[mstone]

@Tim Kelley 28478 wrote:

Yup, all feasible ideas. There just isn’t much frequency for demand here for it.

True enough, since NPS tends to ban bikes from all the cool events.

[mstone]

@Arlingtonrider 28455 wrote:

Email sent. Glad to be able to help out with this. I believe accuracy requires that I count myself too!

Consider it practice

[mstone]

Whether the movie has any effect, I don’t know. Whether agonizing over someone else’s asshat behavior in an video has any effect, I’m fairly sure of.

And I don’t get the “where it does some good” comment; is there reason to believe the asshats who made the movie are forum members?

[mstone]

@krazygl00 28379 wrote:

If we truly believe we have a right to use the road we should avoid a posture of apology and adopt one of assertiveness and confidence in our rights.

This. I’ll start apologizing for cyclist behavior when any conversation with someone who drives begins with an apology for motorist behavior. E.g., AAA would never issue a press release without a header like “We know a lot of people drive cars like a-holes, and we know that cars kill like 20 people every day in this country, but we don’t approve of that and we speak for that subset of drivers that follow the law and are careful and considerate.” Can you even imagine that happening?

Apologizing for other people isn’t going to change the perceptions of haters, it only validates their prejudices.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 28356 wrote:

Whoa! How many pedestrians did they run over, and how many traffic accidents did they cause over the course of 10 years of “alleycat” racing? Not good.

At least “Premium Rush” is fictional. (Or is it?)

Thank god nobody makes movies about street racing in cars.

[mstone]

@Certifried 28341 wrote:

I think the bottom line is that this is a “road bike”, meant for “racing” on the “race lite” wheels it has. I’m trying to commute on it, an inherently abusive riding task with weather, rough trails and streets, an occasional curb, front of a metro bus, rain, road grime/spray, etc. Add to that my weight (210ish) and all the other stuff I carry (lights, lock, full pockets, tool bag, etc) and I’m probably being pretty hard on a bike that is maybe meant for a bit lighter-weight usage. I’m trying to say this diplomatically because I *absolutely LOVE my Trek*. I just think I’m expecting it to perform in a situation it wasn’t meant for.

That’s why I call them decorative wheels, as opposed to wheels for doing things. To be fair, they work fine for a lot of people and for a lot of situations, and built well they can successfully carry a load and last a long time–there’s just a lot less margin for problems. (Things like weight, road surface, bad day at the wheelbuilder, etc.)

[mstone]

@Brendan von Buckingham 28308 wrote:

Local wheel builder, http://www.billmouldwheels.com/school.html, has concluded that 180 pounds is the threshold when weight of the rider + portage becomes an issue for spoke tension and wheel design. Whether that’s the right number or not, who knows, but your weight is something to consider.

Well, that’s the design target for the lightweight decorative wheels rather than some inherent limitation. You can do much, much, much more weight on a stronger wheel. I did a towpath tour recently with at least 350 pounds between the bike, the weehoo, me, the kid, the stuff, etc. (DT Swiss 36 spoke TK540) Or see tandem touring wheels with 40 or 48 spokes that handle 500 pounds on 2 wheels.

[mstone]

@DismalScientist 28255 wrote:

Are spokes no longer standardized? Am I sufficiently retro that I have no connection with current reality?

You can get straight, butted, flat, different gauges, etc. Not even getting into proprietary fittings.

[mstone]

If you’re not the size of a pro racer, you should get real wheels, not those cute little decorative ones. 😎

[mstone]

@Dirt 28219 wrote:

It is starting to look like a bike shop.

In that picture it looks more like an apple store.

[mstone]

@Jason 28212 wrote:

Sorry to come across as rude, this thread is about lifting for people who also bike, not for[…]

Sorry, will leave the thread immediately to make room for the bodybuilders! (Where do these stereotypes originate?)

[mstone]

@JorgeGortex 28134 wrote:

Not sure if these have a name already, but I jokingly call them baby throws.

I refer to squats generally as “knee-killers”.

[mstone]

@GuyContinental 28183 wrote:

So what’s the hold up?

My “why did I start commuting” thing was basically what you just said- I wanted exercise and had no time (two little kids) and a nasty 30 mile commute. I was waking up at the crack of dawn, driving 30 miles (45 minutes) and swimming for 90 minutes, working, then driving home in soul-sucking traffic for 75 minutes. 210 minutes a day (plus $23 a day in gas, tolls and pool access). I realized that the ride (25 miles- it’s shorter than the drive), including dressing/undressing was less than 170 minutes RT.

The time thing is very site-specific. It takes me roughly 2x as long to bike, because the car route is mostly highway at hours where I can hit 60MPH; for someone with more congested traffic the bike can be more compelling. My bike route is also longer than the car trip, because of the choke points that force bikes onto non-direct routes.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 28144 wrote:

Ah… no. We are talking about at my agency, we have the infrastructure, now what is it going to take to get the N+1 employee to bike to work.

Unless the employees live at the agency, you need infrastructure between home & work. Most important thing is to stay involved in trying to get safer streets. Next biggest obstacle is family time commitments, which tend to be fairly non-negotiable. Assuming those things are non-issues, I’d say the best approach is to keep the biking option visible and normalize it. Make sure there are guide signs like “bike parking” and “showers” in the garage, so people pass them every day.

For myself, I started bike commuting when I switched jobs to something which was achievable. (19 traffic-light miles without having to cross the potomac & a shower & parking, vs 25 miles including city traffic with a river crossing & no shower & no parking). I don’t bike commute daily because there is no way to fulfill kid-pick-up duties on biking days.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 28135 wrote:

I would say we are at the “Build it and they will come” phase. The supporting infrastructure is fully there – so what is the catalyst to push people over the cliff and more people bike commuting?

I think you overstate the infrastructure, which affects the answer to the question. There are still a lot of disconnected islands in the area.

[Author]

Posts