Best products from r/citybike

Most bike lights concentrate the beam straight ahead or behind and don't do much to make you more visible from the side, and when navigating city traffic it's often quite a good thing to be seen from the side. Wheel reflectors are good, and I really think are advisable on both wheels though I prefer spoke reflectors such as these they shine up brighter than most reflectors in headlights but are probably less noticeable than reflectors in daylight.

An even brighter alternative is wheel mounted lights, I recently tried one of these and liked it enough to get some more from my wife and brother. Pretty small and light and surprisingly bright, really makes you much more visible from the side. The best feature is that they turn on automatically when it's dark and they sense movement so it's one less thing to remember to do when you set off. Only had them for a few days so can't say anything about reliability but for £6 I'm happy to risk it.

Sure thing.

1. I have mid-range USB rechargeable lights: Headlight. Tail light. I will say that the headlight doesn't fit perfectly on the L Train's bars due to the bend in them. But it's plenty bright and lasts a long time. I had it on my old bike and just kept it. I also added Priority full fenders and front basket to make it more useful to me as a commuter. Both were tedious to install (like most fenders and some baskets) but are very solid and haven't given me any issues so far. Here's a link to a picture I posted the first day I rode it to work.
   
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2. I don't need any more gears. The seven are plenty for my rides in Chicago. If I lived in San Fran or Seattle, I'd probably want more lol. In my mind, a parking garage ramp is pretty steep, I wouldn't want to regularly climb hills like that with this bike. I know some people do though, more power to them. I can easily maintain speed while going up overpasses around here though.
   
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3. What I meant by 'spinning out' is that I could pedal faster than the bike was going. Basically, I couldn't speed up anymore, even in 7th. Again, that's only done the one grade on my commute and at that point, I'd guess that I'm probably going about 25-27 mph. No need to go any faster in my mind. On flat ground, I'm not strong enough to maintain top speed in 7th gear for long at all. I usually max out in 5th while commuting through the city.

Looks like a good commuter. Not familiar with the Philly market. But, the price seems fair. If you're worried about theft, I'd spring for some secure skewers,like these, or similar. Additional ideas Learning how to take care of your ride, always enhances its value, regardless of what you'll spend on it. For commuting, the more simpler/reliable, the better. If your purchase has all the nuts/bolts tight, it goes, and (most importantly) stops, you're good to go. If you haven't already been directed to SB's compendium of all things bicycle...here ya go

I personally have used this Abus mini u-lock for more than a year, and am happy with it. I know Kryptonite is stronger, but this lock is just so much lighter, I could easily carry it in the back pocket of my pants.
When locking up at night i also use this Kryptonite cable to secure the wheels.
If you want a lock stronger, more expensive, and heavier check out the Kryptonite New York addition lock as far as I know it’s the toughest one out there, but I’m fine with the Abus

UPDATE:
Upon reviewing some more options that are a bit more affordable to me, I've come across two bikes that strike my interest

This one: http://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Commuter-Shimano-Speed-Bicycle/dp/B008CE9KKM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408395226&sr=8-4&keywords=commuter+bike

And this one: http://www.amazon.com/Vilano-Aluminum-Speed-Shimano-Medium/dp/B00595BNPM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1408395226&sr=8-9&keywords=commuter+bike

(sorry for the long links) What do you guys think of these? They look pretty good, but I don't know much about bikes, so again reviews and insight on how good they are is appreciated.

I think Montague recommends seatpost-mounted rear racks (like this because of the way their bikes fold, so you'd be limited to about 10 kg / 20 lbs.

The general rule is the bigger the wheel size, the more it's going to ride like a regular bike. I think the appeal with Montague's bikes is that they neither look nor feel like a folding bike. Tern's 24" wheel bikes probably handle very similarly too.

One downside is that Montague and Tern are both speciality brands so for the most part you're only going to find them in major cities' shops.

Edit: I just realised that the newer Beetles have a trunk that opens like this and the rear seats fold down. Assuming that's what you have, you should have no problem putting a full-size bike in the back. My Scion tC has a hatchback and folding seats too and I could easily fit 2 or 3 bikes if I really wanted. If you have a lot of space in the back of your car then I would absolutely recommend a regular bike—you can get all the features you want at an overall better value.

Don't buy this one.

The cloth around the bottom wire that is supposed to protect your frame or ease the rotation of the mount quickly wears through followed by the coating on the wire. Then you have steel rubbing against your frame wearing a nice groove in it if it is aluminum.

I bought a cheaper folding trailer 4 years ago on Amazon for $120ish. It's just big enough for a 1/2 barrel keg. Beautiful Time Cargo Bicycle Trailer, Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M8JEGSS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Tb.DDbBJ5Y4YB

Yeah - very cool idea, though again hard to justify financially next to a battery pack (or a bigger one)

Simcoe i7 step through is available on Amazon for $300 in at least one size/color combination--normally a $800 bike so that's quite a bargain if the size and color work. Green, large was the one I saw at that price

https://www.amazon.com/Simcoe-Through-Deluxe-Large-Midnight/dp/B00P273GU2/

Chrome and drm make quite a few options. I can not imagine that you will get decent results making your own. Chrome typically has massive online sales on black friday, I got a pair of spd shoes for $25 a couple years ago. How low is your budget? Pretty easy to find them around 75-80, if you want to spend less than that you should check eBay.

Also, while they are more comfortable than my dedicated mtb shoes for walking around, they are not great for all day wear. The pair I have have a carbon shank, great for power transfer on the bike, but they don't flex at all when I walk around. The spd cleat is recessed enough that they don't scrape the floor, no issues clipping into eggbeater pedals.

I stopped using clipless on my town bike because it was not worth the hassle for me, now have cheap nylon platforms with fixie straps.

http://www.stolenbmx.com/hardgoods/drivetrain/pedals/

https://www.amazon.com/Origin8-Pro-Grip-II-Pedal-Straps/dp/B00RNFY7BI

Basket or milk crate bungee'd to rack.

Or if your rack allows (such as Topeak), a brand-specific crate that attaches securely to the rack via a locking mechanism. Example

I use cheap panniers from Amazon. Like these, but mine were only 19.99 ea.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01LYO3YAB/ref=sspa_mw_detail_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1