Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bicycle and bicycling

Headphone recommendations for road cycling?

Señor Pantalones — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:34:46 -0800

[cycling] best headphones, preferably not buds? A few years ago, a company called Slipstreamz introduced something called "The Slip" which mounted earbuds outside the ear on a windscreen and allowed the best of both worlds -- hearing your environment and hearing your ipod. They appear to be out of business (or at least hard to find, and their server has been down since I started looking).

I've tried riding with both forms of iPhone buds (the plug-style and the pre-plug disc-shaped "buds"). They block too much environmental audio, and I'm not comfortable being that detached from my surroundings.

What are you using? What do you like or dislike about them? Would you recommend them?

Thanks in advance. Bonus points for iphone-friendly (e.g., mic on the cable) recommendations.

Sorry I have to ask, but no "don't do it" safety responses please. This is a specific question for people who choose to ride with headphones.

Escaping Toronto with a bike in tow?

anthill — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:06:14 -0800

How to escape the Greater Toronto Area for multiday bicycle tours? Difficulty: no car. My girlfriend and I just bought a tandem touring bike, and we're both keen to get out to the Ontario countryside for some summer tours. The catch is we have no car.

I know that the GO Train is one option for downtown cyclists trying to escape, but from what I can tell only the Lakeshore line runs trains that fall outside their rush-hour bicycle ban. The Lakeshore area is pretty nice, but I'd rather get to the Barrie area to access Tobermory, Parry Sound, or Algonquin.

Any tricks for escaping the GTA on a low carbon footprint would be much appreciated.

Getting the most workout value from cycling

rolypolyman — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:24:18 -0800

How can I get the most out of cycling, in regards to a workout? I'm a real newbie. During the past couple of weeks I've started pedalling my Trek mountain bike around town. There's some rolling hills here, so it's given me a bit of a workout. I do a moderate pace for 35 minutes every 2 or 3 days.

My main intent is to lose weight and regain my daily mental focus.

I'm wondering if there are any tips for getting the best "workout" value. Should I bother keeping track of heart rate? Should I shoot for a certain pedalling cadence? (Isn't there a rule of thumb on pedal strokes per minute that tells what gear you should be in?) Or should I just pedal faster if I notice I'm not breathing fast enough?

I know there are sites on the Internet that have tips, but most are designed for seasoned cyclists, and I want a personal MeFi perspective anyway.

Also a dumb question -- when I'm going faster than 15 mph or so I get this irrational fear that the front tire is going to come loose from the fork and I'll crash. Does a structural failure like this ever happen?

Fitting a road bike

cccorlew — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:04:45 -0800

Guide/hints for road bike fit? I want to buy my wife a road bike, (she's hammering out 15+ road miles a day on a mountain bike) but being a cheap guy, I think I can get more bang for the buck getting used bike. I'm looking for a guide for bike fitting so I get her the right size frame, etc.
Online resources? (my GoogleFu fails me...) or elsewhere. Not having to pay a bunch is a requirement.

More: I'm thinking that because her legs are short for her height she'll be good on a smaller traditional mens bike and not need a womens design, which I understand are built to account for the fact that woment generally have proportionally more of their height in they legs than do men.

How to teach a 10 year old to ride a bike.

horseblind — Mon, 02 May 2005 11:25:46 -0800

My daughter is 10 years old and has always been paralyzed with fear of riding a bike. Just recently she won a brand spanking new bike in a raffle in school. It's a 15 speed girl's bike with 26" tires. She is finally interested in riding. After buying the appropriate safety equipment, what can I do to help her learn? I learned at age 4 without training wheels; she thinks she wants them. What say you good folk? Any tips at all are appreciated.

How fast is a horse?

bonecrusher — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 12:04:05 -0800

How fast is a horse? According to this review of a book on bicycling, one of the original motivations for the development of the bicycle was to find a cheaper, faster, more reliable human-powered alternative to the horse. Did we succeed? I average around 12-15mph on my 10 mile daily bicycle commute - can a horse compete with that?

advice for a budding bike commuter

dicaxpuella — Tue, 13 Apr 2004 16:43:31 -0800

Need advice on bike commuting (more inside)... I finally live somewhere where its feasible to commute by bike (relatively short distance, good roads). I have a good bike, but I'm sort of clueless what's important for a safe, fun commute. What's the important equipment/gear to have? Any special considerations for traffic, or biking home at night (I often work late)?