time to buy some new gear - recommendations?

Peter Cole

landotter wrote:

> I find those soft grocery panniers to be pretty lame, as they sag.
> Good to pick one up on sale as they're light, of course, as they have
> their times when they can be useful. Cheap panniers are better, IMHO--

I think they're lame, too -- for actually carrying groceries, but
they're great for carrying light stuff, like a change of clothes if you
commute to work. That's what my wife uses them for. Panniers can work
well for that too, especially the flat ones (like garment bags) that
drape over the rack, but they're usually a lot more money.

> A step up from the milk crate, whose center of gravity chaps my
> patooty, is the Wald folding basket. Just one on a side of the rack
> with some bungee netting, and you can carry a crap load of stuff--
> mind, this is also getting into Fred territory.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Rear-...g/dp/B000BPNK7O

Yes, those would be much better for actually carrying groceries. My
crate is limited to realistically only one full bag, or a 12-pack box of
beer bottles (more common). I don't mind the COG issue as I'm pretty
high to begin with, but my size 15's don't mix well with panniers.

When I really want to haul some groceries I break out the BOB trailer. I
have the one with a Rubbermaid container. The beauty of that is the
tongue mount is to a special QR skewer, so swapping between bikes is
trivial. My most frequent use has been to bring picnic lunches along for
all day off-road family rides. It has bounced off so many boulders and
trees that the steel frame is dented and bent, but still going strong.

If you want the real low-end look you can tie plastic bags to the handle
holes of your crate. I haven't done that yet, I still have some pride...

N8N

On May 6, 12:05*am, DougC <dcim...@norcom2000.com> wrote:
> N8N wrote:
> > I'm still keeping with my idea that I'm going to try to ride wherever
> > I can... *
>
> > nate
>
> You didn't mention it, but my recommendation is to get bulletproof tires.
>
> My preference is Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, but there are other ways
> of doing it--Specialized Armadillo series and various other
> brands/models of tires, or you could go slime/tubeless, or even airfree
> (urethane) tires.
>
> All of these choices will be rather heavy as tires go--but when you're
> trying to get somewhere, flats rarely occur at convenient times and they
> are /never/ fun to deal with. The difference in ride-time of riding
> heavy tires vs light+fast tires is rarely as great as the difference in
> time it'll take if you have to stop and fix a flat.
>
> Also do note that I still carry a pump and patch kit. Puncture-resistant
> tires are not guaranteed, just less likely to flat than usual.
> ~

I've got the original CX tires that came with the bike, whatever those
were, but the PO installed a pair of Panaracer Urban Max in 32x700c.
I probably would have chosen a pair of 28s for my intended use but
they seem to be fine. How do those stack up in terms of durability,
do I need to worry? I'm guessing I won't have a problem, as I mostly
ride on roads or the W&OD trail, and I can honestly say (knock on
wood) that even when I was younger and rode a lot more than I do now I
never once got a flat while riding. that's probably a unique claim,
but still. I do carry the frame pump and a patch kit just to keep
Murphy at bay.

nate