Bike versus Car

I'm exceedingly fortunate. When I 'go to work' I have a two flights of stairs commute. Most of you don't have that luxury and many people don't live in bike friendly environments. That's been changing in a lot of urban and suburban locales and while you may not have seriously given thought to adding a day or two of biking to your jobs during the work week here's a compelling article about what it could mean if more of us did use bikes as transportation.

http://sustainablelinfield.edublogs.org/2011/05/23/making-the-shift-moving-from-motor-vehicles-to-bicycles/

Bike Fitting Page Part 2

I added two websites that should help you fit yourself to a bike and get it adjusted so that it is comfortable for you. I still recommend that you go to a bike shop where they can professionally fit you to a bike.

Bike Fitting Page

I have added a Bike Fitting Page and will update it with some information about fitting a bike soon. If you have any suggestions for pages I should add or have any questions please don't hesitate to comment on any post. Check out the new page!

Welcome!

Just a quick note to welcome our first follower Chris S.

Chris has already made a contribution to the blog dealers section and I'd like to encourage all our readers to ask questions, leave comments, and, most importantly add whatever they would in terms of bike knowledge, their bicycling adventures, and whatever else they'd like to tell us.

Trail Etiquette

Riding is fun, good exercise and enjoyable for the whole family. However, it is very important to come in from a ride upright and not in the hospital. To do this you should always follow the rules of the trail, called trail etiquette. Several times while riding on the Mount Vernon Trail, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, or in Rock Creek Park I have witnessed cyclists not following these simple but lifesaving rules.

1) Always pass on the other person's left
2) Never walk or ride against traffic
3) Use hand signals to tell people where you are going
4) Look behind you before you pass
5) If you see someone standing on the side of the trail, ask them if they need help

If you follow these simple rules you can be sure that you a keeping yourself and the people around you safe, the ultimate goal of cycling is to have fun and get exercise while staying safe.

Choosing a Bike Shop

There are probably several bike shops in your area as is true in my area. You should try to go to a well-known bike shop that only sells bikes, not a place like Target, Walmart, or Toys 'R Us, because they sell non-related items. If you go to one of these places to purchase a bike or to get your bike serviced, you may not be as pleased as if you went to a bike-specific store. Better places to go might include Lands End, REI, Hudson Trail Outfitters, or L.L. Bean. I'm pretty sure these stores sell bikes at most of their locations, although they may not service all their bikes at these locations. If you go to these stores, you will certainly be more satisfied than if you went to the other stores mentioned above. The best places to go are bike stores like Performance or Spokes. There are certainly more bike shops, but most are local and you will have to find them yourself.

Bike Lanes

Choosing Your Trails

I bike on all kinds of trails almost every day. Bumpy mountain trails, paved trails, and gravel. I use my mom's ATB (All Terrain Bike) You need to choose the trails that you ride by the kind of bike that you have, or you could end up injuring yourself or damaging your bike.

You should ride mountain trails only if you have a suspension, either front shocks or front and rear shocks. Paved trails are for every kind of bike, but is just about the only place other than a road that you can ride a road bike, a bike without shocks and thin, high pressure tires. Finally, you can ride gravel if you have a hybrid, or a mountain bike (ATB) with or without shocks as long as they have thicker tires.

"What's Your Point?"

Riding a bike is one of the most fun and basic things a child can do. It is a slice of freedom combined with easy, healthy exercise. Imagination soars while riding a pretend motorcycle, racing in le Tour de France, flying in the sky on a two wheeled Pegasus. Even for adults, bicycling can help maintain health and fitness while giving a release from the every day care and concerns faced in our grown up lives.

Biking is fun and healthy...and it is also something that can be dangerous and deadly.

I was riding on a converted rail bed trail this week on two different occasions and saw things that were chilling. Riders with no helmets, riders entering the main path from the side paths at high speed without looking, parents not teaching their young children how to hold their line and staying to the right when riding, and people riding two and three across and NOT paying attention to oncoming riders.

At various times I said something, okay, shouted something like, "Hold your line!", or "Bike up!" I always let walkers, runners, and slower bicyclists know I was approaching them from behind and then would say, "Passing your left" just as I would overtake them.

During one ride this week a family of about six just ahead of us, two adults and four young children, veered sharply from the right of the path to their left and landed in a thud on the ground on the other side of the path. None of them wore head gear. One of the boys actually took the turn so sharply that he crashed onto the grass but seemed okay. We were about 10 to 15 yards behind them when this happened and as I passed the crashed boy one of the other children looked up at me.

I asked him, "Did you look over your shoulder before you did that?" He had no answer and a few yards further down the path I heard the mother shout, "What's your point?"

What's the point mom? Really?

Bike safety is the point. People die from bike accidents, people suffer concussions, neck injuries, broken bones, and dislocated shoulders from bike accidents.

The first thing we taught Robert and Esther after they learned to get and keep a bike moving was to ride in a straight line and stay to the right. We taught them to always wear a helmet and be respectful of other riders and anyone else on the bike path.

What's my point in writing any of this?

I just want people to totally enjoy the simple joy of riding without feeling they have to worry about inconsiderate riders. It's said that it takes all kinds of people to make up the world. The microcosm of the bike path certainly reflects that. There are few uniformed police on most bike paths, the Mount Vernon trail in Northern Virginia being one exception. Riders have to police themselves.

And when it's clear that adults are not teaching their children proper bicycling safety sometimes someone else has to draw attention to that fact.

That's my point, lady.

Bike Adjustments

Today my dad and I put in 44 miles on our road bikes. Throughout the ride I was slightly uncomfortable because my bike is not completely adjusted to me and I am riding on a seat that is new to me. This is me reminding everyone reading that it is very important to make sure your bike fits and is comfortable for you before you ride so that you can enjoy your ride and can get the best workout possible. You can get your bike adjusted at almost every bike repair shop and can even do it yourself if you want.

Bike Tires Direct Sale

Click the link below to go to Bike Tires Direct. You can get up to 50% off bike stuff- found some good deals!

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/

"Resources"

As you may have noticed, there is a new page labeled resources in our blog. On this page you can find links to many different bike-related sites, including some of our favorite brands, components, tools and dealers. We hope that you find it helpful, please feel free to offer suggestions for more sites!

Your Emergency Kit

When you ride you should always have an emergency kit with several key tools and extras of items you may need to replace on your bike. Included is a list of the items you will need and links to Amazon where you can find the best of them.

You will need-

Kit- hangs on the back of your seat or fits into a corner on your frame. Where you put all of your emergency stuff.

Topeak Aero Wedge Pack with Buckle (Medium)

Tire Irons/Tire Levers- for changing your tires or tubes. Some people can use just their hands, but most of the time it is easier to remove the tire with these.

Minoura Tool Alloy Set Tire Levers

Patch Kit- repairs holes in your tubes and saves you from having to carry extra tubes, although it is a good idea to have some.

Park Tool VP-1 Vulcanizing Patch Kit

Tubes- size will depend on your bike. Check with your local shop if you don't know what size or type you need.

CO2 Pumps- quick and easy pump. Inflates your tires in no time and lasts the duration of your ride. You will want to empty your tires when you get home and fill them with regular air.

Innovations Ultraflate Plus CO2


Hand Pump- if you run out of CO2 or have to change many tubes, pumps are an easy and efficient way to fill your tires and get going again. This pump will mount to your water bottle cage and is an easy install.

Hurricane Micro Mini Pump

Changing Tubes

Changing tubes can be a pain if you don't have the tools or the experience to do it. It is much easier to use metal tire "wrenches" because they allow you to push harder and give you more mechanical advantage. In your kit you are going to need an extra tube, wrenches and possibly a patch set. In case you get a hole in your tire, if you can pack a dollar bill in your kit. When you change your tube, put the dollar over the hole in the tire to spread out the pressure of the tube against the tire. This will help ensure that you don't blow out your tire before you replace it, which I highly recommend you do. When you go to change your tubes make sure you use a good tube that has no holes in it and check the inside of your tire and your rim to ensure there are no irregularities that could cause a flat. *You may need find videos on Youtube so you do it right.

Riding Tips (Riding Safe and NOT Crashing)

1) Never ride angry.

2) Always wear a helmet.

3) Ride within your comfort zone. (not too fast)

4) Keep identification on you in the even that you do crash.

5) Tell people when and where you are going to ride so that they know the general area in which you will be.

6) Bring a cell phone in case you need help.

7) Pack an appropriate kit with tools for changing tubes and pumping tires.

8) Be aware of your surroundings.

9) Ride in groups.

10) Use hand signals and vocals when you are around other cyclists and cars.

Crashing

Whether you like it or not, crashing is part of riding. Most of the people I ride with say that if you're not crashing, then you're not riding enough. I crashed on Thursday going around 20 mph on my way to swim practice. Thankfully I didn't break anything and it was a one-bike crash.

Learning from your crashes is the best thing that you can do when they happen. Try to remain calm and ask for help if you need it. I will not go that fast while turning on that bike ever again, and by doing this I can be safe and not have it happen again.

Learn from my mistakes and don't make the same ones.

Cleaning Your Bike

Today I spent a little under 3 hours cleaning a bike. Granted, this bike has not been ridden on a regular basis for at least 3 years and is an older bike to begin with, but I think most will agree that this is a long time to be cleaning a bike.

I took my time, cleaning the chain, removing the front and rear wheels and cleaning the rear sprocket by taking it off the wheel. In the end I had a bike that was as clean, if not cleaner than a bike on the floor in a bike shop.

There are several reasons to keep your bike clean:

1) Reduce wear on the parts
2) Dirt and grit will break the seal created by grease
3) Eliminate the chance of rust (or slow the oxidation process down)

Perhaps the most important reason you clean your bike is to make sure there are no mechanical problems with your bike. I learned that the bike that I was cleaning had a flat tire and removed the tube to check it for punctures. Sure enough I found a small hole in the tube and replaced the whole thing. I will end up patching the tube and using it as a spare because it is not good to waste, but I am glad that I found the hole then and not 30 miles away from wherever I started riding.

Paint Suggestions Anyone?

Just wondering if anyone had any paint suggestions for the 1200... just comment!

An Update:

An update on my Dad's 1988 Trek 1200-

It's about ready to be stripped, checked and repainted!

Recommendation

If you are interested in knowing more about your bike, cleaning, repairing, or you just want to know the names of the parts so you can explain your problems you NEED to get The Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair. It tells you what tools you need for the components on your bike and is extremely helpful with all your bike needs. 

Manual

We scored the "Big Blue Book Of Bicycle Repair" written by C.Calvin Jones today. It looks very comprehensive while slightly biased to Park Tools, but with good reason since the sub-title is A Do It Yourself Bicycle Repair Guide from Park Tool.

It will be a great source of information on tools and other things we'll need to set up our bike repair shop in the garage.

It's a great start and we have already started reading through it with intent to take the bottom bracket out of my old Trek 1200 frame.

Where to Find Those Essential Tools

You can find the more common tools at your local Home Depot, Lowe's or on Amazon.com but you may need to go to your local bike store to find the bike-specific tools such as multi-tools or pedal wrenches. My personal favorite tools are ParkTools, the link for their website can be found under the "resources" tab.

Essential Tools

There are a few tools that you must have to complete the simplest bike repairs, many of which you can find already in your house, especially if you have a standard tool kit. In fact, I don't even have a bike-specific tool kit, but I can get by because of my common bike knowledge, videos on Youtube and by borrowing a few of my friend's and neighbor's tools.

The most important tools that you can own are hex, or Allen wrenches, as well as regular wrenches of many different shapes and sizes. Other important tools to have are screwdrivers, both Phillips and Flat-Head types. But perhaps the most used tool in my house is my multi-tool. It has screwdrivers and hex wrenches of different sizes and types and comes in handy when you are looking for an easy to use tool. On top of that they are small and convenient to carry (I bring mine almost everywhere) and can offer more torque than a conventional hex wrench or screwdriver when tightening or loosening screws.

Brake Adjustments

The brakes, one of the hardest adjustments you can make on your bike. Whether your brakes are rubbing or you need to remove them for cleaning, here are a few tips to help you out.

Tools needed: Depends on your brakes, you may need a wrench, or a hex wrench.

Adjusting your pads: 
1) Loosen the pads with the wrench or unscrew the whole mechanism with the hex wrench for easier adjustment
2)Pull the pads farther away from the wheel and tighten (this may take a lot of time to get right and requires patience)
3)Check to ensure the pads are not rubbing, but are not so far away that they are ineffective

If this doesn't work you may need new pads, which can be purchased at a bike store and replaced there.

Removing your brakes:
1)Disengage your brakes (There will be a lever on the mechanism or a button on the brake lever on your handlebars)  
2)Unscrew the nut that holds the brake mechanism to your frame using the hex wrench
3)Remove from your bike, but make sure you keep all the parts, which will be needed later

Reinstalling your brakes:
1)Position the brakes over the wheel
2)Make sure they are on in the right direction
3)Tighten with the hex wrench, ensuring that the brakes are attached securely but are not damaging your frame   

Adjusting your brake lines:  
*May require two people*
(If your brake lines are loose)
1)Unscrew the nut that clamps the brake line
2)Pull the line and tightening the nut

Welcome

Welcome to R&C Cycling, where you will find out how to complete simple repairs along with valuable resources that we recommend with confidence from many combined years of experience in the cycling world.