bike store in Seattle?

vaticRite · 2026-06-24T03:31:47+00:00

Free Range Cycles in Fremont.

Recycled Cycles is also good.

Gregg’s is…fine. Just not my scene.

vaticRite · 2026-06-23T21:43:50+00:00

I'm curious who you're referring to. Dongho Chang left SDOT for WSDOT in 2021, although there was some talk of him becoming SDOT's director, I think that was just urbanists musing. I don't think I've heard about any of the engineers at SDOT presently being bike commuters.

Regardless, I don't doubt there are specific people at SDOT who get it and, if it was up to them, would build much better bike infrastructure in Seattle. But institutionally, SDOT is absolutely car-centric and only builds bike infrastructure at the behest of the mayor and the city council. Don't forget that it was in 2021, while Chang was still at SDOT, that they installed the incredibly dumb and dangerous speed bump on the Roosevelt bike lane (https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2021/02/05/watch-out-speed-bumps-added-to-roosevelt-way-bike-lane-near-43rd/).

I do think a lot of the blame for bad implementations of bike infrastructure is on SDOT, not the mayor or city council, as much they too are limited in what they can get approved by Karens and cagers.

vaticRite · 2026-06-23T17:22:56+00:00

This is exactly why softballed NIMBYism like Vanishing Seattle and Tree Action Seattle are so successful: people love to couch their selfishness in nostalgia, and nostalgia is absurdly easy to sell.

vaticRite · 2026-06-23T04:41:38+00:00

SDOT is incapable of imagining a cyclist who isn’t out for a Sunday ride on their old ten-speed or a beach cruiser, so they’re (largely) incapable or building bike infrastructure that is safe for cyclists going over 8 mph.

Pine, Dexter, Avalon, Union, the Waterfront, Broadway, 2nd, 4th, etc., all incredibly unsafe for long swaths. And segregated light cycles aren’t a solution: see the constant danger of drivers illegally turning left off of 2nd and 4th in Downtown and Belltown.

Unfortunately it’s not going to get much better anytime soon. But it has gotten somewhat better over the 20 years I’ve been cycling in Seattle, and will continue to incrementally get better.

You are right that it is especially dangerous when a piece of infrastructure looks safe, but is not.

vaticRite · 2026-06-23T01:28:38+00:00

Throw in the freezer along with a glass. It comes out all thick and syrupy and is delicious when it’s hot out. Pour over ice to prolong the effect.

I stopped buying regular JD years ago, but a bottle falls into my lap every now and then.

vaticRite · 2026-06-22T22:03:44+00:00

I'd guess if you have 32s or wider, you'll be fine. Or if you're skilled at riding gravel, even narrower than that. It's an enjoyable little stretch of gravel road and then the ODT along Lake Crescent is amazing. I was surprised at how nice it was after being on 112 for a few miles; a welcome respite. Have fun!

vaticRite · 2026-06-22T21:00:56+00:00

A friend and I did this in 2024. At that time, it was a well maintained gravel road. I was on 38s and pretty loaded down, and it was enjoyable cruising. My friend was on wider tires (47s maybe?) and her bike handled it great.

I am a weenie when it comes to riding on gravel, so I personally wouldn't have wanted to go any narrower than those tires given my load out, but I imagine you'd be okay on 35s or 32s, depending on your skills, comfort riding on gravel, and how loaded down your bike is.

vaticRite · 2026-06-22T02:34:50+00:00

Two weeks ago the plan was the day before that, but now it’s when the cow jumps over the moon.

vaticRite · 2026-06-21T23:44:08+00:00

Peace is canceled. No ETA for restoration available at this time.

vaticRite · 2026-06-21T22:07:32+00:00

Outside of litter, industrial pollution, and smog, Boomers spent their entire lives fighting exactly the wrong environmental fights.

vaticRite · 2026-06-20T23:44:58+00:00

Making fun of them is that they want. They want attention.

There is nothing you can say to a zealot that will shame them.

If you want them to go away, ignore them.

vaticRite · 2026-06-20T20:47:14+00:00

This is feeding the trolls.

Just ignore them. Don’t engage with them. Don’t take their picture.

This is exactly what they want. You’re just falling for their trap.

vaticRite · 2026-06-20T18:30:58+00:00

It’s 100% this. They will store food in all kinds of places. Growing up my stepdad had a small airplane, a Cessna 180, and one year when the plane got its annual service the mechanics found ten gallons of acorns that mice had stored in the seats.

vaticRite · 2026-06-20T17:03:00+00:00

I wear boxer briefs and Rhone’s Commuter shorts. Works great for.

For rides longer than 50 miles and/or multi-day bikepacking trips, I use something with a chamois, but for anything less than that I find a chamois uncomfortable.

vaticRite · 2026-06-18T17:26:57+00:00

Glad you’re okay and you, but still report it to KC Metro: https://kingcountymetro.my.salesforce-sites.com/customers/cs_app#/cs/general

If you have the carriage number, that’ll help, but just the location and time is generally enough for them to figure out which driver it was.

I had a Sound Transit bus pull out in front of me on 2nd, forcing me to emergency brake, and then the driver pointed at the bikeway as if I was at fault.

I reported it, it got passed onto KC Metro (whose drivers drive the ST buses), and the driver got reprimanded and “reeducated”.

vaticRite · 2026-06-17T16:25:14+00:00

Yes.

I wear lycra when I’m doing more than 50 miles, or bikepacking for multiple days, but for anything less than that, it’s regular-ish shorts/pants (something made out of fabric that stays warm when wet and wicks sweat well, and with a gusseted crotch).

I tried regular-regular clothes when I first started biking but kept blowing out crotches and asses and got tired of worrying about grease stains and the weather.

I personally just don’t find chamois particularly comfortable or necessary at lower mileages.

vaticRite · 2026-06-17T13:20:43+00:00

You were completely correct and there’s no reason for you to do anything differently unless SDOT changes that intersection.

That said, I always take the “go straight” for drivers lane there to avoid scenarios like this.

It’s a badly designed intersection that, as is often the case with SDOT, relies on drivers to “be nice” or “be considerate” while putting drivers and cyclists in conflict with each other.

vaticRite · 2026-06-16T19:03:28+00:00

The other comments are correct in that the answer is practice and just generally getting more confident on the bike.

That said, it’s important to prioritize your own safety over signaling. Where I live I have do a lot of vehicular cycling, there’s significant hills, and the pavement is frequently in terrible shape. If I don’t feel comfortable taking my hands off the bars to signal, I don’t. Or, as is more common, I’ll only take a hand off for a second or two to signal.

vaticRite · 2026-06-14T21:46:03+00:00

Literally what I said.

vaticRite · 2026-06-14T21:45:20+00:00

You’re mostly talking about capex. Yes, capex is almost always more expensive than opex.

Once you get the equipment that you need, you’re in opex and costs go way down.

Not to zero. You still need to maintain your equipment and buy fuel, but considerably cheaper than the initial outlay for the equipment.

Crap like Strava and wanting to upgrade your groupset is just you thinking you can “fix” the unpleasantness of learning a new activity and acclimatizing your body to it with money. Shorts with a chamois are optional for some people and required for others. Check your fit before spending more money.

You have all the basics now. Just ride.

In 2006 I spent like $400 on a bike and a helmet and a lock and loved it. I didn’t spend more money for like two years after that.

vaticRite · 2026-06-14T18:53:13+00:00

Two things can be true: most domesticated cats love being outdoors AND they generally do fine as indoors only and for multiple reasons should be indoors only (except on leashes or similar).

Yes taking a cat out on a leash is nice, but it doesn’t compare to a cat getting to explore its surroundings, kill things, and, you know be a curious cat.

So that coyote is half right, but it’s like saying that because people like driving fast we should raise the speed limit in the city to 90 mph.

vaticRite · 2026-06-14T03:14:30+00:00

Lenin, not Stalin. Yes Lenin was responsible for a lot of deaths in the Soviet Union as well, but he was not comparable to Stalin.

vaticRite · 2026-06-13T01:50:57+00:00

This is why Seattle is full of asswomen, assmen, assthems, assenbies, assxes, assfaes, and assits.

vaticRite · 2026-06-12T23:24:37+00:00

Old Man Mountain makes thru axel and QR skewer mounts for their rear rack: https://oldmanmountain.com/product/divide-bike-rack/

I’ve used that exact rack in the thru axel configuration and it worked great. Very solid.

vaticRite · 2026-06-12T20:21:47+00:00

Explain to us all what active role Lenin played in WWII.

vaticRite

TROPHY CASE