Bike to work

ufatbastehd said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

You're a candidate for sainthood!

Quoted message said:

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.

Reasonable preparation.

Quoted message said:

Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Good, but baskets that fold might be handier

Quoted message said:

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

Some places are like that, sadly.

Quoted message said:

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Look for a generator light. Unless you work short hours
one leg of your commute will soon be in the dark. Not
too many places offer genny/LED combos, but that's what
I'd look for. Here's my homebrew:
http://www.zefox.net/~bob/bicycle/
It's lightweight compared to a hub generator and cheaper
by far.

A Lumotec headlight combined with a Shimano hub generator
would be a good choice also, my dad's Breezer uses that
system and it works very, very well.

Quoted message said:

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

How good is your health insurance? Ugly question, I realize,
but getting hurt is a real if small risk.

Quoted message said:

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

Excellent choice, but I'd add a pair of bar-end mirrors to cover
the times when the helmet mirror is absent.

bob prohaska

ufatbastehd said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Is there any inside, more secure place you can leave your bike? Even
with u-locks bikes in the city have a short lifespan before they walk
away.

Mine comes in the office with me, but you need a fairly tolerant office
for that to work.

Quoted message said:

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

You probably have some time before you have to worry about that.

Quoted message said:

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thieves, taxis, buses. Buses can be tough.

--

David L. Johnson

I believe that the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our
educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely,
if not entirely, the use of textbooks
-- Thomas Edison, 1922

Hey ufatbastard dude;

The very first thing any serious city bike commuter needs is a proper
jersey. I have a closet full of them. Germany is intimidating:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=22763&subcategory_ID=1110

Italy is for lovers:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23930&subcategory_ID=1110

Ireland is multi-purpose; good if the cop who stops you is Irish:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23770&subcategory_ID=1110

If you are on a double-secret killer mission, Army or Marines would be good
choices:

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=22201&subcategory_ID=1110

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=16761&subcategory_ID=1110

Also, here are pics of my trusty steed, note the high-security Medeco lock:

http://www.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/bike/bike1.jpg

http://www.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/bike/dinotte-tail-light.jpg

Jay the Chicago Bike Commuter (who takes no [censored] from any motorist, big or
small)

+++++++++

"ufatbastehd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

Thanks for the replies

Bob my health insurance is good(Sounds like my wife)

I'll look into indoor parking no way I can bring the bike into my
office.

Also will look into the mirrors

Thanks again

It begins tomorrow!

"ufatbastehd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

Have you considered fenders? They are really nice for keeping the puddle
grime off.

ufatbastehd said:

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

I think you've pretty much got it covered as well.

I'm not a city commuter, but do share the road with faster
moving traffic on some of my routes to/from work.

I'd recommend a decent rain suit as well as fenders.
Fenders in particular can make a world of difference
in keeping grundge off you during rides in less than
optimal weather. It's no accident most "work bikes"
come with fenders in commuting nations of Europe and
Asia.

I'd also recommend you put a head and tail light on
the bike despite your intentions not to be riding
when it is dark. You never know and even the cheap
opticubes can provide enough light to be seen by others
at intersections (which will be the most likely location
of negative interaction with the motored kind!

Get a couple blinkies for astern. Run one steady and
one flashing. Seems to catch motorists eyes better
for some reason.

Finally, since you're parking the bike outside, you may
want to consider a bike cover (depending on the likelihood
of it disappearing or not). Cover the bike and lock it
over the bike.

Not certain if a cover will slow a bike bandito or not.
It is certainly more effort disentangling a bike cover
from a locked bike than just hauling a bike off.

SMH

You are welcome.

I have an enclosed office, with walls that go all the way to the ceiling,
and a very heavy security door.

I have a storeroom behind my office, which I use as a bike repair / storage
area. Fully equipped, all tools and repair stand.

I have full ins coverage, as a civil servant. I never see a bill.

Mirrors are for punks. Shoulder checks are the best. They tell everyone
around that you are paying attention to what is going around you. There is
no doubt about it. Mirrors can be misleading, and they distort. I don't like
them, and I have tried all of them at one time or another.

Also, get rid of the rear brake, if you have rim breaks. Front rim brake is
all one needs.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus for tires. Bullet-proof for wino glass.

I ride every single day in Chicago 15 miles daily, 364 days every year.

- BIKE PUNISHER

http://www.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/

+++++

"ufatbastehd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thanks for the replies

Bob my health insurance is good(Sounds like my wife)

I'll look into indoor parking no way I can bring the bike into my
office.

Also will look into the mirrors

Thanks again

It begins tomorrow!

Grand Poobah said:

Also, get rid of the rear brake, if you have rim breaks. Front rim brake is
all one needs.

Use them both. One day your front brake cable will break, and the other one
is nice to have working (and not frozen up with gunk from disuse).
--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

ufatbastehd said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

May not help much in NYC, but Chicago recommends uglifying your bike.
Wrap electrical tape around the frame tubes under the cables. An area
of duct tape for emergency supply on top of the electric tape could
help when you need it (tire boot).

I use a cateye EL-530 as a headlight for commuting. http://eddys.com/page.cfm?PageID=493
compares various headlight.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Mirrors are for punks. Shoulder checks are the best. They tell everyone

around that you are paying attention to what is going around you. There is
no doubt about it. Mirrors can be misleading, and they distort. I don't like
them, and I have tried all of them at one time or another.<<<

The pictures of your bike from your previous post tell a different story.

j

On Jun 24, 8:20 am, Grand Poobah aka Jay Bollyn of the Great City of

Chicaguh said:

...
I have full ins coverage, as a civil servant. I never see a bill....

Related to the Daley family or your alderman?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

"Ron Hardin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Grand Poobah said:

Also, get rid of the rear brake, if you have rim breaks. Front rim brake

is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

all one needs.

Use them both. One day your front brake cable will break, and the other

one

Quoted message said:

is nice to have working (and not frozen up with gunk from disuse).

Rule of thumb. 90% of your braking is from the front brake. Only 10% is
from your rear brake. But the day you need 100% is not the day to only have
90%.

"Grand Poobah" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You are welcome.

I have an enclosed office, with walls that go all the way to the ceiling,
and a very heavy security door.

I have a storeroom behind my office, which I use as a bike repair /

storage

Quoted message said:

area. Fully equipped, all tools and repair stand.

I have full ins coverage, as a civil servant. I never see a bill.

Mirrors are for punks. Shoulder checks are the best. They tell everyone
around that you are paying attention to what is going around you. There is
no doubt about it. Mirrors can be misleading, and they distort. I don't

like

Quoted message said:

them, and I have tried all of them at one time or another.

I don't have them on my current bike and am going to install them. Not
those wimpy things you see on bikes but small motorcycle mirrors. Since I
have extensive MC experience it appears I don't have the same problem you
have with mirrors but I do not have any experience in cars running over me
from the rear when I change lanes either.

Quoted message said:

Also, get rid of the rear brake, if you have rim breaks. Front rim brake

is

Quoted message said:

all one needs.

And you need to continue using those drugs. Darwinism at work.

Quoted message said:

Schwalbe Marathon Plus for tires. Bullet-proof for wino glass.

I ride every single day in Chicago 15 miles daily, 364 days every year.

Yah, right. And I once raced Tommy Ivo using my rubber band powered
skateboard.

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman said:

On Jun 24, 8:20 am, Grand Poobah aka Jay Bollyn of the Great City of

Chicaguh said:

...
I have full ins coverage, as a civil servant. I never see a bill....

Related to the Daley family or your alderman?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Hey Tom,

Your quote is LOL; I was rolling on the floor laughing.

BTW; to answer your question: I own them both; lock, stock and barrel.

+++ BIKE PUNISHER +++

http://orion.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/

P.S. I saw this sign recently in front of my friend's house (mounted
on a Chicago street light pole). He is quite insane:

****** MARINES PARKING ONLY ******
****** ALL OTHERS TOWED ******

Mike A Schwab said:

ufatbastehd said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

Quoted message said:

May not help much in NYC, but Chicago recommends uglifying your bike.
Wrap electrical tape around the frame tubes under the cables. An area
of duct tape for emergency supply on top of the electric tape could
help when you need it (tire boot).

Quoted message said:

I use a cateye EL-530 as a headlight for commuting. http://eddys.com/page.cfm?PageID=493
compares various headlight.

I have pre-loaded Slime tubes and heavy rubber "Mr. Tuffy" protective
strips inside the tires of my commuter. Flats can make you late for work.
And one thing that's worse than a flat is a flat in the dark or the rain,
or alongside some garshawrful road with crazy traffic and no decent place
to pull off and fix it.

Bill

__o | I used to think that I was cool, running around on fossil fuel
_`\(,_ | Until I saw what I was doing was driving down the road to ruin.
(_)/ (_) | - James Taylor

Quoted message said:

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.

Slicker, narrower tires on a MTB make for a great commuter.

Quoted message said:

Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes. Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for the day.

I like using a backpack. Clothes, pump, lock, etc go in the pack,
which means I don't have to hassle putting it on/off the bike. I used
to use a rear rack, but found it less convenient than I originally
imagined. Removing the seat is a reasonable deterrence for theft
(make the bike unrideable).

Quoted message said:

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

For evening/night city riding, a small red LED 'blinky' taillight is
usually 'adequate'. Reflective bands/clothing aren't a bad idea.
Bright white LED front lights are often enough to be seen (but not
necessarily to see....although in the city this should be less of a
problem).

Quoted message said:

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Don't forget your patch kit, spare inner tube, and mini multi-function
tool or set of allen keys. I personally *love* the Topeak Mini-6 and
it's only about $10.
For security, you may want to consider using bolt-on skewers
(available from Nashbar for $10 a set). This will not stop a would-be
thief from stealing your wheels, but it does require a bit more effort
than simple quick-release mechanisms.

One other option is the Pitlock, which is a locking skewer set.
They're expensive, but supposedly are very difficult to remove without
the key. They can be used to protect your wheels, seatpost, fork/
frontend, and brakes.

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:29:16 -0700 in rec.bicycles.misc,

ufatbastehd said:

Have a chain lock and a u lock.

forget about the u lock --- they can be broken in 5 seconds by
anyone with a 4 foot 2x4 (i saw a cannondale stolen that way in
full public view in seattle a few years ago).

if you can take the bike inside your building, do it.

David Bonnell napisa³(a):

Quoted message said:

I like using a backpack. Clothes, pump, lock, etc go in the pack,
which means I don't have to hassle putting it on/off the bike. I used
to use a rear rack, but found it less convenient than I originally
imagined. Removing the seat is a reasonable deterrence for theft
(make the bike unrideable).

I prefer a single pannier on the rear rack.
Backpack makes my back sweaty.

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 17:29:16 -0700, ufatbastehd <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Decided I'm going to bike to and from work aboujt 8 mi each way.
I live in NYC and have a Trek "Mountain Trek" bike that I'll use as my
commuter bike.

Just changed the tubes, bought a pump and bottle holder and seat pack
for tools and spare tires.
Have a chain lock and a u lock. BIke has a rack over the rear tire to
carry clean clothes.

Plan on removing the seat/pump/waterbottle when the bike is locked for
the day.

I don't have a light yet but will be home before dark

Any city bike commuters have any insight as to what I'm missing or
what to look out for?

Thinking about getting one of those rear view mirrors that hook up to
the helmet but other than that I think I have it all covered

I commute from Flushing to Water Street most days. It's exactly 15
miles each way and takes about 1:20 if I'm not moving quickly. But I
don't have to go to the gym when I get home. Do remember to stretch
the hamstrings however; they really need it after biking.

Summer is pretty easy to do the commute but winter is a bit harder.
We'll discuss that some time down the road if you stick with it,
though the icebiking site has good info: http://www.icebike.org/ .
The only bad part of my commute is from the QB Bridge to 34th street
where I cut over to the east side bike/ped route. Otherwise it's
pretty easy.

You likely don't need a water bottle; there are fountains in just
about all the parks. I have my pump in the rear rack trunk and it just
comes with me. I park the bike outside, but under an overhang, chained
to a fence right outside a Staples. The chain and lock stays there
year round since it's far too heavy to carry around. Over the last
four years or so I've lost two chains. One was lost when the city
removed the lamppost to which it was attached, the other was likely
stolen.

My bike, a Trek 7100 hybrid, has not been stolen. The cost was around
$300 and it likely has around 18,000 miles on it. However, the rims
have been replaced with quality wheels with double or triple butted
spokes that won't break. I used to break a spoke every three months or
so, now they don't break. Broken spokes are a pain in the butt.

You'll need to replace the chain every 1400 to 1600 miles or so. There
is a cheap gauge you can get that will show you how it is stretching.
The chain has to stay in sync with the gears or they won't work well
together.

Times-Up New York (http://times-up.org/) is a bit more radical than
Transportation Alternatives but offers free bike clinics that teach
you how to do your own repairs. Both groups are well worth joining.
The Five Boro Bike Club is also a good group, but I rarely attend
rides anymore since I do so much biking during the week.

I finally put slime tubes into both front and rear tires. I'm very
good a changing flats but it gets annoying, and is a real drag in the
winter. Since I put in the slime a few months back I've had no flats.
I also find that I need to top off the tires much less than
previously.

Watch out for those double-length buses. They're really hard to get
around. I feel like pulling out the giant cotter pin that must hold
the two halves together.

Oh, make sure that you replace knobby tires with slicks. There is
little more annoying than the rattling of knobby tires on asphalt.

As for lights, I use a Planet Bike 15w halogen with a NiMH battery
that straps onto the frame. I've thought about a hub generator but
that's too expensive to leave outside all day. I don't find that I
forget to recharge the battery and it's easy to deal with.

We're in the big city and there are really very few spots on my
commute that are actually dark. Mostly it's a matter of being seen
rather than lighting up the road. Use the Planet Bike SuperFlash for
the rear. That thing is awesome.

I actually use neon tubes (cold cathode) held onto the frame by velcro
and powered by 10 AA rechargeables during the dark season. I'll admit
that it's a bit hokey but I don't get hit:
http://www.vibelights.com/bili.html

I chain the bike through the frame and front wheel and that goes
through the fence. I have a smaller cable that goes through the seat
and the rear wheel. That seems pretty easy to cut but no one has
bothered so far.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. Have fun.