Hi there, I am a very new commuter. I have been lurking here for about a week, and read some great advice somewhere here about taking your bike in to work with you on a Friday morning, and riding home after work, and then riding back on Saturday to pick up the car as a sort of "test commute". Well, I did it, and it wasn't so bad, I think I will be doing it on most days if it stays dry.

Here's the questions though... I have been doing longer rides on weekends (30-45 miles) and my fingers keep going numb. I am riding a Specialized Rockhopper with bar ends on the handlebars, but I find the bar ends to be too thin and hard. Is there a way to make them thicker or cushier? Maybe wrapping some kind of foam around them, or would that make them unstable? What kind of fenders are best for a mountain bike, or do they even make them? And, how do I get my D*mn light to stay on the little clippy thing... it slips off and crashes into the road every time I go over a pothole. (lots of potholes here in Vermont...) What about rain? I would really like to ride in the rain, but have never done it, and am a little worried about slippery roads.

Any advice would be appreciated. Oh, my commute is 12 miles with a REALLY big hill about 2 miles from my house (uphill on the way in).

Thanks so much, Kim

I'll chime in on the rain bit, because I actively seek it whenever I can. Rain isn't really a big deal as far as making the roads overly slippery is concerned. In fact, heavy rain will make them considerably less slippery by washing away the oil buildup on the road. However, light rain can be a problem because the oil just sits on the top. The best thing to do is to take it a little easier. Take the corners slower and don't lean into them. Brake earlier for traffic lights and such to allow yourself an extra couple of seconds to slow down, and try to avoid slamming on the brakes if possible (you might consider riding slightly slower to facilitate this).

In answer to your light question, you might need to provide a little more information. What brand of light is it? What type of mounting system does it have?

The light is a Trek LED that clips into a track sort of thingy. It makes a "click" when it clips in and there is a release button to get it off the mount, but any hard bump makes it fall off. Hope this helps!

It helps some, I think I had a light like that once (a Trek in anycase). I understand the mount has a screw that tightens it, would that be correct? Is the whole mount coming off or just the light? If it's the whole mount, try positioning it closer to the centre of the handlebars. If it's just the light, examine the mount carefully, something very small may be broken.

The mount is a little loose. The guy at the bike shop said that he was going to leave it a little loose until I figured out what angle I wanted it at. Maybe that was a bad idea? The mount stays on, it is the light that comes unclipped from the mount. I will check it in the daylight tomorrow though, and tighten the screw. Thanks again!

You could wrap your bar ends with road bike bar tape. It will make them thicker and add padding.

If you have knobby tires, consider getting some slicks. Specialized Armadillo Hemisphere or Nimbus are good choices for commuting. Fewer flats (if any) and less rolling resistance.

Replace the light with a different model or run some duct tape around it to hold it down.

There are plenty of fenders for MTBs. Check Performance, Nashbar, your local bike shop, etc.

You'll need to figure out how to get your work clothes to work and how to get cleaned up when you get there. Some people drive in on Monday with a weeks worth of clothes they leave behind. Some take a change of clothes. You can haul your clothes on a backpack, but depending on the heat and length of commute, you might find that uncomfortable. I prefer a large Carradice saddlebag (actually one of their smaller ones) that are available from www.wallbike.com or www.harriscyclery.com. Some people use one or two panniers. If you don't have a shower at work, remember that baby wipes are your friend.

Good luck with your commute and welcome to the club. Smile every time you pass a gas station.

I was wondering about tape for the bar ends. Does it last, or do you have to keep replacing it/adding more?

I have "city boy" tires right now, which are still pretty knobby. I am going to be getting some slicks, but they are low priority right now. A pump, spare tube and a rack are at the top of my list right now.

Duct Tape sounds like an excellent idea, it would make it much less likely to be stolen as well I would think.

As for work clothes, I am going to be carrying them in a backpack for now until I get a rack. I have some old panniers, but they don't close, they are really only made for holding grocery bags, but I think I can put a bag in them. I need to get a rack to attach them to though.

And, last but not least, luckily there are showers where I work, and I have a locker that is pretty big, so I can keep a towel, and supplies in there.

Thanks for the welcome, I am already grinning at just the idea of filling my tank less often!

A roll of duct tape is also useful to carry with you. You can't imagine just how many uses you can find for it in the case of a road-side breakdown.

Wow it sounds like you have the same problems I had when I started. Get your pump, a seat bag, and a tube repair kit (I use the stick-on ones) and get some better lighting. Slicks are a must, make it a priority. I run 1.5's but will run 1.0's when I have the $$ for the tires and tubes for that size. Take the same precautions as you would in a car for rain. Visibility is the biggest limiting factor that I noticed.

Have fun!

Ok, maybe this is a dumb question, but what are 1.5's and 1.0's?

1.5 and 1.0 refers to the width of the tyre -- in inches. I'm running 1.9's, but that's only for Queensland's notorious "roads".

See if your local bike shop has a used rack just lyin' around. Maybe they carry cork handlebar tape, & some gel gloves to give a little cushion.

Glad to hear that your givin' it a try, and if that hill gives you a hard time just remember that you were given two feet long before you got a bike.

Are you wearing any gloves. These will absorb some of the stress, but more importatnly will protect your hands from being seriously lacerated if you crash.
Numb hands are caused by pressure on a nerve. Use bar tape to re-shape your grips to place the pressure in the palm of your hands, not the edge (like a modern power drip handle). I use bits of old inner tube for padding.
Off road fenders have lots of clearance for mud, but for road riding, the closer they are the better they work. Full length fenders attatched to the threaded eyelets on your frame work best.

Gloves really helped me with numbness.

As far as rain, I just got some Nimbus EX tires and I like them. Haven't ridden them in the rain, but have in the aftermath and it wasn't so bad. The only thing I hate about riding int he rain is water on my glasses intefering with my vision.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

What a fantabulous idea about wrapping the grips to prevent the pressure point on the heel of my hands!! I hadn't thought about that. I had these really old, crappy gloves, but bought some new ones today that have much more padding. I hadn't thought about hand protection during a crash before either, good point.

I actually am bikeless for the moment. My bike shop keeps "repairing" the gears on my bike, but it keeps doing the same thing. (Not shifting into the smallest gear in the front) They keep replacing parts, but at least have stopped charging me labor, so hopefully I will be back on the road by the end of the week. I was looking forward to this week being my first full week of commuting every day. Ah well, guess there's always next week. (and the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that....)

You can buy foam grips for your bar ends. Mine came in 8 or 9" lengths in a package of 4 for $9. It was branded Giant. I just cut to size and it works fine on the bar ends, or even as regular grips.

You will find many fenders available at your lbs. Most will be the plastic clip-on's. Some people hate thatem with a passion & others, like myself, think they are ok. It really depends on how much coverage you want from the water that will be thrown off your tires. I just want to keep the back of my shorts from being covered in guck & the downtube will keep most of the guck from the front side.

As for rain, on the nice warm days of summer, it keeps one cool. Even on the colder days as long as you are heading indoors after a ride, it's not so bad & still, it helps you cool down. I ride all-weather conditions until the beginning of December. The winters in Quebec, much like VT, can get pretty rough & cold.

Have fun out there!

Thank-You all for the great advice and encouragement. I am looking forward to my commute through at least early December. I am really hoping to do some winter biking, but I am not so sure about the snow. I have a friend who bikes in the winter, but how do you deal with snow on the roads? What about when big snowbanks make the roads skinnier?
Bsyptak, I will have to look for those bar end foam grips. They sound great! Thanks for the tip.

I dont commute in the winter now, but when I did, I would take bus or car for a couple of days after a snowstorm. Then I would ride close to the edge of the ploughed area. I didnt find any problem riding through new snow if it started snowing while I was at work, and cars always gave me more room when passing, because they were scared that I would fall in front of them. My son commutes all winter and he has Nokian studded tires on his winter bike. Potholes get filled with ice in the winter which gives a smoother ride. The sound of people scraping ice off windshields and trying to start their cars with tired batteries is music to the ears.

Unless you find foam grips that fit on the bar ends, I would go with "cork" tape made for road bikes. It's fairly resistant, unless you actually scrape the tape on brick walls, branches and the like. Another point you could check is the angle of your bars (if they aren't totally straight) and especially of your bar ends. Usually, there is a small Allen bolt that you need to unscrew, then rotate the bar ends, then you tighten it again. I have no experience with straight bars – except for my daughter's trailercycle – but on touring bikes, it's incredible how rotating the bars by a few degrees improves comfort a lot.


Read Sheldon Brown's pages and Park Tools" pages . Both have hands on lessons on how to adjust your derailleur... which I think is the only (minor) problem your bike has. Not too hard to understand once you see the pictures.


Regarding fenders. I'm part of the "every bike should have fenders" camp. If you want to commute late at fall and even through Winter – why not? –, full fenders and mudflaps are the way to go. The only drawbacks to full fenders, I think are:
- geekiness factor (I don't care);
- riding in mud, because it packs under the fenders.

If you only ride on asphalt, snow and even on gravel or sand roads, I would prefer permanently installed fenders because you get real coverage. You could even add a mudflap such as shown on Alex Wetmore's page for total protection of your feet and drivetrain.

If you want to park your bike up and remove the lights to stop them getting stole, try putting a small amount of tape around the bit that slots into the mount - it makes it a tight 'interference' fit rather than a loose and wobbly click fit and you can still remove the light pretty easily. The tape might need replaced every now and then as it erodes when you slot the light in and out of the bracket.

Mudguards ("fenders") are a must IMHO unless you like wearing a diesel-scented skunk stripe and getting a ****** whenever it rains.

[/QUOTE]Mudguards ("fenders") are a must IMHO unless you like wearing a diesel-scented skunk stripe and getting a ****** whenever it rains.[/QUOTE]


Oh My God!!! This one had me laughing my butt off!
I think I will most definitely be getting fenders soon. Can't have any skunk stripes, or rain ******s on my way in.

I actually got my bike back today, and the bike shop says that I need all new shifting mechanisms, from the twist grips all the way down to the chain rings. I think I am going to just ride this bike into the ground and get a new one next spring. I think I am not going to be afraid of duct tape from now on when it comes to this bike though. Stickers, geekiness, and duct tape will be the name of the game from here on out.

On the UC Davis campus, they refer to it as the "freshman stripe."

Get full length fenders, not the trendy shortie MTB versions that are a poor excuse for them. On the front the fender should attach at the crown of the fork and have stays going down to eyes at the dropouts(assuming you have a fixed fork and not a suspension one). On the rear, the fender attachs to the the brake bridge, the chainstay bridge and eyelets at the dropout.

Full-length fenders on the front are designed to protect your shoes and chain/chainrings, and reduce the spray thrown *forwards* and then up into your face. On the rear, they reduce the rooster-tail effect that gives you the skunk look, and secondly interferes less with riders coming up behind you or you have just passed. You can fashion addition mudflaps from the plastic of large milk or juice jugs.

Bear in mind that in heavy rain, you and your bike are going to get wet all over and fenders won't help much. However, overall, you will be thankful for the reduced wear and maintenance costs on the drivetrain. Plus full fenders and mudflaps add to the geekiness and lower the risk of theft.

Just another thought on a new bike (whenever that may be). Front suspension forks that actually work and are durable cost a lot. Otherwise, quality and usefulness are dubious. They also reduce the ability to fit full-length fenders, although it is not impossible with a bit of ingenuity. I always recommend fixed forks for their zero maintenance cost and ultimately, comfort when specifying an urban commute bike.

Finally, be careful with your bike shop. The comment about an entire shifter/derailleur/chainring replacement sets off the alarm bells for me. Get a second opinion from another LBS if you can.

With that kind of attitude that bike will take you a long way!