jade408

Thanks! Finding the right accessories was so hard! Haha. Now I am pondering switching the grips.

I worry about the same, I am 5'4" too.

Ooooh, this is a good idea. I uncovered a new dress I got, while a nice fit and flare shape, has lightweight fabric, so I had to keep holding it down. I only had a mile to ride, so it wasn't terrible, but I was thinking it might have to move to the no-on-the-bike pile.

Sharp!

katsrevenge

When I first started riding I was very concerned about it. But it has only been an issue once. My very full light cotton skirt escaped the clip and somehow wrapped around the brakes. I started to crochet a set of wheel guards right after that. Now I just need to tie them on.

Crocheted skirt gaurds re a real thing. There is a pattern or three on Ravelry... or you can buy a set from I think Belgium.

I'm 5'3" and that is a bit of an issue with a longer skirt. I tend to have to tip the bike over a bit to step over the bars. It is the one thing I miss about my loop frame cruiser (and why I still want another bike for my stable!) That said, I enjoy how the frame is nice and not-wobbly. I can get up to some serious speed on this bike. I couldn't do that on my old loop frame cruiser.. the frame would twist under me if I peddled too hard. It also handles well.


I wear fuller skirts and just tie them up with a hair clip or scrunchy. I keep both on my handlebars. Just attach on the side with the chain and go.

Lovely red bike! I love how it has lights and a full chain case.

I will probably round out my stable with a Papillionaire Sommer. It looks much like your very lovely red bike. Unless I can find a comparable 3 speed in purple.... they did sell these in purple but stopped. So I'll just get a black one... maybe.

jdswitters

my GF rides in a skirt/dress as that is all she likes to wear.

I bought her a very inexpensive skirt guard from ventura dress guard, they are adjustable and has been working well for a about a year now.

She also has a hair clip on her handlebars that is there to tame unruly skirts.

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Her favorite accessory is is the cup holder on her 1969 Schwinn Breeze Delux. She gets a lot more looks and comments than I do, I thought is was because of the classic bike

jade408

I've got one of those to install. Still on the fence, but I am thinking it is practical. Especially now that I switched from a wooden crate in the front to a basket.

jade408

I think I am not a crochet person! But definitely want to look into a corded skirt guard!

I saw a skirt garter, and thought it was a good idea. But the "commercial" one doesn't seem to be implemented very practically, so I think I will make my own! With a velcro or button to close it, so you don't have to pull it up your leg. That is great for seduction, not so great for riding around practically and making lots of stops! Will keep you all posted.


I like those bikes too! I think all of the Linus/Public/PApillionaire new school dutch bikes are my scene.

fietsbob

other, simpler thing drill a bunch of holes in the edge of your mudguard and put a ring down by the axle ..

run cordage laced from the hole to the ring , radially, to fill in the space and keep the fabric out of the spinning spoked wheel.






there are clear plastic pieces made by European bike companies as part of their features* .. bikes made to be ridden as transportation.

took a long time to be taken up in the states ... where to make the selling price attractive low , are stripped to the basics ..

but now that is becoming Fashionable the market may follow ..


* Coroplast sheet is used for Political Lawn signs , and so is free the day after the election. to make your own

paint or bumpersticker over the names and slogans on the stuff ..

katsrevenge

Well, I made mine simply, and in neon orange for extra visibility.. but don't knock the crochet. It's apparently traditional on this style of bike.





I never seriously considered a garter. I like things I can leave on the bike.

And same. I like a little elegance in a machine.

jade408

Skirts and dresses aside, I am not particularly "girly." The crochet seems too look cute for other people. On me I feel like we crossed a little too far into Sandy from Greece.

You would not believe how long the whole basket thing took for me. I wanted something with wood and metal. Unfortunately the porter racks were pricy and had big holes. And the Brooklyn Cruiser crate isn't compatible with my rack. I did have a killer wooden crate that i strapped on that I picked up at Marshalls, but some loser broke it trying to steal the crate. So I thought a basket was lower risk.

Bike theft is pretty rampant in my city, I like stuff I can stash in my purse. I figure it wouldn't take up much space. And I already bring a little headband to keep my hair straight and safe from hemet hair.

katsrevenge

Oh, I'm not 'girly' either. Whatever that is supposed to mean. But, if you are wearing a dress on a bike, I think you already qualify a bit. LOL

What I do know is that most bike theft in my area is done by males, mostly younger. A guy on a bike with crochet anything on it is going to stick out like a sore thumb. I consider it, my rainbow stickers and slightly rude bumper sticker mentioning dicks (under the rear rack, mostly to protect the paint) as theft deterrent. Why would they take this bike, that is embarrassing kitted out, over a bike that is not? That plus two locks allow me to leave her outside along while I shop.

jade408

I don't know so much in my city! We've got scraper bikes*.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geIsWq5xOSE

I think I'd feel if I added the crochet to my step-thru bike, with a basket while wearing a dress. That's just too cliche!

*Thought it would be good to note the Trunk Bois are very active in our local Bike Coalition too. Scrapers (the cars) were tricked out cars in local slang...

katsrevenge

Well, my bike doesn't have a basket, LOL. Just the rack. I guess I'm safe.

The local hoodlums all ride BMXs. Those kids are the ones I worry about and those are the types of bikes I hear about growing legs on the local crime watch page. My nephew's faux BMX was stolen not too long ago. I have its replacement, a beat to crap BMX, in my kitchen, waiting for me to put the wheels back on.

Older guys ride mountain bikes for the most part. The few hipsters have butchered old ten speeds. My mixte really sticks out.
Funny enough, its my old Shwinn town bike (nearly as old as I am and looks it) that gets compliments. One of these days, I'm going to spray paint it....

ETA, it's neat that that rap group is still active in biking. That song is how old now********** Also, what exactly is in those wheels? Plastic bottles? Cardboard?

daihard 

I've been looking for a rainbow-coloured jersey for a while...

jade408

I have seen cardboard and streamers but people must have plastic too!

The song is from 2007 if I recall. A friend just started volunteering in the bike coalition and told me that they chatted about advocacy in East Oakland (where that video was shot).

In some ways it is pretty ironic. Most of the bike coalition members live in my part of town are white and affluent. My friend is white and he lives in the under-served under-represented part of town that skews people of color and middle class and working class. I live in the mostly white collar part of town where riders are hipsters or racers and have expensive bikes.

katsrevenge

It must be a West Coast thing. I've never seen the like. Sometimes people put cards or bits of plastic bottle in the spokes to make noise but thats as far as it goes. And even that is hit or miss.

Here, we come in all colors, but most of us are a bit on the lower/ lower middle class level. You have to leave town to find the affluent people. Most of them are too scared to come down into the valley! (Most of the crime is drug related and involves people who know each other. It's far from random.) I live in one of the better parts but it's still colorful! Just the other day, a woman was arrested for hooking down at the corner.

jade408

I got crafty and made a DIY skirt garter. Now that it is done, I realize that the suspender clips are kinda annoying, so I think I will get quilting clips and try again. It took me about an hour and I am no crafter. But it is pretty close to exactly what I want. If anyone wants to DIY let me know. Minus the thread it took about $10 in material and there is enough for 2. With tons of extra elastic. . I just made up the construction!

905

I love a story with a happy ending.



They can also unmake the man.

Dave Cutter

Hummmmm...... I'd guess that a man having an Narcissistic Personality Disorder is fully "made". So often we forget that many health disorders can be spotted very easily by ordinary people [called "friends"].

Dave Horne

I saw a bike documentary that showed Victorian women using little lead weights attached to their skirts to keep their skirts from flying up. That would seem to be an easy solution as well.

905

Mad Men made a similar observation (scene reimagined, you understand).



I had to look up monkey lights to see if they should go on my wish list.

MEversbergII

Dutch Bike Bits! It'll be about 60USD with shipping, though. Possibly more if you're farther from the east coast (where I'm at).

Check out my "Roadsters for Shorties" thread, as similar to you and kat, I'm rather short - 5'4"*

*Including the defect where I'm always on the balls of my feet

Your friend sounds a like me. Living in a working class neighborhood where all other cyclists besides my fiance and I are either unable to afford a car or have too many DUI's (these are often related). Most people cruise on either BMX bikes or seriously janky mountain style bikes. They typically have no brakes, and dismounts are usually pretty...kinetic.

M.

EDIT: Kat, seeing your Mixte is beginning to sway me towards it...$500 and I'll have an 8 speed IGH in my size...

jade408

That's so awesome! Thanks.

jade408

This seemed like a good idea, but either requires small magnets (that I will lose). Or building it into your skirt or dress (not that crafty).

I am going to make v2! I decided suspender clips were too annoying. Now on to quilting clips.

jade408

I'll check this out!


Oakland is a pretty wacky place in a lot of ways. Lots of people bike. Ranging from the can't afford a car to the I am saving the planet to the I'm training for Tour de CA to the Utility Cyclist. You should see the Whole Foods parking lot. Typically car and bike parking are very limited. And there are spots for about 60 bikes! You've got the gamut of fixies, city bikes, beater bikes and fancy racing bikes with the Priuses, BMWs, Volvos, beater cars and the typical compact and mid-sized cars. Everyone is a Whole Foods. Literally.

905

I was happy to print them up for you.

MEversbergII

Dutch Bike Bits has all kinds of stuff you might like, that's for sure.

I'm jealous of Oakland. Here I am, just getting settled into this area, which will never be as progressive. Then again, no way I'd be able to afford to live in Oakland.

M.