This question is related to one that @esnyder brought up a while ago and I think @glightly and maybe others have discussed:
Q5. Have you ever been to a gathering where you got a chance to try other peoples' cycles or gear? Last year in Alameda, CA, a bunch of families informally got together in a parking lot to offer test rides of their cargo cycles. If not, have you been to any other test-ride events? How was safety and other considerations handled?
What about other types of weather? We had a really windy ride to school this morning and it reminded me of a time where winds were so strong that I was being blown up a hill (albeit ever so slightly)
Q4. Have you had any weird or interesting experiences with severe weather?
Next is a question from @genex about rain jackets:
Q2. I have been wearing an old North Face jacket I've had but was interested in what types of jackets people use to commute in the rain (been looking at Showers Pass but they are also pretty pricey).
What have you used? What do/don't you like about it?
Welcome to our BikeNite for the week of February 23rd! 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 is it like near you right now?
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!
This next question from @xtaran is about low-modification e-bike conversions:
Q2. Do you have any experience with nearly-no-modification plug-on friction wheel e-bike conversion kits like #Zipforce, #Rubbee X, Livall #PikaBoost (all propel the tire directly), #Skarper or #Bimotal (both propel your disk brake or nearby).
(Added by me: I've also seen videos of the "Clip Bike")
Welcome to our February 16th 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? Have you had any interesting cycle experiences this week?
Last week we talked a little about DIY cycle maintenance. Related to that, @daihard asks:
Q8. How do (or can) you keep your bike level while it is on a stand? A typical stand that you hook the chainstays onto will keep the rear wheel up an inch or two from the ground while leaving the front wheel in contact with the ground. As the result, the bike will always be tilted down by a few degrees. This doesn't help when adjusting the saddle angle, for instance. Any idea?
Most are friendly, but I have felt a little uncertain while riding by dogs in the past; my partner has been aggressively chased by one. @MartyCormack asks:
Q5. In the past 9 months I've been bitten twice by off leash dogs while riding my bike; one was quite painful. The prior year an off leash dog caused me to crash my bike; I fortunately escaped injury.
What techniques do you use to protect yourself from threatening dogs while riding your bike?
@bikescape has a question about local cycle organizations:
Q4. Do you belong to any local bike organization (advocacy, coop, etc.)? What’s the best membership benefit (service, swag, discount, etc.) those organizations offer?
What about offering personal cycle recommendations/tests? @esnyder asks:
Q3. What experiences have you had in local advocacy specifically about helping people figure out what kind of bike stuff will work for them before having to fork over $$$$.
This (private) e-bike lending library looks fantastic, as an example of something that could help. Anyone have success getting governmental help with such things?
We have a couple questions about finding the right cycle. @kimu asks:
Q2. Does anyone have suggestions for resources to put in specific bike characteristics you’re interested in and that gives you a cross-manufacturer list that matches it? Info is so fragmented! I love my local bike shop, but they don’t stock many ebikes and it helps if I can go in with ideas.
Welcome to our February 9th 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? I'd love to start with positive stories, so how about this: Is there a pleasant cycling-related childhood memory that you'd like to share?
Finally, we have a question from @glightly about what "accessible" means:
Q9. When someone tells you a cycle/infrastructure project is (disabled) accessible, how do you know that it is? What is your criterion for assessing that a project is accessible?
Q7. I'm interested in what products cyclists are using to protect their hearing from wind noise. I still want to be able to hear traffic. There are several options when you do a search, so I'd like to know what people have actually used and pros/cons.
Q5. I have a weird mental block on bike maintenance. I went to an eng. school, am a Mechanical major, but don't want to fix my bike. I was curious about the bike group in college, but heard it was bro-y, a bit condescending, so couldn't get myself to check it out. So...I just haven't, and I think my reluctance is still tied to that "rumor". How did you start doing your own maintenance? (If you usually don't, how much are you okay with doing yourself?)
A5: I've always done all my own bike maintenance. When I got back into it after a break a couple of years ago that was the thing I dreaded, I didn't want to do it. But really, it's not that big of a deal.
Like most things, it seems like more of a pain in the ass to take to it someone to work on than to just do it myself.
Related to gravel: @MartyCormack has a question about multi-use paths:
Q4. In the USA over the last 50 years, a large number of abandoned railroad right-of-ways (and canal towpaths, etc.) have been converted to multiuse trails, not accessible to motor vehicles, that are often awesome for recreational, adventure, touring or even commuter bicycling.
Is there a similar trail or bicycle infrastructure in your area that you would recommend we come and visit and ride?