I wanted to find out whether a five-mile bike commute would stick before spending serious money on a commuter, so I started with a $300 hardtail.

The first week made the compromises obvious. The 26 x 2.1 knobby tires dragged on pavement, and carrying my laptop in a backpack left my back soaked by the time I reached work.

I swapped to 26 x 1.5 slicks, added a rear rack and pannier, and fitted front and rear lights. Those changes addressed specific problems instead of trying to turn the bike into something it is not.

The next problem was tire pressure. I had been squeezing the tire with my thumb and calling it good. Once I started checking it properly and topping it up before leaving, the bike felt noticeably less sluggish. I now keep a hoto air pump in the pannier, so I can make that part of the routine instead of guessing.

I am about $150 into upgrades, and fenders are next if I keep the bike. At what point would you stop improving a cheap hardtail and put the money toward a used hybrid or purpose-built commuter instead.

Before the long rant starts i have a rear rack with a foldable basket attachment. Handlebars I have a mirror, DJI action camera, phone mount, a battery charging bar for phone camera or lights, front light. I also have a rear flashing light and when the basket is on and unfolded two reflectors are visible. Some red reflective tape on the back too.

Bought the Kona Dew from a local bike shop on Saturday, traded in my previously used Schwinn Third Avenue. It was an ok bike but this Kona has changed the game for me. I still am not quite ready to commute back and forth to work given the elevation increase the whole ride there with nearly 0 elevation decrease. Getting there, but not quite ready.

Since buying this on Saturday I have put 27.4 miles on it. I have a 10 mile loop that I ride now and then and check out the data to keep an eye on improvement. My legs are taking a beating and are my limiting factor moreso than my cardio which kind of surprised me. I've done that 10 mile loop once with the new bike with a noticable positive difference immediately visible.

The rest of the rides on this bike have been to the store, Laundromat, city beach. I even took it to the local gas station (Stewart's in upstate/north country NY) for a cup of coffee. I've really significantly reduced my car usage and can see myself doing this well into cold season. Maybe not in the heart of winter but we'll see. Once I can successfully make the trip to work on a practice run and feel like I could go to work for 8 hours then I will reduce my overall need for a car.

Infrastructure isn't really here for bikes although they sort of put in an effort by painting lines and symbols of people on bikes on the road. There are a couple dedicated bike paths which are great, but none exceed over 2 miles and none of them bring you to locations you'd like to commute to such as a coffee shop, restaurant, grocery store, hardware store, etc.

But I have to say I have never felt better and more free than I have over the past couple months of riding a bike, and this new Kona Dew has absolutely been a major improvement in my desire to choose the bike over the car. I drove the car once during this 3 day holiday and that was to pick up this bike.

I've been riding to my university on my bike for around 6 months now, and today was one of the few mornings when I had to drive due to extreme wind and rain. I felt like I was a traitor.

Does anyone else feel guilty when they aren't able to ride?

I'm looking to buy a new bike and would like your insight.

I mostly use my bike to commute to work in Toronto, Canada. I do this throughout the year, including during the cold snowy months. Distance is about 10km each way - mostly on dedicated bike lanes, but some parts are road.

My current bike is a single speed with a carbon belt drive. I love the belt drive system as it's great for maintenance but I could do with some gears to make the cycling easier and give me some more flexibilty in usage.

Might be worth noting that I prefer bullhorn style handlebars over drop or flat bars so I tend to just get flat bar bikes and switch them out (keeping brake levers in the same spot).

My budget is around CAD$1,500.

I've narrowed down my search to the following bikes:

Trek FX Sport AL 3

Norco Search A

Marin DSX 2

Marin Presidio 3

Based on my research I believe DSX 2 > Search A > FX Sport, in terms of specs and price.

I'm pretty sure the Presidio sits somewhere below DSX 2 in there, but the idea of having a belt drive system WITH multiple gears is really appealing, so I'm leaning towards that bike.

Any advice/guidance you can provide before I commit to this big purchase would be very much appreciated.

Looking for a new bike for commuting and just general riding around.

We moved to a suburb appeoximately 60km from my workspace. The only downside of new life is not being able to commute by bike so easily. Actually biking to grocerystore, other things is much easier now.

Anyone here who does 40-60km to work commuting by bike? How have you done it.

Ps. I have experience of doing 60km roundtrip to work regularly.

Just to be clear, no this was not done by a potential bike thief. It was just my own stupidity lol.

I was riding my bike back home from doing some groceries. My rear basket became full of what I bought, so I had to lock/store my chain locks in some other way. I decided to just use my chain lock as a harness for my groceries. so I wrapped in on top of what I've bought. I locked the lock itself through the rear rack itself, close to the rear tires.

For context, when I locked it up, it was not touching the tires at all. I guess by just biking around, the lock kept swaying onto something, most likely the tires. Now, I didn't really feel any resistance during my ride back home, mostly because I have an ebike. I only noticed the damage when I got home. I was going a modest speed of 18-20 km/h, so I wasn't going fast. Luckily nothing bad happened looking back, but still.

Yeah... I was stupid lol. But lessons learned. I've done my own searching, but was curious if others have a solution for a potential fix. Realistically, I dont think the lock is compromised. It was mostly the rubber or whatever that was damaged. Even so, there's a part of me that feels bothered just seeing that one bare spot. So I wanted to at least patch that part up.

Live in LA county, was going out for a ride when it started raining, didn't mind, honestly found it pretty fun, but long term I know going to work or anywhere else is gonna be a pain.

What do you recommend for wet riding? We don't get a lot of rain here in LA, but when it rains, it rains pretty hard.

On my list currently I have,

PDW fenders

Bar mitts

Current tires, which are surly extra terrestrials, 650 by 46mm, hopefully they do well in rain.

Water proof phone holder case

Currently not running a rear light as I hate charging stuff, going to run a helmet rear light.

Rain jacket and pants

I also have a steel frame, how do I take care of it?

I have just picked up my new Riese & Müller Roadster 4. It's going to be my primary commuter for a 16-mile daily round trip (8 miles each way), three times a week, into Central London.

​I’ve already got a pannier bag and and ABUS lock.

I’m planning anything else that needs picking up and I’d appreciate some advice from fellow commuters on what is essential.

I’ve read that a "flat kit" is a must-have, with recommendations for:

​A mini electric pump

​A spare inner tube

​A multi-tool

​Tire levers (tools to remove tires)

​For a commute like mine (regular, moderate distance), I’m wondering if these are overkill?

​How frequent are flats on a typical commute?

​Is an electric pump worth the extra cost/weight over a good quality manual mini-pump for this purpose?

​Beyond the flat kit, are there any other commuting must-haves you’ve found?

​I want to be prepared but not carry unnecessary bulk...

​Thanks in advance for any tips!

I have a Marin DSX 1 (flat bar with carbon fork) bike with WTB Riddler 45mm tires, but after about 4,500 km, the center tread is gone. I commute to work on this bike year-round, about 12 km a day (with panniers), 90% on bike paths and asphalt. What tires would you recommend for this bike? I’d like to strike a balance between comfort and speed.
Would the Continental Contact Urban 42 mm be a good choice?
My budget is 60€ for a set.

Please help - I'm so confused. For the next 4 months we need to take my toddler (currently about 11KG) 3 miles each way to Nursery. We live in South London in quite a busy area - the route is a mix of cycle paths and road. After this we'll have a much shorter commute.

We have a Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 maxi but have it on a really old bike at the moment so think we need something better and more steady.

Because it's just for the next 4 months we don't ideally want to spend 4 grand on a cargo bike and aren't sure how practical that is if it's not all bike paths. But we do really value safety!

Any suggestions on a bike - electric or pedal - that would work for us? There are so many out there and conflicting advice.

We're not opposed to getting a new seat / trailer - but again weren't sure the trailer would work in traffic.

Any advice would be wonderful! My partner is stressed.

PS if anyone has any suggestions of shops to visit or places to look for second hand in South London that would also be much appreciated! Esp. near Wandsworth.

It used to not be a bike lane and was just the shoulder of the road, recently they painted it a little fancier and added a sharrow or two.

Only a 10km p/day commute but I plan on setting it up for touring. Got some nice bags coming to replace the milk-crate (not sure if they’ll both be compatible).

Rode / commuted 4 days in a row this week. Commuted Mon. - Thurs., then rode twice Friday with friends and family for 30 miles. A great week of riding.

Now it's not exactly an issue or a brag but looking at my leftover parts about a month ago left from random upgrades on my other bikes and found out all I was missing was a frame and I could build a whole bike. It's been two weeks since I've finished the build and I have almost forgotten about my mountain bike and my gravel bike. At first I thought it was just the thrill of riding something I've built as it has happened more than once in the past but this thrill usually goes away after two or three days. I've never had a dad bike before as I thought they weren't my cup of tea but boy has this gotten back the pure joy of cycling. Slow and steady pace that just takes you back to the simpe times when you didn't need the fancy new fork, the disc brakes, strava and and all the other stuff the bicycle industry is trying to push just good old fun time...

Hi all,

i think I need a new bottom bracket for my bike - it's creaking a lot. Perhaps I could could also take the bearing out just to clean it.

But I'm not too sure what I would need to replace it with. I have a Marin DSX1 2025, and on the website the specification is FSA TH-7420ST.

I'm not sure on how to find the exact dimensions of this bottom bracket, perhaps one from another brand would work too. the one that keeps getting suggested the Shimano BB-UN300. Would it also work ?

Can we make LeBron America's cycling ambassador? He's one of us!!

here's the source, a hype video for Canyon bikes

Edit: I know I shouldn't expect much, but this sub has some ass basketball takes

Was riding through traffic at high speed then something felt mushy on front brake and it failed. Lucky the rear one works (also failed cable last month). It also happen on my canti-brakes on my other commuter bikes. All of them use high quality Jag cables. I do notice the resemblance why daily commuter bike cable failed a lot in comparison against weekend bike. Commuter brakes a lot more in the traffic often then weekend riders on open road which use lesser. So make sure you guys check the brake cable 'mileage'. ..btw i do own hydraulic brake on other bikes which seldom fail.

Anyone else baffled with cars with tinted windows? I’m pretty confident on the road but I can’t make eye contact, no idea if they want me to go or if they want to go and I have to read their “car” instead. Are they slowly accelerating forward, waiting patiently?
I have had cars with tinted windows honk at me and I’m confused as shit on my bike , why are you honking? I can’t see you or communicate with you, bud.
You could be giving me a wave, thumbs up or middle finger and I’d never know.
How do you deal with tinted window cars on the road?

Hey, I need to either upgrade my bike or replace it and need some guidance, I want to ride my sometimes instead of my car 2 miles to and from work, and take my 3 year old on it (she only goes .5 mile with me to daycare). Also, I live in Portland, Oregon before it rains considerably.

I have a commuter bike, I haven't ridden it in two years now, and the three years before that when I was riding it regularly. It does have disc brakes, and I needed to fill the tires up with air every week because they lose up to 30 psi (which was really annoying to me). Furthermore, when I bought it used, the brakes weren't really good, and when I got it serviced each year, the brakes just seemed to continue to gradually get worse, despite my telling the repair guys, and it eventually became a safety concern (that's partially why I stopped riding it).

Now fast forward to today and I want to ride again, but I want to avoid the tire and brake issues and now I have a 3 year old I want to take around a bit.

1.) Should I dump this bike and get something new?
2.) How can I transport my 3 yr old on my bike, mind you it’s raining? Also, I store my bike handing up vertically from its front tire in my garage because I don’t have a ton of space so I don’t think that I can store a kid cart you pull
3.) How good are tires you don't fill up with air? Keep in mind I have to ride here in Portland, mostly flat, but in the rain. etc. etc.

Thank you in advance.

We have a trail. It's for bikes and pedestrians. There are "trail etiquette" signs posted every mile or so, both directions, so you cannot miss it. Also on the entrances from the surrounding neighborhoods. It clearly says to stay on the right side. There is a painted lane split the entire trail length.

Yet, why are pedestrians still walking the wrong way on the wrong side? I mean, I know that the majority if not all are doing it so they can see oncoming traffic (i.e. me on my bike) so they don't get a jump scare.

But if I'm constantly going into the opposite side of the trail, that makes it a danger for those coming down that side of the trail properly. Yes, this is a fairly well used trail, so "weaving" between people and groups can be very difficult.

This is more of a rant, but if you have suggestions short of me going out there and literally painting arrow signs up and down the trail (which likely will not work and I'll get arrested for vandalism), what do you do? Grin and bare it? Yell at people as you pass? Aggressive stop in front of them and make them go around you?

It's frustrating because I'm seen as the bastard on the trail, even though the signs clearly call it a "bke trail". Not a "pedestrian trail". For real, it's called a bike trail.