Text 24040, 109 rader
Skriven 2007-12-12 13:11:04 av Carol Shenkenberger (1:261/1466.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Joan Macdiarmid
Ärende: Bicycles
================
 -=> Quoting Joan Macdiarmid to Carol Shenkenberger <=-

 CS> ___ slight digression--
 CS> Bike guy just got the cultech's snow tires.  He thinks it's neat to
 CS> have actual snow tires.  He'd heard-tell of them, but not seen them

 JM> Interesting to me, I consider myself a bike person
 JM> in many ways but I didn't know about these
 JM> innovations for people who rely on them for
 JM> life functions. USA doesn't think of such very
 JM> much. And doesn't allow for the option much. I miss

Well, it's like in the USA, people think of bikes as a summer only thing. 
Elsewhere, year round use.  All hours too.

 JM> problem than the fact that it's dark before I
 JM> leave work now. I can get out sometimes on

Ok, I had to use mine in the dark.  It's not hard but you need good lights.
You also need multiple lights with different spread patterns and distances
set for them.  If you also have the pedal powered one, thats ok but never use 
that as your only (goes out when you stop).

Arrangement I used:
1- halogen wide beam, about 15 feet wide spread set for 20 feet ahead of my
 front wheel with main view at 10-15 feet ahead

1- Spot beam halogen with an angle neck.  Looked like a book lamp on steroids.
I angled this one to 5 ft and it gave me a good view of the immediate area

1- flashlight, nothing special, tucked in the front basket and angled down, set
for the 7-8ft range

1- spare halogen wide beam, seldom needed it too but in snow or sleet, it was 
handy to angle it to add more light.  Mostly it was kept as a ready spare as
the others could go out with less than 30 seconds notice and then you are
stuck.

1- back light, flashes

1- back light, low beam, on rear tire.  Makes you even more visible.

So you got 6 lights, 5 in use in the dark and 1 ready spare. Plus I always had
some spare AA batteries in my backpack.  All the lights dismounted and went
in the backpack when parked.

You might consider this 'overkill' and few other Americans had that many, but 
quite a few Japanese did.  I was much more comfortable with the idea of 3 miles
in the dark with all the extra lights.  I was also careful to aim them so I 
didnt blind drivers (a bad thing some do, they think they are more 'visible'
but
it causes more problems and aimed at the ground, your lights are fine for 
visible to a car in the dark).

 JM> weekends. I never heard of a cultech bike before
 JM> your mention! But I did rely on a bike all through

Its ok. I did a web search and the only reference I found with a picture, was
the cheaper USA version racer bike.  Not the same thing at all.

If i have it right, in the USA if you are to spend more than 300$ on a bike, it
will be a european racer model (Tour De France).  In Japan, the use is too high
to make those last long enough to be worth the price.  In the USA a 'light
frame
you can pick up' is a selling point fer goshsakes!

I dunno how much the Cultech pedigree clysdale ;-) weighs but I couldnt pick it
up even before my back went wonky.  Don has trouble too.  It doesnt have a 
'kickstand' but a tripod <g>.

Youd also have to know about bikes to see it's worth.  It doenst really look
'all that special' especially after 7 years of being parked in the rain
outside.

 JM> When they complain about increases in tuition
 JM> and fees, do they recognize the improvements in
 JM> accommodations like parking lot maintenance they
 JM> kept demanding as a part of the cost of education?

Nope.  Me, I'd be wanting more bike racks probably ;-)
 
 CS> snow and ice at times. Riding in when it was dark still one day and
 CS> taking a gainer over an ice patch over a bridge (fell in the road!)
 CS> taught me the need. I was very lucky to not be run over by a car.

 JM> I have had a moment like that, too, though not
 JM> involving ice, just loose gravel. Watched a few wheels
 JM> whoosh by my head! A prof from my department saw this
 JM> and stopped to help me get off the road (one of the
 JM> really nice ones). My answer to this was that I could
 JM> no longer bike to work on this route. The traffic had
 JM> become too intense and there were no alternate lanes
 JM> for bikes or pedestrians.

Unfortunate.  I had to deal with gravel many a time and it can be a problem.  
Thats why the intermediate distance light got added. Part of the trail for me
was though the shipyards.  When we were in 'drydock' (Fort McHenry) I had 
actually a 5 mile each way ride to get to work and the nasty part of the ship
yard with lots of gravel.  I had to be at work about 1 hour before sun-up.

              xxcarol



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