johnlp37

Stay active. Use it while you can. Good health is not a given. Don't waste it.

5matt

57 1/2 here. I've commuted to work for a little over a year now, 30 miles each way, I ride it one way 4-6 times a week when the weather is decent-too far and roads too busy to ride in the rain or snow. My goal is to ride both ways on the same day more times than last year (10 times). I'm amazed sometimes that I am almost 60, when I'm riding I still feel like a kid.

no motor?

I still think I'm riding to school some days when I'm riding to work, and get jolted back to reality when I remember how long ago those days were.

AlmostTrick

Learn to do your own wrenching. Buy good tools, and a stand. You'll be proud of your accomplishments and will be able to help others. You also will save money in the long run.

Care for and maintain your bike properly and it will last a long time. Buy new bikes occasionally anyways!


Solid advice. I signed up for a health screening at work today. Passed with flying colors! I plan on not allowing it to go to waste.

I had to take two busses. The first one dropped me off at one school, where I had to wait for another to take me to my school. Thanks to the layover, riding my bike was faster so I could sleep later!

tsl

It's B or Bruce, by the way, or tsl, but never T.

They're not identical, merely similarly equipped. Over the years I've figured out what I like and what works for me. So I use the same stuff on both. No point in having stuff I don't like or that doesn't work for me.

I'm car-free, so I don't have the "Oh the bike's broke I'll use the car today" excuse. So if the bike's broke, I need to have another that can fill in.

As for the differences, the Trek Portland (orange frame) is basically a cyclocross front end grafted to a touring bike rear end. It fits my studded snow tires and wider fenders for the winter. I bought disc brakes after my first winter commuting wore out a set of rims from braking. My winter route has 47 stop signs or stoplights in the 9-mile round trip, or roughly five per mile.

The Ribble Winter/Audax (blue frame), true to its name, is a audax/brevet/randonneuring bike. Everything that makes it a good rando bike also makes it a good commuter. Although the biggest tires it fits with fenders are 28mm. Most rando bikes will fit 32s.

Handling is the biggest difference between the two. I'll talk about "trail" here, so if you don't know the handling characteristics trail imparts, read this piece by custom framebuilder Tom Kellogg: Trail and Its Effects.

The Portland is borderline high trail with its 28mm three-seasons tires. The tire size difference between those and the studded snow tires is enough to put it firmly into high trail territory. With its longer chainstays, it also gives me more heel clearance when I use the grocery panniers. Between the two, up to about 70 pounds, the more load I carry in back the happier and more stable the bike feels.

In contrast, the Ribble is decidedly low trail. With its shorter chainstays, I have to be careful starting from a stop or I'll hit my heel on the grocery panniers before I get clipped-in. Nothing dangerous, merely a nuisance and it makes me look amateurish. The Ribble becomes unhappy with more than 45 or 50 pounds in the panniers. The front end tends to wander and the tail wags the dog a bit.

Choosing between them in the three-seasons is a coin toss, unless it's raining, then the Portland gets the nod. In winter, the Portland wears its studded snow tires. If there's a chance of ice on the roads, I ride the Portland. On those rare above-freezing days, it's the Ribble.

For the sake of completeness, I try to haul stuff only on Mondays and Thursdays. (I currently have a four-day workweek.) On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, if I don't need fenders, I ride my Litespeed, shown here with its commuting gear--headlights, DiNotte 300R taillight, and slightly larger scrotum bag.

tsl

Yes it is, and no I can't.

But the trick for me is using the bars scale, not the PSI scale. Between the character size, font, and goofy graphics, the PSI scale is useless. The bar scale though is nice and clean. So even though I cant read the numbers, I can count them. I can see them well enough to count them while I'm pumping. I use between four and five bars in front, and between five and six in back.

blackhawknj

65 here, been cyclocommuting for going on 25 years, switched from 10 speeds to 3 speeds in 1999 for a retro feel and because I find 3 speeds more comfortable for in-town use. Currently riding a 1965 Rudge. I come from a family with no history of health problems. Advanced hobbyist, do my own repairs-invested in a Park Cotter Pin tool years ago, a wise move. Build my own wheels. Use generator lights, find them more satisfactory. Live at the top of a good sized hill.

Todzilla

Dear Whippersnappers,

Starting riding bikes in 1962. Had two older sisters, so I had to endure the ignominy of riding girls bikes for a long time. Raised in suburbia, a bike was my ticket to explore the towns I was in (Durham, Palo Alto, Austin). I loved the adventure.

1 of 6, my parents had little inclination to chauffeur everyone around, so I biked to school, piano lessons, friends houses. Got a funky Raleigh BOY'S BIKE in 1969 that had a precursor to the Shimano internal hub gearing. But in 1972 I spent nearly $100 to get an Austrian bike from Sears. It had Simplex derallieur, Weimann center pull brakes and lots of cool aluminum and alloy components. Rode that to school and job at pizza shop. I rode it 200 miles to the beach and loved it until it got stolen on the campus of the college I attended. Boo hoo.

Got a Peugeot PX-10 which I converted to clincher tires and used as my main commute mule for years. Commuted twenty miles each day out of financial necessity and loved the ride once I got past the pain of approaching my bike with the knowledge of the long road ahead.

Got back into bike commuting ten years ago with a short jaunt from forest home to the center of town on a Breezer Villager. Upgraded to a badass Cannondale CAAD 10 105 and am road biking it now.

Philosophy? I bike commute to combine the following things: cheapskatery, exercize, tree huggery, adventure, slowing spinal deterioration and meditation - all achieved with only a slight addition to the otherwise reasonable commute time by car.

I love the feeling of minimal high tech metal and rubber beneath me as I soar above the asphalt. I try to avoid all the cheesy ass bike festoonery and prefer a beat up looking piece of crap bicycle (that is secretly a fine machine), which is perfectly aligned with my non-anal bike care.

Spine willing, I hope to ride across my home state (North Carolina) and maybe, MAYBE across the USA one day.

fietsbob

an image to consider https://assets.amuniversal.com/dfec1d...19005056a9545d

Colorado Kid

I'm 55 and been riding since I was in high school. Right now, I put in about 5,400 miles a year just by commuting to work and back. As the old ad says, "Just do it!"

AlmostTrick

Ok, I have to admit, you had me with your opening.

But "cheapskatery" and "tree huggery" clinched it. Well done, and thank you, sir!

AlmostTrick

See. This is what I'm talking about. How many youngsters can say this? Pedal On!

Todzilla

I offer oodles of You're Welcomery!

no motor?

Most days when I'm commuting I see some unhealthy person struggling to get through their day and that always motivates me to keep going.

BobbyG

It's not you vs traffic; you ARE traffic. Also, if you're frustrated or angry, mashing a bike pedal is healthier and safer than mashing a gas pedal.