Hey Everyone! New to the site.

Hey Everyone,

 

I've been lurking on the forums for a few months here and finally decided to join.  It seems like a great community!

 

I grew up riding my MTB as a kid, but finally decided to take the plunge and get a road bike and have a few questions with that. 

 

With the inclement weather we've had lately (can't ever remember a summer with this much rain), I've been a little afraid to take out my brand new road bike during the rain(Fuji Sportif 1.7c).  Granted, this is an entry level road bike, but since it is new to me, I've been extra careful about messing it up.  Would you all recommend more frequent maintenance if I use it in the rain, or would you recommend just using my old MTB that I've had for ~10 years that has never had anything replaced.  I'm mostly concerned about getting road gunk in the chain, cogs, brake pads and I don't feel as if this would be a good bike to mount fenders on. 

 

Second topic is that I would love to find some cycling buddies to ride with.  I mostly commute to and from work ~5 mi each way, but would like to start taking a longer ride after work for about 15-20 mi to start a few days a week.  I usually get off of work around 5 p.m. and work right near Illinois and McClurg.  I was a bit worried about the distance at first, however I used to run XC and track in highschool and college, and when I took a little test run earlier this week I found that distance to be pretty manageable at ~15/16 avg mph.  I took the LFT from work to the north end and back to Lincoln Park.  Any other suggestions for routes?

 

Well I look forward to being a part of this community and hopefully meeting some of you eventually. 

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on August 2, 2013 at 6:22am

> Would you all recommend more frequent maintenance if I use it in the rain ...

Yes, if it gets wet, it will need a bit more maintenance, more frequent chain clean/lube at least.  If you're going to make a habit if it, fenders will keep you cleaner in the rain.

> ... but would like to start taking a longer ride after work ...

You can probably find a "long way home" to improve your distance.  Five miles isn't a very long commute in my book (I live in Evanston).  Depending on my route, I have between 12 and 14 miles one-way.  Even then, when looking for more distance, I will head north for a bit, turning around in Wilmette or Winnetka before heading to work.  You can probably do the same.

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on August 2, 2013 at 6:34am

When I take the LFT home, I generally wind around to Evanston through Uptown and Rogers Park on Glenwood and Ashland (those are the N/S streets - connect them with reasonable E/W streets).  You can also pop over to Clark and just go north (Clark is my short, 12mi route to/from the Loop).  Once you get to Evanston, I'd stay west of Chicago Ave (Clark in Chicago) and avoid Ridge and Asbury south of Central Evanston.  Any residential streets will be okay traffic-wise.  Maple is a good candidate and runs all the way up to Noyes.  Left at Noyes, right on Ridge/Sheridan (this is now north of downtown Evanston), and you can ride pretty much all the way to the WI border if you want.

Permalink Reply by Adam Herstein on August 2, 2013 at 8:22am

If nothing else, get a pair of full fenders. It will prevent a great deal of spray and road gunk from getting on you, your bike, and people behind you.

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