Anyone here a cyclist?

GreyGhost said:
Interesting. Douggie is wading in and plans to ban bike lanes that replace car lanes. It will be interesting to see how much power that has. For now, it sounds like legislation is forward looking but if Douggie thinks he can get away with it, I could see it being broadened to retro-active. For many many reasons, I think bike lanes on major arterial roads are stupid. It is just a special interest fight. Putting bike lanes on collector roads primarily and potentially minor arterial makes more sense for everybody imo. Toronto intentionally tries to put bike lanes on major arterial roads wherever possible.

toronto.citynews.ca

Ontario plans to table legislation aiming to restrict bike lanes

Toronto has seen horrid traffic congestion of late, with the ongoing construction on the Gardiner Expressway being particularly problematic.
toronto.citynews.ca toronto.citynews.ca
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The issues are:
- you need an intuitive lane that you don't have to search for to find it
- you need a straight lane as much as possible, not something that does 50 turns on side streets to get to your destination
- you need a safe lane where you could say "i want my 11 y old to take it to go to school"
- the best lanes have the least amount of stops (ie. MGT) as stop n go is an energy suck and muscle destroyer if you're trying to commute


most side streets can't offer that. Lakeshore rd from Norris crescent to dwight does an AMAZING job, then you gotta know which side street to take, and when to go back on lakeshore to get some paint-lanes
but usuelly they end up stopping abruptly dumping you in live traffic
if you don't know where to go and don't feel confident to ride alongside cars you have to a) take the sidewalk if there's one which is illegal b) get on the road which a big majority of people don't feel comfortable with so back in the car/streetcar/subway they go
 
LePhillou said:
The issues are:
- you need an intuitive lane that you don't have to search for to find it
- you need a straight lane as much as possible, not something that does 50 turns on side streets to get to your destination
- you need a safe lane where you could say "i want my 11 y old to take it to go to school"
- the best lanes have the least amount of stops (ie. MGT) as stop n go is an energy suck and muscle destroyer if you're trying to commute


most side streets can't offer that. Lakeshore rd from Norris crescent to dwight does an AMAZING job, then you gotta know which side street to take, and when to go back on lakeshore to get some paint-lanes
but usuelly they end up stopping abruptly dumping you in live traffic
if you don't know where to go and don't feel confident to ride alongside cars you have to a) take the sidewalk if there's one which is illegal b) get on the road which a big majority of people don't feel comfortable with so back in the car/streetcar/subway they go
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I agree. Many of those can be accomplished on smaller roads with some planning. There are a ton of four-way stops in residential areas that should never have been four-way stops. That was speed control/traffic diversion sold as safety. The current choose your own adventure between segments of path is embarassing and a huge obstacle to casual or visiting cyclists.

Here's a decent road map for Toronto.
Here is cycle map:
www.toronto.ca

Cycling Network Map

The map below shows all the cycling infrastructure in Toronto separated by type. Plan your route by entering your address or start location in the search bar to view the cycling network. To search by bikeway type, click on “Filter Results” and select the type of bikeway from the drop-down menu...
www.toronto.ca www.toronto.ca

For instance, instead of Bloor, Wellesley/hoskin/harbord with a painted line on the road to make it easy to follow. I haven't been there in a while but it looks like this route is designated for bikes. No idea if it has a bike lane. Less traffic, less stores/people watching/rubber necking, less pedestrians, just a much safer place to ride.

Sherbourne bike lane is good. Adding/removing the one from Jarvis was completely ridiculous and a giant waste of money. You don't need a bike lane every block. They are collectors and should be spaced appropriately.

Obviously there are some pain points like bridges over DVP where major roads must have bike lanes but my point is those should be as short as possible.

Where ROW is humungous and they can add separated bike lanes (like much of lakeshore), that's a great solution. My issue is when there is minimal space and a disproportionate amount is permanently allocated to a very very very small percentage of yearly users. I still maintain that even if the numbers justified their existence, bike lines on smaller roads are a far better experience for everybody.
 
GreyGhost said:
Where ROW is humungous and they can add separated bike lanes (like much of lakeshore), that's a great solution. My issue is when there is minimal space and a disproportionate amount is permanently allocated to a very very very small percentage of yearly users. I still maintain that even if the numbers justified their existence, bike lines on smaller roads are a far better experience for everybody.
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They can be but youve gotta know that theyre there.
I mean ive been bike commuting for the past 6 years to downtown toronto. It's only last year that i discovered that there was an alternative to riding on lakeshore near islington and kipling (once royal york suddenly stops). Going down towards the lake just takes you on side streets that add more km than anything else. BUT...but... if you go north on dwight rd, cycle for a block, theres this PERFECT protected bike lane on birmingham that's not busy as most cyclists end up on lakeshore for commuting.

It's not obvious at all. And when you put it in google maps, it makes you go through the southern option which adds about 2ish km due to it not being a straight line. And since it cuts through parks you gotta expect to slow way the heck down if you want to be safe around other people.

I'm sure there are a whole bunch of examples like this around toronto. Less piecemeal and more of a holisitic plan is what the big focus should be
 
Bought a Thudbuster seat post. The roads round here for a non-suspension bike are poop. Will give it a go to see if it will prevent my teeth rattling out.
 
Messed about with the bikes today. Put antiseize on the pedals of the gravel bike and while there I had a look at the clip mechanism. Sure enough there were two more turns to slacken the mechanism but they were stiff. That should make a difference for clipping in and out.

Trying to get the mountain bike cockpit sorted out is a bit of a faff. Rear brake and shifters were interfering with each other so when one was perfect the other was a bit off. Tried swapping them around but that didn’t work.

I have to say it’s really nice working on a pedal bike vs a motorcycle. Frequent wrenching on a motorcycle sometimes resulted in a sheepish phone call to the local mechanic to come and fix my balls up and a bill of several hundred $$.
 
Crappy tire had a Maximum brand 1/4” torque wrench (20-50 in/lbs I think) on sale for $69 today that’s ideal for the bike. Also some 1/4” metric deep sockets for $14 so I added to the tool collection.
 
I may need to install longer cables for brakes and shifter with a higher/wider drop bar set up in a gravel bike. How difficult is this to do? I have a cutter/crimper.
 
jc100 said:
I may need to install longer cables for brakes and shifter with a higher/wider drop bar set up in a gravel bike. How difficult is this to do? I have a cutter/crimper.
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I am assuming housing too? Normally not that hard but I haven't had to deal with the modern through the frame nonsense which looks like it could turn a quick job into a day of swearing. Hardest part is nicely cutting the housing without crushing it.
 
Yes. Cable actuated disks with the hydraulic parts at the disk.
GreyGhost said:
What is hybrid cable/hydraulic? Brand/model? Are they cable actuated discs?
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These ones…

TRP HY/RD disc brakes. Cable-operated hydraulic pistons, ensuring reliability and efficiency 160 mm (6 1/3") disc at the front and rear. Flat Mount assembly. Jagwire anti-compression housing to ensure braking precision and efficacy TRP semi-metallic plate (version M515/M525)
 
I haven't worked at a bike shop in over 20 years (used to work at Sweet Petes) and its amazing how far bike tech has come.

I've never seen a hybrid brake system like that, but it looks a lot easier to maintain than a traditional hydraulic disc brake. After watching a video on these, swapping out the cable should be as simple as an old cantilever or V- brake. Just be sure you have a good pair of cutters.
 
jc100 said:
I may need to install longer cables for brakes and shifter with a higher/wider drop bar set up in a gravel bike. How difficult is this to do? I have a cutter/crimper.
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It is a super easy job, just take your time.

The housings and cables are different between brakes and shifters. Just get the cables you need and measure out how much housing--add a little for good measure--and head to your LBS and the will sell housing by the foot. Most will toss in some ferrules and crimps. When you cut the housing make sure it is not crimped/narrow at that point. Other than that it is just adjustment...
 
spitRR said:
I haven't worked at a bike shop in over 20 years (used to work at Sweet Petes) and its amazing how far bike tech has come.

I've never seen a hybrid brake system like that, but it looks a lot easier to maintain than a traditional hydraulic disc brake. After watching a video on these, swapping out the cable should be as simple as an old cantilever or V- brake. Just be sure you have a good pair of cutters.
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I don't see this system as being advantageous (slightly reduced friction during actuation in exchange for needing to change the fluid/bleed your cable actuated discs with cable friction) but I agree, it definitely makes extending the lines easier than a full hydro setup.

As for the product to use, LBS is a great resource. Anything that works well for cable actuated discs should work well for these hybrids. As a start, probably compressionless housing and stainless cable. Exact flavor can vary by what they have in stock. Make sure when you are figuring out length needed you measure the 3D path to allow length for nice sweeping bends. The old housing probably gets you close and you only need to figure out the additional length required and add to the original length. Use this opportunity to improve path/bends if required as they aren't always optimal when made (cost/benefit matters more to a manufacturer than you).
 
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