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Archives for December 2009

Protecting Stuff in Your Seatbag

12.10.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

A friend was telling me about a recent ride he took, where he got a flat. He pulled his spare tube out of his seatbag, got the tire remounted to the wheel, and started pumping it up.

But his spare tube turned out to be punctured, too.

He realized that his seatbag was so crammed with stuff that it was rubbing against the tube, and caused it to tear.

I had to admit, that happened to me once, too. I was using a small bullet-shaped bag that could barely hold my tube and multi-tool. But I also had jammed a patch kit and tire levers in. The multi-tool’s edges got my tube, and I had to sag in during a semi-supported ride.

I’ve dealt with the issue since then by ditching the small bag and putting on a larger one. And my spare tube is now parked in an old sock. I cut the toe area off the sock, because that’s all you need to store a tube. It’s worked like a charm — I haven’t had any more tubes damaged in an overloaded seatbag.

Some folks I know use a Ziplock bag for their tubes, and a second bag for other stuff. How about you? Any tips for keeping your biking necessities safe and organized? I’m always looking for better ideas.

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Categories // Accessories Tags // seatbags

Riding in Street Clothes

12.08.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

One afternoon last week I got home early enough that I thought I could squeeze in a bike ride before it got dark. But it was unusually cold for Central Texas — around 42 degrees. I decided to take my mountain bike out for a spin around the neighborhood, rather than hit the roads on my road bike.

But I didn’t want to wear my biking tights. For starters, they’re not cold weather tights — they work great when the temperature is in the 50s, but on an afternoon like this, I knew they wouldn’t be enough.

Likewise my bike jerseys. I like my long sleeve jersey with the brushed inside, and mostly, it works well when teamed up with a base layer and my windbreaker. But I thought I’d need something more substantial.

So I pulled a wool sweater out of the drawer, put it on over my long sleeved twill shirt, and put my windbreaker on over that. To cover my legs, I had my jeans. Instead of bike shoes, I wore my flat-soled sneakers (the mountain bike has platform pedals).

It all worked fine. I did 12 miles in about an hour. The wool sweater kept me warm, and the windbreaker broke the wind. A pair of light wool gloves substituted for my half-finger biking gloves, keeping my fingers from freezing, but without adding so much bulk that shifting and braking would have been a problem. Okay, the blue jeans weren’t the wisest choice for legwear — my thighs were pretty chilled when I finished the ride — but I’ve got alternatives to those for future similar rides.

Since I started my “serious” biking about two-and-a-half years ago, I’ve taken to biking clothes. I like my padded shorts and my lightweight lycra jerseys. It’s become second nature to me to rummage through my bike clothes drawer (yes, I have a whole drawer dedicated to them — don’t you?) to pick the best combination to wear when heading out.

But for the half-century before I started “serious” biking, I didn’t bother about that. I just rode, wearing whatever I happened to have on at the time. In fact, my wife and I both thought the cycling getups were over the top — and we’d chuckle at some of the kits people wore when we were out riding rails-to-trails bike paths.

Street clothes can do very well for a biker under most circumstances. I’ll be doing neighborhood rides in them again. How about you? Cycling kits are fun, but are they really necessary?

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Categories // Accessories Tags // clothing

Hybrid Cars Dangerous to Bikers?

12.06.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

A menace to bikers?*

In some casual web surfing last week, I came across several items decrying the dangers posed to bicyclists, runners and pedestrians by hybrid cars. It seems these gas-electric vehicles are so quiet, bikers can’t hear them — and that causes accidents.

We’ve heard anecdotes along these lines ever since hybrids first came on the scene. Some people are even proposing that car makers add some kind of “noise” to hybrids so bicyclists (and pedestrians) are aware of their presence.

What struck me about the articles was their total reliance on anecdotal evidence. Nowhere were hard statistics cited, although some referred to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The study is available as a PDF document on the NHTSA’s web site.

In a nutshell, it says there is a higher incidence of accidents involving hybrids and pedestrians or bikers — in certain situations.

If a hybrid car is turning, slowing or stopping, backing up, or entering a parking space, the incidence of crashes with bikes is significantly higher than if an internal combustion engined car was making the same moves. Collisions between bikes and hybrids were more likely to happen when the car was moving at less than 35 mph.

The NHTSA report notes that it’s based on figures supplied by only 12 states — those whose VIN numbers identify cars as either hybrid or internal combustion. The NHTSA wants to do a more detailed study based on figures from all 50 states.

So — should bikers take evasive action when they see a hybrid coming their way? No more than they would for any other vehicle. Yes, hybrids are quieter. But the wise biker will always be aware of his or her surroundings. Knowing that a vehicle — hybrid or otherwise — is nearby will be your best defense.

*Photo by OrangeLimey, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

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