droy45

I know we can use the sidewalks here if we choose to. No law against that. Some multilane throughways have extra wide sidewalks for that purpose. There are no bike lanes. In the city, wider tires are better to absorb the rough pavement and curb hopping. You don't need suspension though. Road bikes are at home on the open road but thats not to say they can't go in the city. Its just not the best choice. If you have a combination of open road, city and urban, some of the hybrids would serve you well. If you need performance and speed, a road bike would be needed. Its really all a compromise in what you want to use it for. There isn't a single type of bicycle that will serve all needs perfectly. You just have to decide what you're willing to compromise and choose accordingly. Best of luck.

Drew Eckhardt 

No.

It means that when riding on the brake hoods your wrists are rotated parallel to your body instead of the ground which is a more ergonomic condition. While bar-ends on a flat bar provide a similar position, they don't let you work the brakes or shifters without moving your hands which means they're not as good for urban environments.

On the hoods you're taller than cars and in a fine position for traffic.

Riding on a sidewalk is a great way to get run-over because car drivers aren't looking there for vehicle speed traffic, especially coming in the opposite direction of travel.

jrickards

+1

Drivers expect users of sidewalks to behave like pedestrians (speed primarily). Cyclists on sidewalks appear out of no where more quickly than pedestrians, drivers tend not to look far enough, ahead or behind, to include the distance that a bike would travel and would therefore miss a cyclist on a sidewalk.

spivonious

Sounds like you want an urban/"Dutch" style bike. Upright position, sturdy frame, yet made for riding on pavement and not trails.

Nirn

Ok, I may not have the official training that comes with obtaining the licence for a vehicle, but I have been taught to ALWAYS look before crossing a road.

Whenever I'm riding and I see a road crossing coming up, I switch 2 gears lower, look behind me (or in whatever direction the cars may be coming from) and then break to slow down.

By the time I've done this, there should still be a good 7 meters until the road crossing, enough time for me to maybe look around once more or for a car to see me.

Still, there are always some ugly blind spots and 90 degree angles in every city, so I completely understand your point.

Nirn

Naah, I have thought about it, but no.

Even if it isn't a step-through, I don't need the position to be that upright

Plus, most of those are single-speed.

And you may call me biased, when I say those things look a little clumsy

Not that I have anything about dutch bikes, they're still classy.

alan s 

This is a little overstated. When my hands are on the bar ends, I can get them on the brakes in an instant, and then have much greater stopping power with hydraulic disc brakes, which isn't an option for most road bikes (although this is changing). And with shifting, not a significant difference. Reach over with a finger and shift. This assumes you are riding on the hoods or drops. Hands elsewhere on drop bars, you'll have to move them, as well.

fietsbob

Recalling, "Mayor drives tank over illegally parked cars", this was Vilnius, Lithuania, rather than Tallinn, Estonia..

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/...in-a-tank.html


Perhaps people dont park in the bike path , now..

Nirn

Oh, Lithuanians.

noglider 

If you insist on riding as if you're on a BMX bike, you should ride a BMX bike. You don't do wheelies or bunny hops on a road bike. You will damage something and get hurt. If you want to ride a road bike, learn road bike skills. If you are tempted to put a suspension on a road bike, you don't really want a road bike.

A road bike isn't for everyone, but it's my favorite type. I prefer going faster for my effort. It's not necessary, but it's my taste.

Riding with drop bars does making looking around more difficult. A mirror can compensate for that. Also, the skill of looking around and back can be developed. I practice it constantly to keep it honed.

ThermionicScott 

That section of road looks great to me.

Nirn

Hmmmm, okay.

I guess the advantage of the bicycle is because the tire is only some centimeters wide, if you're alert and pay attention to the road (as previously suggested), you can avoid 90% of obstacles.

Leisesturm

I've seen someone bunny hop a road bike. In fact, he was on an elevated bridge path moving along at a pretty good clip but hopped down to the roadway to go around some peds and then hopped back up! So he was hopping sideways while still maintaining a forward speed of ~15mph. Coolest thing I've ever seen. I think we are all way out of our depth trying to advise the o.p. on what sounds like a unique riding environment. Which also commutates to: the o.p. should perhaps be asking local cyclists for advice on matters peculiar to Eastonian cyclist behavior. What I know, however, is it would get old in a hurry to go any distance on sidewalks and that isn't really cycling. Around here, people skateboard when they want to cover distance using sidewalks. If the o.p. is old enough to use the Internet then they are old enough to obtain a drivers license for their bicycle.

H

rms13

What?

Nirn

Because riding a bike on a crowded street would not be safe.

(Unless you went really slowly)

Kinda backwards logic, I know.

bkrownd

The only peice of suspension a bicycle ever needs is the pneumatic tire. If you road is rough, just get fatter tougher tires. I've never had a bike "break" on me from bouncing over the terrain.

Nirn

Was he wearing cleats? Still pretty cool, nonetheless.

Anyway, seeing all the confusion and fuss this whole sidewalk thing has brought up - here's an article explaining the law:
https://bikebaltic.blogspot.com/2012/...-cyclists.html

Nirn

Thanks, good to know. I'll still try to be careful, though

DiabloScott

You ain't seen nuthin... this is totally click-worthy.

tsl

I don't know about you, but I ride my bike.



Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 studded snow tires help.

And my 2006 Trek Portland is a bit of mutant. It's essentially a cyclocross front end spliced to a touring bike rear end.

So that advice you're getting about a cyclocross bike? Consider it.

rms13

So basically, the rider matter much more then the bike

Nirn

Yep, strongly considering it.

The only problem is that there aren't many used cyclocross bikes, and if there are, they're expensive.

But the way I understand it, you can't fit such thick tires on a racing bike, no? Or are there exceptions?

bkrownd

For commuting I personally like the simplest possible "flat-bar road bike" format with V-brakes and either trigger shifters or Grip Shifts. Simple old-style non-suspension mountain bikes are also good, provided the frame actually fits you. (so many don't) I did the bmx/mtb commuting for a decade too, until moving to a hilly place forced me to move to a road bike.

Handlebars, shifters and brakes are a highly personal choice. If you prefer what people call "drop" handlebars I'd suggest a "touring" bike instead of a "cyclocross". The "touring" setup typically has more mounting points and area for fenders and gear, a longer wheelbase, and in particular a longer chainstay for mounting racks in back. These labels tend to be driven more by fashion and marketing than anything else, so each company willl outfit their models differently.

Loose Chain

MTBs for years had no suspension. They worked just fine. The Surly LHT is not that different from early MTBs if you get the 26 inch version.

You say you are a beginner and argue beginner points. Experienced cyclist may hop a sidewalk from time to time but for the most part, there are exceptions, being on the road, taking your right to the road as any vehicle and moving with the flow of traffic as PART of the traffic is much safer.

And BTW, the strength, or lack thereof, of a road bike is much exaggerated, they are very strong. Pro riders who make many times your peak power, continuously, riding at speeds over 30 MPH over cobble stone roads, the bikes do not come apart. And, another BTW, ramming curbs with an MTB is not going to do it any good either.

LC

noglider 

Diablo Scott, that's an amazing video. I'm sure many of the stunts took several takes, but still, the fact that he manages to do them is inspiring. Thank you.