How to Get Started Biking

Uncanny Valley | WIRED

WIRED

Technology

4.1 • 572 Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2022

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For a lot of people, riding a bike through a crowded city—or even on suburban avenues—might feel daunting. Should you get an electric or acoustic bicycle? What gear do you need while you ride? How do you avoid getting hit by the great big gas guzzlers that take up most of the road? These are valid questions, and we've got answers. May is national bike month here in the US, and Gadget Lab is ready to get you rolling.

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED senior associate reviews editor Adrienne So joins us as we cycle through all things bikes: How to start riding more, what to look for in an ebike, and what's the best frame color for your grocery-getter.

Show Notes:

Read more about Adrienne’s guide to the best ebikes. Here’s our roundup of our favorite bike accessories.

Recommendations:

Adrienne recommends the book A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit. Mike recommends the Lil Guy hip bag from Road Runner Bags. Lauren recommends Adrienne So’s WIRED story “A Letter to My Fellow Asian Mothers From the Multiverse.”

Adrienne So can be found on Twitter @adriennemso. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Mike.
0:01.0	Lauren.
0:02.0	Mike, this morning I offered you a ride in my car to the office, so you wouldn't have to ride your bike. But you normally ride your bike. So what made you accept the offer? To spend quality time with you, of course. Oh, stop it. But aren't you supposed to be bike collore? I mean, you're a bike guy. I have been known to be a bike person, yes. And as much as I
0:21.7	want to be a bike person, I'm not totally converted. And maybe I should be. I think we will get you
0:27.9	there over the next 35 to 45 minutes. I should probably start with like an actual bike though,
0:32.9	right? Yes. We'll work on that too. Let's talk about it.
0:47.3	Hi, everyone. This is Gadget Lab. I'm Lauren Good. I'm a senior writer at Wired.
0:52.7	And I am Michael Kallori. I'm a senior editor at Wired, aka BikeColori. It me.
0:57.7	And Wired Senior Associate Reviews Editor, Adrian, so is here.
1:01.4	Or at least she's here on Zoom. She joins us from Portland, Oregon.
1:03.3	Hey, Adrian. Welcome back to the show.
1:04.2	Hi, guys.
1:10.1	So we've talked a lot about bikes on this pod because we generally like them a lot.
1:11.9	And many of us happen to live in areas we're getting around on bikes is possible. But for some people, bikes are daunting, terrifying,
1:20.8	expensive, or just not feasible where they live, or all of the above. So considering that May
1:26.3	is National Bike Month, we thought we would do our
1:29.1	annual Bike Calori episode. I really think that's probably what we're going to title it.
1:33.8	All right. In the second half of the show, we're going to talk about e-bikes, which might be a
1:39.3	better solution for some people, and I think people are curious about. But first, let's start with
1:43.8	the basics.
1:45.1	Should you be commuting by bike? What kind of bike should you look to buy? And what's all the other
1:50.4	gear that you need? So, Adrienne, what would you say people really need to start rolling or riding?
	...

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