Eight mistakes new bike commuters make that can be easily avoided

hey everyone today we're talking about eight mistakes that new bicycle commuters make come for the ride [Music] hey everyone i'm tom and this is shifter a channel about urban cycling and fight commuting and i've been bike commuting for more years than i'd care to admit and i get a lot of questions through this channel and just from people i know and so i thought i'd try to help you all you noobs out there by pointing out a few mistakes that you can easily avoid mistake number one is trying to do too much so this may be a north american phenomenon but it is really strange how bike commuting gets kind of wrapped up into fitness and macho culture i often hear from cyclists who want to buy commute but are kind of worried that they won't be able to meet these sort of unwritten expectations from other cyclists you know they're maybe their commute is too short or maybe they want to use an e-bike or maybe they don't have the right gear and somehow that makes it feel like they're not a real bicycle commuter or something strange like that well i'm here to say don't listen to other cyclists there are no rules about bike commuting and everyone is welcome to try there is no club you have to join whether it's once a week or once a month or whether you do it to save on parking fees or whether you do it for climate change or for fitness or just for mental health it doesn't matter your motivation doesn't matter why you're doing or the reasons you've got or the gear you've got just get out and give it a try any day that you get a bike ride is better than a day without a bike ride so there really is no downside give it a shot mistake number two is gear overload i often hear from people who want to start bike commuting and they feel this need to go out and buy a whole bunch of new stuff new panniers or new gps trackers or even a new bike and if you've got the money and you like doing that go for it but i don't think it's a requirement all you really need is a bike maybe a backpack to put your stuff in and then you can start hopefully you will develop a habit and you'll become a bike commuter for years and years which will give you time to hone your approach and you'll have plenty of time to figure out what gear you need and you can go and buy it then but i don't think you need it to start all you really need is a bike and the will to give it a shot mistake number three is choosing your route so i found in most cities there are multiple ways to get to a destination on a bike definitely more than in a car and if all you've done in the past is drive a car i find a lot of people have a pretty limited mental map of their city so i think it's important when you first start bike commuting to keep experimenting with your routes look for routes that have less car traffic look for cut throughs through parks look for trails that are not on most city maps there's usually some cool ways to get around and just keep trying what works sometimes you want to just find a beautiful route to work because it feels nice riding there and different seasons can have different routes as well i find like in the winter time you might choose a different route than you would in the summertime especially if you live in a place with lots of snow and ice so keep experimenting i think it's worth the time to maximize your efficiency and your pleasure of your route if you just keep trying new routes mistake number four is being impatient with the logistics when i first started bike commuting i remember the hardest part was not the riding or dealing with traffic or the lack of bike lanes although that's still a problem it was the logistics like when i get to work where do i park my bike do i shower do i not shower where do i hang my towel those sorts of things i found really difficult and i don't think there's a one-size-fits-all solution i think the answer is be patient and just keep trying you will work it out eventually here's an example it took me a long time to figure out that if i just leave a pair of work shoes under my desk at work that gave me a lot more options when i'm riding i could choose my footwear based on the weather without having to think about a whole change of clothes when i arrived seems like a no-brainer now but it took me some time to figure that out so be patient with those day-to-day logistics mistake number five is thinking about speed rather than efficiency when bike commuters first get started they tend to want to go as quickly as possible but i found what's more important is efficiency and i mean this in two ways one ways is to think about transportation efficiency i mean being on a bike is just way more efficient than a car in downtown areas going for lunch for example whipping out on your bike is way faster than trying to search for parking in a car i think stopping for errands on the way home on a bike is way more efficient and than a car because you can just roll right up to the front door and lock your bike but efficiency applies to your bike as well sure it's tempting to go for the fastest bike but sometimes those bikes are geared in a way that requires a lot of effort from the rider which means you can sometimes end up a sweaty mess at your destination what you really want is a bike that maximizes your forward momentum with as little effort from you as possible it means you will use as little energy as possible and get to your destination quickly and efficiently that's bike efficiency i think that's way more important than raw speed mistake mistake number six is dressing like a cyclist there are sort of two approaches to bike commuting one is to wear your regular clothes uh ride slowly in a relaxed manner and sort of enjoy the experience that way the second one is to go quickly and try to use your commute for fitness i'd say neither one really requires you to dress like a cyclist with all your lycra and spandex in the first scenario you just wear your regular clothes no brainer in the second scenario i'd actually say it's better to wear like athletic clothing ahead of cyclist clothing because it's more practical for a commute you might need pockets for your phone or your wallet you might want longer sleeves to keep the sun off of your skin you might want to wear a hat and maybe more importantly i just don't want my co-workers to see me in lycra so no judgment on any of this if you want to wear your cycling clothing to work go for it but there is a perception out there that you are not a real commuter if you wear regular clothing or just regular athletic shorts and i don't think that's true just wear what works for you mistake number seven is not recognizing the risk of a hybrid bike when i encounter bike commuters here in calgary a lot of them are riding what we would call hybrid bikes they're basically flat handlebar bikes that are built like mountain bikes but they have skinny tires and the reason most people end up with this bike is because they think to themselves yeah i want a bike for commuting but you know i still might go out mountain biking on the trails on the weekend this is a mountain bike town if this is you great good choice but i think more people should probably think more deeply about their aspirational mountain biking are you really getting out in the trails on the weekend or is 99 of your time riding in the city if the honest answer is the latter i would say you might want to think a bit more deeply about your bike options than just the default hybrid style hybrid bikes can be less comfortable than an upright city bike they can be maybe less efficient it can be loaded with too many gears or too many fancy parts or like really specific racing parts that require all kinds of maintenance it can just be a bit of a headache compared to a more practical city bike option in cases like that a more upright city bike or a dutch bike or a more comfortable bike may be a better option for you but it requires you to be honest with how you're really going to use that bike and my final mistake that newbie cyclists make is number eight bragging about your commute now i know there's a temptation to brag about your bike commute because you feel so good doing it i know that's why i do it but try to resist the urge for a couple of reasons number one is that it does tend to perpetuate the stereotype of the self-righteous full of themselves cyclist which i kind of hate number two is that it's just not bragworthy i mean you never hear people bragging about their bus commute do they and really what it comes down to in a city at least is more to do with the city than yourself as a cyclist if you go to a real bike friendly city that's full of bike infrastructure and safe bike lanes and safe routes you'll see all kinds of people riding moms with kids older people younger people everybody rides and nobody brags about it's just a way of life so that's really the goal and helping our cities get there is about advocacy and encouragement and being a friendly partner to other people want to cycle who want to ride their bikes so you're going to get questions from people so answer them be friendly be encouraging but don't be insufferable about it be a cycling friend not a competitor so that's it there are eight mistakes that new bike commuters tend to make hopefully that was helpful to you one of the reasons i started this channel was to encourage people to make the bike a big bigger part of their lives because it's meant so much to me and i actually ran into somebody in real life the other day who said this channel inspired them to start by commuting so that's one of my goals and i hope this is helpful if you have other tips or suggestions on improving this always drop me a note i'm happy to hear them thanks everyone see you next time [Music] you

Channel: Shifter

Views: 711,249

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Id: d0sq-RQQ04c

Length: 9min 25sec (565 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 22 2021