How To Bike In The City, With The Bike Snob 

This week we’re tackling the topic of urban cycling. Our guests include Eben Weiss, author of The Ultimate Bicycle Owner’s Manual: The Universal Guide to Bikes, Riding, and Everything for Beginner and Seasoned Cyclists; Rosemary Bolich, the Director of Community Outreach at We Bike NYC; and Doug Gordon, better known as Brooklyn Spoke – a TV producer and outspoken cycling advocate. We’ll find out what some people have against mandatory helmet laws, how cities can make their streets safer for cyclists, and why it isn’t worth it to argue with a motorist (but it is worth it to quietly hate them).

Image via Getty

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Discussed in This Episode:

• The fixed-gear bike craze and why it faded away
• Shoaling and why it’s wrong
• Salmoning and whether or not it’s ever OK
• Should you wave to fellow cyclists?
• Why not everyone loves a helmet
• The origins of We Bike NYC
• The advantage of finding a bike group
• What to look for when you’re buying an older road bike
• Which are the best bikes for locking up and walking away from
• Why the hybrid bike is good for city riding
• Facing the “bikelash”

Our Upgrades of the Week

Every week we like to let you in on the upgrades we’ve made in our own lives. This week we talked about upgrading your rental car, performance tracking on the bike, and dealing with the defiant teen.