How was your commute ... today, yesterday, last week ...

[gretaboy]

Cold but dry ride in this morning. Am on the wifes flat bar roadie since my bike is in the shop getting some loving. Clouds were/are ominous for rain but it stayed off for me which I was grateful for. Had some idiot yell out due to me slowing them up by the proverbial 30 secs or so. Amazing how these heros always wind up their windows when you get close to them due to traffic lights. Otherwise a good safe ride

[TigerFilly]

Can I get a few opinions on a bike?
My new job starts tomorrow and it's in North Adelaide where the parking is dreadful and expensive, so I'm planning to ride twice a week and catch the tram the other days. The tram stop is 2km away, which is obviously an easy walk but I'd prefer to ride and take 5 mins at 7.30am rather than walk and have to leave just after 7am! So I'm thinking of buying a cheap bike that I can leave at the tram station.

I've got my eye on this one. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151051484504 ... 97.c0.m619" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Is it a fixie or can it coast? Does it look in reasonable shape from the photos? It's tricky, I want something that's not too bad to ride, but I don't want it to look too good or it will get stolen.

[gretaboy]

Can I get a few opinions on a bike?
My new job starts tomorrow and it's in North Adelaide where the parking is dreadful and expensive, so I'm planning to ride twice a week and catch the tram the other days. The tram stop is 2km away, which is obviously an easy walk but I'd prefer to ride and take 5 mins at 7.30am rather than walk and have to leave just after 7am! So I'm thinking of buying a cheap bike that I can leave at the tram station.

I've got my eye on this one. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151051484504 ... 97.c0.m619" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Is it a fixie or can it coast? Does it look in reasonable shape from the photos? It's tricky, I want something that's not too bad to ride, but I don't want it to look too good or it will get stolen.

depending on your budget of course...but..have you thought about a folding bike...need to ask I guess if they are allowed on the trams

[TigerFilly]

I don't know gretaboy. I know the tram is always packed in peak hour. I'm only 2 stops from the end of the line and the times I've caught it at peak hour there were always already no seats when I got on. By the time it gets to the city you can't move. I don't really have the budget for anything much at the moment.

[bychosis]

Tentative commute this morning. Trying a new ride. Spent a few hours on Saturday in the garage, pulled apart my fixie, moved the gear to my old roadie, started to put new 90's roadie back together after servicing the shifters. Got late so I didn't finish. Headache late yesterday left me with the choice of a few kids bikes to commute on, so up early this morning into the nice cold garage to adjust dérailleurs and fit new brake pads and get the back wheel spinning with out rubbing. About 20 min of mechanic work later was able to ride out.

Great winter morning ride, cold but calm. The bike was doing well and although taking it a bit easy kept up with a carbon roadie for a while until I mucked up gear changes and while being kind to the mechs got dropped.

So far it rides nicely. I fitted the wheels off my old roadie, as the tyres that came with it were quite old and hard.

[Bob_TAS]

First proper (time bound) commute after two weeks' leave. A brisk 6°C but three layers was one too many. Might ditch the compression and stick with just thermal & merino shell. My $10 Pearl Izumi leg warmers have already paid themselves off!

[BrisVegas]

River loop, back to the house, walk the kids to school and rode in on the new bike today. The MTB is meant to be the commute bike, but I couldn't help myself as the Litespeed is so shiny and new (to me)!

Lovely weather atm.

[Stoo]

Nice ride in today.
kinda uneventful

[Summernight]

On Friday night I got flak from a male pedestrian crossing the road (he wasn't crossing at the lights and was walking through stationary car traffic, mind you) on Collins St, Melbourne. He wasn't looking as he stepped off the road and possibly into my path so I "Uh uh!"'d him. He said it back to me as if I had been rude to try and get his attention by saying that (to make sure he didn't walk into my path as I rode past in the bicycle lane). So I shouted back as I rode by "You weren't looking." I don't think my message got across. Would he have rathered I went and bought an AirZound and used that on him instead of my voice???

The left knee mutinied on me on Friday night. Seems I did something to it on the Friday morning run or on the Friday morning bike commute to work. It was telling me off on the way home. Got worse and couldn't get into or out of a car or up stairs without significant pain so I dashed to the chemist and bought a bandage and strapped it tight for the rest of the weekend.

The knee seemed to be markedly better on Sunday and I could go up and down stairs with only minor pain instead of major so that was a big improvement. Probably just strained it. Phew!

Not the smartest thing to do but since I've been sick and missed out on some exercise I decided to do my morning run this morning. No problems from the knee, luckily. Also rode the bike to work and made sure to focus more on spinning than my usual mashing so as not to strain it further. The knee gave a little niggle first hopping on but the spinning got me to work and I wasn't that puffed either. Bonus! I've strapped it again so hopefully it will continue healing during the day and won't give me grief on the ride home.

[snortin]

Dodged the rain - wet roads handled well by crud racer Mk2. Very happy that I got them and spent the time fitting them to the Bianchi. Cleaned the bike yesterday and noticed a bit of rub on the front fork from the guards though, will have to keep an eye on that.

Lowlight of the commute today was the Landcruiser 4wd that drove all the way from Drummoyne to Anzac Bridge in the bus lane. They were directly behind me (as usual, the buses were holding me up!!) so I tried to explain to the driver that they were driving illegally in the bus lane. They replied that they were allowed to be there because they had 3 people in the car. My response that it was a BUS lane (ie buses, taxis, hire-cars, motorbikes and bicycles) and not a TRANSIT lane (occupant specific limit in addition to those allowed in BUS lanes) seemed not to be understood. Will be interesting to see their reaction when they get a notice in the mail as the drove straight past the bus lane cameras....

Oh well, at least they didn't run me over. Really need to get a camera for the bike as there is an increasing number of idiots who think that their time is more precious than the other commuters stuck in the traffic lanes - and so drive illegally in the bus lane.

Sidenote - motorcycle cop at the west end of Anzac bridge that I spoke to said that if only the RTA had continued the bus lane over the bridge then he could "sting" them. As it was, not much he could do.

[ColinOldnCranky]

Can I get a few opinions on a bike?
My new job starts tomorrow and it's in North Adelaide where the parking is dreadful and expensive, so I'm planning to ride twice a week and catch the tram the other days. The tram stop is 2km away, which is obviously an easy walk but I'd prefer to ride and take 5 mins at 7.30am rather than walk and have to leave just after 7am! So I'm thinking of buying a cheap bike that I can leave at the tram station.

I've got my eye on this one. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151051484504 ... 97.c0.m619" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Is it a fixie or can it coast? Does it look in reasonable shape from the photos? It's tricky, I want something that's not too bad to ride, but I don't want it to look too good or it will get stolen.

TigerFilly, you seem to have strayed into a wrong thread when you posted this. (Been there, done that.) Could you ask the mods and have them move it and replies to it's own thread pls?

[gretaboy]

Some good comes of smokers lol

The outside area where they smoke is also our bike rack area. The word filtered back that my rear tyre was flat. Go out and yep flat as it can be. A small but sharp sliver of rusty wire was the culprit. Luckily we have a pump at work and along side my spare tubes I had it fixed pretty quick.

First flat in a couple of thousand k's, at least 3 months or so...just grateful it didnt go flat out on the road

[jasonc]

forgot to post a photo - this is what my rear tyre looked like after 8268kms

the one on the left is what it looked like when new

[queequeg]

forgot to post a photo - this is what my rear tyre looked like after 8268kms

the one on the left is what it looked like when new

Has that only seen time on the rear wheel? My last SMP lasted about 15,000km (28mm), and looked a bit worse than your tyre (blue was a solid band all around). My front tyre is sitting on about 17,000km now I think, with plenty of life left in it.

[Xplora]

Had a commute today. Still a bit ginger about the knee, but managed to get a great time. I didn't have to stop the entire 20kms inbound

[jasonc]

Has that only seen time on the rear wheel? My last SMP lasted about 15,000km (28mm), and looked a bit worse than your tyre (blue was a solid band all around). My front tyre is sitting on about 17,000km now I think, with plenty of life left in it.

solely rear tyre, 25mm wide. I weigh 80-odd kgs. the main reason for the change is the handling. being square, cornering was non-existent.

[Dan]

Appears I had a quick commute this morning. I suspect Luke will have a new KOM tomorrow.

[Lukeyboy]

I'll make sure that i'll be sporting a full TT setup on the propel tomorrow morning

[Dan]

Like this o-----o aero, or like this o______o ??

[Lukeyboy]

With the aero helmet, aero bars and saddle bag I'll be this aero 8===D-

[Summernight]

With the aero helmet, aero bars and saddle bag I'll be this aero 8===D-

Didn't know aero could be quite so... non-PG.

[rheicel]

Drizzles all the way home from Lane Cove to North Ryde. Sluggish ride on my new sets of tyres/wheels. Just making sure I am not going to subject my bike to any scratch or any sort of similar damage as I am planning to sell it as soon as it is fully built up.

[DavidS]

Bit of rain this morning on the way in but not enough to be a bother.

Only hassle was a 4WD taking their kid to the private school who honked me because I wouldn't go in the car park masquerading as a bike lane. A couple of hundred metres later and they're stopped at the school (maybe I should have used the so called bike lane and run into their rear end just as their offspring was unloading their bag from the tailgate - wonder if the driver would have appreciated that). Gee, I would have cost them maybe 15 seconds. About 30 seconds later I caught them at traffic lights. They just don't get it. I figure they would have been stuck in Beach Rd traffic a further 5 minutes down the road. Why stress about 30 seconds when the other cars are costing you half an hour?

DS

[VRE]

Bit of rain this morning on the way in but not enough to be a bother.

Only hassle was a 4WD taking their kid to the private school who honked me because I wouldn't go in the car park masquerading as a bike lane. A couple of hundred metres later and they're stopped at the school (maybe I should have used the so called bike lane and run into their rear end just as their offspring was unloading their bag from the tailgate - wonder if the driver would have appreciated that). Gee, I would have cost them maybe 15 seconds. About 30 seconds later I caught them at traffic lights. They just don't get it. I figure they would have been stuck in Beach Rd traffic a further 5 minutes down the road. Why stress about 30 seconds when the other cars are costing you half an hour?

DS

Most likely because they know that they can get away with bullying a cyclist, whereas an angry driver of a 1 tonne or more motor vehicle is considered to be more of a threat.

I used to live in Parkdale and used Beach Rd as my daily commute. While the Bay views were very nice, I don't miss the motorists there, because their attitude stinks.

[bychosis]

After yesterday's maiden voyage, on the way home last night it appeared I hadn't done a very good job on the pre commute service. Back gears playing up, jockey wheels screaming at me when the chain wasn't engagin in a gear properly, rear brakes rubbing as I hadn't ripened the rear wheel properly and it drifted off centre. All capped with a nice sprinkle of rain to wet everything down, at least it only poured after I got home, but was wet enough that the gear was damp still this morning.

Re adjust this morning and much better performance, from the bike. unusually I had to brake heavily at the two roundabouts on my route to give way to traffic spoiled the momentum a bit. it was only that I was in the wrong spot by a few seconds so the cars beat me to the roundabout and I was obliged to give way anyway. Tank goodness I very rarely have to put up with moron motorists on the very short section of road I commute on.