It has been forever since I have riden, like much over 5 years. First ride around the block today and need to do some tuneup and improvements, naturally.

What I have:
-- touring bike, brand Giant.
-- tri bike, brand Trek

Have not put back together the Trek, but did the Giant.

Immediate jobs:
-- replace taping
-- get handlebar plugs
-- lube and adjust gears, etc

Questions:
-- what are the 2 best online shops for bike equipment?
-- what are the 3 best headlights and tail lights today
-- have drivers changed in reaction to road bikers?
-- we have a standley garage door opener, and would like to find a mini remote for riding, but it's "secure" and don't know if any after market will work with it.


My brother has "upgraded" to electric bike, but not ready to drop 6k for a different bike.

At least no initial flats and after to ride around block.Not bad for a webbed bike and chain only stuck once. So good initial trip.

My current go-to online shops. Others can add more;

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/

https://www.jensonusa.com/

https://www.universalcycles.com/

https://www.westernbikeworks.com/

Lights are all very similar and I try not to spend too much. I dislike USB re-chargeable, haven’t gotten long term reliability out of the 2 I tried, now I buy what’s on sale at REI or my LBS. Are you just looking for blinkers ? Or night riding ?.

Drivers are worse. There’s a real problem with texting and driver inattention, with cyclists getting run down on the shoulder for no obvious reasons. OTOH, I ride choose quite roads when possible, as well as times that see reduced traffic, so try to alleviate the danger. Don’t judge current conditions though, CV crisis as seen a drastic reduction in traffic volume, almost like every day, afternoons even, are like 7AM on Sunday. It will pass in a few months though.

Welcome back as BTW

Thank you. It is amazing how little has changed. I used to go to performance bike for routine stuff, but they have gone bankrupt. For good gear, I'll go to
light & motion
competitive cyclists
maybe trek
and whoever handles schwalbe tires

I don't have the stuff anymore so I'm going to get a local guy to do the chain cleaning and gear adjustments, but needless to say, lights are dead. Somewhere in the stuff pile is a cyclometer,but going to
start without out and just get tuned and order a mini remote. I found a couple that will work. Still have enough jerseys to last,so I'm good. Now just have to find my shoes and put the riding pedals on the touring bike.

Some locals recommended a safer 22 mile route, that I hope to check out next month, but need to get bikes ready and mostly me ready.. After 2 heart attacks it's no longer time to take chances, but I need need need
cardio


Adding: forgot cateye, they were my go to rear light as it was the most powerful.

Thought I could take the easy route and hire a guy to do the chain and adjustment work, forgot about shutdown. So going to order a park chain cleaning kit again that I threw away when moved. Thank you all for replying.

Oh, the other thing I noticed is site volume is about 1/10 what it used to be.

Get good lights. I use urban Light and Motion headlights and Cygolite tail lights and I get a few hours out of the headlights and a lot more out of the tail lights, and they last for several years of frequent use. I have had drivers comment on the brightness of my tail lights .... half-a-mile visibility is a plus.

Also ... I have not seen drivers as a whole be much worse ... every now and then some loon figures empty roads equals no laws .... but by and large drivers are courteous.

For lights, I have settled on Blackburn USB rechargeable. They are guaranteed so when they give up on you, Blackburn replaces them. Nice that you are back riding.

Here on Bike Forums I read accounts of extremely unpleasant interactions between motorists and cyclists. My own experience where I live is just the opposite. Here motorists are courteous frequently giving cyclists a break. I suspect the difference is the general pace of life in different regions.

I once lived in Connecticut and used interstate 95 in commuting to work. That area was densely populated with everyone in a desperate rush. It was common to see fender benders, sometimes daily. I did not wish to live like that so left that job for a quieter area. You can usually find better places to live without moving to Alaska back country.

Performance Bike is still an on-line retailer and is now under the same ownership as Nashbar.

For commuting I use Niterider USB-rechargeable lights, Lumina 700 front and Solas rear. They are now several years old and are totally reliable (and extremely bright). The USB feature is terrific. They have newer versions out now that are even brighter. Highly recommended. Beware of the cheap blinkie lights that are around. They look fine in the store but many of them are not bright enough to be seen easily by car drivers approaching from behind.

TY for the universal cycle lead, I like their webpage and product line best

I’m also using Light & Motion rechargeable front, the older model has a really good strobe light that’s last about 5 hours. I’m also using the Cygolite rear, the Hotshot Pro 200 is really bright and will last 5-6 hours on flash mode. I had a lady tell me she could see me a couple miles while riding long flat roads out west.

GPS cycling computers are very reliable now. I create routes on my computer using RidewithGPS and load the route into my bike computer and it works super. It’s alerts you to an upcoming turn and will also tell you if your off course. Some use cycling apps on their smart phones.

If you don’t want to invest in a new bike what about lighter more aero wheels?

Two bikes remember, first the touring to build back up a little mass and strength so I don't look foolish riding the fun tri bike. I can't remember the wheelsets exactly, they are sram and either 40 or 60's. That's about as aero as I'll ever see. Interesting enough with cross winds.

My L&M light I'm sure is toast now, after being in storage for 5 years. It was a halogen as newer led lights were just being developed.

The problem with cycling computers/routes now is that the area is fairly rural and not many safe options.

Turns out the bike repair guy is shutdown cause of covid, so back to old school: get the stuff: lube/cleaner/chain clean machine and call it done. Going to skip the break chain part, but will pull out the portable bike stand, which I am glad I kept. Ordered the maintenance stuff last night as well as new tube and levers, just in case.

Chains with quick links have become much more popular in the last several years. I would just get a compatible chain with a quick link and forget about having to buy a chain remover tool. After 5 years of sitting around I think a new chain for each of them is in order.

-- what are the 2 best online shops for bike equipment?
St John Street Cycles, https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/
Peter White Cycles https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/
-- what are the 3 best headlights and tail lights today
Sturmey-Archer Dynohub -- because anything with batteries is too much hassle to consider
Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Premium Cyo T Senso Plus - good headlight.
Busch & Müller Seculite Plus -- best with stainless steel fenders.
-- have drivers changed in reaction to road bikers?
Here in the DC area, bikes are increasingly regarded as legitimate transportation, not out-of-place toys
-- we have a standley garage door opener, and would like to find a mini remote for riding, but it's "secure" and don't know if any after market will work with it.
My new car has a built-in opener so the old one from the sun visor is now available.

Stuff made in Europe - bike24 and Merlin have been good.

I've been using a Cateye Volt400 lamp mounted on a stub on my fork, and a DiNotte 400 taillight. This headlamp is very good for daylight use, but for real night riding, I use a B&M Ixon, which has a sharp cutoff beam like a car headlamp. The DiNotte is visible for over a mile in daylight. You really want a 300-400 lumen tail light. Most of them are POS that fool you into thinking you're visible in daylight. As DiNotte says, if it's not as bright at a car taillight, you're at a big disadvantage. You know it's bright enough if cars slow down to pass you. Can't emphasize that enough. For night use, I tilt the DiNotte down a bit so that it won't blind drivers, instead creating a big red oval on the pavement behind me. It's still visible for a mile or 2 at night.

Another vote for Western Bike Works. Nice selection and speedy delivery from Portland OR. https://www.westernbikeworks.com/?ad...SAAEgImKvD_BwE

Two things to note about this:

1. You still need a chain tool if you put on a new chain because you will need to remove links to get the right chain length.

2. For most modern chains (i.e. last 20+ years), you MUST use a quick link and must never try to join a chain with a chain tool. This is because the pins on modern chains are peened or flared at the ends. When you use a chain tool to drive out a pin the peening or flaring is torn off and the pin is ruined. If you try to reset it with the chain tool the chain will be very badly weakened at that spot and will snap when you apply high torque to it (i.e. standing on the pedals on a hill). The consequences are never good when this happens. This is the reason that all modern chains come with quick links.

Wow, good info. I really don't know what chain I have. Thinking back the bikes have been in storage for almost 10 years. Opps, But i did finally find a compatible keychain mini remote for the garage door and will be ordering it this weekend. I can use use the old big remote untilthen.

-- what are the 3 best headlights and tail lights today

I have been very happy with the See Sense, which are available on Amazon. They are USB rechargeable, seem to hold a charge for at least several hours. And they are bright as hell.

https://seesense.cc/

And if using 11 spd chains, they are directional, in that they have a direction in which they are supposed to be installed. I had never seen that prior to using 11, maybe my older 9 spd. stuff had it, I’m bad at reading directions on new stuff.

Been so long, don't remember what I have. The parts should arrive tomorrow and then I should have a better idea. Giant has a 3 ring crank and standard shimano cassette on rear, think just standard 11 speed cassette. Darn lost my sheet with gear ratios, etc. bummer. Need to look for backups. The Trek uses a compact double crank ring, ,which I was very very scared of trying as thought would be too little for steep hills, but worked out ok.

Since we're talking about lights and online shjops, https://www.bike-discount.de/ has been wonderful for all my dynamo lighting needs. The prices are great, even with shipping to the US included, and service and speed are wonderful. You also sometimes get EU-exclusives (I believe there were some colors of the Schmidt dynamo hub you couldn't get in the US).

B&M lighting for the win.

For the price you'd pay someone else to clean your chain, you could just buy a chain breaker, a couple pairs of master links, and pull the chain off to clean it yourself. Put it in an empty glass spaghetti sauce jar with some mineral spirits, shake it a few times, come back 10 minutes later and pull it out, and you're done. It's quick, it's easy, and it's cheap.

I'm currently running a NightRyder (sp?) front light and a Light & Motion rear light. I like them both. There's a USB charger by where I keep my bike in the garage so that's not a big concern with me, and they both last for multiple rides, so it's not a huge hassle. I'm in the process of switching to a Cycliq front light that has a built-in 1080p video camera, so this setup will change, and it's likely if I like this Cycliq camera/light combo I will either go for one in the rear too (arguably more useful in the rear so your next-of-kin can see exactly what killed you), or else go with a Garmin Varia radar. If they had a model with red blinker, camera, and radar in one unit that would be a complete solution, but alas. I bet we'll see that soon, though.

In addition to Amazon, I've bought several things in the past, and a couple of expensive things since the CV virocalypse began, from JensonUSA and have really liked them. They shipped out instantly, and in both cases I got a good deal (there was like a 1-day or so discount on one of the things I bought, and then the guy at Jenson gave me the 15% off discount using my discount code that came on the postcard in the box with my first order for the second purchase, even though it was for a Garmin device and he wasn't supposed to).

Most drivers in my area where I ride seem OK, but I did have some bunghole in a red tricked-out diesel pickup " " on me several weeks back. If you don't know what that means, the link I put in is a Youtube video of a guy who thinks it's funny to spew clouds of black diesel smoke into the faces of cyclists. Just wait for The Purge, my friend. Just wait for it.

Welcome back to cycling!

EDIT: I didn't realize the forum would insert my video into my post instead of just putting in a link, but oh well. A guy in a red truck rolled coal on me several weeks ago, just like you see in the video, except even worse; the entire street was enveloped in thick, black smoke as he passed me.