BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

For tuneups and maintenance, I'd highly recommend Iron City Bikes in Oakland. I don't know much about Biketek, but I know that I've had pretty good luck with Iron City and will keep going back.

As for commuting, being in Squirrel Hill you should be able to head thru Schenley Park---I'm sure the Squirrel Hill-ians on the board can give you more specifics about that.

Welcome!!

In all honesty a smaller shop like Iron City like greenbike suggested will be much better than Biketek. Thick Bikes on the Southside is another good choice, they respect old bikes and will give you an honest price. Free Ride is also cool if you have the time to go to the shop and become a member.

Don't let that pesky traffic bother you! Just smile because your having more fun than they are!

i would also recommend iron city or free ride for a new to bikes tune up... after a few go rounds at free ride try out kraynicks in garfield.

welcome to the city, and the board.

Even though Bike Tek is in Squirrel Hill I definitely wouldn't take it there.I had some bad experiences with that bike shop.I also wouldn't take it to Pittsburgh Pro Bikes in Squirrel Hill because their prices are very high.Iron City Bikes in Oakland and REI in Southside would are both good choices.

sounds like your back wheel is coming out of alignment because the wheel isn't bolted or quick-released to the frame tight enough. Whenever you put a lot of force on the chain (e.g. when pedaling uphill) it's pulling the chain-side of your wheel forward.

Just to be on the safe side, I'd fix this before riding it anywhere. Chances are your weight and gravity will keep the wheel from moving enough to give you a major problem, but you do risk the outside chance your wheel could fall off while riding.

Fixing it is simple:

If the wheels have bolts just give them a couple turns of the ol' wrench.

If it's quick release just loosen the lever (aka the "cam,") give the nut on the opposite side a twist or two clockwise, and then flip the lever back to the closed position. If it's tight enough there should be some resistance when you do close the lever, but if you're straining muscles or bruising your hand to close it you've overtightened and need to loosen the bolt up a bit. If you're not sure what I'm talking about there are good pictures here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quick_release_skewer

As for getting comfortable riding, it comes with time. Be cautious and considerate of cars and 95% of drivers will be nice back. The other 5% are going to be jerks no matter how great your city-riding skills are.

Also, don't get intimidated, if you're panicking in traffic, you're as likely to make a bad decision as you are if you're simply inattentive.

I'd suggest identifying the main routes you plan to bike and then riding them once or twice with a more experienced cyclist. That will give you a sense of when to ride to the right vs taking the entire lane, how to handle busy intersections, what streets and monster potholes to avoid, etc.

^^ +1

ok, so I tried tightening the nut on the other side of the quick release skewer (I had been trying to tighten the other side with the 'cam' before) and it worked pretty well.

I tried riding around some of the side streets in sq. hill before maybe trying to make a trip to oakland or something, but my first impression is that I cannot get to oakland at all because I'd have to push my bike back to squirrel hill. I absolutely cannot pedal this bike uphill! I'm not sure if it's because I'm choosing the wrong gears or I'm really more terribly out of shape than I imagined, but I'm having a really difficult time getting around.

Hmmmm. Well, there is always the gear issue, as I remember that it took me a while how to correctly learn them. The one thing I quickly learned was to be careful when you shift going uphill. Heh. Ok, well, I digress.

I would suggest trying to map out a flatter route for yourself until you feel like you're in shape. Having come from a very flat city myself, the hills can take some getting used to. But, it is doable and honestly, the BikePGH map is fantastic for figuring out a flatter route.

Where are you coming from in Sq. Hill? I know a friend who goes thru Schenley (and Frick?) on the way into Oakland.

Regardless of shape you can usually meander up any hill in the right gear. It might take you forever, but you'll get there without killing yourself.

Just hang out in a low traffic area and move around in your gears, then go for some low/no traffic rides to get used to them. The same gears you should be using on a hill are the ones that will make your legs spin relentlessly on a flat surface.

Hey there! Welcome to Squirrel Hill. I would strongly urge you to stay off Panther Hollow Road. It's steep and contains high speed traffic. The sidewalk is a bad idea there as well, since pedestrians often walk it and it's on a hill so there is nowhere to get off the side. I've seen someone wipe out there when trying to negotiate a pedestrian at speed. The only option is to dismount before reaching a pedestrian but on the curved hill you might not see them before you're right on them.

I think the best route from Squirrel Hill to Oakland would involve Wightman to Darlington to Schenley Drive. Then use back streets parallel to Forbes to go as far as you need to through Oakland.

The best general advice I can give on choosing routes is that most often, the road you would take to get to a destination in a car has a road right next to it running parallel that is much more scenic and calm for bike traffic. Examples: Penn Ave near Free ride? No - take Thomas Blvd. Shady from 5th to Forbes? No - take Beechwood Blvd. Of course, Penn or Shady can be fun too, but on a regular commute route, it's all about lowering the odds that you're going to be hit on any given day, and all other things being equal, less cars = less collisions.

I agree with those who suggested Freeride and the Bike Pittsburgh map (which I think you can still pick up at Freeride for free).

Welcome!

I live in South Oakland and commute to work on the edge of Greenfeild and Squirrel Hill (very end of Murray). I try to avoid Panther Hallow Road by taking the gravel trail (I'n sur eit has a name, but I don't know it). It is on the left of Overlook, here, and comes out by the pool here.

There is also a trail on the right of Panther Hallow, but it is much thinner and harder to pass joggers on. I don't reccomend the trail after dark though, it's pretty creepy.

Also I think Panther Hallow is much worse going to Sq. Hill than going to Oakland. The biggest danger going to Oakland is having people cut over to the right to make the ramp to go towards Phipps.

As far as shops go, Thick is my favorite. If you want to learn to do it yourself, Freeride is a great resource. The only issue for some people is the hours.

If you are set on fixing it yourself, you are welcome to make the trek through Schenley and I will help you fix it at my place.

-Nick

I'd second routing via Schenley Drive. It's low traffic with a wide shoulder, and not too steep. It drops you right into the middle of the U. Pitt area, too (and at about 40 mph if you're coming downhill and not braking too hard, wheeeee!).

It looks like the Super Sport comes with a pretty reasonable gear range, so if it shifts right you should be able to take the hill pretty easily in the bottom gear. The hill will get a lot easier (and your quads bigger, too) if you do it regularly. I definitely thought it was hard when I first got here from flat Wisconsin.

If you're looking to get riding quickly, I'd agree with taking the machine into Iron City Bikes-- they do good work on older bikes. Otherwise Free Ride and Kraynick's are good places.

I have biked Panther Hallow both directions. I will never again ride it going towards Sq. Hill. Super sketchy, especially during rush hour. Almost ate a few side view mirrors. I've felt safer riding on freeway shoulders. In the mornings though I'll bike it into Oakland, and going down the hill I just take the whole right lane. I can just about keep up with the posted speed limit going down, so if the cars following me don't like it, tough.

Usually I take the dirt trail though, the smaller one on the right of the road (as Nick described) -- it is called Upper Panther Hallow Trail. I don't find it too narrow to pass people on, and ride it after dark all the time. After dark, there are only people jogging there, and when they see my headlight they move over right away. It is actually nicer to ride it at night for that reason.

Usually I take the dirt trail though, the smaller one on the right of the road (as Nick described) -- it is called Upper Panther Hallow Trail. I don't find it too narrow to pass people on, and ride it after dark all the time. After dark, there are only people jogging there, and when they see my headlight they move over right away. It is actually nicer to ride it at night for that reason.

The only time I have ever taken that trail was on a very nice Saturday in late spring. There was tons of people on the trail then and a lot of people side by side. I guess that is not the daily commuting situation.

Maybe I am a baby, but I have taken the the other trail few times around 12-1a and I thought it was pretty creepy.

Yea, I only take it before 9am or after 6pm on weekdays. Not too many people on there. I would probably avoid it on a weekend too.

I never go home that late, but at 8 pm or so I don't mind, though I don't know if I'm supposed to be on trails in the park after dark. Anyone ever been stopped for using a park after dusk?

I ride the trail all hours. Never even seen a hint of a problem.

The Fifth-Forbes Corridor from town to Oakland? I ride it all hours, too. I've never had a problem there, either, but it scares me much more than the trail.

Mick

Well, I didn't really get a chance to ride much this week. Anyone here maybe down with getting together and riding down to Iron City Bikes/showing me the ropes of getting around in the city?