Q4. The road bike I am now riding around town (1985 Dave Scott Ironman) has no reflectors or lights, and though I don't current go anywhere when it's dark, I am wondering what kind of additions the experienced here would recommend to improve safety on that front (or how to make it usable in darker conditions?) I'm using the bicycle for running errands...
We need at leasst 17 more people using the #BikeNite hashtag (on public posts) to have a shot of trending.
Why do I care? Because Mastodon isn't the greatest for discoverability. I think BikeNite is a cool community and I would like to see more cyclists able to find us and participate in this a/synchronous weekly structured chat. @mastobikes@fedibikes@bikenite#Cycling#BikeTooter#fahrrad
Inspired by @ai6yr, who skipped riding last week because it was raining cats and dogs. A question related to cycling in the rain:
Q8. What are the considerations, aside from gear, related to riding in wet weather? What do you do to maintain traction and visibility? How else do you ride differently, or what else do you do when cycling in the rain?
It's April 19th and welcome to BikeNite! Thanks for joining, and I hope we all enjoy chatting about cycle stuff! Feel free to answer whenever at your convenience. Anyone can join, now or later. Reply to what you like, and boost for visibility.
We'll start out with our introduction:
Q1. Where are you posting from today? What's going on in your cycle-world? #BikeNite#BikeNiteQ
@xtaran wonders about campaigns designed to boost cycling:
Q4. Given campaigns like #Frostpendeln, #30DaysOfBiking (this is happening right now!) or #Bike2Work: Which type of campaign motivates you most? Are you more looking for "as often as possible" (e.g. at least once per day, outbrave any weather) or more at the distance ("see how "much you cycle get within some period")? Maybe regular group rides similar to a #CriticalMass? Or something completely different?
Based on all the help and recommendations from the #BikeNite#BikeTooter and #cycling community here, finding that I am getting a lot of random comments from people about how much they like my bikes (both the road bike and mountain bike -- both from the 1990's, steel frames). A couple of weeks ago it was my revamped road bike (comment from fire personnel doing drills at a local park), and today from a person at a garage sale about the mountain bike. Reflective stickers for the win, LOL.
Q6. What is the best looking bike shop or bike related business you've ever been in and why (even if the people were jerks or you never want to go back for whatever reason)? What was the vibe it gave off? Bonus points for pictures!
I like this next question, because it's one that I heard a lot when people found out that my primary mode of transportation was a bike, and that I didn't own a car. @ai6yr asks:
Q3.What are some of the strategies people use to handle grocery shopping on bicycle? (coming from someone in car-land, who loads up stuff in a big trunk and burns a bunch of fuel getting it home...)
My stand is that e-bikes are great tools to empower people of all ages and abilities to travel without driving - in other words, efficient car replacements. OTOH, I know there are people who consider e-bikes "electric mopeds" regardless of the configuration and want them banned from trails and cycle paths.
What are your thoughts?
(Added by me: How have your thoughts re: e-bikes changed over time?)
Q3. Cargo bikes are cool, but if your main cargo is small kids, a bike trailer w/ your current bike is more affordable. Unfortunately, they usually tap out at 100lbs/45kg of weight yet work trailers usually have higher capacities. Is there anything for older kids that gives the seating features of a box bike but in a box on a trailer you pull with a regular bike? Is this a bad idea for an obvious reason?
@sam wonders how to respond after a bad driver interaction:
Q6. When you have a dangerous interaction with a driver that doesn't involve a crash (drivers throwing things, pulling in front of you and getting out of their car and attempting to stop your bike, etc.) do you call the police, file a report later, get away and then do nothing, or something else? What factors go into making your decision?
Random #BikeTooter question of the day: I think I need a new helmet (the pads are all falling apart, and I have not been a huge fan of the chin strap), what are people's favorites? I'm not racing anywhere, just need a good reliable helmet for going around town. I'm pretty sure the ones we have are Target specials, LOL. I should have asked for #BikeNite. (Update: after determining I was using an unsafe, 2013-era helmet which was falling apart, ended up with a Bontrager WaveCel, which was the best rating in a mid-price at my local bike shop. They did have the Specialized Align II, which is very highly rated and only $50) #cycling#helmets
Q5. Do you also ride when it's dark? And if so, what precautions do you take to be seen? Just what's legally required or much more? Battery vs dynamo lights? Multiple lights? Additional reflective clothes or stickers?
@moira asks a question about inner tubes that I've also been thinking about as I deal with so many flat tires:
Q4. How long do replacement tubes hold up in storage? And should tubes be changed out occasionally before they fail, and is it a time thing or a distance ridden thing?
Asking because I've had a replacement tube in my road repair kit for a while and I have no idea when or if I should swap it out.
We got two separate questions about cycle trailers this week and I will try to combine questions from @Iragersh and @scottsthoughts into one:
Q2. What do you recommend for utility trailers? What's best for light-duty?
What's best for heavy-duty (>150lb, for carrying @scottsthoughts's bartending gear (coolers, ice, folding tables, etc)?
How do they attach to your cycle?
edit:
Also, some details that were missing due to character limits:
There are some compatibility issues with seatpost/hub/axle hitches and cycle types, such as e-bikes
The Bikes at Work trailers are nice but very expensive
Q3. I live in a suburb slowly moving to become more bicycle friendly. I'm wondering what the "max" and "ideal" bicycling distance is to things like grocery stores and shops are in more bicycle friendly places in the world? What is the upper limit for convenience?
(I edited the question slightly, hope that I did it ok!)
The next question is about learning how the "system" works via @glightly :
Q5. For those who've been cycle policy wonks: How did you get to learn how your city/county/state's (or other hierarchy depending on country) system works? I'm only getting a heads up on most things due to other activists who are wonks. How did you learn the ropes?