When did I become the Commuting Evangelist?

[Trek420]

withm "Does anyone carry coffee on a bike?"

http://www.somafab.com/morningrush.html

[KnottedYet]

Trek, you are a totally hot bicycling goddess and I worship you!

Tax return, here we go!

(I especially like the "my other legal stimulant..." bit on the cup)

You rock!

[ladyjai]

you can also have your employeer get the city to put up share the road signs. I found out that they are in existance in the odd places (usually with no extra space) because of commuters and their employers. Our ciity is having a bike month, and sent out a nice article/newsletter about the benefits of commuting by bicycle for not only the employee, but also the employer.

Jessica, I'd ride any route, but I'd also try to find safer routes as soona s I could. i'm not familiar with your neighborhood, but i know that there are some dubious roads as you get further out. Perhaps also talk with your boss about adjusting your work hours. arriving before 7am, rather than 8 makes a huge diference in morning traffic.

[withm]

withm "Does anyone carry coffee on a bike?"

http://www.somafab.com/morningrush.html

Trek BLESS YOU! I'll have to lose my front bar bag, but for coffee, that's a no brainer! I already have the Cat Eye light & bracket systerm, but will buy it again if I need to. Could always put it on the other bike...

A thousand thank yous!

[Trek420]

Withm & Knotted,

De nada! You will find I'm a veritable font of worthless trivia. Don't know where I keep this stuff, probably in the space in my brain that should remember where my keys are ;-)

Was really thinking of one today. I rode to work twice this week and can't get a blasted person to hold the door for me while I:

a) swipe my badge then
b) try to maneuver bike, helmet and coffee cup into the door the nanosecond before it locks again.

sc** 'em, I need a coffee cup holder.

Knotted, you're going to do fine Monday and I thought the tax return was for Look pedals???

[Lise]

withm "Does anyone carry coffee on a bike?"

http://www.somafab.com/morningrush.html

Whoa! So cool! My current thermal mug, that fits perfectly into my water bottle cage, is one I got at Target. It's stainless steel, doesn't have a handle, and it has a truly spill proof lid. I cannot believe I haven't lost it yet!

[KnottedYet]

Trek: fickle woman that I am, now it's Shimano Freeride pedals... and Diadora mtn shoes.

The tax return is enough for coffee cups and el cheapo shoes.

To heck with MRI expenses... and I dont' want no valiumumum neither!

I'll just lie there and fantasize. About my bike.

Besides, I have Ibex wool cycling knickers now! I am Queen of the World! (inside my own head)

(can I wear them into the MRI tube?)

[withm]

With the price of gas, I'm going to start riding to work a couple days a week. If it goes well, I'll be wanting to buy a commuting bike, and need to decide if I want a hybrid, or stick with a heavier road bike.

I currently ride a carbon fiber road bike that I love, but do not want to junk it up with a rack and I think the skinny tires are best left for my long fun rides. Plus it is too pricey a bike to leave it unattended even if locked to a rack while I use it to do errands.

I think I want ~700x35 ish tires, triple crankset, probably (?) dropped handlebars so I have more options for hand placement. The commute is 12 flat but often windy (20-35mph) miles one way with one big hill (bridge that I can barely get over right now on my ultralight road bike), soon to be 13 miles with 2 hills when the office moves. I'm thinking a rear rack to hold one of those trunk bags, and maybe eventually small panniers for groceries if I go that far with this idea. Haven't really set a price range yet - not sure what it's going to be, prob $500-1,000? Is that reasonable?

So - do I look for heavier less pricey road bike, or a hybrid? Recommendations? What features should I be looking for, questions I should be asking? What kind of bikes do you all use for commuting?

[KnottedYet]

Please take a peek at the Kona Dew. It is only $400. Has the 700c wheels (with cyclocross tires that I am loving) and triple ring, plus has a mega granny. I've got mine loaded down with panniers. It handles beautifully. I bought it mainly for commuting.

When I told the LBS I wanted a commuter bike that I could also use for longer trips and do the Danskin Triathlon, this is the bike they recommended above all the others they had. (even the expensive ones)

The salesguy told me the frame of the Dew is great, and if you upgrade a few components you essentially get the Dew Deluxe (same frame). In fact, the geometry of the Dew frame is the same as the Kona Sutra touring bike.

He assured me I couldn't go wrong with this frame. And frame is the soul of the bike.

www.konaworld.com

And, Kona is doing the AfricaBike project. www.konabiketown.com I felt good buying from a company that does something cool like this.

[Dianyla]

withm, I have a similar dilemma regarding commuting and my current bicycle. I've got a very lovely Orbea that I hold very dearly, but she isn't designed for commuting by any stretch of the imagination. One of these days I'd love to find a nice second bike - something like a used touring bike - but in the meantime here's what I do:

Carrying stuff:
No braze-ons to have racks installed, and the fork/rear chainstay are carbon. I've heard suggestions that you shouldn't put racks on carbon anyway. I carry everything on my back in a pretty nice cycling backpack made by Deuter. Downside - hot sweaty back and increased saddle weight. Upside - increased core strength, and my sitbones are probably getting tough enough that I could easily go 80+ miles right now, even though I'm only logging 50-60 miles a week. Now when I ride without my backpack I fly down the road.

Tires:
I'm still using the 700x23 racy tires. As long as I keep the tires properly inflated and choose my path carefully in the debris of the bike lane, I haven't been having many flats. It's true that the bomb-proof bigger tires would probably be comfier to commute on, but they're higher rolling resistance and more energy spent just to move the wheels round and round. You won't necessarily get better traction by going to bigger tires with more tread, if anything you could get less traction.

Security:
At the office we have a fairly secure bike lock that is right in front of the security desk. I've been negotiating with our building maintenance people to get some enclosed bike lockers installed and I think it's going to happen. At my school there is a huge bike theft problem, fortunately there are some city-operated bike lockers and I was able to reserve one of these for $10/month. I simply don't run errands on my bike when I commute, I try to plan my errands for car days or the weekend.

Fenders:
Fenders are a must for commuting here in Portland. SKS makes these Race Blade clip-on fenders for racy bikes that don't have clearance under the brakes for normal fenders. They are a little shifty but they do work pretty well, they don't block all water but you won't show up to work looking like you just crapped your pants on your morning commute.

Lights:
Basic lighting installed on the bike, and additional lights attached to my helmet and backpack.

Anyway, I admit that my situation is far from ideal. Someday I will probably get a dedicated commuter bike, but I want to point out that it can be done. And hey, so what if I drive my "fancy sportscar bike" every day, instead of keeping her polished with a diaper and stored in the garage?

[Quillfred]

I'm still happy with bike #2 a Redline Conquest Pro XC bike

http://www.redlinebicycles.com/adult...quest-pro.html

that I got off Craigslist for $700 nearly new. It has a wide fork that enabled the previous owner to use knobbies. I put recharging Cygolite light on it as well as a rack and fenders. It is light but sturdier than my Trek 1500. Has same 105 components. I ride it in the Spring, Fall and milder Winter days. It handles the rain pretty well but next splurges will be disc brakes and Ortlieb panniers (mostly for groceries). I am lucky as I carry it into the office (landlord forbids bikes indoors but I'll be damned if I'm going to leave it in the rain all day).

I also considered others as I tried about 8 bikes or so. I'm a sucker for a good deal. Have fun test riding. I love taking out a bike for a spin.