urg! how do you handle it
 

Hello,
This is a question directed at commuters who have to leave their bike outside. ( but anyone can answer:))

After a long time i have decided that i will be commuting by bike. However i have two major problems that most of you have already answered but mine are special.

-1-/Like most or some commuters have to think about is weather and theft. The answer to both is buy a beater. I dont know if any of you commuters feel it but i cant ride beaters anymore, when i got my hardrock my body just switched modes. Riding a beater will drive me insane. How do you handle riding a beater?\

-2-/Another problem we face is being able to get a dependable route. I have thourougly examined the area of my route of 5miles and not found one sidewalk. It runs along 2 of the busiest streets in the city. Between the fence and the road is about 2 feet space. ( weeds and shrubbery ) What should i do?\

thanks

madman

I don't ride a beater, I ride a fake beater (looks bad but isn't).
I ride in the street (even the busy ones) because in my state its illegal to ride on the sidewalks.

Yea that was one of my solutions but what do you do if its raining or snowing? Doesnt your bike get rusted up and frozen?

My town isnt very biker oriented. I am probably allowed to ride on the road but that would cause a hassle that i dont need everyday. And no they wont get used to it. Fresh batch of people daily.


madman

I don't ride a beater. I ride this. In my opinion bikes were ment to be ridden and ridden hard. With mass produced frames and parts there is no reason not to ride in all weather conditions.

I ride on the street except for crossing a bridge on the sidewalk/bike path.

Go out of your way if it means you can find better roads.
My route should only be 9.75 miles, but I go out of my way to make it much safer and enjoyable and it ends up being 12 miles.

I agree with Ziemas regarding the weather. Bike is my primary means of transportation, meaning it will go out there in rain and snow if I need to. Most often I will not be able to park it indoors. And when I'm home, it will be in storage room (no rain or snow, but well below 0C in winter).

To compensate, I am willing to put time and effort into maintenance and cleaning, when that is needed.

So far I have not had particular issues with rust or freezing. I have an alu bike for summer use and an old steel bike for winters.

--J

By "beater," most people aren't necessarily talking about walmart and kmart bicycles. An old, used bike shop bike, when well maintained, is not a theft magnet and may be quite fun and comfortable for daily rides. you should check out some of the old road bike conversions on the fixed gear gallery. www.fixedgeargallery.com I haven't put mine up there yet, but I have a mid-eighties schwinn with butted chromo steel tubing that I've converted with a rack and fenders. nobody would steal it (around here at least), I clean it and work on it constantly, it feels great... You don't necessarily have to ride fixed gear, but an old road bike might just be the ticket for you.

I agree with the others that you should extend your route to make it safer. I don't agree with you that you're too good for a beater. I also think that you have the right and responsibility to ride safely in the roadway.

I don't ride a beater but I'm lucky enough to be abel to bring my bike into my office with me. Is there any possibility that you can bring your bike inside with you? If not, you could build-up a pseudo-beater like others have suggested so your commuter is less arractive to potential theives.

Try using MapQuest or Street & Trips or some similar software to plan a bike route. If I took the same route on my bike that I take in my car (I drive on occasion too) it would be about a 12 mile ride on some very busy roads. My bike route is 14 miles and for the most part it's on much less busy residential streets. Don't be afraid of riding on the street as opposed to the sidewalk. In many states it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk. It happens to be legal to ride on the sidewalk where I live but I'd rather not deal with dodging slower riders, people wlaking their dogs, little kids, etc... It's not illegal to ride on the street in any state (that I know of) and that's really where we cyclists belong in my opinion.

I park outside, but my company has a parking ramp and the bike is "sort-of" covered. It is under the 2nd deck of the ramp, but if the wind is blowing at all my bike is still exposed. Anyway, in answer to your first question, I don't ride a beater, I ride a nice cyclocross bike. I lock it with 2 types of locks, and fortunately my office is in a "safer" area and the bike rack is cemented into the ground right at the front door of the parking ramp, and within view of the security cameras. I have even forgotten to remove my saddle-bag a few times and not had anything disappear.

For Bad weather...clean your bike. That's really all it takes. If you ride in rain/snow, wipe it down. I buy the cheap shop-towels at walmart for this purpose. Also, clean/lube your chain frequently and get/use fenders.

On the route issue, get used to riding in the road. If you are traveling at any speed (10 mph + ) you are safer on the road anyway since drivers don't expect things on the sidewalk to be moving that fast. Try riding the route on the weekend to see how comfortable you are with lighter traffic. If it won't work, try to find a route via side streets. Best of luck!

As was said ride a bike you like and ride on the streets. A nice commuter bike can be had for $500-$1000 or you can find a good used bike for even less. Leave a good lock or two where you will park the bike daily and lock the bike securely.You will be riding your commuter lots so make it a pleasant ride.
Find the best route possible that avoids the roads you are worried about. If you must ride on those streets take a lane and ride like you are a vehicle. Once you get over your initial fears it is the safest and best way to ride in those circumstances. Chances are you can avoid those roads altogether with a little detour.
Craig

I am lucky enough to have bike rack right by the front door of the police department, so I am covered for theft by any but the most brazen. For protection from the weather, I cover up the handlebars, the seat, and the milk crate on the back with plastic bags. It makes me look like a fussy dork, but the nice thing about being over 55 is that...I don't care.

I have hear of, but not tried, two ideas for security. One is to get two locks of different types, like a cable and a U lock, to make stealing the bike more work than it's worth. The other is to cover the bike with reflective tape, bumper stickers, etc, to "dorkify" it and make undesireable to thieves. That second idea would be variant of one of the above ideas, to get a really nice used bike and conceal its niceness somehow. Of course that doesn't cure the nagging worry you always would have that somebody MIGHT steal it because it's not parked in a safe place. For any given item, there probably is always someone out there who would steal it.

You are absolutely allowed to ride on the road (with the possibly exception of controlled-access highways), and in fact may be *required* to (i.e. illegal to ride on the sidewalk). As others have said, you're often safer on the road than in a bike path and always safer on the road than on a sidewalk. If you're on a sidewalk, walk. Motorists aren't looking for a fast-moving object that's not in the road.....

HTH!

Alright so the route problem is settled. But im still looking for a commuter, single speed steel framed beaterish. I'm already on it though

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=128371

you guys can help too.

1)rigid fork
2)singlespeed
3)250 or less.
4)used if 250 is too low.
5)mtb/cyclocross/def. not road bike/

EDIT:I dont plan on putting on any cargo things, what do you guys do with backpacks? ( dont say put it on ur back ) I wanna keep my back healty. Maybe i can wear it on my front. Or hang off of my front handlebars frame side.

Five miles is a really short commute; looking for side, peripheral and parallel streets might add a couple or three miles, but if you don't want to ride on the busy streets, it's worth it, and your commute will still be easily doable. But have you actually tried riding on the streets you are talking about? If you aren't used to riding in traffic at all--and it sounds like you aren't if you're looking for sidewalks to ride on--it can be scary and intimidating at first, but if you do it, it gets easier and you will become much more confident.

My approach, though, would be to look for an alternate route; I know in my city it's not always possible, but most of the time it is, and I regularly go out of my way to ride on quieter, less-trafficked streets.

Also, I think you can have a bike that is both a pleasure to ride but also not so attractive to thieves; I ride a "vintage" bike that most thieves wouldn't bother with if there was something newer and prettier parked next to it--and there always is--but I keep it in excellent running shape, and that's the key.

"Beater" doesn't have to be synonymous with "ugly, decrepit piece of crap that is no fun to ride."

My commuter bike is an old style road bike, fairly high-end in its day, and still as good but at a fraction of the price.
Its hard to recomend a particular bike when you are looking for something used. If SS is your thing, then get something with horizontal dropouts. These are also good for hub gears.

Steel can live out-doors in all weather if you apply framesaver/wd40 to the inside and car wax to the outside. Pack all the bearings with lots of grease and use a well-sealed bottom bracket .
Definately fit a rack and fenders. This is not only useful but will deter many thieves. Racks are good for absorbing scratches when you lean the bike.

my "beater" singlespeed commuter is a surly...

nice enough to ride nice, not so nice as to attract ridiculous attention.

it gets locked up in center city philadelphia (not the nicest most looked after location). one bike has already been swiped from me here, but now i use two locks a NY chain and a u-lock.

more than one lock (preferably a chain AND a u-lock) should protect your semi-bling investment well enough that you shouldn't have to worry about theft. if the locks are too heavy leave them attached to the rack, thats what i do, they'll always be there when you need them.

as for the riding being potentially unsafe; just try your route... i think you'll know if it's unsafe. if it is, find a safer route...

a weekend of exploration by bike between home and work should open your eyes to any number of safer commute route options.

Madman91, I second the suggestion that you look for a slightly longer, safer route. It will make the ride much more pleasant and hence something you are willing to continue. Surprisingly if you add a mile to your route and you average 10mph (which is very easy to do) that extra mile will only add about 6 minutes to your ride. So going a greater distance is not always much of a burden if you can do it without adding to the stress of the ride.

As for parking outside I do it all the time. I have a new hybrid that I've added racks and fenders, etc. to make it a good commuter. As the owner of the LBS where I bought it observed, I've made it look like a European bike and therefore much less alluring to thieves. I use a u-lock, cable lock and a frame lock that locks the rear wheel in the frame. Fortunately, my bike sits out in plain view so I don't have to worry a great deal about people taking a lot of time to steal it. When there is a forecast of rain or snow I put a disposable plastic shower cap over the seat to keep it drier. I think good maintenance should take care of any bike problems brought on by winter weather.

Good luck

I agree- I've built three fixed gear conversions- and old lugged steel rides as well as anything new- for a tiny fraction of the cost. Old Campy hubs laced to old Ambrosio rims... everything is reasonably priced.

1. I guess I ride a beater. It's a Specialized Hardrock (like yours),but it was built in the 1990s. I bought it used, but "like new" for $100. It is a fantastic bike for commuting, but it is not real likely to be stolen, and it never complains about getting cold or wet (unlike me!).

If you commute regularly, your bike will look like a beater in six to twelve months. Guaranteed. If you maintain it, it will still run well. Obviously, any bike ridden every day for 5000 or 10000 miles a year will show more wear than a weekend special ridden 1000 miles a year. If you don't like this reality, you probably won't like commuting.

2. It is less safe to ride on the sidewalk, according to almost all who write about cycling safety. Find streets that you feel comfortable riding on. Please read more on this forum, especially the Advocacy and Safety section. Also, ask at you local bike shop about safety courses in your area. It is very important that you learn more about keeping yourself and others safe on the streets.

I agree, if the bike only lasts a few years then yippy I get to buy a new one! Heck, it's better than buying a new car every 2-3 yrs. which is what I've been doing.

Like most have said, an alternate route that may be longer is your best bet. Before commuting to work for the first time on Friday I planned my route to avoid roads with cars traveling more than 35-45mph. This made my ride much more enjoyable and only added an extra mile.

Huh********************Your back will be fine sheesh, I ride for a living and wear a messenger bag for like 6-8hrs a day, my back is fine and I routinely carry as much as 50lbs of paper in it plus tools and stuff, heck i had one supreme court filing today that was a stack of paper 12" high and I rode with that thing on my back for almost an hour before I could deliver it.The weight gets spread out over your shoulder(s) and back, its no big deal.

yea the back is fine now.. maybe even a few more years. But when im 60 i want to be able to pick something up off the ground without moaning or throwing my back out..

ride with your 60 pounders and ill visit you in the home.

madman

Lets see, I rack my bike about 700AM, I unrack it and go home about 1230PM...ergo most of the idjets that mess with bikes (after school) don't have time to mess with mine.

Oh the advantages of 4th period off!

It seems that regularly carrying a load will make your back stronger, not weaker. Also, pedex said 50 lbs., not 60.

I don't get it. You asked for advice, but you raise objections to the advice that people offer. That is not very respectful. You could also take a moment to clean up your grammar and spelling. (SHIFT KEY ring a bell?)