Starting a new job on the 29th and plan on moving into some apartments early next year which are only 2 miles away. A 1.5 miles away from where Im going to work is where Ill be going to school. Prolly .5 miles away from the apartments I want to move to is a grocery store, sporting goods store, etc... Can you say almost carless?

Even though my mountain bike wasnt too expensive ('04 Giant Iguana) I still want to keep tires and other parts from getting worn. Most of my current riding is done on paved road so Im thinking about getting a road bike then later converting it to be my commuter.

1) Where the heck do I find good used bikes (particularly in the Huntsville, AL area)? I checked salvation army today and didnt see anything. I know they get bikes in fairly often but I have never seen any. Im thinking they give them away to people who really need them. Havent found squat in the news paper. Havent found any other good sources. Are pawn shops worth looking at? Maybe as the holidays get close people will start selling their bikes (newspaper). Would it really be worth it to get a new bike?

2) What kind of bike should I be looking for? Is there a general consencus over what style is prefered or is that purely personal preference? Right now Im thinking maybe a road bike but Im not familiar enough with the area to know if there are any off road shortcuts I could take. Should I ride the area a while before I actually get around to choosing a bike? Im pretty sure there are some bike clubs that meet in the area and ride the road during lunch.

3) Will panniers and fenders go on just about any bike?

4) Right now Im running clipless pedals on my bike. Is it generally better to go with platforms or is it worth carrying around extra shoes?

Oh well, theres much more I could ask but I think this is prolly the most important to me. Im prolly worrying too much about this since I prolly wont have the $$$ to move out till about 4 months. Parents want me to get a new car before I go. Not going to argue with them since they will help pay for it even though I wont need it too often. Free rent + driving > rent + tons'o'bills

1.) craigslist.com is pretty sweet. Just a thought.

2.) A road bike would work fine. I've got a touring rig because I'm heavy (220lbs) and I like to carry a whole lot of gear (and sometimes my girlfriend).

3.) It will need to have braze ons on the rear so you can have a rack. Any touring set up will have them, but make sure the road bike you are looking at has them. They look like an extra threaded hole. Check out planetbike.com for their fenders and see what you need to mount them. Those fenders rock and they seem to be aplicable to any bike.

4.) My bike has clipless pedals which I have shoes for. Also though there are plastic inserts that my bike came with that go in one side of the clipless pedal so you can ride with regular shoes. They can't be very expensive and it lets you have a more usefull bike for whatever you want to do.

Oh, and ask your parents if you could decide on a value for a car and whatever you get below that you can have the rest of the money for a bike because it seems like the healthy and fun thing to do. I've found treating buisiness like that logically with my parents to work pretty well (but not everyone's parents are that cool with stuff like that). Good luck.

First of all, congratulations on your new digs. I just moved to an apartment close to a train station, so it is convenient for me to be carless--not easy in Dallas, TX (as I doubt it is in Alabama). Feels nice, doesn't it?

A tip with the parents--I don't know how your parents will feel about you not having a car. My parents basically forced a car on me while I was in college. Not having a car is equated in some minds with a certain hippiness or slackerdom. Don't emphasize your burning desire to be carless. ("Dear, the kid says he doesn't want a car--that's just crazy--I told you he'd end up a communist if we let him go away to college. Take him to the dealership and call me when it's time to work out the financing. This will pass over once he's behind the wheel like a decent, red-blooded American.") Instead, emphasize the frugality of it, emphasize that by not having the freedom to run around everywhere/anywhere in a car, you will stay in more and focus on your studies (even if this isn't true). Begin by acknowledging their benevolent (if misguided) reasons for getting you a new car, then begin your silk-gloved refutatio. Read, if you have the time the sections on ethos in Aristotole's Rhetoric. Of course, your parents may be down and none of this will be necessary, but alot of parents are gonna think you loco for not wanting a "free" (they are never free) car.

(By the way, I took the car they forced on me, waited a few years and sold it after it was in my name, then bought a bicycle and motorcycle. Hi Mom!)

Get a road bike in a touring style with sufficient clearance for fenders and mid-size tyres (28 to 32mm) and threaded eyelets. Some entry-level road bikes have these. You can fit a rack at 3 points (fender threads and brake bolt), but 4 bolt fittings are much better. Race bikes do not have the heel clearance for large panniers so a touring style bike would be better for the weekly shop.
Forget about clipless pedals on a short range commuter/utility bike, its just not worth the bother of having to wear cleats all day long, or changing shoes when you ride. This type of riding is where toe clips can out-perform clipless.

I would second the use of platform/clipless combo pedals. That way you can use normal shoes if you want to and go clipless for longer trips. You might also want to consider rack and panniers. Your (shortish) commute will probably be ok with just a backpack, but again for possible longer tours and hauling more stuff panniers (or a trailer) will be more comfortable.

--J

My 2 cents, Ride whatever you like. What you like almost always trumps everything else. With the short distances you're talking about nearly anything would work, even a backpack on a unicycle, wouldn't be my choice but heh.. I have a light touring bike, it's what I'd ride most likely. You have an ATB, I'll guess you'd probably be more comfortable more upright. European commuter bikes, Breezers and the like are made for your kind of situation. As distances increase the benifits of road/touring style bikes increases also. Where one makes that switch is personal.

From a practical standpoint, It might be argued that something upright will allow you more visibility. What's really important for everyday commuting is a rack, usable bag(s) and/or baskets, fenders and lights. And most basicly that the bike fits you. Is the area flat? you don't even need much in the way of gears. Got more hills, you probably want a few gears.

You should be able to pick up some clunker on ebay.

For that short of a commute, I would go with platforms. Heck, you probably won't even need a shower.

Forget all this "advanced" bike stuff. Get an old 50's cruiser. I've got one I picked up for $15, then renovated it. Powder coated bright green, basket on front, chrome fenders, white wall tires, coaster brakes, cool retro light, and a bell! It's bad ass and I use it to go everywhere around the city. People really dig it, a real head turner and a conversation piece. It's a lot of fun to ride, especially when you hook up with other old skool types. "Modern" stuff is really boring.

I ride the **** outa that 50lb beast. Hop curbs, haul groceries, pub crawls, whatever. A 5 mile ride is no problem, more than that becomes a concern.

A few ideas on some issues:

- Pedals. I like SPD shoes for almost anything, except trecking or walking in the mud. SPD shoes in the snow is a different matter, but shouldn't be too much a problem in Alabama. If you have narrow or medium feet, SPD shoes all the time might be a solution. Once you finalise the position of the cleats, use Shoe Goo to seal the slots.

- Bike Type. With a 2-mile commute, any bike works. Use your MTB, a road bike, another bike... and you probably won't see the difference. A more pressing issue is to find a bike with low theft value... in which case an old (but in good shape) bicycle would work best. NO clue on where to look in Alabama.

- Fenders, rack and panniers
Go with a bike that has clearance around wheels (especially near the brakes), and eyelets near the dropouts.
It means a bike with some breathing room near the fork crown, around the seatstays and chainstays. If in doubt, try to slide a fender in the hole under the brakes). With current and past bikes, I would say bicycles with centrepull brakes (1970-1980), single-pivot sidepull brakes (1960-1975), cantilever brakes (1982 +), v-brakes (except the mini-V -- 1995 +) should be OK, but NOT bikes with newer double-pivot sidepull brakes (also called caliper brakes).
Eyelets near the dropouts (i.e. where the axles are bolted) are essential because that's where you bolt the front fender, the rear fender and, most importantly, the rear rack.
As for rear rack and panniers, many disc brakes are problematic with racks and panniers.
Finally, avoid suspended bikes. More complex, more maintenance issues, more weight... and little benefit for commuting.


- Do you need a car? Maybe yes, probably no (according to your description). You try to find a close-by appartment, so that solves the "living" issues. The other question is whether or not your job requires you to travel, an how often it does. Can you do these travels by bicycle or will you need a car? Would a taxi work? Or how about car rental (typically easier if you are older than 25)? I tend to think you probably need a driving license, but might not need a car -- those are two different issues.
If your parents want to pay for a car, how about a raincheck (i.e. save that money for the time you switch to a job where you would really need the car)? Or do they want to pay all car expenses? If so, it might be good to take AAA figures and do a complete calculation of the costs of car ownership!

Arguments that won't work with parents:
- cars cost a fortune to maintain (what about credit cards?);
- bikes are fun ;
- driving in traffic isn't fun (are you supposed to have fun on weekdays?).

Arguments that would work with them:
- little or no parking, irrespective of the price ;
- travel time (especially if you have realtime figures);
- a love for parties (think about drunk driving...).

I always say "Ride what ya got" then see if it works.

Though theft could be a concern, you might spend money now on stuff that you can transfer to a new bike if you find you need or want one. Like good locks, rack, panniers, locking skewers, lights, fenders etc..... I've found that fenders and lights are really the liberators that allow me to bike in any conditions at any time (this is California, we have 2 seasons at best). Before fenders and lights I was constantly looking outside to assess the rain/dark situation and have to adjust my schedule according to it. Now I just watch the weather on the news once a week and see if rain is predicted then put my rain jacket in my bag.

As for the parents and the car...that's a tough one, we commuters have a hard time convincing people that we neither NEED nor WANT a car. You could let them down easy by saying "I'm not sure what kind of car I want yet, I'll shop around once I move". You could also tell them "I dont' really want a car, there's been some break-ins in my apt parking lot" which is pretty much true of any apt complex in every city. Hell, if they insist that you must have a car, say "OK, thanks for the car my dear parents; Can I keep it at your house?"

Sounds like you've got a real kick-ass situation there...enjoy it!

Cars are expensive, but beyond the cost of running a car is their power of making it easier to spend money - taking friends places, going on trips, going to out-of the-way places where you can pick up a good deal etc. I went without a car for about 7 years in the 80s, but made sure I lived on a bus route with access to the subway, and I rented a car for a weekend 3 or 4 times a year - saved a bundle.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I definately want a rack and panniers so Ill be looking for something that has the eyelets already. If I dont find something by the time I make the move Ill prolly go to the LBS and see what they have. I was really hoping not to spend too much though.

Ive currently got a car that runs fine other than some minor problems. Its pretty old though so Im just waiting for it to die. Im guessing it will be good for a good while though. The only thing I dont like about it is it leaks water like crazy in all the windows and trunk. I think what sprang the car thing was my Dad moved to Montgomery and said he would buy me a car (told me that before we both lost our jobs end of July). Then the job fell through. Im guessing if he finds a job soon he'll hopefully score me a car or at least help out a lot. No big deal though.

The way Huntsville is built you pretty much need a car. I could do without but if I wanted/needed to go anywhere other than school, work, or grocery store Id pretty much be screwed since there is no public transportation and taxis are not reliable. Plus I want a car for when the weather is real bad. I dont see myself doing a whole lot once I start this new job and start going to school again though.

The situation with the apartment Im wanting to move into is better than the last place I lived. Ill be making a lot more money than I did at my last job but the apartment costs a few hundred more. Another up side is I wont be paying ALL the bills this time, my GF is going to pay half of everything. I was paying for both of us before. So this time my expenses will be a little lower than before.

Why I want to commute:
1) Save money on gas! Its gotten too expensive for my tastes.
2) While I enjoy sittining in my car listening to music I would much prefer to ride!
3) Excersize
4) Im willing to bet it will be faster to get to work.
5) Im not a morning person. I think it will be a good way to turn into a morning person.

Oh well, my thoughts are all scattered now...

This is coming from somebody who doesn't know anything about Alabama, but...

distances that you might think are too far to travel by bike (to go to places other than work, school, and the store) might not really be too far. A couple people here ride a 35-plus mile round trip every day. For me, places within 12 miles are definitely fair game for the occasional bike trip.

And as for the weather, maybe this won't convince you but I used to commute year-round in Anchorage, Alaska and in Montreal. The snowiest days were the days where I was faster than traffic. Don't sweat the weather.

Its not really the distances for me...its more about not being able to avoid the hiways to get to anywhere else worth going to in the area.

The best place to buy a good, inexpensive road bike is still a thrift store, such as Goodwill, St Vincent DePaul etc., but you have to be patient to find the gems since the ratio is about 30 (huffy, magna, AMF) to 1 (Raleigh, Gitane or Miyata). In my area, the good ones go fast & it helps to be there when the doors open at 9AM as the other early birds are looking for bargains in tools, electronics & small kitchen appliances. I used to check once weekly when I was looking for a bike or parts. It helps to know what you are looking for so educate yourself a bit. A quick way to spot a good frame is to look for axle adjuster screws on the back of the rear dropouts. Haven't ever seen these on a bike that wasn't worth buying, but you won't find many. Even if there are only cheap, beater 10 speed road bikes in the display, take time to check out the pedals, saddle & wheelsets. I have found Campagnolo pedals & wheelsets, Soubitez generator sets, leather saddles & some nice toe clip sets on otherwise unremarkable bikes. No rhyme or reason to what somebody might add on. Prices here have escalated a bit though. Time was that a chrom-moly frame road bike with mid to high end shimano or SunTour components but with flat tires, & covered with basement dust would be priced at $9.95 but now it will usually be $20 to $50. Good thing is they still price shiny dept store bikes in the same range & I have seen people pass up a nice Miyata for a Huffy or AMF Road Master because the Presta valves & flat tires scared them off. Don