Bike commute notes (bicycle)
by at 11:13 AM
This is the sort of thing I should set up a personal wiki for, like what L M Orchard used to do. I should see about some minimal wiki software which requires logging in to make edits, or something.
- Commute plans
- Bike models
- Commute Bikes in the US — good stuff to look for, but models are outdated
- Greggs Cycles - city/comfort — some nice affordable models there. I'd like the Trek Navigator 300 more if it had a chain guard and fenders. Bianchi Milano seems like a good feature/performance/price blend, though a little more than I want to spend right now (what with still recovering from the expenses from my home purchase, move, car breakin, etc). Adding the missing stuff to the Navigator would make it cost as much as the Milano though. Can't find any information on weight.
- Dealers
- Gregg's Cycles: decent selection of commuter cycles at the Greenlake store
- Electric Vehicles NW: power-assist bikes and also non-powered folding bikes. A bit spendy. Also the only potential problem spot which would need power is 4th ave at the very start of the way home. Everything else is fairly level.
- TiCycles: highly rated by several people on the bicycle discussion list at work. Not patient enough to figure out their site, and they seem like they'd be expensive.
- REI: I don't trust large chain stores but REI is at least better reputation-wise and carries real sport and mountain bikes, not $100 Huffys.
- According to Google there's something like 135 dealers. Many of them appear to be specialty/niche. Gregg's looks like the best bet.
- In addition to the bike, I'll need to get a helmet, lock, water bottle, bell, lighting system (unless I get a bike which comes with one built in), back rack (UIGABWCWOBI), pump, spare tubes, and bottles of slime. That'll easily add another $150-200 but maybe a dealer will cut me a break since accessory margins are higher.
- I also need to work out a way of storing my bike at home. Hauling it up three flights of stairs every day won't be a lot of fun. I have plenty of extra space in my parking spot but I'm getting resistance from the rest of the HOA because they're concerned it'd "make my car stick out too far" when really I would be parking it in the exact same place I've been parking it. But it also rains outside, and the end of my spot is unprotected. There's a few spots here and there where a multi-bike stand could be installed but I certainly can't do that without making an endrun around the HOA, and that'd be a problem. Yay politics and bureaucracy (in a government of essentially size 10, WTF)
Comments
Anyway this particular bike is nice and lightweight, so for now it's not a big deal to just carry it up the stairs.