Advice for someone new to this

Our Community Forums Commuters Advice for someone new to this

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 55 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #999154
    vvill
    Participant

    @dplasters 82891 wrote:

    Second – the bike
    I don’t currently own a bike. So I’ll be needing to buy one of those two wheeled contraptions. As the bike will only be used for commuting to and from work and to and from the grocery store I’m not trying to spend a lot and I’m trying to keep it simple to keep the maintenance down. My inner cheapskate wants me to buy a Vilano Edge for only $250 and call it a day. My inner maintenancephobe wants me to purchase a Spot Dualie. Any advice on this? I am concerned that I will struggle on the hills particularly on Lee Highway between Blake and Nutley but I’ve never ridden a single speed bike so I don’t know how steep a hill needs to be before it becomes daunting. I have a psychological obsession with belt driven bikes since discovering them. Less maintenance is always better to me. The only reason my car runs is because it tells me when the tire pressure is low and when it needs servicing. But I’ll be storing the bike indoors, so is a belt really worth all that extra money?.

    I also have a psychological obsession with belt drives, but I have refrained so far. Belt drives don’t allow you to easily change gear ratios (since you cannot change the length of belt), so if you like to tinker you are more limited (or at least, it’ll be more expensive). I think it’ll be just a matter of time though (a few years probably).

    I much prefer to commute on one gear. When I first considered it I thought it was crazy because I ride a lot of hills – but when I tried it it was completely addictive. Obviously you need to get the gearing reasonable for your conditions (terrain *and* windiness), but it doesn’t have to be “perfect”. You do have some leeway to decide if you’d rather spin out more and sacrifice some top end speed, or mash a bit more up whatever hills you do have to tackle, but 65-70 gear inches works really well to start out for most riders, assuming you’re reasonably fit and not carrying a lot of cargo. Generally it’s better to gear down, and learn to spin your pedals faster and smoother.

    One other thing about single speed is that you are actually more efficient than with a geared bike (ceteris paribus – cadence is a factor obviously). The chain line is better, and there is less friction with the derailleur jockey wheels. I think the difference is palpable although I would not attempt to quantify it (this web page claims around 5%). So you can actually push a taller gear with a proper single speed set up than you can with gears using the same energy input. (Fixed gear is even more efficient imo since you get extra momentum, but it comes with the cost of having to manage that in traffic, or sudden stops, etc – there are some skilled riders around here too who commute fixed most of the time.) And of course, as you mention having a single gear is a huge pro for maintenance (especially in the colder months) – it’s one of the big reasons I ride single speed.

    If you want to get a cheap SS/FG bike I would look at something like the Kilo TT from bikesdirect (or similar) that has a lot of purchase volume and good reviews (bikeforums.net has a ton of Kilo TT riders). The SS/FG market is flooded with cheap, bling, heavy, crappy bikes.

    That said, if you are feeling really tired you have no bail out gear*, and not all rides are suitable for one gear (100 miles 10000 ft of climbing rides, for example). If you get into cycling more you may want a geared bike unless you wanna be old-timey hardcore:
    1551098_3_30ae_le-galibier.jpg

    *although most SS/FG wheels have space for a second option with a wheel flip.

    @n18 83093 wrote:

    Here are gear ratios for the two single speed bikes compared with the bike I am using:

    Bike Gears Ratio

    Spot Dualie 50:24 2.083
    Vilano EDGE 46:16 2.875
    Fuji Crosstown 48:14 3.429
    [/CODE]

    Spot Dualie is the easiest(and slowest), while Vilano EDGE is harder, but faster. I configured my Fuji Crosstown to be as close as possible to Vilano EDGE, using gear ratio 38:14, or 2.714. At Tapawingo, I had to stand and peddle 2 to 3 times, but wasn’t very hard, I could live with it if my bike was stuck in that gear ratio. However, stopping and restarting at intersections, especially in the middle of an uphill, or roads intersecting the W&OD require standing and peddling. With a multi-gear bike, I don’t need to do that.

    My conclusion: I think after you try a single speed bike, you are not going to wish that(well, may be 2 or 3 times):

    I wish that I have a multi-gear bike so I can climb hills easier.

    But rather than that, you will probably wish for this 100 times:

    I wish that I have a multi-gear bike so I can go faster in this flat area or this down hill(There are too many of them).

    After leaving the W&OD and heading south on Gallows road, I reached my top speed within seconds, so there was little point in peddling.

    – The Spot Dualie has two ratios, and they’re determined by the kickback hub, not just the 50/24 of the belt drive. No manufacturer would specify a gearing as low as 50/24 for a general urban bike.

    – You can’t draw a really meaningful conclusion (at least for other riders) on one sample ride, and riding in one gear of a geared bike is not a great approximation of riding a proper single speed/fixed gear (I know because I tried it quite a bit myself. I tried 46/17 for a while on my geared CX bike, yet on my SS I often ride 48/16.).

    – A lot of people underestimate how fast they can spin the pedals, with practice. 100rpm+ is not spinning out.[CODE]Bike Gears Ratio

    Spot Dualie 50:24 2.083
    Vilano EDGE 46:16 2.875
    Fuji Crosstown 48:14 3.429
    [/CODE]

    Spot Dualie is the easiest(and slowest), while Vilano EDGE is harder, but faster. I configured my Fuji Crosstown to be as close as possible to Vilano EDGE, using gear ratio 38:14, or 2.714. At Tapawingo, I had to stand and peddle 2 to 3 times, but wasn’t very hard, I could live with it if my bike was stuck in that gear ratio. However, stopping and restarting at intersections, especially in the middle of an uphill, or roads intersecting the W&OD require standing and peddling. With a multi-gear bike, I don’t need to do that.

    My conclusion: I think after you try a single speed bike, you are not going to wish that(well, may be 2 or 3 times):

    I wish that I have a multi-gear bike so I can climb hills easier.

    But rather than that, you will probably wish for this 100 times:

    I wish that I have a multi-gear bike so I can go faster in this flat area or this down hill(There are too many of them).

    After leaving the W&OD and heading south on Gallows road, I reached my top speed within seconds, so there was little point in peddling.

    – The Spot Dualie has two ratios, and they’re determined by the kickback hub, not just the 50/24 of the belt drive. No manufacturer would specify a gearing as low as 50/24 for a general urban bike.

    – You can’t draw a really meaningful conclusion (at least for other riders) on one sample ride, and riding in one gear of a geared bike is not a great approximation of riding a proper single speed/fixed gear (I know because I tried it quite a bit myself. I tried 46/17 for a while on my geared CX bike, yet on my SS I often ride 48/16.).

    – A lot of people underestimate how fast they can spin the pedals, with practice. 100rpm+ is not spinning out.

    #999161
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @vvill 83096 wrote:

    – You can’t draw a really meaningful conclusion (at least for other riders) on one sample ride, and riding in one gear of a geared bike is not a great approximation of riding a proper single speed/fixed gear (I know because I tried it quite a bit myself. I tried 46/17 for a while on my geared CX bike, yet on my SS I often ride 48/16.).

    Agreed. My “go to” gear on my geared commuter is about 65GI, but my FG is 71 (46×17). Oddly, I think I’d have a hard time running that tall a gear for JRA on my geared bike.

    @vvill 83096 wrote:

    – A lot of people underestimate how fast they can spin the pedals, with practice. 100rpm+ is not spinning out.

    There are a couple spots on my commute, each way, where I routinely hit 30+ mph, and I’ve seen as high as 34mph. The calculator says that’s about 150rpm +/- depending on exact speed. That seems to be about my practical limit, but I wouldn’t have thought I could spin that fast until I actually did…and it’s nearly impossible to replicate that on a geared bike.

    #999163
    americancyclo
    Participant

    $550 for a district s trek on DC Used Bicycle Marketplace

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10203706098321306&set=gm.1481491582081432&type=1

    #999168
    dplasters
    Participant

    As many have suggested I am planning to get out to an LBS or two this weekend and try out some bikes and see what will work for me. I have time, closing isn’t until late June. The Dualie is indeed a two speed bike and I’m hoping it will indeed find a nice little spot that makes me happy, we will see.

    On tinkering and general accessorizing – In my brief time so far researching and getting into biking I have discovered some similarities to my current hobby of golf. Namely that there is an incredible variance in prices and that there is a solution for every little thing you could possibly imagine (I stumbled upon the NYC Bike Snob blog months and months ago and have had a great time laughing at some of the wild cycling accessories… then I make myself remember golf is full of just as silly things). Also, tinkering costs money, lots of money. I have made a great deal of peace and saved quite a bit of money for myself by having a K.I.S.S. attitude with my golf equipment recently and I’m hoping the same is true here. I want to find a bike I love and that functions. It need not be the fastest, the lightest or have the best brakes.

    On the plus side, I have piles of gore-tex and other items to get me through stupid horrible weather conditions already…

    #999186
    vvill
    Participant

    @TwoWheelsDC 83103 wrote:

    Agreed. My “go to” gear on my geared commuter is about 65GI, but my FG is 71 (46×17). Oddly, I think I’d have a hard time running that tall a gear for JRA on my geared bike.

    This has a summary from an old book (I haven’t read) that goes into some of the mechanics of it:
    http://www.bicyclefixation.com/singlelife.html

    #999252
    Steve O
    Participant

    You may also benefit from taking a City Cycling class offered through WABA. It’s a good way to gain some skills and also meet some people.

    The schedule of upcoming classes is here:
    http://www.waba.org/education/adult.php

    #999316
    baiskeli
    Participant

    @Greenbelt 83059 wrote:

    Pure Fix unveiled the first spokeless wheel earlier this month.

    http://www.bikeistan.com/2014/04/pure-fix-goes-spokeless-with-nikola/

    Damn you Pure Fix for undermining my joooooooooooke!

    http://media.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/28535/damn%20you%20all%20to%20hell.jpg

    #999902
    The Daily Rider
    Participant

    @dplasters 83110 wrote:

    As many have suggested I am planning to get out to an LBS or two this weekend and try out some bikes and see what will work for me. I have time, closing isn’t until late June. The Dualie is indeed a two speed bike and I’m hoping it will indeed find a nice little spot that makes me happy, we will see.

    Stop on by the shop this weekend. We’ll be here with at least 3 options from Spot, though no Dualies. We had one in the shop this week as a special order and from my very short test of it I can say this: It is a great bike on flat ground. The Sturmey-Archer hub has “drive” and “overdrive”. There is not a drive gear and a “bailout” gear. The bike is very light, leading to easy hill ascents. I would have to ask Spot if they made it easy to install racks as I didn’t check the last one to see if it had braze-ons.

    #1004187
    dplasters
    Participant

    Given all the amazing feedback and help I received I feel almost obligated to update everyone.

    I rode my bike to work today (we will see how getting home in the heat this evening feels). The route from americancyclo is amazing and I owe you big time. It takes about 20-25 minutes depending on how I hit the lights.

    I did indeed get a Spot Dualie. For the extremely amazing reason of because its awesome and I love it. It has been no problem at all, although I biked up Pickett to get to the Trader Joe’s at the corner of Pickett and 236 and I thought I might die for a moment. My brother in-law rides a lot in Lynchburg and has been super helpful as well.

    I have kept the modifications to only changing out the handlebars to add more hand positions for comfort other than that its all stock.

    I just wanted to thank everyone for their great advice and feedback and if you any questions about the bike I’d be happy to answer them… I also got a new job, it is still in falls church though (next to the Fairview Marriott). So I’ll only be doing the current route for a few more weeks then I’ll have to figure out the best way to navigate the Fairview Park Dr/Route 50/495 mess.

    Thank you all!

    #1004189
    dkel
    Participant

    @dplasters 88445 wrote:

    I did indeed get a Spot Dualie. For the extremely amazing reason of because its awesome and I love it.

    I want to see pics of that! Congrats on your commute. Well done!

    #1004197
    culimerc
    Participant

    @dplasters 88445 wrote:

    I just wanted to thank everyone for their great advice and feedback and if you any questions about the bike I’d be happy to answer them… I also got a new job, it is still in falls church though (next to the Fairview Marriott). So I’ll only be doing the current route for a few more weeks then I’ll have to figure out the best way to navigate the Fairview Park Dr/Route 50/495 mess.

    Its not too bad to get there actually. There is a trail that runs into the back of it either from Providence Rec Center or from the end of Camp Alger Dr. The Rec center trail is shorter and in better condition, but you have to go directly past Falls Church High School, so depending on the timing of your commute it may be better to deal with the torn up trail than the parade of school buses, parents picking up/ dropping off, and teenage drivers going in and out of there.

    #1004198
    americancyclo
    Participant

    @dplasters 88445 wrote:

    The route from americancyclo is amazing and I owe you big time.

    (next to the Fairview Marriott). So I’ll only be doing the current route for a few more weeks then I’ll have to figure out the best way to navigate the Fairview Park Dr/Route 50/495 mess.Thank you all!

    Glad it’s working out for you.

    re: getting to Fairview Park.

    If you’re not comfortable taking the lane on Lee Highway for the five blocks between Merrilee/Eskridge, there are lots of nice new wide sidewalks between Mosiac district and Fairview Park Dr. Fariview Park Dr. itself usually isn’t bad and I’ve biked across it to the Marriott a few times, although it’s usually been pretty early in the day (around 615 am). There is a sidepath on the eastern side of Fairview Park Dr. if you need it. You’ll just have more crossings to deal with. Good luck!

    #1004217
    dplasters
    Participant

    @dkel 88447 wrote:

    I want to see pics of that! Congrats on your commute. Well done!

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5962[/ATTACH]

    Ignore the horrible chair railing and the clearly visible wallpaper glue line… we are doing some renovating….

    I’ve seen the path on the east side of Fairview Park. I think in the morning the road will be no issue (I’d probably be hitting that area around 6:30 or 7am but could see the traffic in the afternoon getting a little ugly.

    #1004218
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @dplasters 88476 wrote:

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]5962[/ATTACH]

    Ignore the horrible chair railing and the clearly visible wallpaper glue line… we are doing some renovating….

    I’ve seen the path on the east side of Fairview Park. I think in the morning the road will be no issue (I’d probably be hitting that area around 6:30 or 7am but could see the traffic in the afternoon getting a little ugly.

    Nice! Does it have some sort of coupling on the chainstay to get the belt out/in?

    #1012738
    dplasters
    Participant

    Allow myself to reintroduce… myself

    Its been a whole freaking four months since I started this biking to work thing (and actually quite a bit longer than that from when I first started this thread). As someone who literally hadn’t been on a bike since they were 16 or 17 – yes, its only ten years but I’m a millennial. Please allow me to revel in how long a period of time I believe this to be. I’ve been very happy to report that I’ve only driven to work 4 times throughout the period and that I thoroughly regret driving all four times!

    I leave the following bread crumbs for myself and anyone else who some how comes to these forums and searches for a strange mix of words that leads them to this tangled web of insanity.

    1.)Buy something you just want to ride.
    2.)If you are starting from scratch, the bike should be about 50-60% of the budget, the rest is going to need to go towards lights, safety equipment, tools, tubes, clothing, shoes and other things to keep you going. This assumes you don’t spend 3k on a bike.. in which case damn you buy some expensive lights and tools and in my opinion, expensive bikes. You can easily do this all for less than 1.5k. If my picky, snobby @$& can, you can too.
    3.)There is no golf vs cycling angst.
    4.)The rules everyone keeps talking about are here. Most seem very silly. I think that is the point.
    5.)Your wife (or SO) will make you text her (him) when you arrive at your destination because she (he) perceives cycling to be wildly dangerous. Nothing you say or do will be able to sway her (him) from this opinion.
    6.)You’re going to get wet when it rains. Its ok. Its water. Stop worrying so much.
    7.)Driving will start to feel strange and slightly more dangerous as you understand the actual speed you are going and the amount of terrain you are covering.
    8.)Get Progessive for your Auto Insurance. Get their Snapshot program. Watch your insurance bill plummet… proceed to spend cash on n+1 rule?

    I’ll be sure to update again next semi-annual trimester extravaganza!

    P.S. – Yes TwoWheels, it does have a piece that you can take out to open up the triangle to get the belt in and out. I will go ahead and apologize for not answering your question after specifically asking if anyone had any questions about the bike. I am a jerk.

Viewing 15 posts - 31 through 45 (of 55 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.