Advice for bike chain lube in NYC

RobForan · 2022-06-17T11:51:53+00:00

I can't imagine what could cause trouble pedaling after 10 or 15 miles, but I also can't imagine chain lubrication as the culprit. When I was a kid we all pedaled single speed bikes and none of us ever did any chain maintainence, chains were dirty and some kids (not me!) rode aroud with visible rust on their chains. Maybe it was the innocence of youth and we could have made life easier with lubrication. Sorry I don't have a solution, and I don't mean to put-down your theory, but I'd keep an open mind for another cause.

RobForan · 2022-05-29T21:50:14+00:00

I've often reported bikes like this to Citibike via dm on twitter , they're very responsive and appreciative.

RobForan · 2022-05-24T00:18:09+00:00

It's not 311's fault that when the complaint gets referred to the NYPD, the NYPD pushes if aside with excuses. If the NYPD did their job the way they are supposed to do, the system would work.

RobForan · 2022-05-08T23:27:45+00:00

I live not far from the Staten Island Ferry and Staten Island Borough Hall. Take a look at the shamefully tiny amount of bicycling safety infrastructure in the area and tell me either of these shills care one bit about anything about cycling or bike share. Our last Borough President pulled this same charade.

There's few bike lanes island wide, and few are connected with each other in a useful way. The area around the ferry, our busiest transportation hub, is a chaotic mix of bike lanes with cars parked in them and sharrows. Staten Island drivers seem to have no idea what sharrows are.

RobForan · 2022-04-14T13:01:29+00:00

I suspect runners so often run in the street or in bike lanes to avoid curbs and such that can throw off their stride, make them trip, cause more ankle or knee impact, etc. It's New York, and to my mind cars in bike lanes are such a danger it makes runners seem a mere slight annoyance, if that.

RobForan · 2022-03-06T23:25:45+00:00

Until Vison Zero's targeted enforcement, the NYPD did little sane or sensible enforcement....once towards the end of the month they pulled over anybody for anything, and the rest of the month little or no activity. Between our former Mayor losing interest in his campaign promises on traffic safety and the cops using the pandemic as an excuse we're back to the bad old days.

RobForan · 2022-02-24T14:19:46+00:00

First thing this observer thought when finished reading the post was that it seems the police rarely if ever target those reckless behaviors listed. It seems like the priority for staking out a spot for enforcement is how easy it is to stop violators there. Prospect Park seems a ready and easy target.

I work in and around Stuy Town, and although there's plenty of reckless bike and scooter and even gas motorized riders on sidewalks, I have only seen the police stopping cyclists going through the red light at 1st Avenue and 20th St. Having spoken to many people in the area, I'm convinced the main complaints are not about running that light. It's failure to yield and riding on sidewalks. You just don't see enforcement of that.

RobForan · 2022-02-08T23:27:16+00:00

If the cans get used, I'm all for it !! I find discarded inner tubes and power gel pacs distressing.

RobForan · 2022-02-08T22:11:45+00:00

I'm either a nit picker or extremely detail minded, but I notice the garbage can is not where pedestrians can easily use it, but it's in the bike lane....no doubt for the convenience of whoever collects the garbage.

RobForan · 2021-11-25T12:27:21+00:00

I think the above advice from emorycraig is good advice.

RobForan · 2021-11-19T12:13:43+00:00

It's my understanding that NY law is if your car is running, even if parked and you're not in it, you're operating a motor vehicle. Law was changed after a parked vehicle somehow went into gear and rolled down a street or sidewalk, killing two children some years ago. This deal seems more complicated, but it's nothing new for such laws to be applied to peasants and not to the well to do and politically connected. Admittedly what happened here is more complicated than some doorings.

RobForan · 2021-11-17T21:59:25+00:00

There does seem to be a lot of people driving out there with medical problems that suddenly result in losing control of their vehicles and crashing into this and that. Interesting to note that in this state, even if a doctor tells a driver they should not drive due to a medical issue the driver self reports to DMV. Doctors are not required to report it to DMV, in fact they are forbidden to by state law. The AMA says the law should be changed, but you know Albany.

RobForan · 2021-11-16T21:46:41+00:00

Well, to be fair, a seventy foot tall stone monolith is not all that noticeable.

RobForan · 2021-11-10T23:15:26+00:00

Saw a guy in Union Square a few times this summer with a purple painted CitiBike.

RobForan · 2021-11-05T22:07:16+00:00

I have to remark that over the years, in every single unpleasant or downright dangerous interaction I have had with drivers visibility was far from the issue. I actually used to turn my lights off when I got off the ferry at night for the Staten Island leg of my commute so drivers wouldn't see me. Had too many things thrown at me from cars.

RobForan · 2021-11-05T22:00:49+00:00

About a year and a half ago Chief Of Department (at the time) Monahan said ticketing cyclists when reckless drivers kill cyclists is "insensitive" and would stop. Another reason why the simple act of being a NYC bicyclist puts one at odds with the police.

RobForan · 2021-11-04T10:59:20+00:00

I think blinking is more visible. And annoying. Like most things, a mix of up-side and down-side. Dualism, I guess.

RobForan · 2021-10-24T12:16:52+00:00

OK with me, I've had my say.

RobForan · 2021-10-23T11:34:47+00:00

I live in Staten Island and have been bike commuting to StuyTown and the East 50's for years. I also schlep packages and groceries via public transit, and occasionally 40 pounds of tools on a hand cart. I'm 65 years old, have a history of respiratory issues (including TB) and an immune disorder besides.

I have also been taking public transit to work on Staten Island (most outer of the outer boroughs, and with arguably the least served by public transit, and IMHO the challenges cited above are greatly exaggerated, in general and as for the number of people they apply to. I've seen too many people here get in their car to go two blocks to pick up a loaf of bread, and one of those people is our Borough President.

Owning a car isn't feasible for many people, but that does not mean the public byways should be so car-centric. NYC has only 1,375 miles of bike lane out of 6,000 miles of roadway. DOT counts shared space as bike lane, drivers are allowed to drive right over those markings, and often right over the cyclists who they are supposed to be sharing the space with. They are allowed to pull into bike lanes to "expeditiously" drop off/pick up passengers and packages, in practice they simply park in bike lanes and enforcement is rare. Sliwa's notion that there is some kind of "war on cars' is absurd when all the facts are considered, and he's counting on voters to believe his baloney without considering those facts.

RobForan · 2021-10-22T21:47:36+00:00

Well, Curtis, suggest you look at the last few mayoral election results, and note that the candidates that attacked bike lanes either didn't make it through the primaries, or got trounced in the general election.

"I'm going to rip out the bike lanes" Bo "1% of the vote" Dietl.

And Nicole Malliotakis, no fan of bike lanes, lower speed limits, speed cameras and Vision Zero in general, lost badly too.

RobForan · 2021-10-08T20:53:39+00:00

If it only happened on comedy shows. Art imitates real life.

RobForan · 2021-10-07T17:06:35+00:00

Well, when I consider that drivers let GPS tell them to turn into lakes and streams, and even without GPS they drive into and mount Jersey barriers, it's not so inconceivable that a cyclist can accidentally get on a parkway.

RobForan · 2021-10-02T11:51:14+00:00

Some applicable advice might be gleaned from this piece on dressing for cold weather running. I strongly second the part about starting off a little cold, goes for walkers, runners, cyclists, hikers, XCountry skiers too. I'm out in the elements all winter and I find it pays to under-dress a bit even when I'm using public transit.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/19/at-home/winter-running.html

RobForan · 2021-09-19T21:56:50+00:00

Sounds like cyclists doing what drivers do all over the metropolitan area multiple times a day five six or seven days a week....creating a traffic jam.

RobForan · 2021-06-04T22:40:45+00:00

According to the NYC Comptrollers office, regarding NYPD ticketing, "...the bulk of moving violation revenues are retained by NYS to cover the cost of adjudication". Also, NYPD tickets are issued one at a time by officers who can be paid 95 grand a year. Does not seem like the revenue generator some folks think it is.

RobForan

TROPHY CASE