9 ms·

I'm at my 12 year of every day bike commuting. Before I commuted 10 km each direction, now I'm at 6 km. If I have activities after work, I ride to them too. So

I'm at my 12 year of every day bike commuting. Before I commuted 10 km each direction, now I'm at 6 km. If I have activities after work, I ride to them too. So my total ride length is a fair bit longer than what my commute is. The public transportation network here in Stockholm is good, but wouldn't even consider cramming myself into a packed subway train or bus. Even at this time of the year when it's -5 degrees celcius and snowy I really enjoy my daily rides. It cuts commuting time in half and I shave off another two hours of sitting without moving a day. If possible, I highly recommend bike commuting. Get a good bike (with gears) and rack mounts for bags. Gravel/adventure bikes are fun to ride and work well on all surfaces. Supple 650b tyres are all the rage these days. They will give you plenty of comfort while sacrificing very little when it comes to performance[1]. Tomorrow I'll be going to the outskirts of town with work. Then it's 50 km. I already look forward to that workday adventure. :) [1] https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-tires-are-slower/ https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/01/03/12-myths-in-cyclin...

trevyn 9y ago
Have you gotten in accidents?
- unicornporn 9y ago
  I've fallen thrice (that I can remember). Two of these times was when I was stupid enough to ride on ice with slicks. The third time I tried to pull some fancy trick up a curb (just stupid). So, I've scratched my jeans. Other than that: nothing (touch wood). Nowadays I run studded tyres in the winter and they're crazy effective. I don't recommend riding without a helmet or hövding, but this article gives you some insights into the risks of riding a bike in cities: https://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to-wear-bike-helmets https://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to...
  - dguaraglia 9y ago
    How hostile are the drivers in Stockholm? Bay Area drivers aren’t super friendly to cyclists (to be fair, plenty of cyclists also behave like assholes, cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t.) My biggest concern during a year of using my bike to commute was making sure I didn’t get ran over by a car taking a turn, because signaling is not always their forte.
    - HarryHirsch 9y ago
      cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t What drivers who have never used a bicycle don't even consider is that as a cyclist you are extremely mobile and have a much better overview of the road. A cyclist can cross an intersection on red with little danger, a car attempting the same would be murderous. In countries like the Netherlands most everyone has biked to school from the age of 6 before they are turned loose in a car at 18, there is much better mutual understanding between car drivers and bike riders over there.
      - michaelt 9y ago
        A cyclist can cross an intersection on red with little danger Unfortunately, the 30% of riders who can't do this competently spoil things for the 70% of riders who can. I don't own a car and I cycle thousands of miles a year, so I'm very much on the side of cyclists over motorists - but last year, as I walked across a pedestrian crossing with a green light, I was hit by a bicyclist running a red light - who promptly fled the scene without so much as an apology. This kind of thing creates strong, memorable emotional responses people are keen to share. If I'd been more seriously injured, or if the fall had broken my expensive consumer electronics, or if I wasn't a cyclist, or if an infirm relative had been in the accident instead of me, even more so. This being the case, it isn't realistic to convince other road users to approve of cyclists running red lights; getting them to do so is as unlikely as that last 30% of riders spontaneously becoming competent.
      - ilovecars2 9y ago
        It is NOT OK to go through red lights, whether in a car, on a bike or on foot. The rules are the rules and we should all abide them. It happens all the time in London where bikes go through red lights and weave through pedestrians (sometimes at speed) who are crossing the road. Pedestrians are even worse - and often walk or run across red lights and almost get hit from a bus, car or bike. It’s madness!
  - SquirrelOnFire 9y ago
    What tires do you use to ride on ice? I've wiped out on ice myself, and it has scared me off from riding when it is icy.
    - unicornporn 9y ago
      Schwalbe Winter (30-622): https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html I rode a couple of kilometers on an iced lake some weeks ago without trouble. There's also the more expensive Marathon Winter: https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/marathon-winter.html https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/marathon-winter.htm... Marathon Winter has more studs. They're placed closer to the edge of the tyre and it's debatable how much difference if it makes if you don't lean into the curves. I try to lean less on frozen ground, so I suspect they would be pointless for me. Studded tyres actually works best on ice. Theoretically, if snow covers the ice they could be ineffective. I myself have not found this to be a problem.
    - jakobegger 9y ago
      I use the same tires in winter as in summer (normal city bike tires). But I ride them at much lower pressure (under 2bar vs 3.5bar in summer). Then they don’t slip at all.
    - oe 9y ago
      Marathon Winters are the only ones that seem to be effective against the copious amounts of sharp stones used here in winter to sand all cycleways. Otherwise I have managed without studs the previous winters. But five flats during 250km of riding was too much.
    - lardo 9y ago
      Another vote for schwalbe. I've put ~10k miles on non-studded marathons without a flat, so I went with those.
      - lb1lf 9y ago
        Yet another vote for them. After I tried my first set of Schwalbes, I've never looked back. They are terrific. (Marathon Plus MTBs, btw - works brilliantly on gravel, in moderate mud, snow and ice.)
kqr 9y ago
Only thing keeping me from commuting year round is lack of studded tires. I'll have to fix that until next year, because as I'm standing here, hoping for a train that's not jam packed, I really miss cycling.
- dh-g 9y ago
  I have ridden with studded tires but have found that my normal skinny road tires do surprisingly well for our winters here in (Canada).
  - kqr 9y ago
    Yeah, I know. It's just one of those things where I can picture myself climbing the Poisson CDF of inevitability...
  - bhandziuk 9y ago
    I agree. I biked in today after it snowed maybe 4 inches last night. If i had studded tires it would have been nicer but my slicks do pretty well. And really if there is ice few tires will really protect you from slipping. The thing that gets me is roads that are sort of driven on. Heavily trafficked roads are great because cars usually expose the bare concrete and roads with no cars are great because you can ride through powder no problem. But when a few cars have created ruts...it make steering very difficult. I don't know if different tires help with this or if that's just the way it goes when you're total mass is <200 lb.
    - justsomedood 9y ago
      Studded tires make a significant different in ice, and can help to get our of those ice ruts as well. I went down enough times in the ice to move to carbide studded snow tires and it helped a lot. My bike commute is a lot farther now though (~20 miles) so I have downgraded to a fair weather cyclist.
      - bhandziuk 9y ago
        I should really get some of these. I keep trying to "muscle through" but...it sucks.
subpixel 9y ago
I commuted by bike for years in NYC and frankly I do not recommend it. The traffic has always been bad but it’s now significantly worse, and the bike lanes that exist make riding even more dangerous. You are always within reach of parked cars doors, and the lack of a physical barrier on most lanes means they are often driven over by cars. Perhaps worst of all, even faulty bike lanes give cyclists a sense of entitlement and false security. The fact remains the roads were not built for cycling and cars always win in a battle for space. I’d love to see bike-only roads, routes, or such. But until there is both proper segregation and consequences when cars kill cyclists (there are currently none) it’s a death wish. Every day I see eager young cyclists riding with no helmet, no lights, and not infrequently without brakes (on fixies) and I am compelled to yell out my advice on working harder at staying alive.
- dh-g 9y ago
  I have never looked at the data for NYC but for many cities cycling is about as dangerous as walking. The data might surprise you.
- sandover 9y ago
  Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. I've gone 15,000 miles safely in dense urban environments because I am heads-up about the 2 main threats: intersections, and the door zone.
  - ad_hominem 9y ago
    Just be prepared to be ticketed by overzealous NYPD cops. http://gothamist.com/2017/04/28/nypd_bike_lane_tickets.php http://gothamist.com/2017/04/28/nypd_bike_lane_tickets.php
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - alsetmusic 9y ago
    > Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. Please don’t do this. During the time that I commuted on a bicycle, it was very frustrating when other cyclists didn’t follow the rules of the road (zipping through stop signs is another example). It causes resentment in drivers. This leads to aggressive behavior towards cyclists.
KarenSatantsby 9y ago
I did about ten years from the late 90s through the 2000s tapered off in 2011 but I will say.. knees.. oh my knees.. they are simple small things and they each have a say in what I do
HumanDrivenDev 9y ago
I'd hate to ride anything 'supple' on my commute path, which includes a lot of debris and broken bottles. I do miss riding on smaller wheels though. 26" was much nicer to get rolling than 700c, and there's a lot of stop-start. 26" rigid bike are extinct now though it seems.
- kbrosnan 9y ago
  Parent is suggesting combining 650b/27.5" wheel sets with large volume 27.5" tires. This gives you an outer wheel diameter near a 700c wheel. Something like this Durano 27.5 x 1.10 tire [1] and sealant would make for a bomb proof commuter. [1] https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/racing_tires/durano_dd https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/racing_tires/durano...

trevyn 9y ago

Have you gotten in accidents?

unicornporn 9y ago
I've fallen thrice (that I can remember). Two of these times was when I was stupid enough to ride on ice with slicks. The third time I tried to pull some fancy trick up a curb (just stupid). So, I've scratched my jeans. Other than that: nothing (touch wood). Nowadays I run studded tyres in the winter and they're crazy effective. I don't recommend riding without a helmet or hövding, but this article gives you some insights into the risks of riding a bike in cities: https://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to-wear-bike-helmets https://www.vox.com/2014/5/16/5720762/stop-forcing-people-to...
- dguaraglia 9y ago
  How hostile are the drivers in Stockholm? Bay Area drivers aren’t super friendly to cyclists (to be fair, plenty of cyclists also behave like assholes, cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t.) My biggest concern during a year of using my bike to commute was making sure I didn’t get ran over by a car taking a turn, because signaling is not always their forte.
  - HarryHirsch 9y ago
    cutting in front of cars and crossing intersections when they shouldn’t What drivers who have never used a bicycle don't even consider is that as a cyclist you are extremely mobile and have a much better overview of the road. A cyclist can cross an intersection on red with little danger, a car attempting the same would be murderous. In countries like the Netherlands most everyone has biked to school from the age of 6 before they are turned loose in a car at 18, there is much better mutual understanding between car drivers and bike riders over there.
    - michaelt 9y ago
      A cyclist can cross an intersection on red with little danger Unfortunately, the 30% of riders who can't do this competently spoil things for the 70% of riders who can. I don't own a car and I cycle thousands of miles a year, so I'm very much on the side of cyclists over motorists - but last year, as I walked across a pedestrian crossing with a green light, I was hit by a bicyclist running a red light - who promptly fled the scene without so much as an apology. This kind of thing creates strong, memorable emotional responses people are keen to share. If I'd been more seriously injured, or if the fall had broken my expensive consumer electronics, or if I wasn't a cyclist, or if an infirm relative had been in the accident instead of me, even more so. This being the case, it isn't realistic to convince other road users to approve of cyclists running red lights; getting them to do so is as unlikely as that last 30% of riders spontaneously becoming competent.
    - ilovecars2 9y ago
      It is NOT OK to go through red lights, whether in a car, on a bike or on foot. The rules are the rules and we should all abide them. It happens all the time in London where bikes go through red lights and weave through pedestrians (sometimes at speed) who are crossing the road. Pedestrians are even worse - and often walk or run across red lights and almost get hit from a bus, car or bike. It’s madness!
- SquirrelOnFire 9y ago
  What tires do you use to ride on ice? I've wiped out on ice myself, and it has scared me off from riding when it is icy.
  - unicornporn 9y ago
    Schwalbe Winter (30-622): https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html I rode a couple of kilometers on an iced lake some weeks ago without trouble. There's also the more expensive Marathon Winter: https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/marathon-winter.html https://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/marathon-winter.htm... Marathon Winter has more studs. They're placed closer to the edge of the tyre and it's debatable how much difference if it makes if you don't lean into the curves. I try to lean less on frozen ground, so I suspect they would be pointless for me. Studded tyres actually works best on ice. Theoretically, if snow covers the ice they could be ineffective. I myself have not found this to be a problem.
  - jakobegger 9y ago
    I use the same tires in winter as in summer (normal city bike tires). But I ride them at much lower pressure (under 2bar vs 3.5bar in summer). Then they don’t slip at all.
  - oe 9y ago
    Marathon Winters are the only ones that seem to be effective against the copious amounts of sharp stones used here in winter to sand all cycleways. Otherwise I have managed without studs the previous winters. But five flats during 250km of riding was too much.
  - lardo 9y ago
    Another vote for schwalbe. I've put ~10k miles on non-studded marathons without a flat, so I went with those.
    - lb1lf 9y ago
      Yet another vote for them. After I tried my first set of Schwalbes, I've never looked back. They are terrific. (Marathon Plus MTBs, btw - works brilliantly on gravel, in moderate mud, snow and ice.)

kqr 9y ago

Only thing keeping me from commuting year round is lack of studded tires. I'll have to fix that until next year, because as I'm standing here, hoping for a train that's not jam packed, I really miss cycling.

dh-g 9y ago
I have ridden with studded tires but have found that my normal skinny road tires do surprisingly well for our winters here in (Canada).
- kqr 9y ago
  Yeah, I know. It's just one of those things where I can picture myself climbing the Poisson CDF of inevitability...
- bhandziuk 9y ago
  I agree. I biked in today after it snowed maybe 4 inches last night. If i had studded tires it would have been nicer but my slicks do pretty well. And really if there is ice few tires will really protect you from slipping. The thing that gets me is roads that are sort of driven on. Heavily trafficked roads are great because cars usually expose the bare concrete and roads with no cars are great because you can ride through powder no problem. But when a few cars have created ruts...it make steering very difficult. I don't know if different tires help with this or if that's just the way it goes when you're total mass is <200 lb.
  - justsomedood 9y ago
    Studded tires make a significant different in ice, and can help to get our of those ice ruts as well. I went down enough times in the ice to move to carbide studded snow tires and it helped a lot. My bike commute is a lot farther now though (~20 miles) so I have downgraded to a fair weather cyclist.
    - bhandziuk 9y ago
      I should really get some of these. I keep trying to "muscle through" but...it sucks.

subpixel 9y ago

I commuted by bike for years in NYC and frankly I do not recommend it. The traffic has always been bad but it’s now significantly worse, and the bike lanes that exist make riding even more dangerous. You are always within reach of parked cars doors, and the lack of a physical barrier on most lanes means they are often driven over by cars. Perhaps worst of all, even faulty bike lanes give cyclists a sense of entitlement and false security. The fact remains the roads were not built for cycling and cars always win in a battle for space. I’d love to see bike-only roads, routes, or such. But until there is both proper segregation and consequences when cars kill cyclists (there are currently none) it’s a death wish. Every day I see eager young cyclists riding with no helmet, no lights, and not infrequently without brakes (on fixies) and I am compelled to yell out my advice on working harder at staying alive.

dh-g 9y ago
I have never looked at the data for NYC but for many cities cycling is about as dangerous as walking. The data might surprise you.
sandover 9y ago
Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. I've gone 15,000 miles safely in dense urban environments because I am heads-up about the 2 main threats: intersections, and the door zone.
- ad_hominem 9y ago
  Just be prepared to be ticketed by overzealous NYPD cops. http://gothamist.com/2017/04/28/nypd_bike_lane_tickets.php http://gothamist.com/2017/04/28/nypd_bike_lane_tickets.php
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
- alsetmusic 9y ago
  > Don't ride in the door zone. Don't let cars make you ride in the door zone. Take the car lane instead. Please don’t do this. During the time that I commuted on a bicycle, it was very frustrating when other cyclists didn’t follow the rules of the road (zipping through stop signs is another example). It causes resentment in drivers. This leads to aggressive behavior towards cyclists.

KarenSatantsby 9y ago

I did about ten years from the late 90s through the 2000s tapered off in 2011 but I will say.. knees.. oh my knees.. they are simple small things and they each have a say in what I do

HumanDrivenDev 9y ago

I'd hate to ride anything 'supple' on my commute path, which includes a lot of debris and broken bottles. I do miss riding on smaller wheels though. 26" was much nicer to get rolling than 700c, and there's a lot of stop-start. 26" rigid bike are extinct now though it seems.

kbrosnan 9y ago
Parent is suggesting combining 650b/27.5" wheel sets with large volume 27.5" tires. This gives you an outer wheel diameter near a 700c wheel. Something like this Durano 27.5 x 1.10 tire [1] and sealant would make for a bomb proof commuter. [1] https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/racing_tires/durano_dd https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/racing_tires/durano...