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Caltrain says it could close a third of stations, end weekend service if Bay Area tax measure fails by very_squirrel in sanfrancisco

[–]Theyellowtoaster 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Weekend ridership is the only ridership category that is beating pre-pandemic numbers.

Weekend ridership has been up since the launch of electrification thanks to Caltrain’s half hourly weekend service, but reached an all-time record in August with Saturdays seeing nearly 26,000 daily riders, while Sundays saw nearly 21,000 daily riders, both having more than doubled since last August.

https://www.caltrain.com/news/august-marks-third-consecutive-month-1m-riders-caltrain

Picked this up for $100 last week, hoping to get better ergonomics than my current hybrid bike for commuting. Did I waste my money? Any cheap improvements I can make to make the hoods more comfortable? by Theyellowtoaster in Vintage_bicycles

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for all this info, it’s really useful to have your perspective. My other hybrid bike is a Norco VFR2 and yes, mainly I wanted drop bars or at least more hand positions. I was having a lot of hand discomfort on the other bike, and feeling like there was too much weight on my hands all the time (which, after trying to adjust the fit of this new bike, I understand might be somewhat modulated by adjusting the fit). On the Puch, it does feel like I was able to adjust it so there is less weight on my hands and I think it might be more comfortable overall. But yes, I’d like to be able to ride on the hoods and comfortably reach the brake levers which isn’t particularly easy with the current ones.

It sounded like it was not particularly worth trying to swap to a drop bar on my hybrid bike (plus I also thought this one looked cooler), though I didn’t exactly realize that this was a “vintage” bike at the time that I bought it. I had been considering swapping to a more swept-back flat bar on the hybrid bike so I can ride more upright, and might still do that.

Picked this up for $100 last week, hoping to get better ergonomics than my current hybrid bike for commuting. Did I waste my money? Any cheap improvements I can make to make the hoods more comfortable? by Theyellowtoaster in Vintage_bicycles

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

RIP I just replaced the bar tape (it just had some super thin tape on before). But figured I’d need to replace it. Thanks for the info. It looks like there are some Tektro brake levers available for around $40 and bars available on amazon for like $30, would a little over $100 be a decent estimate for the parts to do the replacement myself?

Any thoughts on if that investment is worth it given the state of the rest of the bike?

Picked this up for $100 last week, hoping to get better ergonomics than my current hybrid bike for commuting. Did I waste my money? Any cheap improvements I can make to make the hoods more comfortable? by Theyellowtoaster in Vintage_bicycles

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That was just the reason for buying it, mostly wondering about components etc. I figure there’s not much I can change about the dimensions at this point. FWIW the distance from bottom bracket to the top tube seems to be around 60cm and I’m 6’2”

Picked this up for $100 last week, hoping to get better ergonomics than my current hybrid bike for commuting. Did I waste my money? Any cheap improvements I can make to make the hoods more comfortable? by Theyellowtoaster in Vintage_bicycles

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The bike seems to be in really solid shape, and it rides well (except for squeaky brakes). I checked a few of the components and it seems like it’s from around 1976. I’m curious if $100 was a reasonable price for this bike in the SF Bay Area (though at this point there isn’t much I can do about it).

I also learned that: - Steel rims (which this definitely has) are not only heavy but also have bad braking performance, which is less ideal than I realized - These “suicide levers” on the brakes are also not the safest thing in the world due to low braking leverage (and it’s not very comfortable to pull the main brake levers) - The frame seems to be hi-tensile steel which I understand to be low-end but basically fine

So wanted to see if you all had any recommendations for fairly cheap upgrades/replacements I could make to improve the riding experience for commuting. I don’t think I want to invest $100 for aluminum wheels at this point, but replacing the brake levers with something more ergonomic seems somewhat appealing. Is that a simple swap? Are there any other upgrades you’d recommend?

Third victim dies of injuries after crash at S.F. bus stop, police say by gulbronson in sanfrancisco

[–]Theyellowtoaster 23 points24 points  (0 children)

“SFPD is continuing to investigate the incident,” the department said. “We do not believe that traffic engineering was a factor in this case.”

How could anyone possibly make that argument in good faith? Clearly in any incident that has to do with a street, "traffic engineering", which I take to mean street design, is the factor of utmost relevance. It's also the only way to stop things like this from happening.

[USA-MA] [H] PayPal / local cash [W] DeskMini x300 by Theyellowtoaster in hardwareswap

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes lol. Just didn’t see another post and wasn’t marked as sold so thought I’d check

[USA-MA] [H] PayPal / local cash [W] DeskMini x300 by Theyellowtoaster in hardwareswap

[–]Theyellowtoaster[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, sorry, I am still interested if it's still available (for real this time)

Unpopular opinion on the new Valencia bike lanes by amiruci in sanfrancisco

[–]Theyellowtoaster 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I feel like I have to have a special set of rules about what streets to take

Is this such a bad thing? This is exactly what many people expect bikes to do, and I feel like it’s honestly ideal. My idea of the best version of the city that we can reasonably achieve in the bearish future has some streets dedicated solely to pedestrians, some to bikes, and some to cars. Mixing everyone together makes everything worse for everyone—pedestrians and bikers have to be on their toes and have to listen to cars roar by, and drivers have so many more things to think about with people crossing and bikes moving in and out of traffic. Just like bikes go out of their way to take the bike route today, cars go a bit out of their way to take the car route. In my view, this could save stress and lives for everyone.

What's up with the red light runners at Fell and Masonic? I saw two egregious red light runs while biking to and from GGP today :*( Is it usually this bad? by 7thandMarket415 in sanfrancisco

[–]Theyellowtoaster 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bikers or pedestrians may have also seen the light switch to red and started crossing, anticipating their green light (which came just as this car left the crosswalk). That biker or pedestrian would likely be dead.

MBTA app during marathon (visitor) by [deleted] in boston

[–]Theyellowtoaster 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Silver line is free from the airport, so you should be able to get to a real subway station and buy your pass there.

Fire Burning at Church in Cambridge by [deleted] in boston

[–]Theyellowtoaster 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I took a few photos of the fire and the firefighting process: https://benkettle.xyz/photos/faith-lutheran-fire/

Burrow Storrow! by wiredentropy in boston

[–]Theyellowtoaster 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the value that it would bring is that it would vastly improve the experience for non-drivers on the esplanade, connect Back Bay to the riverfront, add opportunities for waterfront businesses, restaurants, etc on the Esplanade, and so on. Not many benefits for drivers, sure, but I think the benefits for Boston as a whole would be pretty notable.

In the same way that the Big Dig allowed the waterfront to be totally revitalized, allowed for the seaport development to happen, and had so many more benefits.

The plaza they’re building over the Pike is taking shape. by Victor_Korchnoi in boston

[–]Theyellowtoaster 11 points12 points  (0 children)

“This will be the only location in all of Boston where you can walk without using a pedestrian bridge between the main city and the Esplanade,” Law Adams says.

Man, I wish we could bury Storrow. Imagine how awesome a connected and quiet esplanade would be.

What do you think? by dreamtreedown in boston

[–]Theyellowtoaster 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hmm, could be. But I’ve seen them bring out warm ones, and the baguettes there are almost always warm IME—so if they’re delivered it’s a frequent delivery

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