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Bike Shoes

Posted by KristinG in BikeAhead - (0 Comments)

Biking shoes might not seem like a necessary bike accessory to the average commuter cyclist. However, the more competitive cycling racer will disagree. While cycling computers and other accessories can help you train, the fact remains that cycling shoes can help you on race day.

Have you ever seen runners take running practices with weights on their ankles and wrists? This isn’t just to build up the muscles in those areas (though that helps) it’s to help train the body to run with that extra weight on it. This is great because on race day you don’t wear the weights on your body and it helps you to run as if they were there. This makes you faster, stronger, and feel lighter, making the race easier for you and on your body than a “normal” ride.

I have done this on several occasions and it actually helps quite a bit! Regardless of the nerves that you feel on race day you can feel almost weightless…literally. Bulky shoes can help you train and cycling shoes can help you race! Regardless of what you eat the night before and how much sleep you get, you can approach the starting line with confidence and a light hearted air!

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NYC 5 Borough Bike Tour Lottery

Posted by KristinG in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

Last year over 32,000 people signed up for the five borough bike tour in New York city in only twenty four hours. Twenty four hours! That’s all it took for the largest group ride in the United States to fill completely and for the computers processing those registrations to crash. All those riders bottle necked the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE) for hours during the 2011 event! To make sure this didn’t happen again Ken Podziba, who is in charge of this 40 mile group ride, said that he would implement a lottery system by which applicants would be drawn for a spot in the event. They are also implementing a three tiered start time to avoid any more bottle neck mishaps during the ride.

With the big day coming up in a few months (it will take place on May 6th) you should definitely stock up on your bike supplies like cycling computers and bicycle taillights! It may seem far away but you should definitely begin to train now for this huge, sometimes arduous run. You should also make sure you’re prepared ahead of time. You can bet your bottom dollar that the bike stores are going to be very busy leading up to and right before the big event!

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Bike Computers Give You Everything

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

When I was a marathon runner, I relied heavily on my GPS watch. That watch could do it all, it gave me my pace, time, location, pedometer, even my heart rate. It was like having a little computer on my arm and anything I needed or wanted to know could be gleaned from that little watch.

When I switched over to biking instead of running, I still wore the watch but honestly it turned into a bulky timepiece that wasn’t much good for cycling. That’s when I started looking for an alternative. Cycling computers were most definitely the best thing I found. In specific, the Sigma Rox 8.0 bike computer can show you absolutely anything you want to know from altitude and temperature to heart rate and calorie burning calculator. It also is water tight, runs on batteries, and can be plugged into your computer. I could even stop wearing my watch because it told me the date, time, and had an alarm.

For someone who is transferring over from being an avid runner and having all of your mileage stats at your fingertips, a cycling computer is definitely one of the biggest must have cycling accessories. I’m surprised this thing doesn’t make me a carb-loaded breakfast as well.

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Why Does My Bike Chain Slip?

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

bike suppliesWhen I’m at a red light, if I see that I’ve got plenty of time to start pedaling and get moving before the bus about two hundred yards comes to its green light, I start pedaling hard, which sometimes causes my chain to slip.

It makes a horrible noise, and  provides me with fear that the oncoming bus will not be able to stop and that I will not be able to cross in time and will fly high before lying facedown in the gutter after he hits me. The noise is embarrassing because people waiting for the bus can hear it and they look up and think what’s wrong with that guy’s bike supplies.

Well, my chain’s old. And, I recently got a new cassette and since I ride a freewheel, they wear out differently. I have to take it to my local bike shop to find out if the chain is worn. If it isn’t, it could be a number of other problems, such as a bent tooth on my gears, or the front chainrings or possibly even the cassette ratchet body. If it’s a problem like that, it’s best to take it to a pro bike mechanic who really knows his bike supplies and bicycle accessories.

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Patch or Subway or Bike Supplies?

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

bike supplyTo bike or not to bike? Whether ’tis better to brave the triumphant rains, and their strewing of particulate matter, which could possibly pop my tire, or to head to the subterranean warrens filled with bodies and oppressive heat and humidity? I think I’ll choose the former.

I don’t have a spare tube in my bike kit; I’ve been lazy and haven’t replaced the last one I used. I do have a patch kit, which is a last resort piece of bike supplies. My other bike accessories are ready. I’m not especially good at patching a tire, I’ve only done it a couple of times. I know that it’s very important to thoroughly sand the rubber so that the hole diminishes in size. During my last flat, a man asked me if we still patch with a lighter. I said no. He said a lot’s changed since I was a kid, and laughed. But he didn’t even look that old.

So I guess I’ll take my chances. Worst come to worst I get a flat, and either try to patch it with my bike supplies  if I’m near a gas station (or even better a flat fix shop, where I can get air for free), or find myself beckoned into that subterranean rabbit-hole.

 

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Get Bike Supplies for Bike Riding Days

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

bike suppliesCertain days were meant for bike riding. The poor unfortunate souls without bikes walk like the dinosaurs in Fantasia meeting their end, stomp, stomp until they want to collapse on their daily errand route, while we, survivors of the apocalypse, get to ride our bikes around town.

My friend recently bought a new bike. It has thick wheels, is all black and is generally pretty intimidating. The handlebars are shortened and it has a pedal-back brake. He uses an Onguard bicycle lock but he could probably just let it lean on its kickstand and people would back away from it, assuming contact with it could cause an electric shock.

There’s something about riding that bike, devoid of bike accessories, without even proper handle grips, around on a beautiful spring day. It may be like riding a Cadillac with its top down. You aren’t going for speed; it’s a joy ride. Relaxation and purity. You see the neighborhood, the trees and nature, and you also see the bike’s soul. You pedal quickly in high gear so it looks like the kind of bike you ride for the sake of riding, not necessarily to get anywhere. That’s the kind of bike to ride on the days meant for riding.

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Cycling Computers and New Maxes

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

cycling computersI love riding my bike. When you’re pedaling in the lowest gear, powering up a medium sized hill and you get to the top and see a row of green lights stretch to the bottom and you hope that none become yellow, there is bliss as your sweat dries in your armpits and across your brow and your hair flaps.

When I was a boy, I had a great bike. Cycling computers were just some of the bicycle accessories I had along with water bottle holders and hydraulic shocks. I tracked my average speed, my distances, and my maximum speed. When I went down the biggest neighborhood hill, I remember the joy of getting the new max up to a new record – 26.2 miles per hour. I remember being satisfied with that. If you rounded up, I went 30, which was faster than any human could run.

My cycling computers made my bike one of the coolest bikes in the neighborhood. My dad even tied off little pieces of cloth and placed them on the wheel axle so that they stayed clean. Those bike accessories you can make.

Today my childhood bike is a little small for me, I think. Although who knows, maybe if I go into my garage and adjust the seat, I can take it down one of the big hills and get a new max.

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Bike Supplies for April

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

onguard bicycle lockIt’s finally warm outside. Here we are in late April and it is prime riding weather. This is the weather bicycles were made to be ridden in.  The birds twittering, chatting to each other about how good all that Vitamin D feels on their feathers; the old folks are playing dominoes amid their boomboxes bouncing; and you cruise along on your bicycle with the wind whipping at your shirt, cooling your shoulders and brow.

You can choose bike routes that you’ve never traveled before. See parts of your town or city that you’ve never explored. Try new restaurants, visit new cultural centers, or take in a virgin panoramic vista. But if you leave your bike alone outside you need an Onguard bicycle lock at least. You may also think about a basket or panniers to hold your bike supplies and a lunch.

If you’re training for a race, cycling computers are probably a good investment. You can measure your average speed, heart rate and distance to get a better idea of how fast to pace yourself. Then you can compare last week’s times with this week’s from your cycling computers. There’s always room for improvement, and you still have more than half the year to train outside!

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Cycling Computers For My Baby’s Birthday

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

heart rate monitorsI treat my bike like a baby. If I leave her locked up overnight somewhere I worry about her like a mother about her daughter’s first sleepover. When I haven’t cleaned her all week, I coo and coddle while riding, making sure not to push her over the edge. If I hear an awkward noise that shouldn’t be, I’ll whisper while pouring lubricant on her chain. And goodness forbid, if I have a flat, I’ll walk her slowly home or to the nearest bike shop – carrying her if I have to – so that her rims don’t take any unnecessary pressure.

Speaking of which, I drove home past the projects the other day and saw a man riding a small bike without a tire. That is, just the rim, grinding and screeching away on the wet pavement (for it had just rained) and I thought to myself, I should call the Bike Protective Services to get this man arrested. But I had bigger fish to fry, and if he wants to harm his bike like that, it’s his problem.

It’s coming up on my baby’s birthday and I think I’m going to get her some presents. She’s been wanting a few bike accessories for a couple of months now. I think I’m going to spoil her – I’m going to buy cycling computers. That way I can track my health and fat loss with the heart rate monitors, as well as my speed and averages, to see how she best performs. She’s going to love her new bike accessories!

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Brakes and Bike Supply

Posted by DanielA in BikeAhead - (Comments Off)

bike supplyIt’s important to have your brakes nice and taut when you ride frequently. If you need to stop short and glide for another ten meters, you can be in big trouble.

Bike cables are wound threads of steel encased in a flexible steel shell. They are usually wound along the bike frame. If you are tightening your brakes yourself or you are going to a new bike mechanic, it’s important to check that you are able to turn the handlebars without being limited by the bike cables; that you do not have extra bends in the cables; and that the cables be made as short as possible.

If you do a lot of riding in the rain, some lubricant may be necessary. The primary area for application is where the rear derailer cable moves between chainstay and derailer.

Sometimes your cables will fail altogether. That is what happens after much use. But you can find a replacement at a bike supply shop. They will also have nice items for purchase such as cycling computers, LED bicycle lights and heart rate monitors.

And if you ever have any questions about your bike, a bike mechanic at your local bike supply store can help you.

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