High Gas Prices = More Bike Commuters?

[lI1|1!]

on a single speed wizzin past ya

[Cobra_Commander]

my question is how those guy hipsters maintain the emaciated girlish figure with the size 28 jeans while riding fixies. they should have quads like tree trunks.

[spicoli11]

I belive they smoke a carton of marb lights, eat low fat muffins and drink whiskey at the mars bar.

[Cobra_Commander]

perhaps living on tapas helps.

[cj001f]

perhaps living on tapas helps.

veganism never hurts

[Cobra_Commander]

Convenient veganism you mean. Your fixie only has to make an appearance at Food Fight's bike rack.

[cj001f]

woah!

[rbw1966]

Weather probably plays more of a role in increased bike traffic than gas prices.

[Dave_Schuldt]

I think there's more bikes on the road this summer than last. Lots of hype lately, there's also more people in town, some may have given up living far from work.

Fixies are dumb, wonder how long the fad will last. I would get a single speed if Seattle was flat.

My commuter bike.

Say what you want about REI, this bike rules.

Replace shock seat post w/ regular one, added fenders and flat/ spd pedals. No more blown out rims from brakes grinding them down. I ride year round so I was going through a set of wheels every 2 years. People see the disc brakes and say "Where's the suspesion?"

Edited August 11, 2006 by Dave_Schuldt

[JayB]

Fixies are dumb, wonder how long the fad will last. I would get a single speed if Seattle was flat.

 

Word. Fixie = preening pretension worthy of the Vespa+long scarf combo.

 

Might make sense for some people, but for the average commuter they're just dumb. Especially in Seattle.

 

Once fixies become passe' I hope the next trendster ride will be the chainless deals from the late 19th century with the huge-ass front wheel.

[Crux]

I think there's more bikes on the road this summer than last. Lots of hype lately, there's also more people in town, some may have given up living far from work.

Fixies are dumb, wonder how long the fad will last. I would get a single speed if Seattle was flat.

My commuter bike.

Say what you want about REI, this bike rules.

Replace shock seat post w/ regular one, added fenders and flat/ spd pedals. No more blown out rims from brakes grinding them down. I ride year round so I was going through a set of wheels every 2 years. People see the disc brakes and say "Where's the suspesion?"

How long have the hub-disc brakes been working for you on the road? If found them to be a mixed bag on a road bike that came stock with them a few years ago. It turned out there are maintenance and performance issues with the hub discs too.

 

By the way, do you need a special license or weapons permit to ride that thing?

[philfort]

Definite increase in riders on the 545 since last summer. There are so many now, that the bike racks are always full, and you have wait for the next (or the next next) bus. It got so annoying I started driving again.

 

What they need is an hourly bike-only bus. Or else figure out a way to get more than 3 bikes on the outside of the bus.

[Dave_Schuldt]

Crux, dics are way less hassle and work way better in the rain. They work fine for me, you can always upgrade to a better mechanical or hydros. You can also get bigger rotors for evan more stopping power,

philfort, metro is puting tripple bike racks on all it's cross lake busses.

They would like to hear from you if you've been left behind.

We'll see who the real hard core are once the rain starts.

[Dechristo]

UberFamous Climbers are so core they ride their bikes in the rain.

[Dave_Schuldt]

And snow.

[Mos_Chillin]

...and on the freeway

[Dave_Schuldt]

Seatte riders take note!

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaster.htm

The city wants to hear from you! The more surveys filled out the better.

[Crux]

Crux, discs are way less hassle and work way better in the rain. They work fine for me, you can always upgrade to a better mechanical or hydros. You can also get bigger rotors for evan more stopping power...

Yes, discs work fine. They present unanticipated problems, depending on the design, but they brake real good. However, claims of superiority were brought into dispute once put to the test.

 

After a two-year trial use of disc brakes on a road-bike that I purchased and used for sport and commuting year-round in the Seattle area, I found the best upgrade was achieved with a side-grinder.

 

BTW, nice commuter rig in the pic. Different setup really... interesting how that apparently makes a big difference regarding what kind of brakes work out best.

 

The old brakes: Avid Mechanical

The new brakes: Shimano R-600 Long Reach w red KoolStop pads

The actuators: Shimano 105 brifters

The side grinder: Milwaukee Tools w 4" disc

The new paint: Rustoleum, grey.

[Crux]

Definite increase in riders on the 545 since last summer. There are so many now, that the bike racks are always full, and you have wait for the next (or the next next) bus. It got so annoying I started driving again.

 

What they need is an hourly bike-only bus. Or else figure out a way to get more than 3 bikes on the outside of the bus.

 

Else ride the bike. Not the bus.

[chris]

I've noticed more bicyclists even here in small-town Bishop, where "car-pooling" means each person drives their car to the agreed upon destination caravan-style. There's even a cop here who rides to work, in full uniform of the day. People seem to be holding back and combining out-of-town chores into one big trip at a time...

[Crux]

my question is how those guy hipsters maintain the emaciated girlish figure with the size 28 jeans while riding fixies. they should have quads like tree trunks.

FWIW, in regard to development of muscle mass from bicycling, from "Myth Busters" page on bikeshop.com:

 

Myth 5: Cycling makes your legs big

 

"Bicycling will tone your muscles and make your legs stronger, so they will look more cut and more powerful, yet, for most people, it's much more likely the gams will get smaller than bigger. This is especially true if you follow the important rule of maintaining a comfortable pedal cadence upwards of 90 revolutions per minute. This requires riding in relatively easy gears, which develop small, supple muscles along with excellent cardiovascular power, too."

 

"We think [the myth] has to do with the sprinters who capture the limelight at the end of important races. These champions train for power and explosiveness and often have larger-than-normal pipes, which photographers love to shoot. In fact, you may have seen Olympic track aces, such as Marty Nothstein, who has redwoods for legs. But, believe us, it took Marty years of serious weight work to get pistons like that."

[philfort]

philfort, metro is puting tripple bike racks on all it's cross lake busses.

 

They've always had tripple on the 545 since I started riding last year. To handle all the bike traffic now, they'd need probably 6 spots per bus.

[Camilo]

I wish I could still bike to work. New job allows me to enjoy all of the gridlock Portland has to offer, at all hours of the day

[G-spotter]

high gas prices = more ethanol usage = more expensive beer

[Animal]

I recently picked up a backpacker at Stevens Pass who took Greyhound to the trailhead for his trip. He purchased a return ticked, but could not board the bus back because it was full. He should have done a bus bike combo, take the bus up, and ride the bike back down.