I am in the market to get a new commuter bike. I have a 9 mile one-way commute, and I want to start riding to work in the morning and busing home (with the bike) in the evening. Currently I ride the bus both ways, and put my old beater bike on the bus rack.
My non-engineer observation is that the bus starting and stopping puts a lot of stress on a bike in places a bike is not designed to be stressed. For example, the bike is locked in by the wheels, but the top is free to tilt forward and back. Even with that arm over the front tire, the bikes shift around quite a bit. Anyway, I really didn't care about this with the old bike, but I don't want to inflict damage on a new bike that I expect to ride about 200 miles per month.
Questions:
--Is this bus rack observation off base? Is this anything to be concerned about?
--Would you put your "good" bike on a bus 5-days a week, 52 weeks a year for 30 minute trips?
Thanks.
My non-engineer observation is that the bus starting and stopping puts a lot of stress on a bike in places a bike is not designed to be stressed. For example, the bike is locked in by the wheels, but the top is free to tilt forward and back. Even with that arm over the front tire, the bikes shift around quite a bit. Anyway, I really didn't care about this with the old bike, but I don't want to inflict damage on a new bike that I expect to ride about 200 miles per month.
Questions:
--Is this bus rack observation off base? Is this anything to be concerned about?
--Would you put your "good" bike on a bus 5-days a week, 52 weeks a year for 30 minute trips?
Thanks.