Roody

One thing that stirs the blood of most commuters is getting new gear--useful stuff for the bike and the body. A large proportion of the threads here have something to do with bike gear. Just thumb through and see how much we talk about our gear: lights, clothing for every kind of weather, tires, bags, packs, panniers, fenders, pedals, shoes, reflective crap, computers, etc. and so forth.

Some of us (like me ) are minimalists trying to find cheap stuff. Some are geeks who want to make it for themselves. And some are practically poseurs who want everything--as long as it's new and shiny! But I think it's pretty safe to say that we're all interested to some extent in stuff for our bikes and bods. And we all like to find out other rider's experiences before we spend our hard earned cash.

A problem I've noticed is that sometimes it's hard to find the info you want from so many threads on the forum. You scroll through looking for stuff about rear blinkies, for example, and it's hard to pinpoint what you want. If there was a separate subforum it would probably be easier to find what you want. It would also be convenient to learn about new stuff that you don't yet know you want.

I'm thinking that if there's enough interest in Commuting in a Gear & Lighting subforum we could approach the administrators with a request to start one. So what do you think?

michaelnel

I'd like to keep it as it is. Too many forums here already to keep track of.

Brad M

I propose a forum for inner tubes.

KrisPistofferson

We have far too many subforums as it is.

Cyclaholic

...with a 50 page thread titled "Anybody else get a glorious ride on their XXXX-brand tubes today?"

peregrine

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All the current forums and subforums can be overwhelming enough. I think stickes do a good job.

d2create

no.

trickdog

I voted no, there are enough sub-forums as it is...

ahpook

here is a tip for when you're having trouble searching for things in the commuting forum:

go to google.
put "site:bikeforums.net commuting SEARCH" in the box, where SEARCH = whatever you're looking for. presto, no need for subforum.

vrkelley

I'd favor the sub-forum if it were more than just clothing and lighting. There's so much more to night riding than just gear and lighting. For example, compensating for poor lighting, speed variation, dodging skunks etc.

Roody

Those skunks ain't lit but at least they do have a reflective stripe!

Sounds like you're more interested in a "Night Riding" subforum than a Gear & Lighting subforum?

webist

I voted no. As has already been mentioned, the search function works. My reason is that I enjoy romping through the various forums. I can't tell you how many times I've been drawn to something new while looking through the various forums and topics for something specific.

Roody

I haven't tried it yet, but that sounds like a useful tip.

One problem with any search is that you have to know what you're looking for. I could easily search for a particular brand of light, but if I was new and didn't know brands, or even if a brand new brand came out, I might not know what to search for.

Roody

I tried to search for "lights" as a newbie to commuting might do.

Ahpook's tip for searching with Google didn't work at all. I must have done something wrong, but I thought I was following the instructions.

A forum search of only the Commuting subforum got me 20 pages of results. Most had nothing to do with actual information about different lights.

Roody

I know exactly what you mean. When I was doing preliminary library research for my master's thesis, I found crucial articles when I was just browsing aimlessly through the library stacks. You think having a new subforum would make this more difficult?

sbhikes

Problem with a lights subforum is the Aussies wouldn't find any use for it during the time of year the forum was most active.

geeklpc1985

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roody

...

Sounds like you're more interested in a "Night Riding" subforum than a Gear & Lighting subforum?

A Night Riding subforum would be great, and I think is needed.

Super Geek

Mchaz

Why not just use the search function on the forums, and highlight "Commuting" under "Search in Forum(s)"?

https://www.bikeforums.net/search.php

landstander

Oh, sure... if you want to do it the easy way!

Roody

I did that. (Post # 14) That's when I got 20 pages of results, many or most irrelevant. Check it. Six of the top ten results have nothing to do with lighting. It really would be easier to search if there was a separate subforum.

HiYoSilver

Mechanical or Commuting should suffice. A better suggestion would be to allow search of only selected forums to reduce the number of hits.

If you're getting 20 pages of hits, you need to refine your search better. Try searching for a particular part you are considering and read posts for alternatives.

jnbacon

A Gear and Lighting sub-forum would likely just make it harder to find information, as some people would continue to post in Commuting, and some would switch over. I find this between Commuting and Safety and Advocacy sometimes ... though that forum also serves to contain the hammer-and-tongs battle between VCists and anit-VCists!

Roody

You can search on one forum only and that's what I did when I got the 20 pages of hits.

AS for narrowing the search, I know that and you know that. If I was thinking about buying a new cateye light I would search for cateye. But somebody buying his first ever light might not know how to do that. Also, if I wanted to scroo through for threads looking for info ongear and lighting in general, it would be easier. But I do see the reasoning that we have enough forums already. This thing shows no signs of getting any smaller though!

Michel Gagnon

Why not a "lighting with batteries that pollute the environment" forum, then a "lighting with rechargeable batteries" forum, then a "folks who really care about the environment or plan to ride longer than 4 hours need a generator" forum. Then a forum on "how to do those mudflaps to make the fenders really effective", etc.

In other words, I voted NO. And I would like to find a way to decrease the number of forums.

2wheeledsoul

As a religious bargian hunter that values durability over mere cosmetics, I've learned to trust user reviews over marketing hype. Marketing hype tries to make utter crap look like a worthwhile purchase. A review by someone who has actually put it through it's paces will call it like it is: If they say it's crap, it's crap.
So I voted yes.