Part 2: Cycling Equipment for the Commuter: Locks, Lights and Racks

Part Two:  The other accessories 

Last weeks blog I discussed the basics you will need to become a bicycle commuter. I talked about the bicycle purchasing process, wheels, tubes and tires, pedals and helmets. This weeks blog topic for cycling commuters will cover the next few highly recommended items you will need to become a safe commuter. Lets start with keeping your bicycle safe.

Hopefully you wont have to take such extreme precautions.

Locks

First thing to know is that NO lock is 100% thief proof; EVERY lock can be broken by a motivated thief. Learning good locking techniques (secure wheels to the frame, remove lights and computers, etc.) and accurately assessing the threats are critical to prevent the wrenching pain of a stolen bike.

My experience has been nothing but positive with the Kryptonite and OnGuard brands.  Both brands cover all the types of locks including cable, chain, u-lock and combo u-lock with cable. However the OnGuard also has locking skewers so you won’t have to bring a second lock for your wheels.

Another consideration when locking your bike is the make sure it’s in an area you will feel safe coming back to in the dark. If you have a nice beautiful top of the line bike be careful of using that as your commute as thieves are guaranteed to go after your bike before the others on the rack. If you have to use your racing bike for commuting check with your company to see if there are bike lockers and how to get one for your prized bike. Lastly making your bike more secure than the other bikes parked around it will increase your chances of coming back to an untouched bike.

Lights

There are four sides you can be approached by a car, front, left side, right side, and rear. You need to be protected and visible from all sides. You will want a red rear light at minimum two would be great. I use the two rear light set up and one is one flash while the other is on steady. The sides are a bit tricky as there are few lights out there but you can find a few valve attached ones and a few spoke attached ones as well.

The reason I believe we need lights from the side is that when you only have reflectors you can’t be seen until lights are shining on you and sometimes that may be too late. But when you have lights on you are more likely to be seen earlier and given the space you need to go on with your commute.

A few of my favorites are the Light and Motion brand and the Nite Rider brand.  Both of these brands make battery operated and rechargeable battery pack lights. I highly recommend to use the brightest light you can afford, preferably at minimum 300 lumen. Not only will it illuminate your way, but you will get more respect from motorists. I've found the brighter the light, the more respect from motorists.

Panniers and Racks

Last but not least is your rack and pannier set up. Without this you will have nothing but a backpack option to bring your work stuff with you. In the last blog I mentioned the rivets (threaded eyelets) for attaching a rack to the bike. However if you do not have these you can still install a rack by using the seat post as your attachment site. The seat post attachment has limitations though. Many racks have a maximum weight limit so you will have to pack light, and these also cannot be attached to a carbon seat post as the weight of the rack cam crack the seat post.

Seat post rack

A rack is a rack so as long as it fits and supports the amount of weight you plan to carry any brand will work. When it comes to the bag this is a different ball game. There are trunk bags, trunk bags that expand into a trunk and saddle bags, single side bags, double side bags (saddle bags), water proof, wire baskets, really just about anything you can think of. My personal preference is the trunk pack that opens up to have saddle bags attached to it.  It provides plenty of room for commuting to work, your lap top fits perfectly in the saddle bag, cloths in the other saddle bag and lunch in the top trunk. And when you aren’t commuting just going for a ride it can be folded up into just the trunk pack.  Whichever one you choose keep it simple, light, and multifunctional (water proof is always a good choice) so you won’t get caught not able to bring something with you.  

Thanks again for reading and stay tuned next week for the conclusion of bicycle commuting when I talk about how and what to pack. If you have any questions please feel free to add them at the bottom here or email me at VeloGirl@gmail.com.

Part 1: Cycling Equipment for the Commuter: Where to Start!

Part One:  Where to Start, the Bike and Necessities

Living in the Bay Area there is an abundance of opportunities to Go Green as the phrase is. To most this means driving a hybrid or electric vehicles, taking the bus or even carpooling. But what about all those people in funny colored clothing and spandex riding those human powered vehicles? That is yet another way of going green and bicycle commuting can be fun and rewarding if you know how to do it.  As a cyclist myself I have many times had the opportunity and pleasure to commute to work by bike. I love the freedom it gives me, and the health benefits from this are great, and sometimes I even get to work faster because I do not get stuck in traffic jams. Since it can seem a bit overwhelming at first to get into bicycle commuting, I thought I would share what I believe to be the simplest way to start.  Also I have found that the bigger name brands generally sell you the same quality frame as a smaller company but will put lower quality gears on it to save them money that they had to put into marketing.  What I mean is you will get more quality bikes from the smaller brands like Jamis, Felt, Bike Friday (folding bikes), Calfee, Ellsworth, Fuji, Independent Fabrication, Kestrel, Klein, Kona, Litespeed, Marin bikes, Moots cycles, NEXT, Quintana Roo, Santa Cruz bikes,  Serotta, Seven Cycles, and Surly than from the bike name companies which will remain nameless.

Starting Point

Start by asking your friends or coworkers who ride what bike shops they would recommend starting at.  Many communities have their own mom and pop shops and I always prefer those to the bike chain stores.  The mom and pop shop may be more expensive but I feel I am helping the community and also they always provide better service and many times know all their customers.

Next try as many bikes as you can.  This process will take several days or maybe even a couple weeks. Don’t rush!  Take your time and really get the feel for each type of bike, and each brand of bike as they are not all created equal.  Just because your friend says a certain bike is the best, give it a try but don’t think it is the end all be all of bikes because it may not fit you the same way it does your friend.

Bike Types and Expected Cost

There are so many types of bikes I won’t bore you with the long list. However I will make a few suggestions on which ones to look at. Depending on what your purpose for the bike it will help you determine which one to look into.  There are the traditional road bikes, hybrids, mountain bikes, cyclocross, touring and randonneur.  Any of those style bikes may work for you, don’t discount one just because someone said so.

The price range on bikes can be as low as $800 to as high as several thousand. When budgeting for your purchase keep in mind that you will need in addition to the cost of your bike a helmet to protect your head. At minimum a comfortable helmet will run in the range of $50 to $100 with many other up to $250 and higher. I will discuss what to look for in helmet later.

For commuting you may find yourself riding at times of low light so you will want several lights both for you to BE seen and also for you TO see. This expense for rear lights is about $15 to $50, while the head lamps will be $50 up to about $300. These are general figures based on the equipment I will be suggesting later.

Now if you plan to also go mountain biking on the weekends then by all means look at the mountain bikes, or if you think you want to go play with the fast kids then check out the road bikes, just make sure you check to see if they have eyelets for attaching your pannier racks (I will explain those later) otherwise you will always have a bag on your back instead of on the bike.  Once you find a bike that is both comfortable for you and fits into your allotted budget, time to look at the specifics.

Wheels & Tires

In general, commuting bicyclists will want stronger wheels than those that come standard on most shop bikes. The reason for this is commuters generally have more varied pavement surfaces (potholes, debris, gravel, etc.), and their bikes are loaded, with things like a laptop, work materials, books, lunch, change of clothing.

My general advice to any bicycle commuter is to get the strongest wheelset you can afford, and it should have no less than 32 spokes but generally they have 36 spokes. This is necessary for strength and longevity of the wheel. As the spoke count decreases so does the durability of the wheel, as the spoke count increases, and you may even see some with up to 48 spokes, the wheel becomes heavier yes but more durable and able to withstand the loads you will be placing on it. 

Tire Liners

Bicycle commuters should also consider thicker tires for similar reasons. Spend a little more for durability and puncture resistance, it's worth the investment. Some of the ones I have found to be good are Continental Gatorskins or Touring Plus reflex, I use Vittoria Zaffiro (they are much cheaper than most out there and mine have lasted me over 2 years so far NO flats), Vittoria Randonneur, and Schwalbe Marathon just to name a few.  Also tire width off the bike shop rack will be about 23 which may work for smaller riders, but to be safe you may want to get a 25, 28, or even 32 as long as it clears the frame of the bike and sits on your rim. The minimal sacrifice in rolling efficiency is well compensated by the comfort and safety.

 

Placement of tire liner.

In addition to the tires it is always smart to add tire inserts.  These are rolls of of double thick polyurethane which install between the tube and tire to protect the tube from foreign objects that pierce the tire and puncture the tube causing flats. A few brands that I have had the chance to work with and work great are Mr. Tuffy, STOP Flats, and Slime.

 

SPD pedals and their cleats.

Pedals

Flat pedal one side, SPD on other. Can be worn with tennis shows or mountain bike shoes.

There are three types of pedals to choose from.  Flat pedals which you can wear your work shoes to ride on and you can use both sides. Then there are Clips, which are a flat pedal with a basket over the toe and a strap around the instep of the foot. Lastly there are the Clipless of which you need to buy special bike shoes to clip to the clipless pedals (sounds weird but that is just what they are called). Go with the one you feel most comfortable on. 

Road bike pedal, to use with clipless cleats and shoes

Helmets

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) wearing a helmet will decrease your chances of serious head or brain injury by 85%.  Those statistics sounds pretty good to me so I always wear a helmet as should everyone on a bicycle no matter of age.  Also something to note is that there are Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Snell Memorial Foundation which set high safety standards for helmets.  Make sure to check the inside of the helmet you end up wanting to purchase to make sure it has the approval sticker from either or both of those entities. Only with those stickers have the helmets been tested and approved to be safe.  

Mountain Style

Road Style

How do you know what helmet is the right one for you? Try them all on, just like you did with the bicycle itself. These are all different, some brands are made for more of a round shaped head, others for oval shaped some for deep crowns and others for shallow crowns.  Once you find one that feels comfortable there are a few things to check to make sure it is the correct fit for you. Place the helmet on your head with the chin strap unbuckled and the front about 2 fingers width above your eyebrows. Next gently shake your head side to side and nod your head, the helmet should not move on your head, if it does move on. Next take the cinch in the back of the helmet and tighten it so its snug against the back of your head, and feel for any section of the helmet pressing uncomfortably into your head.  Once you have passed both those tests last thing to check is that the chin strap fits properly under your chin and around your ears. This is determined by snapping the buckle and placing two fingers between your chin and the strap, you may need to adjust the strap making it shorter or longer. If you are able to get it to be two fingers width under your chin the helmet is safe to purchase. 

CONCLUSION

I know this is a lot of information and by no means the ultimate bible on how to buy your equipment but a simplistic view to getting into bicycle commuting.  Next up in this 3 part series, I will discuss the “other accessories” you will need to make your commuting easier.  These items include, locks, backpacks, panniers, racks, and lights.  Thanks for reading!