufacturers took all their standard sizes and reduced weight by about 25%. They left the price the same though. It's the 90's in reverse: instead of making stuff 20% larger for FREE (no price increase!), now they're making stuff 25% smaller with no price decrease. I love oil-cost driven recessionary pressures. So perhaps Brompton pushed things a bit too far.
At any rate, when the same peddle busts on the same side twice in just 1500 miles, there's something wrong due to manufacturer error. It's either a design flaw (too lightweight) or a manufacturing error (the design is right but the casting/creation process is off or flawed somehow). I've never heard of or seen a bike with a broken pedal, much less two, even though I've seen every other kind of breakdown. A normal, healthy human being weighing 160 pounds should not break a pedal absent some bizarre exertion.
It could be that the fold up pedal is better made than the other pedal due to the designers being (excessively?) worried about that pedal, so much so they forgot about the other pedal. OR it could be that LB (excessively?) favors one leg over the other on the down stroke. Or maybe they outsourced the fucking pedal and the pedal design just sucks. Whatever. It shouldn't do what it just did, twice. ;)
As for the thread locker, welp, if machine screws work themselves loose from a part (any part) due to minor normal usage, and that happens twice, you need something to fix it. That something would almost certainly thread locker. I wasn't thinking about the pedal shaft threading proper because I understood LB to be talking screws on the side of the pedal not the main shaft (which is threaded to wind tighter). Sorry if that seemed to go without saying.
m, yeah, the blue stuff should work
I snapped a pedal spindle on my folding bike (the cheap, mostly plastic ones that came with it) and for now particular reason decided I stick with folding pedals on the folding bike. These are all metal and the closer-to-one-piece body should avoid the the problem you experienced. I do have the Shimano double-sided ones mentioned above (platform and SPD sides) on a few other bikes. If you're at all interested in trying clipless, they are a wonderful option and will still allow you to ride with normal shoes on other occasions.
Have any of you tried these pedals?
I haven't personally, but I have read a review saying you don't get a strong enough force to really make it useful.
Christ. Ok, the copy editors can have the rest of the fuckups, but I did mean to add that I've been very pleased with the MKS folding pedals thus far.
Hi, diffuser. Nice to see a new face here.
Clipless makes me nervous -- I'm not the least clumsy person out there, and I picture having to break my fall with my face because I couldn't get my feet loose from my pedals. This may be a silly fear, but I can't see investing in clipless pedals because of it.
That probably is a bit silly. Everyone who learns to ride clipless falls over (almost always when coming to a stop because you forgot to clip out ahead of time), but you'll inevitably break your fall with a soon-to-be-bruised hip, not your face. But, it's definitely the looking stupid in traffic part that hurts most.
73: I clearly don't understand the terminology here. Clipless pedals hold your feet to the pedal, but without a clip?
They are called clipless because they secure your feet to the pedal without the use of toe clips and straps
What do they call regular pedals that, as the sage Sting taught, show how much they love feet by not restraining said feet in any manner?
74: See, that doesn't sound much better. I like the whole 'not falling over at all' kind of bike riding.
Platform pedals. Clipless pedals require special shoes with metal cleats on the sole that snap into a slot on the pedal, derived from ski-binding technology.
78: It'll probably happen one or two times before unclipping one foot as you come to a stop becomes ingrained habit. After that, it's all gains from increased power transfer and the ability to pull the pedal on the upstroke, which is enormously valuable when climbing.
LB: Practice riding around in a moonbounce until the habit sticks.
I was thinking maybe I'd just tie sofa cushions all over myself instead.
I can't figure out what part of your hand I'm looking at in that picture. (I think it's your hand--the flesh-colored thing towards the top of the photograph.)
This was probably answered back in the original LB bike threads, but is there any reason why you have a folding bike? Given that you use it for a commute on a paved bike path I'd think you'd want a road bike. And yes, clipless pedals are the way to go. Even clips make a big difference over plain pedals. Just first spend some time in the store practicing getting in and out on a bike stand, then ride around a bunch on a parking lot or a paved area of a park without many people, and you'll be fine unless you have really fragile bones in which case you probably shouldn't be biking anyways.
You wouldn't fall over using clipless pedals, though. Not even once. You start out by paying extra attention and eventually get so used to them that unclipping at the appropriate moment becomes almost automatic.
83: Index, middle, and ring fingers counting from left to right, thumb pointing from upper left to lower right in front of them.
84: Folding means that I can put it in my office, rather than locking it to insufficient bikerack space a couple blocks away and having it stolen. It's not just about leaving it for the day -- I never know when I'm working late, so being able to ride in in the morning, and leave the bike in my office overnight, is very useful. I'd hate to leave a bike locked outdoors for a couple of days in Manhattan.
I am thinking about clips, or straps, which seem as if they'd be easier to get out of than clipless.
What in God's name makes the pedals in 33.1 worth that much money? Are there noticable differences among different platform pedals? Do traditional platform pedals add weight to the bike, and these save you 2 ounces, or what?
86.1: Ah, that makes sense. I thought it the thumb was part of your hand, and couldn't figure out what was going on.
Plus the not-very-often-mentioned minor benefit of being able to reverse the crank while stopped at the lights, instead of having to hook your foot underneath the pedal.
Also, if you do keep biking around the place, you will end up on a more conventional bike eventually, just because they're very enjoyable to ride. Nothing wrong with having more than one bike ...
I thought it the thumb was part of your hand
I usually think of it that way.
89: The folding bike is also a storage-space win at home. Our apartment is big by NY standards, but I'm not likely to acquire an additional bike unless I have a real need for it.
I am thinking about clips, or straps, which seem as if they'd be easier to get out of than clipless.
If you mostly just use the bike to commute, and aren't finding the commute to be too much of a struggle, exercise-wise*, what would be the point? They're more efficient, but you're not racing--all it would do is make your commute less of a workout. On top of increasing your risk of falling over and landing on your face. Is there some benefit that I'm missing?
*There was once a big hill with which you struggled. I'll concede that they might help with that, if it's still a problem.
86.3: The problem here is that in order for clips and straps to do much good, they have to be pretty tight, which can wind up making them harder to get in and out of than clipless pedals, and will require frequent adjustment depending on what shoes you're wearing that day, etc. I've definitely had more 0-mph crashes on my track bike with clips and straps than I ever have on the road bike with clipless pedals. Also, per 85, just being really mindful the first few rides can make a big difference.
85 I fell twice after I started riding around with clipless pedals - approach stop sign, slow down to a stop, pull foot out of the clip... oh shit.
86.2 Those lonely bike frames are always such a sad sight.
I usually think of it that way.
Touche.
91: More speed would be convenient -- if I could work just as hard, but get to work in, say 50 minutes rather than 70, that'd be useful.
I never had trouble adjusting to clipless pedals. It's a matter of pulling your foot off the pedal as soon as you stop pedalling rather than coasting to the stop first. That way you have forward movement to help with stability if you run into trouble, and you also have more time for the panic to set in, giving superhuman strength to overwhelm the clip-that-is-not-a-clip.
95: See, now I feel lazy. I could walk to work in 70 minutes.
92: the Hold Fasts allegedly find a way around that dilemma, as you kind of kick your foot into them and then they apparently hold pretty well. You're definitely right in general with all the points you make, though.
95: one thing to work on -- and you might already do this, but you might not -- that would definitely be easier with clipless pedals is keeping your cadence up. That lets you ride in a lower gear per the same speed, which both increases your top speed and reduces the amount of leg strength you're using per pedal stroke, which reduces the overall amount of energy you use.
In case it hasn't been made clear yet, clipless pedals are really, really easy to get out of. There's no trick to it. It's just that the motion (move your ankle laterally about 5 or 10 degrees) isn't one you would do if you didn't have clipless pedals.
Do clipless pedals actually help you go faster anywhere but on a hill?
Also, HOLY SHIT, your commute is 70 minutes? How far do you live from your office? I thought bikes were supposed to be fast?
I'm still considering trying it some day (although I probably won't, since I can't figure out where I would shower), but not if it would take much longer than the bus.
Cheapo plastic toe clips with no straps make a noticeable difference for commuting, don't require custom footwear. Yes, tighter binding is better, but this costs nothing, does not require any shoe overhead, and you don't fall over.
Do clipless pedals actually help you go faster anywhere but on a hill?
Oh, yes.
13 1/2 miles -- someone in better shape would do it much faster, obviously, but given that the subway takes 60 minutes, I don't lose a lot of time from my day.
(although I probably won't, since I can't figure out where I would shower)
That wouldn't stop me. I'm always looking for ways to get colleagues to send me an e-mail instead of coming into my office and making me minimize Firefox.
103: huh. I'm not sure how that would work. I feel like I'm generally going about as fast as my bike will let me go on any flat or downhill surface (unless I'm deliberately not, because of traffic or road conditions or whatever). Maybe I need a better bike.
101/103: It's probably not noticeable until you try an alternative, but you'd be surprised how much power and muscle twitching you devote to just keeping your foot from slipping off the pedal, especially at higher cadences. Much easier to just lock the damn things down. If you check out modern track riders, they often use clipless pedals along with straps to maintain the most secure possible connection (and provide redundancy). Of course, they have no intention or need to unclip.
106: if you're in the highest gear you can get into, and you're pedalling as fast as you can when you're on a flat, then yeah, maybe you need a bigger gear. But... how fast are you going? And what kind of bike are you riding? Does it have multiple gears?
106: Now I feel all pathetic. I pass people sometimes, honest. Not people wearing jerseys, but people in regular clothes, I'm faster than lots of them.
13 1/2 miles
That's an impressive commute.
But anyway, phew. My home is only 3.5 miles from the office, so it probably wouldn't take me nearly that long. I was worried for a minute. Now I can go back to pretending I might ride my bike to work some day.
But... how fast are you going? And what kind of bike are you riding? Does it have multiple gears?
I have no idea how fast I'm going. It's a hybrid bike, but I'm not sure what brand. It was not expensive, and is old. It has three gears.
You wouldn't fall over using clipless pedals, though. Not even once.
Oh yes you would. Oh yes I did, anyway. I learned them on a mountain bike, and had about three or four hilARious zero-speed crashes. I'd approach a drop-off I couldn't ride over, or a hill I couldn't push up (out of a wash, say), then I'd stop moving, forget I was clipped in, fail to get my foot out, and slooooowly topple over sideways, possibly wrenching my ankle or shoulder on the way down. After that (and a little adjustment so that the clip was maximally easy to pull out of) it was fine and I wouldn't go back for any kind of technical riding. Roadies always seem really bolted in to their pedals, and I've seen a few would-be trackstanders at traffic lights fall over as a consequence.
111: is it like an old raleigh or something? Does it look approximately like this?
Because if so LB'll totally smoke you when you guys race.
there's a good argument to be made that while you are actually moving, clipless pedals/clips and straps are safer than pedals without, because having your feet slip off the pedals unexpectedly is really bad. Personally, I find not being positively attached to the pedals unnerving. Having your feet on the same correct place on the pedal is also really nice; it's more pleasant and efficient and better for your knees.
I've been riding with clips since I was a kid, and not only do they feel perfectly safe, it feels weird and inefficient to ride a bike without them. The clipless dealies give you the same gains in efficiency, but I don't use them (my pedals are basically the ones in diffuser's second link in 68) only because it's hard to find non-fugly shoes with the special cleat.
I feel like a video is important, here.
116: depends how much you're willing to pay.
Does it look approximately like this?
I'm not sure how to interpret "approximately" in this sentence. It has no chain guard or fenders, and the handlebars are straight, rather than curved toward the rider. And the frame doesn't look the same, although it's not entirely dissimilar. Those wheels look bigger than mine, but that could be a quirk of the photograph. But there are enough features that are common to all bicycles that are features of both my bike and the bike in the photo that I'd probably say yes, they look approximately alike.
Plus, clipless pedals are the obvious choice if you want to wear heels to work. The picture doesn't make it obvious, but is some Minneapolis messengerette who mounted SPD cleats onto her high heels.
119: anyhow, if you had more gears you could go faster. I mean, you could also try pedaling faster, but barring that.
Man, I would be so fast with clipless pedals.
he Hold Fasts allegedly find a way around that dilemma, as you kind of kick your foot into them and then they apparently hold pretty well
Isn't this kind of the problem, though? Especially in a crash? If you have to kick your foot into them mustn't it be a trick to get your foot out again? Rotating your ankle wouldn't cut it.
123.last: no idea. People seem to like them.
I mean, you could also try pedaling faster
I might sweat.
124: But aren't those just the kind of people who are primarily concerned with whether or not their bikes can do siq barspinzzz?
First time I broke my arm in a bike fall, it was a zero speed fall, straight to the side. Didn't have clips, though.
I'm not totally convinced that's a limitation of the bicycle, Brock.
126: whatever their other faults, those people do need foot retention.
129 cont'd: and the ability to get their foot out of the strap quickly lest they topple over in front of the Wolfpack Hustle guys.
Very true, but they also, in my experience, don't at all mind falling over and probably know how to trackstand, thus eliminating the need to get their foot out of retention.
129: Mine have never parted from the ends of my ankles.
(my pedals are basically the ones in diffuser's second link in 68)
Aren't those clipless?
133: They're double-sided. I have clips attached to the platform side.
127: How'd you fall down if you were stopped and your feet weren't attached to the pedals?
And how many times have you broken your arms in bike falls?
116 I also used clips since childhood but switched to clipless seven or eight years ago. It was a very clear improvement in performance.
it's more pleasant and efficient and better for your knees
One of the reasons I haven't tried clipless pedals is that I've always heard that if you use them and your bike doesn't fit right you can really fuck up your knees.
It's important to get the cleats positioned properly, but once set it will be better for your knees. If there is no acceptable cleat position, then the problem is the fit of the bike, not the pedals.
139: I feel like I wouldn't have any idea how to do that. And I'm pretty sure my bike doesn't fit quite right, anyway. The frame is the right size, but I think the seat and handlebars probably need adjustment.
I think the seat and handlebars probably need adjustment.
Step one: buy a wrench...
buy a wrench...
And not one of those cheap ones that bends when you use it, either.
Oh, I have all the necessry tools. It's just a matter of figuring out what exactly needs to be down to them. Right now I always feel like I'm uncomfortably hunched over a bit when riding.
How do you know when your bike fits? I assume mine doesn't, because it's a weird little foldy circus act thing. But I don't know what would be better if it were different.
140: Generally, if the bike fits right you probably want the cleats at right about the ball of your foot. If you have knee problems, the answer is almost always to raise the saddle (or slide it forward on the rails a bit) until your leg is fully extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke. A decent bike shop should be willing to help you get most of these adjustments done, though they might try to talk you into one of those professional bike fittings intended for people buying custom geometry frames.
145: handlebar height is mostly a matter of personal preference. As far as seat height goes, a general rule of thumb is that, if you're sitting on the seat, your leg should be fully extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke with your heel sitting on the pedal.
This looks like an okay tutorial.
A decent bike shop
An indecent bike shop will try to sell you fishnet cycling shorts.
Although he talks about riding on a training and stuff like that, which, meh.
147: That much I knew. My seat's a hair low (are there average or taller men out there who ride Bromptons? Do they all have the extra telescoping seat post? I'm only 5'7", and I've got the seat all the way up, and it's still a bit low.) but not enough that it bothers me. I was mostly wondering about things like handlebar reach.
I actually don't like my leg to be fully extended at the bottom of a pedal stroke.
152: yeah, me either. I think diffuser might have been overstating that one.
151: did you read the tutorial? It seems fairly thorough.
152/154: according to Sifu's link, that would mean the seat is a little too high:
To find seat height, place your heels on the pedals and pedal backwards. You've found the optimum seat height when your legs are completely extended at the bottoms of the pedal strokes with your heels on the pedals (photo A). Have your helper watch for rocking hips, the sign that the seat is too high. Now, when you're actually pedaling, you'll have the perfect bend in your knees (photo B).
given that the subway takes 60 minutes
Huh. That's about how long it took me to ride the bus from work in heavy traffic, on that one awful, awful day when my car was towed, over a distance of about 10 miles.
Yeah, i left out the part about "make sure that your heel doesn't rise about your toes when extended." Sifu's link's advice about putting your heel on the pedal sounds like an easier way to reach roughly the same thing.
By the way, that link also conviced that I'd fuck my knees apart if I used clipless pedals. There's no way I could get them adjusted correctly.
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I think a bug must have bitten my eyelids. Maybe it's pollen. They're both all read and puffy and itchy. I probably appear to my cow-orkers as if I'm high as a kite. But I'm not I swear!
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Just be careful adjusting saddle height. Those seatpost binder bolts are notoriously sensitive to snapping when overtightened (especially Campy stuff. Argh). A torque wrench helps (should hold well at about 9Nm) and, from experience, should only cost about as much as 5-10 snapped bolts.
(especially Campy stuff. Argh)
Oh, the guys at the bike store were so excited when I said I wanted to replace mine with a real campy binder bolt instead of a knockoff.
My home is only 3.5 miles from the office
That's the length of my commute. I enjoy it as a bike commute (when the weather isn't too unpleasant), but compared to several of the cyclists here I feel like a piker.
159: eh, I don't think it's really a big issue. But you seem to not want to use clipless pedals, so you don't have to.
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I think I mentioned here that I'd applied to a summer program in Germany that I was very excited about. I just found out I got accepted with full funding and travel expenses paid! Yay!
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This rant is substantially correct.
168: I.. what?
But they are lightweight, and therefore breakable. They have drop handlebars, which on the plus side allow an aerodynamic riding position, but also prevent the rider from seeing where he is going. The rider pays a high price for the speed of a road bike. He must do without lights, bag, basket, or mudguards
The rest of it is no better.
Congratulations! Will you be able to get in some Eurotravel time?
All through my teenage years I rode a road bike, with mudguards, lights, a rack and panniers. So I second the WTF. It was more a touring setup than a flat out speed machine but it was still a short wheel base drop handle bar light frame skinny wheel bike.
168: How on earth do road bikes (or the track bikes he so despises) preclude lights? You can put a dynamo hub wheel on any bike you want, but most of us opt for removable LED bike lights that will work on any handlebars. Same for "mud guards" - if you don't have fender mounts on the frame, there are plenty of removable options. Also, I'm not the fittest guy in the world, but I can I'm pretty sure I've taken my track bike up every hill in San Francisco and Marin without too much difficulty.
But they are lightweight, and therefore breakable.
This guy has clearly never encountered my mixte, which is a two ton tank.
But you seem to not want to use clipless pedals, so you don't have to.
I actually do, but my knees are fragile and are already painful from past accidents, so I do worry, probably too much, about anything that could aggrevate them.
179: I think you worry too much, yes.
172 Yeah, the only time I 'broke' a bike was in a head on crash with a moped. Even then it was just the wheel. And lycra is worn to prevent chafing by loose fabric, not for weight reasons. And if you want accessories like mudguards, lights or paniers on your road bike, you can have them.
What kind of program is it, AWB? What city?
That article is actually kind of amazing in its commitment to total wrongness. Nearly every sentence contains a factual error.
182: When I was like eight years old I cracked a (BMX-type) bike frame. That's because it (successfully! if you don't count the landing) down a slide at the park.
Add "I rode" to that sentence in 185.
Of late, the unsuitability of mountain bikes and road bikes has begun to be recognised, hence the hybrid, a combination of the two. Hybrids are not quite as silly. They might feature panniers, which are like the old-fashioned saddle bags except that, hanging lower down, they can catch in the wheel;No they can't. Also, they don't hang lower than whatever the hell the "old fashioned saddlebags" that you're talking about, did. Also, any kind of bike that can take a rear rack (which is any bike) can take panniers.
and they generally have about 24 gears, which is 21 too many. Who thinks: "The perfect gear for tackling this hill is seventeenth"?Nobody, because that's not how bicycle gears work.
On the contrary, you just pull the lever, and the chain crashes over several cogs before coming to rest--you hope---on another one.No you don't, because bikes with 24 gears don't have shift levers, because they have indexed shifting, which means that you're not going to have the chain crashing over several cogs.
How old is this dude?
"He must do without lights, bag, basket, or mudguards"
and wear an all black outfit while chugging up the Hollywood Hills in light fog and before dawn.
I hadn't known it was a must, I thought the schmuck was trying for a fairly painful suicide. It took him almost a week before he disappeared.
And if you want accessories like mudguards, lights or paniers on your road bike, you can have them
Also congrats AWB.
187 I only have twelve gears but they do use the old friction levers, so occasionally this can be a problem. On the other hand, the fact that my bike is twenty years old and works just fine shows how non breakable the things are.
190: yes. You could have as many as 21 gears and have friction levers. 24, not so much.
Also (and I promise I'm not going to go through that article point-by-point discussing everything that's wrong, as much as I might want to) on what planet is it easier to get a 40 pound raleigh three-speed up a hill than it is to get a 16 pound track bike up that same hill? Does he have 9 teeth on his chainring?
Oh, god. Has this turned into another bicycle dicksizing thread? Christ. I hope you get a new, working pedal LB, either in a new, better-made style or you get to use some thread locker.
m, it's worse than linux geeks
174: Don't know yet! I hope so!
183: I'll FB message you. It's pretty specific, and they haven't announced the awards yet; I just found out because a friend of mine was on the committee and emailed me.
191 amended: I mean, I guess you could. But nobody does.
194: it seems to bother you, so you should definitely stop reading it.
I think my dad still has a bike with friction shifters, and the reason I think this is that I rode it and it sure didn't seem to have index shifters (plus I managed to get the chain off the cogs by overshifting).
I can't have reasonable fenders on my new bike ("reasonable" = the rear fender covers continues through the seat stays) and the removable ones don't really fit well over my front fork but the rear one fits fine. However, I would support a ban on brakeless fixies.
166: WunderBear!
Also, when did max compress his commenting style? I miss the brackets and the extra line.
I'm not sure how anyone is dicksizing in this thread, but allow me to mention that my bike weighs two grams and attracts chyx like mad, but it doesn't even matter because the saddle fellates me as I ride.
I still have a bike with friction shifters. I like them a lot.
197.2: race blades do work pretty well, despite not having the coverage you describe. Probably not as well as full fenders.
race blades do work pretty well
True, but then neb will have to tell his parents you-know-what.
You can tell that this Prospect thing is suspect from the overly-fastidious (not the word I want fuck fuck shit arg) c-t ligature.
The oh so witty and observant author of that screed has also written another one called "If I ruled the world, men would do housework."
He also deals quite manfully with the scourge of rectal bleeding.
Maybe his bike's the wrong size?
187: Did you notice he left out any mention of folding bikes? And recumbents! WhichweresuppressedbyTheManbecausetheyaresoawesome!
I'm 99.7% trolling, but that 0.3% is what sets me apart from the Neandertrolls.
I'm 99.7% trolling, but that 0.3% is what sets me apart from the Neandertrolls.
And well -- perhaps even expertly -- done, at that.
166: Herzlichen Glueckwuensch, Eisbaer!
Folding bikes are great for the reasons LB has detailed. More New Yorkera should get foldies. They are also quite anti-hipster (though Bromptons have hipster potential.)
New pedal acquired.
Details, woman!
213: They... have hipster potential.
I think that's also the first folding bike I've seen with drop bars.
I can't see the last link on my phone. The first two have hipster elements but are made dorky by their foldiosity
I have acquired a bicycle since the last one of these dicksizing bicycle threads! It is an amazingly rusty Schwinn whose last owner was 6'. The chain does not seem to want to stay on the gears since it groans and slips every tenth or fifteenth rotation. The previous owner suggested I take it in for a tuneup, but as I am very broke, instead I plan to take it across the Brooklyn Bridge tomorrow in lieu of buying a subway ticket. It survived a couple of nice longs trips recently; what could possibly go wrong? (Don't answer that.)
221: lubing the chain might help a bit. The slipping, unfortunately, can probably only be fixed by replacing the rear cog along with the chain.
Fortunately, that's not actually a very expensive repair on a bike like that.
And yeah, it'll probably make it across the bridge fine. Bikes are pretty darn tough.
I had a shitty Huffy that was my burning man bike that just ran, and ran, and ran, despite my treating it incredibly horribly.
You know what I like talking about? Bicycles!
No, no, it's true.
Would WD-40 work? After that, I'm down to olive oil or body lotion.
I had a bike that was slightly nicer than 221. It was stolen last week. I feel like I should report it stolen, but I've been dragging my heels because I think they're going to laugh at me for leaving it unlocked and not knowing the serial number or the wheel size.
225: I'm no expert, but I'd use WD-40 before the other two. But, the main point of WD-40 is to displace water, not lubricate.
225: eh, sort of. It'll probably work in the short term, but it will make your chain wear out sooner. On the other hand, it sounds like your chain may have long since reached that point.
Olive oil might be a better choice.
The problem with WD-40 is that it's mostly a solvent, and only a little bit a lubricant (he says, after googling briefly). It'll make your chain cleaner in the short term, but the actual lube won't really stick around for long.
229: That's what I said, before googling.
I definitely don't recommend Astroglide.
When I was a kid, we always used sewing machine oil for bikes. I have no idea if that is right or just what we had in the house.
I might have some linseed oil around.
I think linseed oil would be worse than olive oil - doesn't it get gummy when it dries out? If you had sewing machine oil, I think that'd be okay, or 3-in-1 from the nearest hardware store?
You may have missed the part about riding the bike to avoid the price of the subway.
Metafilter suggests I degrease the chain (WD-40!) and then apply a vegetable oil as a quick fix. I have some almond oil, I just remembered.
I started reading this thread from the bottom, and it looked like it was going to be a lot dirtier than it turned out to be.
Anyhow, the oil is probably not going to help with the chain skipping.
I started reading this thread from the bottom, and it looked like it was going to be a lot dirtier than it turned out to be.
I presume from this that you started with comment 231.
238 -- Yes. There was a fair amount of wishful thinking, too.
Controverial hypothesis to make this discussion less boring: bikes are pretty much the opposite of sexy. Loss of potency in men+ridiculous positions+general geekery of the activity+lycra = not sexy.
And I enjoy riding my bike.
Just from the front page. You don't have to wear Lycra, you know.
Yeah, I don't see that there's any particular relationship between bikes and sexiness, one way or the other.
You get a lot more interesting images by searching "hot girls on bicycles" than on any permutation of "hot guys on bicycles"; it's most unfair!
I feel that Jeremy Clarkson should have something funny to say about this subject, but I can't find anything.
Also, note that 240 doesn't show anyone actually riding a bike. It's not hard to look hott holding a wheel between your legs.
Isn't the idea that bike riding is profoundly unsexy and frankly kinda euro-faggy basically the bog-standard American take on it? I wouldn't have thought to describe it as controversial. I mean, I would have assumed this conception was part of the reason hipsters embraced bikes -- like dudes in girl jeans, it's a way of rejecting traditional masculine norms with actually doing anything particularly non-heteronormative.
Also, I feel that this site supports rather than undermines my thesis. How many of those pictured are engaged in the act of bicycling? (As opposed to, say, posing in lingerie next to a bicycle).
I see a lot of hot guys on Crosby St. for some reason.
How many of those pictured are engaged in the act of bicycling?
14 or so, by my count, out of 26 pictures on the front page.
Oh, I guess given 245 247 is arguable.
JM I'd have an easier time finding pictures for you if you liked dudes with muscles.
Prompted by Teo's careful analysis, I refined mine as well. The site is useful precisely because it shows both riders and non-riding models, but, with one exception, the ones who look attractive are NOT bike-riding.
I think that only the Asian-Australian shown is a possible candidate for both (a) actually bike riding, as opposed to just posing with a bike helmet over your chest or some such and (b) attractive.
To be clear, the attractiveness of all of the individuals involved is fine. But the bike-riding detracts significantly from it.
OK, my trolling is going down in flames. But jesus christ was talking about bike pedals all day boring. How do the masters of trolling do it? I want to create entertainment here, people.
Halford has never ridden behind a girl with a great ass.
I had a shitty Huffy
A bike shop near where I used to live had a sticker on the cash register that read, "If Huffy made a plane, would you fly in it?"
Dude, that's just a cleavage shot. And also, not attractive.
250, Sifu, he's wearing Lycra bike shorts. I'd be fine with the overdeveloped quads if he were sporting a nice minishort, out of I dunno, jersey cotton or something.
Yeah, but then would you be able to discern his package quite so easily?
After that, I'm down to olive oil or body lotion.
You can smell like Mario Batali on date night.
Nosflow, thank you for concisely and conclusively demonstrating my point with 258. A video is, sometimes, worth more than a thousand words. How do you make an obviously beautiful person hideous? Deck them out in awful lycra and goggles, make them lie in an awkward prone position over handlebars, and then watch them pushing the contraption forward with their legs.
This woman on a bicycle is in motion, and dressed nicely.
260.--Now that you prompt me to look more closely, Good God, did the bicycle seat do that to him?
I thought 189 was going to get people showing off their crushin' rides. Maybe it still will! Here's mine.
You can smell like Mario Batali on date night.
I quote from The Last Novel:
Unlike most Italians, Joe DiMaggio never reeks of garlic.
Life magazine matter-of-factly took note of in 1939.Not to add that he keeps his hair slick with water instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease—unquote, additionally.
The Huffy hate runs deep. Once I went by the local hipster bike shop with my Dad's shitty Murray I was temporarily riding due to my bike having been stolen. The owner dude said, "You better not bring that thing around here when we have a Huffy Toss."
What's a Huffy toss, you ask? Whenever they accumulate several Huffy bikes, the staff takes them all up to the roof and tosses 'em off.
Halford is obviously intimidated by the thought of skilled women displaying their athletic prowess.
266: I was going to go with Rachael Ray. Would that have been better?
Yes but Stanley, hipster [anything]s have continually to demonstrate, in exaggerated ways, that they discern the high and the low qualities of things in their chosen field, and that they repudiate the low.
Wrong again, Mr N. I am a longtime fan of foxy boxing.
Holy crap do the bike nerds on the internet have contempt for Schwinn Continentals. The nicest thing anyone could say about them on this one thread I looked at was that in the 1970s they were a really great transitional bike for fatasses who couldn't be trusted not to break a nicer bike.
Haters!
Hmmm. 275 is semi-persuasive. It seems that the requirements for maintaining attractiveness (or even, in some rare cases, enhancing it) while bicylcing are: (a) a cheap, non-racing bike of the beach cruiser/free bike in Copenhagen variety and (b) no lycra.
Thus eliminating 99.99% of US bike riders.
I hate to tell you, but those Copenhagen bikes are fucking expensive, for what you get. Also, if you think 99.99% of US bike rider's wear lycra you should probably leave the westside more.
From 276:
"From what I hear, that's just about every Lorikeet."
Awesome.
I don't live on the Westside! (Well, the white person's definition of the Westside -- I definitely am WS).
But even the non-lycra wearers are not generally riding those upright bicycles (and, I think, for good reason).
Also, if you think 99.99% of US bike rider's wear lycra you should probably leave the westside more.
Yeah, I see lots of people riding bikes every day, and basically none of them wear lycra.
Goddamn stupid apostrophe all up in 278. I've had apostrophe problems all day.
It's true, Copenhagen is full of people looking good on bicycles. But I think Halford has a point -- the casual, normal-clothes-wearing, leisurely-paced cyclist is going to look better than the serious cyclist.
I'm not sure what 279 is on about, though.
And I keep nearly getting run into by people riding bikes on sidewalks. The next person who rings their little bell at me to try to make me step out of the way when I'm walking on a fucking sidewalk is likely to make me violent.
I like the upright bikes for traffic and whatnot. Being able to stop and put my feet down fairly quickly feels safer.
287: I've had the same problem lately. I understand the street isn't safe on some blocks, but slow down on the sidewalk.
289: if you can put your feet down while still sitting in the saddle your saddle's too low.
Someone going the wrong way on the bike path from the caltrain station to stanford today nearly swerved into me as she bent her head all the way to one side so as better to secure her cell phone between her ear and shoulders.
It is unquestionably the case that the more people ride bikes the more idiots there are riding bikes. The easiest route home from downtown Boston for me goes along a road that's basically a bike commuting highway, and man do I get irritated. I have to keep reminding myself that it is, in fact, a good thing that more people are riding.
Around here people bike pretty much exclusively on the sidewalk, because the roads are way too dangerous. There are no bike lanes at all and the roads are narrow and crowded with very aggressive drivers. Nevertheless, lots of people do bike, so they're all over the sidewalks. It's definitely irritating to pedestrians, but I've gotten used to it.
I'm so dorky I took a glamor shot of my commuter bike posing in front of the jail.
294: that's annoying. I'll ride on the sidewalk when I have to, but I try to obey the law and ride at approximately walking pace. Actually, seeing all the oblivious people talking on cell phones while riding down one way streets the wrong way has made me temper my previous habits a lot, so I can preserve my sense of self-righteousness.
Hm. Maybe you can't see the jail in 295. Okay, it's posing in front of the hospital and train tracks.
I know, I know, Sifu, but it just feels safer in stop and go situations.
If you say so. I'd rather have the ability to accelerate quickly without having to stand on the pedals.
I'd rather have the ability to read minds.
And I keep nearly getting run into by people riding bikes on sidewalks. The next person who rings their little bell at me to try to make me step out of the way when I'm walking on a fucking sidewalk is likely to make me violent.
This is my signature peeve. Holy cats.
Oh well, yes. I guess I take that skill somewhat for granted.
This rant is substantially correct.
I am OPPOSED to that rant. I didn't even read it, but if he's objecting to the brightly colored bikes I see everywhere, he is WRONG! I love those. They're like adding cartoon colors to real life. When they go by the house in flocks, it looks like schools of tropical fish or cartoon characters or dragonflies zipped by. MORE brightly colored zingy little things should ride my streets and make the world look like the muppets.
I totally hate people who jog in the bike lane!
And, um, people who bike too fast on the bike (okay, multi-use) path where I run.
And people who just walk randomly out in the street.
And people who bike the wrong way in the bike lane.
And people who pull in front of me at red lights and then don't get a jump on the light and go all slow.
And people who don't understand that you can't actually make a left totally cutting off a bicycle even though you're in a car.
And... well, basically everybody who gets in my way, I guess.
And people who pull in front of me at red lights and then don't get a jump on the light and go all slow.
Those blackguards on Bianchis!
Someone going the wrong way on the bike path from the caltrain station to stanford today nearly swerved into me as she bent her head all the way to one side so as better to secure her cell phone between her ear and shoulders.
Appalling! And very close to where I am having problems with bicyclists on sidewalks. (Also near some of those downtown Palo Alto intersections that have "WALK BIKES" painted at every corner. Can undergrads read?)
The other night I got to jump out of the way of a girl who was wobbling obliviously but fairly quickly down the sidewalk on her bike while also chatting on the phone. I was carrying the baby at the time, which added a certain something to the experience.
And people who don't understand that you can't actually make a left totally cutting off a bicycle even though you're in a car.
Based on my understanding of physics, that is more of a "shouldn't" than a "can't."
265: It is a Brooks saddle, and it's still ass-hurtingly hard. Much as I would love to go into further detail, I can't, on account of I'm at the opera.
I hate people who are in front of me and slow—I'm going somewhere, fool!—and also people who are behind me and fast—what's your fucking rush?
309: I'm going to ahead and claim that you can't just kill somebody even if everything we know about physics, chemistry and physiology indicates that shooting them in the head will do just that.
Man, look at how drunk on words I was back in October of 2008. And what is language to me now? Simply a means of communication! Life grinds down even the best of us.
I hate people who are in front of me and slow--I'm going somewhere, fool!--and also people who are behind me and fast--what's your fucking rush?
All true! But you know what else is annoying? People who go at exactly the same speed as me! It's so creepy and stalker-like!
Ooh, I'm all freshly enraged! I want to go back in time and confiscate that girl's bike. Actually, once again this would have been a fine time to possess my imagined superpower of putting a cap in someone's ass -- not shooting them in the usual colloquial sense of the phrase, but using the power of my mind to cause a bottle cap to materialize wedged up the person's butt.
Life grinds down even the best of us
We are but an aluminum railing before life's wicked tailslide.
316: also, they're stealing your aerodynamics.
Not necessarily; they could be in front of you.
you know what else is annoying? People who go at exactly the same speed as me! It's so creepy and stalker-like!
This is totally true. If they do it while hovering within your personal space, it's not even funny-true, it's just TRUE. That shit is not right.
*froths*
Hi, I'm a crazy person. How are you?
313: O.K. But keep your eyes open anyway.
We're all mad here, rfts. Froth away. Here's a little cup for the overflow.
I had somebody almost run me over as I jogged across a crosswalk the other day, because she was on a phone and didn't particularly notice the red light. It was sucky and somewhat frightening, but I had the time and self-possession to do the "hang up the fucking phone" gesture (actually, I mouthed the words as well) while staring right at her (and as she stared back at me). It kinda made the whole thing worth it.
323: if I didn't have extraordinary situational awareness at all times while riding in traffic then how would I ever be able to flip anybody off in time?
Somebody in Asia or somewhere wants to put foam rubber on the outside of cars. He may have a point.
I shouted "Stop sign!" at a cop that did a rollthrough the other day. That felt good.
I think we should all get around in transparent but very plastic hamster balls.
Still too much trouble. We should all just stay indoors.
very plastic
For when regular plastic just won't do.
There's another flaw in 329 that I expect oudemia, for one, would readily identify.
We should all just stay indoors.
Works for me.
For when regular plastic just won't do.
I meant it should be pretty easily deformed, so as not to transmit the shock of every collision to you.
Teo's wearing his Couch Ranger uniform.
I didn't leave my apartment at all today.
I regularly ride my bike on the sidewalk for about a quarter of a block between the spot where I can cross traffic to get off the street and the entrance to the Y. When it's super busy I get off the bike and walk it, but I usually just ride slowly.
A few months ago a woman chased me down in front of the Y to yell at me about how I could kill an elderly person or a child by biking on the sidewalk. It is amazing how much more irate you can make someone calmly repeating "Thank you for bringing that to my attention" after every accusation they make.
I shouldn't talk, I barely did. Working at home is nice that REDRUM REDRUM REDRUM REDRUM REDRUM
I didn't leave my apartment at all today.
God, that sounds like such a nice luxury to me right now.
I shouted "Stop sign!" at a cop that did a rollthrough the other day. That felt good.
Same. The cop apologized. Good thing too, since I was in the crosswalk and he damned near hit me. Oh, he was looking at his computer and not the road.
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
--Thank you for bringing that to my attention
since I was in the crosswalk and he damned near hit me
This version of that got a lot of press locally.
As it should. I'm glad there was tape and a way to hold those cops accountable.
345: Cop got a slap on the wrist, IIRC.
Ticketing the guy at the hospital was a nice touch. I see the jaywalking charge was later dropped.
I was surprised when the video shows the cop and a bystander manhandling the guy back into the chair. They had no idea of the extent of the injuries or why he needed to use a chair. He could have had a pre-existing spinal injury that this worsened, etc. First aid to stop any major bleeding and to keep the guy breathing. Otherwise don't move him.
A few months ago a woman chased me down in front of the Y to yell at me about how I could kill an elderly person or a child by biking on the sidewalk. It is amazing how much more irate you can make someone calmly repeating "Thank you for bringing that to my attention" after every accusation they make.
angry people are funny. trolling people in RL is much more a wonderful luxury than being able to to tell them to fuck off.
As it happens, I'm in the market for a new bike. (I've already got plenty of outrage, thanks.) So if anyone knows anyone who has a cyclocross frame that would fit me, please do let me know.
Also, I watched a bike cop on campus do something today that seemed quite reasonable. This was unusual, I have to admit, as the campus bike cops seem to have missed the memo in which it was revealed that their fancy mountain bikes actually make their cocks bigger rather than tinier. Anyway, a pedestrian was yelling -- really, really yelling -- and poking his finger into the chest of a cyclist who had almost hit him on the sidewalk. Normally, I fall squarely into the rfts camp about such transgressions: execute the cyclist, or at least place her or him in the stocks. But this shouting-and-finger-stabbing person seemed really quite out of line, given that he hadn't actually been hit. And so I was rather pleased when the cop said, "Yes, he [the cyclist] was wrong. But you're acting like an asshole. So how about we call it even?"
I suppose Bob will be along soon to inform me that I'm a tool of the panopticon or maybe Bave will explain how this anecdote reveals which side I'm on, but I thought it rather just -- or at least just enough to pass as street justice here in Davis.
You've got to take your justice where you can find it on the streets of Davis, I hear.
We may live in a state of nature, but at least our undergrads can read. Well, a few of them can.
That's why I bring my own justice when I go to Davis.
I was semi-creeped-out to see that Gil Garcetti (yes, ex-Los Angeles-D.A. Gil Garcetti) has a series of photographs called Paris: Women and Bicycles. I don't know why it feels creepy, since the pictures (or at least the two I looked at) were entirely innocuous.
*Nobody mock me for my hyphenation. I have spent more hours this week than I care to count doing editing-by-committee, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
354.2: I doubt I'd be allowed to mock on that point.
Ari, I'm sorry that comment several months ago got under your skin. When I made it, I was worked up about stuff that wasn't about you. I agree with you about the bike cop.
No worries, Bave. Really. It only got under my skin because I think very highly of (virtual) you.
304, though less bloodthirsty, puts me in mind of this song.
Man, Dahon has its finger on the pulse of white people:
Perfect for:
- Touring in Istria
- Vineyard hopping in Napa
- Bringing high style to higher education on the way to class
That said, it does look pretty nice.
Even better: "Climbing passes in the Alps on your next business trip"!
Plus if anyone asks about it you can say "It's a Smooth Hound for a smooth hound".
Oops, almost forgot: "...laydeez".
Yabbut essear, that one doesn't have the brooks saddle or moustache bars.
Well, sure, those might seem out of place on a business trip.
How many people even know what the "Page Mill hill climb" is?
In London, folding bikes (especially Bromptons, especially in British racing green) are associated with fat bankers who got scared of using the Tube after the July 2005 terrorist attack. I was commuting then (in fact I was commuting on the tube when the attack happened, and back on the next day), and the sheer number of the things that appeared in the following weeks was amazing - the front of Waterloo Station looked like an ant's nest on the day in high summer that they start flying, with dozens to hundreds of plump chalkstripe suits unfolding, balancing perilously, and pedalling off looking like they were engaged in some unusual form of anal sex with the tiny saddle fully extended and buried in their well-fed backsides.
I'd like to report that they adapted, but in fact all that happened was that the fear dissipated over the next couple of months and they went back underground, the foldies being committed to the deep peace of the back of a suburban garage.
dozens to hundreds of plump chalkstripe suits unfolding, balancing perilously, and pedalling off looking like they were engaged in some unusual form of anal sex with the tiny saddle fully extended and buried in their well-fed backsides.
Now I need to scrub that mental image from my brain.
354: Actually, I rather like those photos.
The main lesson seems to be that Parisian women are incredibly well dressed, even when riding their bikes. Americans are always whining "I can't ride my bike to work because I need to wear nice clothes."
369.2: Right, in your car you can dress any old way you want.
398: it's okay, they lost a lot of weight.
Americans are always whining "I can't ride my bike to work because I need to wear nice clothes."
Nope. I can wear shitty clothes and I can stink. Nobody sees me. I can change in my office. Fear of being hit by a car is what stops me from trying.
Fear of being hit by a car is what stops me from trying.
Dude.
It's really not that big a deal.
If you see a car, avoid it.
If you see a car, avoid it.
They won't attack unless they smell the fear on you.
They won't attack unless they smell the fear on you.
Unless fear smells like flop sweat and Cool Ranch Doritos, I'm fine then.
Although you should know that carrying spray is often counter-productive.
If you see a car, avoid it.
In some cases, I don't see how I'd do that. The roads between my house and my office are usually without a shoulder or even six inches between the parked cars and the traffic. Even the roads that have labeled bike lanes aren't safe as the bike lane is used by cars passing on the right. I wish I could say that I was talking about cars passing another car stopped to make a left turn, but I'm not. The way that I would probably go has a legal bike lane that is unmarked (not even a painted lane) two years or so after they established it. It is also a hilly curve on which cars routinely reach 45 mph and there is often a steep drop immediately after the side of the road.
Even when there is physical space, there are still piles of gravel and broken glass all along the curbs. And at the end of my ride, the last few blocks would be through the crowded part of Oakland with traffic bad enough that many cyclists break the law and take the sidewalk. People do ride to work at offices near me, but to me it feels like being bounced off the lift on a double diamond slope the first time I put on skis.
One idea is to try the route on a weekend to see how it is when the traffic's less intense. Also, there are often alternative routes that aren't much longer that aren't necessarily intuitive. You could try riding a bike other places first, to get a bit used to it. But fundamentally, riding in traffic isn't as bad as it seems before you've done it.
There's riding in traffic and there's riding in traffic, though.
I... guess so? Depending on what that means.
It means that not all "riding in traffic" is the same; some of it can be pretty nerve-wracking.
Oh, sure. But even the gnarliest riding in traffic is, I would argue, not as gnarly as it seems like it must be when you've never done it before.
And more than that, it can be very hard to evaluate how nerve-wracking a given stretch of road will be if you don't ride in traffic much. Even if you do, really.
For instance, there's a stretch near my house where the cars go quite fast and there's a right-hand highway on-ramp that seems like it should be quite terrifying, but in fact the timing of the lights means there are always significant gaps between packs cars and you really never have to interact that much with drivers entering the highway.
382: True. It's partly a perspective/perception thing. While driving a car or walking, I often see motorcyclists doing things that look totally insane. While riding the bike I often did exactly those same things without any fear at all.
382: I'm sure that after I learned what I was doing it would be much easier. The transition is the problem.
385: Don't worry, it's like riding a bike.
387: I saw 378, but I thought a detailed reply was too much trouble. Since you mentioned it again, it seems to me that that rush hour on the route with the heaviest traffic would be safest (also the least pleasant). The less traveled routes would take me through the park. However, that way is full of blind corners, speeding traffic, and some of the shittiest infrastructure this side of Detroit.
The heavy traffic route (basically Forbes Ave.) has a marked bike lane for the uphill portions, better sight lines for everybody, fewer giant holes, and traffic is going slow enough that I might not die if I make a mistake. Also, EMS will get there very quickly. However, that way really doesn't have light traffic on the weekends (unless I woke up early) and I'd have to get fast enough that I could take the lane on the flat portions without creating such a slow-down that somebody crashes into me on purpose. Most of it is one lane each way.
Maybe you should get your local Critical Mass chapter to change their rides to coïncide with your commute, Moby. Strength in numbers.
Let's just say that cycle commuting is significantly slower, more expensive, and more dangerous than the bus*. I've got a boy to teach to ride, probably not until next summer, and I'll do that someplace besides the roads (start in the parking lot and move to the car-free trails).
*I get a free bus pass from work.
BTW, we recently visited Portland OR and were really impressed by the bike infrastructure. Actually, we were really impressed by most everything we saw. It looks like a great place to live.
Portland probably isn't as broke as Pittsburgh, but the bike infrastructure of Pittsburgh is getting better.
394: You can read minds. Pretty good for store bought.
391: 382 to 388, but whichever. If you don't want to, don't. If you did, you'd be fine, but it's not like I get a nickel from the government every time somebody rides a bike to work. I just personally enjoy it, and recommend it on those grounds.
392: City Council recently unanimously approved a plan to further enhance the cycling infrastructure with an aim to make bikes account for 25 percent of trips in the city by 2030. Transportation policy wonks rule in Portland.
Y'all should get in touch the next time you're here. We'll ride.
Forgive us, Jesus. We were only in town for a wedding, and had no time to arrange meet ups.
My plan is to wait until a bunch of people who aren't me demonstrate enough need to push city government to build a better cycling infrastructure. Thinking your individual effort matters, like dodging cars, is really something for young people.
Old people are content to be hit by cars.
Portland probably isn't as broke as Pittsburgh, but the bike infrastructure of Pittsburgh is getting better.
Do new lines on the street really count as "infrastructure"? The buses have had bike racks on the front for a decade or more.
I guess the cars are a bit reined in from crashing into bikes by all the new bulb-outs at major intersections.
i'd use my bike a lot more, but i live up a few stories of tight stairs and so there isn't really anywehre to store it, except my balcony. getting it out would take like 10-15 minutes. i need to burgle some banker's home, apparently.
hey, for stuff that doesn't work: if my (old winxp) computer stopped responding for no apparent reason, didn't boot right until i used 'last known good configuration', is there anything in particular i should do to prevent future problems? i'm running check disk and backing some stuff up, anything else?
I love seeing bikes on balconies of flats. They always lift my spirits a little for some reason. I'd like to live in a flat - I like being up high - but it's hard to find one large enough for a larger family, let alone all their bikes.
Having been saying for the last year or so that I would probably get a bike when my youngest was good enough at cycling that we could actually use them to do useful things, I am now getting a bit impatient at her. She can ride a bike, but has grown out of one and totally refuses to ride a bigger one.
My son has been doing triathlon training all winter, and has his first actual one in a few weeks. He's got a mountain bike, which is fine when they're training in the park, and will be fine for the majority of this summer's races which are on grass, but about half of the time they train at the velodrome, which is hard-going for him. So now he wants a road bike too. At 9. Talk about starting young - I don't hold out much hope for him.
Actually the main thing on my balcony is a wood and styrofoam contraption i made to block the heat from the sunlight (being up and on teh west side, plus its a bit of a hill means it gets really hot between 6-8) while still letting in a bit of diffuse light
I thought kids always want new things. getting a new bike was a good thing. yay birthday.
plants on balconys look like spirit lifts (which sounds like the 'cheers' motion-clink), but i haven't found any interesting things i could repurpose to pots at any thrift stores. i guess i could just buy terracotta and paint it, but that sounds like work.
403.last: he's doing triathlons at 9? Good christ, find the poor kid a real sport.
402: Check the event log to see if there's a clue to what went wrong. It's under "Administrative Tools" and is often only intelligible to troglodytes wearing pocket protectors, but it's worth a try.
401.last: I thought the bulb-outs were to help pedestrians and people waiting for the bus. And because suburban Pitt/UPMC employees always parked too close to the corner.
404.2 - yeah, I am just amused at the bike-nerdiness starting at such a young age. Yes Ernest, *obviously* you need two bikes.
405 - I'm still not sure where he came up with the idea of triathloning. He's a good swimmer, but apart from that not a brilliant natural athlete, and he seems to really enjoy himself. Training is very friendly and supportive too, not competitive. Could not bear it if he had got into football - the parents are horrendous. These are a nice bunch.
So, when are you going to have a baby so we can tell you how to raise it?
Training is very friendly and supportive too, not competitive. Could not bear it if he had got into football - the parents are horrendous.
Football seems to be uniquely bad in this respect, tbh. Both in terms of the competitiveness demanded of the kids, the ruthlessness of the coaching, and the assholery of the parents.
Football seems to be uniquely bad in this respect
Tennis gives it a good run for its money.
411: It's not that scary at the start. At least for the dude.
412: Hee. For the record though, I wasn't "yikes"-ing at *that*.
re: 410
Maybe, yeah. I only know tennis as an occasional telly watcher.
Ironically, martial arts -- the sports I know best as an insider, rather than observer -- aren't really like that at all. Although 'traditional' ones have their own bullshit to get over, I suppose.
So, when are you going to have a baby so we can tell you how to raise it?
They're littering the streets around here. Lemme see if I can go grab one.
They're pretty slow. Shouldn't be too much of a challenge.
I'll bring animal crackers as bait.
Bring candy. As all babies know, strangers have the best candy.
Don't worry, I'll yank it away at the last minute.
Lemme see if I can go grab one.
I see what you're doing. Don't give me any of this 'it followed me home' crap. You can't keep it.
But look, I trained it to poop!
They can usually do that on their own, I think.
Not on command. That one's got show biz potential.
424: An aristocrat in training?
267: When will the hipsters start riding Huffys? They seems like the logical thing to ride to the store to pick up a 6-pack of PBR.
I got a new bike. You can all stop searching for a cyclocross frame that will fit me.
421, 422: Find an older one, about three, that has said "no" about 400 times in a row. Ideally, the kid will be demanding the right to throw rocks at passing cars or something. You'll have pretty good odds of being able to keep him or her.
Grr. My new pedal has lousier traction than my old pedal, and now my feet slip going up difficult hills. But I don't think I can attach any kind of toe-clip or strap to my pedals unless I get rid of the folding one. Grr. I should call the folding-bike-store guys and see if they've got a solution.
