I often get asked what type of bikes I ride and why it is that I choose to ride them. Though the initial answer is usually short, it is often followed with a lengthy elaboration as to how it is that I came to such conclusions. After having answered these sort of questions as many times as I have, I though it would make perfect blog post material, particularly regarding my "commuter" bikes. A lot of my thoughts regarding bicycles have changed over the years and have usually done so in direct proportion to my enhanced knowledge via trial and error, studies produced by others and my intended application of riding styles changing. Though the same can be said for the commuter bike, a new set of criterion arises to meet the demands and rigor of city cycling life.
The city is a place where just about anything can happen at any time. If you commute frequently or just ride occasionally within the confines of any major city you must be prepared for the seemingly innumerable implications of metro life. Thievery, careless cyclists locking and unlocking bikes, bad roads, bad weather and bad drivers to name just a few of the unaccountable variables. You can prepare your bike every morning to near perfection and still have to submit to the way of the world. Having been a bicycle commuter now for my sixth year without a vehicle, I have seen just about everything under the sun when it comes to cycling related mishaps. Being that I want to see my dollar go as far as possible, I build and plan around the idea that I could have any of my lovely bicycles taken from me at any time for nearly any reason.
Observation #1: Don't ride it if you can't replace it
Though I have never personally been on the receiving end of a stolen bike (although I recently had a trunk bag full of tools and kit stolen directly off the rack) I have watched three of my very close friends have bicycle that we built to their liking, from the frame up, stolen and never seen again. The big take away here is that it takes a hell of a lot longer to replicate a very specific custom bike build than it does to wave goodbye to it in the wake of thievery. Its simply too time and cost prohibitive to replace high end bicycles that are used as frequent city bikes. This might ring particularly true if you are a daily commuter who depends day in, day out on your bicycle to get you around. With that having been said, it only seems logical to make efforts to outfit yourself with a bicycle that not only does what you want and need it to do, but that can achieve such goals for a reasonable price that wont render the bike irreplaceable (at least in the monetary sense as opposed to the sentimental).
I work extremely hard for the money that I earn and find tremendous folly in commuting on a super expensive, super high end machine that on a regular basis will be subjected to high risk exposure all over the city. I have to come to terms with the fact that I could just as easily be the next to have a bicycle stolen and need to be ready for that in every sense. Though I do understand that anyone can have a bike stolen just about anywhere, at any time; I do understand the inherently higher risk factor of city commuting as opposed to taking that higher end bicycle out for a ride where it might see almost no "out of sight" time. If I am going to have a super exotic bicycle (which I do not) it will be ridden in a more isolated setting where it will not see time being locked up in the shuffle of downtown Albuquerque for hours on end.
 |
| My most recent commuter oriented bike build. A $100 New old stock, mid range Fuji frameset that sat in a closet somewhere in the Midwest for the last 3 decades. Affordable, reliable, and repeatable is the goal here. Square taper bottom bracket, 1" threaded headset, 700c wheels and friction shifting. Easy to find, affordable to replace and cross compatible parts are prerequisite. |
Observation #2: Simple parts make for simple fixes
Bicycle parts get dirty, wear out and break: all of them. At one point or another (excluding those who choose to simply replace bicycles and parts before they need replacing for whatever reason) you will find yourself needing to fix or replace a facet of your bicycle. Commuter or not, this is a reality that we all face and can not avoid.
The year is 2016 and nearly every bicycle component manufacturer today sells products that are typically less than functionally optimal, requiring proprietary bits to fix proprietary components for proprietary "group sets" that usually cost far more than they should. Long gone are the days where you can grab any ol' shifter from the bin of used parts to fix what should in more cases than not be a simple fix for a simple problem. The basic reality of the matter is that most of us have become consumer locked into a particular company. If you want to continue shifting your Sram drivetrain after something fails you will in most cases need a corresponding fill-in-the-blank Sram compatible component to keep the bike shifting and the flow of Sram profits growing. The same thing can and will be said for Shimano and Campagnolo. The "big three" as I like to call them have not only made it cost prohibitive to make minor repairs, but often times entirely impossible without buying a new component all together. If all one can find bin of shifters at the local bike shop are old outdated Shimano and Sram bits, the likelihood of doing a quick Campagnolo fix will require good money and a longer wait time for the wholesaler to ship the part, and in turn the cyclist (most shops don't stock every little bit of componentry that is needed to make repairs in the same way that auto part shops sometimes do). If we can figure out how to set up a more simple bicycle that depends less on proprietary based componentry, and more on universal standards, we take another step toward a more headache free, money saving DIY solution while giving the preverbal middle finger to those to try to insult our intelligence as consumers with marketing gimmicks and planned obsolescence.
Observation #3: Its going to get scratched up and dented
Your bike was made for a reason, and if that reason happens to coincide with heavy commuting, it is going to get beat up at an accelerated rate. From the city bus racks scratching up your fork, to careless cyclists locking up bikes frantically and dinging your frame, your commuting steed will indeed experience a storm of wear and tear regardless of whether it was built to endure or not. Every bike (excluding one that I babied) that I have ever done any sort of commuting on has acquired a nice patina of chips, nicks, dents and scratches from usual use. Some of the battle wounds were self inflicted while others were completely unavoidable. The simple matter of fact is that if you have to look over your shoulder every time you take more than a few steps away from your bike (I have been here), you might want to ask yourself if your bicycle is a good pick as a commuter.
No comments:
Post a Comment