Question for the cyclists

jon-nyc

Lol

jon-nyc

If I did bite the bullet and get pedals and shoes, any particular recommendation? I’d probably prioritize ease/speed of release, i.e. safety.

Aqua Letifer

@jon-nyc said in Question for the cyclists:

If I did bite the bullet and get pedals and shoes, any particular recommendation? I’d probably prioritize ease/speed of release, i.e. safety.

Maximum float. NO egg-beaters if you've knee trouble.

If you don't want to duck walk like an asshole off the bike, get SPDs with recessed cleats.

Also, each shoe brand uses a very different last to make their shoes. And they're very stiff by design. It's not something I recommend buying online unless you're willing to buy 2-3 pairs at once and return what doesn't work. Some folks can buy from multiple brands, no problem, some folks need to stick with the one that fits their feet the best.

Doctor Phibes

I use Shimano SPD-SL pedals and the stupid shoes that make you duck walk like an asshole, but I never walk on a ride. I would say I've never had an issue disconnecting, which was a big worry initially. The only thing worse than walking like an asshole is stopping at traffic lights, not being able to get your feet off the pedals and being run over by an 18 wheeler.

For me, the important thing was getting the cleats which gave a decent amount float, which are the yellow ones. There's three kinds - red give no float, blue a bit, and yellow the most. If you do have knee issues, float is your friend.

jon-nyc

I can’t do the duck walk I ride to destinations or have lunch or a snack along the way all the time. I don’t even store my bike at home, so there’s always walking and driving involved.

If I do this it’ll be SPD with max float.

First I’m going to put my old sneakers back on. I got new ones right around the time this started. I have a pretty big ride tomorrow so we’ll see if that helps.

Doctor Phibes

I still think it would be worth considering a bike fitting. I used to get numbness in my shoulders and arms on long rides, which pretty much went away afterwards. She didn't change much around the seating, but gave me a shorter handlebar stem, and it did make a difference.

All this being said, I haven't been out on the bloody thing in weeks. The much steeper hills where I've moved to are extremely unappealing.

jon-nyc

I would do one if I get the pedals. I get numbness in my shoulders and arms too.

jon-nyc

@Doctor-Phibes said in Question for the cyclists:

All this being said, I haven't been out on the bloody thing in weeks. The much steeper hills where I've moved to are extremely unappealing.

Is there another starting point you can use? Throw the bike on the car and drive a few miles away?

I do that, largely because I don’t have bike storage here.

Doctor Phibes

@jon-nyc said in Question for the cyclists:

@Doctor-Phibes said in Question for the cyclists:

All this being said, I haven't been out on the bloody thing in weeks. The much steeper hills where I've moved to are extremely unappealing.

Is there another starting point you can use? Throw the bike on the car and drive a few miles away?

I do that, largely because I don’t have bike storage here.

There is - there's quite a few really long bike paths around Providence, converted railway tracks and what-have-you. I keep meaning to do it, but there's always something that comes up.

Aqua Letifer

@jon-nyc said in Question for the cyclists:

I would do one if I get the pedals. I get numbness in my shoulders and arms too.

I had that. For me, a slightly shorter stem with more rise fixed it. (But, I used to do passable fittings myself and can ballpark it with those kinds of problems.)

Aqua Letifer

@Doctor-Phibes said in Question for the cyclists:

I still think it would be worth considering a bike fitting. I used to get numbness in my shoulders and arms on long rides, which pretty much went away afterwards. She didn't change much around the seating, but gave me a shorter handlebar stem, and it did make a difference.

All this being said, I haven't been out on the bloody thing in weeks. The much steeper hills where I've moved to are extremely unappealing.

I love hills. Especially on a singlespeed. Sure I go like 0.2 mph but it's fun to see if I can even do it, even with tacking.

That said, a good bike rack is like a good guitar stand. Make it easy as possible to use the thing and you probably will. Good racks are expensive but they do get you out there more.

jon-nyc

I wore my old trainers today and did a pretty decent ride and barely felt anything. I think I’ll keep these as my ‘bike shoes’ and maybe consider going SPD next spring.

jon-nyc

My ride today - Ring Around Manhattan.

Aqua Letifer

Nice. I had a loop I liked in DC that took me out past the mall, over to RFK, then back to Capitol Hill, and up Mass Ave.

Rainman

I don't think I'd like that ride on a motorcycle. How is it on a bike, given traffic, pedestrians, etc.? Is it fast and fun, or is there a lot of dodging and trying to stay alive? Maybe it's all a bike lane in Manhattan as well as the mall area in D.C.? (I have a cousin that just moved to DC, I haven't heard back from him how the cultural transition has gone so far).

jon-nyc

Much of it was a special isolated bike trail. In fact the northern 12m or so is the now-paved rail bed of the old Putnam railway.

There’s a nice trailway in Manhattan along the Hudson the only problem is it’s busy. But weekdays are workable.

There was/is a trailway along the east river too but much of it is under construction so we had to do quite a bit of driving down York St and 2nd avenue. That part is very stressful as there is chaos all around you including delivery guys using the bike lane with their “electric bikes” which are basically small motorcycles.

Next time I’d just go down and back on the west side. That would still be a solid 50mi round trip.

89th

@Horace said in Question for the cyclists:

Both my knees are trash. If changing bike pedals will help, then I’ll go out tomorrow and buy a bike and change the pedals every day.

Noob. Don't even get a bike. Just order new pedals from Amazon Prime each day.

89th

Wow, impressive ride Jon. Good for you! To your original post, it did ring of runners knee to me, which can go away relatively quickly but I'm not familiar with how that translates to biking as the culprit.

Aqua Letifer

@Rainman said in Question for the cyclists:

I don't think I'd like that ride on a motorcycle. How is it on a bike, given traffic, pedestrians, etc.? Is it fast and fun, or is there a lot of dodging and trying to stay alive? Maybe it's all a bike lane in Manhattan as well as the mall area in D.C.? (I have a cousin that just moved to DC, I haven't heard back from him how the cultural transition has gone so far).

Every time, I'd rather ride around in D.C. than Northern Virginia or MoCo. D.C.'s one of the safest places you can ride a bike.

Back in the day, Mayor Fenty (who was into tris) put in a shitload more bike lanes to help with the safety issue.
There's congestion. One of the biggest risks for a cyclist is the speed differential between him and a car. In the city, this isn't an issue.
Drivers are used to seeing cyclists. Not having this is another huge risk for cyclists. If you're not anticipating seeing a bike—or in the case of NoVA, get pissed at every cyclist you see because you think roads are not available to them—that makes for a very dicey environment.

89th

@Aqua-Letifer said in Question for the cyclists:

Back in the day, Mayor Fenty (who was into tris) put in a shitload more bike lanes to help with the safety issue.

Oh shit, I forgot about that dude! I saw him in a triathlon I was in (I think in Columbia, MD?) like 15 years ago. I don't remember his policies or politics but thought it was cool he would just race with normal idiots like me.

The New Coffee Room

Question for the cyclists