Have you been thinking about commuting by bike? With a new tax incentive of $20 per month, see details here, and some of the nicest commuter bike options ever, this is the perfect time to get started or upgrade that old clunker of yours.
Just think you'll be:
Here are some of our favorite commuter tools:
A 29"(700c) mountain bike. Build it as a single speed, fixed gear, or 27speed. Road tires or 2.5 knobby ones. You can do it all with the Monkey.
Want to haul groceries? What about some lumber? Maybe that special someone? The Big Dummy is meant for hauling. If you're serious about using your car less this is the bike for you.
Other commuter options from Surly include:
Cross-Check, Travelers-Check, Long Haul Trucker, Pugsley and the Steamroller.
Pacours The art of fluidly moving from one point to another through an urban environment; that is the design mission of the Parcours. Seven's exclusive Argen butted titanium tubing delivers a finely tuned responsive ride. This model comes complete with fenders, custom front and rear racks, and a customized Tiberius handlebar.
Seven offers many options for commuters:
Mudhoney, Mokeefe and Parcours Steel
For $99 you get a rechargeable, super bright, LED light. Made in the USA by NiteRider this is the perfect mix between price and power. Most of us at the shop own one of these.
Planet Bike offers a large selection of lights. Our favorite, the SuperFlash tail light, is the perfect companion to any headlight. We'd recommend it to anyone who plans on riding at night.
How about powering that light as you ride? A generator built into the hub provides the power to the Shimano light. It's quite a satisfying way of lighting up the road.
If you're going to ride during the winter you NEED studded tires. Don't take the risk, get studs. The hand made in Finland Nokian tires are the best.
There are many options for fenders. The local company, Planet Bike, provides a large selection of fenders for road, mountain and everything in between.
Internal Hubs
With all the gearing built inside the hub you don't need derailleurs, they require almost no maintenance and because everything is sealed inside the hub, bad weather wont cause problems. Shimano offers a reasonably priced Alfine 8sp internal hub. If you feel you need more, German manufacturer Rohloff offers a 14sp model. Stop in or call us and we'll be happy to talk about hub, spoke and rim options.
Pedals
Choosing pedals for your commuter can be difficult. Do you want SPD or platform? If you go platform do you want toeclips? Using your road shoes is bad idea, because the cleat is not embedded in the shoe and you'll likely be walking more when commuting, and we all know how fun road shoes are to walk in. If you go the SPD route many shoes are available, whether you want a winter boot that will stay warm in -30F weather, or a mountain bike shoe that will be well ventilated during the summer. If you'd rather use your casual shoe then platform pedals are for you. If you still want the clipped in feel you can get toeclips, we recommend Power Grips if you go this route.
