Bicycles
A Handy Guide to Climbing Grades
Why Dutch Bikes are Better (and why you should want one)
Using a car alternator with a bike to power my home? How much energy can I produce?!
Guide to Buying a Commuter Bike
Bicycles π²
Bicycles π²
I have a bicycle at home but it’s been sitting along the wall for almost a decade now as I got tired of broken spokes. Ever since I got that bike it was in the shop for spoke repairs – I did some myself but some are quite hard to repair on that bike. A couple other parts and the derailer are broken now. It probably could be rebuilt for not that much money, but I can’t have it being junker that breaks down all of the time.
I should think about getting a bicycle now, especially if I am thinking about going without a car next year. I should see how practical it is to get around town on a bicycle, along with use of public transit. It would save so much money if I could go a few years without a car, and only rent one during vacations. It would improve my health, burn calories and let me learn more about my community. Not to mention really lower my carbon footprint!
I’ve started looking at Facebook at people selling bicycles. Used bicycles aren’t particularly expensive, although I am not sure what kind of bicycle I would want to get. Reliablity has to be top priority, and the ability to mount a basket on it for carrying supplies like groceries home from the store. I don’t mind doing maintenance on my bicycle, but it can’t be regularly breaking down when I’m 10 or 20 miles away from home — especially if it’s my primary way to get around town.
If I can’t get any use out of the old bicycle, I am thinking I could donate it to Troy Bicycle Rescue or some other group that restores bicycles for community use.