Bite My Crankset: the thread for bicycle-style conveyances

[El_Josharino]

I was talking about that with some of my biker friends, and we more or less came to the conclusion that you're better off spending a few extra dollars on snow tires that take just a few minutes to take on and off and do just as good a job (and keep fixing tubes, spokes, etc easy like Jim says), then to spend 2 hours wrapping zip ties around the thing, then 2 more hours cutting them off in the spring, as well as doing it all over if you have to change a tube.

[YojimboMonkey]

oh man, I already thought Tony Kornheiser sucked but now I think he super-sucks. 

Since Tony Kornheiser encourages drivers to run down cyclists, I encourage the psycho gunmen and bombers and poisoners and other freaks of the world to off this asshole.

[The_Tourist]

next january = sydney to melbourne bike tour.

uhh...anyone along the coast in between wanna let me use their shower?

[clare]

Here? Wild. Canb isn't on the coast, but it is in between.

[YojimboMonkey]

Badass hero cyclist rescues 2 women from a fire

So I found this thread on the third page.  I realize it's February but this dude was out riding his bike, in February, at 4:30 am, and saved 2 lives.  So get your bitch asses in the saddle.

[YojimboMonkey]

The Joy of Cycling

[peacocks]

it's a rare condition this day and age to read any good news on the newspaper page, where people say sweet things like:

"I feel good I saved (the women), but it doesn't sit well with me that I couldn't help the other two people," Brown said.

and thanks for the one on the other thread too, jimbo.

bike related: I think I broke my bike lock last night but maybe if I can make it look like it is locked up no one will steal it until I get a new one.  Speaking of new ones, what kind of locks do you prefer? Is a U-Lock the way to go? The one I have now is coiled up and locks with a key.

[YojimboMonkey]

I definitely recommend a U-lock but I must admit that I don't have a real good feel for exactly where you live (which can definitely affect how diehard you need to get about locking up your bike) so I don't know, maybe that cable lock has done fine for you in the past.  But still, I'd say get a U-lock, a basic one won't be super expensive but will be more secure than a cable lock

[Greg Nog]

I like my gigantic chain, because it makes me feel like some kind of Mad Max character when I wear it like a belt.

[peacocks]

I'm going with the u-lock. Used a small one downtown last night and it fit around a pole and two bikes nicely.

[milesofsparks]

I like U-lock + the coiled kind to protect the back wheel (as I've said before, I have a hard time with my current bike finding a good place for my big heavy chain).  my friend just had his back wheel stolen on a very busy intersection...  nobody noticed a guy removing the back wheel of a bike? 

[YojimboMonkey]

I'm sick to my goddamn stomach watching this, I'm only surprised it didn't happen in the US

Critical Mass Carnage: an angry motorist runs down a group of cyclists during a Critical Mass rally in Brazil

[alex]

Oh, fuck. That is...I don't even know what to say.

[Greg Nog]

That is one shitty human being!

In other bike news, Brooklyn recently installed a bike lane on Prospect Park West, which is a major road that cars can use to easily cut south through Park Slope.  It's provoked this completely crazy backlash from drivers and pedestrians, whose complaints have been grounded in vague ideas about how the bike lane is unsafe, or fucking with cars in some way. 

So a dude I know just put together a side-by-side comparison of the before and after, based on stats from the NYC Dept of Transportation: The Prospect Park West bike lane.

[peacocks]

Your friend is rad, Greg!

[elpollodiablo]

Anyone have any good panniers they'd recommend? I'm getting fenders and a rack installed today!

[elpollodiablo]

Also on Tuesday we went riding in Athens and my buddy, bikeless, wanted to come. We went to one of the two local shops, he looked around for all of about 10 minutes, then bought this: http://villagecycle.com/product/11-trek-cobia-gary-fisher-collection-72179-1.htm

I wanna job in TV.

[ellaguru]

Anyone have any good panniers they'd recommend? I'm getting fenders and a rack installed today!

[elpollodiablo]

I kinda want panniers, but I dunno how much I'd actually use em. Probably settle for fenders and a rack.

It depends on what you're planning on carrying. When I was commuting on my bike, panniers were indispensible. Lunch, rain gear, bike crap in general (lights, battery, pump, innertube). I figured out how to lock one on to the rack, and they both had shoulder straps, so that carrying them wasn't the dangling-at-the-end-of-your-arm nightmare. They were really waterproof, and close to indestructible.

http://www.ortliebusa.com/CartGenie/prod-31.htm

Also just saw this. Thanks, clare!

[Bernard]

Those do look really cool.

[elpollodiablo]

I just ordered one of these, for class commuting: http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/shift-bike-pannier-messenger

Got it for 60 bones tho.

[Greg Nog]

only 60? Where'd you find that deal?

[elpollodiablo]

aebikes.com. They list at 75 there but I got some other stuff too so it was discounted and they gave me free shipping.

[peacocks]

lol @ hipster marketing:

[Bernard]

Ha! Well-spotted.