IGX

Grandpa's Spells wrote:Cool, thanks. Similar to the one I posted the specs about the other day, though this one is $599.


Was surprised at the light weight and economy of effort. Big difference between the 10 yo Schwinn High Plains I've been riding.

They got 32s with fenders on it, so I took it. Apparently the frame is similar to, but lighter than, the San Jose. I was also glad to hear the back pain I was feeling the day after a test ride was partly due to very skinny tires at very high pressure on rough streets.

A little more than I wanted to pay, but the ROI on using a bike vs a car is sick, so NBD. Should be a solid bike for my purposes. Thanks very much for the advice.

Don't be shy about harassing bike shop people on fit...It's critical for comfort and long term enjoyment...also..it will change over time as you get more comfortable so learn how the different set ups work. Read Grant Peterson's theories on fit and Sheldon Brown..you'll get more than you want at this point but down the road, it will help you make good educated guesses on fitment.

Or...failing that. Shoot a video of yourself from the side riding on a trainer and PM it to Alfred, he can probably dial you in by eyeball.

Just a bump, this bike is working out great. Commute comes out to 9.8 miles by bike, 10.5 MPH at a very easy pace. Low 30's this morning but not really a problem with gloves and something over my face.

I was in Bonnaire (Caribbean Netherlands) and rented a Dutch bike for a couple days. Upright, very heavy, internally geared hubs. Very pleasant to ride short distances when the alternative is walking, but for 10 miles I think it would crawl. Perhaps that's the reason for the different preferences in different markets.

In any case, thanks for the suggestions. Simple steel single speed with lights/panniers/fenders has worked out very well.

When I've got time I'll tell you all about a period in my life when I was a broker working on Wall Street...had it all...but I got a little too cocky and lost everything including my parents retirement money. I starting working as a bicycle messenger in the city just trying to get it all back together. Some of the other messengers were moving drugs for a local dealer and shit got real heavy there for awhile.

To that end, Premium Rush is 100x more entertaining if you yell "PREEMIUM RUUSH" like a monster truck rally announcer every time the protagonist gets away with something.

Shapecharge wrote:When I've got time I'll tell you all about a period in my life when I was a broker working on Wall Street...had it all...but I got a little too cocky and lost everything including my parents retirement money. I starting working as a bicycle messenger in the city just trying to get it all back together. Some of the other messengers were moving drugs for a local dealer and shit got real heavy there for awhile.

Didn't you get me a hotdog stand?

AEN I didn't want to reveal your personal business but yes. How's it going? You still got that powder blue ruffled tux?

Just a bump endorsing wearing your helmet. Had a crash this weekend and hit my head hard enough to break my helmet. At a minimum I would have had a skull fracture without wearing one.

I wore a helmet 95% of the time already, but that just got bumped to 100%.

Speaking of safety, anyone have any true knowledges on side lights? Did some checking on local stats, and getting hit from the side seems to be the chief type of bike accidents in my area.

May be relevant, they address the side-light point here:
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-co ... ke-lights/

For other possibly interesting data, in '13 or '14 Chicago had six fatal bike accidents. In five the rider had no helmet. this is a town were most wear them, so it seems like as safety measures go, good front/rear lights and a helmet may be sufficient.

Grandpa's Spells wrote:May be relevant, they address the side-light point here:
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/best-co ... ke-lights/

For other possibly interesting data, in '13 or '14 Chicago had six fatal bike accidents. In five the rider had no helmet. this is a town were most wear them, so it seems like as safety measures go, good front/rear lights and a helmet may be sufficient.

Maybe I missed something in the review. They mention in the comments that Revolights were too expensive to test. That's bullshit-- $200 is not expensive for a bike accessory.

I also don't really care about fatality rates; I care about injury rates. At least around here, bike accidents are clustered certain areas, and intersections tend to be a common one.

These may be of interest to you:
http://derekeder.com/maps/chicago-bike- ... index.html
http://www.willenslaw.com/report-your-accident/

My frontlight has 'side lenses' but they are really only a token and not very big or bright. Some headlights place the light out in a bulging lense so it is visible from the sides, but My front light is a high power model designed to get the light forward.

There are 'side lights' that plug into the end of the handlebar. The better option is the wheel LEDs light. These are incorporated into a wheel reflector or a simple clip onto a spoke LED flasher. These are pretty effective due to the movement of the spinning wheel. Can buy on ebay, Google bicycle wheel LED reflector, or similar.

FWIW the normal orange wheel reflectors actually do a pretty good job for side visibility. Despite being 'uncool' I have them on my old commuter bike. As a driver I really notice them. They come on all new bikes by law here. But most bike shops bin them off the high end bikes. Hence you can get them for free.

There's also reflective tape that's bright as holy hell when viewed by car headlights at night. A little on the sides of a few tubes and you should be extremely noticeable in the dark. Put some on the rim just below the brake track in a couple of places and it's a huge attention grabber. Maybe not quite as effective as active LEDs, but you don't have to remember to charge the reflective tape.

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:There's also reflective tape that's bright as holy hell when viewed by car headlights at night. A little on the sides of a few tubes and you should be extremely noticeable in the dark. Put some on the rim just below the brake track in a couple of places and it's a huge attention grabber. Maybe not quite as effective as active LEDs, but you don't have to remember to charge the reflective tape.

Sounds great! What color do you recommend? I'm not enough of a science guy to know which color reflects headlights and streetlights best.

The ones we sold were yellow in color but reflected light as a very bright white.

Gracias!

No one's hitting this guy, at least not accidentally.

There are some cool lights that you place down the length of your spokes and as the wheel rotates they flash to produce pictures. A few companies are making them now.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQXhTzxYSuw[/youtube]

Grandpa's Spells wrote:Just a bump endorsing wearing your helmet. Had a crash this weekend and hit my head hard enough to break my helmet. At a minimum I would have had a skull fracture without wearing one.

I wore a helmet 95% of the time already, but that just got bumped to 100%.

I bought a helmet the other day to go with my new bike...I wasn't wearing one last year, but that was just because I was too lazy to go and buy one. My wife's friend is a hardcore cyclist who happens to crash quite a bit for whatever reason. She too, has recently cracked a helmet.

Pardon the pun, but the helmet is a no brainer.