January 2008 Archives

V- Brakes or Cantilever Brakes? Not really a choice anymore for most, where most bicycle corporations have moved to V- Brakes, A stronger, safer brake that applies more brake force. You may ask... why is it stronger? well I'll explain; the distance from the brake post to the brake pad is the same on both types of brakes (A). The thing that makes the V-Brakes stronger is the longer moment arm (B) compared to that of a cantilever brake (C). The longer moment arm will take the same force that is inputed at the brake lever from your hand and the longer moment arm of the V-Brake will have a larger amount of force placed upon the rim. The move from cantilever brakes to v-brakes happened through the nineties due to there increased strength over cantilevers and in turn, there increased safety compared to cantilever brakes. So there you have it, why V-Brakes are better than cantilever brakes.

Commuting on a daily basis to class and to work by bicycle, creates an opportunity where one can critique parts of his bike daily.  As of late, here in state college we have been getting our fair share of snow and commuting in such white muck will make you realize how well your "All Terrain Tires" work in "all terrains". So from my experience over the last few weeks I have found that a narrower knobby tire works best in the snowy/icy conditions at a medium pressure. Contrary to what one might think, Wider mountain bike tires don't do very well in the snow because the float on top of the snow and actually provide more opportunity to slide, as where the skinnier tire actually digs or cuts through the snow or ice to actually  make contact with some asphalt. So, remember if you're commuting to class in the snow, make sure you've got a tire that goes into the snow, not on top of.
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On PSU's main campus, there are many "paths" that run between the main roads through the campus. These paths are not illegal to ride bikes on and are aimed more for walkers than anything else. On these paths are pedestrians aware that they should stay to the right or not take up the whole path with their friends? Not only for cyclists to ride by but so on coming foot traffic doesn't have to step off the "paths" and into the grass/snow/dirt? Not only on the paths is this a problem, but on parts of campus, roads are either closed or to the pedestrian's right of way and in these areas, bicycles can still ride through. In many cases I have seen pedestrians walk across the road or "path" and not look either way for traffic of any sort, whether it be a bike, another pedestrian or even a car. Walking is undoubtedly the most popular way around campus, but that does not mean pedestrians own everything they walk on.  In the case that there is a "walk" next to a road, cyclists SHOULD ride on the road and not the side walk, and pedestrians SHOULD NOT walk in the road. In the case of paths and closed roads and cross walks, pedestrians AND cyclists should be aware of their surroundings and be polite and stay to the right and not take up the whole path. Nothing is more annoying than trying to ride up and path on a bike to be blocked by four sorority girls walking four abreast across the path. Mainly, we should treat these paths as roads themselves where faster bicycles should be able to pass on the left and the slower traffic, the pedestrians should stay to the right and be aware whats going on around them. ciao.