[RBW] Re: Expert level bike commuting strategies?
Lots of good advice here. On the head space front, I have a couple positive thoughts that I keep bouncing around - cycle commutes are the only time I get paid to ride my bike. The $$ saved over other commuting modes means cycling isn't just an expensive hobby. I also consider the exercise of my 9mi commute with 430' of climbing to be the easiest way to find time in my day to get the heart pumping. I mean, I'd have to spend time commuting anyways. I've landed on tubes instead of sealant for the lack of hassle of maintaining tire pressure and drying sealant. I pump up 1x per week to keep my 29/30 psi. On carrying stuff in, my strategy is to leave a pair of shoes & towel at the office to lighten the load. I have the equivalent of one pannier worth of stuff to bring, so use a porteur rack & bag to keep it all centred. Fenders and 650x48 slicks stay on year-round to manage lousy pavement while enjoying the ride. Lastly, commuting is great way to make sure you bike is ready for the longer weekend rides. You can fine-tune fit and ensure everything is working before you headed to the riverside camp spot. Hope this helps. On Friday, 27 October 2023 at 14:47:44 UTC-7 velomann wrote: > I really can't add much to what's already been said, but these would be my > own main points based on 5-days/week bike commuting for over 20 years. Most > of that was about 11 mostly flat miles each way, one year of 16+ miles each > way with more stressful traffic and a couple big hills, and now averaging > about 6-7 miles each way (I'm technically "retired,: but still working > 5-days/week.) > > If you can keep a change of clothes at the destination, that's helpful. At > the minimum, if you can keep a pair or 2 of work shoes at work, that's > super-helpful and cuts down on the load. > > If you have a quiet commute (it doesn't sound like you do) > podcasts/audiobooks can liven things up. But safety first. > > I ran Orange Seal in tubes for several years when I was commuting through > flat-prone areas and it helped a lot with flats. > > For commuting, don't allow yourself to get caught up in any feeling that > you need "performance" whatever for your bike. Reliability and durability > are far more important for the daily grind. This is especially true for > tires. The shop I work at, which caters almost exclusively to bike > commuters, only sells Schwalbe Marathon tires. They're not flat proof, but > about as close as you can get. > > Habits are not developed overnight. For bike commuting to become a habit, > you gotta stick with it. Soon enough, driving becomes much less appealing. > > Mike M > > On Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 7:26:25 AM UTC-7 Michael Morrissey wrote: > >> Lately I have been biking to work again, from my home in Queens to work >> in Manhattan. Unfortunately, my commute is less than ideal. There are few >> bike lanes in my neighborhood. I leave at 6:30, when it’s dark and cold >> outside. There are lots of big trucks and fast drivers. It’s hilly. Then, >> when I get to the bike lane section of the ride, it’s crowded with electric >> bikes, deliveristas, and stand-up electric scooters. >> >> My commute is 7.8 miles point to point, and I make it in about 53 >> minutes. I started keeping track of my times on Strava. I like looking at >> my records (eastbound across Central Park in 1:40!) but I feel Strava is >> mostly a record of how long I get stuck at red lights. There are so many >> stoplights that I struggle to raise my average speed over 11 MPH. >> >> I use one Ortlieb bag, and I’ve tried to lighten my load as much as >> possible. Yet, I still feel like I am carrying a lot to work. One thing >> I’ve been doing is rolling my work clothes and putting rubber bands around >> them. That helps with the organization. >> >> I’m riding my Rivendell Appaloosa with a big back rack and fenders. >> Fortunately, even after riding it for about 7 years, the bike still feels >> amazing. I also feel great getting so much exercise, and I find I feel I >> have more energy on days I ride compared to when I take the subway. >> >> I was wondering if anyone has any bike commuting advice? I’m finding it >> hard to stay motivated. I want advanced level advice - not just “keep your >> tires pumped up,” but more along the lines of “Buy 5 Bromptons and have >> your wife drop them off at work every Sunday so you can ride one home per >> day.” One thing I might try is a lighter wheelset on the same bike. As Bill >> Lindsay said, “If everybody had a gravity knob on their bike, we would all >> peg it to the minimum.” >> >> Thanks, >> >> Michael >> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit
Re: [RBW] Re: Are Paul brakes worth the money?
I experienced the 'third design flaw' Max cites here whilst using Touring canti's and found it very frustrating. It limited my pad choice to very thin non-cartridge pads and choice of rims wider than 17mm inner width. I nearly ground off the extra lip that creates the pad/brake arm interference but instead just sold them. I've been much happier with the modern Shimano CX50/CX70 design and find it much more practical in every way. On Sunday, 15 October 2023 at 14:11:00 UTC-7 Max S wrote: > I'll also chime in to say that Paul brakes have some advantageous features > (e.g., continuous spring tension adjustability), but also some features > that I find infuriating in actual use, and a few instances of downright > poor mechanical design. > One design flaw is the fully threaded mounting bolt on the Racer, which I > discussed in a slightly geeky thread on iBOB / with Mark Bulgier. It places > a stress riser precisely at the root, front of fork crown, where it should > be avoided at all costs. Perhaps the grade of the steel is above and beyond > what's been used in the past, but it would fail scrutiny in a basic > mechanical design class. > Another flaw has to do with using a separate steel sleeve fitting over the > canti stud. It puts the brake further out than it needs to, and the problem > it's presumably attempting to solve (warped studs, bearing corrosion?..) > creates problems with mounting in the first place, and is avoided entirely > by brass bushings on the majority of other brakes. I've encountered > problems mounting them on two frames, and a third frame I bought had one > VERY firmly stuck on the stud... Haven't had this issue with any of the > nearly two dozen conventional canti / V brakes I've used. > A third design flaw, IME, is the extra lip on the brake arm, forward of > and at 90% to the brake pad mounting hole, which limits how close the pad > can sit in the outboard direction. When trying to use this brake on bikes > with slightly narrower canti stud placement (which are good, from the > standpoint of minimizing pad dive), this extra lip creates rim clearance > problems. > But hey, you can get them in lots of colors, and they're US-made, and > they're made by an independent small shop, and they're a way to show you > care about your bike, which I do in plenty of other ways myself... And the > vast majority of us will not use them to the limit anyway. > > I do like their brake levers, though! > > - Max > > On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 4:12:22 PM UTC-4 wboe...@gmail.com wrote: > >> Cost was a significant part of my argument, for sure. Also, Zestes will >> work with the normal spring anchors on most posts. I am not a fan of >> Paul's spring solution - it's tidy but I found it finicky to adjust (and >> keep adjusted) on the one set of minimotos I owned. That said, the Zeste >> brakes are non-trivial to install. Took me an hour to do the first but was >> slightly quicker with the second set. >> >> Will >> >> On Saturday, October 14, 2023 at 4:06:41 PM UTC-4 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> And!!! Zests are half the price of Pauls! >>> >>> On Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 2:05 PM Patrick Moore wrote: >>> IME the problem with the Tektros wasn't the stopping power but the sloppy pivots. They stopped about as well as the Pauls but they squealed and juddered. The Pauls are machined much more precisely and don't squeal at all or judder as much. On my bike, the Pauls are no worse than any other cantilever I've used but their braking power is hardly beyond ordinary; the high end forged single pivot on my gofast road fixed gear gives more retardation per amount of hand squeeze than the Touring on the front of my errand road bike or the Neo Retro in back. Ditto for any number of single pivots, dual pivots, centerpulls, not to mention disks and V brakes. I wish I'd known about the Zests before I bought Pauls. Perhaps they would have been more powerful. Still, the Pauls are beautifully made, so very easy to set up, and perfectly functional, tho' I think they are more industrial looking that elegant. Overall, taking all with all, I'm not unhappy. BUT! I will be very interested to hear others' comparison of the Zests with Pauls; or of other cantilevers wtih Pauls. On Sat, Oct 14, 2023 at 12:21 PM Will Boericke wrote: > It's not surprising to me that Pauls would be better than the 720s. I > know they (Tektro 720s) have a dedicated following; I can't understand > why. In my experience, they were mediocre stoppers, replaced quickly by > Shimano CX70s and then by mini-Vs. > > I just replaced some budget Shimano cantis on my commuter with Velo > Orange Zeste brakes and they're amazing. For the $70 I paid, miraculous > even. Hard to imagine that Pauls would be better. > > Will >
