Commuting Balance

12 Tuesday Feb 2013

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I’ve got both of my regular bikes dialed in pretty well now, and have been trading them off for commute duty.  I am also thinking about the upcoming Rando season, and have been trying to get  in an occasional longer ride in on the weekends.  Timing with family duties has been tough, as always.  I find that I need to commute to get my “bike on”, and when I try to save energy for the weekend rides by not commuting, I start to get pretty miserable fast.  This must be a special condition built up over years of conversion to a bike commute, so when I don’t do it for a few days I start to go through withdrawal.

I’m not sure if others have this problem.  I get the feeling that most Randonneurs are more of the weekend warrior type that have a hopelessly long commute and just ride on the weekend.  I am quite sure that’s bunk, and there are folks all over the spectrum that have the rando kind of crazy.  Anyway, I’ve been doing about 150-250 miles/month in commutes, and have gradually started to take a longer, less crowded route to work.  I look at it as the “scenic route”, but also view it as “base miles” that I need to keep my fitness at to even attempt the longer rides.  I know that by doing this, I’ll be able to finish a 200k if I bring enough food/water, but I certainly won’t be in the top 20% time-wise without more dedication.

Do I want to dedicate the time to that?  Sure.  Eventually.  When my daughter wants to spend more time with her friends.  When the house projects are back to the single digits.  When work isn’t a primary focus for me?  You can see where this is going.  I think I’m a Randonneur like I’m a Fisherman.  For me, it’s an outlet, and I want it to be enjoyable.  That’s the plan…

Rando or Commuter?

Lighten It Up?

27 Sunday Jan 2013

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In another post, I talked about tires, but I’m also going to plug keeping your bike as light as you can for city/general fun riding.  It really comes into play for me in hilly Seattle.  I live on a hill and have about 900 feet of elevation gain on my ride home, with maybe 400 feet on the way in.  This is where the weight hurts.  Climbing can be fun, but if the destination is work or home, it’s just not like a touring destination to put up with extra weight.

Lots of Carrying Capacity

Another personal preference is to keep the pack on the bike and off the back.  I don’t like sweaty-back, or the off-balance feel when I have a backpack or messenger bag, and long ago converted to using bike bags to carry my work clothes, laptop, iPad, keys, etc…

Dropped the Double Kickstand and Basket/Bag Combo

The Hunqapillar was pushing it in my comfort zone as it probably approached 35lbs in weight with the big back saddle bag, heavy lock, heavy Schwalbe Dureme tires, and double kickstand.  I also have a front and rear rack that adds some weight to the overall package. Now some of this I don’t want to give up – I like having the racks for unexpected loads, and the rear rack is the mount for my taillight.  The bag and lock are not entirely necessary all the time.  The tires are overkill unless I’m on the dirt mountain trails.  It’s like carrying your loaded camping backpack with you when you take the bus to work.  It may come in handy during an earthquake, but 99.999% of the time, it just makes you tired faster.

Things I’ve done:

  1. Dropped the double leg kickstand – single leggers are light and fine for the commute
  2. Swapped the SaddleSack Medium for the Xtra Small that just fits my tools – I am using the ShopSack bungied to the front rack if I need to carry big stuff
  3. Lost the Abus lock – will carry a small cable/padlock as a deterrent for the short coffee stops I rarely make on the commute
  4. Swapped out the Duremes for Jack Browns (green front, blue back)

Ahhh – Jack Browns and X-Small SaddleSack

Initial feel is that this made rolling along much easier and more fun for me.  I had similar average speeds on my Hunqa and Hilsen for my commutes this week. I noticed that the Hunqa still feels more “solid”.   I’m definitely not heavy enough to plane this bike without more weight on it.  When I take it camping, or up in the mountains, I’ll put what I need back on, but for now, I’m happier with the Hunqa-lite….

Diamond Tape Session

27 Sunday Jan 2013

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AudienceChickens?Ahhh - BeerCan we come in?Usual SuspectsThe Host
Host BikeBruce's CockpitCool RackTall Acorn Boxy RandoRob M's Big BagBleriot & Ridge Runner Team
Rob M is Quick!Celeste and Yellow!It Takes Concentration!First RowAccent is DoneFirst Row on Bleriot
Beausage!In ProgressWorking the HoodsWhere do I Cut This??Starting More DiamondsRob M at Work

Diamond Tape Session, a set on Flickr.

This afternoon, four mad-rad RBW list members got together for a bar taping fest in a Seattle garage (yes, it was raining). Amazingly, all members arrived on their bikes and carrying nothing more than bar tape, and the willingness to be made a fool of by cotton tape, they learned the fine art of the harlequin bar wrap.

We had a good time, and in the end there were 3 new diamond’d up cockpits on a Saluki, Bleriot, and Bosco’d Miyata Ridge Runner Team. Special thanks to Rob Harrison for his garage, and his family’s patience! For those that missed this round, there will be more. I will host one in a few months at my place.

Pics prove it happened in the rain with chickens…

Green in the Front, Blue in the Back

27 Sunday Jan 2013

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I love Rivendell Jack Brown tires.  They are a great combo of cush on a 700c wheel and low rolling resistance.

http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/t100-g.htm

Hilsen with Jacks

I have had Jack Brown’s on my A. Homer Hilsen for a few years, with a brief fling using the also sublime Gran Bois Cypres tires. For the past 6 months, I’ve been regularly riding a Hunqapillar with heavier Schwalbe Duremes on my work commute of 10-20 miles, and I have been gradually come to a conclusion.  Heavy tires with tough sidewalls are great for avoiding flats, but I don’t like riding on them.  They feel really sluggish – like I’m constantly pushing and fighting to keep the bike moving.  Not fun to me.  Biking should be fun.

Hunqa with Jacks

With that in mind, I swapped out the Duremes for my extra set of Jack Browns and rode in the other day with this configuration.  Yes – it made a difference.  I also noticed the difference in feel of the bike frame going from the more flexy AHH to the stiffer Hunqapillar.  My normal cruising speed on the flats is 15-20 mph depending on the inclines/wind/legs on the AHH.  With the heavy Schwalbe Duremes (50mm) on the Hunqa, I was typically struggling to keep it at 13 mph.

Now, I’m not trying to set speed records, but I’ve found that the beauty of “road” bikes is that they typically feel more effortless on the pavement.  In my many years commuting with a mountain bike with roadish tires, I know that a lot of it has to do with geometry as well, but tires DO make a big difference.  That said, it’s not the diameter, it’s the weight, and the sidewall.  Big cushy tires can be AWESOME if they are light and have a supple sidewall.

Blue in Back

Green in Front

Yes, you will get more flats.  Only you will be able to decide if the rest of the time riding is worth the few flats.  I’m not in goathead country, so the biggest problem is road trash (glass, radial wires, nails).  This will result in a flat every few months.  I can live with this.  To avoid it as much as possible, I use the Jack Brown Blue (kevlar belt) as my rear tire, and the lighter, suppler Green on the front.  This keeps me pretty flat proof, as everyone knows that you always get flats on the tire that is hardest and messiest to change (rear).

Now I just need to move those fenders in a bit…