fundamentals-bicycles

FRIDAY FUNDAMENTALS-BICYCLES


Even if by some miracle wherein the laws of physics are suspended by a benevolent God to reward his most favored people for just being themselves, wallowing in decadence, filth and overabundance, surely what every deity strives for in his hommies, and decries that petroleum shall never run out, we surely can all agree that even if it flows forevermore the stuff surely is getting a lot more expensive. Okay, fine, the same technology used to get frac natural gas is being used to get oil in Dakota, and assuming it doesn’t run out as quick as the gas we can still only hope that it somewhat cushions the rate of imported oil decline. It won’t replace it. Oil, at the very least the oil available to our nation, is in decline and has been since global oil production peaked in 2005. We might disagree whether oil runs out or not but it is hard to argue that it isn’t becoming more expensive. The day gasoline gets too expensive and you have to start riding a bike might not be just around the corner, but it will come soon enough.

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I’ve only owned a motor vehicle five out of the last 15 years. Even when I’ve had a vehicle it was mostly parked. I’ve ridden many a mile on bicycle. Here is a general guide on their use and care. Department store bikes are no longer made as well as they used to be. Not only did their price increase 75%, the material used has been substituted by that of inferior quality. A Wal-Mart bike used to last a thousand miles before serious repairs were needed. Today it starts falling apart at 300 miles. It isn’t just a question of mechanical skill, but of inferior parts. Even if you can fix it yourself, you will need the replacement parts. Of course, all bikes will need replacements. But you need to think of future parts unavailability. Buy a bike made better to start with and you will need to buy and/or stockpile fewer parts. It used to be cheap enough to buy and replace K-Mart bikes. They were a throw away item. Now, since those only last a third of the time they used to, you need to just make up your mind to buy quality to start with. Don’t wait until gas shoots up and suddenly everyone tries to buy a bike. Their price will shoot up. Buy a bike now and gradually start riding it. Chances are you are out of shape, so ease into it.

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On the issue of safety, some places it is a suicide mission to ride a bike. Just like if you need to own a car to protect yourself against crime, if you live in an area not designed for bikes, I would suggest you move. Cars started out as a luxury and they will soon enough be that way again. If you live in an area dependent on a car, you will eventually be screwed. If you think it will hurt to move now, just wait until you can’t get gas to get to the grocery store. Oh, wait, I forgot. Oil will never run out and you, a privileged special person touched by the divine grace of god will always be given the luxuries you deserve such as an SUV and central air. Why are you reading this again? Personally I think it is silly to assume you can keep your car. Eventually the cost of gas will impact your life. Better to situate yourself now ( and, admittedly, I could be wrong. If you move and nothing bad happens, you improve your quality of life. If you start biking, even part time, you save a bundle on health care costs and improve your quality of life. You might claim living in a crime ridden polluted crap hole is your desired quality of life- but I call bullcrap ).

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You can buy a single speed or a geared bike. I like the single ( you step back to brake ), but it has a few issues. First, if your hub goes bad you need to replace it or spend a lot in labor to repack the bearings ( self-mechanics are an exception ). Also, in single digit temps in the winter, the brake freezes, you peddle furiously backwards and you don’t stop. Also, the innards of the pedals, when they go bad, need expensive maintenance. On a geared bike ( it doesn’t have to be a mountain bike, they have geared Beach Cruisers ) you do have the issue of brake pads, cables, gear shifter/derailer. More parts. But, there are less internal parts to mess with. The back and front wheel are the same. Your pedal bearings are easier to replace since the housing for them is a single piece. On a single speed it is a bunch of loose parts that are a nightmare to fix/replace. On a single speed, when the internal brake goes the wheel is worthless. On a geared bike, you might run out of brakes but the wheel will still turn ( don’t try this in a hilly location ). And, in cold weather the gears will freeze up, but at least you still have brakes. Of course, once a spoke goes bad the wheel isn’t straight and the pads rub against the wheel and you have to loosen the brake pads and then you can’t stop very easy, or at least as quick.

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I don’t recommend that you use a sponge tube ( the solid piece tubes that keep you from getting a flat ). They decrease the amount of shock your tubes absorb and transfer that to the bike frame. On a nice road this might not be a huge issue. Now think how crappy your roads actually are, add in a few more years of infrastructure neglect and consider if you want to ride on a bumpy road with no shocks ( air filled tubes are the shocks for a bike ).

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There is no simple answer as to the perfect, affordable bike. You can buy a bike for a grand and spend hundreds a year on parts. You can buy a hundred dollar bike and hope it lasts you long enough. Or you can buy a middle grade bike and balance cost per mile with investment amount. You can buy a mechanically simple gearless bike, but that transfers the maintenance far down the road where labor becomes an issue. Or you can buy a geared bike and have a lot more minor constant repairs that you can mostly do yourself. Bikes are nice. They are affordable transportation. But they put you in the weather and take a lot more attention than a car does. Not that you’ll have a choice soon.

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