Local commute suggestions
 

I recently moved a little closer to the community college I attend and I was wondering if you guys had any alternative transportation suggestions because I am beginning to feel it's not even worth driving.

Route
It's 10-13 miles depending on which way I go.

I've looked into public transportation and there are no stops in my area that connect with the school.

I've tried asking classmates if they would like to carpool, but there really isn't any interest or schedules conflict. I was thinking about buying a Honda Metropolitan or Ruckus, but then again I'd still be using gasoline and the thing would be pegged most of the time (assumed bad FE).

Next is biking, which I don't have a problem with other than the fact I would be biking ~11 miles to school in the California sun and then sitting in class for x hours. I don't imagine I'd be very popular. Another issue is my current bike is a 20.5" BMX (Fit Team Trail). I thought about buying an e-bike but only have about $500 so that seems like a stretch.

Anything I could do short of take strictly online classes?

Buy a backpack and bring a change of clothes - at least a different shirt ;)

I bike commute in Central Florida sun... That is, hot - humid - and full sun hot :D I do, however, ride a recumbent at the moment - so I sweat a little less :p But, I used to commute on an extended diamond frame road bike. Keeping your elbows a little elevated puts you in a less aero position, but you get air to your underarms and stay cooler ;)

But ya, you'd probably want a different bike for commuting... If you're vigilant, you can find a decent setup for cheap.. watch craigslist :D

Is biking to a bus route that connects to the school an option? I don't know if your buses have bike racks, but that'd be good if they did.

I always carry the 3 B's : Bath towel, Baby wipes, and bagels. If you don't have shower facilities then just using a restroom can help you clean up quite a bit. Also I always wear a cotton undershrit and a biking shirt that wick the moisture away. If you take it at a leisurely pace it should not be too bad and as trebuchet03 states you can always take spare cloths.

I agree also that you can probably find a good MTB or road bike for under 100 bucks or so that will get the job done,especially in a college area . It won't take so much effort on 26" or 700cc wheel as the BMXer.

Or you can always load up your bike and drive part of the way. Ride the rest until you find the sweet spot(better then driving the whole thing) where you not overdoing. Most of the time, unless it windy, you always have a headwind to help cool you off.

Or you can just buy a gallon of Old Karate and use liberally:turtle:

I'll try biking it this weekend to scope it out. I have a mountain bike, but it's been in storage since I was in the 5th grade. Flat tires and kinda rusty, not sure if it's roadworthy. I'm going to go check craigslist now.

How exactly does an e-bike work? Is it at all like a hybrid car? You pedal to build energy in the battery and then when you are tired the battery will carry you while you rest or did I miss the boat completely?

No it just an electric motor with batteries. When you run it down you have to recharge it. Some guy's have made them with regenitive braking so that when you are coasting it recharging the battery. I think most claim a 10-20 mile range but you can do better if you wait till you get some speed to engauge it and coast with it.

If the MTB has knobbies you can put slicks on it and that will help quite a bit. If you cruise along at 10-13 MPH I don't think it's going to be as big an issue as you think. Take a water bottle with you and make sure you stay hydrated. Keep us posted.

Please don't snipe these. :p

What do you guys think of these:
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/bik/642656315.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/bik/646133110.html
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/633429212.html
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/bik/642575381.html
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/bik/641139123.html

Thanks for all the help, guys

Oh yeah, any battery replacement suggestion/advice?

I stay away from the first one. Here's a thread on one just like it.

I personally would not look for anything under 36 volts. I would go fo the KHS(the last one) as long as it fit's you properly. 10 miles sounds like alot but it really won't be that bad. Give it a try on the MTB or see if you can borrow a friends and do a test run. Be sure and scope out a safe route. The direct route is not always the safest.

Try the local Fire Alarm dealer. When they test the batteries for there systems if they don't pass they have to replace both of them. So you can get good batteries for free. :turtle: W00T

Ebike kinda seems like a waste of time, that added weight will hinder more than help I think.

So KHS or this trek:
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/bik/600904460.html

The trek is closer, but a pinch more expensive.

Also, it's not the 10 that scares me it's the total 20+ that gets me.
When I live in Northern CA a few months back (my last 3-4 months I lived less than a mile from work) I biked or walked everywhere I went unless I needed to go to cross the San Mateo bridge. If I needed to go further I would generally take Caltrain or just carpool with friends.

The trek is a much better bike IMO. 10 miles on that would be a piece of cake it it fits properly. Fit is the most important thing. Also you'll have 2-4 hours to hydrate, eat and rest before you have to go back home. The more you ride the easier it gets once you get into shape. As mention eariler you could always drive halfway until you get into shape.

I second that.. That last bike looks good... But you really NEED to go for a test ride first. Tri bikes tend to have fast/twitchy/sensitive steering - by design of course... If you're not used to it - and will be using it as a commuter - you might not like it. That's just personal preference -- I like riding slow turning bikes myself :D

Oh man, that trek looks awesome... That price is pretty good if it's really Shimano 105's

I'm not for half-assing.:o
I'm not crazy fit, but I've been going to the gym quite a bit these past two months. I was doing a lot of jogging (apples and oranges I know, but...) before I hurt my achilles two weeks ago it was working out to about 3.75 miles for 40 minutes which is pretty good for a 205 lb guy I thought, hahah.

I'm going to call these sellers and see if their bikes are still available.

Again, thanks for the info fellas.

Man if you can jogg for 40 minutes then riding for 40 minutes should not be a problem it is so much easier on the body. Was a long time runner until the knees gave up the ghost that's what got me into biking. There's no comparison on wear and tear.

Alright the KHS is available, seems kinda shady dude is selling bikes out of his APT.
Do I do it or not? :p

Go for the Trek first. I wouldn't get into big a hurry you seems to find quite a few bike fairly quickly. Like trebuchet03 mention it would not hurt to go ride it around and see how it feels but that trek would be a better bike if it fit. IMO

Trek sold. :\

I'm just way to curious now
I am going to go check this guy out.
http://www.myspace.com/junkyrustybikes

If you don't hear back from me tomorrow, I died in LBC. hahah

Looks interesting. Take your BMXer and MTB and trade them in on a new one:turtle: Good luck with the hunt.

Bought a black road bike, made in France, can't remember the name off the top of my head but it fit like a dream and was light so I went for it.

As for trading in my BMX, no way! I still need to track it before I decide what to do with it, it's wholly responsible for my health conversion. I weighed 270 a year ago, then I drastically changed my dietary intake and began mild exercise.

MTB can go though. :p

Updates to follow.

Well I was looking over his myspace and here's my new bike:
http://a676.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...54717437cb.jpg
MENS 52CM MOTOBECANE 10 SPEED ROAD BIKE

Awesome. That bike looks familiar.

I ride a 1970's low-end Motobecane (Nomade Sprint) that my dad bought when he was my age. It's all steel, low-end components, 27" wheels, and complete with shoddy brakes, but I love riding the thing. A heavy steel bike may suck for commuting, but it's awesome for exercise.

There should be no worries about the 10 mile commute, though. I do fast-paced circuits in a hilly park near my house that totals ~12 miles and it takes me about 40-45 minutes to finish. Based on your athleticism, you could easily make the trip in under an hour at a leisurely (i.e. non-sweating) pace.

I have a similar length commute to school, but I don't have the nerves to try. The first 90% of the commute would be fine, but trying to maneuver through bad student drivers late to class seems to risky. The fact that I cringe as I see students biking past my line of traffic is testament enough. :o

Good luck, though. :)

- LostCause

How about a ride report? Have you had a chance to put any miles down yet?

I don't know much about the bike other than the limited info provided by the seller, I am assuming it's aluminum it's really light at least lighter than my BMX which is like 28lbs. It's a very fast bike, I think that's just because of the larger tires.
I am having a hell of a time figuring out the gearing, but I'll get it eventually.

I haven't had a chance to test the bike out on the open road yet, I did two laps around the condo complex and it feels pretty good. I think I kept trying to shift too low or something because I got the chain to fall off the gear on the return lap.

I'll probably try biking to school tomorrow or Sunday, I was unable to do it today, had to help clean out the garage this morning and now I am stuck babysitting. :mad:

Need to get to the gym! :p

If you have not found it yet there is a sticky on the Alternate Transportation forum that has a bunch of cycling links. Sheldon Brown (RIP) is a great site full of info. The chain should not fall off you probably need to dial in the drive train.

Rode the new bike to the gym today (1.3 miles) definitely an entirely different experience.
Travel is much faster, wind doesn't seem to be as much of an issue, and it works and entirely new region of muscles. So there may be a learning curve, yet.

Need to name it and start a garage entry on it.:turtle:

How am I going to measure MPG?
Kilocalories consumed, kilocalories burned?

You could put the distance in and then under gallons just put the time it took you. That way you would have miles that you put on it and the hours. A cycling setup is on the growing list of things to add here.:)

Enjoy the new found freedom.

Tacos per mile...

Or, as you're in CA.... Animal Style Double-Doubles per mile (I miss In-n-Out :( ).

:D

But what Laz said :D I just could resist :thumbup:

If later on you want more speed and distance I highly recommend an EBike kit. The point is NOT to push you along without any effort, but to assist intelligently and make it so you don't have to sweat while biking around.

http://www.nusun.com/E-Bike-Kit-p/nn%201217f.htm

There are lots of kits like that that will work. The one I got is not on the market anymore, otherwise I would recommend it. All said and done you can get a cheap bike, add a kit on, and have a nice electrically assisted bike for under $500. With peddling I get a range of about 15-20 miles without breaking much of a sweat and averaging 25 MPH.

Beyond that the kit becomes dead weight, but even then the whole kit only adds 15lbs.

Looks like a good kit, but I have two sticking points I am running 27s and "Made in China to US specifications."

Hahah, good one. :thumbup:
I wish though, thanks to a more extensive diet alteration I haven't had an In-N-Out burger since January. :\
But I can still have a homemade boca double double, but it's just not the same. :(

Well, I did it today wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be but I am pretty beat now (4 hours later) which I believe is due to lack of caloric preparation for the long haul and no rest.

Anyway, this was my route

24.5 miles in roughly 2 hours with a really strong front wind on the return trip.
The chain only had to be reset six times. :p

Just noticed that I got this nice little burn:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...IMG_1369-1.jpg

how about just buying a pair of Heeley's and grab onto somebody's bumper? I got away with wearing mine at work for a month- helped me get work done about 25% faster just gliding on the tiles... till the b*ch in HR said take em off =(. where u going to school at?

I'm up in the Temecula area, so I'm going to MSJC in Menifee. Kinda sucks but only have about 5 classes left before I can transfer to SDSU.

Yeah, I'm sure you can find something that would work. I'm just not up on the latest kits since I haven't bought one for over two years.

You don't need to replace the batteries every year though. I haven't replaced mine in two years, and the range is still very good. If you use lead acid then you can desulphate them using various methods, which vastly extends the life of them.

Yea it's kind of like the farmers tan. If you wear gloves your tan stops at your wrists also:turtle:

nice farmers tan there LOL! on the good side, u only have those 5 classes left! my sister lives up in murrieta, i despise the local traffic up there it takes ages to just go a few blocks.

Nice looking bike! Hope it fits and serves you well. Looks like an old school touring bike. Toe clips! :thumbup: