Hot answers tagged urban-riding
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Rank, Folke and Jespersen (2001), "Differences in cyclists and car drivers exposure to air pollution from traffic in the city of Copenhagen", The Science of The Total Environment, 279:131-136
teams of two cyclists and two car drivers in two cars were equipped with personal air samplers while driving for 4 hours on 2 different days in the morning traffic ...
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Exposure while cycling is generally no worse than being in a vehicle.
In fact can be better depending on the weather and the amount of solvents in the plastic of your car.
You do experience more when cycling heavily - simply because you breath more - but general medical evidence is that the benefits of increased fitness greatly outweigh any problems.
The ...
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Yes. The front brake provides basically all of the stopping power in a bicycle, and recent tests in Bicycle Quarterly show that, in emergency stops, the distraction of attempting to use the rear brake may even increase stopping distance. Maximum bicycle braking power is achieved just before the bicycle starts to pitch over, as the rear wheel lifts off the ...
13
For practical day to day commuting I would stay away from a fixie because:
You are not a very experienced cyclist, riding a fixie in traffic is actually not that easy.
No fenders, so dirty clothes/mud in the face on rainy days.
No rear-rack, so for luggage you are forced to use a backpack.
I also wouldn't go for the type of urban bike you link because:
...
11
Yeah, buy a used bike somewhere, either at a shop that has a bunch, or off or Craig's List or another "want ad" source. And, of course, there are yard sales. If you shop carefully you can probably pick up a serviceable bike for $50-100.
But first study bikes a little to learn to recognize quality. Look at the cheap bikes at Walmart and some moderately ...
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Since the weight will be the same, you won't even notice the change in terms of climbing. You will notice that your back will ache less and be less sweaty. Depending on your bike, it may even balance better with the weight lower to the ground.
Biking up a hill with a few extra pounds won't make much of a difference; you only really notice a difference in ...
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The roads in London aren't particularly special, they can be quite busy, they are often quite full of motorised traffic, cyclists don't always have the best reputation for adhering to all laws (e.g. one-way streets and red lights) and, as a consequence, many other road users don't always go out of their way to be overly friendly or forgiving, but it's a ...
9
Ways to reduce your exposure include:
riding on bike paths and secondary streets
riding at off-peak times (when traffic is low)
riding when commercial traffic (e.g. diesel producing trucks) is lower
riding before the sun gets high or after it begins to go down: ozone is produced by sunlight and takes time to develop (see image below from Chapter 6)
...
9
For frequent use, I think it is hard to beat a lock that is built into the bike, e.g. the Axa Defender that is fixed to the fame of the bike and then locks the wheel; it also has a cable that you can use to lock the bike to the bake stand. It’s great for a lock on a “everyday” bike, as you can’t forget to take it with you.
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Recycled Cycles (in the University District area) sells used bicycles, I would also checkout seattle.craigslist.org
I recommend going into a bike shop that just sells bicycles (Gregg's near Green Lake is great - but many others all around Seattle) and tell them what sort of riding you are planning (commuting, shopping and using the bicycle as ...
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Inflate your tires to a higher pressure. Use a pump with a pressure gauge instead of going by "feel". Check the pressure more often. The max pressure listed on the sidewall is a good starting point, but if you're already inflating to max psi, you may want to exceed it a bit.
It's likely you have a slow leak, and you're at a low inflation pressure by the ...
8
I'm going to take a stab at answering the question, with the added spin of my comment above. What you need at this point is enough information so you can go into a shop and try a few bikes, so the shop doesn't try to sell you the bike they have, rather than the bike you need:
I bike suited for commuting bikes and a bike you'd ride on the weekends aren't ...
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Hybrid bikes are good for urban riding, they will often come with fatter tires that will provide a better ride on rough pavement. These tires also don't easily slide into grooves like street car tracks, storm sewer grates, etc, which can cause falls. You'll also have the flexibility to take shortcuts through parks etc if you want to.
I would have a look ...
8
A trick that couriers use around my area is to carry the key on a rubber band around their wrist - no more fumbling around in the pockets for a key. I find that a lock that you can wear across your chest like a bandolier is most convenient for carrying around. There are a number of chain locks around in this length that have a plastic tube over the chain to ...
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I lack experience with entry-level (walmart, etc.) bikes, so take my answer with this in consideration. I was shopping this month for a good commuter bike to replace my old road bike (more about it below). I don't own a car, so I'll use it 15 miles per day, almost every workday between april and october, as well as for carrying all groceries and various ...
7
In my experience dealing with crashes and bounces is like a lot of other aspects of, especially urban, cycling in that anticipation and prediction are the key attributes to getting away with less damage.
After all, if you don't crash, you won't damage yourself (whether you're lidded or not). It's a variant on Gary Player's infamous quote, "The more I ...
7
Is this the right road to use?
First off, you might consider avoiding this road, or at least certain parts of it. Are there areas with more traffic? Narrower lanes? See if there's a way around those sections.
Visibility
If you haven't already, you could also work on making yourself and your bike more visible to drivers. Consider wearing a safety vest. ...
7
It sounds like an unpleasant road to ride on, I'm sure you would use a different route if one was available.
If you can feel the slipstream, to the extent that it moves your bike around, things are passing to close. Paradoxically you may find that by riding further from the curb, passing vehicles will leave you more room.
People tend to leave as much ...
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I'd recommend kryptonite. The Evolution Mini is used by a number of my friends (messengers) and they use it many times in a day. Keeps things secure and it's small. If you want a bit more flexibility in what you can attach to then go for a larger sized one.
https://www.kryptonitelock.com/products/list.aspx?cid=1001&scid=1000
6
This issue was highlighted on the BBC News website Cyclists are 'unaware of the risks from pollution' in an article aimed at raising awareness in cyclist of the short and long term effects of air pollution.
The article makes for a good read. A brief summary,
Primarily pollution cause the cyclist’s airways to become inflamed and therefore narrow, trigger ...
6
A pannier is the best way to carry weight on a bike. It keeps the center of gravity low. While a few people prefer backpacks, most will find a pannier (or two, to keep things balanced) makes for an easier ride (uphill, downhill, or on the level), though at the expense of eliminating that sexy wet spot on the back of your shirt.
You can also use a rack-top ...
6
I have this nutcase helmet:
I really like it, it's comfortable to wear and I love the way it looks. I'd say the ventilation was good but not great. It's certainly enough for the conditions I ride in - the temperature is rarely above 25°C and humidity is generally somewhere around 60%.
If the temperature and humidity you ride in is a lot higher, then you ...
6
On a slightly seperate tack from Unsliced (who covered all the bike-specific stuff I can think of): the road layouts themselves may be quite different than you're used to, even if you're familiar driving in the rest of the UK.
They are often:
very busy, in terms of traffic: on the plus side, the traffic is often not moving very fast, and if it's ...
5
Wear a helmet (not wanting to start the compulsory helmet debate), and gloves - every little bit helps.
In theory let go of the handlebars would be good. I have had some painful long lasting wrist injuries from the wrenching of the handlbars as the other side of the bar hits the ground. Although you would have to have good reflexes to do it.
I'm normally ...
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Get a rearview mirror if you don't have one already. This will allow you to anticipate better, and with some practice you can learn to compensate for the wake by slightly leaning away from the car just as the car passes you.
I have cycled around new zealand where all you get is highways. Log and sheep trucks are an absolute horror when they pass at speed on ...
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Personally, I think that good cycling helmets are beautiful. The lines are elegant. The transitions between the surface of the helmet and the vents are graceful. The way that the helmet increases in size from front to back is reminiscent of the wind. They're really quite astounding pieces of technology, if you really look at them.
On the other hand, cheap ...
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I get this question once in a while (working in Danish Cyclist Federation). It seems to be based on the idea that commuting by bike will expose you to more pollution than commuting by car. I have seen no research that proves this. However, I have seen research indicating that the opposite might be true. Some was in danish, but here's some in english and ...
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To answer this question (which is different from asking "Which mask?") you have to define what "pollution" means and then examine the available masks to see if they do anything to reduce it.
Just offhand, I believe that "pollution", in an urban traffic setting, consists of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide (and various other sulfur compounds), ...
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A lot of this comes down to personal preference, but if you plan on hauling stuff I would go with a traditional framed single speed/fixed gear. Just make sure it has mounting points for a rear rack so you can run panniers in case you want to haul lots of stuff without putting it all on your back. You can mount a rack to a bike that doesn't have mounting ...
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