If I Were Elected King of the Country

My new friend asked me a few weeks ago, "what would you change about the world, if you had the power to?"

She said she tried to ask all new people she met that question.

She said it was surprising how many people didn't have an answer because they had never thought about it.

I couldn't answer, but for a very different reason.

I just couldn't sum up, couldn't choose from the list what to say first.

I've been thinking about it ever since then, and I still can't find any way to tie all the various things together, so, instead of going into the detail about how and why for each one, I think I'll just list as many as I can think of.

(and if anyone wants elaboration on any in particular, ask me as a comment, and maybe I'll make that one its own post)

These are in no particular order:

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Election day would be a national holiday.  No one could be forced to work more than a 4 hour day on election day. 

Anyone not registered to vote would pay a small annual penalty with their taxes.

Judges would be subject to recall by popular vote.

Congressional, presidential, and governor terms 6 years.

All term limits would be eliminated.

All elections would be instant run off type (or another equivalent to eliminate "lesser of two evils" votes).

Party, primary, and electoral college systems eliminated.

Voter initiative process on federal level, and all 50 states.

All campaign related ads would be banned from TV, radio, print, direct mail, and billboards, starting 1 year prior to any election.  Each candidate or initiative would receive expanded space in the official election guide.  All statements made that could not be verified by an independent 3rd party fact checker would be marked with an asterisk.

No individual could donate more than $500 to any campaign or political organization in a year.  No company or corporation could donate any amount to any campaign or political organization.  No union, church, or other group could donate without 100% unanimous consent of all members, and then no more than the equivalent of $100 per member.  For any amount an individual spent out of pocket for a campaign, they would have to contribute an equal amount to the public campaign fund. 
All of this would be less important, giving the ban on media ads.

Media (of any form) which reports any mistaken information or error as factual, would be required to report the correction with equal or greater prominence and length of time as the original mistake (if error was headline for 3 days, retraction must be headline for 3 days)

Public school would be paid at the national level, by number of students (regardless of performance).  Any outside income (gifts of cash or supplies by parents for example) would reduce funding by 50% of the amount of income (i.e. parent donates $100, then federal funding is reduced by $50), used for the pool, to benefit schools with less generous parents.

Teacher training and classroom curricula would be evidence based

No multiple choice test could be used for assessment.  Guiding principal should be teaching for understanding, not just retention of facts.

Preschool and kindergarten would both become mandatory and free.

2 and 4 year college / university would be voluntary, free for any family below median national income.

All college finals would be administered one semester after the end of the class (to test for long-term retention)

Public school teacher salaries would be cut by roughly 5-10% (approximately the amount private school teachers make), principals and administrators by 25-50% (to be within 25% more than teachers).  All of this extra money would go to hiring more teachers to reduce classroom size. 

Teachers would have at least 15min of prep time for each 55min of instruction.
They would be eligible for overtime after 112 hours per month(equivalent annual hours to other jobs, considering summer and other breaks - after reduced work hours, (see below))

Cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and predictable irrationality would be a required course in middle school, high school, and college (beginning, intermediate, and advanced, respectively).

Drug use would be decriminalized.  Selling without a license would not be.  Prostitution and gambling would also be legal, (though regulated and taxed).

No law or regulation could stay in effect unless it can be shown to tangibly benefit some individual or society as a whole.

No censorship of "indecency" (nudity, sex, language)

Sex ed would be taught in preschool, 5th grade, and 12th grade, each class more advanced and in-depth (the first would be similar to current Jr High level, the last would be equivalent to college Human Sexuality course).  It would be a graduation requirement, so no opt out.

It would be illegal to formally teach any child below the age of 18 any form of religion, (other than in a historical or sociological context).  This would include attending services.

Churches would no longer be tax exempt.

No government recognition of religion or God, even in a neutral, non-specific way (e.g. "...One Nation, Under God..." or "In God We Trust")

All pronouns would be replaced with gender neutral ones.

All restrooms and locker rooms would be unisex (with individual stalls, and/or separate areas of the room optionally)

Combat and infantry roles would be available to women in the military.

No government or business could mandate different dress codes by gender.

This would include that women could be topless anywhere that men could.

Public beaches and parks would be clothing optional.

All laws on sexual assault, age of consent, marriage, etc would be gender neutral (this would, among other things, inherently legalize gay marriage).

No cosmetic surgery (including circumcision and pierced ears) before the age of 18

All subsidies and price controls for feed crops would be eliminated.

Minimum standards for animal welfare would include daily access to outdoors and a diet resembling a "natural" one - i.e. herbivores could not be fed animal by-products, nothing would be fed manure, nor its own specie, nor a reciprocal specie (i.e. Animal A is fed animal B, and animal B is fed animal A)

All new cars would be governed to a maximum of 65mph, or to the maximum of the state is is sold in, whichever is lower.

Each lane on any highway with 2 or more lanes in each would direction would have specified lane speeds. A two lane would have a maximum speed of 65 and minimum of 55 in the left lane, and max of 55 and minimum of 40 in the right. 
For a 3 lane, from the left, the speeds to maintain would be 60mph, 50, and 40 (each +/- 5mph).  A 4 lane would be 60, 55, 50, and 45 (+/-5).  A 5 lane would be 60, 55, 50, 45, 40 (+/-5). 

Speeds on all highways would be monitored by randomly placed, (and periodically moved) radar machines - a combination of the radar systems that say "your speed is:" and the camera detection system that catch red light and toll violators.  Like the latter, they would look up registration by plate number, and mail you your ticket.

The first 2 violations would be warning.  The 3rd would be a $100 fine.  The 4th would be a $500 fine.  The 5th would be one week mandatory community service.  The 6th would be license suspension for a year.

No one could get a drivers license without an intensive driver's ed class (50 hours minimum).  It would cover all the basics, plus: changing oil, checking tire pressure / fluid levels, changing a wheel, and safety check - cone tests, parallel parking, driving in reverse - calculating speed, distance, and time, as well as braking distance and impact force at different speeds - fuel economy, basic hypermiling - safe and legal bicycle operation - auto crashes, causes and prevention - practical accident avoidance, using simulator - poor weather handling, rain, ice, snow, fog, and glare - driving with manual transmission.  The final test could not contain any multiple choice questions, and would cover all topics, some as hands on skills tests.

Driving class (as above) would have a 2-3 day mandatory refresher course every 10 years - every 5 years before age 25 and after age 60, as well as after every moving violation or accident

No communication device while driving (including hands free) except 2-way radios used in the course of a job which involves driving (truck and taxi drivers, emergency services)

Public safety tax based on weight for all motor vehicles, added to annual registration (i.e. one pays for the additional risk to everyone else caused by their choice to buy a 3 ton SUV rather than a 1 ton car) - based on the grand total public cost of all accidents, divided by the total number of registered cars, proportioned by weight.

Anyone found to be 1% or greater at fault in any auto "accident" would be automatically charged with criminal negligence.

Revoke mandatory airbags, seatbelts, crash rating standards.

Traffic lights would flash green before turning yellow (as in Mexico).  They would flash red before turning green (so you know to turn your engine back on)

Stop signs would be considered yield signs for bicyclists (as in Ohio)

All 4-way stop sign intersections would be converted to either a 2-way stop, a traffic circle, or a stop light.

All major one-way streets would have timed / synchronized stop lights.

50% tax on retail gasoline, money used to subsidize public transit.

At rush hour, instead of a carpool lane, the left most lane would be for commercial vehicles (being used for work, not for commuting), transit, emergency services, and people with permanent disabilities only.  On highways with 3 or more lanes, the next one over from the commercial / handicapped lane would be for carpools of 4+ people, plus toll road paid by electronic RFID tag

Upper limit of inheritance or gifts of $10,000.  The government income from estates would replace all (or at least most) of the income tax.

The rate for any remaining income tax would be at least half for earned income (wages / salary / commission) as for unearned income (dividends, capital gains, gifts, prizes).

The tax rate on unearned income would be steeply progressive, with a maximum rate of 99% after $100,000.

One may only own land which you personally live and/or work on - i.e. a maximum of two parcels (one for work, one for home) per person.  They can be any size, so long as they are a) continuous and b) actively and directly used by the owner in some way.

No one could have more than 2 households as tenants, and then only if the tenants share the same parcel that the landlord lives on.

Corporate charters would only be granted for very specific circumstances, where it is demonstrated that the product or service offered could not be provided by a privately held company, and that it is of overall benefit to society.  Any charter application which met those standards and was granted would be for a specific and limited time period - 1 year by default, 5 years with requested extension, 10 years considered with an explanation of the need for a longer time period.

Patents and copyright would be good for 10 years, or until a 25% return on investment was made by the patent/copyright holder, or until the applicant dies whichever came first.

Business licenses and fees would be by percentage of net income, not flat amounts.

Business insurance companies would be required to offer a broad range of coverage and deductible amounts, so that small scale and hobby businesses with low maximum potential risk could afford coverage.

Any form of business could be run out of one's residence unless a specific risk or harm to the neighbors could be demonstrated.  "Lowering property values" would not in-and-of itself be a valid form of harm.

Employers would not pay for the employees' payroll taxes.  The employee would cover the full amount of their own social security and medicare taxes.

Employers would also not cover medical insurance, but that would be irrelevant, because there would be nationalized, single payer, health care.

1/2 of company profit would be distributed equally among all employees, without regard for title or position.  Any increase in efficiency due to improved technology that were not passed on to the consumer would be distributed to employees either in the form of fixed hours and increased salary, or fixed salary and decreased hours.

No one could sue for loss of profit.

A company with more than zero profit could not lay off employees.

Overtime would be anything over 86 hours per month, would pay time and a half, no exceptions by profession, would apply to salary and commission as well.  Double time after 172 hours in one month.

No company or corporation could buy another.

No company could have more than one location, except in those cases where the nature of the company required multiple locations (such as delivery service).  Exception could be made on a case by case basis, if the expansion could be shown to benefit society as a whole enough to offset the anti-competitiveness.

Any company based in the US, or with a majority of US shareholders, or with 1% or more of product exported to the US, must follow all US wage, safety, and environmental laws and regulations, regardless of the location of production.  (For example, if a company builds a factory in China, they still must pay US minimum wage if they want to export the product into the US)

No US military protection of private property, on US soil or abroad.  For example, US oil companies would have to pay for their own private security to guard pipelines.  Private corporate interests could not be considered "national interests", even if the product they produce is of value to the nation.

Any action of military or CIA is automatically war, whether or not it is officially declared.

Any action longer than 5 days must be approved by congress.  Any action longer than 60 days must be unanimously approved by all 50 states (via senators and/or governors).  Any action longer than one year requires majority vote of all US citizens.

Military budget reduced by 90% (give or take).  It could never be increased to more than 10% less than whatever nation has the highest military budget.

Universal conscription of all citizens at 18, both genders, deferments for medical issues, but no other reason.  Everyone must attend bootcamp.  After that, choice of 2 years of either military service, or civil service.

In middle school, high school, and college, reversible long-term birth control would be provided at no cost to both genders (yes, the technology exists).  This would be voluntary, and either child or parent could choose to opt out for any reason, however it would be the default - everyone would get it unless they actively choose to opt out.

(Voluntary) permanent sterilization would be provided at no cost to all adults.

All forms of contraceptive would be covered in full through health care.

Child tax credits would be eliminated.

Welfare would provide a fixed amount per household - it would not increase with additional children.

Universal, single payer healthcare - however, in order to engage in certain high risk activities, you would have to opt out.  You would present your opt out card before buying cigarettes, and to get a registration sticker with a stripe which indicates you may drive a car without a seatbelt of ride a motorcycle without a helmet.  Possibly also for purchasing more than a certain quantity of alcohol at one time, and certain foods.  Anyone who opted out could be refused service at any hospital unless they pay in full in advance, even in emergencies.  They could still purchase private health insurance, if any private insurer wanted to cover them.



Citizenship would not be automatic:
At age 18, each person would need to pass the same citizenship exam that immigrants have to pass (this would be covered in high school). 
They would  have to go to military bootcamp, and then either serve in the military or in civil service for 2 years.  They would have to register to vote. 

Anyone choosing not to apply for citizenship would be considered a native resident. 

Native residents would not have to pay any taxes.

They also could not vote or run for office.  They would not be eligible for public assistance, including health care and (college level) education.  They could not drive motor vehicles on public roads, nor sue in court.  They would be responsible for the labor, fuel, and expenses if using emergency services such as police or firefighters. 

One could apply for citizenship at anytime, up to age 40, however, once revoked, you could not get it back for 15 years, and would have to begin the process from the beginning.

Please ride your bike in the street.

My used bike buying guide has been way more popular than anything I have ever written.

Since it is geared towards new riders, I feel obligated to share some statistics I just learned - confirming what I have known for many years - about the best ways to stay safe in traffic.

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Riding among fast moving two-ton steel machines can be very nerve wracking when you first start out.

The number one fear of most new cyclists in traffic is getting hit from behind by a driver, but it is important to know that this is, statistically, actually the rarest type of accident. 

The most common are at intersections and driveways, when the driver didn't see the cyclist - usually because they weren't expecting the bike to be where it was.  That's why I (and the official League bike safety classes) recommend riding with the normal flow of traffic.

Riding with the normal flow of traffic means riding in the street, to the right (in America at least), and obeying basic traffic laws, such as stopping for red lights and going the correct way on one-way streets.  It means never riding against traffic (facing on-coming cars) and never riding on the sidewalk.

Although it feels much safer to be on the sidewalk, away from the cars, in reality most accidents happen at driveways and intersections, and a driver is less likely to see you if you are anywhere other than the street.

You reduce your statistical chance of being hit by a car by somewhere roughly on the order of 90% compared to the average rider just by riding predictably, following the law, and being extra visible, because, as it turns out, the vast majority of bike accidents are (at least partially) the cyclists' fault.

So what exactly does riding safely entail?



There are several ways a car and bike can make contact:


(If you are having trouble visualizing what I am describing, the following two websites have similar information, along with pictures of examples of each.  Note that they both come to the same ultimate conclusions:  
http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/chapter2a.htm  and/or  http://bicyclesafe.com/ )

• Bike is at intersection (or driveway) going straight, car on cross street hits (or is hit by) bike.
  Much of the time, this is because the cyclist ran a stop sign or red light.
  Another common reason is because the cyclist was not riding with the normal flow of traffic.  Car drivers tend to naturally look only where they expect to find cars coming from, so they don't notice bikes coming from somewhere else.
  This can also happen because the cyclist did not have a headlight on in poor visibility. A car's headlights don't light up your reflectors from a 90 degree angle.

Solution 1: Do not run lights/signs. 

Solution 2: Never ride on the sidewalk, or against traffic. 

Solution 3: Use a bright headlight - even in daytime if visibility is poor (even cloudy / overcast) - see the next section, below, for more on being visible.

• Bike is at intersection going straight, car comes up from behind, turns right in front of bike

Solution 1: Do not hug the shoulder.  Ride as far as a parked car away from the curb, even when there is no parked car there. 

Solution 2: Again, do not ride on the sidewalk, as a turning driver won't expect anything faster than a pedestrian to be coming into a crosswalk.

Solution 3: Do not ride in a right turn lane if you are going straight.  Cross over to the same lane cars going straight use.  Either ride the stripe between lanes, or take the forward lane, depending on the situation.

• Bike is at intersection going straight, oncoming car turns left into bike

Solution: Combination of the two above: use bright flashing headlight, even in daytime, and ride out in the lane where you are more visible.  Also, pay attention, and be ready to brake at all times.  (In the event that this does happen, turning right, with the car, is your best bet to avoid a collision.)

• Bike is riding too close to a parked car, driver of parked car opens the door and bike hits it

Solution: Ride several feet to the left of parked cars

Someone asked me the question, what do you do when there isn't enough room to stay far enough from parked cars without getting in the way of traffic?  That's certainly not an uncommon scenario.  One thing that can help is looking into the rear window of each parked car you pass, to see if it is occupied.  This doesn't work at night, or when the sun is behind you and glare is in the windows, or if the windows are tinted, but it works often enough.  If the section with limited space is small, and especially if it is either a 2 lane (each direction) road, or has only light traffic, check that no cars are right behind you, signal that you are moving left, and then ride in the center of the traffic lane.  Cars will either have to go around you, or wait.  This may annoy some drivers, but it is the safest option, and it is legal under those circumstances.  Move to the right as soon as it is practical and safe, and wave any cars that have been stuck behind you through.

In the case where there isn't enough room for a long stretch, just ride in the "door zone", but ride slower than normal.  This gives you more time to react, and in the unlucky case that you don't see the driver about to get out through the rear window, and the driver doesn't check before they open the door, and the timing works out that it opens immediately in front of you, an impact at 12mph is simply not that big a deal.  You might get some cuts and bruises, but running into a car door at 12mph won't break any bones and it certainly won't kill you.

• Bike is just riding along, car comes up from behind and clips cyclist

Solution: Don't worry about it.  This almost never happens.  Seriously.  Of all the types of bike/car collisions, it is the least common.  For all practical purposes, it never happens.   (That being said, there are some things you can do to reduce the risk even further, which I will get to below)

Yet this last one, being hit by passing cars, is the one that ALL new cyclists worry about the most.

Unless a cyclist is riding at night with no lights and no reflectors, it is pretty easy as a driver to see when you are coming up behind one.  The one place even distracted drivers tend to be looking is the road straight ahead of them.  They have plenty of time to see that you are there.  Unlike with a side collision where the driver has very little time to see you and react, if a bike is going 15mph and a car is going 25, the relative speed is only 10mph because you are both going in the same direction.

Drivers rarely randomly swerve side-to-side when driving along a straight road.  If they did, they would be constantly clipping the mirrors of parked cars, side-swiping each other, and running up on the curb when there is no shoulder.  These things (almost) never happen, just like drivers don't run into cyclists from behind as they are passing them.

Even in the very unlikely case that a car did clip you from behind, it is most likely going to be their rear view mirror brushing your arm.  This may, or may not, cause you to fall.

That being said, there are definitely a few skills you should have before venturing into traffic on a bike. As I pointed out just above, car drivers almost never randomly swerve to the right when driving.  However, new and wobbly riders do sometimes swerve to the left.  Before you venture onto streets with no bike lane or wide shoulder, it is important that you are able to ride in a perfectly straight line.
Next, you need to be able to ride in a straight line, while taking one hand of the handlebars (in order to use it to signal your intentions to other road users).
And finally, you need to be able to turn your head and look back over your shoulder while riding in a straight line (so you can check for cars before changing lanes or going around obstacles).  This may sound silly to experienced riders, who don't remember how challenging that was to learn, and impossible to new riders.  It may not be automatic, but it is easier to learn than initially learning to ride a bike, so if you have gotten this far, you can do it.  Just spend some time practicing on an off street bike path or a big empty parking lot.  Pick a painted stripe on the ground, and try riding on it.  When you can ride along a 4" wide stripe without swerving off of it, try taking one hand off the bar and holding it out like you are signaling a left turn, and stay on the stripe, and when that's easy, look behind you and then check that you are still on the line.

I recommend NOT having a rear view mirror. If you are going to change lanes, it is important to actually turn your head and look. A mirror has a limited field of vision, and your own body/head blocks part of that field. Plus, like it says on the sticker, "objects are closer than they appear". If you are not planning to change position, there is no reason you need to know whether a car is approaching you from behind or not. If they are there, or not there, your actions should be exactly the same: don't suddenly swerve out into the traffic lane. Wanting to know if a car is approaching is just a manifestation of the fear of getting hit from behind, but that knowledge can not help you. There is no possible way to tell if the trajectory of a car behind you will have them pass you with 6" to spare, or with clip you with their mirror as they go by - the car is too big, the speeds are too fast, the clearance too small, and the driver could make a course correction at any moment. Therefore, regardless of if a car looks like it is going to pass close, you should simply keep riding in a straight line. You have a much better chance of injuring yourself by diving out of the way of a car that wasn't going to hit you anyway, than you do of successfully avoiding one that would have.
But if you need to turn and double check before changing lanes, and if it just makes you paranoid about something you can't do anything about anyway the rest of the time, what purpose does it serve? For the same reason, I find no reason not to wear stereo headphones - there is absolutely no way you can tell whether a car will hit you or not just by sound. Besides, you could be being passed by an electric car, or another faster cyclist, in which case hearing nothing doesn't mean you are safe. Therefore the habit of relying on sound to know if cars are around is a bad one - but I am not necessarily advocating riding with headphones either. In some places it is illegal, in which case you should probably avoid using them.

Because of the importance of not suddenly swerving into traffic, unless you have turned and checked and are sure nothing is coming, it is usually better to just ride over potholes, garbage, glass or other small obstacles in your path rather than going around. When there is an obstacle you can't go over (say, a delivery truck in the bikelane), or you need to cross the main traffic lane to reach the left turn lane, first turn and check if there is space to merge without getting hit, and put your left arm out to signal your intention. Then move over and ride in the center of the lane if you need to, to prevent cars from trying to force their way past you if there isn't room. Then get out of the way as soon as its safe, to avoid agitating drivers unnecessarily, and give them a sign to let them know they can pass.

A bike is considered a vehicle, and you have the same rights and responsibilities as a car driver. 
As long as you are 1) visible and 2) predictable, it is safe to flow with traffic - even on dense, crowded, or high speed roads.

Uneducated drivers may be annoyed that you are riding in the street in the way you are legally supposed to, they aren't going to hit you deliberately (well, it does happen occasionally - but very very rarely. Still, depending on where you live, it may be prudent to carry a camera...)

Accidents happen because cyclists do things that drivers weren't expecting.  That's why it isn't safe to ride the wrong way down the street, or to ride on the sidewalk (getting off and walking is of course always ok)

The best way to keep drivers from coming up way too close to you when there is no shoulder and barely enough room for both car and bike is, counter-intuitively, to move more to the left.  Make them change lanes to pass you.  If you hug the curb because you are afraid of cars, drivers will take advantage of that and squeeze past. Moving to the left - even if it means taking the entire lane, if you need to to be safe - is legal (but you will have to look it up yourself for your state).
Ride like you have as much right to the road as a car driver - because you do!

OK

So, you read all this, and you still aren't convinced.
How about some actual stats collected from real life bike crashes?

The following is from http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/TaleOfThree.htm

 At first, looking at the data, it doesn't look like this is true as the first two involve a car which should have stopped hitting a cyclist, but if you keep reading to "discussion" you find out that in the vast majority of those cases the cyclist was either riding the wrong way, or on the sidewalk (85%).  In the 3rd most common, the cyclist ran a light or sign:

"The three most frequent collisions in Gainesville comprising 82 (51.9%) crashes involve the motorist facing either a traffic control device or merging from a midblock location and the bicyclist on a crossing path. Of these bicyclists, 65 (79.3%) were riding on the sidewalk facing traffic. [emphasis mine]

"These crash types ["Drive Out At Stop Sign," "Right Turn On Red," and "Drive Out At Midblock"] are more likely to occur as a result of riding on the sidewalk."

In other words, the 3 types of common crashes which appear to be the fault of the driver, are all more likely from riding on the sidewalk (regardless of whether going with or against traffic).  The next most frequent accident types are clearly the fault of the rider (failure to yield).

"Conclusions/Recommendations... Due to the inherent conflicts at driveways and intersections, bicyclists should ride in the street and not on the sidewalk. "

So now you realize you should always ride in the street, with traffic, and follow the same traffic laws that apply to cars.  But as a new rider, its still freakin scary.
The only way to get over that is to just do it, and keep doing it until it feels normal.

Think of it like riding a bike for the first time, or just learning to drive.

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The second most common reason for bike car collisions, (after the bike rider doing something illegal and/or dangerous), is when a car driver fails to notice a bike - bikes tend to be less visible than cars.  They are not only smaller, but they don't have lights built in.
But you can fix that.

Legally (at least in CA, but probably similar everywhere) after sunset and until sunrise, you need, at a minimum:
Front, rear and side reflectors (all bikes come with them stock - if yours are missing, you can replace them with reflective tape)
AND
A white, front facing headlight.

A headlight is much more important than a taillight for the same reason you should ride on the street in the same direction of traffic.
At night a car's headlights light up your rear reflector, so they can see you with no taillight.
But as you approach an intersection, a car on the cross street has its headlight pointed straight ahead - not at you - so they don't see you.  You need a light facing them or they can't see you at all.

While any front facing white light is sufficient to meet the minimum legal standard, I strongly suggest that no one skimp on lights, even if you never ride at night.

Even in day light, if it is overcast and cloudy, foggy, shady (like under overpasses or tree lined streets), or the sun is low in the sky, you are much more noticeable to drivers if you have a flashing light on.
At a minimum, you should get a light with either 3 or more regular LEDs, or one "super" LED (luxeon or cree), which is powered by either AAA, AA, or a rechargeable battery pack, and which has a flashing mode.  These can be found for around $20 online or at any bikeshop, and are bright enough to be seen even in daytime.
Lights which run on button cell batteries are not powerful enough to be seen in daylight.  It never hurts to augment your main light - I have a little button cell single led on the top of my helmet - but I recommend against using one as your primary light.

In addition, its a very good idea to have a bright, flashing, rear light - again, 3 or more regular LEDs, and/or a luxeon or cree "super" led, running on triple A, double A, or built-in rechargeable batteries.

If you ride at night, even occasionally, it is worthwhile to augment your flashing headlight with something bright enough to actually see where you are going (this also adds very substantially to your night time visibility).  This means one or two super LEDs powered by a separate battery pack.  Very few self-contained units can match the light output of the battery pack lights. 
Look for a light rated for at least 200 lumens of output - the more the better.

These normally range from $100 to $300, and the brightest of them compete with a car's headlights in brightness.  This may be as much as you spent on your bike, but it also may save your life.  Considering that even if you buy the best bike components, you will never come close to the cost of a car, and that a bike can get you places gas-free, it is a reasonable investment. 

I got a 1200 lumen (according to the manufacturer) headlight from MagicShine for about $50 from dx.com

Absolutely worth it.  The difference is night and day (pun intended).  With a 1200 lumen light, you can ride on roads with no lighting, on a new moon, and see your path with total confidence.  The only problem is making sure not to shine it in the eyes of motorists and pedestrians.  The MagicShine has a terrible mounting system, but everything else about them is great.

A good idea for night riding is to mount one light on your handlebars, and another on your helmet.  This way one is always facing forward, no matter what you are looking at, so oncoming and cross traffic cars see you, and you can use the other to look in different directions, or to briefly flash directly at cars that appear to be on a collision path with you and aren't slowing down (like when a car on a cross street passes the crosswalk and stops sticking out in the intersection).  I have a red flashing light on the back of my helmet too, where it is up high and moves with the head. You can't have too much visibility.

In addition to your lights, I highly recommend one of those florescent safety green jackets (if the weather is cool) or vests (if its warm).

From personal observation, they are much more noticeable, night or day, then orange or yellow.  In day time especially, they stand out even more than reflective clothing.  At night color matters less than reflective stripes.  With a jacket or vest you can wear whatever clothes you want for when you get to your destination, even a suit, and still have maximum visibility.  When you get where you are going, the thin safety jacket or vest stuffs so small you can put it in a pocket.

Between bright lights and a high visibility jacket, (and, of course, riding in the street with traffic) your chances of getting hit by a driver who just didn't see you plummet.
At this point, if you want to add helmet lights, reflective tape on your bike and helmet, spoke lights, or a lazer beam bikelane (also available from dx.com) all that is just gravy.

I wear a pair of reflective gloves, (meant for cops directing traffic), so that drivers can see my hand signals at night. 

They just happen to be designed with a yellow triangle on the back - perfect for signaling turns;

and a red triangle on the palm - perfect for signaling stops.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So now you know.  Apply what you have learned, and your chances of getting hit by (or hitting) a car become far below the statistical average, and you will actually be much safer biking in traffic than you would be driving.  Add in the health benefits, and... well, its just obvious, isn't it?
Get out there and ride!

Infinity Miles Per Gallon

by Bakari Kafele on May 14, 2012

Question:
What can you do to absolutely minimize your fuel use?

Answer:
Not drive a car.


As much time and effort as we all put into making our cars and trucks more efficient, [I originally wrote this for ecomodder.com] its easy to forget that even at their absolute best, a motor vehicle is still a pretty inefficient way to get from point A to point B.
Even with a 100% efficient engine, which would of course violate the laws of thermodynamics, the machine is still using more energy to move itself around than to move you.   In most modern gas powered cars, only about 1% of the energy in the fuel is actually being used to transport you from place to place.  With extreme hypermiling, we might raise that to 2%, or even 5%, but the best-case-scenario is pretty awful.
There is only one machine which is actually more energy efficient than the mode of transportation God gave us and that is the bicycle.
By combining human legs with the power of the wheel and the leverage of gears, it is possible to easily travel over 6 times further in a given time span (or the same distance 6 times faster) than you could with just a pair of shoes.
In contrast to the 6x multiplier effect a bicycle has over walking, driving a car only nets about a 4x multiplier in speed/distance compared to a bike.
Given that this is ecomodder, chances are that many readers probably fall into one of two categories:

1) People who already bicycle to work everyday, and as much as possible for errands
(perhaps for all trips below 5 miles?)

2) People who want to bike to work everyday, but have a good reason why they can’t (but still ride for short trips whenever possible!)

The reasons for not doing it are usually distance, weather, traffic, and/or needing to carry a large amount of people or stuff.  (UPDATE – Or, “I don’t own a bike” – in which case please read this article)
And I get that.  I own 2 motor vehicles myself.  There would be no reason to be on ecomodder if we had no motor vehicle to mod.
But May is National Bike Month, and for just one day this month, one day out of the entire year, I challenge everyone from the second category to try cycling to work, no matter how good your excuse is the other 364 days a year.
If that means you have to bring a change of clothes and wash off with a cloth in the bathroom because there are no showers, transport stuff to the workplace (laptop, work tools, whatever) the day before, get up an hour and a half earlier, invest in a super bright headlight and taillight to stay safe, or even if it means buying studded tires so you can ride through the snow, do it.
If it is still an insurmountable challenge, you could try taking public transit part of the way and biking the rest, or if there is no transit, you could even drive halfway with your bike in the trunk, park, and bike the rest of the way.  You would still be cutting your fuel use in half for that commute, reducing your impact on air quality, saving money, and getting some exercise.  (You should spend at least 30 minutes exercising everyday anyway, so when you look at it that way, you could actually be saving time.)
One way or another, no matter how inconvenient it is, just this one day, give it a try.
And even though it is called “Bike to WORK Day”, it doesn’t really have to be to work.  You can bike to school, the supermarket for groceries, or where ever you have to go that day.  If you don’t need to go anywhere that day, it can be another day the same week.  Or at least in the month of May.
At some point in the month of May, use a bicycle as a means of transportation to somewhere you needed to go anyway.
Bike To Work Day, originally created by The League of American Bicyclists, is a tradition going back 56 years.
In the majority of the country it falls on Friday, May 18th, so you have a little time to get ready.  (EDIT: this was posted a week later than intended, for administrative reasons.  So you don’t have much time after all.  And everything in the next paragraph is now past tense)
In a few areas it is celebrated on a different date; in the San Fransisco Bay Area (including Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, and the rest of the 9 county metropolitan area) it is coming up fast: Thursday, May 10th!
As usual we, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, will be providing energizer stations all morning with free goodie bags for everyone on a bicycle, as well as a free pancake breakfast at Oakland City Hall, where we will also be providing free valet bike parking all day for anyone who works in the area or wants to catch the train from the 12th St Station.  After work there will be a bicycle block party from 5:00pm to 8:30pm at Ninth and Washington Streets in Oakland.
(Sure, you may have to get up 2 hours earlier to bike to work, but I’ll need to get up by 4am to get to Oakland city hall by 5:30am, and then I’m working until at least 8:30pm.  So no complaining.  Its only one day a year…)
For a list of whats going on in your own neck of the woods, contact your local Bicycle Coalition, or check in at any local bike shop.  Or just Google “bike to work day” plus your own city or county name.  You can also find many events on the League’s website. In the even that there are none, you can create one for your local area yourself, and then post info about it on their website.
It will take some time until we get there, but hopefully someday our future will look just like this:

Buying a good used bike from Craigslist.

For my first post on this new blogger account, I'm going to write a guide to how to select a decent used bicycle.

My VERY first post.
Even before I introduce this new blog website of mine, which is taking the place of my old MySpace blog (remember MySpace?) and the free blog that came with my businesses web domain hosting (with its character limit).  My second post here will introduce it a little more thoroughly than these three sentences, and after that I will start moving old existing content here.
But first I will take a break from my usual political ranting, personal stories, and posting of links I found fascinating, to fulfill a promise I made to a fellow reader of a different blog (one with actual readership, MMM) in the comment section to share some of my knowledge of bikes and of Craigslist for an audience that may not know a good bike from a bad one.  Imagine that, something useful!

First, for anyone who came here via link or Google, and doesn't know me personally, my credentials on the subject:
I began riding regularly for fun and transportation in 1992, when I was 12.  The next year I began riding to school every day, so that I could keep the bus money for other things.  In high school, in addition to daily commuting (to school and internship) and weekend rides of 40-100 miles, I began annual 4 day trips down the CA coast with a group of teachers and friends.  After college I went with the couple that had organized those annual rides from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and went solo from there along the coast to Acapulco and then North to Mexico city (over an 8000ft pass) for a total of 2800 miles over 2 months.  When I returned, I took a job as a bicycle messenger.  I eventually ended up also working as a messenger in New York City.

In 20 years of serious riding, I have had a bmx bike, a steel touring bike, a British internal-hub drop-frame from the late 60s, a carbon fiber racing bike, an aluminum mountain bike, and two folding bikes, all of which together I paid a grand total of $450 for (of which $400 was the carbon fiber road bike).

Eventually I returned to CA where, for the past 6 years, my primary job has been as a hauler (mover, and handyman) which involves picking stuff up that people don't want anymore, and then finding new owners for those things. This involves either selling or giving away anything which is still useable (which is most of what I pick up), frequently on Craigslist.
My second job for the past 5 years has been as a mechanic in a tiny bike-shop of sorts, the Bike Station, whose primary service is FREE secure valet attended bicycle parking, but also offers relatively low-cost repairs.  Because we don't sell new bikes, and because we never turn anyone away for lack of bike quality, I have been able to work on a great variety of bikes, of all types and ages and cost levels, which is rare in any one shop.
(My third job is a reserve for the Coast Guard, but that isn't relevant to this at all)

And now... on to the content!


1)  This is the most important thing of all:



DO NOT BUY A DEPARTMENT STORE / TOY STORE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever.  Don't even consider it.  Seriously.  Not even for your kid. They are absolute garbage.  They shouldn't be legal to ride on public streets.  They should be considered toys at best.  This includes pretty much anything you can buy at WalMart, Target, or Toys'R'Us, or whatever local equivalent you may have where you live. 
The most common brands are  Magna and Next (both Dynacraft company), Pacific, Roadmaster, Huffy and Murray (all Dorel Company), .  One of these bikes brand new is worth less than a real bike that is 30 years old.  (Actually, my favorite bike, the one that I rode to Mexico and used a messenger is almost 40 years old).
 Less common brands include Anza, Ozone, Rhino, Vertical, Malibu, Avigo and Sonoma (all owned by Dynacraft) Dyno, InStep and Powerlite (all Dorel/Pacific)

Only slightly better are most modern Mongoose, Schwinn, Ironhorse and GT.  All of these made decent bikes in the 80s and 90s, but were then bought by Dorel and quality dropped.  Not all of these bikes are department store quality - my own mountain bike is a GT - but if you aren't confident at telling the difference, it may be safer to avoid all of these brands (or find a friend who can).
The same company also owns Cannondale, but unlike with their other brands, Cannondale never made department store bikes.
Schwinn has recently begun producing decent entry level bikes again as of 2014, but they had about a ten year run of only making department store quality bikes.



I can not emphasize this enough.  Having worked on department store bikes many years, I can say with absolute certainty that they are not worth the price if you are given one for free.  They use the cheapest parts that can be found, parts which have been obsolete for decades in the rest of the bike world, and those parts are put together by people who know literally nothing about bike mechanics.  I have rarely seen one, even brand new, that had everything adjusted properly.  They are so cheaply made, and so poorly assembled, that they are dangerous.
The best clue that the bike you are looking at is a department store bike is if it has a one piece crank.
This is a one piece crank:

Notice how the crank arm bends where it meets the bike frame, and goes straight into the bottom bracket.

Here, in contrast, is a 3 piece crank:

Notice that in this one, the crank arm is straight, and it is bolted to the axle.

Here are the two kinds, cut-away and side-by-side (one-piece on the left):

Another clue that the bike you are considering is a rolling pile of crap is brakes that look like this:
or
Called simple caliper brakes.

Note that most road bikes will have compound caliper brakes, which are similar in shape, but slightly more complex.  The keys to the crappy brakes are the rectangle brake pads and the flat metal brake arms, with just one single pivot point in the center.
Note also that occasionally older bikes may have simple caliper brakes (though they won't have flat brake arms or square pads), and it doesn't necessarily mean the bike is crap.  If a bike less than 30 years old has them, stay away.


Unfortunately, many department store bikes less than 5 years old often have slightly better components - 3 piece cranks and direct pull brakes - so it is slightly more challenging to recognize them at a glance, other than by brand.


Now that all that is out of the way, lets get into what you should look for.
But wait, no, before we get to that, you have to establish just what it is you are looking for.

2) Type of bike:


Like in everything else in life, every choice you make is a series of tradeoffs.  There are a lot of different kinds of bikes, that are good for different kinds of things.  You can use pretty much any bike for anything, but some will make the trip a lot easier.

Presumably most people reading this are looking for something practical to commute on, (and not a racing bike or a bike to do tricks on)

Some questions to ask yourself are: 
Will I want to carry a lot of stuff with me?
Will I want to go fast sometimes? (I found I am often running late, and ended up using my racing bike to commute pretty often)
Are the local roads well paved, and/or will I ever want to venture on trails?
Will I have to climb any steep hills and/or pull a trailer?
Will I ever ride in rain/snow?
How important is comfort?
How important is efficiency?
Will I be working up to high mileage sometime in the future?


If you want to carry a lot, consider touring bikes or something meant specifically for commuting or hauling (of course, you can always retrofit any bike with a trailer, so that's another option)
If you want to go fast, and you don't need to carry much with you, a road-sport / racing bike will help you get there quicker with much less effort
A road-sport or racing bike, however, does poorly off-road, or with major potholes, gravel, glass, and curb-jumping
For steep hills, no matter what kind of bike, you will want not only gears, but low gears - generally that means 3 chainrings (the 3 big gears in the front, attached to the crank), like this:




Some bikes - especially ones specifically intended for casual riders or for commuting have the gears hidden inside the wheel.  This has the advantage of being cleaner and simpler for the user, because all moving parts are hidden.  They are also less prone to being broken and are more weather resistant for the same reason.
The trade off is that they are more expensive (to buy and to repair), heavier, and the lowest gear of an internal system will not be as low as with external gears.  For this reason, if you have to ride up steep hills, go with external gears.  If you ride mostly flat or only small hills, its a matter of preference.


For inclement weather, a mountain bike, hybrid, or purpose built commuting bike will outperform most road bikes - although you can put fenders and lights on anything, you can't put wide tires on a racer.  This is especially true for snow.

Just like with a Cadillac and a Geo Metro, there is a trade off between comfort and efficiency.  Beginners often get a bike with a wide saddle and tall handle bars, so they can sit up-right like a big rolling sofa, and then get discouraged when all the cool kids on real bikes pass them by at twice their speed everyday.  Its not just that they are weak  - there is a reason racers have low handlebars: the biggest factor in bicycle efficiency is wind resistance, and when you are upright, your torso is like a big parachute.  So that comfort comes at the cost of twice as much effort to go the same speed.  On the same note, a mid-range hybrid or mountain bike can weigh more than twice as much as a high-end road bike, which is a lot of extra pounds to lug with you up the hill to your house at the end of the day.

None of that is to say don't buy the hybrid, just understand that there are trade-offs.  They are trying to be decent at everything at once, without costing much and making new riders comfortable, which means they excel at nothing.

The best compromise, in my opinion, between efficiency, bad road/trail worthiness, and bad weather capability, is a cyclo-cross bike, which is a road bike meant to be used off-road, however they are somewhat hard to find, and therefore usually expensive.
The next best all-around option, (again, in my personal opinion) which also includes cargo hauling capacity built in, is a road touring bike (which would be why that's been my primary bike for the last 2 decades).
But that isn't to say that you can't have a perfectly good long-term commuting experience with a mountain bike, racing bike, hybrid, cruiser, or a 60 year old bike from before special purpose bikes existed. 

If it's possible, I'd recommend seeing if you have any friends with various types of bikes you can borrow for at least one ride, to see how they differ in riding position, gearing, handling, and so on. 
If nothing else, maybe you can find a local bike shop and do a test ride on a couple of different bikes.
You may be taking advantage of them even more in the next step (since you will ultimately buy used directly from someone), but to make up for wasting their time, plan on buying all your accessories (minimum: helmet, lights, gloves, bell) from them, and/or having them do a basic check/tune of your new (used) bike once you get it.

3) Fit:

The only way to really get it exactly perfect in every way is to go to a bike shop and find someone who really knows all the variables, preferably with access to an adjustable bike fit machine (a stationary bike where you can change the lengths and angles of all the components and frame parts). 

They often don't charge for this if you are planning to buy a bike from them, but again, if you go for a bike fitting, and don't buy a bike from that shop, you should really buy your accessories and/or service from them.  Bike shops operate with a pretty small margin.

Given that you are looking to buy a bike used, and not get a frame custom built to your specifications, knowing your perfect fitment doesn't really matter anyway.

As a super quick and simple rule of thumb, when you stand over a bike frame (in front of the saddle) with your shoes on and feet flat on the ground, there should be at least 1 inch, preferably 3 or 4, between the top tube and the beginning of your... special parts.  For one thing, if you were to be in a minor crash and fall forward off the saddle, you don't want to be impacting a big steel (or aluminum, or carbon) bar of bike frame.  This is also an indication that the frame more or less fits you.  If, when you straddle the bike, the top tube is actually touching you, that bike is much too big for you, and no matter how much you love it and no matter how good the price is, it just isn't the bike for you.  I'm sorry.

On the opposite end, you can use the seatpost to judge if a bike is too big.
When you ride, your knees should be 99% of the way straight at the bottom of each pedal stroke (not 100%, or locked-out, but almost).  If you don't extend your legs all the way, (imagine how it looks when an adult rides a tricycle meant for kids), you will end up hurting your knees.
In fact, if you have ever had hurting knees from riding a bike, this is the most likely reason.  Your seat was too low.


(this bike is too small for him)


The seat post (the part that attaches the saddle to the frame) should have a line on it marking the maximum its meant to be extended (it may or may not say words to that effect).  By loosing a screw, bolt, or quick release lever at the place where the frame clamps the post, you can raise or lower the seat height.  If the post is at its highest (at the line) and when you ride the bike your legs are not extending fully, then the bike is probably too small for you.  You can always buy a slightly longer seatpost if it's close, but if the seat needs to be higher than about 10 inches above the frame (assuming the top tube of the bike frame is horizontal, more on that soon), chances are the rest of the dimensions are too small for you anyway.

Of course, many bikes don't have a straight horizontal top tube running from the handlebars to the seat.  The sloping top-tube or the drop-frame that used to indicate "girl's bike" (in order that the bike could be ridden in a skirt or dress) has become common on mountain bikes and commute oriented bikes and many hybrids for both genders, as well as continuing to be common for female specific road bikes.  With a sloping top tube you can't just stand over it and measure the distance between your body and the frame to determine fit, and the seat-post will have to be extra long.  In that case you just draw an imaginary line (or better yet, use a level and some string or a broomstick or something) where the top tube would be if it went straight across.

There is really a lot more to it than that, (such as the length of the top tube and the angle of the seat tube) but to keep things simple, 1-5 inches between you and the bike frame (or where the frame would be if it were straight) with your feet flat on the ground is about the best approximation there is.


Once you find one bike that fits, you can check the frame size (usually printed on the seat tube) and have a rough idea of what other bikes will also fit you - generally mountain bikes and hybrids will be measured in inches, road bikes in centimeters.  But be aware that the numbers can vary between bike styles, brands, ages and depending on whether the top tube is horizontal or not.


So now you have some idea of what kind of bike you are looking for, and what size it needs to be.

4) Frame and components

There are hundreds of brands, with even more choices in components, so it is impossible to recommend any specifics, or break down all of the possible combinations.  They all have high-end and low-end stuff, so never assume a bike is good or bad just based on the brand of the frame or the components.


Older bikes can be very good quality, just try to stay mostly on this side of the 80s, when most manufacturers switched from carbon steel or high-tensile (Hi-Ten) steel to chromoly (ChroMo) steel.  The only modern bikes that still use carbon steel or hi-ten are the department store bikes, but pre-80s they were the standard for all but the most high-end bikes.

Some of the more high end older bikes did have good steel frames, particularly those made of Reynolds 531 or Columbus steel.
If you can find one, in good condition, you are looking at a good frame even though it is older.
However, unless the prior owner kept up with upgrades throughout the years, you should still consider a newer bike, as many advancements in components have been made since then.

Some brands which are in department stores today were once legitimate bike companies (most notable is Schwinn: a 10-20 year old Schwinn is likely a good bike, while a 2010 Schwinn is probably from a department store  - better than a Murry or Huffy, but still not a good choice)
[UPDATE 2014]: Apparently Schwinn has started making real bikes again.

If it has a sticker (usually on the seat tube, near the frame size sticker) that tells frame material, avoid high tensile steel.  Cromo steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber are all good frame materials, with their own pluses and minuses, but for practical commuting purposes, you should mostly be looking for steel.
Aluminum is also decent, and usually a little lighter.  I prefer steel for a practical commute style bike, because it is the strongest of all frame materials, and it can be bent back after a crash and keep going.  Any other frame type, once damaged or bent, is no longer safe to ride.  However, if you find a bike that is perfect in every other way, don't necessarily shun it just because it is made of a more exotic material.


Suspension adds weight, complexity, and cost, and unless you ride off-road, doesn't serve much purpose, but if you do ride-off road, (or have giant and frequent pot-holes to contend with), it can make the ride more comfortable and give you better control.  In general, for a commute bike, I would recommend skipping it.


Skinny, high pressure tires have less rolling resistance and less weight, therefore you can go faster / further with the same amount of effort.  However they have less grip in bad conditions (esp mud or snow), give a bumpier ride, and are (in theory**) more prone to flats.

** In my personal experience, I have not had any more flats on my  road bikes.


The curved style of handlebar found on road bikes gives you more possible hand positions, which can be nice on long rides once your hands get tired, but ultimately handlebar shape is a matter of personal preference.  If possible, try a couple different styles out on the open road before becoming committed to any one type.


I would recommend an adjustable height and/or angle stem for any new cyclist, so you can choose whether to be more upright (more comfortable, but higher wind resistance) or more low and sleek, or anywhere between and change between them whenever you want, as you ride more and find what you like.  Most older bikes (10 years or more) have an adjustable height stem standard.  Most modern bikes have a "threadless headset" (commonly called "Ahead-set", which is actually a brand name) which are not adjustable in height, but you can attach an adjustable angle stem to it:


On the left is the traditional adjustable height stem.  To change the height, you loosen the hex bolt in the center, twist the bars a little to break the connection, and pull them up.  Don't go higher than the marked limit line. 
On the right is the newer (threadless headset) which has limited to no height adjustability.  Sometimes you can switch the position of the spacers to get a small height change.



Adjustable angle stems.





As long as this already is, I am deliberately leaving out gobs of information, because this is a basic guide, and because you are buying something used and have limited choices.  You aren't custom ordering a $3000 bike, so if you have a hard-core bike fanatic friend, you can safely ignore most of what she tells you about frame butting, spoke counts, gear ratios, or the superiority of Campy parts over Ultegra and Dura-Ace.  Remind her that your goal is to get from one place to another, not to win a criterium.  Tell her you don't even know what a criterium is.

5) Craigslist

In case you didn't already know, Craigslist is awesome.  It is one of the most effective tools combating the worst aspects of the American consumerism cycle in which we are constantly throwing away things that still work in order to buy a slightly newer version, wasting our own money along with massive amounts of natural resources.  Craigslist helps recirculate our money in our own communities instead of having it siphoned off by giant soulless corporations, keeps good stuff out of landfill, and prevents material extraction and energy consumption to create new stuff, all by the simple act of bringing together people who have stuff they don't want with people who want stuff they don't have.

If you are lucky enough to live in a reasonably large city, with at least a moderate amount of cyclists, than chances are good you can find a large selection of high quality bicycles on your local Craigslist page.

If not, though, the same principals apply to buying from a yard sale or flea market. 
Another option is a used bikeshop.  They will generally charge a bit more than buying directly from the previous owner, but you get the advantage of a bike that has been checked out by a mechanic, and a knowledgeable person to help you with the selection process.


Expect to spend at least $100, but unless you are lucky, probably $200, possibly more.  Yep, that much, for a used bike.  Even an old one, or a simple one.  Less than that, and the chances are good you are buying a department store bike, a 40 year old bike which was low quality when it was new, or a bike that has been left out in the rain and generally not taken care of . Spending less will likely mean that you have to spend much more in parts and service in order to get it up to decent operating condition.  If a bike is decent quality, well taken care of, and severely underpriced, it may well be stolen.  Don't support bike thieves.  They will end up stealing the bike back from you again.  That's called Karma.

A decent new bike from a bike shop is generally $600 and up, so you are still saving plenty of cash by spending $200.   Of course you can always get lucky and find someone who has no idea what they have is actually worth (like I did with my $400 carbon fiber racing bike), but don't expect it.

At the same time, be aware that there are a great many over-priced bikes on Craigslist.  Depending on your market, it may take some patience to find a good one.  Do a Google search of the make and model of any bike you are considering. In general, look for bikes no more than 20 years old, and of course, avoid department store bikes like the plague.



So say you have read this far, determined what you need, figured out the size, and browsed around and found a few ads that seem to have good quality bikes.
Keep in mind that someone is selling the bike for a reason.  More often than not, the reason is because they just never ride it.  Which usually means it hasn't had any maintenance in... ever.  If its been stored indoors where it is dry, that may not be a problem, but in a damp basement or a back porch, there is likely internal rust that you can't see.  If you see rust on the outside, unless the person is a bike enthusiast that you trust maintained the bike, assume there is internal rust as well.  A bike bought by someone who never got around to riding it is more likely to have been cheap to begin with and to not have had much care taken in its purchase.
These are obviously not hard and fast rules, but if they are selling due to a move out of state, or due to having several other bikes, the chances are a little better the bike was taken care of.

Take hold of the wheels, and try to move them side to side (perpendicular to the way they turn).  There shouldn't be any play in them side-to-side, against the axle.  Do the same for the cranks (what the pedal attaches to) and the handlebars, trying to wobble them side-to-side, not the way they are supposed to turn.  If they are loose and wobbly, that is a sign the bike hasn't been taken care of.  Those things are easily tightened (although some require specialized bike tools) but if they have been ridden loose, they are likely to need more extensive repairs. 
Spin the wheels while holding the bike off the ground, and watch how the rim moves relative to the brake pads.  If the rim moves so much that it hits the brakes on every revolution, this is usually repairable (by "truing" the wheel - adjusting the tightness of each spoke) but it is another sign of a bike that wasn't maintained.

Avoid a bike with any obvious dents or cracks anywhere in the frame.  If a bike has been in a severe crash, there may be more damage than meets the eye.  I've had a frame suddenly break on me.  It isn't pretty.

Tires and handlebar tape can be replaced, and a bad paint job can discourage theft, so try not to let the aesthetic elements overwhelm the mechanical ones.

Expect a test ride, but offer to leave something with the seller (like your ID) so they know you don't ride off with it, since it is essentially its own built-in getaway vehicle.

Once you have (FINALLY) found a good bike that fits your needs, its time to make the deal.
Because this is Craigslist, don't forget you can try to negotiate.  But don't be a jerk about it.  Don't show up and then at the last minute claim you "only have $100" as though you forgot the asking price.
Bring cash (it lets the seller know you aren't a scammer), and show up in person (but bring a friend who knows bikes if you have one)

Always make a receipt (preferably make it in advance with blanks for the bike and seller info).  It should have the make and model of the bike (both are usually written somewhere on the frame), and as much descriptive information - color, frame type, size, age, any notable features - as possible.  It should also say the purchase price, date, and the buyer and sellers names.  And above all, it absolutely should have the bikes serial number, which will usually be stamped into the metal somewhere on the underside of the bike (you have to turn it over to see it), most often on the bottom bracket (the thing the crank axle goes through)

If the person refuses to provide their name, or seems hesitant to have you check the serial number, there is a good chance the bike is stolen, and you should politely move on.
Having a receipt will also be useful in recovering the bike should it ever get stolen from you, or in having insurance replace it  if it isn't recovered.


6) Now that you have it... time to spend a little more money
It's a good idea to have it checked out by a qualified mechanic, or at least a friend who is a bike nut.  This is a perfect opportunity to pay back the local bike shop that helped you out with advice while you were shopping.

If there isn't a local bike shop around that you owe a favor to, Bike Nashbar offers some of the lowest prices you can find anywhere on bike accessories.

While you are there, you need, at a bare minimum, a new helmet.  Don't use a helmet that came with the bike, or any other used helmet. They get internal damage from absorbing the energy in a crash, which may not be visible from the outside (it is basically a bundle of microscopic bubble wrap, and in an impact, the little air bubbles pop).  Therefor, a bike helmet is one-time use only.  If it is used, there is no way to be sure it hasn't been in a crash already.  Even if it hasn't been in a crash, repeated drops, even just from 4ft up to the ground, can gradually wear away its impact protection, as can UV exposure from the sun and ozone exposure from traffic. 
If you ride at night, a headlight is absolutely essential, along with the reflectors that come standard (or reflective tape if someone removed the standard reflectors).  Even better is an extra bright headlight, a tail light, the standard reflectors AND reflective tape.   Run the headlight even when it is light out anytime there is reduced visibility, such as when there is sun glare at dusk and dawn, or on an overcast day.  I've noticed I can see cyclists better when I am driving when they leave their headlights on in daytime, therefore I now run my lights ANY time I'm on the bike, day or night, even when its clear out.  
Getting hit by cars is not fun.
(I go into much more depth on both lighting, and not getting hit by cars in general in my post on riding safely in traffic: http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-ride-your-bike-in-street.html)

Other very good things to have are gloves, which absorb road bumps and protect your hands in a fall, and a bell to warn pedestrians without having to yell.


Some people swear by cycling shorts, which have a pad built in to supposedly make sitting more comfortable.  I have never cared for them.  More important is to get a saddle that fits you properly.  It should be slightly wider than the distance between your "sit" bones - you can feel them protruding at the bottom of your pelvic bone when you squat.  Measure that distance (preferably at home alone) and look for a saddle no more than an inch or two wider than that (and definitely no narrower than that).  Having that distance correct will make more of a difference than any cut-outs or gel inserts or shock absorbers or any other gizmos and "features" you find on modern saddles.   
The saddle should be firm.  This will feel more uncomfortable at first, but as you get used to it, and you put more miles on the bike, it will be more comfortable (and do less potential damage to important body parts) than a squishy saddle.  The reason is because you sink down into a soft saddle, and it puts pressure on all parts equally, while a hard saddle supports the sit bones only, keeping everything else above it, like it should.  I know the big wide cushy gel seat seems like riding an easy chair.  You just have to trust me.

The reason I put this under the accessories section, and not the components, is because saddle selection varies so widely, both by gender and among individuals, that you shouldn't expect to find a bike that has a comfortable saddle for you already in place.  You might get lucky, but don't reject an otherwise good bike because the seat is uncomfortable.   If possible, try to find a shop that will let you trade, if the one on your bike is in good shape, but just not right for you.






7) One last thing
A bicycle is considered a vehicle, and as such, they are required to follow the same traffic laws that cars do.  Ride on the right side of the street.  Stay off of the sidewalk (unless expressly allowed in a particular location).  Stop at red lights.  Stop at stop signs***.  Ride predictably and signal your turns when warranted.  The majority of bike/car collisions are partially or entirely the cyclists' fault.  Two of the most common causes of crashes are bike riders riding on the sidewalk, and bike riders riding the wrong way (on the left side of the road).  Another common cause is lack of visibility on the part of the cyclist.  Eliminating these few (totally controllable) factors actually makes riding a bike statistically safer than driving a car.  The thing most new cyclists worry about - getting clipped from the rear by passing cars - is actually relatively rare.  Crashes happen primarily at driveways and intersections, and they happen because the cyclist was somewhere the driver didn't expect them to be.

If you are in the SF Bay Area, consider taking the FREE traffic safety course sponsored by the local Bicycle Coalitions: http://www.ebbc.org/safety
If not, check with your local shops, riding clubs, or bicycle coalition to see if anyone offers something similar. 

UPDATE: I just wrote a new post specifically for new riders who aren't used to being in traffic, to help you avoid getting hit by a car. 
This post has been way more popular than I ever expected, and since it is intended for new riders, I thought it would be pretty important to help y'all not only pick out a new bike, but not get run over while you are riding it!
Read this before you get on the road: http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-ride-your-bike-in-street.html




*** I won't pretend I stop at stop signs, or even try to convince you to.  But at least slow down for them, and look both ways before you cross.  And always come to a full stop if there is cross traffic which has the legal right of way.



[Someone has written an article with counterpoints to this one.  Personally, I disagree with him on a few points (1st off, that you should never buy a used bike!), but it is always worth getting 2nd opinions and different perspectives: http://hiawathacyclery.blogspot.com/2012/01/bike-buyers-guide-for-beginners.html]

Buying a good used bike from Craigslist.

For my first post on this new blogger account, I'm going to write a guide to how to select a decent used bicycle.

My VERY first post.
Even before I introduce this new blog website of mine, which is taking the place of my old MySpace blog (remember MySpace?) and the free blog that came with my businesses web domain hosting (with its character limit).  My second post here will introduce it a little more thoroughly than these three sentences, and after that I will start moving old existing content here.
But first I will take a break from my usual political ranting, personal stories, and posting of links I found fascinating, to fulfill a promise I made to a fellow reader of a different blog (one with actual readership, MMM) in the comment section to share some of my knowledge of bikes and of Craigslist for an audience that may not know a good bike from a bad one.  Imagine that, something useful!

First, for anyone who came here via link or Google, and doesn't know me personally, my credentials on the subject:
I began riding regularly for fun and transportation in 1992, when I was 12.  The next year I began riding to school every day, so that I could keep the bus money for other things.  In high school, in addition to daily commuting (to school and internship) and weekend rides of 40-100 miles, I began annual 4 day trips down the CA coast with a group of teachers and friends.  After college I went with the couple that had organized those annual rides from San Francisco to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and went solo from there along the coast to Acapulco and then North to Mexico city (over an 8000ft pass) for a total of 2800 miles over 2 months.  When I returned, I took a job as a bicycle messenger.  I eventually ended up also working as a messenger in New York City.

In 20 years of serious riding, I have had a bmx bike, a steel touring bike, a British internal-hub drop-frame from the late 60s, a carbon fiber racing bike, an aluminum mountain bike, and two folding bikes, all of which together I paid a grand total of $450 for (of which $400 was the carbon fiber road bike).

Eventually I returned to CA where, for the past 6 years, my primary job has been as a hauler (mover, and handyman) which involves picking stuff up that people don't want anymore, and then finding new owners for those things. This involves either selling or giving away anything which is still useable (which is most of what I pick up), frequently on Craigslist.
My second job for the past 5 years has been as a mechanic in a tiny bike-shop of sorts, the Bike Station, whose primary service is FREE secure valet attended bicycle parking, but also offers relatively low-cost repairs.  Because we don't sell new bikes, and because we never turn anyone away for lack of bike quality, I have been able to work on a great variety of bikes, of all types and ages and cost levels, which is rare in any one shop.
(My third job is a reserve for the Coast Guard, but that isn't relevant to this at all)

And now... on to the content!


1)  This is the most important thing of all:



DO NOT BUY A DEPARTMENT STORE / TOY STORE BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ever.  Don't even consider it.  Seriously.  Not even for your kid. They are absolute garbage.  They shouldn't be legal to ride on public streets.  They should be considered toys at best.  This includes pretty much anything you can buy at WalMart, Target, or Toys'R'Us, or whatever local equivalent you may have where you live.  The most common brands are Huffy, Murry, Magna, Next and Roadmaster. Generally anything branded with a car/truck name (GMC) is one of these also.  One of these bikes brand new is worth less than a real bike that is 30 years old.  (Actually, my favorite bike, the one that I rode to Mexico and used a messenger is almost 40 years old). 
I can not emphasize this enough.  Having worked on these many many times, I can say with absolute certainty that they are not worth the price if you are given one for free.  They use the cheapest parts that can be found, parts which have been obsolete for decades in the rest of the bike world, and those parts are put together by people who know literally nothing about bike mechanics.  I have rarely seen one, even brand new, that had everything adjusted properly.  They are so cheaply made, and so poorly assembled, that they are dangerous.
The best clue that the bike you are looking at is a department store bike is if it has a one piece crank.
This is a one piece crank:

Notice how the crank arm bends where it meets the bike frame, and goes straight into the bottom bracket.

Here, in contrast, is a 3 piece crank:

Notice that in this one, the crank arm is straight, and it is bolted to the axle.

Here are the two kinds, cut-away and side-by-side (one-piece on the left):

Another clue that the bike you are considering is a rolling pile of crap is brakes that look like this:
or
Called simple caliper brakes.

Note that most road bikes will have compound caliper brakes, which are similar in shape, but slightly more complex.  The keys to the crappy brakes are the rectangle brake pads and the flat metal brake arms, with just one single pivot point in the center.
Note also that occasionally older bikes may have simple caliper brakes (though they won't have flat brake arms or square pads), and it doesn't necessarily mean the bike is crap.  If a bike less than 30 years old has them, stay away.


Now that all that is out of the way, lets get into what you should look for.
But wait, no, before we get to that, you have to establish just what it is you are looking for.

2) Type of bike:


Like in everything else in life, every choice you make is a series of tradeoffs.  There are a lot of different kinds of bikes, that are good for different kinds of things.  You can use pretty much any bike for anything, but some will make the trip a lot easier.

Presumably most people reading this are looking for something practical to commute on, (and not a racing bike or a bike to do tricks on)

Some questions to ask yourself are: 
Will I want to carry a lot of stuff with me?
Will I want to go fast sometimes? (I found I am often running late, and ended up using my racing bike to commute pretty often)
Are the local roads well paved, and/or will I ever want to venture on trails?
Will I have to climb any steep hills and/or pull a trailer?
Will I ever ride in rain/snow?
How important is comfort?
How important is efficiency?
Will I be working up to high mileage sometime in the future?


If you want to carry alot, consider touring bikes or something meant specifically for commuting or hauling (of course, you can always retrofit any bike with a trailer, so that's another option)
If you want to go fast, and you don't need to carry much with you, a road-sport / racing bike will help you get there quicker with much less effort
A road-sport or racing bike, however, does poorly off-road, or with major potholes, gravel, glass, and curb-jumping
For steep hills, no matter what kind of bike, you will want not only gears, but low gears - generally that means 3 chainrings (the 3 big gears in the front, attached to the crank), like this:




Some bikes - especially ones specifically intended for casual riders or for commuting have the gears hidden inside the wheel.  This has the advantage of being cleaner and simpler for the user, because all moving parts are hidden.  They are also less prone to being broken and are more weather resistant for the same reason.
The trade off is that they are more expensive (to buy and to repair), heavier, and the lowest gear of an internal system will not be as low as with external gears.  For this reason, if you have to ride up steep hills, go with external gears.  If you ride mostly flat or only small hills, its a matter of preference.


For inclement weather, a mountain bike, hybrid, or purpose built commuting bike will outperform most road bikes - although you can put fenders and lights on anything, you can't put wide tires on a racer.  This is especially true for snow.

Just like with a Cadillac and a Geo Metro, there is a trade off between comfort and efficiency.  Beginners often get a bike with a wide saddle and tall handle bars, so they can sit up-right like a big rolling sofa, and then get discouraged when all the cool kids on real bikes pass them by at twice their speed everyday.  Its not just that they are weak  - there is a reason racers have low handlebars: the biggest factor in bicycle efficiency is wind resistance, and when you are upright, your torso is like a big parachute.  So that comfort comes at the cost of twice as much effort to go the same speed.  On the same note, a mid-range hybrid or mountain bike can weigh literally twice as much as a high-end road bike, which is a lot of extra pounds to lug with you up the hill to your house at the end of the day.

None of that is to say don't buy the hybrid, just understand that there are trade-offs.  They are trying to be decent at everything at once, without costing much and making new riders comfortable, which means they excel at nothing.

The best compromise, in my opinion, between efficiency, bad road/trail worthiness, and bad weather capability, is a cyclo-cross bike, which is a road bike meant to be used off-road, however they are somewhat hard to find, and therefor usually expensive.
The next best all-around option, (again, in my personal opinion) which also includes cargo hauling capacity built in, is a road touring bike (which would be why that's been my primary bike for the last 2 decades).
But that isn't to say that you can have a perfectly good long-term commuting experience with a mountain bike, racing bike, hybrid, cruiser, or a 60 year old bike from before special purpose bikes existed. 

If its possible, I'd recommend seeing if you have any friends with various types of bikes you can borrow for at least one ride, to see how they differ in riding position, gearing, handling, and so on. 
If nothing else, maybe you can find a local bike shop and do a test ride on a couple of different bikes.
You may be taking advantage of them even more in the next step (since you will ultimately buy used directly from someone), but to make up for wasting their time, plan on buying all your accessories (minimum: helmet, lights, gloves, bell) from them, and/or having them do a basic check/tune of your new (used) bike once you get it.

3) Fit:

The only way to really get it exactly perfect in every way is to go to a bike shop and find someone who really knows all the variables, preferably with access to an adjustable bike fit machine (a stationary bike where you can change the lengths and angles of all the components and frame parts). 

They often don't charge for this if you are planning to buy a bike from them, but again, if you go for a bike fitting, and don't buy a bike from that shop, you should really buy your accessories and/or service from them.  Bike shops operate with a pretty small margin.

Given that you are looking to buy a bike used, and not get a frame custom built to your specifications, knowing your perfect fitment doesn't really matter anyway.

As a super quick and simple rule of thumb, when you stand over a bike frame (in front of the saddle) with your shoes on and feet flat on the ground, there should be at least 1 inch, preferably 3 or 4, between the top tube and the beginning of your... special parts.  For one thing, if you were to be in a minor crash and fall forward off the saddle, you don't want to be impacting a big steel (or aluminum, or carbon) bar of bike frame.  This is also an indication that the frame more or less fits you.  If, when you straddle the bike, the top tube is actually touching you, that bike is much too big for you, and no matter how much you love it and no matter how good the price is, it just isn't the bike for you.  I'm sorry.

On the opposite end, you can use the seatpost to judge if a bike is too big.
When you ride, your knees should be 99% of the way straight at the bottom of each pedal stroke (not 100%, or locked-out, but almost).  If you don't extend your legs all the way, (imagine how it looks when an adult rides a tricycle meant for kids), you will end up hurting your knees.
In fact, if you have ever had hurting knees from riding a bike, this is the most likely reason.  Your seat was too low.


(this bike is too small for him)


The seat post (the part that attaches the saddle to the frame) should have a line on it marking the maximum its meant to be extended (it may or may not say words to that effect).  By loosing a screw, bolt, or quick release lever at the place where the frame clamps the post, you can raise or lower the seat height.  If the post is at its highest (at the line) and when you ride the bike your legs are not extending fully, then the bike is probably too small for you.  You can always buy a slightly longer seatpost if it's close, but if the seat needs to be higher than about 10 inches above the frame (assuming the top tube of the bike frame is horizontal, more on that soon), chances are the rest of the dimensions are too small for you anyway.

Of course, many bikes don't have a straight horizontal top tube running from the handlebars to the seat.  The sloping top-tube or the drop-frame that used to indicate "girl's bike" (in order that the bike could be ridden in a skirt or dress) has become common on mountain bikes and commute oriented bikes and many hybrids for both genders, as well as continuing to be common for female specific road bikes.  With a sloping top tube you can't just stand over it and measure the distance between your body and the frame to determine fit, and the seat-post will have to be extra long.  In that case you just draw an imaginary line (or better yet, use a level and some string or a broomstick or something) where the top tube would be if it went straight across.

There is really a lot more to it than that, (such as the length of the top tube and the angle of the seat tube) but to keep things simple, 1-5 inches between you and the bike frame (or where the frame would be if it were straight) with your feet flat on the ground is about the best approximation there is.


Once you find one bike that fits, you can check the frame size (usually printed on the seat tube) and have a rough idea of what other bikes will also fit you - generally mountain bikes and hybrids will be measured in inches, road bikes in centimeters.  But be aware that the numbers can vary between bike styles, brands, ages and depending on whether the top tube is horizontal or not.


So now you have some idea of what kind of bike you are looking for, and what size it needs to be.

4) Frame and components

There are hundreds of brands, with even more choices in components, so it is impossible to recommend any specifics, or break down all of the possible combinations.  They all have high-end and low-end stuff, so never assume a bike is good or bad just based on the brand of the frame or the components.


Older bikes can be very good quality, just try to stay mostly on this side of the 80s, when most manufacturers switched from carbon steel or high-tensile (Hi-Ten) steel to chromoly (ChroMo) steel.  The only modern bikes that still use carbon steel or hi-ten are the department store bikes, but pre-80s they were the standard for all but the most high-end bikes.

Some of the more high end older bikes did have good steel frames, particularly those made of Reynolds 531 or Columbus steel.
If you can find one, in good condition, you are looking at a good frame even though it is older.
However, unless the prior owner kept up with upgrades throughout the years, you should still consider a newer bike, as many advancements in components have been made since then.

Some brands which are in department stores today were once legitimate bike companies (most notable is Schwinn: a 10-20 year old Schwinn is likely a good bike, while a 2010 Schwinn is probably from a department store  - better than a Murry or Huffy, but still not a good choice)


If it has a sticker (usually on the seat tube, near the frame size sticker) that tells frame material, avoid high tensile steel.  Cromo steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber are all good frame materials, with their own pluses and minuses, but for practical commuting purposes, you should mostly be looking for steel.
Aluminum is also decent, and usually a little lighter.  I prefer steel for a practical commute style bike, because it is the strongest of all frame materials, and it can be bent back after a crash and keep going strong.  Any other frame type, once damaged or bent, is no longer safe to ride.  However, if you find a bike that is perfect in every other way, don't necessarily shun it just because it is made of a more exotic material.


Suspension adds weight, complexity, and cost, and unless you ride off-road, doesn't serve much purpose, but if you do ride-off road, (or have giant and frequent pot-holes to contend with), it can make the ride more comfortable and give you better control.  In general, for a commute bike, I would recommend skipping it.


Skinny, high pressure tires have less rolling resistance and less weight, therefore you can go faster / further with the same amount of effort.  However they have less grip in bad conditions (esp mud or snow), give a bumpier ride, and are (in theory**) more prone to flats.

** In my personal experience, I have not had any more flats on my  road bikes.


The curved style of handlebar found on road bikes gives you more possible hand positions, which can be nice on long rides once your hands get tired, but ultimately handlebar shape is a matter of personal preference.  If possible, try a couple different styles out on the open road before becoming committed to any one type.


I would recommend an adjustable height and/or angle stem for any new cyclist, so you can choose whether to be more upright (more comfortable, but higher wind resistance) or more low and sleek, or anywhere between and change between them whenever you want, as you ride more and find what you like.  Most older bikes (10 years or more) have an adjustable height stem standard.  Most modern bikes have a "threadless headset" (commonly called "Ahead-set", which is actually a brand name) which are not adjustable in height, but you can attach an adjustable angle stem to it:


On the left is the traditional adjustable height stem.  To change the height, you loosen the hex bolt in the center, twist the bars a little to break the connection, and pull them up.  Don't go higher than the marked limit line. 
On the right is the newer (threadless headset) which has limited to no height adjustability.  Sometimes you can switch the position of the spacers to get a small height change.



Adjustable angle stems.





As long as this already is, I am deliberately leaving out gobs of information, because this is a basic guide, and because you are buying something used and have limited choices.  You aren't custom ordering a $3000 bike, so if you have a hard-core bike fanatic friend, you can safely ignore most of what she tells you about frame butting, spoke counts, gear ratios, or the superiority of Campy parts over Ultegra and Dura-Ace.  Remind her that your goal is to get from one place to another, not to win a criterium.  Tell her you don't even know what a criterium is.

5) Craigslist

In case you didn't already know, Craigslist is awesome.  It is one of the most effective tools combating the worst aspects of the American consumerism cycle in which we are constantly throwing away things that still work in order to buy a slightly newer version, wasting our own money along with massive amounts of natural resources.  Craigslist helps recirculate our money in our own communities instead of having it siphoned off by giant soulless corporations, keeps good stuff out of landfill, and prevents material extraction and energy consumption to create new stuff, all by the simple act of bringing together people who have stuff they don't want with people who want stuff they don't have.

If you are lucky enough to live in a reasonably large city, with at least a moderate amount of cyclists, than chances are good you can find a large selection of high quality bicycles on your local Craigslist page.

If not, though, the same principals apply to buying from a yard sale or flea market. 
Another option is a used bikeshop.  They will generally charge a bit more than buying directly from the previous owner, but you get the advantage of a bike that has been checked out by a mechanic, and a knowledgeable person to help you with the selection process.


Expect to spend at least $100, but unless you are lucky, probably $200, possibly more.  Yep, that much, for a used bike.  Even an old one, or a simple one.  Less than that, and the chances are good you are buying a department store bike, a 40 year old bike which was low quality when it was new, or a bike that has been left out in the rain and generally not taken care of . Spending less will likely mean that you have to spend much more in parts and service in order to get it up to decent operating condition.  If a bike is decent quality, well taken care of, and severely underpriced, it may well be stolen.  Don't support bike thieves.  They will end up stealing the bike back from you again.  That's called Karma.

A decent new bike from a bike shop is generally $600 and up, so you are still saving plenty of cash by spending $200.   Of course you can always get lucky and find someone who has no idea what they have is actually worth (like I did with my $400 carbon fiber racing bike), but don't expect it.

At the same time, be aware that there are a great many over-priced bikes on Craigslist.  Depending on your market, it may take some patience to find a good one.  Do a Google search of the make and model of any bike you are considering. In general, look for bikes no more than 20 years old, and of course, avoid department store bikes like the plague.



So say you have read this far, determined what you need, figured out the size, and browsed around and found a few ads that seem to have good quality bikes.
Keep in mind that someone is selling the bike for a reason.  More often than not, the reason is because they just never ride it.  Which usually means it hasn't had any maintenance in... ever.  If its been stored indoors where it is dry, that may not be a problem, but in a damp basement or a back porch, there is likely internal rust that you can't see.  If you see rust on the outside, unless the person is a bike enthusiast that you trust maintained the bike, assume there is internal rust as well.  A bike bought by someone who never got around to riding it is more likely to have been cheap to begin with and to not have had much care taken in its purchase.
These are obviously not hard and fast rules, but if they are selling due to a move out of state, or due to having several other bikes, the chances are a little better the bike was taken care of.

Take hold of the wheels, and try to move them side to side (perpendicular to the way they turn).  There shouldn't be any play in them side-to-side, against the axle.  Do the same for the cranks (what the pedal attaches to) and the handlebars, trying to wobble them side-to-side, not the way they are supposed to turn.  If they are loose and wobbly, that is a sign the bike hasn't been taken care of.  Those things are easily tightened (although some require specialized bike tools) but if they have been ridden loose, they are likely to need more extensive repairs. 
Spin the wheels while holding the bike off the ground, and watch how the rim moves relative to the brake pads.  If the rim moves so much that it hits the brakes on every revolution, this is usually repairable (by "truing" the wheel - adjusting the tightness of each spoke) but it is another sign of a bike that wasn't maintained.

Avoid a bike with any obvious dents or cracks anywhere in the frame.  If a bike has been in a severe crash, there may be more damage than meets the eye.  I've had a frame suddenly break on me.  It isn't pretty.

Tires and handlebar tape can be replaced, and a bad paint job can discourage theft, so try not to let the aesthetic elements overwhelm the mechanical ones.

Expect a test ride, but offer to leave something with the seller (like your ID) so they know you don't ride off with it, since it is essentially its own built-in getaway vehicle.

Once you have (FINALLY) found a good bike that fits your needs, its time to make the deal.
Because this is Craigslist, don't forget you can try to negotiate.  But don't be a jerk about it.  Don't show up and then at the last minute claim you "only have $100" as though you forgot the asking price.
Bring cash (it lets the seller know you aren't a scammer), and show up in person (but bring a friend who knows bikes if you have one)

Always make a receipt (preferably make it in advance with blanks for the bike and seller info).  It should have the make and model of the bike (both are usually written somewhere on the frame), and as much descriptive information - color, frame type, size, age, any notable features - as possible.  It should also say the purchase price, date, and the buyer and sellers names.  And above all, it absolutely should have the bikes serial number, which will usually be stamped into the metal somewhere on the underside of the bike (you have to turn it over to see it), most often on the bottom bracket (the thing the crank axle goes through)

If the person refuses to provide their name, or seems hesitant to have you check the serial number, there is a good chance the bike is stolen, and you should politely move on.
Having a receipt will also be useful in recovering the bike should it ever get stolen from you, or in having insurance replace it  if it isn't recovered.


6) Now that you have it... time to spend a little more money
It's a good idea to have it checked out by a qualified mechanic, or at least a friend who is a bike nut.  This is a perfect opportunity to pay back the local bike shop that helped you out with advice while you were shopping.

If there isn't a local bike shop around that you owe a favor to, Bike Nashbar offers some of the lowest prices you can find anywhere on bike accessories.

While you are there, you need, at a bare minimum, a new helmet.  Don't use a helmet that came with the bike, or any other used helmet. They get internal damage from absorbing the energy in a crash, which may not be visible from the outside (it is basically a bundle of microscopic bubble wrap, and in an impact, the little air bubbles pop).  Therefor, a bike helmet is one-time use only.  If it is used, there is no way to be sure it hasn't been in a crash already.  Even if it hasn't been in a crash, repeated drops, even just from 4ft up to the ground, can gradually wear away its impact protection, as can UV exposure from the sun and ozone exposure from traffic. 
If you ride at night, a headlight is absolutely essential, along with the reflectors that come standard (or reflective tape if someone removed the standard reflectors).  Even better is an extra bright headlight, a tail light, the standard reflectors AND reflective tape.   Run the headlight even when it is light out anytime there is reduced visibility, such as when there is sun glare at dusk and dawn, or on an overcast day.  I've noticed I can see cyclists better when I am driving when they leave their headlights on in daytime, therefore I now run my lights ANY time I'm on the bike, day or night, even when its clear out.  
Getting hit by cars is not fun.
(I go into much more depth on both lighting, and not getting hit by cars in general in my post on riding safely in traffic: http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-ride-your-bike-in-street.html)

Other very good things to have are gloves, which absorb road bumps and protect your hands in a fall, and a bell to warn pedestrians without having to yell.


Some people swear by cycling shorts, which have a pad built in to supposedly make sitting more comfortable.  I have never cared for them.  More important is to get a saddle that fits you properly.  It should be slightly wider than the distance between your "sit" bones - you can feel them protruding at the bottom of your pelvic bone when you squat.  Measure that distance (preferably at home alone) and look for a saddle no more than an inch or two wider than that (and definitely no narrower than that).  Having that distance correct will make more of a difference than any cut-outs or gel inserts or shock absorbers or any other gizmos and "features" you find on modern saddles.   
The saddle should be firm.  This will feel more uncomfortable at first, but as you get used to it, and you put more miles on the bike, it will be more comfortable (and do less potential damage to important body parts) than a squishy saddle.  The reason is because you sink down into a soft saddle, and it puts pressure on all parts equally, while a hard saddle supports the sit bones only, keeping everything else above it, like it should.  I know the big wide cushy gel seat seems like riding an easy chair.  You just have to trust me.

The reason I put this under the accessories section, and not the components, is because saddle selection varies so widely, both by gender and among individuals, that you shouldn't expect to find a bike that has a comfortable saddle for you already in place.  You might get lucky, but don't reject an otherwise good bike because the seat is uncomfortable.   If possible, try to find a shop that will let you trade, if the one on your bike is in good shape, but just not right for you.



"Clipless" pedals  - a system of a pedal and shoe combination which snap together - are much safer than the old "clip and strap" (cage) style pedal, and are much more efficient than simple flat pedals.

On the left, the old clip 'n strap style pedal.  On the right, an example of "clipless" pedals.  The most common, by far, is called SPD.  Your foot locks into the pedal, but it snaps off easily in a crash (unlike with the cages).  Both types allow you to pull back, up, and forward on the pedal, so you are pedaling in circles, not just pushing down, which makes more efficient use of your muscles.  They also give you greater control over the bike.

For maximum versatility on a commute bike, you can get a pedal which is clipless on one side, and flat on the other:

These have SPD on one side (left) and are flat on the other.  There are many styles to choose from.


Having ridden many miles on flat pedals, cages, and clipless, I personally feel the clipless is worth it.
However, between the shoes and the pedals, the system can cost anywhere from $100 to $500, so just stick with whatever pedals happened to come with the bike at least until you have a well established relationship with cycling.




7) One last thing
A bicycle is considered a vehicle, and as such, they are required to follow the same traffic laws that cars do.  Ride on the right side of the street.  Stay off of the sidewalk (unless expressly allowed in a particular location).  Stop at red lights.  Stop at stop signs***.  Ride predictably and signal your turns when warranted.  The majority of bike/car collisions are partially or entirely the cyclists' fault.  Two of the most common causes of crashes are bike riders riding on the sidewalk, and bike riders riding the wrong way (on the left side of the road).  Another common cause is lack of visibility on the part of the cyclist.  Eliminating these few (totally controllable) factors actually makes riding a bike statistically safer than driving a car.  The thing most new cyclists worry about - getting clipped from the rear by passing cars - is actually relatively rare.  Crashes happen primarily at driveways and intersections, and they happen because the cyclist was somewhere the driver didn't expect them to be.

If you are in the SF Bay Area, consider taking the FREE traffic safety course sponsored by the local Bicycle Coalitions: http://www.ebbc.org/safety
If not, check with your local shops, riding clubs, or bicycle coalition to see if anyone offers something similar. 

UPDATE: I just wrote a new post specifically for new riders who aren't used to being in traffic, to help you avoid getting hit by a car. 
This post has been way more popular than I ever expected, and since it is intended for new riders, I thought it would be pretty important to help y'all not only pick out a new bike, but not get run over while you are riding it!
Read this before you get on the road: http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/2012/06/please-ride-your-bike-in-street.html




*** I won't pretend I stop at stop signs, or even try to convince you to.  But at least slow down for them, and look both ways before you cross.  And always come to a full stop if there is cross traffic which has the legal right of way.


[Someone has written an article with counterpoints to this one.  Personally, I disagree with him on a few points (1st off, that you should never buy a used bike!), but it is always worth getting 2nd opinions and different perspectives: http://hiawathacyclery.blogspot.com/2012/01/bike-buyers-guide-for-beginners.html]