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Bike upgrade
May. 11th, 2010 12:23 pmWith the increased amount I've been biking to work lately, I decided yesterday to get some upgrades to my bike. I bought a new seat, bike computer, bike basket, some tire lights, and tire pump.
The new seat was to replace the old one that was *really* hurting me. After just doing a day of riding to/from work, my ass would hurt so much the next day that it was almost impossible for me to walk, let alone sit.
The bike computer is a "nice to have" that tells me how fast I'm going. Like today, I averaged about 11 or 12 mph on my trip into work.
The bike basket is an *incredible* bonus. I got a nice cheap one, too. The normal system is to get a bike rack like this and then attach panniers and stuff to it. With all the costs, this will run you as much as $150 or more for a good amount of storage space. But I don't need all the abilities those come with, like detachability and reconfiguration and what-not. So instead, I got this, which integrates all of that stuff into a single package. Basically everything I need in one inexpensive package. And it is *definitely* the right size for my laptop backpack. With it, I can carry so much more stuff. I'm pretty sure I could easily haul all of my climbing gear with me now. Between two big baskets and my backpack, I've got massive storage space.
The tire lights are basically just there to make me more visible from the side. Good to have.
Finally, the tire pump. I've been pumping my tires up using my emergency pump. I didn't have a real pump or gauge. So I went to go fill up my tires last night after getting the pump and... wow. The tires are intended to be filled between 50 and 85 PSI. Apparently, I've been riding them closer to 15 PSI. No wonder the performance has been weak!
With the nicer seat, the weight off my back and in the basket, and the tires properly filled to a reasonable PSI, the ride is so much easier and nicer now. The bike is handling like a dream, and my ass doesn't feel at *all* pained. This is *such* an improvement over where I've been.
Good purchases all around. I've been ramping up my biking to work, doing it more and more as often as possible. I think, especially with the new modifications, I'm going to start really focusing on avoiding my car and using my bike whenever I can.
The new seat was to replace the old one that was *really* hurting me. After just doing a day of riding to/from work, my ass would hurt so much the next day that it was almost impossible for me to walk, let alone sit.
The bike computer is a "nice to have" that tells me how fast I'm going. Like today, I averaged about 11 or 12 mph on my trip into work.
The bike basket is an *incredible* bonus. I got a nice cheap one, too. The normal system is to get a bike rack like this and then attach panniers and stuff to it. With all the costs, this will run you as much as $150 or more for a good amount of storage space. But I don't need all the abilities those come with, like detachability and reconfiguration and what-not. So instead, I got this, which integrates all of that stuff into a single package. Basically everything I need in one inexpensive package. And it is *definitely* the right size for my laptop backpack. With it, I can carry so much more stuff. I'm pretty sure I could easily haul all of my climbing gear with me now. Between two big baskets and my backpack, I've got massive storage space.
The tire lights are basically just there to make me more visible from the side. Good to have.
Finally, the tire pump. I've been pumping my tires up using my emergency pump. I didn't have a real pump or gauge. So I went to go fill up my tires last night after getting the pump and... wow. The tires are intended to be filled between 50 and 85 PSI. Apparently, I've been riding them closer to 15 PSI. No wonder the performance has been weak!
With the nicer seat, the weight off my back and in the basket, and the tires properly filled to a reasonable PSI, the ride is so much easier and nicer now. The bike is handling like a dream, and my ass doesn't feel at *all* pained. This is *such* an improvement over where I've been.
Good purchases all around. I've been ramping up my biking to work, doing it more and more as often as possible. I think, especially with the new modifications, I'm going to start really focusing on avoiding my car and using my bike whenever I can.
