Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Tangled Metal
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Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tangled Metal »

Recently I've been taking the train into work whilst being b unable to ride. This led me to realise one of the regular cyclists taking their bike on the train is now only doing it Monday morning. That meant he's chaining it up in town to take the last bit of his commute. Then I spotted others that looked to be doing the same.

For me I'd rather skip the 8 minute train journey and ride the whole way by bike. It only takes the same time as going by train any way. My partner has a longer ride from the station so this commute method would work for her. Leads me to questions.

Where is a good source of a reliable rat bike? We're not confident in bike maintenance so could easily end up with a real dodgy bike going down the fleabay or gumtree route.

Also does anyone know how to rent or get one of those bike box lock ups at stations? If they're hard to get will it be a big risk to chain up a tatty old looking bike overnight?

Any advice in general?
CliveyT
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Joined: 13 Jun 2012, 2:55pm
Location: Cambridge

Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by CliveyT »

Tangled Metal wrote:Also does anyone know how to rent or get one of those bike box lock ups at stations? If they're hard to get will it be a big risk to chain up a tatty old looking bike overnight?

Any advice in general?

Probably the real question is "how much of a pain is it if/when it gets stolen" I had a bike locked up overnight at Cambridge station for over 6 months without losing it but I only had a 15 minute walk should it go missing.
Since moving to within cycling distance I've still kept the bike for those occasions I've needed to leave it somewhere less safe overnight and twice I've had someone stick their lock through my frame as well. Unfortunately both times I was faced with either a 2 hour walk or £20 taxi ride
kwackers
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by kwackers »

Tangled Metal wrote:Where is a good source of a reliable rat bike?

Check the skip at your local Tesco.
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gaz
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by gaz »

Tangled Metal wrote:Where is a good source of a reliable rat bike?

Gumtree, ebay and a lot of patience. As a minimum learn how to do a "M" check, buy local and view before you bid.

Amongst the sea of BSOs, rusted rubbish and worn out wrecks are a few true gems.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
Bicycler
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Bicycler »

I've sent you a PM Tangled Metal

I suspect that style of bike affects the desirability and likelihood of being stolen. A cheap mountain bike is low reward but easy to pass on. Flashy bikes are distinctive and more risky to get rid of but worth the effort. Except in those few places where they are numerous (eg. Cambridge), I'd suggest that town/city/roadster type bikes, particularly step through "ladies" frames are likely to be a good combination of distinctive and unprofitable for thieves whilst also making good commuting machines.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tangled Metal »

It all sounds risky no matter what you end up with. Buying the bike you could end up with dross or pay over the odds. This could lead to it being too expensive for you to be happy leaving it locked up at the station for fear of it being stolen.

My partner can get the bus from the station or even bus station with a short walk. Either way it's not an issue if the bike has gone overnight if the bike is cheap enough.
nez
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by nez »

Those bikes for Africa type charities often sell off bikes to defray their running costs. Our local one has always got a few scruffy but sound bikes available
mrjemm
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by mrjemm »

'Furniture Matters', a local charity is selling more and more bikes lately, usually a few on ebay. They're just near White Lund, knowing you're local to this neck of the woods. I suspect they get what gets extracted from the Salt Ayre 'recycling centre', but if all is fine, not an issue.

Ebay certainly comes up trumps still- got a good deal for Mme this week, and seen a few options about for me, but none as good as her's.

The boxes at L station look a bit ratty and I can't believe they get used well- never seen one accessed yet. Mme who uses the train more often has seen 1 person use them.
Tangled Metal
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tangled Metal »

There also used to be a green cooperative somewhere near de vere street I think it's called that used to do up donated and recovered bikes to sell on. They also ran maintenance training courses and sold a few bits too. Can't remember the name now and I think they folded a few years back.

Our nearest waste centre often has bikes. The people working there seem to pull out anything interesting from the skips, bikes are top of the list to keep.
Tonyf33
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tonyf33 »

Define a 'rat bike'?
To me it's one that is cosmetically challenged (the worse the better I would think) yet is good enough to get you from A-B reliably, in reasonble comfort and not be really hard to cycle any distance so unless you want to put a lot of work in (& you mentioned not being keen on the technical aspect of fixing) you want something that functions pretty much off the bat.
£40 gets you something like this Raleigh, made by the hundreds of thousands so no real value in it http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Raleigh-Flyer ... SweuxWRyO7
bit of gaffa tape around the tubes to make it really ugly, take that clean Maillard freewheel and the nice quill pedals off too and get some rusty/gnarly bits on there.
jobs a good un.
Or something that is quite a decent spec that would need a bit of a tidy normally http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elswick-Super ... SwlV9WS3Ur
A motobecane... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Motobecane-St ... SwcdBWSO45
There's absolutely shed loads of bikes out there for the purpose of leaving behind locked up for ages, think ladies hybrid in pink/purple with some slick tyres
Tangled Metal
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tangled Metal »

Yes that's what I mean. They all look good but that last one says it's not working as it should, or eBay words to that effect. It's that element of secondhand that worries me, how fit and safe for purpose will it be?

There's a little bike shop near me that sells cheaper brands of new bike kit or parts alongside secondhand bikes. I've always been disappointed going in there since I'm always buying for the best I can afford and new (benefits of secure locking places out of site in a work site). My partner is thinking of locking overnight at the station so now I'm casually looking for her so that shop may be of interest now.

My view is a bike can look dodgy but it must not actually be dodgy to be a rat bike. Good enough to ride a reasonable distance (say 5 miles or so). IMHO a shopper could do that but my preference for her would be a better riding bike. A 3 or 7 gear shopper IMHO would come under the "not very nice to ride" category.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I think that depends heavily on the shopper itself, especially the tyres...

It also depends on whether you are aiming to be head down for high speed, or head up to the station...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Tonyf33
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by Tonyf33 »

[XAP]Bob wrote:I think that depends heavily on the shopper itself, especially the tyres...

It also depends on whether you are aiming to be head down for high speed, or head up to the station...

Agree with this.
Tangled Metal, what aspect of a bike would you say puts it into the 'not very nice to ride' category, that could be applied to some multi thousand pound bikes as well as wrecks from the local tip?
Going for a test ride might tell you some of what you need to know re how it rides but even just fitting different tyres as Bob says above can make a big difference, you might not be able to appreciate it at the time so could be a difficult call to make as to whether it fits what you want.
At the end of the day you have to weigh up the 'risk' of buying second hand at the lower end that fulfils the mechanical requirements you desire against the looking like it's a decent bike worth pinching.

Hope you find something that works for you.
pwa
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by pwa »

I rescued a Raleigh Mtb style bike that had been abandoned at work. The saddle was torn, all the cables were rusted and the brakes were in need of new blocks. I found a saddle in my garage then spent about £30 on cables and blocks. I regreased the hubs and found a better pair of 26" tyres in the garage and the bike is now okay. Not brilliant, but okay for short trips of a mile or two. The suspension fork is frozen solid (a good thing) and the hubs have poor seals and too much play. But it is worth having for errands.
iviehoff
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Re: Finding and using a "rat bike" for commuting

Post by iviehoff »

It is tricky. I'd think carefully before buying that "Raleigh flyer" because I think for this kind of bike you really want mudguards, unless you are happy to get a wet bum on days when the road is wet. You'd need to check that it has alloy rims, because steel rims means it won't stop in the wet, though I can't tell from the listing/photo. Brakes look better than the rubbish on the cheapest bikes though. And although the chain rings are just bent tin, and will wear out quickly in regular use, at least it doesn't have cottered cranks. Also it is clear that the bike needs work - it hasn't got a chain, they acknowledge the saddle is broken, and maybe tyres and various other parts are shot.

Last time I had to replace mine, I got a gem off ebay for £60. "Gem" of course is a relative concept in the eye of the beholder, and what said beholder is capable of fixing. What I mean is that it had the bits I needed - nice size and shape, accelerates nicely, goes up hills, serviceable wheels, comes with mudguards, and I could source most of the rest as hand-me-downs. As it turned out, the rear axle was snapped, but fortunately I could scavenge a spare from the various bikes and bits in the garage. Of course, I have those hand-me-down components in boxes in the garage. I put on a hand-me-down rear carrier rack. I replaced the heavy steel single chain ring with an alloy double ring hand-me-down, put a hand-me-down front changer on, replaced the poor side-pull brakes with some lovely hand-me-down Weinmann centre pulls. I've had it for a few years now. Clearly over time gear cables snap and have to be replaced, brake blocks have to be replaced, tyres wear out, even rims wear out and are replaced by hand-me-downs. Most of that maintenance I can do on the street in town, once in a while for things like mudguard repairs done with pop rivets, I have to take the bike home.
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