Riding Clothes - In Praise of Clown Suits

[Cowlitz]

My old Bell helmet was getting, well, old and I'd dropped it on concrete a few times, and motorists seem to be grumpier so I replaced the Bell with Lemonhead.

Yup, it's warmer and heavier but seems to do the trick which is a good thing as I must really share the road. The powers that be chip sealed quite a few roads that I must ride on and since the gravel is thick along the edges of the roads from cars throwing it over, I have to ride out in the lane more than normal. Must try to keep things cheery!

 

[pmcdonald]

In my quest for posterior cycling comfort I've tried a few of the suggestions a couple of pages back.

Dropping the bars helped enormously. I did have them at a 45 degree angle, now they're pretty much at flat level. It seems counter-intuitive, but I guess it shifts some of the weight from the bottom to the arms and torso.

I've also tried padded underpants, both my mtb pair (super comfy) and a Road-oriented pair (super uncomfortable and tight around the legs). They feel fantastic on the bike but the rest of the time make me feel like I'm walking around with an adult diaper.

I get the idea is you wear them for rides and change when off the bike but I'm hardly going to change underwear each end of a 30 minute commute. So they're relegated to the draw for now. I'll use them on my multi hour recreational mtb rides.

I'm also tweaking my seat angle by minutes of a degree every few rides, trying to find that supportive sweet spot for the new bar angle.

 

[jabberwocky]

Bike shorts definitely aren't fun to wear all day off the bike. In my commuting days, I carried my work clothes and a towel in a messenger bag and when I got to work I'd change in the handicapped stall. Just took 2-3 minutes and gave me a chance to towel off, apply some fresh deodorant and rinse my face in the sink. But I was riding a road bike and getting sweaty was unavoidable. The job I worked when I started commuting circa 2006 was actually in an office building with a gym so I'd shower there which was nice.

Glad to hear dropping the bars helped. It does seem counterintuitive but more weight on the arms is less on the butt, so some balance there does help.

 

[PedalUma]

It is really true about minor adjustments. One of my bikes allows for multiple hand positions which is very nice for longer rides with different surfaces, and slopes. I put a bar on this bike today that sweeps back slightly. It had a flat pipe bar and skinny gravel tires. The gel saddle is very comfy and supportive. It also has a thud buster. While I was at it I made it electric. This motor lacks feel and can be ghost pedaled. A cadence of 8 will take the bike to 38kph on power level 2 of 5. The top speed is three times the EU limit. A big problem with this motor is that they are normally built with duct tape, zip ties and a bunch of wires and connectors everywhere. Now it has commuter bags. Note: top speed is only for emergencies, such as quickly getting out of the way of a large truck. Just as you wouldn't want to be in a Du Cheveu on an autobahn but would rather have a twin turbo Benz. It now has e50 tires.

 

[Art Deco]

You may not like the feel of that bike and motor but your customer may not like the feel of any bike, but needs It to haul groceries home and books to class. No fossil fuel needed if the grid is clean.

 

[Jason Knight]

This motor lacks feel and can be ghost pedaled. A cadence of 8 will take the bike to 38kph on power level 2 of 5.

Which likely means a mismatch of your highest chainring to cassette ratio. What are you running front-and-rear? Your front looks "tiny" to me... but then I'm running 53:11-36 precisely to get rid of that "ghost pedal" feel.

The top speed is three times the EU limit. A big problem with this motor is that they are normally built with duct tape, zip ties and a bunch of wires and connectors everywhere. Now it has commuter bags. Note: top speed is only for emergencies, such as quickly getting out of the way of a large truck. Just as you wouldn't want to be in a Du Cheveu on an autobahn but would rather have a twin turbo Benz.

Am I the only one who finds it comedy gold that you can blow down the autobahn in a Bugatti at top speed and nobody bats and eyelash, but if you have an e-bike over there that goes over 20mph everybody loses their freaking minds? FFS we here in the colonies have school zones that allow higher speed limits than that.

 

[PedalUma]

As an aside, what is so weird about Bafang mid-drives is that chainring speed does not match pedaling speed at the cranks. There is the disconnect. Chainring speed can be ten-times faster than pedal speed, aka cadence. And the less effort you put into pedaling the faster it goes. Which is upside down and backwards. That bike is a solid commuter. It is exactly what the rider wants. It is just not my thing. And you would never kit out on a bike like that in racing clothing.

haul groceries

 

[mschwett]

…
Am I the only one who finds it comedy gold that you can blow down the autobahn in a Bugatti at top speed and nobody bats and eyelash, but if you have an e-bike over there that goes over 20mph everybody loses their freaking minds? FFS we here in the colonies have school zones that allow higher speed limits than that.

i wouldn’t call it comedy, more like tragedy. way too many americans - disproportionately children - are killed because of our laissez-faire convenience/“freedom” first approach to transportation.

as of 2010, the country’s [germany] fatality rate per billion-travel-kilometers on motorways stands at an impressive 1.98 deaths – much lower than the United States fatality rate of 3.62 deaths

…and that’s not counting the thousands of pedestrians and cyclists killed every year by drivers, where the comparison is even worse, with huge strides made recently in europe but not here. to put it simply, they’re doing it right, and we’re doing it wrong.

 

[jabberwocky]

If you're a fan of black comedy, I find it funnier that americans "I can do whatever I want and will scream and whine if anyone even hints at telling me what to do" attitude extends even into the e-bike world. I mean, its been great for drivers who basically run over people with impunity, so why shouldn't ebike riders go 50mph down sidewalks and bike paths?

 

[mschwett]

If you're a fan of black comedy, I find it funnier that americans "I can do whatever I want and will scream and whine if anyone even hints at telling me what to do" attitude extends even into the e-bike world. I mean, its been great for drivers who basically run over people with impunity, so why shouldn't ebike riders go 50mph down sidewalks and bike paths?

lol exactly. there’s no constitutional right to move at high speeds on public rights of way but people act like there is. rights, privileges, “freedoms” are all different things.

 

[Sparky731]

lol exactly. there’s no constitutional right to move at high speeds on public rights of way but people act like there is. rights, privileges, “freedoms” are all different things.

We should always hope to see volunteer yields to anything that goes slower or is smaller than the vehicle in/on which you travel. Hi-vis every ride.

 

[PedalUma]

San Francisco is very bad. There are tourists in rental cars gawking sideways and people stepping off curbs while looking at cat videos.
"People over 65 make up just 15% of San Francisco's population but typically make up around 50% of pedestrian fatalities each year. In 2021, of the 13 pedestrians killed, 6 were seniors. Citywide, around 30 people are killed and more than 500 severely injured each year on San Francisco streets."

 

[fooferdoggie]

I gave up on a cycling gore tex jacket. either the are too tight and black or did not have much if anything like the 7mesh jackets did not even have a hoot or pockets or zip vents. found a gore tex pac light jacket on clearance from REI and works great. I guess the sleeves and back are longer o na cycling jacket. but I don't lean that far forward.

 

[Mulezen]

I ordered this from Bike Tire Direct today. It was 50 bucks cheaper than on REI. Showers Pass elite 2.1.

https://static.biketiresdirect.com/productimages/images650/rgspe1-1.jpg

 

[fooferdoggie]

I ordered this from Bike Tire Direct today. It was 50 bucks cheaper than on REI. Showers Pass elite 2.1.

https://static.biketiresdirect.com/productimages/images650/rgspe1-1.jpg

I had two of them first one the zipper died after two years and I got a new one. but they are only so so. heavy and they Get dirty fast I mean like crazy fast one riding season and it looks lousy. plus they don't breath that well and I ride so much in the rain they tend to get damp or wet. they are like old gore tex. my new jacket breathes far better and it does not get wet. or if it does on the outside it dries fast. I think I got my showers pass for about for 180.00 but the goretex was only 150.00 and I got a 20 gift card. Now it is a light jacket and may wear out I really need a goretex pro but they are around 450.00 I will hunt for one on sale. but I like a lighter jacket the showers pass is so stiff. but I may ride 3 times in a day in the rain so its a bit different. Now I have a light goretex jacket called gore tex shake dry. yt=it is so light and water does not stick to it just shake the water off and its dry. and it breathes really well. but its pretty light weight for daily commutes.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

I bike in carhartt pants and boots. And a hiVis waterproof jacket. You can’t miss me!

 

[tomjasz]

Mountainsteals.com for good closeout/last season gear.

 

[tomjasz]

you can blow down the autobahn in a Bugatti at top speed and nobody bats and eyelash,

BS

 

[Djangodog]

Du Cheveu? 2CV?

So ugly that it’s cute. Citroën = lemon. I hate that I want one, but not for driving on the autobahn.

 

[tomjasz]

Du Cheveu? 2CV?

My electric car conversion dream.