People who know things?

[liv]

So, practical advice sought:

A] Does anyone have any experience of making voice recordings? Podfics or reading poetry aloud to share digitally, that kind of thing? It doesn't need to be professional level or even close, but it needs to be good enough quality that the words can be heard relatively clearly. Ideally I don't want to buy a lot of equipment or spend hours doing audio processing, but I'm not sure what the minimum set-up is to achieve this. I mean, my computer has a reasonable basic mic which is good enough for things like voice calls. And I know a lot of my students use their smartphones to record tutorials and so on, and apparently that's good enough to be a revision aid. So I imagine this should be possible without major investment, but I don't know where to start.

Software recommendations especially appreciated! My desktop is Windows and my phone is Android, and my netbook is going to be Linux eventually but that's a topic for another day.

B] I'm in the process of buying a bike. I've talked to Colin at University Cycles, and he's super helpful and has offered to lend us a couple of bikes at the weekend so I can try them out. What should I be looking out for when I try the bikes? What questions should I be asking? Also, what equipment do I need? I'm thinking lights obviously, panniers, and a lock, presumably a D-lock. Anything else?

I don't expect to become a serious cyclist any time soon. I'm intending to use the bike just to potter about Cambridge, so if I can go slightly faster and with slightly less effort than walking, that's about all I'm after. One of the suggestions Colin made was a Dutch bike, which he said was solidly built and easy to maintain; definitely those features are more important to me than speed or being fantastically light or suitability for difficult off-road trails. I'm approximately convinced by the argument that cycle helmets aren't a good trade-off.

I'm not quite sure how best to judge the price point for a new bike. I would rather buy a second-hand, good quality bike than a cheap rubbish new one, but I'm not sure how much of a premium there actually is on new bikes; I suspect most people feel like me. And I'm certainly willing to pay a bit more upfront for a bike that is easy and pleasant for me to use. But equally, if it does happen that the bike becomes my major means of transport or I get excited about long distance rides, I can always sell my starter bike and buy something more specialist; I don't want to buy a very fancy vehicle off the bat though.

I'm probably not going to be a very self-sufficient sort of bike owner; I'll most likely take the bike to the shop for anything more complicated than a puncture. I do appreciate that there's no such thing as a magic, entropy-violating machine that keeps going forever with no effort, I just don't want to make bike maintenance my major hobby.

I know there was something else too, but it's gone out of my mind. Anyway, please express opinions!

Comments

[starlady]

*nods* On the subject of locks, I use the loop lock on my front tire (which is on a quick release) and loop it into the D-lock, which goes around the frame and the rear tire. Someone once stole my front tire by cutting the loop lock (with wirecutters, they were prepared), but they didn't get the frame and the rear tire, so I was pretty happy.

I do take your point about the cycling infrastructure differential. Everyone in Japan bikes and almost no one wears helmets, but that's because bikes and pedestrians are unquestionably the priority traffic, not cars. (Though weirdly, penalties for drivers of cars hitting cyclists are often quite weak.) I actually learned to bike in Japan and I think nothing of not wearing a helmet here, but I would be really afraid to do the same in the Bay Area.

[liv]

Thank you, that's really good advice about how to use the locks. The other advantage of a loop is that you can attach the bike to things like lamp posts which are too big for a D-lock, so that works. I do agree the safety calculus really does vary a lot with where you are; I'm in Cambridge, which is a very bicycle-centric city, though I don't think it's anything like as good as it could be. In San Francisco I'd be scared to bike at all, and if I did I'd probably wear a helmet in spite of all the statistics!

I like your very apt default icon, too, I forgot to say!

Frame lock

[ofunaq]

Two locks is essential: I have a frame lock for the back wheel (e.g. http://www.abus.com/uk/Mobile-Security/Bike-Safety-and-Security/Locks/Frame-Locks), and also a D-lock. I find the frame lock amazingly handy -- it carries my keys while I cycle, it makes sure I don't leave my bike and house keys behind when I get on my bike, and it makes me lock my bike and take my key out, even if I park for a few seconds to pop into a shop.

When parking at Cambridge station, I lock up extra carefully. The ideal is to lock both wheels and the frame to the bike stand. With luck, I can do this on a Sheffield stand, by locking the back wheel to the frame, and looping the D-lock through the front wheel, frame and stand. Some sort of loopy lock would make this easier, but it would be harder to carry: my D-lock just clips onto the frame when I cycle.

I was very lucky to get a Belgian second hand bike from the old Station Cycles at Cambridge station. It's pretty much my ideal turn-up-and-go low maintenance bike: solid but not crazy-heavy, upright position, dynamo lights, hub gears (7 speeds, but 3 would have been enough), hub brakes, marathon tyres, mudguards, pannier racks, frame lock, D lock. For a longer ride, I try to carry a pump, as most leaks are slow enough that it's faster to pump up a flat tyre, ride 500m, lather, rinse repeat, especially if you're far from help, or commuting with time pressure.

For a cycling jacket, I like the blue Altura ones: very reflective, but not eye-wateringly high-viz.