Hey guys, what's up? It's Tom here today and I wanted to show you something
that's kind of cool right now.
Right?! Stopping with no hands! You know, I can stop like that because this bike has
coaster brakes. You know, foot brakes, like when you pedal backwards and then your brakes go.
It's different than the usual hand brakes you see on bikes.
You probably had a bike like this when you were a kid. There's a lots of reasons
why most bikes don't have coaster brakes. They don't have as much stopping power
Oh my God, there's a truck on the pathway. So yeah, coaster brakes don't
have as much stopping power as say disc brakes. You have to kind of get used to using
your feet again. One time when I dropped a chain
I had no brakes at all. But there's one really good reason that I do like them.
And I'll tell you about that. In a minute. First I want to show you something else.
OK, so for a long time in the great bike cities of Europe there's been this
idea that people choose to use a bike for transportation when the route is
short. And the number that's always bandied about is about five kilometers.
So people will choose a bike over other methods of
transportation when in the route is five kilometers or left less. I always
thought that was great for those cities in Europe, which are a little denser and
more compact, but that doesn't really apply here because we have bigger
sprawling cities, our distances are much greater and it just didn't apply.
But that's because I never really checked. That however changed this summer because
of a thing I got. Hold on. It's this thing on the front it's called
a SmartHalo. I did a vlog about it a little while ago . One of the things that it
does is track my ride. Lots of people use their phones to track rides. That's
how this works - it connects to your phone and it's been tracking every time
I get on the bike. Distance, speed, routes all that kind of thing. So check this out:
all the stats for my summer rides, total distance, total trips. This is the
interesting part: average distance per trip is 5.4 kilometers. So here in one of
the sprawlingest cities in North America - that's a word right? Sprawlingest?
My average distance is about the same as you'd see in those big dense urban
European cities, which is kind of amazing. I think what it really means is that the
bike is great for trips of short distances. Big deal right? If you live
in one of those neighborhoods that doesn't have anything to ride - that's a
problem. But what if you don't? And I think sometimes we forget how many
things are nearby to us. So what I did was check out, within a five kilometer
distance of where I am right now, just a little sampling of things that you can get to.
That's a lot of places! It's kind of surprising when you think about it.
I also think what's important is to make sure that those short bike trips
are made easy. I want to share a few quick tips. Here five ways to make sure
those short bike trips are made as easy as possible. Okay, tip number one:
Make sure your bike is accessible. I mean if it's in your basement or hung
on your wall, it may look good but it may discourage you from riding if you
have to like do a lot of work to get it out onto the street, you might not ride
as much. So do whatever you can to make it easy to grab and go. OK, tip number two:
Make sure you've always got a lock with you. Somehow figure out a way to
keep it on you at all times. For me, I've got this one. It goes right here, attaches.
I've got the key in my pocket all the time, so whenever I go, the lock is with
me. I never have to think about it. Easy. Tip number three: make sure you've always
got lights attached to your bike. If it's nighttime and you have to go scrounging
around your drawer looking for lights, no good. You're going to end up doing something
else instead of riding. I've got these ones always
attached to my bike. It's probably better to get a more permanent expensive ones
because these ones tend to get stolen, but whatever you use figure out what
works and keep the lights there all the time. Number four: Make sure your bike
has some carrying capacity. A little rack at the back or a milk crate at the front,
something that you can put stuff into. If you're going to make quick little trips to
the grocery store and you just want something to bring that stuff home in, it
makes it so much easier to run errands without having to think too much about it.
OK and my fifth point is make sure you have a bike that is conducive to
this kind of stuff. You want the easiest, simplest bike you can get. I know the
temptation is to buy really fancy bikes with lots of gears and carbon frames and
all that kind of stuff. There's a time and a place for that kind of riding, but
everyday, easy simple riding is not the place. I like the bikes that are simple
need minimal work and are always ready to go. This one's got a three-speed
internal hub. I don't think I've ever tuned it up, which is what I love.
And that's what brings me to my point at the beginning about the coaster brakes.
I think now you probably understand why I love the coaster brakes on this
bike so much.They're easy to use. I never have to do any maintenance on them.
They're just always reliable and there for me. Plus it leaves your hands free to
do things like drink a coffee or hold a camera while you're riding your bike.
It's all just part of making it easier. So anyway I hope that helps get you out
there and maybe do a few more trips on your bike. If you liked the video
please share it like it down below, and I'll see you next time.