kickstart

What kind of bike do you find most conducive to being car free/light?

My primary bike is a Dutch Gazelle Populair.

Being a heavy duty bike with IGH, chaincase, rollerbrakes, stainless wheels hardware and fittings, and marathon plus tires makes it as close to maintenance free as possible, basically all it needs other than maintaining tire pressure is an annual once over.
The rear rack, and front frame mounted rack are capable of carrying a persons weight as Dutch bikes are renowned for. Dyno lights assure I will never be without light front and rear. I also use battery lights on both ends for their flashing function and as a high beam when needed.

Due to the riding position, full fenders, chaincase, coat guard, Ergon grips and pedals, and mattress saddle I can wear whatever type of clothes I desire without issue. Having a rear wheel stand and frame mounted wheel lock that accepts a plug in tether chain means I have a wide range of parking and security options.

Although its a heavy bike, having a 8 gear IGH geared fairly low means I can go most places including a mile long 15% grade on my commute home. Come tax time, I plan on installing a Schlumpf mountain drive crankset that will give me a range of 13 to 120 gear inches, that way I will be able to Get up the worst hills in Seattle.

Artkansas 

Sounds like you have it wired. My bike is a Specialized Hard Rock, streetified with slicks, fenders, lights, a rack and panniers. It gets me up and down the Little Rock hills. It's comfortable off road as well, though not competitive.

cooker

Like many long-term (23 years) bike commuters I have several bikes, but they each have racks and fenders. I'm not likely to start serious road racing and if I do a short triathlon, it's for the fun or to better my own time, not to beat someone else, so I don't need a stripped down road bike or time trial bike for extra speed. I normally use an old Trek tour bike in the summer since it's "roadie" enough to be a little faster and lighter than a mountain bike and get me to work without too much sweating, and reasonably fun on long road rides; and a old rigid mountain bike for part of the winter as it is better on wet, leaf-slimed fall pavement and spring potholes. On icy/snowy days I take public transit.

Right now I'm temporarily using my Bike Friday folder as my commuter, as I need to do some maintenance on my other bikes and haven't gotten to it due to home renovations and other distractions. I didn't commute on the BF for years as I thought it was too expensive to risk being stolen outside, and that it would be too inconvenient and time-consuming to bag it and drag it into the office, but now we have a locked bike compound at work and the BF is older and a bit beat up, up so I'm less worried about locking it there.

kickstart

In that respect I'm very lucky, parking in the middle of a secure, guarded transportation facility I don't even need to lock my bike or remove anything.

Machka 

In our collection right now, the main ones that springs to mind are our new-ish Bike Fridays. I guess they aren't really new anymore ... we've had them over a year now.


They fold down and fit in the trunk of a rental car so that we can park the car and get around on the Bike Fridays ...



They also fit really easily into our van.


We can ride them right around home ...



We can pop them into a large suitcase and take them on an airplane to Canada or wherever ...



We have been able to ride them as far as a century (100 miles in one day) so far ...



As seen in the photo above, we are able to attach bags, but we also have racks, and can use a trailer ...

CliffordK

It all depends on the person and commute.

For years my primary bike was a well used old Colnago road bike. It carries a rack, and has served me well. I've added a Litespeed road-ish bike to the stable as my "winter bike". I still would like to put a rack on, and maybe some other updates sometime. I have clip-on fenders, but ride without them most of the time.



I've towed trailers with both bikes.

For me, a short ride is about 10 miles each way (20 miles RT). Going to Mom's house is about 35 to 40 miles RT. And, heading out for a few errands around town, it is not uncommon to hit 30 to 40 miles RT.

A heavy bike just doesn't work for me... unless I need to drag out the BEAST.



Still, I'd rather tow 100 lbs in my kiddie trailers than strap it to the back of my cargo bike. I'll probably build something different sometime.

lasauge 

A touring bike with clearance for wider tires checks all the boxes for me: reasonably fast and efficient, has gearing to deal with extra-heavy loads, can accept racks, fenders, and tires to suit all kinds of riding needs. Here's my swiss army bike, a Pake C'mute frame with stout wheels (Mavic A719 rims laced to older DA hubs) and simple, reliable, durable 3x8 drivetrain with friction bar-end shifters:

Ekdog

A folder can solve so many problems for the carfree urban commuter! If you keep it by your side, you can eliminate the risk of having it stolen or vandalised, and they make multimodal travel so much easier. My Brompton goes everywhere with me: onto the train, onto buses, to work, into shops and supermarkets, into people's flats when I pay a visit, into bars, pubs, restaurants... Yesterday I had to go to the police station, and I thought they might hassle me about it, but I went right in with it, without asking permission, as though I'd done that every day of my life. I always carry a large trash bag with me in case the bike has to be covered, but the only place so far where that's been necessary was on a bullet train.

Shahmatt

Good advice this!

My Oyama East Village is a 3 speed folding bike and, with its steel frame and rack, weighs in at a hefty 15.8kgs on its own.

I've outfitted it with all the necessary lights, a bell for peds, an air horn for vehicles, a vibration sensitive alarm and a relatively light cable lock for when it needs to be locked up - if ever.

Mostly I push it along in front of me on its two main drive wheels into everywhere I go, the public transport system, supermarkets, malls etc. The drive wheels take on most surface imperfections without a problem and so I can push for quite a ways without tiring out. Locking up the bike is a rare event.

I mount a single 25 litre pannier on the drive side for shopping and groceries. A non-drive side pannier would interfere with the fold so I leave that side empty.

The gearing is sufficient for flat Singapore. I can't go very fast - 40kmph at full sprint - but with traffic lights every so often speed is not very important.

The bike is ideal for combining with public transport solutions. It can also be popped into a cab in an emergency.

CliffordK

Good idea.

When I was touring in Italy a while ago, with a regular bike, I took it on the train a couple of times. I'd remove the tires, and compact it down as much as possible. Hardly any bigger than a large piece of luggage. It wasn't bothering anybody. But, one of the ticket takers didn't like it. He insisted that I get off at the next station, which happened to be in a small town, and it was the last train of the night. They were even rapidly closing the station. I never got a refund for the unused ticket. I ended up getting on the bike and riding onwards half the rest of the night.

Anyway, I'm sure it would have been fine if it had been covered in a bag (before the conductor came along).

Jim from Boston

The right tool for the job

I'm perfectly fine with a high end carbon fiber bike for urban commuting/training and road cycling, and a mountain bike as a beater that can accept studded tires and a rack with a pannier for bad weather, utility riding, and off–road, if I were so-inclined (not particularly).

My N+1 would be a folding bike for traveling on vacations or business meetings (I don’t fly, so it would be a convenient baggage), though I can rent, or borrow from family as needed.

Bandera

Old school British, in continuous service for 41 years.

-Bandera

Roody

I always come back to this type of bike as my mainstay. I often go with 2 1/2 inch knobbies with studs in the winter, and 1 1/2 inch street slicks in the other three seasons. Sometimes in midsummer I throw on some off-pavement knobbies, and hit the trails.

I love the mountain bike--

versatile,
adaptable,
economical,
comfortable with semi-upright riding position,
easy to repair and find parts.

TEHO & YMMV!!!

cooker

I didn't get a Brompton because I didn't like the upright riding position. Unfortunately the BF New World Tourist doesn't roll when it's folded so you have to bag it and carry it if you want to take it with you and it's pretty ungainly and heavy. It's really intended to be a sturdy tour bike, not a handy commuter. I do some out of town consulting, so I bought it mainly to take with me (in a suitcase) on those trips, and am only using it as a commuter temporarily, and only because of the locked compound at work.

My usual solution is to have a cheap but reliable full size bike that I don't mind locking almost anywhere.

cooker

Any concerns re locking it somewhere?

Machka 

That uprightness actually became an issue with my Bike Friday on the century we did. I had raised the handlebars on all my bicycles because of some breathing issues I had been having, and had the handlebars quite high on my Bike Friday because I thought that would be more comfortable.

About 2/3 of the way through the century, my sciatic nerve really started bothering me and I was in quite a bit of pain by the end. However, it did seem to ease if I leaned forward.

Fortunately, we could lower the handlebars, and did ... and even just lowering them a little bit helped a lot.

cooker

My issue with the Brompton is that the seat position is forward quite a bit towards the pedals, so it's only comfortable if you raise the handlebars and sit upright. With the Bike Friday the seat is farther back from the pedals so you can lean forward more and not feel like you're going to fall forward.

Machka 

More like a traditional diamond frame bicycle?

wolfchild

I use a fixed gear road bike and I also have two single speed mountain bikes.

cooker

Yes if it's a road bike frame. My BF is set up to pretty much the same dimensions as my tour bike or my old 12 speed Japanese sport tourer, with a 73 degree seat tube angle (eg. orange) However the Brompton has what amounts to a steeper seat tube angle (eg, red) so if you try to lean forward you may feel like you are off balance, with too much weight on your hands and front wheel, and so you have to sit more upright. Sheldon Brown explains it like a person poised to dive. If you want to lean your upper body forward, you have to stick your butt backwards to counterbalance it so you don't fall in the pool. I like the more forward leaning, butt back position.


You can see in these picture how the Brompton seat is pushed forwards:https://www.google.ca/search?q=bromp...Ug-2DTQgemM%3A

Walter S

My one and only cycle is my Surly Disc Trucker.



We have mass transit but I rarely use it. This is almost always how I get around both in daily life and while on vacation. The image is while recently on a camping trip in the mountains about 100 miles north of me.

I love the feeling that my whole life can be transported on the bicycle. Whenever I return home after being on tour I'm struck by all the "stuff" in my house. I keep trying to downsize but more stuff creeps in regularly. Somehow while being on vacation and living my life with only what I carry on the bicycle, it feels very liberating. Then returning home I see everything around me as a big waste. A whole room just for making meals (they call that a "kitchen")?. Another whole room just for sleeping (they call that a "bedroom")? Another whole room for entertainment (called a "living room")? It all seems foreign and unnecessary and burdensome to keep up with. I had all that and more covered while on tour and pedaled it down the road with me wherever I went.

I run a dyno hub too. Not only does that eliminate battery-management from my life. It keeps my electronics charged too. Then I'm never wasting time trying to find a place to charge my phone, etc. And it feels a little cleaner to be generating at least a little bit of my electricity consumption with the power of my own legs.

Jim from Boston

Great concerns, so no concerns because I never lock it, nor even my beater bike. I keep my bike inside near my office or at home, I take it in with me when going to a store or indoors elsewhere, and I don’t take the bike if I’m going anywhere I need to be away from it unobserved.

That’s never been a problem when I ride, and doesn’t inhibit my lifestyle.

Walter S

I take it you never go to big multilevel department stores, shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants ... where it would be difficult to keep your bicycle with you?

Jim from Boston

The right tool for the job

No, because where I live in downtown Boston (Kenmore Square), all those amenities are within walking distance or a short subway ride away.

And as I wrote in the Commuting Forum thread, ”Describe Your Commute”, at work I have:

You might say I have the "right job (life) for the tool."

Roody

That's a very interesting way of looking at it, and it works very well for you. Myself, I would feel limited if I couldn't just leave my bike somewhere (properly locked, of course) while I'm running errands or having dinner. But I do live in a more sprawled out city, where it's harder to do some things on foot or transit. For me the bike is the "right tool" for access to theaters, many restaurants, and a few other locations.

BTW, off-topic, I have often noticed your clever and helpful use of the forum's quote function. Along with your clear writing style, it makes your posts a delight to read.