Queercents » Commuting

Bike Commuting: Bike Locking Your Bike Pt. 2

Elizabeth — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 02:00:36 +0000

I’ve recently moved to a big city, and not just a big city, but one notorious for bike theft. I consider myself pretty good at locking bikes, but after hearing reports of how bad the theft problem is, I’ve had to up the ante, particularly since I don’t own a car and on a student budget I won’t be replacing my bike any time soon. Fortunately, I was able to substantially increase my bike’s security for under five bucks and very little extra time. Here’s how you can make your bike more theft proof.

I picked up this idea from a bike I saw chained up one day. Your bike may be well locked, but some accessories can still be vulnerable. A simple hose clamp works wonders to fix this. At the local hardware store I was able to pick up a handful for $1.49 a piece. In the picture, the rack is clamped to the seat stay, or the thin, down-slopping tube. I used them to clamp my rack as well as my frame pump to the frame. This makes the frame pump a little less convenient to use but I also don’t worry about having to replace it if it’s stolen. BikeHacks also suggests that once you find your idea seat post height, you affix a clamp flush to the tube so that you can easily slid the seat in and out when you park. This makes it more convenient to return your seat to it’s original height if you own a quick release and are constantly taking your seat out and putting it back in.

If constantly removing and replacing your seat is too much of a hassle, I simply asked the local bike co-op for an old chain and tube. Snake the chain through the tube to prevent the chain from scratching your bike or spreading grease everywhere. Run the tube/chain through the bottom of your seat and part of the frame. Using your chain tool, remove the extra links and join the chain back together. Now you don’t have to worry about locking up your saddle or removing it whenever you enter a building.

Photo Credit: Murray Corp

Bike Commuting: Energy Kick

Elizabeth — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:00:46 +0000

This post comes courtesy of a friend of mine who runs an organic, vegan, raw food restaurant. We got to talking about biking one day and he mentioned that when he’s putting in a lot of miles he likes to make his own energy gels rather than shell out for highly processed gels. The result is a tasty and nutritious snack when you’re racking up the miles on the weekend.

Vegan Energy Gels
About 40 dates, pitted
1-2 stalks of celery
A banana
Water

In a food processor, puree dates with just enough water to create gel-like consistency. Add the celery for electrolytes and the banana for flavor and potassium to keep your muscles from getting sore. Divide the gel among whatever pouches you have that are convenient and eco-friendly. Enjoy the amazingly delicious combination of good dates and a banana.

Photo Credit: Stock Xchng

Bike Commuting: Locking Your Bike

Elizabeth — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:00:50 +0000

Locking your bike well is the most important practice you can develop, even more so than maintenance (after all, what’s a well maintained bike if it’s been stolen). I have to admit that I’ve had two bikes stolen, so I’ve certainly learned my lesson. Now I can’t walk down the street and see a bike without evaluating what could be taken from it and how quickly. It’s a somewhat off putting practice, but thinking in those terms is great preventative medicine because it means that I’m well prepared to prevent potential thievery.
For this post, I think pictures speak louder than words though, so here are some cautionary tales.

Here’s a nice looking bike–note the cool frame-integrated lights– but that frame is all that’s going to be left if it catches a bike thief’s eye, since the both wheels and the seat could be removed easily. As a basic rule of thumb, if there’s a quick release, lock it up or remove it yourself–it is common practice for people with quick release seats to remove the seat while leaving the bike outside, though I personally just rely on a thin cable lock snaked through the saddle.

Even though this person has a top tube cover to protect their bike from any potential damage inflicted by locking up, they weren’t quite as lucky as the person above. The front wheel was neglected and now the front wheel is gone.

If you’re still looking to learn the most obsessive way to lock your bike, just watch Hal Ruzal as he wanders around the streets of NYC grading people’s abilities to lock their bikes. Granted, not everyone has to lock their bike up as neurotically as a New Yorker, but it’s a good practice to get into. As they say, better safe than sorry.

Stay tuned for more next week.

Photo Credit: Bike Snob NYC

Bike Commuting: Maintenance Resources

Elizabeth — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:00:19 +0000

So last week I gave a basic overview of how to fix up a bike, but if you need a little more here are some additional resources for curing what ails your bike. As one DIY repair shop pointed out, “Since it’s your hide that will get injured when the bike falls apart, learn how to repair and maintain the exposed parts yourself. After all, the bike shop won’t be there when your brakes fail in the middle of the Slickrock Trail.”

Sheldon Brown is basically the Kevin Bacon of internet bike info: if you’re searching online for information, you’ll find your way back to his sit usually in fewer than four clicks. Though occasionally confusing to navigate (Sheldon Brown passed away a few years back and the site hasn’t been updated since) it’s a got most things covered.

Park Tool is a manufacturer of bike tools so they have a vested interest in providing you with know-how that serves as incentive to buy their tools. The have awesome tools to back it up (I’m not a spokesperson for them or anything, but their multi-tool and pedal wrench have proved massively useful. The site is designed for the amateur mechanic who has a little bit of technical know-how. Fortunately, there are diagrams.

Though geared towards mountain bikes, Utah Mountain Biking generally has something for everything. Geared towards a novice mechanic, they are the owners of the motto quoted above.

If you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, my ultimate resource is the Zinn series by Leonard Zinn. His titles pun off of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” and provides fantastic exploded diagrams and easy to understand instructions comprehensive enough to strip a bike down to a bare frame and components and then put it back together again. As a backup, I take this book with me on long trips to make sure I can handle anything that comes up.

Stay tuned next week for how to keep your ride locked up.

Photo Credit: Park Tools

Bike Commuting: Cycle Maintenance Part 2

Elizabeth — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 01:00:32 +0000

If you’re looking to tackle the more advanced stuff in order to keep your ride preforming well, don’t be scared. It’s actually pretty easy. The cool thing about bikes, is that they fall within my DIY rule: I was going to pay to fix it anyway and it won’t cost me any more if I make it worse, so there’s no reason for me to not try and fix it myself. With a little time and patience even I can keep things in good running order on my bike and I was a liberal arts major in college. For the non-engineers like me, here’s a basic intro on how to deal with more challenging bike parts.

Derailleur:
This is the technical term for the mechanism that changes the gears on your bike. The one controlling the crank set–the gears attached to your pedals– is the front derailleur. The one on the cassette–the gears on your back tire– is, not surprisingly, the rear derailleur. (They may also be referred to as the front and rear mech in online tutorials.) If the gear doesn’t shift right away or you’re shifting off of the chain ring or doesn’t shift with the clicks if you have index shifters, chances are you’re going to want to tune your derailleur. Unless you’re seriously out of alignment, this is actually not terribly hard to do.
The first thing you’ll want to do is check your cable for rust and wear. You’ll also want to clean your chain and all the gears. This maintenance is easiest if you can set up your bike somewhere you can spin the pedals and change the gears. I lock my bike into a trainer, though hanging it from a stand or the ceiling works too. It’s a little hard to hold the rear wheel off the ground, shift gears and spin the pedals at the same time, so being able to suspend the back wheel is key.If your chain is shifting off of the gears, you’ll want to adjust the limit screws. This determines how far left or right the derailleur shifts. There is a screw for the high gear–labeled “H”– and a screw for the low gear–labelled “L”. Shift the chain to the respective gear and loosen or tighten the screws as appropriate to change how far the gear moves. On the rear derailleur, the “L” refers to the low gears on the big gear and the “H” refers to the little gear. The inverse is true on the front derailleur, where the “L” stands for the smallest gear and the “H” for the largest gear.
Once you’ve set your limits, you can fine tune how the gears shift by tightening or loosening the barrel adjusters on your derailleur. If you don’t see a barrel adjuster by your derailleur, it may be on the handlebars next to the shifter. As you spin the pedals, click through your gears (or approximate if you have down-tube shifters) and make sure the chain goes from gear to gear without skipping or hesitating. If it does, tweak the barrel adjuster until it shifts smoothly. I found most of this to just be trial and error (predominantly because I’m a hands-on type of learner and my difficulty translating instructions into practice is the reason I wasn’t an engineer).
Derailleur adjustment is covered in more detail on this “How To” page of guru Sheldon Brown’s website.
Brakes:
Brakes are important, so you want to test any adjustment you make in a safe environment before subjecting them to road conditions. Brake failure at speed is really unhelpful. Like the shifting, braking is controlled with cable tension, the tighter the cable the more responsive the brakes. (Disc brakes excluded here. Sorry.) You don’t however want to the brakes so tight that there are no gradients to the braking or the brake pads (called ’shoes’) are rubbing against the rim of the wheel. Though you can encounter a number of different problems, usually they have to do with the brakes being too loose or too tight.There are numerous types of brakes and so each fix is different but they generally follow a similar process.
The first thing you’ll want to do is check the brake shoes for wear. If they look worn, check with your LBS about replacing them. Like the derailleurs, brakes also have a barrel adjuster for easily adjusting tension. Tighten or loosen as necessary. If none of the above work, most brakes have a hex bolt holding the wire in place by the wheel. Disengage the brake or remove the wheel, loosen the hex bolt and tighten or loosen the cable as needed. Make sure that the hex bolt is screwed in tightly when you’re done, as it’s not very helpful if the bolt comes loose the first time you brake.

Armed with a simple bike tool (I use the one pictured above) you can do much of the regular maintenance on your bike. There are also numerous online resources to help you keep your bike in top form, but since this is getting pretty long more on that next week.

Photo Credits: Park Tool Sheldon Brown Derailleur Sheldon Brown Brakes

Bike Commuting: Routine Maintenance

Elizabeth — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:00:10 +0000

Probably one of the most important parts of an enjoyable commute is having a well-tuned bike. There’s nothing more enjoyable than speeding along with every part of your bike working in unison and there’s nothing more frustrating that hearing gears crunch or feeling the drag of a misaligned brake. All bikes are different and have different components to them, but there are several basic things you can do that require little in the way of time or experience to improve and will keep your bike from looking like the one in the picture.

Clean Your Bike
As a primer to tuning your bike, one of the most important things you can do is actually one of the easiest: clean your bike. Sometimes, this can make all the difference. One day, I was having a tough time shifting my front gear and was about to get my tools out to fix the cable tension (don’t worry if that sounds intimidating) but it turned out that the only problem I had was a massive amount of mud gumming up the works. Picking out most of it was enough to solve the problem and it was here I realized that keeping your bike clean is more than just aesthetics. Having a clean bike also helps you pinpoint what the problem is. (Admittedly, most commuters won’t be riding through six inch puddles of mud on a regular basis but it’s still a good practice.)
I clean my bike with a cheap dish soap that won’t damage the finish and a low pressure hose. Be sure to not use anything high pressure that will force water any tubes or hosing where it can cause damage. I also have a special wash cloth for drying my bike after it’s bath.

Check Your Tires
The next step I take is to check tire pressure. I’m sure many of you have heard people touting tire pressure as a way to improve gas milage, but it goes for bikes as well. If my bike drops ten PSI, I feel it because I have to work harder to go the same speed. Bike tires typically start at around the same tire pressure as cars (35 PSI for cruisers) and can go to 65 PSI on a mountain bike and 120 PSI on a road bike. That’s more than three times the tire pressure in the average car. And unlike cars, many bikes don’t have a suspension system that softens bumps, so it’s easy for air to get pushed out of the tubes.I try and make it a point to clean my bike and fill my tires at least once a week (Sunday) and more often as needed. I have a designated day because I’m pretty scatterbrained, and would forget otherwise.

Clean Your Chain
After taking care of the easy stuff I use either a chain cleaner or some WD-40 and a paper towel to clean off my chain. This eliminates the gross build-up you sometimes get on chains that leads to chain tats, or the grease-mark of a gear ring on your leg. Despite being a lubricant for just about everything else, WD-40 acts as a degreaser on a bike chain. If you have the option of using WD-40 on your chain or not using anything, don’t use anything because it’ll leave you with bare metal on metal. Just in case I didn’t say it enough, unless using it as a degreaser WD-40 IS BAD FOR YOUR CHAIN. If you have gears on your bike, make sure to get the gears in the rear derailleur (the two cogs in a parallelogram frame on the back wheel). Once you get your chain clean, use a paper towel to get as much gunk and degreaser off, and than drip chain lube into the chain while spinning the gears. If you don’t have a bike stand, this is most easily done with the bike resting on the ground on the handlebars and seat. (Make sure you cover the ground and any part of the bike that may get dripped on.) After putting a bike specific lubricant on the chain, make sure to use a paper towel to get any excess off. If there’s too much lube, it’ll just collect dust and you’ll be back at square one.
Getting sparkly clean gears and a shiney chain took about 45 minutes the first time, but has taken less than five minutes each successive clean so don’t be discouraged if it takes a long time. If, however, your chain is rusty, you’re better off replacing it than working about it snapping mid-use.

Final Check
Inspect your frame for any cracks that may cause an accident and make sure all the bolts are tight. For many bikes, this can be done with a fixed 15mm wrench, or an adjustable crescent wrench. Bike manufacturers may have disclaimers that say their warranty is voided if bolts aren’t regularly tightened. Applying a coat of wax to your bike will also help give your bike a pretty shine and keep it from rust damage, though make sure you check which type of wax you’re using because some are not intended for the finish used on bikes.

Odds are, this will take care of most issues and can be done in less than fifteen minutes. Regular basic care will ensure that your bike will keep taking care of you for a long time. If this doesn’t help, stay tuned for more maintenance tips.

Photo Credit: Stock Xchng

Bike Commuting: Staying Clean

Elizabeth — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:00:15 +0000

If you’re going to bike to work and you work at even a relatively professional place, you’re probably going to be at least somewhat concerned with keeping clean. Working at a bank, I know I do. But if you’re biking up and down hills on hot or rainy days (again, me), you’re probably going to be a little sweaty. For some readers, this may be TMI but it only becomes worse as I share more of my daily keeping clean tricks.

Clothes:
Dress appropriately for the ride- I like to wear clothes that are light and breathable- and then bring clothes to change into. Make sure that the bag they are in is water-resistant or water-proof. That’s a mistake you only make once. Thanks to the marvel of wrinkle-free shirts, it’s easy enough for me to fold my pants along the creases and then just shove a shirt in. If you’re worried about the appearance of your clothes on arrival, there are other options like this nifty bag.

Weather:
Like I mentioned the other week, having a jacket is great to protect you from the weather is convenient for remaining relatively dry as well as dirt free if, like me, you ride on paths rather than roads. I’ve also found that on wet or muddy days, long spandex pants (is there a special name for those? tights just sound too wimpy) work well for keeping the elements off your legs.

Hygiene
When I get to work my routine is great my co-workers and then retreat to the bathroom where I remove my bike clothes (I warned you) and take out a bar of soap and a wash cloth that I keep stashed in the bathroom. Using the sink I scrub down, towel off and put on work clothes. Having short hair as a result of DIY hair-cuts makes my hair easy to manage. If you can’t store toiletries at work, consider investing in a toiletries case that can fit in whatever bag you use to bring your clothes to work. A friend of mine takes a slightly different tactic and relies on a shower at the gym across the street from his place of employment.

Like much of bike commuting keeping clean will be different for everybody. These are the best ways I’ve found to present as clean and professional. Everyone’s will need tweaking based on the ride and their place of employment. Do you have any tips for keeping clean while commuting? Feel free to share in the comments below. Stayed tuned for next week’s episode on basic cycle maintenance.

Photo Credit: Stock Xchng

Bike Commuting: Staying Safe on the Road

Elizabeth — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:00:46 +0000

While on the road, it’s important to stay safe. Yes, cycling can be dangerous but so can just about everything else. (I somehow managed to wind up in the hospital when my hand was mauled by a drum kit. Life’s just crazy like that.) Fortunately, by knowing how to ride safe you decrease your chances of getting injured. As a courier friend once quipped “Blood doesn’t go with my outfit.”

To Reiterate
Helmets are good. So are lights and reflectors and being just about as conspicuous as possible. I’m too cheap to shell out for a bike jersey, but my almost painfully bright yellow “I <3 Techno” shirt fills in nicely and my rear light is so bright I’m a little concerned it’ll burn my retinas. By their powers combined, I’m pretty darn visible. Just in case, mirrors also help you know where cars are around you.

Signals
Learn your hand signals and then use them. Unless you want to put indicators on your bike or jacket.

Take a course
As Regan noted, you can check out the availability of a bike safety training course around you. Or, join a training ride through your LBS. Mine offers a ride every Tuesday to get people on the road and comfortable riding. Check your LBS for details.

If you have a bike bell–and you should–use it. Let people (and critters) know where you are.

Be Prepared
If it weren’t for the whole being female/lesbian thing, I’d be the best damn Boy Scout in the area (I tried though). Being prepared means you’re ready to deal with anything that can potentially go wrong while riding, including flat tires and inclement weather. Also, make sure your bike fits you and is well tuned.

Remember Right Angles
If you’re crossing railroad tracks or any sort of elevation change in the road, do so at a right angle. This goes for “snakes”, those long cracks that can appear in the road, as well.

Above All
Use common sense. Follow traffic laws. Don’t hang out in cars blindspots. More than anything else, being smart will keep you safe.

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned for next week’s episode on keeping clean.

Photo Credit: Bike Safety Tips

Bike Commuting: Outfitting Your Bike

Elizabeth — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:00:49 +0000

You’ve got your bike and you’ve planned your route, but before you head out you want to make sure you’re ready for everything the road can throw at you. At the advent of summer, Trek started a “Go By Bike” campaign that included a handy little diagram of things you needed for your bike. Good idea, but dumb campaign because they included things you should have that are painfully obvious (such as a seat) but neglected things like a rack or wedge pack. You probably don’t need to go as crazy as the guy in the photo but you should have the stuff you need to get you to and from your destination safely and with confidence.

A Handy Dandy Check List of Must-Haves

A helmet: I think Roland covers this one pretty well.
A Mirror: Whether you rock the handlebar or helmet kind, get a mirror and use it well. it’s key for knowing where cars are and riding safely. If you’re really into tech, this is pretty dope.
Wedge-pack: Ok, this doesn’t sound like a must have, but trust me, it’s key. This is a little pack that you fit under your saddle (bike speak for seat) and use to store tire levers, a spare tube or patch kit, and a multi-tool. With this simple pack you can take on anything. And for those thinking “I don’t really need that stuff”, getting a flat with no way to repair it can really put a damper on your day. Working for Equality Maine, we exceeded our expectations, getting triple the number of signatures we expected but my most poignant memory is getting in a fight with a curb and walking home.
Frame-pump: That spare tube isn’t going to help if you can’t put air in it.
Lights: Front and rear.

A List of Helpful Items

Fenders: BikeSnobNYC puts it better than I possibly can. Also, it’s way easier to change for work when you don’t have to scrub tons of mud off your legs.(Or is that just me?)
A pack: Messenger bag or backpack, these are low maintenance ways of transporting your stuff around. You can even hack your messenger bag.
A rack: After commuting with just a backpack for a year, I finally upgraded and am now rocking a sweet new rear rack. Using shock corda, I strap an old pack down and don’t have to worry about carrying a pack on my back which can be sweaty business.
Panniers: If shock cords and a backpack aren’t cutting it, Instructables will help you out. You could also buy panniers, but where’s the fun in that.
Cage: Hydration is good. And of course, a water bottle to go in the cage.

A List of Wearable Items

Jacket: If you’re going to be an all-weather commuter, a jacket is key. Some days there’s nothing more invigorating than the primal energy of riding all out in a rain storm, but other days it’s just lousy and cold. Be prepared for either. My jacket (except when it’s drying out) lives in the bottom of my pack.
Safety glasses or sunglasses: I habitually rock my safety goggles when I ride to and from work. Mine are the free safety goggles I saved when my former boss upgraded his stock of safety goggles but sunglasses work well too. My theory on rocking dorky free glasses is the fact that I’m going so fast I’m worried about hitting bugs makes me awesome and on days that’s not good enough, no one looks cool while biking five miles with a gnat in their eyelash.
Bike Gloves: Not necessary, but the extra padding on the palm of the glove makes the ride far more comfortable.
Bike Shorts: Ditto the not necessary but comfortable. If bike shorts are too geeky for you, check out these hacked knickers. Basically, shorts with extra padding make for a smoother ride and shorts and knickers keep your pants from getting caught in your gears/derailer/cage.

That’s it! That wasn’t so hard, was it? As a final step, spraying down all your gear with a water repellant (I used Camp Dry) will keep your work clothes dry on a rainy day, because there’s nothing worse than having to sit at work for hours in soaking wet clothes.
You’re now reading to face everything Mother Nature can throw at you. Stayed tuned for tips on staying safe on the road. If I’m missing anything, feel free to post below.

Photo Credit: Instructables

Bike Commuting: Getting a Bike

Elizabeth — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:00:59 +0000

Before we get started, a little disclosure. I commute about fifteen miles a day round trip and about three quarters of it is off road. As such, I rock a used Trek WSD mountain bike that several of my friends will tell me I have an unusually strong attachment to (no, it’s totally not weird how much I love my bike…). For me, a mountain bike best suites my purposes. But what about for you?

Mountain, Road or…Other?
Since bikes first became commercial available the types of bikes available has increased dramatically. You have your mountain bikes, your road bikes, your single speeds, your fixies, track bikes, cross bikes, cruiser bikes, touring bikes, hybrid bikes, and the the list goes on. It’s pretty overwhelming trying to decide.

If you have a bike already and are looking to start commuting, the Simple Dollar offers the sage advice that buying something in order to force the development of new behavior doesn’t work. Ok, there are exceptions to the rule but as a general note, if you’ve got a bike make it yours. Fix it, mod it, and outfit it (we’ll cover that next week) to make it your dream bike and not only will you have a gorgeous bike that you’re invested in, you’ll also have saved some cash in the process. Bike enthusiasts are well known for their DIY ethic in making their bikes unique and awesome. If you don’t have a bike on hand, keep reading.

So You’re Gonna Buy A Bike
You don’t have a bike on hand already and you need to get one. Well, slow down for a sec. Who doesn’t lust after a sleek and beautiful carbon road bike that’s Shimanoed to the nines? (I know I do) Unfortunately, bikes like that will almost always run you at least a thousand dollars and not everyone can drop that kind of money. Odds are you want something affordable and practical so here’s your (really) basic primer.

Remember that path you planned out? What type of surface is it on? Are you going to do any riding other than commuting and if so, where? Despite the lengthy list of bikes I mentioned earlier, much of the decision comes down to mountain or road. If you plan on some weekend off road adventuring or if part of your commute is off road, go with the mountain bike. If you’re commuting on the road, go with the road bike (yeah, that was pretty obvious).

Here are some of the less obvious tidbits though: though road bikes are generally a little more expensive, they offer a lighter design with better gear ratios that just eat up hills. A while back I borrowed my brother’s road bike and rode laps up and down a hill that was a challenge on my mountain bike. Because the tires are thinner and higher pressure, they create less friction with the road so you can also hit higher speeds. A number of road bikes come with drop handle bars which allow you to ride in a more aerodynamic position that you simply can’t get with the flat bars of a mountain bike. Unlike mountain bikes though, road bikes don’t do as well with tougher terrain or, in my experience, curbs (having received a three inch scar and a flat tire on two separate occasions on different road bikes in different states). In comparing my mountain bike to my brother’s road bike, we decided that my bike is a (really pretty) tank and his is a Ferrari. They’re different cos we’re looking for different things.

My ideal fix is a cross bike, which combines the awesome gear ratios and shape of a road bike with the durability of a mountain bike, but just mentioning that in case, you know, someone wanted to give me a bike or something….

If you’re really stuck (or if this sounded like a foreign language), ask your LBS. After all, this is just a primer and there a lot of other factors to think about. Just remember, you’re not looking to buy a bike to force a new habit, but if you’re going to spend money think of your purchase as a long term investment and make sure you’re getting the most out of your money for the style you ride.

Final Thoughts
If you’re buying a bike, try to avoid the spring/summer rush. My brother bought his bike in October and saved almost five hundred bucks by buying last years model that needed to be cleared out for the new line of bikes. Craigslist is also a great resource if you live in major cities, or, if you’re cheap like me, wait til spring when all the people who think a new bike will make them ride more are tossing their old bikes. I got my beautiful ‘87 Panasonic road bike (yeah, they make bikes) from someone who had put it curbside. Once given up for dead, this steel stead is still going strong.
Stay tuned for next week when we talk about outfitting your dream bike.

Photo Credit: Thumas Bikes