r/bikecommuting

Is there a way to pressure the city to do better with protected bike lanes or improved bike paths?

I’m a bartender downtown, but live further up north which means I sometimes have to bike late at night. There’s bike paths, but i think they could be better. The pavement has giant potholes and there’s no lighting making the areas where you go under bridges way more unsafe.

When you’re on the street there’s no real protection from cars in the bike lanes. Cars are constantly going in and out of the bike lanes and it forces bikers onto the sidewalk.

The city should be pressured to improve these resources, but I’m not sure how to get involved.

I have to choose a new bicycle.
As per advice from Jan Heine I would like to start from te tire width.
I live and ride in The Netherlands, and here most of the times roads are very well made.
I’d like to be able to ride in France and in UK also, though.
I see that many modern bikes can take 32-34 mm tires, and some (Endurace and Domane for example) can take up to 38mm.

Question is — will I benefit from this wider tires (38) or 32-34 is perfectly fine?

I’ve finished 400km BRM last month on my old 25mm tires. It was manageable but I’d like more cushioning.

Not specifically for me because I can just throw my hair into a clip or braid. But my daughter (4) loves to have her hair done (not like curls or anything, just look up toddler girl hairstyles and you'll get the gist)

I plan to commute her to school this school year so doing her hair at location is not feasible. If the helmet makes it a little frizzy thats fine, I'm just looking for ways to prevent it from fully messing up. Don't want to spend 10 minutes doing her hair just for it to screw up the moment the helmet is on 🤣

Google eliminated the Fitbit app and, in doing so, Google appears to have eliminated a feature that some of its users (me, for one) very much wanted: auto-detect and record bike rides. No clue why. No clue if Google just fucked up or, for some reason, decided not to offer this benefit. But I realized it is 100% a software issue, not hardware (obvs) and maybe there was a replacement in the Play Store. There is! Unfortunately, the info on the Play Store is in French (at least when I got the app) but the app is in English when downloaded. Also unfortunate, it is a little unclear at the start what permissions settings you need but you should be able to work that out pretty easily. Ride on!

Currently, my bell just dings but I'd loved to have a bell that goes "Cha Ching" Any recommendations?

My bikecommute route has long parts rurally nd I often get bored with the snaily pace of my bike.

Being an experienced cyclist ans bukecommuter I dont need to hear the obvious or beginner tips.

What are less widely known ways to go faster?

I started bike commuting about 14 months ago mostly to save on transit costs and get some movement into my day. Honestly did not expect to stick with it this long, but somewhere around the 2,000 km mark it just became automatic, like brushing your teeth.

Hit 5,000 km last week and I've been reflecting on how much has changed without me really noticing. My average speed crept up without any intentional training. I started reading traffic way more confidently. I went from dreading rain days to just accepting them as part of the deal once I had the right gear.

The bike itself has taught me a lot too. I can now hear when something is slightly off before it becomes a real problem. Replaced my first chain, learned to true a wheel well enough to get by, and I actually enjoy the maintenance now.

I know 5k is nothing compared to the folks here with 20,000 km on steel frames, but it feels like a personal turning point.

Curious what milestones felt significant to you, whether it was a distance, a season survived, a mechanical skill you finally nailed, or just the moment commuting felt genuinely easy rather than an effort. What changed for people at different stages?

I have around a 9 mile one way trip to work and I like to weight train 4 days a week. I find that I have to weight train before work if I commute but I get home and I’m exhausted it’s hard to keep it going for a whole week.

While riding my bicycle, I was approached from behind by a blue Tesla. The driver repeatedly sounded the horn for no apparent reason before making an aggressive pass.

A short distance later, I signaled and prepared to make a left turn. The same vehicle approached on my right, crossed a solid lane line, and entered the left-turn lane directly in front of me. Both the vehicle and I then stopped at the same red traffic signal.

While stopped, the driver threw a bowl of oatmeal and a plastic Gatorade bottle from the vehicle, striking both me and my bicycle. I was not injured, and the bicycle was not damaged.

The suspect vehicle was a blue Tesla. I did not obtain the license plate number but could provide a description of the driver.

My questions are:

- Is it worthwhile to file a police report with only a vehicle description and driver description?

- Has anyone had success identifying a Tesla involved in an incident through available camera footage or Tesla recordings?

- Is there a reporting avenue better suited to incidents involving cyclists than the standard non-emergency police line? Call today or is it better if I wait until after the holiday?

I’m not looking for compensation or to make a minor incident into something bigger than it is. My concern is that the driver’s conduct escalated from aggressive driving to intentionally throwing objects at a cyclist, to make sure there is a record of the incident.

I’m new to bike commuting and im not the best for my endurance. I bike 3 miles to LIRR then 1.5 miles to work. I just started yesterday (on the hottest day ever) and I feel like riding back is way less tiring than the ride in the morning.

does anyone feel like this? I’m not even doing a lot of miles but I get so exhausted and tired from the ride to work but riding home is not as bad. maybe it’s psychological?

I know I should know how to do all my own maintenance and carry a repair kit at all times, but I don't. We have AAA for our cars and I read you can call them for a bicycle issue.

This morning, I had my e-bike and dog in the trailer when I bent the stem today. I logged on to the AAA app and hile I had to input my usual car info, I put in the comments I actually needed a haul for myself, bicycle and trailer.

They picked me up and one of them used to work in a local bicycle co-op so we talked bikes on the drive. Great experience.

Hi I don’t know much about bikes at ALL, but I’m looking into getting one to go on bike rides around my area (in a city) and commute. I really love the BMX look in terms of the handle bars and stuff, but not the size of them. Anyone know any bikes that could work for me?

The town I live in is not so bike friendly. The way the town is built encourages people to commute using cars and offering zero to none alternative. But I refuse to commute that way because it's not cost efficient for my wallet. Alright, the question is what should I prepare before starting my bike commuting? What gears/accessories should I fashion my bike with?

I have an electric bike and have been taking this out for a ride around outside of the town and would I like to listen to podcasts with that. give your recommendation on which speaker should I go with.. built in mic is a huge plus but more important than that if not obvious is that it can easily be mounted.
p.s before anyone schools me, I will be riding near the countryside where I don't meet any traffic so I won't be a bothering anyone with the noise.