The Right Bike for the Job
Here is a bike that shows up in the racks at my place of employment on a regular basis.
Why does a person commute on a bicycle like this?
I could be wrong and maybe he goes out at lunch and rides over to Hain’s point and gets some riding in. That would be the only practical use for a Time Trial bike around D.C on a workday.
I have an issue with aero bars for commuting. In the first place, you can’t and shouldn’t ride non-stop fast enough that they do any good in most commuting environments. Second, I don’t believe that you have enough control when riding on urban trails.
But here is an interesting blog post about the use of aero bars on granny bikes in the Netherlands.
Speaking of strange setups. There are many people taking up cycling due to the high price of gas. Some are pretty clueless and need help. I have seen at least two people in the last few weeks riding with their helmets on backwards.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:19 am
Oh dear! Thats pretty tragic!
On the backwards helmets thing, I saw an “older gentleman” the other day with his on backwards, I had to do a double take when I saw that. Another way of wearing a helmet that seems popular is to wear one 3 sizes too small and perch it on the back of the head like one of those Jewish Kippa hat things.
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:45 am
We think aero bars played a big factor in the crash Matt’s dad had on his bike last year.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:21 am
Maybe he only has 1 bike.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 am
Weiland: I have been waiting for this comment.
It might be he only has one bike. But it would likely be more cost effective to get a less expensive commuter bike.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:54 am
He’s setting the money he would be spending on gas aside until he has enough for a decent commuter. If he’s like me I wouldn’t just buy any old commuter bike, I’d want something decent and anything decent is going to cost a bit of money. So over the next few months he’ll get by with riding his tri bike until he has enough saved up or his wife finally gives in and lets him put the new bike purchase on credit card.
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:57 am
Or maybe he’s just a die hard triathlete and commutes to work in a skin suit or one of those tri-bras (you know the little skin tight half shirts). Heck he might get up early do his swim and then go straight from the pool into work. What you need to do is stake out the bike rack and see how he’s dressed when he roles into work.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:16 am
Now this is fascinating! Maybe I should take some pictures of other unusual bikes on the racks and we can discuss the possible characteristics of the owners.
This sounds like lots of fun.
But before I get to that I think stalking is a good idea. I will indentify the rider of this bike and report back here.
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Make sure you get pictures of the cyclists too. If they wear their helmets backwards I want to see the rest of them too.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:39 pm
The backwards helmets really are something to see. The first time I saw it I stared at the woman for sometime trying to figure out why her head and helmet looked so strange.