Originally Posted by
sbuckaroo
good to know. I actually tried to use wider tires in my bikes. So on the Kona I use 32 mm, and on the IRO I went to 35 mm which is the widest I could go to allow the installation of fenders as this is the one I will use if I start commuting. For the Schwinn paramount I replaced the 23 mm it came with, with 25 mm. I think it probably wouldn’t take wider tires.
...I used to commute from my apartment in Mt Rainier, MD, next to the old movie theater that was then a church, by bicycle, in the 70's. Up route 1 to the U of MD, and down Rhode Island Ave into D.C. I found it was a marvelous way to get around back then, in the post streetcar, but pre Metro era of mass transit in Washington. There are a lot of things you will need to work out, like carrying stuff on the bike on racks in bags. And the whole theft thing is very discouraging. But if you can arrange a safe place to park your bike at work, it is very do-able. I commuted for many years by bike here in California, prior to retirement.
What's nice about it is that in a regular program of exercise, it allows you to take advantage of time that would otherwise be wasted, sitting in a car or on a bus.
And if you can make it routine, it becomes a natural part of your exercise routine.