Mailbag: It’s 46 degrees — let’s talk about bikes
Posted on March 11th, 2008 – 1:22 PMBy Roadguy
Daylight saving time and relatively tropical temperatures are having an effect on local transportation: Roadguy saw numerous bicycles crossing the new Midtown Greenway bridge over Hiawatha Avenue yesterday evening while he was driving nearby. And alert reader Michelle from Maplewood is among those who have biking on their minds:
I’ve been increasing my time commuting to work/running errands by bike and decreasing my car time. A few months ago you mentioned some local stores that were good for baskets and other items to add to bikes to make the bikes more friendly for carrying shopping bags (cloth of course, not paper OR plastic!) and other things. I can’t find this column any longer and haven’t had luck with online searches of local bike shops. Can you share the info again? Thanks!
The Roadguy blog archive has indeed become somewhat unwieldy — I tried searching for the recommendations, but they’re scattered in various posts and comments. So I figured that, because bike folks like to talk about bikes, if I posted the question, Michelle would get plenty of answers in the comments below.
Also biking-related is this editorial from the Oregonian, the daily newspaper out in Portland. Portland is the No. 1 biking city in the country, just ahead of Minneapolis, and it’s hoping to get even more bike-friendly. (Thanks to alert reader Matty for the link.) With gas prices hitting a new high today, pedaling certainly has some appeal.
17 Responses to "Mailbag: It’s 46 degrees — let’s talk about bikes"
I would think any bike shop would have something. Might be a little spendy, but still cheaper per-mile than a tank of gas!
I like the side panniers, cuz they can collapse down when you are not carrying any goods. I hate backpacks. My wifey used one. I tried it and I was weaving all over the road. I installed some side packs on her bike from an old bike the same day!
Most of the good bike shops in town will sell panniers - racks & bags that go over the real wheel of a bike. These come in a variety of styles, from full water proof & covered to open to collapsible.
Also check out the new offering from Surly bikes (mpls company) - the Big Dummy (http://www.surlybikes.com/bigdummy.html) - again a number of the better bike shops in town will have these available in complete form (not just frames). These are great as cargo haulers.
Hiawatha Cyclery specializes in practical transportation gear (hiawathacyclery.com). My other favorites are The Hub Bike Coop (thehubbikecoop.org) and Freewheel Bike (freewheelbike.com).
Most of us cyclists must be outside bicycling. I think I’ll make myself a peanut butter sandwich and then join everyone outside. Besides, I have a few photos I need to compose on this beautiful day.
Welcome to the club Michelle. Unlike some clubs, the cycling community is not exclusive and we have many sub-communities so everyone can feel welcome.
More props to panniers. I bought them for my bike two summers ago, they are great for getting groceries (they are typically sized so that you can drop a paper grocery sack right in one), taking my clothes/shoes to work, throwing my laptop in, etc.
one of my panniers has handles so I take it with me in the grocery store and use it while I’m shopping too. It’s really hard to buy too much when you have your bag with you in the store. 
carrying a backpack is difficult on a bike, and I used to get some major back pain, so I avoid it now.
I bought this rack from Freewheel a couple years ago - http://www.surlybikes.com/parts.html (you have to click on “Nice Rack” (!!) next to the “depot”). I have tried other racks but like this one because it has many adjustments for heights and angles. Its arms sit pretty far back which prevents the pannier from getting eaten up by the rear wheel.
The panniers on my rack were manufactured to be mounted somewhat permanently to the rack which I didnt really want. The back of the pannier had two metal hooks which were meant to hook onto the rack, instead I hooked a dog leash spring-loaded-thingy to each hook and then used the dog leash attachment to hook onto the rack.
I have a set of Ortlieb Shopper panniers (they have these at Hub on Minnehaha in Minneapolis). These are basically waterproof grocery panniers though I carry more than just groceries in them. Like all Ortliebs and some other brands, they lock onto the bike’s rack so they won’t bounce off. You might also check out Hiawatha Cyclery, Calhoun Cycles, Freewheel and REI.
I’d be talking bikes, but someone stole mine out of my garage this morning. :-/
since my last one was a cheap Target model, I’m looking for suggestions for a decent bike for city riding that won’t cost a ton
ehren,
That’s horrible to hear, but the thief actually did you a favor if you had a Target model. Like most stuff sold at Target or Wal-Mart, the bicycles should be considered disposable. The parts are horribly substandard and when they break they cannot be fixed–you need to replace the entire bicycle. This is one of the results of the economic race to the bottom paradigm of low prices and low wages.
For an affordable ride around town, I would suggest visiting one of our many independent bicycle shops to look for a used road bike. I would recommend a single speed conversion for low maintenance riding around town. The single speed has less pieces to care for and you can experiment with different sizes of chain rings and cogs in order to find the best gear ratio for you.
One local shop where I’ve purchased such used bicycles is Sunrise Cyclery now located on Bryant and Lake in Minneapolis:
http://www.sunrise-cyclery.com/
You can also become a member of the Minnepolis Bike Love forum where you can ask for advice from any number of cyclists from all over the metro area:
Good luck getting back in the saddle!
In my opinion, don’t get the type of rack that just attaches to the seat post. I got one last year and I hate it. I thought I’d like it because it would be easy to switch between bikes, so I wouldn’t need 2 of them. It doesn’t stay centered over the rear tire very well, especially if you have a lot of heavy stuff in the pack.
I usually go to the Hub on Minnehaha Ave - I mainly started going there because it’s on my way, but I have always found it to be a good shop. They have a lot of good stuff for commuting, and also some good used bikes as well as lower-end new stuff for the person needing a replacement.
mplsbikelove.com is a good source for local info, as suggested. For general bike info, you might try bikeforums.net. I found the “Classic and Vintage” section very helpful when I was looking for a used road bike.
I certainly hope this weather keeps up - it’s nice to see everybody out and about again! (and be out and about myself)
Good suggestions so far. In general, I would recommend the smaller stores rather than the chain stores, if you’re looking for bike accessories for practical use. My list would include:
one-on-one bikes (downtown)
longfellow bikes (54th st & 43rd ave)
nokomis cycles (42nd & either chicago or bloomington)
Hub co-op (minnehaha ave, between Lk & 31st)
Freewheel (west bank)
I haven’t been into sunrise, but they look like a good option for a used bike. There’s also a seasonal shop in St Paul on Snelling just south of 94 that also sells used bikes, My wife bought an excellent ‘69 Schwinn there, I found a good deal on an 80s Fuji.
While we’re on the subject, does anyone know of a place to give away/donate an unwanted bike?
I bought a new bike about three years ago to treat myself–and I found all sorts of things that I didn’t like about the bike. I started stealing bits from it to repair my rusty old standby, Murray.
At any rate, I still have the leftover bike-frame (I’ve taken the wheels and seat for good old Murray). I don’t want to just throw it out, but it’s just been taking up storage space for three years now.
A guy I know leads a wonderful program in South Minneapolis and they need bicycle donations:
Do you have a bike gathering dust in the garage? Are you an apartment manager
bothered by pesky abandoned bikes lying around the halls and storage areas? Do
you want to help broaden the bike movement in Mpls? Consider donating to the
Wellstone Bike Club!
The mission of Wellstone Bike Club is to “Empower Students through Bicycling”.
A program of Wellstone International High School, we introduce students of many cultures to Minneapolis’ “emerald necklace” of parks and trails - by bicycle.
Women and men learn to ride for the first time, to tune up their own bike, and to savor the joys of exploring beautiful Minneapolis on two wheels. Students who excel in the program are given bikes to ride to school, the library, shopping or anywhere else, empowered to save money and energy through “pedal power”.
Often we can pick up bikes at your address. Bikes in good working condition are always preferred though we may also accept “junkers” to use for parts. If you have a bike you’d like to donate, contact Jeff. All donations are tax deductible.
Their website:
http://wellstone.mpls.k12.mn.us/Wellstone_Bike_Club.html
You can always use “FreeCycle” too.
Snuffy and others,
Another place to donate used, good (not department store) bikes is to the Scallywags Bike shop for their Rwanda project. The link is http://scallywagsbikeshop.com/?page_id=6.
They are working to provide specially made “Coffee” bikes to Rwandan coffee growers to transport their coffee for processing more quickly, enabling them to get a higher price for fresher coffee.
I read on http://www.bikeforums.net that they are taking bike donations right now.
The best grocery bag panniers ever!
http://www.rei.com/product/733820?vcat=REI_SEARCH
