ascentale

ascentale, 5 months ago to random

A question about riding in the dark from @ai6yr:

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...

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 4 months ago to random

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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 3 months ago to random

Now a question about cycle accessories: @fbaum asks:

Q6. What essential add-on do you wish your bike had just come with in the first place?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

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

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

And the last question, from @InkySchwartz:

Q9, E-bikes are called e-bikes but what do you call non electric bikes? And why?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

@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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 3 months ago to random

@sam has a nice question about cycle shops:

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!

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 23 days ago to random

@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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 2 months ago to random

@Neblib asks something I've been pondering too:

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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 9 months ago to random

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...)

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 4 months ago to random

Next, from @daihard:

Q3. What is your take on e-bikes?

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?)

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 4 months ago to fedibikes

Welcome to our December 29th #BikeNite! Thank you 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? Do you have any favorite cycling moments from 2023?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ cc: @fedibikes

ascentale, 16 days ago to random

@xtaran asks about riding at night:

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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 2 months ago to random

@scottsthoughts has a question about carrying food:

Q6. How do you transport takeout food by cycle? I hit so many bumps on my ride that it’s usually pretty well jostled by the time it gets home.

Also if anyone has a good idea for transporting a straw hat I’m all ears for that too.

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 4 months ago to random

@kimu asks a question related to cycle infrastructure:

Q5. I feel like we’ve talked a lot on #BikeNite about bike lanes, but is there other bike-related infrastructure in your community that helps make cycling fun for you? Beyond well-designed protected bike lanes, what’s on your dream list for cycling infrastructure for your community in the future?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

@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.

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 5 months ago to fedibikes

Welcome to our December 15th #BikeNite! Thank you 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? Can you believe it's mid-December already? Do you typically travel for the holidays?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ cc: @fedibikes

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

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

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 8 months ago to random

Ahh, looks like there are a few articles about it https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/31/23852066/cannondale-cargowagen-wonderwagen-neo-e-cargo-bike-price-specs

ascentale, 9 days ago to random

And the last question (hope it's okay that this ended up being a Q8, @trouble)

Q8. What's the most recent thing you bought/added to your bike? Or clothing, or any cycling related thing. Anything new or fun?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 4 months ago to random

Hopefully your community has enjoyed some cycle successes this year. @InkySchwartz asks:

Q7. How have you helped create bike culture in your area or how do you support the bike culture in your area?

#BikeNite #BIkeNiteQ

ascentale, 9 months ago to random

We'll end #BikeNite with this question from @dx :

Q8. What is your most “out there” fringe opinion about bikes or biking?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 5 months ago to random

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?

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 8 months ago to random

@ai6yr asks about practical utility cycling:

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!)

#BikeNite #BikeNiteQ

ascentale, 1 month ago to random

We've been having some discussions (this question is from @ai6yr @sam and others) about how batteries and motors are making e-bikes and cycles evolve.

Q7. In your mind, what is the distinction between "e-bike" and "motorcycle/scooter"? Does making a distinction matter?

(I sense that this could be a contentious subject - please keep #BikeNite respectful!)

#BikeNiteQ