I realize many commuters don’t carry a flat kit or tools, but some of us do. That’s my saddle bag in this photo.At a minimum I always carry: Wrench (if I’m riding fixed or singlespeed) Pump or CO2 inflator Patch kit Tire levers I usually also carry Tube Multitool Do you carry tools on your…
Blog
Commuting 101: First Aid Kits
This morning I was riding through the woods when, suddenly, a bee hit me in the neck. No biggie, I thought; at least it didn’t sting me. I continued on my way and after another half mile I started thinking how fortunate I was not to end up like RickyD. A few moments later I…
Commuting 101: Flat Resistance
Most of use who regularly commute by bike have put up with flat tires. To avoid flats, a number of aftermarket products are available that promise to reduce or eliminate flats. They add weight to the outside of the rotating tire, but any time and energy lost while cycling is more than made up for…
Commuting 101: Essential Tips For New Riders
…or, Father Knows Best. So, I got the call a couple nights ago: “Dad, my car died.” Yep, looks like my eldest son is about to join our ranks. He actually came up with the idea of commuting by bike before I did. As a parent, I immediately launched into a lengthy, one-sided conversation regarding…
Commuting 101: Bike Tips Video
Tip of the helmet to FatBoy. The U.S. Department of Transportation – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration produced this Bicycle Safety Tips for Adults video. It’s a fairly common sense video – but if you’re just getting started commuting, it might be worth 7 minutes of your time. Included is a quick run through the…
Commuting 101: Bike To Work Day checklist
For those deciding at the last minute to bike to work on Bike To Work Day, here’s a handy dandy checklist of things to have and do. I recommend getting this stuff together the night before you ride. Check weather forecast. The bike: Tires inflated. Saddle adjusted. Brakes adjusted and operating. Gears adjusted. Chain lubricated….
Commuting 101: Get a Helmet
Next week’s Bike to Work Week may have inspired you to check out our site; if so, thanks for stopping by and I would encourage you to peruse our Commuting 101 section. There is a lot of debate about whether or not you really need to wear a bike helmet; personal experience has shown myself…
Commuting 101: How to stop the bike
This may seem like a silly topic, but one of the skills taught in the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) is the “Quick Stop.” Most of the time, simply squeezing the brake levers (on most bikes) will slow and stop you adequately. There are times, though, when you need to stop on a dime. Knowing…
Commuting 101: Don't ride in the door zone
The door zone is the space within two to three feet of cars parked parallel on the roadway. If a driver suddenly opens his door in the path of a cyclist, that cyclist has been “doored.” As this recent tragic news from Australia reminds us, getting doored can get you killed. Sometimes the trauma of…
Commuting 101: Sun Glare in April and September
The Missouri Bicycle Federation has a press release on their site that reminds us that: “…near the first day of spring and the first day of autumn. At those times of year, the sun rises and sets directly to the east and west. Many of our streets are aligned east/west. With the sun low in…
Commuting 101: Bike Shaped Objects
A Word about Bike Shaped Objects Bike geeks like me and the other authors of CbB often snicker about the “Bike Shaped Objects” (BSO) sold at the mass retail discount stores for less than $200. They’re heavy, ugly, inefficient, poorly engineered, poorly designed, and poorly assembled by the same guy who scoops the the dead…
Commuting 101: Cleaning Up Your Act
You’ve made the decision; you’re getting on the bike and riding to work. There are some employers who will welcome you with shower facilities, lockers and the like. There are many more who will not. In the event your employer falls in the later category, you can still find ways to get cleaned up once…
Bicycle Commuting 101
Route One of the first things to do is make sure you plan your course. Look at your course to and from work. Watch out for heavy traffic areas as well as road hazards. Also make sure you have a bail out route just incase you experience street closures, and accidents. Being Prepared Being the…
#BikeCommuteAdventure – Promote Bike Commuting by Sharing the Story of Your Route
3 Questions: Do you ride your bicycle to work? Do you carry a smart phone with you? Are you on social media? If you answered yes to the 3 above questions, you are well qualified to participate in #BikeCommuteAdventure. A few years ago, after I’d moved to a new house here in Tucson, I was…
17 Bike Commuting Accessories Schlepped 10,000 Miles
More than ten thousand miles from where I sit, there is a storage unit filled with the other 99 percent of my life’s accumulated crap; the stuff I left behind when I shipped off to Madagascar. This includes all four of my bikes. I crammed that unit full of my material attachments like a minor…
Tananarivize' – Bike Commuting in Madagascar's Capitol
After a week in Madagascar, I finally got a bike! I rode home to my apartment, taking selfies all the way. That week without a bike served me well. I spent some time on foot, in taxis, taking small public transportation buses (taxi brousse), and bumming rides from various colleagues with their SUVs. I observed…
This Week in Bike Commuting Urban Legends
Urban legend: a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true [Wikipedia]. Urban legends permeate our lives. Many towns, groups, parents, teachers, spouses, you name it, have some kind of urban legend they use to make points, create feelings, or just entertain….
No Regrets: Good, Cheap, Bike Commuting Accessories
I used to buy really low-quality bike accessories for myself. I’d walk into a bike shop and I’d be that tragic combination of ignorance and sticker shock. So I would buy crap. The tragedy is that back then I had more spending power than I do now — what with a mortgage and all that…
Tigers and Bike Commuting: Together at Last (Friday Roundup)
For those of you who don’t follow us on Twitter, or like us on Facebook, Google Plus, etc.: Are you working or something? This is a roundup of some of the things we saw fit to share with our less productive readers over the last seven days:
My First Bike Commuting Crash
This past Thursday, I was in my first ever bike commuting accident. The result: a broken bike, a broken helmet, a badly bruised knee, a mild concussion, and some post-accident anger.
Urban Bad Weather Commuting
Josh King lives in Seattle, where he commutes by bike every day, rain or shine. Earlier this year he switched to full-time single speed commuting; you can read his thoughts on going gearless at www.singlespeedseattle.com Start commuting year-round, and youre going to have to make some adjustment for crappy weather. When I first…
2009 Top Commuting Products : Lights
It seems weekly I’m modifying one bike or another, trying out the newest or greatest product. Most of the time it is on my own dime, working in a bike shop I get to see all the cool things, and crave all the cool things too. Here are some of my favorite things I’ve tried…
This Week in Commuting News
My goal in these weekly round ups are not only to highlight what was talked about here, on Commute By Bike, but across the newswire, blogosphere and maybe even in my shop. As long as it is about commuting, it may find its way here.