CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Three commuters write

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  1. chdot
    Admin

    Saw this on Evans web site.

    Nothing particular that hasn't been discussed here (though perhaps a bit more on bike cleaning).

    No mention of ice though...

    "
    While the daytime hours are longer and longer, the winter is still very much here and riding in bad weather can still be tricky. Here, at Evans Cycles many of our colleagues ride to work on a daily basis. The distances differ, sometimes it’s just 3-4 mile each way but some of them ride 30-40 miles every day. I have asked them to share winter riding tips, here is what they said.

    "

    http://blog.evanscycles.com/commuter_urban/winter-riding-tips-get-in-gear-in-2012/

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. Morningsider
    Member

    Don't show this to Copenhagen bloke - he might have some sort of breakdown!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. kaputnik
    Moderator

    First 2 bits of advice are "proper" mudguards and good lights. Not even Captain Copenhagen can argue with that.

    He did have a go at me about lights, smugly tweeting that "you should see our nice dynamo lights", but that was somewhat tempered when I agreed with him and explained I had one of my own. He then decided this meant I have a super-expensive "winter-speficic customised" bike. Of course, it's not allowed to fit things to your bike that they don't already come with - this verges on the immoral and just proves that he must be right and we should all be riding 20th hand Dutch bikes with rod brakes and wooden rims (they were good 125 years ago, surely they're good now!) that we picked up at a flea market (see adverts on his site to €800-1,800 bikes, expensive bikes are OK, so long as you click through from adverts on his site).

    True story.

    Ahem.

    Back OT, the second dude says "only lube your chain on the inside" under the logic that the chain only touches the chainrings and cassette on that surface. However I oil my chain on top of the links, leave it for 10 minutes to penetrate then wipe off the excess - I don't actually want any lube sitting on the plates of the chain as that's not where the chain is rotating, it's rotating around the links and pins. Who knows.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. steveo
    Member

    His head would implode at my Johnny 5 lights then, on my 200 single speed... Maybe should have spent more on it....

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Steveo, any knowledge of bike maintenance or indeed any practice of "doing it yourself" is also wrong. Even mending puncture. In Copenhagen you just take it to the bike shop and pay someone to do it for you. That way you run no risk of getting your €1,801 jeans covered in oil, grease or gunk while making a running repair. It stops people who don't have your knowledge of homebrew electronics getting into cycling.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. DaveC
    Member

    Hmm not having read any of the spoutings from Mr Copenhagen I know not what his views are, but he sounds like a plonker stuck in the past. I assume he's anti Lycra?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. wingpig
    Member

    Grr. "...a bike that you’ve relegated to winter commuting duties." Snobby. Winter commuting is a fine and noble purpose, not a lowly step down.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. Dave
    Member

    Careful, putting utility cycling up there with (or above) sport cycling is very un-British and even (gasp!) Copenhagnish,...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. recombodna
    Member

    LMAO!! That's why these so called dutch style utilitarian bikes require 17 different sized spanners and 5 hands just to remove the back wheel....

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. Min
    Member

    "He did have a go at me about lights, smugly tweeting that "you should see our nice dynamo lights", but that was somewhat tempered when I agreed with him and explained I had one of my own. "

    He'd definately hate mine since I forked out last year for an expensive super bright front light. I should have thought to just have a wavery yellow dynamo because if they are good enough for Copenhagens heated cycle paths then they are good enough for the Innocent on a winter night at -5C.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. kaputnik
    Moderator

    @min I didn't mention that I'd gone for an "extreme sport" hub dynamo rather than a bottle and "extreme sport" powerful LED lamp rather than a wavering halogen bulb.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. cb
    Member

    I don't really see why proper mudguards should apply specifically to winter commuting. Doesn't really rain any more in winter than the rest of the year.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. chdot
    Admin

    "Doesn't really rain any more in winter than the rest of the year"

    Not convinced that KB weather station always records rainfall accurately, but it's certainly not a 'winter only' phenomenon.

    http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/abs/Weathercam/station/all_data.html

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. ruggtomcat
    Member

    the dynamo lights in Cph are not bottles or hubs, they are predominantly little led things mounted on the forks with a magnetic strip mounted on the spokes. The coil is in the light and as the magnetic field moves past it creates just enough current to flash the led.

    Lovely system, no moving parts, long lifetime, fit and forget and cheap.

    Just about enough light to get seen by, and in the city its fine but you wouldn't want to come down the innocent with one. They are also low and on one side of the bike, so not always very visible, still I think one on each fork would be nice for the commuter.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. ruggtomcat
    Member

    oh and everone has mudguards. all year.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "Lovely system, no moving parts, long lifetime, fit and forget and cheap."

    Called 'Ree-Lights'. I think they're actually a British design, but the Danes have really taken to them. I got a free set when they were first launched. Not a bad little system. Technically too low to be legal as your only light on the bike in the UK, though would take a bored cop to stop you - better than nothing, good for a back-up requiring no batteries.

    Did a YouTube video of them yeeeeaaaaars back to see how effective they were and they're pretty bright. Come in two flavours, one stores energy so they keep flashing for a minute or two after stopping (for when stopped at lights, say) and plain vanilla with a flash that just flashes when you're moving.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. Dave
    Member

    It's just a cultural difference. A bike without mudguards is a bit like an open-top car - there's a lot to be said for it, but still most people have cars that are weather sealed. You can easily imagine a country where everyone has an open-topped car telling jokes about people who insist on having a roof :)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    I still generally think bikes look better without 'guards, but that's an entirely personal view, like having a favourite colour. I'm not going to say someone who prefers blue is wrong.

    However, on a regular commuter I have come to love the mudguard.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Hmmm, picking up on the quote Wingpig mentions above there's more.

    "Winter commuters are workhorses, designed to be ridden into the ground, to be neglected from maintenance duties, apart from a weekly pump up of the tyres and lube of the chain, and if they’re lucky a semi-regular service"

    Seriously? You're willing to potentially sacrifice the front and rear derailleurs and the bottom bracket and the headset and the brake calipers for the sake of a wipe down with a rag?

    Also, doesn't seem to sit well with:

    "when the seasons turn and the sun and warmth come out of hibernation so can your good bike, swapping places with the winter commuter who takes their place until next winter"

    Now, ignoring the poor grammar... If you've neglected maintenance duties on the 'winter bike' the year before there's every chance it's not really going to want, or be able, to move anywhere.

    Hang on hang on... A blog from a bike store, suggesting you do something that will mean buying not only an additional bike, but new components each and every year... Aha.

    File under 'Advertorial masquerading as blog post'

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. chdot
    Admin

    "Seriously? You're willing to potentially sacrifice the front and rear derailleurs and the bottom bracket and the headset and the brake calipers for the sake of a wipe down with a rag?"

    Well 'we' have had threads on here about merits/economics of 'ride to ruin' or 'just in time' replacement - esp for drivetrains.

    Those three Evans' staff seem to cover both.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. Nelly
    Member

    'Advertorial masquerading as blog post'

    Indeed.

    My commuting blogpost would be short:

    Same SS bike as summer, mudguards stay all year, more layers, neoprene skullcap, buff, decent gloves, perhaps longs to keep legs warm, waterproof socks, and 6 lights

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. Uberuce
    Member

    Mine would be: dammit, this weekend I really am getting mudguards; nah I'll do it next week; same bike as summer; studded tyres; painted ski gloves partly white and sewn Scotchlite around wrists; dammit, this weekend I really am getting mudguards; nah I'll do it next week; cut skullcap off beanie for ear cosiness without needing to adjust helmet; thicker sweater.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  23. Dave
    Member

    I think I would be persona non grata for having the temerity to actually build a bike. But hey. :)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  24. Bhachgen
    Member

    "Called 'Ree-Lights'. I think they're actually a British design, but the Danes have really taken to them. I got a free set when they were first launched. Not a bad little system. Technically too low to be legal as your only light on the bike in the UK, though would take a bored cop to stop you - better than nothing, good for a back-up requiring no batteries. "

    I got a red one that actually fits on my pannier rack, with a wee wire winding up via the seat stay and the frame of the rack. Two wheel magnets so it flashes twice per spin and has a wee capacitor so that it keeps flashing for a couple of minutes when you stop. Never runs out of battery charge, fixed permanently so you can't forget it and don't have to remove it when parking the bike. I really like it.

    The basic front ones look pretty basic but they do a proper "headlight" that mounts to the fork crown that looks fairly decent. Not sure how it would work with mudguards though...

    Posted 12 years ago #

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