Ultimate commuter bike.
I’ve decided to write an article
about “commuter bikes” and
my vision of “ultimate commuter bike”. I’m
really into cycling in general. I love to make modifications to
my current bicycle, keep it clean and what is worth mentioning, riding this
machine. But life often verifies my plans. I constantly have less and less free
time and energy to keep the bike in order. So, I started to rethink how I can improve
bicycle maintenance and keep my pedantic soul satisfied.
My first action, as nearly always, was searching the
Internet with faith that I’m going to find something
interesting. And I found a carbon-belt drive system. You
don’t have to lubricate it and then clean it after a few kilometres.
It also stands out by being more durable than a steel chain. It’s
possible to make four times longer distances without “stretch”
which may be problematic propelling the bike.
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| This is how belt-drive looks |
Of course, this solution has its pros and cons.
If you want to build your own belt driven bike, it’s
necessary to be in possession of a special frame. When it’s
possible to unbuckle a chain, a belt is one piece of material, so a bicycle
tail must have a special gap to put the belt in its place. You also must forget about a classic cassette
and derailleur and use an integrated gear hub or go “single
speed”. It’s also quite an expensive
solution. But I still think that it would be great to have the maintenance-free
bike which doesn’t leave black smudges on rider’s
pants.
 |
| Dirty chain, we all know that |
My second thought about a perfect commuter bike is
about tires and tubes. If a rider wants to be safe, he must carry a tube repair
set and pump in case of breaking the tube. I’m
pretty sure that sometimes everybody wants to just get out of the house without
a backpack. Even this irritating aspect
has been resolved by engineers. Airless tires. Single piece of gum which just
works. It’s can not be simpler.
If you finally get a belt-drive bike with airless
tires the last thing to remember is avoiding curbs when riding fast. I didn’t
find a solution which makes wheel rims unbreakable. I guess that now you can see my point about the “ultimate
commuter bike” which is a simple,
lightweight and maintenance-free bike.
After research I decided to find out how much it would
cost to build my own bicycle with a belt drive
and airless tires. After a few minutes I found out that I no longer want to
build it. Buying regular bicycle parts and these related to the propel system
is way to high for me. But there Is one workaround for this problem. It’s
cheaper to buy a pre-made bike. Funny, isn’t
it? There is a plenty of choices on the market. Here is a photo of my top pick.
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My current dream bike
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Do we have here any cycling
enthusiasts? Even if not, what is your vision of the perfect bike?
Links:
I haven't heard about this belt drive but it looks promising! I've seen motorbikes propelled by rubber belt and each of us (who has a car) has an auxiliary belt powered by another rubber belt. I'm thinking that a rubber belt might suffice for bicycle. Pros are it would be cheaper than carbon one, cons it probably would need to be wider and would stretch more. I've heard about another solution to replace chain and sprocket drive - simple cardan shaft used in every single rear wheel driven car.
ReplyDeletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaft-driven_bicycle
It might be heavier than a belt driven one but might work much longer.
About the tires - why overcomplicate with airless tires when you can just go tubeless? Again - works for cars, might work for bicycles :)
I've tried to ride on shaft driven bicycle and i didn't became fan of this solution. At first, i'm skeptical about its weight. Another thing is that sometimes I like to watch how my chain is working which is imposible in this system. :) In case of tubeless tires, i can agree that is better than regular tires with tubes. But there is always possibility to lose of air. Airless system eliminates this problem.
DeleteI suppose We spent some time on bike trips together ;) After all adventures and pleasant time, i'm pretty sure my bike is just perfect for me. As you know there's small need to upgrade the front gears and put on it thinner tyres but that's all.
ReplyDeleteMaybe If i start to do other type of cycling i could consider your suggestion but for now I'm happy with what I've got :)
I'm pretty sure that you just want to keep proper cars to bicycles ratio ;-)
DeleteThanks for great article. I will send it to my future father-in-law. He is fan bike technique. He build two electric bikes. I often help him with tuning board computer (yes, bikes have a many, many electrict parts. These vehicles can be programmed). We tested max speed. It is crazy. I saw in display screen almost a three-digit number. I never heard about belt drive in bike. I think that this technology will be great in electric bike. Big torque transmited by standard belt is less effective.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Three digits on bicycle counter... I'm afraid of riding motorbikes so especially I would be scared of such speeds on the bike....
DeleteThat's amazing that people are finding new solutions for mechanisms which are considered as perfect (the design came in a first place from DaVinci!)
ReplyDeletehttps://nebula.wsimg.com/obj/RDBGRDRBM0RFMjQyMzEzMEFGMEY6YmJiMmVhNjQ5YzFiMzVhYTAwZGQxYmY1NjkzYWI2MjQ6Ojo6OjA
I think that what we can do, and as you mentioned, the main thing is to find lighter, but still good enough material. So carbon-made parts seem to be perfect solutions for a dreamed-bike. For me, as a from time-to-time-rider the most importan thing is the dirt coming from tires... and all of that mud splashing on me when the weather is rainy. I know, that is more about good fender, but I would like not be worying about if it is good enough today, or I should wear a cape or take clothes for a change.
Anyway, that is amazing, that there are new ideas for those of people who are fascinated in this field
There is a plenty of fenders on the market which can provide great protection against mud. But often, when fenders are good, they looks bad for me. I'm a believer of minimalism with dirty back.
DeleteI like cycling a lot, but now it’s hard to call me an cycling enthusiast. But that’s my short story about me and bike. I’ve love riding bike since I five years old. Everybody in my family can tell this about me. When I was 14 I bought my first BMX. Then started one of best periods in my life. I’ve ridden for 6 years. I spent a lot of money to prove my bike. I was very freaky about this, every new frame, fok, bar. I had to have this! Can you imagine, all my pocket money for new parts! I think you can. But that was something more than only buy new cool stuff. I was riding a lot, new tricks (my favorite one is tail whip), new spots, new cities, trips. That was something amazing! Now I’m older, maybe I’m more afraid of my health so I sold my bike and bought fixed gear, maybe it’s not fixed because it’s ‚fixed’. I meant I ride in single speed mode, but I like my bike, especially night street riding, when I feel so free. I love listen music during my riding! Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos of my bikes.
ReplyDeleteBikes are for riding not photographing them :P I totally agree with you in case of night riding. The greatest part of it its empty streets. You can ride the middle of the street which make you feel that freedom.
DeleteI've spend some time riding a bike when I was younger. But I'm not a biking ethusiast. Back then my bike was perfect for me, it was a plain model but it had all funcionality I've needed. I could ride where I've wanted on it and back again. And that was perfect.
ReplyDeleteIt's very important to know what you really need. Otherwise it's easy to spend fortune on bike which is just "to good" for your needs.
DeleteI used to be bike-geek back in the middle school years but I've lost an interest due to not enough time for biking and playing around with bike gear.
ReplyDeleteI am pro biking-cities, ie. cars are not allowed to drive to city centre and are forced instead to be left on parking on city's outskirts. Also, I've been thinking on buying a bike in 2018 for city commuting. Would you mind sharing some out-of-the-box solutions, ie. models that would not force me to get some expertise in technical details? :)
As for my ideal bike, I fell in love in wooden bike concept:
https://renovobikes.com
What do you think?
It's looks awesome but i think that wood is demanding material when it comes to care it. I don't renember specific models but i know that Trek and Scott have few belt drive models. If you want to use the bike for daily use in big city i would recomend to buy used bicycle. You will spend less money and also new bike will look old after few kilometers in unfavourable city enviroment.
DeleteMaybe a cycling enthusiast is too big of a saying for me but I try to ride my bike as often as I can, mostly for fun and as a way to spend my free time. I enjoy this kind of activity, it is good for me, environment and I can spend some time together with friends. I have tried going to work by bike, but I dropped the idea after my body was covered in sweat after I arrived and it was not comfortable day at work, not to mention that it was raining on my way back home.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't pay attention to how my bike looks like and how it is built. I don't have a vision of a perfect bike. The important thing is that it has to ride and not break on the road :)
It would be nice if you can take a shower in every office. Then you can take clothes for a change and don't think about weather conditions and feeling sweaty all day.
Delete1. Do we have here any cycling enthusiasts?
ReplyDeleteNot me for sure :) I'm cycling for time to time, but mostly to rich particular destination.
2.Even if not, what is your vision of the perfect bike?
Hmm, maybe a bike which need the same effort of cycling for both down and uphills. It could also have some airbags in case of accident.
I think that you should try electric bike. The best solution for lazy riders ;-)
DeleteI am interested in bicycles since junior high school, I even had a few starts in MTB competitions. Every day I commute to work by bike. Recently I was interested in converting the bicycle into an electric bike. The cost is about 5 thousand zlotys. The most expensive elements are of course batteries and motor. Such a set, however, has some cool features. It can help you drive, or even drive for you. The maximum speed depending on the engine power is up to 60km / h.
ReplyDeleteI also like the motor braking option. Instead of wasting energy with an ordinary brake, we brake by the engine, which then recovers energy and charges the batteries.
I am thinking about the set, which I found on this page: https://www.e-biker.pl/ what do you think about it?
Personally i would search for bike which was originally predicted to be electric bike. I don't like the placement of battery and all of these cables everywhere. The only thing which is good in my opinion is motor mounted in rear wheel. Thanks to this solution the chain is not strain by additional torque.
DeleteActually, for me best option in veturilo.. you do not need to have your own bike, you do not need to buy accessories, you can leave it at any station. And you don't have a problem :)
ReplyDeleteYes. I drove veturillo about 15 times this year. During that 15 times I had 3 problems. Once someone stole chain, other times, the brakes did not work. Finally my account has been blocked. The bike did not give up properly (even though it gave a signal)...
DeleteVeturilo bikes are good only for short trips. Try to ride more than 10 kilometers by these bikes...
Delete1. Do we have here any cycling enthusiasts?
ReplyDeleteRather I do not belong to this group. I like to ride a bike. But it does not make me an enthusiast. I bought my bike in the Decathlon. I have had the bicycle for several years. It drives correctly. There is a problem with one gear. Unfortunately, no service has been able to fix it.
2. Even if not, what is your vision of the perfect bike?
I am huge fan of new technologies. So maybe some electric bike? OF course not fully. But honestly my bike is completely enough for me. I could put some parts in it and it would be perfect ;)
There a lot of interesting tech things for bikes. For example Di2 Shimano group which can automatically switch gears.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKoFD4qDlco
DeleteMaybe I am not a bike enthusiast, but I think it's the most healthy way of traveling. I wanted to ride my bike to school, work and other everyday places, but I happened to run across the same problem as yours. There was always something wrong with my bike. I had endless problems with taking care of it. Not to mention, I also was afraid of thievery. Your solution with durable bike parts are really great. I didn't know that such things exist, but it doesn't solves all of my problems. Maybe it's a bad thing, but I didn't want to look after my bike at all. Few years ago Warsaw city decided to bring in city bikes and it was a perfect solution for me. I can now ride a bike any time I want and I don't have to worry about it. Sure, the system isn't perfect. Bike stations can't reach everywhere and sometimes bikes are in bad shape, but it is good enough for me :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes veturilo is salvation when i'm in hurry. But when i want to ride a bike for pleasure it's different history. It would be great if they can provide various types of bicycles. For example road-bikes for people like me who rather prefers longer trips with higher intensity.
DeleteI;m cycle lover, as you and this article intrested me a lot. I have never thought about this kind of solution, but I'm sure that I'd try it soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm modest person, and when I was a child I dreamed about bicycle for big girls and after years my dream came true :) For me perfect bike is one which is unbreakable, because I love enjoy cycling, and views as well