Late question for the #BikeNite crowd: Do you have recommendations for clear wraparound glasses to keep from getting beaned in the eyes by gnats and larger bugs when cycling at twilight? When it's sunny, I have sunglasses, but I need something for darker times of day when I still need eye protection. Something for big heads, hopefully with customizable fitting around the nose/cheeks. @bikenite
That's it for now; thanks for asking, answering, reading and discussing!
Reply, boost and favorite #BikeNite toots to keep it going. I hope you've enjoyed this and found new friends to follow. (Also, you can follow #BikeNite, if you haven't)
We'll do it again next Friday! Reply if you've got questions for next week (add the BikeNitePQ tag for visibility). The queue is still pretty empty, so please add some if you'd like to read answers to something!
And the last question: I was riding earlier this week, and had just lubricated my chain, and had some very quiet tires on the bike I was riding. My pedaling felt like it was seamlessly converted to motion, with no clinking or rattling or any other sound. This is not usually the case 😅
Q8. What's a small but satisfying feeling that you experience via cycle?
Because eBike, saying "t'hell with this, I'm Amazigirl now" and turning on assist going up a giant fuckoff hill at speed like it's flat, that's pretty good too xD
as is doing the same thing without assist, albeit with less steep hills xD
(we have a lot of hills, have I mentioned?)
showing up anywhere car people think bikes can't go. that's a good one too.
@ai6yr@ascentale A8. Sep 9, 2018 was a good day to bike to work. This stretch had an unusual amount of traffic. I passed 85 cars and trucks, 5 busses, and 1 motorcycle.
I also cut the video too short; 1 more stop light would've raised that to 100 cars and trucks! #BikeNitehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMGZRES4yY8
Q6. It be a little niche, but my #BikeNitePQ is about hauling things. Can anyone speak from experience on the use of a bike trailer for hauling a kayak or SUP short (or long) distances? Especially if there were small hills involved.Thanks!
(And if you haven't, do you know of any other interesting purpose built hauling apparatus that connects to a cycle?)
@ascentale@carolski A6: I built a custom attachment to put a cargo hitch on my bike because the standard attachment doesn't fit, so that's been interesting. I've also been modifying the beat up old pet/child carrier I got cheap off Craigslist into a better cargo hauler. And that's been interesting to me! But none of that is big enough to move a kayak or SUP I'm afraid.
@ascentale@carolski#BikeNite A6. I haven't (yet) hauled a kayak or SUP, but having now tried hauling some heavy stuff, I suspect that could be a good workout if it's a big hill. Also, the length of the kayak/SUP would be an interesting project DOWNHILL... big stuff tends to push you a bit when you are going downhill!
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?
@ascentale@xtaran A5: I got spoke reflectors, I got wheel lights, I got battery headlights (connected to the drive system but works all the time), I got back end lights. I want something good for the pedals but I haven't figured that out yet.
(And also I'm using super-cheap junk pedals right now anyway because my others broke and I don't have the money to replace them.)
@ascentale@xtaran#BikeNite A5. Not normally, but I am now prepared to ride in dark conditions (since you never know when you get caught out later than expected, etc.). That said, I'd only be comfortable doing it in local neighborhood without regular traffic here; NO ONE is on bicycle on the major roads at night here and the number of drivers who end up in bushes/trees/walls/ditches is very high here all by themselves... and they tend to speed. The local bicycle teams ARE out in the dark, but again -- no the major roads and in a big group with lights.
#BikeNite A5. On #eBikes, the danger of riding in the dark isn't so much about whether drivers see you as it is about correctly judging your speed. Two non-flashing headlights with distance between them, like on the fork and handlebar, seems to register more effectively than one. Similarly with spacing between tail lights, I get fewer sketchy passing attempts by drivers. Blinking lights make drivers perceive you as a stationary obstacle, besides blinding people on bikes. @ascentale@xtaran
@InkySchwartz@enobacon@ascentale@xtaran A5 Personally, I won't use lights that spend any time in an "off" state. Consider what happens if a light were to be on/off for 0.1 sec/1 sec. at 10 mph, you would disappear for 15 feet (4.5m). Some of the "help you be seen" lights use this pattern. Instead, I only buy lights that are always on but "warble": lo for 1 sec, hi for 0.1 sec. Examples: Light & Motion vis 360 taillight and CatEye (unknown version?) headlight. lmk if you want a video #BikeNite
@enobacon@InkySchwartz@ascentale@xtaran A5- I am also concerned with "bare LED" fixtures getting hidden behind a 2" sign post. If you buy one of these cheaper lights, prefer a horizontal one. A cheap hack: I bought two cheap chinese headlights, and just put one in steady and one in constant. I want to build some of those "halo" lights, and how to integrate that into a bike light setup i.e. 2" tall, 12" wide strip across the front of a basket, ~6-8" across the back of a rack #BikeNite
@trouble@InkySchwartz@ascentale@xtaran some COB (chip on board) LED strips do a good job of spreading a low (~3W) wattage over the surface, though I would rather have it half as bright (maybe just needs a better regulator, it seems to vary a lot given 10.7 vs 12.8V.) #BikeNite A5
@ascentale@jfparis A4: surprised no one mentioned Bike City Amsterdam, which is great on the actually difficult history of bikes in Amsterdam—good reading for days when one is frustrated about progress in your own city. https://bikecityamsterdam.nl/
On a weirder note, Bikes Not Rockets is a collection of intersectional science fiction shorts—about bicycles. And apparently now it is a multi-volume series! https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/8527
Locally, there's a proposal to remove a path on a long bridge for most days of the week, and convert it into a car breakdown lane. There doesn't appear to be any evidence that this would improve traffic, but it will require those who would have walked/cycled/rolled to take a 40 mile detour.
Q3. Have you ever seen cycle infrastructure removed or threatened? How was it preserved, or if it was removed, what were the reasons, and what were the effects?
@ascentale#BikeNite A3. We're just starting to convert lanes for bicycles, and I only realized (through a city transportation council meeting) that the local transportation engineers REALLY don't seem to be a big fan of bicycle lanes, and even mentioned making sure they had the "ability to re-use the roadway and remove the bicycle lane" in the future. 😡