Want to begin bike commuting – need some advice please!

[lordofthemark]

@vvill 112243 wrote:

I totally agree (and it’s great that BikeArlington has reached out with programs like their lights/reflective vests/bands handouts). There are definitely parts of the trails where you see more people just traveling around on “regular” bikes. I did start off spending very little on bikes and bike stuff, just a couple of padded shorts from Nashbar, technical tees from Old Navy, high lumen made-in-China lights, $20 helmet, etc. And yeah most $15-20 tires will be serviceable for thousands of miles. (I ramped up my spending based on how much I now ride/think about riding – especially for recreation/exercise).

The other side of the coin though is that commuting 10+ miles each way (so maybe 100 miles/week) is not as feasible on a Walmart bike both for efficiency and reliability. I tried commuting to DC originally on a $300 MTB and gave it up, as I felt it was too tough/slow with the hills around here. There’s a middle ground which admittedly many bike manufacturers and shops miss (partly/mostly due to the influence of racing bikes?) which is a shame. (I eventually brought over my 700c flat-bar road bike I’d bought in London and made the commute stick on that – it’s still a very capable bike.) It’s also a lot more enjoyable riding a reliable, efficient, smooth bike – fun is also an element in making bikes popular in general, whether for commuting or otherwise.

I’ve always thought zip/car/share programs would be a great idea if you live in the city but I imagine the locations of the stations aren’t really convenient for the ‘burbs where I live.

By middle ground do you mean a $500 Kona Dew?

[hozn]

Yeah, @mstone, I completely agree. You can sell the car and save money riding an inexpensive bike with inexpensive components. Millions, maybe billions of people do that on a regular basis, I realize. But hypothetically keeping the car, riding the road bike, getting it serviced at the shop, and buying 4 seasons of dedicated cycling clothing is an expensive proposition. Luckily the folks that seek advice on cycling forums tend to be able to afford it.

[mstone]

@vvill 112243 wrote:

The other side of the coin though is that commuting 10+ miles each way (so maybe 100 miles/week) is not as feasible on a Walmart bike both for efficiency and reliability. I tried commuting to DC originally on a $300 MTB and gave it up, as I felt it was too tough/slow with the hills around here.[/quote]

At the point you’re commuting 10+ miles each way it’s generally no longer a cost/practicality question and more of a hobby. I agree that it’s a hell of a lot more comfortable/fun with a better bike and better equipment, but no amount of money spent on a bike will keep you on that bike for a couple of hours a day (assuming a choice) unless you simply like biking. So even for the long rides where the equipment actually can make a difference, I’d hesitate to tell someone to drop a couple of grand on a bike for a long commute before they know whether they actually like biking.

[DismalScientist]

@hozn 112250 wrote:

Luckily the folks that seek advice on cycling forums tend to be able to afford it.

No, the people on the forum dispensing the advice tend to be able to afford it.

There is no shortage of mid-range bikes sold by branded firms. Customers tend to ask for bikes that are better than their “needs” and are offered bikes accordingly. I personally don’t understand why there is any value in branding bicycles in the mid range. Bicycles are literally the sum of their parts. If you are competent at maintenance, buy off the internet.

[dplasters]

Just using me as an example.

I have been wildly spendy in my mind on my bike. Like really – I’m HORRIBLE. I got fancy hipster headlights, I have a pretty bike with carbon belt drive bike with an IGH, I have fancy Chrome Industry shoes and jackets. I have super fancy Giro hipster shorts and undershorts. I have two amazing helmets, one a top of the line fancy pants bell. I have amazingly warm and technical Gore bike gear. I have purchased so many things since discovering Wiggle I already qualify for their 5% discount. I have purchased drop bars for my bike, new brake levers, new cabling, new stem, bar tape and filth prophylactic. I have a super fancy Timbuk2 backpack. I have a replacement set of tires and tubes just sitting around in my basement for when I need them. I bought fancy magnesium pedals! I needed a short pump, tire levers, full stand pump, multi-tool, wrenches, allen keys, tire repair kit, the list seems to never end of things I decided I wanted. Those are just the purchases that haven’t been mistakes. I purchased a Thule rack and bag and hated it. That ended up costing me about $15 in transaction/shipping issues. I have some shoe covers from Rivdale that are worthless to me. That was $30. I have two pairs of Tevas shoes that I don’t love/use (replaced by the Chromes), there goes $70. I purchased a non bike specific rain jacket super on sale for $50 and hated it, so there is another $50 wasted. Despite all these things. My total outlays on cycling is $2,400. Take away the bike and we are down to $1,300. Owning a car is property tax + insurance + maintenance + gas + registration + emissions/safety checks + depreciation. That can easily add up to more than even my crazy pricey first year stock up on gear. My guess is I’ll spend around $100-$200 next year. Although my wife says she will pay to have my bike repainted matte black….

side note – obviously I’ve been slacking on updating the most recent bike purchase thread. I’ve been on a spending spree! Also side note, gear got me to 3rd place on BAFS 2015 avg speed. Take that, haters of platform pedals and IGH!

[Sunyata]

@dplasters 112265 wrote:

Also side note, gear got me to 3rd place on BAFS 2015 avg speed. Take that, haters of platform pedals and IGH!

Super off topic, but:
+1 to platforms and IGH!

I run Wellgo Magnesium pedals on my mountain bikes (MG-1’s) and have a different style of downhill platforms (they are just as big as the MG-1’s, just a little thinner) on my commuter. I am going to have to check out those R-146’s. I have tiny feet anyway and I think they would probably do great on my commuter.

For me, bike commuting is not necessarily about saving money. Although, saving wear and tear on my car is pretty awesome and will keep me from having to buy a new car for another 5-6 years. For me, it is about the convenience of being able to bike from my front door to the front door of my office. No traffic jams, no parking nightmares, etc. It is about being able to ride my bike every single day. It is about de-stressing before AND after work. And it is about interacting with my environment, which you do not get a chance to do when you are in a car.

Could I have saved money by bike commuting, absolutely. Did I? Not yet, but eventually I would like to think that I will break even (belt drive, IGH, so minimal maintenance costs). I did buy a fairly expensive bike, but I love it and ride it (for purposes other than transportation) more than my road bike.

[baiskeli]

@dplasters 112265 wrote:

filth prophylactic

I don’t want to click on that link.

[vvill]

@mstone 112251 wrote:

I’d hesitate to tell someone to drop a couple of grand on a bike for a long commute before they know whether they actually like biking.

Agreed, although 10 miles is doable comfortably for half that $. And many people commute more than 1 hour each day per day by bus/metro/car or some combination thereof. But anyway I think there are riders here that do 10+ mile commutes because they prefer biking to other modes (including myself). Whether or not they like biking may be incidental? Hard to say really (since biking is so fun!). It’s definitely cheaper for me than parking in DC or metro, and doesn’t take any longer than metro (actually, metro is slower in the AM). Driving is faster by about 10-15 minutes.

[Tania]

My commute is 14 miles each way. I bought my bike specifically for commuting. (When I lived in Frederick I used to drive to Leesburg and bike into Herndon on a hardtail mountain bike so I had an idea of what is involved in commuting to work.)

Today I had to take metro. I left the house at 8:15, walked to the metro (half mile? Maybe less) and arrived at work at 9:10 because of various metro delays that occur daily.

When I bike in, my average travel time (in the morning) so far has been around 1:05. And that’s most likely because I’m slooooow – there are parts where I could ride faster but I enjoy looking around at the various trail critters and birds and saying “good morning!” to people and just taking the time to be outside.

I absolutely loathe my commute home. Getting out of the city and then dealing with the foot traffic on the W&OD plus other aggressive bicyclists means more often than not I metro home.

[Phatboing]

@vvill 112387 wrote:

10 miles is doable comfortably for half that $.

My first commuter was a Trek 4300, for $550 or thereabouts. It was a heavy beast, yes, but did rides from 6-20 miles just fine (it could’ve done longer, except I never really tried at the time). If what you’re doing is mostly commuting and erranding, there are plenty of decent bikes in that price range.

[trailrunner]

@Phatboing 112389 wrote:

My first commuter was a Trek 4300, for $550 or thereabouts. It was a heavy beast, yes, but did rides from 6-20 miles just fine (it could’ve done longer, except I never really tried at the time). If what you’re doing is mostly commuting and erranding, there are plenty of decent bikes in that price range.

My current commuting bike is a Rockhopper that I bought in 1992 for $500 something. Works great for that role. I still haven’t worn out the steel frame yet.

[Steve O]

Moved from a less relevant thread.
@huskerdont 130571 wrote:

I don’t know about plastic bags, but I can definitely recommend keeping an extra pair of dry socks in the bag at all times. They take up no space and weigh next to nothing.

@Steve O 130574 wrote:

I might also suggest keeping an extra pair of underwear at work, just in case.

@huskerdont 130576 wrote:

I would think Frazz wouldn’t be riding around with his undies under his padded tights, but as the tagline says, I’m new around here.

You just haven’t thought it through:
If one is not wearing any under one’s padded tights, then one must remember to put it in one’s bag.

[Terpfan]

Resurrecting an old thread because I’m curious what’s JBAB’s id policy? I was thinking of riding the DC route home one night. But since it’s rush hour, I figure riding through JBAB is my best bet. Their website seems to indicate only DOD id holders permitted on unless someone is sponsored so not including other federal employee ids. If this is the case, then I won’t bother. Just curious.

[Mikey]

@Terpfan I would assume that JBAB’s policy is the same as Fort Myers, since they are similar instillations, but I would think that their entrances policy would be even tighter since there are more sensitive commands there vice Fort Myers, and they are not as used to seeing bikes ride through their command. I can ask next time I’m going through the gate there.

[Terpfan]

@Mikey 134543 wrote:

@Terpfan I would assume that JBAB’s policy is the same as Fort Myers, since they are similar instillations, but I would think that their entrances policy would be even tighter since there are more sensitive commands there vice Fort Myers, and they are not as used to seeing bikes ride through their command. I can ask next time I’m going through the gate there.

If you don’t mind asking, it would be appreciated.

[Author]

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