noob questions

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

This "creme" looks nice

adam, buy my hybrid off me!
http://www.swobo.com/catalog/product_info_b.php?cPath=2448_2459

THERE'S A BOTTLE OPENER UNDER THE SEAT!

$400 range

http://store.citygrounds.com/store/product/7864/Linus-Roadster-Classic-Complete-Bike-Black/

creme is fairly cheap but made in europe so is probably hard to find/relatively expensive in the us. there must be similar sub-500 upright position manufacturers over there though if that's what you're after.

adam buy jaxon's swobo

that is a cool bike

we don't live in the same city anymore :(

but if i were to drive down to la i'd bring it w/me

that bike looks fun

it is. hella weird. coaster breaks in back, disc in front. 3 speed internal hub. big tires. i rode the shit out of it. up big hills, long rides. super fun.

i didn't hear much about this schwinn, but it's cheap if you're set on the upright thing, although it looks like it weighs a ton.

so... after riding home in the rain today (despite a forecast that said otherwise!!) i have towel dried my bike and lubed my chain. anything else i should do to prevent issues? by the time i got home, my breaks were really squeaking.

or my brakes. you know, whatever.

Brakes will squeal in the wet, particularly when new. Wiping the braking surfaces of debris is good practice

I'm a fan of washing and drying the chain regularly. You can get a chain washer for not much money and I'm a fan of Rock and Roll miracle red degreaser for this.

I eyeball brake wear and tyre sidewalls before every ride and just listen for any other noises.

(also it is novarra and spoils my rapha/castelli forme)

i have the gold rock and roll. is red better? tbh i wondered, when reviewing the options at lbs, if it was all just marketing or if they were really different. i think the guy there said gold would be good for me.

i guess now i am mostly confused - do you need to grease your chain, or degrease it? or do you just degrease it after every few lubes? i feel like *ack* cathy right now!

xpost that post ended up in the wrong thread.

both grease and degrease. There are two philosophy's in lube, dry lubing and wet lubing. Dry lubes are waxes that flake off over time so in theory pick up less dirt but need more frequent application. Wet lubes tend to allow dirt to stick but need less frequent re application.

AFAIK gold is a drylube, I use R&R red on the road bike.

I use dry in the summer and wet in the winter and on my commuter bike all the time.

My standard procedure though is to wash the chain at least monthly this removes any grime and metal particles that might promote wear; but yes you degrease and then regrease with clean lube.

ok. so red to clean, something else to lube.

I use finish line wet lube, it works, never used dry, maybe next summer.

Ed's right on the chain cleaner, those things are a pleasure to use compared to the old scrub with a toothbrush or take off cOmpletely and soak in paraffin methods....

When you do lube it back up, take your time and lube the chain from abOve, it's the bearings inside that need living not the outer plates. Then take a wad of kitchen paper and run the chain through that to take off the excess that will only pick up more muck, rather than doing anything beneficial.

There's something quite beautiful about a freshly cleaned and lubes chain, especially if it's zipping quietly through a clean smooth drivetrain, sigh.

Think I'll give the felt a deep clean tomorrow.

Rock and roll have miracle red cleaner and red lube. Green nipple cream too, FNARR!

http://www.rocklube.com/bicycle.htm

Jesus, some awful spelling mistakes in that post, sorry guys, combination of tiredness and smartarse iPhone spelling correction.

sorry pp meant to reply to your text then got sidetracked

def going to trawl CTC; need to start piecing together a potential itinerary

Not sure what your aims are but I can recommend Cherbourg or St Malo to Caen. The vendée comes highly recommended (cf. this year's TDF). And some friends recently did the Rhine to Basel IIRC they started somewhere in south East Belgium to take advantage of Eurostar tickets taking you to anywhere in Belgium

http://www.rheinradweg.eu/en/index.php

so clipless.....

um, convince me