Bicycle for college?

[Zeldabee]

Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> zeldabee <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Not really. I've used a cargo trailer without problems, but wouldn't feel comfortable with a
> >baby in a trailer in the city. Depending on childcare arrangements, it's looking like I won't be
> >able to commute by bike until he's old enough for a bike seat, and I'm not so sure how I feel
> >about those.
>
> On a MTB, I've seen the soft sling back-pack carriers work for infants.

Yeah...my first thought was, I'll carry him in a sling and ride. I'm planning to use a sling anyway.
The only thing is, if I go down, he goes down with me...and he's got no protection at all,
especially if I land on him.

I wish there was some kind of full-baby-body helmet-type backpack I could use. Like a hard
capsule-shaped pack. That way, if the baby goes flying, he's got some protection.

Actually, I have a feeling that I may be a fairly nervous parent. Just the thought of taking even a
minor spill with the baby just makes me shudder.

> Of course, as always, Sheldon Brown has the answer: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/carrababy.html

I like it. It's low-tech, simple. Mustn't spoil the child, after all.

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

 

[F. Golightly]

My youngest son, (away at college), Junior next year... is on his third bicycle. His first was a
about $300... (dependable)... it disappeared. His second bike was one that he borrowed from a
roommate that was left behind.... and his third was one that someone left at his house.

All very good "campus commuters".

Expensive bikes are stolen... less expensive bikes get passed around.

fwiw

"bluesman5920" <[email protected]>
> A lot of people have said that any bike I take to college will be stolen

 

[Mark Freedman]

garmonboezia <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> wrote in message news:<qbXCa.50272$M01.36360@sccrnsc02>...
> [email protected] (bluesman5920) wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > So, taking out the seat (or replacing the mechanism), several decent locks, and I should be set
> > to go? Also the bike that I mentioned

Run a cable lock through the wheels, frame, and seat rails and immovable object (if possible).
And U-lock the rear wheel to the frame and an immovable object. You can also undo the front wheel
and U-lock it to the rear wheel, frame, and immovable object.

Bike shops sell replacement quick-release levers which take a key (allen key? never looked) which
you take with you. Presumably any thief who buys a set of those will have the same key But
they discourage casual theft.

> AND attach to a firm metal upright like a no parking sign.

bwahahahaha. Around here signs are bolted onto their base - less than a minute with a wrench
allows the post to be lifted up through the U-lock. At least if the rear wheel is locked to the
frame, the thief can't just ride away.

Some poles aren't even bolted - they just lift out. And thieves have unscrewed parking meters
(back when we had those) and lifted the u-lock over the top of the post.

Not sure how secure "post-and-ring" is. Looks like the ring would just unbolt.

Some people cover the frame with tape (leaves residue, may pull the paint off depending on which
kind of tape). An old torn seat or seat cover, shabby handlebar tape (road bike), dirt (not on
the chain or gears or rims or brake shoes). Camoflague is a creative outlet.

hth

 

[Mark Freedman]

"jacques" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> To summarize: your bike will most likely be stolen, vandalized, it will take you 10 minutes to
> lock your 3 different locks, you will carry with you 1 helmet, 1 saddle and two wheels. ;-) Still,
> don't feel discouraged by everything they say !
>
> Cheers Jacques

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned that all the suitable immovable objects will be taken, so it's
best to carry your own immovable object with you. That way you always have something to which you
can lock your bike.

hth

 

[Mark Freedman]

zeldabee <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

>> > Of course, as always, Sheldon Brown has the answer:
> > http://www.sheldonbrown.com/carrababy.html
>
> I like it. It's low-tech, simple. Mustn't spoil the child, after all.

If you don't want to spoil the child, you need a trail-a-bike. Teach him/her to pull his weight
at an early age.

(somebody, somewhere MUST have found a way to tap into all that waving of arms and legs? No?
Maybe the crying and screaming? Who needs an air horn when you've got "junior" on tap)

 

[Pete]

"zeldabee" <[email protected]> wrote
>
> I wish there was some kind of full-baby-body helmet-type backpack I could use. Like a hard
> capsule-shaped pack. That way, if the baby goes flying, he's got some protection.

Full body armor, much like antibiotic soap, may do more harm than good in the long term. The child
never learns the reflexes to protect him/herself in a fall.

Now...if *you* land on him...that's a whole different story.

>
> Actually, I have a feeling that I may be a fairly nervous parent. Just the thought of taking even
> a minor spill with the baby just makes me shudder.

I slowspeed rolled my homemade trailer[1] with my son (age 1.5?) in it once. I looked at him, he
looked at me, and he started laughing his butt off.

A chest mounted sling may eject the child in a forward motion fall. Or you may land on top of him.
Rear mount bike seats are pretty inclusive. Pretty much a baby rollbar.

Pete
[1] Ex adult upright trike, front end cut off and replaced with a wee trailer tongue. Regular baby
car seat bolted to the back. Enough room to carry two kids and 30-40 lbs of groceries.

 

[Garmonboezia]

Have a look. Do you see any hint of a QR lever on the seatpost?
http://www.trekbikes.com/bikes/2003/mountain/4100.jsp

Geeze. Prudent measures against theft are one thing, but some of you are projecting your urban
combat stories onto ...Oklahoma. I've lived in small towns where you didn't even need a lock. Sure,
it's a college town so I would lock up everywhere, but it's not the same thing as locking up a bike
overnight in downtown Seattle. I'd never do that, at least not with a bike I cared about.

"Firm metal upright" isn't something you lift out or unbolt. It's set into concrete.

I've never had a bike stolen that was fastened in the manner I describe. It also renders the bike
unridable. In fact passers by have asked if the bike was broken. That's not a bad impression to give
IMO especially to a potential thief.

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On 2 Jun 2003 17:09:34 -0700, [email protected] (Luigi de Guzman) wrote:

>I'm a grad student in London; it's a big busy city and the building I live in has nowhere to store
>bicycles indoors (not anywhere they'd *let* us store bikes anyway) so I ride an UGLY pink mixte
>(that's a girls' bike) with a 3-speed hub brake. It's ugly enough that nobody wants to steal it
>(and it's locked up decently). I leave it outside to deal with the weather. If I had different
>arrangements--secure indoor bike storage, say--I would have brought my nice bike from home.

Heh. Pink. The student bike population here has a fairly sizable percentage of bikes that are
spraypainted over in colors like fluorescent green, silver, gold, pink, gall yellow, or anything
else that's very distinctive and incredibly ugly. Doing this without using masking tape and without
lifting any components off, with the possible exception of the saddle, also means the value of the
bike decreases to approximately zero, and less than zero for a thief -- distinctive means easy to
track down, and a cop might take interest.

(though I'm talking about hub geared bikes (or sometimes singlespeeds) with fully enclosed
chaincases. Don't get spraypaint on the drivetrain.)

Jasper

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On Tue, 03 Jun 2003 06:25:26 GMT, garmonboezia <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> wrote:

>I think you could live with one good U-lock as long as you remove the front wheel and run the lock
>through the frame and both wheels AND attach to a firm metal upright like a no parking sign.

Okay, I've been a student.. and this is just not gonna work. You're going to want to use the bike to
commute a few hundred meters at times to move across campus, plus use it when you got out of the
bar, and having to fiddle with wheels coing off and on with that kind of use.. I just don't see it
happening.

Jasper

 

[Zeldabee]

Jasper Janssen <[email protected]> wrote:
> garmonboezia <cthvlhv@r'lyeh.arg> wrote:
>
> >I think you could live with one good U-lock as long as you remove the front wheel and run the
> >lock through the frame and both wheels AND attach to a firm metal upright like a no parking sign.
>
> Okay, I've been a student.. and this is just not gonna work. You're going to want to use the bike
> to commute a few hundred meters at times to move across campus, plus use it when you got out of
> the bar, and having to fiddle with wheels coing off and on with that kind of use.. I just don't
> see it happening.

It shouldn't be necessary. Two locks, make sure they go through both wheels. Besides, if you're
going a few hundred meters, you could always walk. It only takes me 30 seconds to lock up, anyway,
and I'm in NYC.

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

 

[Zeldabee]

"Pete" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "zeldabee" <[email protected]> wrote
> >
> > I wish there was some kind of full-baby-body helmet-type backpack I could use. Like a hard
> > capsule-shaped pack. That way, if the baby goes flying, he's got some protection.
>
> Full body armor, much like antibiotic soap, may do more harm than good in the long term. The child
> never learns the reflexes to protect him/herself in a fall.

I'm only talking about something to transport him in while he's an infant. Once he's big enough, I'd
imagine I'll have him in a seat. No comment on training him how to fall. He'll get plenty of
training in that once he's running around.

As for antibiotic soap, I never touch the stuff.

> Now...if *you* land on him...that's a whole different story.

That's the problem, of course. Some people claim they know how to fall, but IME when I have had
spills (not that it happens often, but it does happen), it's too fast and chaotic to control.

> > Actually, I have a feeling that I may be a fairly nervous parent. Just the thought of taking
> > even a minor spill with the baby just makes me shudder.
>
> I slowspeed rolled my homemade trailer[1] with my son (age 1.5?) in it once. I looked at him, he
> looked at me, and he started laughing his butt off.

Well, they're easy to entertain.

> A chest mounted sling may eject the child in a forward motion fall. Or you may land on top of him.
> Rear mount bike seats are pretty inclusive. Pretty much a baby rollbar.

As soon as he's big enough, I'll probably try one of those.

> [1] Ex adult upright trike, front end cut off and replaced with a wee trailer tongue. Regular baby
> car seat bolted to the back. Enough room to carry two kids and 30-40 lbs of groceries.

Sounds cool.

BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

 

[Zoot Katz]

04 Jun 2003 17:13:44 GMT, <[email protected]>, zeldabee
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?

On an XtraCycle there'd be room for both. http://www.xtracycle.com/

On a conventional bike, leg-room takes the place of pannier bags though it looks like you might fit
small front panniers with some styles of kindersitze.

http://www.vitelli.ch/shop/index.html
--
zk

 

[Zeldabee]

Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> zeldabee <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?
>
> On an XtraCycle there'd be room for both. http://www.xtracycle.com/

I hate those things, though. If you want a real cargo bike, better off with a trike. You can carry
more stuff. Ok, I never rode one, so I have no idea how they handle, and I probably don't know what
I'm talking about.

> On a conventional bike, leg-room takes the place of pannier bags though it looks like you might
> fit small front panniers with some styles of kindersitze.
>
> http://www.vitelli.ch/shop/index.html

Nah, wouldn't work. I'd had these visions of touring with the sprog, but it'd have to be with a
trailer, which doesn't appeal to me.

I guess a slightly extended rear rack contraption wouldn't work. Or anything that would allow you to
attach a bag to the back of the seat...it would throw too much weight too far back. You also
couldn't use a CanCart-type trailer with a babyseat, because it attaches to the seatpost. So much
for CostCo runs with the sprog.

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

 

[Robert Chung]

"zeldabee" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> > zeldabee <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > >BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?
> >
> > On an XtraCycle there'd be room for both. http://www.xtracycle.com/
>
> I hate those things, though. If you want a real cargo bike, better off
with
> a trike. You can carry more stuff. Ok, I never rode one, so I have no idea how they handle, and I
> probably don't know what I'm talking about.

There's a short review of the Xtracycle here: http://www.ucolick.org/~de/AltTrans/FreeRadical.html

I was in Amsterdam this last weekend, and I was lusting after this:
http://www.tmannetje.nl/nederlandstalig/detail_info/kindervervoer/filiduo.htm and this:
http://www.bakfiets.nl/cb_uk/index_e.html

Also while in Amsterdam, I saw plenty of these, which are being discussed in another thread here in
r.b.m: http://www.bobike.nl/en/ouders/assortiment/bobike_mini/bobike_mini.htm

A North American version, slightly fancier, is: http://www.centricsafehaven.com/description.htm

 

[Zeldabee]

"Robert Chung" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "zeldabee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Zoot Katz <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > zeldabee <[email protected]> wrote:
> > > >
> > > >BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?
> > >
> > > On an XtraCycle there'd be room for both. http://www.xtracycle.com/
> >
> > I hate those things, though. If you want a real cargo bike, better off
> with
> > a trike. You can carry more stuff. Ok, I never rode one, so I have no idea how they handle, and
> > I probably don't know what I'm talking about.
>
> There's a short review of the Xtracycle here: http://www.ucolick.org/~de/AltTrans/FreeRadical.html

I guess I'd really have to lok at one in person. It seems like a major kludge for not very much
cargo capability, judging from looking at the pictures. Then again, there would obviously be room
for cargo *and* childseat.

> I was in Amsterdam this last weekend, and I was lusting after this:
> http://www.tmannetje.nl/nederlandstalig/detail_info/kindervervoer/filiduo .htm

Too cruiser. I'd need low gears for carrying cargo plus kid...even though NYC isn't really hilly,
there are still bridges and some small hills that feel like bigger hills when carrying a load.

> and this: http://www.bakfiets.nl/cb_uk/index_e.html

Too big and clunky...nowhere to store it. It *is* sort of cool, though, like a pedicab. But again,
you get into the realm of super-huge dedicated cargo bike. I like the idea of a solution that
utilizes one of my existing bikes.

> Also while in Amsterdam, I saw plenty of these, which are being discussed in another thread here
> in r.b.m: http://www.bobike.nl/en/ouders/assortiment/bobike_mini/bobike_mini.htm
>
> A North American version, slightly fancier, is: http://www.centricsafehaven.com/description.htm

I don't like the looks of those. I'd feel safer with the kid behind me.

--
z e l d a b e e @ p a n i x . c o m http://NewsReader.Com/

 

[Mike Kruger]

"zeldabee" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:20030604131343.907$vN_-
>
> BTW, anyone know if you can also use pannier bags with a child seat installed?

Shouldn't be a problem with front panniers.

 

[Jim West]

In article <[email protected]>, bluesman5920 wrote:
> I am looking to buy a bicycle for college (Oklahoma State University). I went to my local bike
> shop and found a Trek 4100 Alpha that I really liked ($250). For the college atmosphere, I thought
> this very inexpensive mountain bike would be a good choice.
>
> A lot of people have said that any bike I take to college will be stolen and that I really need
> like a brown 70's broken bike to have any hope of not getting one stolen. Should I even take a
> bike to college and if so what should I take? Will the above-mentioned bike be ok and what could I
> do to secure it?

I wouldn't worry too much about bike theft here at OSU (at least on campus itself). We seem to have
much less of a problem than other college campuses. Just make sure you lock it securely and you
should be fine. Someone mentioned Sheldon Brown's web page on the matter
(http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html) earlier in the thread. If you follow that strategy
you are very unlikely to have a problem here. As an anecdote, about five years ago we had a Schwinn
World that we didn't want any more, so I decided to donate it to a student and conduct a little
experiment at the same time by parking it unlocked at the rack in front of my building. It was still
there three weeks later when I left for sabbatical. I have no idea how long it ultimately lasted.
(This was summer, though, so far less traffic. Still, I understand this would be totally unheard of
at most other campuses.)

My advice would be to go ahead and get the bike you like.

Jim

PS If you want to get more involved in riding while here check out
http://www.okstate.edu/osu_orgs/obc/ We also have r egular group of road riders.