Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bicycle and cycle

What's the best alternative to bananas as fuel for a ~12 mile cycle commute?

primer_dimer — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:59:19 -0800

What's the best alternative to bananas as fuel for a ~12 mile cycle commute? So I've recently started commuting to work by bike again, only this time it's a bit further than I've done before - about 12 miles. I need to make sure I put some fuel in my tank before setting off. The standard advice on cycle forums seems to be a banana 20 mins before setting off. I hate bananas. What should I eat instead?

I need general advice about bicycle commuting and specific recommendations for Seattle.

GPF — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:11:27 -0800

I need general advice about bicycle commuting and specific recommendations for Seattle: where to live for commute to UW, bike shop recommendations, must have equipment, neighborhoods to avoid, good routes and trails, and the like. I'm planning a move to Seattle. Lots of good threads on the green about Seattle info and bicycling info. The Seattle department of transportation maps and guides seem fantastic -- any personal experience you could add to using them would be much appreciated.

I'm considering using a bicycle as my main commuting vehicle to the University of Washington. Obviously, closer is better but closer means higher rents and more undergrads -- right? In searching for places to live, I'm trying to gauge how far from UDub I can get and have a tolerable commute. I'm a pretty good judge of my fitness and stamina for it, but I don't have any idea which neighborhoods make for a convenient ride. As in, I'd prefer an hour long ride on an easy trail to a twenty minute ride on a hilly five-lane road. Are there any definitive architectural encumbrances (e.g. bad bridges, freeway crossings, etc.)?

Bonus for family friendly parks nearby and cheap rents. Double bonus for specific apartment or landlord recommendations.

I'd also love some recommendations for bike shops - especially ones that trade in used gear and cater to the commuter.

Uphill, both ways, in Pittsburgh

that girl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:29:16 -0800

How can I make it so that I can make it up the hills on my bicycle? I recently bought myself my first ever bicycle, figured out how to generally not fall over (I'm actually pretty good at the not falling over), and have discovered that I am gloriously excessively out of shape and cannot make it up even the modest hills. This is a problem. I live in Pittsburgh. It is all hills. I live halfway up a rather large hill. I'd like to be able to commute to work, but the last mile of my commute home is a 300' rise in less than a mile, which is way more than I am currently capable of. Everywhere I want to go involves going up a hill. There is a threat of a bus strike soon, so cycling and walking may soon be my only options for getting places. Whenever I cycle now, I end up walking my bike a good amount of the time.

What would be a good training regime for getting myself able to not collapse or pass out or fall over, and make it all the way up some rather big hills on my bicycle? What sort of training and practice can I do with a) a bicycle and b) no other equipment? How often do I need to do these exercises to get better? I am up for various exercises that do not involve cycling, as long as they don't require various gym equipment or any other exercise equipment, really. I don't particularly want to go out on my bicycle in the dark, and with the days getting shorter, the amount of light I have on weekdays is starting to get pretty small.

Smallest folding bicycle folding trailer

krisjohn — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:32:12 -0800

I'm looking for a folding bicycle trailer. That's a trailer that folds up and connects to a bicycle (though it coincidentally will be connected to a folding bicycle, so I guess it's a folding bicycle folding trailer). Anyway, the main thing is that it needs to fold up really small. Please point me to the smallest, when folded, bicycle trailer you know about. Thanks.

Mount Shasta or bust!

beerbajay — Thu, 03 May 2007 23:41:46 -0800

What is the best cycling route from the northern part of the central valley north/northeast-ward? Oh, and will I die? I am going on a self-supported cycling tour with a friend starting in a few days. We're planning to plan our exact routes as we go and our initial plan was to go east into the central valley from San Francisco and then head north. Eventually, we'll run into the Cascades (right?) and then we'll have to climb out of the valley... which way should we go? Is this route even a good idea? Will we freeze to death? etc?!

europe bike trek questions

pamccf — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 09:18:59 -0800

We're planning on biking across Europe. We're planning on doing it a year from now. What are we forgetting? What did you encounter in a similar trip that we might be unprepared for? Any general advice? The executive summary: We are two, living in the US. We currently bike to work (5-10 miles daily). We also make a longer trip (10+ miles) at least once a week, sometimes twice. Currently, this is a bit of a stretch. We are attempting to increase that upper limit gradually to where we can comfortably do 50 miles in a day by the time we leave. (We think we have time to do this without much strain.) We are experienced in hostel-travelling in Europe (moving inter-city by car, rail, and bus). (We have French, German and Russian.)

Our planned route goes from Amsterdam to Istanbul in a rough L-shape, the hinge being Warsaw. (Some details are fuzzy here - can you help?) Our bikes are these (should we ditch them?); we have no panniers yet, but we're looking at these (are there better?).

We are not bringing tents or camping gear. Should we worry about finding places to stay? We don't have maps of our route. Should we plan on getting these in-country? In Amsterdam?

We might take the plane. Have you turned your bike into a folding bike/have you gone for an extended ride with a foldie? We might take a boat. Have you taken a freighter cruise/are there other ocean alternatives?

Bonus question: We are planning to stay in Istanbul for an indeterminate time. Should we plan on being able to get around town by bike? Something tells me no. Can you tell me yes?

How to go from down tube shifters to STI on an old road bike?

joshgray — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 22:25:46 -0800

Road bike fix-er-uper question! The short of it is I want to upgrade an old cannondale road bike from down tube shifters to STI. Is it economical vs. dropping the cash on a whole new bike? Where to get started learning how to do us? The long of it: I've been riding a nice triathlon bike for years and years now. I have had this beater roadbike that i ride in bad weather, and just for a change every once in a while. I love the feel of road bikes (vs. the tri bike geometry) and want to ride it more but the down tube shifters are a p_a_i_n.

I dont want to drop the cash on a whole new rig, as i don't mind riding this trusty old steel beast. Looking at shifters on performancebike.com looks resonable, but I have no clue about if STI is compatible with the old shifting equipment on this beast. Where to get started? Advice? Should i just shut up and save the pennies for a new rig?