One of the simplest and most effective ways to improve the comfort of almost any bicycle is to increase its tire width. Wider tires can be run at lower pressures without exposing rims to damage, providing greater suspension and absorbing road imperfections.

On a commuter bike that will be ridden on varied terrain while carrying a light load, I like at least a 32mm tire. On a utility bike used for hauling groceries, etc., tires up over 40mm wide can be a real advantage. Anything under 30mm on either of these types of bikes is a compromise in my opinion. The heavier the total load (rider plus baggage), the greater the benefit of riding wider tires. For reference, I’m currently running 37mm tires at 60 psi on my commuter.

It’s a common misconception that wider tires are slower, but this is not necessarily the case, particularly at non-racing speeds on rough roads. Bicycle Quarterly has done extensive testing on suspension losses and their conclusions show that on rough roads, up to 50% of a bicyclist’s power output can be attributed to suspension losses, and these losses are best mitigated by wide tires run at lower pressures.¹

One of the main issues with running wide tires is frame clearance. There are simply not that many road bikes on the market that provide adequate clearance for the wide tires and fenders needed for commuting and utility riding. This is one area where the industry as a whole could really improve their current offerings.

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According to the EPA’s online document, Emission Facts: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle, the number of miles driven per year is assumed to be 12,000 miles for all passenger vehicles. And according to a study conducted by Experian Automotive, Americans own 2.28 vehicles per household, which puts Americans at an average of 27,360 miles driven per year, per household. We know at least some of our readers are living car-free, and even more are making efforts to live car-lite. We’re curious to know where EcoVelo readers stand as a group in comparison to the national average.

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At the grocery store, waiting for the big Thanksgiving Day load.

Holiday grocery shopping can be a challenge for car-lite/car-free families. We’re hosting family for Thanksgiving this year, so our grocery list was long and the load was more than the bikes could handle in one trip. Fortunately we live near a well-stocked grocery store, so it was easy enough to break up our shopping into multiple excursions. What kind of challenges do you face? Will you be able to do your holiday grocery shopping by bike?

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Our trip to Rivendell got me thinking about frame materials and construction again. Even though I’ve owned bikes made from every commonly used frame material including aluminum alloy, carbon fiber, titanium, high tensile steel, and chromoly steel, I cut my teeth during the heyday of lugged chromoly frames and I’ve always been partial to that material and construction method. I enjoy frames that have a little flex and feel alive, and chromoly steel, with its relatively light weight and its ability to flex over-and-over again without issue, makes it a good material for my preferences and the kind of riding I do everyday. The small diameter tubes used in this type of construction also maximize tire and fender clearances, a common issue with bikes made from aluminum and carbon. Certainly other materials can be used to make wonderful bicycles and can offer performance advantages for specialized uses, but frames built with small diameter chromoly tubes and ornate lugs speak to my middle-aged-inner-bike-geek in a way carbon fiber never will. Do you have a favorite frame material? If so, place your vote and expound further in the comments below.

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I probably field more e-mail questions regarding North Road and Albatross handlebars than any other subject related to bike set-up and components. It seems there are many people interested in converting their drop- and flat-bar bikes to a more upright handlebar for commuting and urban riding. Given the number of inquiries I receive, I’m curious to know what type of handlebars people are actually using out there. Please feel free to elaborate in the comments below.

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On one end of the spectrum we have lycra-clad, high speed commuters, on the other we have style-conscious, slow bike proponents, and in the middle we have just about everyone else. We’re 100% for any and all of it, because we love bikes and bicyclists and we’re always happy to see anyone on the road who’s not in a motor vehicle.

We know folks who have long commutes and need to ride fast so they don’t spend half the day getting to and from work. We get that. Years back I (Alan) had a 30+ mile round trip commute. If I had ridden at a leisurely 8 miles per hour in street clothes I would have been on the road 4 hours per day. Instead, I wore lycra, rode hard, cleaned up and changed at work, and kept my commute time to a reasonable 2 hours or so.

We also know people who live in the city center and rarely ride more than a couple of miles at a time, so they have no need to ride fast or wear specialized clothing. We get that too. Years back I (Alan again) lived in an urban setting and had a basic city bike that I used to get around the neighborhood. I rode an easy pace that kept me dry and comfortable in whatever I happened to be wearing.

These days, many of our bike trips are short and are ridden at a leisurely pace, but because we’re living car-lite in the suburbs, we sometimes also need to ride longer distances at higher speeds because everything is so darned spread out. Covering those distances in a reasonable amount of time requires greater effort and possibly even specialized equipment suited to the task. Our bike and clothing choices reflect this dichotomy. We tend to prefer versatile bikes that are comfortable when ridden at 8 mph down to the corner coffee shop, but are also light and efficient enough that they’re enjoyable for running an errand 15 miles away. Our wardrobes also reflect this need for versatility and include a fair amount of “technical” clothing that looks presentable but is breathable and comfortable during physical activity (REI loves the EcoVelo’s ;-)).

We’d love to know what kind of distances you’re riding, what kind of average speeds you typically maintain, and what kind of clothing you most frequently wear while on the bike.

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Feel free to elaborate in the comments section below.

I see a lot of coverage in the press on bicycling and fashion, much of it fueled by Copenhagen Cycle Chic’s wonderful photos of fashionable Copenhageners living the good life in one of the world’s most bike-friendly cities. It’s undoubtedly a seductive image and one a full-time transportational bicyclist like myself views with envy. The number of Cycle Chic imitators that have cropped up on the web is a testament to our desire to ride bikes in a civilized manner, in an environment where “share the road” means sharing a cycle path with 10,000 other cyclists, not fighting for limited shoulder space with diesel-spewing semi trucks.

I like riding in my street clothes and I recommend it to anyone who isn’t racing, riding extremely long distances, or riding in extreme weather conditions. Riding in street clothes makes us much more likely to hop on a bike for short trips; if I felt the need to throw on bike shorts and a lycra jersey every time I needed something from the grocery store, the day-to-day utility of my bike would be greatly diminished.

I do have reservations about placing too much emphasis on bike fashion though. The reality is that the U.S. is not Denmark, and our infrastructure is such that we truly do “share” the road with motor vehicles. Even in cities with high ridership and mature infrastructure, you’re highly unlikely to find a complete system of separated facilities. Given that here in the U.S. most of us ride very close to automobiles at least some of the time, it may be prudent to set aside our desires to be fashionable and do what we can to make ourselves visible to motorists.

A simple way to dramatically increase your visibility is by wearing a decidedly unfashionable chartreuse safety vest. A lightweight vest can be thrown over whatever you’re already wearing. Some are packable and compress down small enough to go in a seat bag or coat pocket. All are ugly as sin but may actually prevent a collision.

I have to admit, I don’t always wear a safety vest, just like I don’t always wear a helmet. But during high traffic commute hours, or when the light is low at dawn or dusk, I usually set aside vanity and let better judgement determine my riding attire.

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The 2007 New York City Bicycle Survey lists a lack of secure bike parking as one of the main reasons people don’t commute by bike. While having a safe place to store a bicycle is certainly important to any bike commuter, bike parking and storage is an issue for everyday utility bicyclists as well.

Our city has made great progress developing off-street bike paths and extending our network of on-street bike lanes, but one area that has been overlooked is bike parking. Because shopping destinations are on private property, development of bike parking facilities is left to private developers and decisions on what type of facilities will be built are made on an individual basis. The outcome of this scattershot approach has not been good.

The bike parking facilities at many of our local shopping areas are inconsistent at best and non-existent at worst. Many of the bike racks are poorly designed and are likely to damage bicycles. Often there are not enough spaces. It’s not uncommon to see bikes carelessly leaned against other bikes with little regard for damage. In many locations bike racks are completely absent and bicyclists are left to fend for themselves, locking up to stair rails, sign posts, benches, or whatever immovable object is close at hand.

What we need are standard recommendations for bike parking facilities that tie-in with the development of other facilities such as bike lanes and off-street bike paths. Allowing developers to decide what type of bike parking is required is almost a guarantee that the facilities will be underfunded and inadequate.

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This innocuous little chart says an awful lot about why the automobile continues to reign supreme in the U.S. Until that bottom line comes more in line with the others, no amount of advocacy work is going to create the kind of sea change we’re all hoping for.

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Many people who wouldn’t blink an eye at taking out a 5-year loan to purchase a $15,000-$25,000 motor vehicle would never dream of paying over $500 for a bicycle. Of course, automobiles are much more complex and expensive to manufacture than bicycles, so they should cost more. On the other hand, if a bicycle is to be used for daily transportation and serve as a replacement for an automobile, it makes sense to allocate resources to purchase that bicycle analogous with its true value and usefulness.

I believe that, in general, we expect bicycle prices to be unrealistically low, an expectation that is most likely fueled by our widespread view of bicycles as recreational equipment. Obviously, it’s not prudent to invest a lot of money in a bicycle that will only be taken down from the rafters a few weekends a year and ridden to the local park, but a bicycle that can withstand hard use throughout the year (and over the years) and function reliably as an automobile replacement is going to require a larger investment. In my view, it’s not unreasonable to expect a bicycle being purchased to replace a car to cost 10-20% of the value of the car it replaces.

This is not to say that bicycle manufacturers should raise bicycle prices. To the contrary, we need a good selection of inexpensive bicycles to woo newcomers into the fold and to meet the needs of those with limited resources. And this is not to say a person must spend X number of dollars to obtain a decent bicycle that will function as basic transportation; certainly many (most) of the bicycles being used for transportation fall into the low-to-mid price range. But for dedicated transportational bicyclists who have the resources, even bicycles at the mid-to-upper end of the spectrum are a tremendous value when compared to automobiles, particularly when measured by their functionality and not by their manufacturing costs and complexity.

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This poll is a follow-up to the discussion under yesterday’s “Quiet Killers?” post. Please read the comment thread before voting.

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