Christofoo Review

Within a week of biking to work, I had trashed the junker I was riding, although I didn't really feel bad about it. I had bought the bike for my wife, although it's too big for her, for $50 at a pawn shop. It's a no-name mountain bike, and no one ever took care of it. Now the rear wheel is totalled (although it technically is "rideable" right now). So I'm selling it as parts.

Hopefully this page might help you decide what bikes and equipment you want. The most surefire way to overspend is to buy something two or three times.

Choosing a Bike

In the end, the right bike for you is a completely personal matter. Some people could never be comfortable on a road bike. Other people can't have fun on anything other than a road bike. But here are some quick pointers that I think most bike folk agree on:

• Department stores sell mostly crummy bikes. The junker I mentioned above was a "Royce Union Bicycle Company" bike, which I guess was sold by Sears. A bike should not break down in that fashion. Junk.
• Probably there is a local bike shop (LBS) near you that sells nothing but reliable bikes, but possibly for more than you want to pay (often starting at $500 and going up). Most bike shops also offer good waranties and discounts on all future accessories, plus they will "fit" you to your bike. The LBS has value to offer, but it comes at a price. I've also discovered that not all LBSs stock very nice commuting gear.
  
• Even if you don't want to buy from an LBS, getting "fit" by a pro might be worth your time and money. Otherwise do some reading. (I didn't get fit, and I don't regret it, but think seriously about it if you have joint pain or you don't know what you're doing.)
  
• Used bikes usually offer pretty good value, but it helps if you have a bike-savvy bud who can help you out, or else do some reading.
• Older used bikes can be amazingly cheap and functional. The biggest compromise in the $100-150 range in my area is on gearing and shifting. I love my integrated shifting, now it's hard for me to ride with down-tube shifters, but they get the job done. This axiom seems to be more true for road-bikes, and less true for mountain bikes, which have had nicer indexed shifting for more years. There are ways to upgrade older bikes, and sometimes there is some real value to be had, but often it makes more sense to get something a few years newer if you don't like the old shifters.
  
• http://www.bikesdirect.com is considered a good mail-order compromise between low price and good quality. They do have some very nice models in the $300 to $500 range (and up). This type of mail-order does require some assembly, and some bike knowledge, but it's not bad.
  
• For commuting on pavement, narrow high-pressure tires increase speed from 14-17 mph to 16-20 mph typically, in comparison to wide knobby tires. For this reason, most commuters are hybrids, cruisers, or road bikes. However, narrow tires are not so good off-road or on slush or snow.
  
• The big differences between hybrids and road bikes are handle-bars and the availability of shock absorbers. Road-bike drop bars also allow a more aerodynamic position, which further increases speed by around 1-2mph.
• Cruisers have more ergonomic bars than some hybrids, but many of them have very limited gearing or a single speed. "Mustache" bars can also be fit on hybrid bikes. Drop bars are also pretty ergonomic, more so than mountain bars when it comes to longer rides (about 5-10 miles), although drop bars require a little more skill and acclimation.
• Cruisers often have fixed gearing or geared hubs, which have their proponents. I would recommend against these unless you are mechanically averse. More gears are better. The one advantaged of a geared hub is that it can shift while stopped, but if you have a few seconds to plan your stops you don't need this feature.
  

My Bike(s) of Choice

I decided I wanted a road bike for a couple of reasons:

• My commute is 10 miles each way, so I want an efficient bike. This means narrow wheels for sure, I also want the drop bars for additional aerodynamics.
  
• The drop-bars allow multiple hand-positions, which makes them ergonomically better than mountain bars.
  
• I won't be using it off-road.
  

After watching the local classifieds for a few weeks, I settled on a 56cm Windsor Wellington, barely used with 100 miles on it. This bike is originally mail-order, from http://www.bikesdirect.com. The guy bought it but then decided he needed to go back to a mountain-bike style. This allowed me to see it before buying it, and pay a little less than I would have had I bought direct (sorry to the guy who took a hit), plus it was fully assembled (although I've had a bit of tuning work to do). I've become a big fan of Shimano's STI shifting since I bought this bike. It's hard for me to ride a road bike that has another type of shifting now.

Road bikes are admittedly a little hard to get used to. At first I never used the drops because it strained my neck, but after a time I developed the right muscles and now the bike is pretty comfortable. My neck still bothers me a little, I think my eye-glasses are a factor (glasses influence how high my head sits). The bike has quite a bit of "road buzz", since it has no shocks and the tires are over 100 PSI, but that isn't as big of a deal as you might think. When I ride over the train tracks I lift up off the seat to take up the shock with my knees.

The one big problem with the Wellington is that it has no clearance for larger tires with knobs. I decided I needed a second bike to be my all-weather bike, preferably a less expensive bike that I wouldn't feel guilty about if I beat it up or got it wet and rusty. I went back to the classifieds and got an older Schwinn Le Tour that happened to already have some mildly treaded tires. As a bonus it also has some clip-on aero-bars that I was excited to try. But then I wasn't happy with the gearing, bought a new sprocket, which ended up needing a new rear-derailleur, the chain was rusty, the downtube shifters were breaking off, I wanted to rewrap the bars, replace the toe-clip pedals, plus add fenders... but then I had the bike I wanted... sort of. It seems like a bit of a shame the whole thing was only $90 under the Wellington, but only got me to a friction down-tube shifted 12-speed. Hey, at least it's a reasonable weight, at 24-ish lbs (about the same as the Wellington), and I don't expect it to break like the no-name junker.

I was a little surprised by how much I don't care about the aero-bars. As another hand position, they don't add as much comfort as I would have thought because of the added strain on my neck, and the aero advantage over the drops at my speed is pretty slight. Also aero bars aren't so safe near intersections or obstacles, since I have to change position in order to shift or break, and the steering and balance are poor when I'm in the aero position. The one time I'm glad I have them is facing a head-wind. Maybe later on if my neck gets stronger I'll like them more, and maybe I'll get used to switching in and out of aero position for certain low-traffic stretches of the ride. For now I think of them as a toy rather than a utility.

I like having a separate bike for bad weather, however it's really hard to use the friction down-tube shifters after being spoiled by STI. But maybe that will get better with experience, too. Or maybe I'll find a cheap set of shifters and put on an 8-speed freewheel and be happy.

Safety Equipment

The most important safety equipment is your riding technique. That asside, here is some very important equipment you should plan on buying:

1. Lighting should accomplish 3 things: allow you to see where you're going at night, allow cars to see you at night, and improve the chances of cars seeing you during the day. In my opinion, the only lighting worth getting will cost $50-100 in total. Headlight: needs to be 200 Lumens or more, and it needs to have a broad flood pattern. Some great deals can be had on flashlights which can be attached to handlebars using an adapter. Taillight: Planet Bike SuperFlash or Dinotte 140R. Helmet light: ought to be around 25-100 Lumens, needs to have a flashing mode for daylight use if under 100 Lumens, and needs to have a focused spot pattern to have good "throw". (It shouldn't be bright enough to blind drivers at 20 m, because you will be deliberately pointing it at some cars.)
   
2. Mirror: ought to be either helmet mounted, eyeglass mounted (Take-a-Look), and/or a high-up bar mirror like Myrracle. Mirrors that have a lot of curvature can be used to suppliment a rear-view mirror, but they are really side-mirrors, and do not replace your rear-view. Also, your mirror needs to be positioned as close to your center field of view possible, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see it. Bar-end mirrors, for example, perform poorly.
3. Bright clothing and reflectors are almost as important as good lights.
   
4. If you will be in traffic like most commuters, the horn of choice is the Delta Airzound. In my opinion the squeeze-bulb horns are a distant second, and nothing else can help you in traffic.
   
5. If you will be on sidewalks or multi-use-paths, you might want a bell. Note that bells will not be heard my motorists.
   
6. The equipment helps, but no amount of gear provides a full-cure. You still must trust your instincts, know your bike, know your situation, and keep your breaks handy. Cars can still hit you, lighting and horn notwithstanding.
   

Weather

I have a coworker who has biked in to work, and I asked him how he would deal with the sweat, since we don't have a shower at our office building. His answer has worked for me surprisingly well (although summer hasn't come yet). I pack my work clothes and change on arrival, put on a little extra deodorant, wash my face, and do my hair. Things that might make this more difficult for other people: complicated hair or makeup.

I bought a rack to attach over my back wheel, plus a pair of pannier bags. I find riding with a backpack to be rather uncomfortable, also a backpack covers the back side of my bright yellow vest, which negates a lot of its value. What works even better is if I pack out all my things the day before, since I drive part of the week.

The first day I rode to work it was 35 degrees outside in the morning, and my throat and lungs felt terrible afterwards. I bought a neoprene face mask - normally used for skiing - to cover my nose and mouth, and this reduced my symptoms by at least 80%. (By the way, I guess there's a debate about whether it's the cold or the dryness of the air that causes the problem, I'm convinced it's the dryness.)

The coldest morning I've ridden was 14 F. Normally I wear mechanics gloves, but when it gets below about 25 or 30 I switch to a leather glove that has a thick liner. The leather breaks the wind and makes a huge difference.

For smog, I use a HEPA filtering mask, although I haven't needed it very much this year.

Salt Lake (usually) gets a pretty hefty amount of snow during the winter. I ended up getting two bikes, one is outfitted with 700x23c road slicks, which I only ride on dry pavement (they seem to lose a lot of grip on wet, more so that most tires). My other bike is cheaper and has 27x1.25 tires with a mild tread and fenders, my all-weather bike. But so far I haven't ridden with any sub-freezing precipitation, partly due to my wife's fears. On my own, I wouldn't want to ride any time there's more than a half-inch of accumulation for three reasons: 1) 10 miles in slush is no fun, 2) it's slick, although I expect my all-weather bike would handle reasonably, 3) I expect plowing to make the shoulders unusable and create unsafe situations.

A new condition I encountered this spring is wet snowfall, which covers and fogs my glasses very quickly. While many people get by wiping their glasses with their gloves, I plan on getting some ski goggles before the next winter season. Ski goggles are designed with very effective anti-fog features, also their shape makes them easier to wipe quickly with a glove.

I haven't seen summer weather yet, but in the past I've had a really hard time doing anything strenuous when it gets over 80 F. I seem to be strangely sensitive to heat, but maybe biking will actually help out, or maybe I'll see a doctor about it.

Did I mention that it adds up?

Accessories and parts add up pretty fast. Here is a break-down of my gear (sorry, this is incomplete as yet):

• Road Bike: Windsor Wellington ($278)
• Road Bike: Schwinn Le Tour ($100+$88 repairs/upgrades)
• Computer for Wellington: ($13)
• Fenders for the Le Tour: ($30)
• Bell helmet: ($50)
• Handlebar mirrors (2ea): ($13)
• Reflective vest:
• Headlight: ($20)
• Frame pump: Park PMP-5 ($20)
• Spare tire and kit: ($7)
• Neoprene mask: ($20)
• HEPA mask: Techno Respro ($45)
• Mechanics gloves: ($10)
• Leather gloves w/ liner: ($10)
• Warm hat (fits under helmet): ($10)
• Rack: ($30)
• Panniers: ($40)
• Saddlebag: ($20)