So you ’re think about commuting to work by motorcycle this summer ? Congratulations , your life is about to get a trillion times more fun . But where to commence ? The insular world of cycling can seema small , uh , confusingto those unfamiliar with it — it ’s hard to hump what you really need to get bulge out riding .
This post originally appeared on Gizmodo in May , 2014 .
Cycling , it turns out , can be a batch like in high spirits school . There are cliques . There are highly - codified principle about how to act , and about what to wear down , and how to fag out it . There is a whole unuttered language sequester to your bike , your geared wheel , your article of clothing . Like any subculture , it is opaque and perplexing to beginners — and you should n’t let it motor you away ( so to speak , har har ) .
Because , really , riding a bike is simple . It ’s one of the most uncomplicated , magic experiences you may have as an grownup experience in a city . It will make you finger like a little small fry , rather than the ennui - loaded lamentable sack you ’ve become . You get on , you center on staying alive , and you slide by into an absent - minded kind of joy . As Tim Kreiderput itin The New York Times , “ When I ’m balanced on two lean wheel at 30 mile an minute , gauging space , adjust class , making century of unconscious calculations every second , that idiot chatterbox in my headland is maintain too busy to get a parole in . ”
As you get into it , there are going to be all kinds of things you want to corrupt : A full toolkit ! A piece of work point of view ! Clipless pedals ! All variety of outlandish rig ! Another cycle ! Another bike ! But for now , permit ’s keep it wide-eyed : What do you really need ?
Be Safe
The most authoritative matter — the thing you ’re plausibly the most freaked out about — is stick dependable on the road . Before you buy anything else , purchase a helmet ( this is well done in the store , so we ’ll cut it here ) . Then , buy lights . After that , we can move on to make indisputable your stuff stay safe while it ’s lock up . But those two things are far more important , in the tenacious test .
Light
There are nigh as many light out there as cyclists , and everyone ’s going to have their own preference . There are a ton of really clever new products hitting the food market , too , but try Knog ’s Blinders . They plug into your computer ’s USB port to send , and are as brilliantly promising as their name suggests . If you ’re not convinced , Gizmodo ’s fullbike easy guide is here . [ $ 30,Knog ]
Locks
Again , everyone will have their own preference here . But over the course of several years of riding in New York ( and , more recently , Chicago ) , my trustworthy Kryptonite U - Lock has never let me down . Get a corduroy if you ’re distressed about your front wheel going missing while you ’re inside . The smaller U - Lock will correspond in your back pouch , too . For further reading on locks , check outthis guidebook . [ $ 43,Amazon ]
Be prepare
Riding a motorcycle will make you extremely happy . That being say , your bike may be a pain in the neck in the arse at the bad times — in the rain , in the dark , in the Charles Percy Snow . If you have a few wide-eyed tools with you , you ’ll be fine . And you ’ll have a cool story to tell ( hey , commend that time I fasten a vapid under the BQE during a electric storm at 4 am ? ) .
A Multitool
This is one of those item that just make you finger safer , even if you never have to use it . But you very well may : Whether to lift your tail , break your chemical chain , or tighten up a screw . And then you ’ll be happy you had it . This little 17 - tool edition is diminutive but hefty . [ $ 27,Crank Brothers ]
A Fender
Fender ! , you say , I do n’t require no reek fender ! Yes , you do , if you do n’t want all your conscientious objector - worker to think you pooped your pants on the means to work again . It does n’t have to be permanent , either — Ass Savers ’ origami - manner folding version is awesome and easily obliterable . [ $ 11,Ass rescuer ]
Lube
This might be the kind of thing you desire to impart to your friendly local grease monkey , but that ’s slow . Maintaining your chain is right smart more significant than you remember — it ’s also passing easygoing to do , and you ’ll feel like Al Borland afterwards . There are a ton of unspoilt high - operation option out there , but this stuff is cheap and gets the job done . [ $ 5,Amazon ]
A Map
When your phone dies at 4 am coming back from your acquaintance ’s apartment in god knows where , you ’ll be kicking yourself for being so dependent on Google Maps . Get the real affair — even a credit card - sized one — and put it in your pocketbook . [ give up at NYC.govor $ 5,Amazon ]
A Good Key Clasp
You ’re go to be study your key out a lot : To lock up up , to unlock , to get into your house , to spread out beer , etc . hold them on your rose hip at all time will avail ! And also avoid having them slip out of your pocket . [ $ 3,Amazon ]
Know How to Change a Flat
You will get a flat at some peak . If you ’re depend upon in a urban center , betting odds are good that there will always be a shop nearby when this happen . But changing a subway system is really pretty gentle once you ’ve done it once , and it ’ll be a future reservoir of superbia when you help out some other poor shmo . To do so , you need a few very cheap tools .
Tire iron
The little plastic levers you ’ll need to get your tire off your flange . These only be a couplet bucks and they ’re super light . [ $ 3,Amazon ]
A Patch Kit
Once you have your tire off , it take just a arcminute or two to slather some of this stuff on the teardrop and press a bandage into place . Again : Tiny , cheap , light , priceless in a pinch . [ $ 6,Amazon ; Image : Kate McCarthy ]
A Short Pump
Once you ’ve get yourself all desex up , you need a way to fill the tire back up so you may go on your way . Try a myopic ticker — these are just a minuscule longer than the length of your hand , and fit out easily inside a back pack . Another options ? A tiny CO2 canister , which is more expensive per function but small than a pump . But keep in mind , you should only utilise these in emergencies — you’re going to want a floor pump for dwelling employment . [ $ 27;Amazonand $ 20;REI ]
Be Comfortable With perspiration
Unless you ’re an outlander , you ’re going to sweat . That ’s o.k. . There are a few different approach to dish out with it . One : Do n’t give a fuck . Two : take a change of clothes so you’re able to change once you get there ( hopefully there ’s a shower , as there is at my lovely workplace ) . The third path is a compromise : make for a outfit that includes the essential element of a faux - shower .
A Bathroom Kit
Wet wipe . Deodorant . A tooth brush . A cockscomb . They sell kits for bivouacking for not much money online , or run into up the travel - size of it aisle at Target . Add or subtract as you see set — teetotal shampoo , clear wind cone , and so forth — but you ’ll thank yourself for lugging these apparently inconsequent tools when you really need them . [ $ 12,Amazon ]
Wet wipe
The commuter train ’s best friend . A quick wet wipe “ shower ” will make you feel a thousand sentence good if you ’re faced with sitting in your own sweat for eight hour . [ $ .65,Amazon ]
A Note On Your Privates
Ha ha , a little levity ! But I am deathly serious . Getting your jimmies ( or the female equivalent ) twisted in a couplet of underwear while moving at gamy speed in traffic is the innovative - solar day combining weight of the medievalPear of Anguish . Do not have this happen to you !
Underwear
Avoiding wedgie starts with underwear : You couldtry something fancy , like Urbanist Cycling ’s chamois - embedded numbers , but any pair of unseamed underpants will do the magic to ( the same work for dudes ) . [ $ 50,Urbanistand $ 12.50,Victoria ’s Secret ]
Pants
As a knowing person once severalize me , “ pants and underwear form an unholy marriage for commuters . ” One is only as upright as the other . Think stretchable , but not too stretchable . You want to find the pure tensility that gives enough to grant movement , but is n’t so thin that it feel like you ’re riding naked , which would ache .
Outlier ’s Daily Riding Pant comes extremely recommended for both fop and madam . But if you ’re expect for something cheap and you do n’t mind giving money to Urban Outfitters , I ’ve found that BDG makes a serviceable pair that last long enough to become a neat pair of jorts when summertime rolls around . [ $ 198,Outlier ; $ 58,BDG ]
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=25281346&parentid=W_APP_JEANS
Saddles
This is n’t exactly a basic requirement , but see invest in a well-to-do bicycle seat . If you ’re a lady , check out Terry — they make distaff - specific saddles and wear . We ’ve had great fortune withBrooks ’ Cambium , which is a road cycling - style saddleback made from rubber . It ’s softer than a normal Brooks , and absorb gibbosity a bit better . [ $ 130,Brooks ]
https://gizmodo.com/brooks-cambium-review-never-break-in-a-bike-saddle-aga-1502659184
Finally, Don’t Be an Idiot
The most important part of riding in the city is proceed your headland on straight : Be aware of what ’s going on around you , always confuse a glance over your shoulder when you ’re reverse , and if you ’re break to heed to euphony , only use one earbud . But there are a few canonical rule that will endear you not only to cyclists and pedestrian , but also to cars — which is important :
halt at every cherry-red visible radiation ( even if you ’re going to roll through it ) . Being on a bike does n’t make you impervious to the law . Blowing through a red light or stop sign spend a penny you take care like an motherfucker , since you ’re threaten other cyclists , walker , and even drivers . Also , you ’ll probably get a ticket , and you ’ll deserve it .
Do n’t shoal . “ shallow ” is when a bicyclist in front of you stops at a illumination — and you hap them for weasel your way in front of them while bar . It ’s underbred , and a little grievous . Just intercept behind them like you would in car .
Do n’t draw out into a crosswalk where pedestrian are trying to walk . Everyone will detest you . Same goes for tantalise on the sidewalk . Come on .
It also would n’t vote down you to do a little reading . A great guide to not acting like a total tool is Just Ride : A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike [ $ 14,RivBike ] . But also check outBikesnobNYC , the blog ofEben Weiss , who comprehend cycling refinement and the city in general ( here ’s his take onshoaling ) . It ’s really , really funny written material , and a admonisher to not take yourself to badly .
Now go away and apply your legs to power your way to your place of utilisation ! And be certain to drop your essential detail below — again , this listing is far from complete , but should be enough to get you originate .
tip lock image : Richard Masoner / Flickr
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