The collected jwz bicycle wisdom | Hacker News Reader

The collected jwz bicycle wisdom

jwz.org

19 pointsbootload12 comments

I could pick apart a lot of this questionable advice but let me just say this instead: in my experience, those who try to get into cycling with a very pragmatic and cynical approach -- get a cheapo inefficient bike, don't take care of it, expect it to be stolen -- tend to not stick with it.

Get a bike that you want to ride, whatever that may be. Maybe it's a hot road bike or maybe it's a gnarly mountain bike or an artsy low-rider.. whatever floats your boat. If nothing floats your boat, just ride something for a little while and you'll figure out what you want. But if your bike isn't fun to ride then you won't ride it.

Also, get the best lock money can buy. If it's better than most other locks, and you use it religiously, and your bike is not studded in diamonds, it probably won't get stolen.

And if you feel any inclination to become some variety of bike nerd, don't hold back, because that makes things a lot easier. It really doesn't take much mindshare.

There's always the TiGr.

http://tigrlock.com/pages/

This is some of the worst (and even dangerous, see #11) advice I've read pertaining to owning and operating a bicycle.

Choosing a hybrid over a road bike isn't an awful idea if you don't mind sacrificing speed and lightness for some durability. I also reject the idea of riding a fixie--no matter how cool they look, I don't commute 10 miles a day on a velodrome. However, I can take the more rigid feel of a 120psi road tire in exchange for averaging 15MPH in hilly Atlanta. I paid $250 for a 1984 Cannondale and have probably invested a total of $30 in maintenance and parts at this point.

The absolute refusal to maintain the machine yourself? I'm definitely no mechanic-nerd and I do take my bike to the shop, but seriously, do you take your PC to the Geek Squad when you get some spyware? Change a tube yourself. Just "knowing how" isn't good enough, unless you want to spend 30 minutes on the sidewalk in 94° weather because you caught a puncture on your way home and are unpracticed in getting a tire off the rim.

Also, please don't use sidewalks because an intersection looks "iffy." For one, it's rude (and illegal in most places) to pedestrians and two, a driver is much more likely to see you if you're occupying a lane on the street than if you come zooming into the crosswalk while they're making a right turn.

This whole list reeks of someone that has simply not taken the time to appreciate and learn to properly use a tool.

Upvoted, but (11) makes sense if I read it as "get off of your bike and cross on foot, as a pedestrian". I'm not sure if that's what jwz had in mind or not, but that is what I do when things get iffy. Agreed that riding on sidewalks is dangerous.

I think for tooling around in SF on mostly 1-2 mile rides with lots of stop and go, the advice works well, but that's not what I can give advice on.

For the 10-mile-one-way mostly suburban regular commutes I used to ride, I second the road bike. I originally started riding on a hybrid and switched to a pure road bike, and I picked up major speed. The ride quality difference didn't matter much, as I was already lifting up a bit out of my seat over bumpy asphalt.

My commute is now 1.5 miles and I use a scooter. Southeastern summer weather makes biking any more than a few blocks an exercise in getting drenched in sweat, which is not really worth the shower and change.

For some reason JWZ thinks I'm most comfortable reading things off of green-screen CRTs. Readability link: http://www.readability.com/articles/fd86bcaw

That said, most of the advice seems pretty solid -- I've been (unwittingly) following most of these rules except for #10. I'd rather get greasy lubing my chain and save that $20 for a nice meal. But that's just my preference.

Slightly off topic but one thing that surprised me when I moved to SF a few years ago was how bicycle unfriendly it is with very few dedicated bike lanes and downright dangerous in many parts, including a lot of The Mission. For some reason I imagined the liberal utopia would be a Portland wannabe but it's really not. My guess for why, besides the steep hills, is that bike culture here is more centered around the aggressive hipster types and not the everyday commuters and thus the big political push hasn't taken place.

> 14. Cross train and trolley tracks at a 45° angle or more, or you will die.

45° gets shallower the faster you go - it feels like you are crossing at a safe angle, but at speed, it's shallower than you think. Swanston Street tram tracks vet here (Melbourne).

"... Swanston Street tram tracks vet here (Melbourne) ..."

Swanston is pretty grim, especially at intersections like Collins ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/2658435132/in/set-7215...

It doesn't matter if JWZ is entirely correct or not. He is doing a nice public service by providing some guidelines to help folks to introduce utilitarian biking into their lives.

For those that are completely new to biking, his advice is as good as any. Biking is not rocket science, everyone can do it, and it is lots of fun and practical. Many cities are developing bike infrastructure so it makes sense to take advantage of it.

But I will shut up now because I'm lycra-wearing racer-boy bike nerd and JWZ says people should not take my biking advice.

I dunno, doesn't $370 seem expensive too? I went through a few of these things[1] back in the day, and even now a new one should cost about the equivalent of $50. They're fixed gear, and likely not feature comparable, but they comfortable enough to drive uphill, light enough to actually carry around, and even on the kind of roads I used to drive, flat tyres were usually because of bent nails or broken glass.

[1] http://www.herocycles.com/jet2.htm

You really do need to tuck in or roll up your right leg.

Or buy the $2 velcro straps they sale that go around your leg and not worry about it again.

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