Bicycle Commuting

[WiseOne]

The MTA raised its rates yet again, and between that and the prospect of cutting out the gym fee it's definitely time to get back into bike commuting.

Most of the commute is easy (scenic riverside bike path), but at the end there's a steep hill and at one point I have to pick up the bike and carry it up the equivalent of 3 flights of stairs.  My current road bike is 25 years old, is pretty heavy compared to new machines, and has hit the end of its useful life anyway.  Does anybody have any recommendations for a good commuter "city" bike that is also reasonably lightweight?  This is going to be necessary to prevent the "god I hate those stairs why don't I just take the subway today" syndrome.

Also, if anyone has recommendations for lights, panniers and the other accouterments needed for commuting that would be great, as well as useful tips & tricks (like keeping baby wipes stocked in the office).  And anyhow it's about time we had a thread here on bike commuting.

[KevinW]

I am a bicycle commuter and can potentially say a lot on this subject.

IMO the best all-around commuter bike is a steel touring road bike like this one:
http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker

For maintenance and ease of use I recommend using the simplest gearing setup that suffices. Good is a fixed crankset (no front derailleur), better is a chain-driven Internal Gear Hub (IGH) like this one:
http://www.myjamis.com/SSP%20Applicatio ... grp=strt_1
and best is a driveshaft-driven hub like this one:
http://shop.dynamicbicycles.com/Tempo-8-Tempo-8.htm

I am toying with the idea of a bike built around the SRAM Automatix 2-speed automatic hub with coaster brake, like this one:
http://www.gtbicycles.com/2013/bikes/ur ... ball-17889
Note that there are zero lines since there are no derailleurs and only a coaster brake. This would be extremely reliable and low maintenance. My route may be too hilly to get by with only two speeds and a coaster brake, though, I'm still evaluating.

Since you mentioned carrying the bike you should also consider folding bikes:
http://www.ternbicycles.com/us/

I have been satisfied with racks and bags from Topeak:
http://www.topeak.com/
Their stuff slots into a nice middle ground where it's built well enough to work well, but not so high end as to attract unwanted attention.

Tips:
- Buy bike luggage so you don't have to carry anything on your back.
- Carry a patch kit, minimal tools, a pump, and rubber gloves with you.
- Keep a spare change of clothes in the office if you can.
- Leave time so you can go slow if you need to, and won't feel pressured to ride unsafely.
- If you're new to urban bicycling, read a book on the subject so you know how to behave.

[MediumTex]

One word: Scooter.

Start with the KickPed, which is available at NYCeWheels in NYC.

I have about seven scooters, and I like the KickPed the best overall.

Stay away from the Xootr (though it can be hard when the scooter fever strikes).  As beautiful as it is, it will rattle all of the teeth out of your head on longer trips.

[dualstow]

Wow, I'm learning a lot from Kevin W's post.

My brother used to commute by electric bike (not moped). Relax on the way there so as not to get sweaty, then actually pedal home.

[MediumTex]

For me, the basic problem with bicycling as a serious form of transportation is that I am simply too scared to ride on most city streets and I don't like riding my bike on the sidewalk.

With a scooter, however, you're just another pedestrian on the sidewalk, except you move with more grace and style.

[WiseOne]

Kevin, you know your stuff!  Thanks for the info, it'll definitely help when I go bike shopping.

A small electric scooter would be great for commuting, if they can go downhill safely.  I can bypass the stairs by traveling an extra mile, but there is still a wicked steep hill to deal with.  But get this, electric bikes and scooters are illegal in NYC!!!!  Can you imagine?  With all the efforts to limit car traffic, go green etc, and here is the city banning something that could really be useful.

I bet they're trying to keep the subway system from losing riders, despite the repeated fare increases and service cuts they've been dishing out.  The city wants people to ride bikes, sure, but apparently only for recreation.

There are electric bike kits that are completely quiet and hard to spot from a distance.  If the hills get too annoying, I might just go for one of those.  Come and get me.

[MediumTex]

WiseOne,

I'm not talking about electric scooters.  I'm just talking about good old fashioned kick scooters. 

Check out the NYCeWheels website.   

You can basically go twice as fast on a kick scooter as you can walking when on level surfaces and use less energy in the process.  When going up hills, it's best to just walk your scooter, and of course when going down hills it's effortless and FUN.

At first, you feel kind of funny on a scooter, but then you start having fun, and then you start to notice people looking at you, and then they get that look on their faces that says "I wish I had one of those."

[WiseOne]

Thanks MT.

Kick scooters sound like fun, but I think they're probably best for short commutes (mine is 3-4 miles).  I like the idea for running errands 20 blocks away though.  I promise to check out the store!

I get what you're saying about city streets though.  Fortunately my route is almost all bike paths/lanes.  If I have to ride on a street without a bike lane, I take a full car lane and use left turn lanes where applicable.  The only problem I have then is that I can't brake as fast as a car, which is why I might opt for disc brakes on my next bike.

[MediumTex]

A bike might be better for 3-4 miles.  That would take 40-50 minutes on a scooter, and probably half that on a bike.

[Pointedstick]

A bike might be better for 3-4 miles.  That would take 40-50 minutes on a scooter, and probably half that on a bike.

Are you sure? My walking commute is 3.2 miles and I do that in about 45 minutes. I would be disappointed if scootering wasn't much faster than walking.

[WiseOne]

A bike might be better for 3-4 miles.  That would take 40-50 minutes on a scooter, and probably half that on a bike.

Are you sure? My walking commute is 3.2 miles and I do that in about 45 minutes. I would be disappointed if scootering wasn't much faster than walking.

That's a blazing fast pace for a prolonged walk.  Guess you must be in really good shape, or are very tall.  Sustained fast pace for me is around 18-20 minutes per mile, or about an hour for 3.4 miles.  The bike route is a bit longer, and takes about 30 minutes door to door.  Less problems with sore feet also :-).

If you don't mind my asking, how come you walk instead of bike?

[Pointedstick]

Not very, tall no. I guess I must be in good shape.

I don't ride a bike because I don't know how. I know, I know. It's unforgivable.

[KevinW]

Pointedstick, how dense are the stoplights on your route? That can make a big difference in commuting speed. My average travel speed is much lower than my cruising speed due to the density of stoplights where I bike.

[WiseOne]

I don't ride a bike because I don't know how. I know, I know. It's unforgivable.

A problem that will be be solved very nicely when you have a kid and teach them how to ride a bike :-)

[MediumTex]

Riding a kick scooter is basically twice as fast as walking.  If you are a fast walker, you will be a fast scooter rider as well.

One of the nice things about kick scooters is how compact they are.  There is no issue of finding a place to lock them up.  When you get to your destination you just fold it and take it with you.

Where scooters really shine is when you have long inclines.  When going up them you normally just walk the scooter, but when going down them you can basically just coast the whole way.  It's the same on a bike, but somehow on a scooter it just feels cooler to be covering so much ground with basically no effort.

[gizmo_rat]

When I work I tend to travel the first 50 miles by train then the last 5 miles by bike. Lugging the bike in and out of train stations and then storing at work involves lots of carrying and several flights of stairs. For this sort of silliness anything other than a light compact folder is more trouble than it's worth.

I've used a brompton for the last few years, they're great they fold down to the size of a large brief case in about 10 seconds and can be carried one handed. However as with all folders you get compromised stability and handling compared to an ordinary bike.

I find that carrying a bike a lot pretty much requires the use of a backpack for all your other stuff, I find messenger type bags a bit too destabilising, I've no idea how couriers cope with them.

What ever bike you get the most important bit of kit is a decent pair of kevlar reinforced tyres, don't even consider venturing out without them. Every couple of months it's worth picking out the accumulated glass, staples and nails out of the tyres and sealing the cracks in the rubber with superglue to stop the them propagating.

[WiseOne]

So if average walking speed is 3 mph, then a kick scooter should average 6 mph.  A bicycle should be ~10 mph once you factor in stops, but I seem to be making less speed than that.  I guess it's the couple of blocks of dense city streets and the connection with 3 flights of stairs between the riverside bike path and street level. 

Thus if your route has a lot of slowdowns, a kick scooter wouldn't be much slower than a bike.  There are also the advantages MT mentioned.  Interesting!

[MediumTex]

So if average walking speed is 3 mph, then a kick scooter should average 6 mph.  A bicycle should be ~10 mph once you factor in stops, but I seem to be making less speed than that.  I guess it's the couple of blocks of dense city streets and the connection with 3 flights of stairs between the riverside bike path and street level. 

Thus if your route has a lot of slowdowns, a kick scooter wouldn't be much slower than a bike.  There are also the advantages MT mentioned.  Interesting!

You can also effortlessly move between riding and walking with a scooter.  With a bike, stopping and getting on and off takes a bit of effort, and of course carrying the bike up and down steps can be a challenge.

[Gumby]

I've always wondered if hardcore cyclists are truly happy with their environment of transportation. I get the feeling like cyclists get into this mode where they have disdain for all of the drivers and cars on the road who are oblivious to them — which in turn makes cyclists more likely to assert themselves in traffic — which in turn causes drivers to have disdain for cyclists who take too many risks, etc., etc.

While I fully admire those who choose to bike, I feel like I would just become roadkill if I had to bike amongst commuting drivers.

I did find that NYC has published cyclist safety data. They have useful heat maps that show you where the most dangerous areas for cyclists are and which kinds of cyclists are most at risk (overwhelmingly male):

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/p ... lities.pdf

Luckily, it sounds like WiseOne's commute is pretty safe — mostly on designated bike paths.

[doodle]

Electric bikes are starting to garner attention from car manufacturers. Here is bmw folding electric bike....looks cool http://www.electricbike.com/bmw/

[Jan Van]

But get this, electric bikes and scooters are illegal in NYC!!!!  Can you imagine?

No, can't imagine. That kind of boggles me. How can they make something like that illegal, what's the reasoning?

[Pointedstick]

How can they make something like that illegal, what's the reasoning?

I believe this is the reasoning:

[gizmo_rat]

I get the feeling like cyclists get into this mode where they have disdain for all of the drivers and cars on the road who are oblivious to them — which in turn makes cyclists more likely to assert themselves in traffic...

It's a bit of a false dichotomy in that most cyclists are also car drivers. In general cycling does make you more aware (and less tolerant) of peoples poor driving because you have so much more skin in the game.

It's safer for everyone if a cyclist is seen as assertive (vehicular cycling) rather than not seen at all and squished.

However some cyclists are just dicks !

[MediumTex]

If I drove my car 13-17mph in a 45mph zone and gave dirty looks to people who were impatient with the way I held up traffic, I would expect to have a bad reputation among other drivers.

This is my perception of many urban bicyclists.  It's not the bicycle; it's the traffic hazard created by ANY vehicle moving so much slower than the flow of traffic.

[doodle]

Im a bicycle commuter and when Im in the road I get yelled at by drivers to get out of the road, and when I ride on the sidewalk I get yelled at by pedestrians to get off the sidewalk. This type of treatment is why a lot of bicyclists have a devil may care attitude toward rules and regulations when riding. Its hard to give respect, when you dont get any.