noob questions

ayo

looking to buy a hybrid most likely. with gears, even though i live in brooklyn.

are there any particular brands that one would recommend embracing or avoiding? i doubt that my demands on the bike will come anywhere near its limits, but i figured i'd ask.

I loved my Marin hybrid. Less enamoured now I e got the Tricross but it's still a great commuter. It's a Larkspur.

my dad and I are going go a cycle tour through europe; don't know anything about touring bikes. don't want to spend more than £400. am I best trawling the CTC forum for a dawes galaxy or would something like this do the job?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/riverside-5-mens-id_8156686.html#more_infos

I'd try and find something without front suspension, unnecessary extra weight.

Can you use cyclescheme to extend the budget a little?

OK here goes.

I am a total bike noob. I have barely ridden one in the last 15-20 years. Looking to get a cheap, reliable safe bike for my commute. This is Eastside Los Angeles, an emerging bike-friendly part of what must be one of the least bikeable cities anywhere. But luckily my commute is only about 10-15 minutes and can be achieved by avoiding major roads, etc. So what kind of bike and other gear am I looking for? Also how do y'all carry your stuff on you without looking like a complete tool? Are there "bike bags" or what

THANK YOU

Excited about new bike adventures,
AdamRL

Is it flat? Are you technical / mechanical? How much stuff do you need to carry? What's your budget? Can you imagine yourself getting drawn into either the exercise rush or the cultural accoutrements?

You're probably looking for a flatbar hybrid bike with rear rack and panniers (saddle-bags), but, if it's flat, you might want a single-speed or fixed-gear bike, which is easier to maintain, a little cheaper, and cooler too. If you decide you don't want a rack and panniers, there are so many cool messenger bags and stuff it's crazy.

Unless it's really hilly it honestly sounds like you could do it on anything you like. I'd get a cheap secondhand (or even better, borrowed), well, bike, make sure it's serviceable and then just ride. If you like it, I promise you'll be back asking how to make the most out of cycling.

The only thing to be concerned about at this stage, other than its roadworthiness, is that it's more or less the right size for you and the saddle's the right height.

It's not flat, but not insane hills either. A little undulation, I guess. I don't need to carry too much really - maybe books and a pair of shoes, etc. My budget is small and I'm fine with a used bike. I already exercise quite a bit so could see myself getting into that, but I'm never gonna be a racer or anything like that. Do bike people in warm places carry a change of clothes? Seems like I would arrive everywhere sweaty.

if you commute in the morning and it's 65 degrees or less, it's totally doable in your work clothes, if you stay very chill. i commute 14 miles each way and i actually wear my office pants and a technical t shirt, then change into undershirt/office shirt when i arrive. no sweat. for the way home, i change into regular shorts (no lycra) and the tshirt again, so i don't have to worry about any sweat in the evening heat. even in high summer, the mornings here are usually low 60s, but afternoons are regularly high 90s.

if you are getting around midday and trips are over 15 minutes, sweat could happen tho.

Thanks for your help, guys. I will mostly be taking streets to work, many of which do actually have bike paths, and there are some nice paths along the LA River I would like to try. I guess a "city bike" would be fine though if I want to go on the occasional flat dirt track, would I want something else?

Super-excited about this, btw.

you'll be fine on the occasional unpaved road unless you buy a true road bike or a hybrid with road wheels.

what do u guys think about this place? Does it look good or bad?

http://flyingpigeon-la.com/

oh, also, it's harder to wear a dress shirt with a messenger bag on any ride over 15 mins because of sweat- single pannier is superior on the sweat front, but the mounting/unmounting is the penalty.

Also how do I find out rules for cyclists in my city/county? I don't want a bike ticket while I'm still fighting a car ticket.

lol wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Los_Angeles

usually a cycling group will do a leaflet if the local government does not, e.g. LA http://www.bicyclela.org/Law.htm

that bike looks really practical for short hops- i kinda envy basket users since they can just throw what ever bag they have into the basket and get moving.

baskets are great. the one thing is if you want to leave your bike for a while you need to take the basket's contents with you, which you have to do with a bag, but at least with a bag you have a bag.

Cool, and what about fitness? I run and work out already but how do new bike converts find cycling impacts their personal fitness?

i don't get how the sizing on that bike makes sense- it'll only fit those 5'10 and up basically?

ORLY? I am 5'8.

what's your inseem? it says 32"+ recommended? you may wanna call them.

re: fitness- it's great for general fitness, but if you're already doing other stuff, i don't think puttering around will have much effect other than burning a few hundred extra calories a week.

if you start riding enough that you are cutting runs to ride, and doing say 100+ miles a week, you might lose some running speed/turnover speed in my experience.

inseam

admrl, flying pigeon is legit, had my bike worked on there when i had a mechanical far from home.

yeah, I'm 30". I will call or drop by - I live down the street from them

get this one. throw the lil lady in the front and carpool to work

http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/27792923/300.jpg

adam, i am excited for you! i love riding bike to work :)
still need to get the panniers/rack :(

I don't know what most of these words mean!

I really think I am gonna do this bike thing. though now I am hyper-aware of cyclists that I see on my way to work. There are more and more bike lanes here, but still..some mean streets out there too

If you're as much of a noob as you're representing yourself (and I'm sure you're not), read up on roadcraft before getting out there. Learn where in the road you should ride, learn who has right of way in various situations, learn how to be assertive but not aggressive. Learn to avoid danger and how to ride most efficiently.

I have not really used a bike for about 20 years, so almost as much of a noob as I can be. But yes, I plan to read up. Honestly, I get the feeling that cyclists in many parts of LA are more or less invisible. But my immediate neighborhood is actually really cycle friendly, so it should be no problem to go to farmer's market, bar, bookstore, whatever. I plan on using back streets for my commute where I can, but it will probably be a bit of a learning curve. I'm excited about the LA River bike paths though!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkPlINQln-w&feature=player_embedded

i hadn't ridden it probably 15+ years when i got my bike! but it comes back easily. and it's great. i am really conscious about obeying traffic signs and signals because i know that when i am driving it drives me crazy that cyclists DON'T. it makes things so much more dangerous - moreso for them than me!

I hadn't ridden in over 20 years when I got my bike. Craziness.

i have a noob commuting question!

if the forecast says there is a 30% chance of scattered t-storms during my evening commute time, should i ride to work tomorrow? i get so nervous about rain!

most of the time i don't ride bc of rain forecasts, it never storms til after i'm home. but you know, it's like a murphy's law thing...

check the hourly forecast and adjust your commute thusly.

lol, however:

your daily bicycle log

well, the hourly forecast is 30% chance of scattered storms for a 4 hour window, so that's not really an option.

which forecast are you using tzy?

i prefer:

weather.com

followed by

accuwx.com

weather.com hour by hour

accuwx sez i need a premium acct to see chance of precipitation? lamesauce.

i think accuwx only goes out 12-24 hours for non-paying users... try again in the am.

The issue here is why are you so nervous about rain? Discomfort, inconvenience, or more worried about road safety? The first two shouldn't be too big a deal on the ride home, as you can jump in the shower, but I understand being less comfortable on wet roads (and in a rainstorm, when visibility is poor as well, it's no fun). I can't pretend riding in the wet is as safe as riding in the dry, but you can of course take precautions to ensure that you at least are being as safe as you can be - ride slower, greater stopping distances, avoid paint and metal on the roads, use lights, that kind of thing.

FENDERS, as Yanks call 'em.

I like riding in a little bit of drizzle sometimes, but then I mainly ride for pleasure rather than to commute.

I'd not ridden in a decade before I got back in the saddle last June. Avoided main roads for a few weeks while confidence built up, love 'em now. Nice and fast! Good visibility!

xp that's all good advice but i think tza is talking thunderstorms here not london drizzle: high winds, zero visibility, standing water on the roads, etc.

yeah more concerned w lightning and flooding than getting wet.

how's public transport for your route? do you have buses with those racks on the front?

Hey, so friend of mine is selling one of these. Great condition, almost half retail price, but maybe a bit more serious than I was thinking.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/steamroller

Y'all know about what I'm looking for. What's the verdict?

those are SS and almost always fixed gear fyi

SS?

You can build this frame with gears or as a singlespeed or fixed-gear.