noob questions

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.

xost. you're jewish. you don't want it

steamroller at half price would be a good score

i think you want some gears in LA

especially since you're not so experienced and will be cycling more casually

lol btw they messed up the copy on the steamroller page---it's describing the cross-check. the only way you're building a steamroller with gears is with an internally geared hub

and caek otm---if you're starting off, and living somewhere with hills, i'd get something with gears. in fact, i would suggest the surly cross-check!

LA gears

i don't think he wants drops

lol am0n

and i dunno, i feel like a steel frame would be a weird place to start

cross-checks work fine with risers, it'll just cost extra to have the shop set it up (esp since the the only way you can use the stock shifters is if you mount them on Paul Thumbies which are....expensive)

if you can stretch to ~600$ this it would be a good place to start imo http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/road/commute/soho/soho_s/#

but i gather from the shop link that maybe he's looking for something a bit more relaxed and upright like the 3-speed creme?

i am sitting in one-on-one bikes right now and i'm certain there is something here for mr real-life

So this is a no? I think $600 is too much for me, yeah.

ha i linked to the wrong trek model anyway, but yeah, if you're thinking more 300 than 600 they're off the menu anyway