The Bike
I am not a great cyclist. I never could have been a competitive racer—a nervous Nellie on descents, too big for climbing, and not particularly skilled at challenging terrain. Still, I have managed to log over 100,000 miles of biking. Riders like me are commonly called “hard core”. We just keep at it.
Commuting by bike is not for everyone but it is achievable by anyone who is determined and whose situation is favorable. By favorable I mean such things as distance (a 50-mile commute is pretty ambitious); roads (you need paths and roads that protect you from hair-raising proximity to auto traffic); and work situation (if you work night shift in a high crime neighborhood, riding may not be a wise option).
Cost is not really an issue—if you ride consistently, your costs will be covered by your savings from not commuting by other means. Spending a lot of money on a bike is a waste unless you can get a sponsor to buy your bike for you, in which case you’re still not spending a lot of money on a bike. You do not want to buy the cheapest junk sold by Costco, however. You can buy a good quality bike used, adding some money for repairs, or you can buy a mid-quality bike new. Expect to spend $300 – $500. Expensive bikes are interesting to bike jocks and bike thieves. It’s just as well if you don’t attract the interest of either of these groups. Having an attention-grabbing bike is not the object; the object is to get a lot of good use out of that bike.
If you don’t have a good bike and you lack confidence in purchasing one, track down a friend or relative who bikes. You probably can find someone willing to spend some time shopping with you and help you make a reasonable decision. Spend some time online looking at prices bikes can be purchased for. If you buy at a bike shop you are going to be tempted to spend more than you wanted to spend. It’s easy to fall in love with something that costs $200 more than you want to spend. Don’t do it. Don’t do impulse buying. (Write that on your charge card. It’s a good rule for all buying.) If you are still in love with a particular bike two weeks after you’ve fallen in love with it at the bike shop, well, maybe then you can figure out where the additional $200 is coming from. But, generally speaking, there is no difference between a $400 bike and a $600 bike.
To a degree, the type of bike you ride is a matter of personal preference, but it’s important to take into account the kind of riding you plan to do. If you want to race or you are a weekend warrior who likes to ride fast, you will want to look at road bikes. Some people find them unsteady and uncomfortable. When I get on my road bike it feels like the bike is urging me on to go fast. It’s like the difference between a thoroughbred and a Clydesdale, I imagine, except that the reaction of a real thoroughbred to me climbing aboard would be something like, “Hey! [expletive!] Where’s my jockey?” Some people have back problems that make road bikes uncomfortable. Many people with back problems like recumbent bikes. The recumbent is characterized by a chair-like seat and with pedals out in front of the rider instead of below. These bikes are comfortable, are fun to ride, and can be very fast. Their big drawback is that they tend to be low, making them harder for cars to see, as well as reducing visibility for the rider. I do not recommend this kind of bike for commuting.
If you want to ride on rough terrain, buy a mountain bike. These bikes have big tires and probably some sort of suspension system to absorb shock. Mountain biking is great fun but is physically demanding, and is a good way to collect cuts, scrapes, bruises, and broken bones. Not for those who subscribe to to the notion that discretion is the better part of valor.
Another rough terrain bike is called the cyclo-cross. This bike is a blend of a road bike and a mountain bike. It is designed for racing on rough terrain. It tends to look like a road bike but the frame is stronger and the tires are usually larger. This bike is a reasonable option for commuting.
The most common commuter bike is usually referred to as a hybrid. The distinguishing features of the hybrid are relatively horizontal handlebars, as well as an upright riding position. Riders can choose a range of tire widths but they tend to be wider and with more tread than road bikes, but thinner and with less tread than mountain bikes.
Most bikes come with gearing, usually with 12-18 possible gear combinations. Having gears on your bike is a huge advantage for several reasons. The main reason has to do with efficiency of energy transfer. Every rider has a preferred cadence—the most comfortable pedal spin speed for that rider. At optimal cadence, pedaling is steady, neither requiring heavy exertion, nor so light that the bike is hardly being pushed. A rider’s cadence should remain fairly constant. However, terrain changes. Going uphill or downhill; riding on rough surfaces or smooth surfaces; riding freely or in heavy traffic—all these factors and more will affect actual speed of the bike. Gears allow the rider to keep the cadence constant, even as the environmental factors and the speed of the bike vary.
Another benefit of gearing is that it enables you to do what you otherwise could not. The most obvious example of this is climbing long, steep hills. Low gearing allows for the rider to move slowly up hills while using only light exertion with each pedal stroke. The key to riding up big hills is not becoming a great athlete (however wonderful that might be) but having sufficiently low gearing on the bike. Most geared bikes come with a range of gears that work fine for most riders. However, sometimes the gearing that comes with the bike just doesn’t work for you the way it should. Sometimes the jump from one gear to the next is too great. This is particularly annoying if the gap happens in a speed range that you ride in frequently. Consult with a bike shop. With your input, they should be able to figure out the gear sizes that will improve the efficiency of your riding.
The final big advantage of gearing is that proper cadence, along with proper seat adjustment, make biking easy on knees. This is great for people who like to participate in cardiovascular activity and/or like to get outdoors but who have already put some wear on their knees. Biking strengthens the muscles around the knees, which is really important, especially as we age.
It’s worth taking the time to figure out the right kind of bike for you. Your bike needs to be an encourager, not a hindrance to your goal of riding regularly.
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