[Ben]

@n18 184522 wrote:

* Riding with a headset, headphones, or earplugs covering both ears: $50 Fine.

Does this apply only in DC streets, or everywhere to include the multi-use paths? If it covers the paths, is there a similar rule/fine for pedestrians?

[Ben]

@hozn 110346 wrote:

Yeah, sure. Let me check my set. It has wheelbase length markings. (Do you know you wheelbase?)

About 41.5 inches. Thanks!

[Ben]

@hozn 109776 wrote:

Yeah, no problem! Ben, if you decide you don’t care about resistance you can sell me those and have mine for free

Yes, I know most people don’t want the resistance on rollers, but if I am gonna get on the trainer it is gonna be for interval work or something that hurts a lot.

Hozn, I’ve had these for a few days and I think my wheelbase is too long for this set – my front wheel’s axle sits about a half inch in front of the center of the roller, which has allowed for some hilarious falls. Would you still be up for a trade? How long is the set you have?

[Ben]

@KWL 109761 wrote:

I’ve still got these: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?8103-Tacx-Rollers-for-Sale-Alexandria though they now have a new drive belt. Same price.

Sold! I saw that post earlier, but thought they had already been taken. Thanks kwl!

[Ben]

Lots of people like to compare DC to Paris because of the height limit – maybe we can aspire for this similarity as well.

[Ben]

I’m new to bike commuting this year, so I’m not sure what my handicap should be. I’m excited to be part of this this year though!
Also, would it be too complicated to give a five point or double mile bonus for rides on days where the recorded high at DCA (usually the warmest point in the region) is below freezing? I volunteer to compile this data (note which days would qualify and send it to whoever is collecting the mileage from strava) if people think it would be a good idea.

Sounds like a lot of fun! And also crazy – but mostly fun!

[Ben]

@Rockford10 98749 wrote:

Hi! I work in Tysons and am a sometimes-commuter. Many buildings have a dry cleaner on-site or through the concierge. You might want to check with others in your office to see what they do. It’s not *really* any more expensive than the off-site places.

As for work storage, you may be more or less comfortable with this, but I keep a blazer and some shirts in the communal office closet. This summer it wasn’t ever a problem, but I can see it might be an issue during the winter with coats and things. I can easily carry my clothes in my backpack, but liked to have the blazer if I needed to look nice or extra shirts just in case.

No cleaners or concierge in my building, unfortunately. I do keep a suit jacket at in my cube already, and I could keep shirts here as well, but I’m looking to avoid the sweaty walk up to my cube and back to the lockers, and avoid carrying the clothes in once a week. It could still work out this way, but I want to see what my options are.

@worktheweb 98746 wrote:

There are some panniers out there that seem to fit the bill, but I can’t vouch for their effectiveness: here, here, here, here, and while I was searching, I found this discussion from the past here (the two wheel gear bag seems well regarded).

I usually either clothes roll or fold, but some level of wrinkling seems inevitable unless you’ve got the proper tools.

I’ve seen those options out there, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience on the forum. It sounds like most people here just use the regular bags instead of the garment bags.

[Ben]

@cyclingfool 98729 wrote:

No recommendations on bags, but you might consider taking most of your work clothing (suits, shirts, whatever you might be forced to wear) to work and leaving it there if possible. There may be a dry cleaner nearby where you could drop off/pick up some stuff once or twice a week over lunch, e.g., and you could potentially not have to ferry the items back and forth at all. Just a thought and a strategy I know is often employed.

I’d love to do that – but I work in the boonies, and there’s no easy dry cleaners that I can see. And if I were to take the clothes in on the metro, I’d lose a day on the bike. Plus, while we have showers and a gym, we can’t keep the lockers overnight.

[Ben]

Does anyone have a recommendation on the garment bags that attach to racks? I’m planning to become a daily bike commuter, and I’m trying to decide between buying a suit bag or buying regular bags, so any advice or specific bags that you use would be helpful!

Also, has anyone seen any insulated shopping bags? We currently walk to the market and have gotten great use out of an insulated bag for a few years now, but it would be too big to fit into one of the many options people have posted here so far.

Thanks!

[Ben]

Thanks to everyone for their advice, and to the guys at Bikenetic who set me up with a Coda Elite this weekend. First ride tonight! See you on the trails.

[Ben]

@jabberwocky 97623 wrote:

How are you carrying your stuff now? Are you planning on a rack/panniers, or a pack? I’ve done both and ended up preferring a messenger bag, but theres no wrong answer. Depends on where you want the weight. Getting a bike with rack mounts at least gives you the option to switch things around.

No bike yet, but I’m planning for the rack/panniers because to me, it seems like a pretty long ride and I wouldn’t want to mess around with a bag on my back, moving around and helping me overheat.

@jabberwocky 97623 wrote:

Well, like I said, steel isn’t a very limiting criteria at least. A lot of commuting oriented bikes are steel these days. I’d look for something that can clear decent sized tires, but given the length of your commute you’ll probably want to set things up to roll as fast as possible (which might mean smaller, lighter tires).

Regarding discs versus rim brakes, note that the pad material makes a big difference. Normal mechanical discs (like the ever popular avid bb7s) require quite a lot of adjustment, actually. The pads are very close to the rotors, so small amounts of wear make for a big difference at the lever. And the road version (designed to work with road levers, which pull less cable) are IME worse. Its not difficult adjustment, but it does need to be done pretty frequently. Rim brakes are better in that respect, just because they sit pretty far from the rim anyway. I had to adjust my old disc commuters every month or so. Rim brakes go for far longer before they need mucking with.

I commute on a normal road bike pretty much year round. I use the koolstop salmon pads (which are a very effective wet weather pad for rim brakes). They might not be quite as good as discs in bad weather, but they work very well.

I’m not saying that discs are bad or anything, just noting that you shouldn’t discount a bike because it has rim brakes, especially if you’re on a budget.

Thanks for helping me figure out the trade offs for disc vs rim, since I haven’t had much experience with them. I had heard that the cable pull disc brakes are a bit more finicky than hydraulics (though apparently those need more work less frequently), but i figure I’ll use whatever comes on the used bike until it brakes or wears out, then decide. But I can’t put disc brakes on a regular frame, right? It needs to have the tabs…and the other way around as well?

@Greenbelt 97618 wrote:

Hi Ben — You should be able to get a Coda Sport with rack and fenders for under $650, including tax. A Kona Dew Plus with disk brakes (a little better in the rain in my opinion and if your wheel gets a bit out of true) should be in the $750 range with rack and fenders. I’m not seeing the $1k price point until you get panniers, lights, jacket etc. For the bike itself you shouldn’t have to spend $1k to get a great, durable flat bar commuter. -Jeff

The Kona Dew Plus looks great, I’ll have to find a place to test ride that this weekend. The Coda I’ve been looking at is the 2015 Coda Elite, which lists for around 950, with hydraulic disc brakes (and some apparently better components than the Comp, but I’m not worried about those differences since I’m pretty sure I won’t notice) but no rack or panniers (just the attachment points). It hasn’t been released yet, but apparently the geometry is the same as the Coda Sport and the Coda Comp which were pretty comfortable when I tried them out.

I figured I’d ask about used bikes that people might want to upgrade from since I’m not sure when that will be released, but since it’s pretty expensive and I want to start riding sooner rather than later. But thanks to everyone for the suggestions – there’s a lot to consider and it’s helpful to have the forums experience in figuring out what is important to think about and what isn’t quite as much of a difference maker on a first bike.

[Ben]

@jabberwocky 97603 wrote:

Discs are nice and all, but don’t feel the need to push the budget or limit your options to get them. I’ve owned a few disc-equipped commuters and currently am all rim brake; the difference just isn’t that great that I’d limit myself to only disc bikes.

Same with steel, though thats less limiting. Steel is ok, but aluminum bikes are fine too. I’ve actually found aluminum to be far more durable (I’ve broken 3 steel frames over the years, have never broken a carbon or aluminum one). The ride of steel is nice, but tire size/pressure makes more of a difference to ride quality IMO.

What is your commute like? Suburban/urban? Distance? Will you be locking the bike outside or bringing it in at work? Need to carry a lot of stuff, or just a change of clothes, or are you riding in your work clothes? Looking to do your own maintenance, or taking it to a shop? I get wary of recommending used to new riders, just because it can be hard to evaluate if a bike is a good deal or not, and its easy to get onto a bike thats the wrong size because it seemed like a good deal.

I’m riding from the Navy Yard area to the Tysons Corner area – about 15 miles according to Google. Looks like mostly the mount vernon trail to the custis to the w&od, and some street riding on either end, of course. The plan is to get a bike and start riding the route on the weekends to see what works best.

I can lock it up securely on both ends, inside a bike parking section of the parking garage at work, and in my apartment at home.

I’m planning to carry a change of clothes and lunch, though depending on how long it takes to get into the swing of commuting every day, I might ride one way one day then home the next, and do the shlepping of things on the metro for a while. I guess it depends on what I find or end up spending on a bike.

I’m pretty maintenance phobic, but I would do the regular maintenance stuff myself, and try to learn how to cover most of what I need. Until i get there, I’ve got a few shops close buy, and a friend in my building fixes bikes as a side business.

And I’ve done some test rides where I didn’t like the aluminum feel (plus I think the lines on steel frames look better), but I do realize that the tires make a huge difference too, so I’m not ruling anything out at this point. Even the disc brakes, but I did notice a difference in the stopping while I was trying different bikes, and if I can feel it when it’s bright and sunny, and I know that I’ll have to adjust rim brakes more often, I’m pretty sure that I’d want whatever I ride long term to have the discs.

[Ben]

@jrenaut 97588 wrote:

I think the price at the shop will probably be what you see online, more or less. Are you looking at new as well as the used you mentioned?

As for drop bars – a lot of it is going to be personal preference with some experience thrown in. You may not like them at first but may grow to like them, or you may never. I went from CaBi commuting to an aluminum road bike with drops then got the Volpe when a cab driver decided that he wanted to occupy the same space as I was currently occupying. Now I’m back with a flat bar on the Xtracycle and missing the drops sometimes (I prefer to be on the brake hoods when climbing, for example).

All of this underscores the need to ride a bunch of different bikes and see what you like, or buy a cheap used beater to ride for a while and see what you do and don’t like.

I’m looking for a bike on a budget. I like the Coda’s, but once you get the disc model and put fenders and a rack and get some lights, it’s up above 1000 bucks. And I understand that lots of people START to commute by bike… So I figured it wouldn’t hurt to look around for a used bike before I buy something new, especially since the only way to figure out what I like to ride is to ride a bunch, and I’ll probably be in a better position to figure that out next summer. I should mention that I’ve been using CaBi for part of the commute for about a year now, but the full trip is 15 miles each way.

[Ben]

@eminva 97577 wrote:

Hello Ben and welcome aboard!

I don’t know if you are a Facebook subscriber, but if so, you could join the “DC Used Bicycle Marketplace” group. It is pretty active and you see a steady stream of complete bikes of all types advertised. It seems to be the go-to place for folks who’ve recently upgraded and are selling their previous model.

There is also Craigslist, of course.

Good luck!

Liz

Thanks all for the welcome!
I don’t usually use facebook, but I’ll make an exception to check out the marketplace, thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve been checking craigslist, and it seems pretty hit or miss. Also seems like the important details like size get left out.

@jrenaut 97580 wrote:

I don’t have a bike to sell, and I’d second the Used Bike Marketplace suggestion. And I’d agree that the Jamis Coda makes a great commuter bike. And I would also recommend you look at the Bianchi Volpe, which is what I bought after going to the bike shop to ride a Jamis and not liking the fit. And welcome to the forum.

Thanks! I liked the look of the Volpe, but the list price seems a bit more than I want to spend – is the real price at the shop usually lower? I also haven’t liked drop bars when I’ve tried them, but that is one of the things that I figure I’ll like after riding some more. Maybe my second bike, next fall?

[Author]

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