Bicycle Commuting on the Rise

Claire Petersky wrote:

Even so, he took a few minutes to determine that the cable snapped deep
inside the mechanism of the STI shifter, and couldn't be fixed right then and
there. By the next morning (yes, after having used a malodorous steel box to
get to work), it was fixed and ready for pick-up.

That is one nice thing about the barcon shifters. There is no hiding
places for the cable when it breaks. I've broken a cable a couple times
now on the way to work. Thankfully, I keep spares in one of my drawers,
so I can just replace them and then snip the excess when I get home.

--
Dane Buson -
"The gene pool could use a little chlorine."

Dane Buson wrote:
Claire Petersky wrote:

Even so, he took a few minutes to determine that the cable snapped deep
inside the mechanism of the STI shifter, and couldn't be fixed right then and
there. By the next morning (yes, after having used a malodorous steel box to
get to work), it was fixed and ready for pick-up.

That is one nice thing about the barcon shifters. There is no hiding
places for the cable when it breaks. I've broken a cable a couple times
now on the way to work. Thankfully, I keep spares in one of my drawers,
so I can just replace them and then snip the excess when I get home.


Better than that, I've always felt the broken strands poke my fingers
before the cable actually let go.

One of the things I like about triples -- if the right cable is about to
go, you just ride a 3-speed home. Even if it does break, you can tie it
off in a middle gear.

A Bike Friday is a fashion statement. As such, it really
only impresses the coglosenti but they are VERY impressed.
Of course you also need the spandex and the Bollé glasses.

=v= I wear neither of those things when riding my Bike Friday.
_Jym_

Tom Sherman wrote:
Tom Keats wrote:

I guess bikes don't have expiration dates.
Bicycles are pretty tough machines. They just
refuse to crumble into a pile of powdered
metal oxide.

Well the older ones do eventually crack, and corrosion is a problem for
most frames if ridden in salty conditions.

I have observed both things here in Boston. I just keep a few spare
frames in mothballs for replacements. I currently have 3, they don't
take up much space, and at my age might represent a lifetime supply.

The oldest frame that gets ridden regularly is circa 1971, the newest
2004, there's hardly any difference.

A Bike Friday is a fashion statement. As such, it really
only impresses the coglosenti but they are VERY impressed.
Of course you also need the spandex and the Bollé glasses.

=v= I wear neither of those things when riding my Bike Friday.
_Jym_

At first, I was astonished that he would think I (or anyone else) would
spend as much as a Bike Friday costs without have a utilitarian use for
it---and then I noticed he can't even spell. Sounds like pure envy, to me.

Pat in TX

On Jul 23, 1:26 pm, John Kane wrote:
On Jul 23, 10:02 am, Frank Krygowski wrote:



On Jul 22, 11:48 pm, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:

Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Jul 22, 12:13 am, "David L. Johnson"
wrote:
People who
would not think of wearing last season's clothes ride around on bikes
older than they are.

Oh, come on. My commuter is a 1972 Raleigh. I'm _much_ older than
that! ;-)

Curious. Maybe this says something about the
subset of the culture that actually rides bikes for transportation..

Maybe - as I sit here in clothes I bought in 2003...

Which are much newer, and more stylish, than your bikes, right?

Hmm. Tough call!

Regarding "newness," those clothes are probably a tie with my newest
bike, a Bike Friday New World Tourist. Is a Friday stylish or not? I
can't tell.

A Bike Friday is a fashion statement. As such, it really only
impresses the coglosenti but they are VERY impressed. Of course you
also need the spandex and the Bollé glasses.

John Kane Kingson ON Canada

I've never seen a spandex & Bolle wearer on a BF. Usually rich elderly
couples in jeans and the big shades that fit over regular glasses.

Peter Cole wrote:
Dane Buson wrote:

That is one nice thing about the barcon shifters. There is no hiding
places for the cable when it breaks. I've broken a cable a couple times
now on the way to work. Thankfully, I keep spares in one of my drawers,
so I can just replace them and then snip the excess when I get home.

Better than that, I've always felt the broken strands poke my fingers
before the cable actually let go.

I've never been that lucky or observant unfortunately.

One of the things I like about triples -- if the right cable is about to
go, you just ride a 3-speed home. Even if it does break, you can tie it
off in a middle gear.

Well, when the rear cable broke last, I was stuck with my choice of
36/11 or 48/11. Which was okay since I was only 2 miles from work
(where I did have a spare cable). The front breaking was much better
since 36/11-28 is pretty manageable if you can tolerate all the scraping
on the front derailleur in the bigger gears.

--
Dane Buson -
"These are DARK TIMES for all mankind's HIGHEST VALUES!"
"These are DARK TIMES for FREEDOM and PROSPERITY!"
"These are GREAT TIMES to put your money on BAD GUY to kick the CRAP
out of MEGATON MAN!"

"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:45kkk.503$wS4.79@trnddc03...

One of the things I like about triples -- if the right cable is about to
go, you just ride a 3-speed home. Even if it does break, you can tie it
off in a middle gear.

Alas, where the cable broke when I was riding home was just before the big
hill. It tops out at a 19% grade. Even with 30 gears at my disposal last
night, since it was raining and the pavement mossy, I opted to walk it
through the steepest part.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Claire Petersky wrote:
"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:45kkk.503$wS4.79@trnddc03...

One of the things I like about triples -- if the right cable is about to
go, you just ride a 3-speed home. Even if it does break, you can tie it
off in a middle gear.

Alas, where the cable broke when I was riding home was just before the big
hill. It tops out at a 19% grade. Even with 30 gears at my disposal last
night, since it was raining and the pavement mossy, I opted to walk it
through the steepest part.


No shame in that. I'm pretty sure I can't ride 19% at much more than
walking speed, anyway.

In article Jdkkk.504$wS4.211@trnddc03,
Peter Cole writes:
Tom Sherman wrote:
Tom Keats wrote:

I guess bikes don't have expiration dates.
Bicycles are pretty tough machines. They just
refuse to crumble into a pile of powdered
metal oxide.

Well the older ones do eventually crack, and corrosion is a problem for
most frames if ridden in salty conditions.

I have observed both things here in Boston. I just keep a few spare
frames in mothballs for replacements. I currently have 3, they don't
take up much space, and at my age might represent a lifetime supply.

The oldest frame that gets ridden regularly is circa 1971, the newest
2004, there's hardly any difference.

We don't get much snow in Vancouver, so bikes here aren't
so much exposed to salt, despite our maritime geographical
situation. There are plenty of '50s and '60s frames here,
still seeing active service.

Even a lot of vintage paint is still good. But Canadian
bikes of yore differ from their American cousins.
In fact, we Canadians have, until the Free Trade Agreement,
experienced exposure to much different bikes than USA'ans.
A '50s or '60s CCM is nothing like any contemporaneous
Schwinn counterpart. And then there are our Canada-built
Raleighs.

All we get here is rain, and rain is fairly gentle.
It seems you east-coasters get the severe weather and
associated conditions (e.g: salted snowy streets)
that are so hard on bikes.

Canada-built Ford/GM/Chrysler automobiles are supposed
to be hardier than their USA'an counterparts, too. Heh.

Bikes last pretty good on the West Coast of North America.
Even when snuggled right up against the salty Pacific Ocean.

If anything is killing your East Coast bikes, I wouldn't
be surprised if it was road salt. And /lots/ of it.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca