Chicago Bike Blog

There is still time to ease into biking...

Contrary to what the mail order catalogs would have you believe, summer is not over. In fact, were not yet 6 weeks into it, and there are over 7 weeks of summer still left on the calendar. And after summer runs out, Chicago often experiences some of the most glorious early fall cycling weather imaginable!

So maybe you're one of these people who have made grand pland to become bike commuters this summer, and things have, well, not worked out quite the way you planned. Or maybe you just can't see yourself as a bike commuter, but you have a feeling that biking could be kind of a good thing to do for yourself, your neighborhoods and the environment.
Well, I am here to tell you that cycling is not and all-or-nothing proposition. Here are some tips for incorporating biking into your routine this season and through the fall:

• If possible, keep your bike where it's easily accessible, with all your gear near at hand (helmet and lock at a minimum).
• If you think you may want to pick up a few things, but don't want to invest in a lot of bike luggage just yet, carry a backpack.
• Don't try to build your whole day around the bike. Start by planning short trips: post office, library, coffee shop, small shopping errand.
• If you were planning a major shopping expedition, see if instead there are a few things you can pick up locally, and put off the mega-mart trip for another week.
• If you are traffic-averse, ride your bike to places you can reach using small neighborhoods streets.

The point is, just because you drove your car or got on the bus today doesn't mean you can't cycle tomorrow. It doesn't mean you have to cycle everywhere for the rest of your life (you can, of course, if you want to); all it means that you will use your bike sometimes, when it makes sense to you. I find that I am much more likely to use my bike if there is no external pressure on me to do so, such as a guilt-trip from someone who cycles more than I do.

Could you ride a bike around it in one day?

While traveling in Florida, in a chance encounter, my husband was asked about Lake Michigan. The gentleman wanted to know if Lake Michigan was a fresh or salty body of water. Could you ride a bike around it in one day? Could you see the other shore?
These questions surprised us, as the magnitude and majesty of Lake Michigan are so obvious to us living here in Chicago.
Here are the facts.
Lake Michigan is the third largest of the Great Lakes (Superior and Huron being larger), and the sixth largest fresh-water lake in the world.
It's shoreline is about 1600 miles long, which means it would take a cyclist traveling at the average clip of 16 miles per hour 100 hours to circumnavigate it. Allowing eight hours of actual cycling per day (hey, we're talking an ambitious cyclist here), and no days off, he or she could complete the trip in 12.5 days.
For the record, the surface area of Lake Michigan is 22,300 square miles, which makes it a little more than a third of the size of the state of Florida.

Bike Friday to Visit Rapid Transit

UPDATE TO THE PLANNED GET-TOGETHER: casual ride. We will meet at noon on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Rapid Transit, and proceed to Chinatown for Dim Sum. After lunch, we'll bike to Grant Park to see what's going on there, and return to Rapid Transit for the screening of "Route 66 by Bicycle: Pedaling the Mother Road", a movie shot from the handlebars of the GalFromDownUnder, Bike Friday's Customer Evangelist Lynette Chiang. For details, click link below:

Coupon

Please click on the coupon to enlarge, print and come in to redeem. (Any of the coupons may be used together, however, they may not be combined with additional discounts, such as CBF.)

Bunji's: Carrying Unwieldy Loads

Carrying small stuff on a bike is peanuts: all you needs is a rack, some basic panniers, or maybe just a bag to throw over your back.
But what if you need a bag of kitty litter, or (as my husband recently requested for a mid-summer barbeque) a bag of natural charcoal, or a sack of potatoes, flat of nursery plants, power tool, case of beer, bag of cement?.... You get the point.
I do realize that some items are too large to carry on a bike, at least without a trailer. However, any and all items mentioned above -- and many others you can think of -- can be carried on your bike with what your already have, and a pair of bunji cords.
Bunji cords are absolutely indispensible. For urban cyclists, they beat duct tape hands down.
If you are shopping, or otherwise foraging by bike, and find yourself with an oddly shaped item you simply must take home, Lay the item flat across your rack and whatever panniers or baskets you have, and fasten to the rack with two bunji cords, crossing them diagonally over the item, as shown (center).

The more widely you can space the bunji's the more stable your load will be. Stiff baskets definitely have an advantage here over soft-sided panniers, because you can hook bunji's directly to baskets. However, though panniers or baskets can help to stabilize whatever you are carrying on top of the rack (left), they are not strictly necessary. The load will balance on the rack alone, but may droop a bit.

If your panniers are fully loaded, and extend up over the top of the rack, you can slip your odd-shaped item lengthwise in between the tops of the panniers, and secure with bunji's (right). Even if your load is a little tall, the height of the panniers will help to hold it in place.

Bunji's can be somewhat dangerous due to their inherent springiness. Please use common sense. Make sure the bunji's are in good condition, not frayed, not in danger of getting caught in your bike wheel, or whacking any part of your body.

Staff Bikes: Stodder Family

As the only long-term members of Rapid Transit Cycleshop staff who have small children, owners Chris and Justyna have experimented with a variety of bikes and attachments that allow you to cycle family-style.
Our kids are now six and ten years old, and can actually assist in pedaling (for cycling with smaller children, clicke here).
One of the most useful pieces of child-friendly cycling equipment is a trailer bike, pictured in the photo below.

The one we own is a Burley Piccolo, which is unfortunately no longer in production (UPDATE, they are back in business!) . However, Adams Trail-a-Bike offers a range of trailer bikes at prices starting at about $170. (Please call Rapid Transit for availability at 773-227-2288).
What a trailer bike allows you to do, is to convert any upright adult bike into a tandem within minutes, so you and your child, even as young as four or five, can cycle together. The child does not have to pedal, but if she does, you will definitely notice her contribution.
Because we cycle with our children frequently, we also have a Bike Friday Family Tandem, that, in our family, essentially serves as a minivan.

Family Tandems are avilable from Rapid Transit by special order. They are highly adjustable, so either parent and either child can ride together. When one of us travels with only one child, we can adjust the seats and handlebars appropriately with just a twist of the allen wrench. When we all ride together, we look like the two photos above.
But here's the best part, if one of us parents has to take both kids along, this is what we do:

Staff Bikes: Ronnie LoBello

Bike shop employees' bikes rarely look the way they did when they came out of the box. They are nearly always highly personalized. I suppose the personalization depends on where a particular shop is located, and what type of cycling the staff regularly engage in. At Rapid Transit Cycleshop, in Chicago, our staff tend to be commuters, and their bikes reflect that.

One reason bike shop employees are able to personalize their bikes more than the members of the general public, is that they often have access to bike products that can be obtained at much lower prices, as part of employee purchase plans offered by many vendors.

But lest you think that all bike shop personnel ride glitzy and expensive bikes, spruced up with the latest whistles and bells, have a look at some bikes ridden by employees of Rapid Transit. Today, it's Ronnie's bike.

Ronnie is not sure what the bike was originally, but it may have been a Rock Hopper. With the exception of the main frame, nothing on it is original, not even the fork.

The bike has been painted yellow. Was visibility or availability of free paint the primary motivator -- who knows? It is personalized with lots of stickers that reflect the owner's personality and... ahem... political views.

 

Since Ronnie does not own a car, the bike is equipped with everything needed for a daily commute: rack and panniers that allow Ronnie to carry daily essentials, as well as a good quality Kryptonite Evolution lock; front and rear lights galore, plus tons of reflective stickers; a rear-view mirror; and an Air-Zound horn, which Ronnie modified by substituting a larger soda bottle for the smaller air canister originally supplied with it.

Ronnie's bike is a quintessential commuting bike. It has the well-worn look of a bike that is ridden daily and everywhere, and reflects the riding style and personality of its owner.

Drivetrain Maintenance

If you ride your bike on the streets of Chicago (or anywhere else, for that matter), you will at some point experience the dreaded drivetrain wear. The drivetrain of your bicycle consists of the chain, and all the parts that it touches: the front chainrings, rear cassette, and front and rear derailleurs. This whole system is what makes the bike go, and yet it is often the most overlooked aspect of bicycle maintenance.
Under normal riding conditions, the continuous tension on the chain causes it to gradually stretch (how? click here for a detailed explanation). Add moisture, dirt and salt from the road, and you accelerate the destruction.
You can assess the condition of the chain through a scientific process known as empirical observation.
Eyeball the chain. Is it slick and shiny? Then consider yourself lucky. If it's black and goopy, or dry and rusty, things are not good.
Feel the chain between your fingers. If it's very sticky, or brittle and stiff, you've got problems.
Measure the chain. You can do this with the chain on the bike. Place the zero point of an accurate ruler in the center of one of the pivot pins on the chain, and measure out 12 inches. On a new, unworn chain, the 12" mark falls in the center of a pivot pin. If the pin on your chain falls beyond the 12" mark, use the following guidelines:

• if the distance is less than 1/16", no problem, just clean and oil your chain regularly (see below)
• if the distance is 1/16", you will need to replace the chain, but probably not the sprockets
• if the distance is 1/8", you will need to replace the chain and the cassette
• if your chain is worn beyond this point, you may even need to replace the front chainrings, or at least the one you usually use.

That's right. Unfortunately, the chain does not wear alone. With use, it causes uneven wear on the cassette and front chainrings. A worn cassette (and in more extreme cases, the front chainrings) will not work with a new chain, and has to be replaced.
The good news is that you can prevent untimely drivetrain demise by keeping it clean and well-lubricated, and replacing worn parts promptly.
If your drivetrain is dirty, clean it with hot, soapy water, using household dishwashing detergent, a bucket and a stiff nylon brush. (Please do not take your bike to a car wash, as the hoses use excessive pressure.) Scrub all parts throughly, and repeat, if necessary. Rinse and rag off thoroughly.
Once the chain is clean, apply a good quality bicycle lubricant to each chain link, and to pivot points on both derailleurs, and rag off excess. DO NOT use grease, household oils, WD-40, motor oil, etc. on your bicycle chain. These will attract a lot of dirt, and actually cause the chain to wear faster. There are plenty of good bicycle lubricants on the market, so you can take your pick. If you consult the mechanics at Rapid Transit for a recommendation, you are likely to get a different answer from each one, but we only carry high-quality lubricants formulated for bicycle chains, so you can't go wrong.

If you prefer to avoid intimate contact with your drivetrain, treat your bike to a session at our "Bike Spa". We'll do all the work, sometimes even while you wait. We also offer drivetrain cleaning as part of our premium tune up service.
You can also visit us anytime for a free chain lubrication.

Coupon

Please click on the coupon to enlarge, print and come in to redeem. (Any of the coupons may be used together, however, they may not be combined with additional discounts, such as CBF.)

Let Freedom Ring!

Happy 4th of July!

This photo is 11 years old. It was taken on July 4, 1996, during the first Twin Cities To Chicago Aids Ride. Let cycling set you FREE!