Snag a ride on Craigslist and save!

I was doing a bit of research and found a great ad on Craigslist for anyone in the Boston, Mass area.

Someone is cleaning out their basement and claims to be disposing of 2 bicycles as soon as possible.

The best part is, they are free!

https://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/zip/5070736362.html

This is actually not a craigslist bike.

I've had a lot of luck finding bicycles for close to or actually no money on Craigslist over the years, and it has saved me a lot of money in the long run.

Even if you have to spend 65 dollars on a tune up, you will still come out way ahead if your bicycle only cost 100 dollars in the first place, and there are a lot of deals where your bike might even be free.

Spinning my wheels: Selecting a bike trainer that's right for me

I'm considering getting a bike trainer to practice with on stormy days and nights.

I've looked into it a little bit, and there are a lot of different options to consider.

One could go for a magnetic trainer, with resistance provided by pure physical magnetism, or a liquid or air based trainer that provides resistance with fluid resistance, which increases with the speed at which one pedals.

Another option would be to get a set of rollers, and just go to town in my basement or garage riding at a ridiculous clip.

Finally, I could buy a used spinner or exercise cycle, which would probably be pretty cheap, but then I'd have to find a way to bring it home. I'd probably be able to snag one on Cragslist relatively easily.

Has anyone out there decided on a trainer?

Any suggestions?

Cycling in not-so-good weather conditions

If you live in the Northeast and you like to ride, every once in a while you end up stuck on the wrong side of your commute during rain, light snow, hail, or heavy winds. While some would say that this is a perfect opportunity to use some of the money that you've saved from not driving to call a cab or take the bus, I like to take a different approach.

Instead of immediately giving up on the idea of cycling, I assess the potential risks versus the potential benefits of taking my bike as I had planned versus relying on public or private transport.

So long as I am not jeapordizing my safety by riding in situations where there is poor visibility, unsuitable road conditions, or a high likelihood of being hit in the head with something heavy, I usually try to tough it out.

Today is a great example. I made it to my destination this morning without a hassle, but the forecast says rain.

I should be fine on the bike path to get back home, visibility is likely to be good and there is little traffic or heavy wind. If it looks like things are a little hairy, I have my cell phone and the cash for a cab, so I have little to worry about.

If the weatherman is incorrect and the predicted shower is a true deluge, I might just try to hitch a ride with someone back to my place. Safety comes first.

Remember why you ride your bike. I ride my bike for fun first and frugality second. If I'm not having fun, I don't ride.

A thought on frugally purchasing tubes and tires

I will be the first to admit that it can be daunting selecting which tires and tubes to put onto your bicycle. If you ask online there are a lot of "wise old men of the forums" that will tell you to buy Gator Skins or some other more expensive tire, and either go tubeless or buy special tubes.

I have also found the mentality that will tell you to buy the cheapo Chinese tires and tubes and just keep repairing them until they fall apart.

I am actually somewhere in the middle (and below) both camps. I actually have never purchased tires individually for a bicycle, but I have purchased wheels with tires installed,and I've bought a number of tubes and patch kits.

In my opinion, tubes will pop and tires will get nails and screws in them. That is just the way of things. If you choose to go tubeless, you could still run over some broken glass or nails, or just come down too hard after a bump or pothole, burp a few PSI out of your tire and leave yourself running flat.

I recommend just holding onto your tires, whatever ones are on your bike, until you can't manage to keep riding them due to poor traction, and then replace them with whatever your local shop has in stock to fit your bike. As for tubes, they are very cheap, so I just keep an extra one on hand (duct taped to the top tube) and a pump strapped to my bike in case I need to replace on on the road or the trail. While I have run into this necessity before, I am usually able to walk to an air machine at a gas station and use my emergency cash stash in my seat bag to fill the replacement tube.

As for the cost, as I said I've never had to purchase tires, but I have bought well over 10 replacement tubes. My local shops sell replacement tubes for my wheel size for 2 or 3 dollars, and I normally buy 3 at a time.

Night Riding is Tons of Fun, but comes with a particular set of risks

If the frequent cars and high speeds of daylight driving have you turned off of the idea of cycling, trying night riding is a viable alternative, but there are a number of risks and benefits that you should take into account.

The Good:

Riding at night often comes with many fewer cars on the road, which means you have fewer vehicles to deal with. Depending on the road conditions in your area, these cars could be going faster or slower than they would in the day, and it's definitely worth looking into ahead of the ride.

Cooler temperatures are usually prevalent in the night time, and that can be a real life saver, especially if you live in an area where it is normally very hot during the day. Night riding can make cycling tolerable.

The Bad:

Visibility is decreased at night, and while this can be compensated for to a certain degree by lights on your bicycle, body, and clothing, you might still blend in with the dark, especially if your bicycle or gear doesn't have any reflective material.

Obstacles are common when riding at night. Many cars park in bicycle lanes, regardless of prevailing laws in the area, and there are also frequently disposal containers, construction projects, and in some cases animals all over the road.

Time constraints can be a limiting factor for many cyclists. This might be dependent on your length of commute, but I had a 90 minute commute at one point in time. If you can't really manage to leave home at 5 AM to get to your office by 6:30 AM and leave the office park area at 6:30 PM to get back home by 8 PM, it might not be feasible. I could make it work as a single guy with no dependents, but if I had children, responsibilities, or other commitments I might not be able to swing it.

Regardless of why you want to ride at night, there are a lot of things that you need to take into account for your safety. The most important of those are lighting and protective clothing.

Most states in the US require a strong white light in the front of the bicycle, and a flashing red light in the back of the bicycle.

In addition to that it is wise to add additional lights to your clothing, luggage, and bike in relevant positions, like along your helmet, on the edges of your handlebars, and attached to your backpack and panniers.

Spring Cleaning your Bike

I think that there are a lot of cyclists and casual riders that let their bicycles sit in the garage or, god forbid, out in the snow over the winter. It's a big challenge that can seem overwhelming to clean out and prepare your bike for a ride in the spring, and there are a lot of things to think about.

That being said, it's quite possible to spring clean your bike all by yourself, with only household tools and some elbow grease.

You'll likely need a few different things, I usually gather together a good plastic brush, some detergent, a few rags, and a clean container of water. I start out by trying to run the chain through the gears, and if the chain doesn't bind on any of the links there is no need to replace it. After running the chain through, clean it up by running the chain through a soapy rag. Scrub the gears and the sprockets with the brush and make sure to wash and rinse with soap and water.

Finally, you should rinse through the chain and the gears, and run the chain until it and the gears dry up.

Once the drivetrain is clean, you can hose down the rest of the bike and give it a quick wipe with a clean rag.

After your bike is all clean, you need to decide how you want to lubricate the chain and gears. I use used motor oil as lubricant, because I have a surplus and it's essentially free since I have a car. Other options include gear oil, graphite, WD-40, and petroleum jelly. It really doesn't matter what you use to lubricate so long as you clean regularly and lubricate regularly.

Back on the Trail

I made it back to my local bike trails this weekend.

It felt nice finally getting my tires dirty, but it felt nicer getting back to my apartment and cleaning up in the hot water. I got really cold while I was out, probably because I wasn't fully insulated against the wind and moisture.

Hopefully next time I head out for a ride of any distance I'll be in warmer weather, or warmer clothes.