Dear Umbra,
I was really energized by your column on cargo bicycles. I still own a car, but I drive it less and less, mostly to haul stuff and to travel when I want to wear a nice dress. So, a cargo bike solves the hauling problem. The other problem is that my skirt gets caught in the bicycle chain. Many decades ago, bicycles came with chain guards and even skirt guards to keep the flapping hem out of the machinery. I have seen pictures of European bicycles with such shields, but I can't find one here in my hilly city. I need lots of gears because of the hills, so I can't just import an Amsterdam model. Do you know any wonderful manufacturers out there who can solve my problem?
Racje
Berkeley, Calif.
Dearest Racje,
In Europe, where things are flatter and cycling for transport has a longer history, there is also a tradition of cycling in a stately manner with your Victorian dress or tailcoat -- Arthur Conan Doyle wrote an entire Sherlock Holmes story around a lady cyclist. He did not mention the skirt guard, which is a metal or plastic shield attached to the rear bike fender, covering the spokes and keeping skirts/tails/capes from entanglement. A chain guard -- a sort of curvy box around the bracket and chain -- often complements the skirt guard.
Tuck it or shuck it.
It's true that these objects do not seem to be available in the United States, and are available only as part of the whole-bike package on European commuter bikes. I couldn't find them for individual sale either, so I'm afraid I don't have an easy shopping solution for you. I hope a Gristhead will write in with a little-known source. In the meantime, all I can offer are two manufacturing solutions and a few riding tips.
In Berkeley and other bike-mad cities and towns, you should be able to hunt down a small-scale bike fabricator who could build custom skirt and chain guards. I would start by looking for a few small bike shops with that punkish, bike messengerish attitude and asking them what the options are around town. It might be that these stores actually know where to buy pre-made guards; hopefully one of them will know a person who can build you one. You may already have come across my second manufacturing-related suggestion, which seems to be all over the web: make your own skirt guard out of fabric, cable ties or wire, and a pair of scissors.
Until you solve the skirt/chain guard issue, we need to keep the skirt out of the spokes by hitching it up. You likely already have thought about wearing shorts under the dress and vanquishing the skirt entirely during the ride by tucking it into a waistband or bunching it with a rubber band. I also came across the genius and ladylike idea of shortening a long skirt for riding by safety-pinning it to a thigh garter -- this would reduce an A-line or longer to a thigh-high, and add to the glamour factor. We don't wish to arrive wrinkled. Perhaps instead of bunching the skirt to reduce its volume we should fold it, accordion style, before pinning or tucking it. Or it just may be that we can't wear longer, fuller skirts on the bicycle until we make our own chain guard.
Skortishly,
Umbra
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Comments
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cjbikeman Posted 12:27 am
28 May 2008
I don't know if this will help out, but here is a possible solution.
http://www.electrabike.com/bikes/
They have a few bikes with guards. The question is does it have enough gears for your hills.
cjbikeman
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pikespeak62 Posted 1:46 am
28 May 2008
They have chain guards and up to 8 gears.
Not cheap, but really cool!
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redambrosia99 Posted 2:08 am
28 May 2008
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DizzyMsLizzy Posted 2:23 am
28 May 2008
Finding lightweight, flexible and cute/funky ( gotta have the cute, gottta bring the funk) clothes in general ain't easy
Anyone have suggestions on work apporpiate (sans boring) clothing resources ? Or patterns,fabric options to sew up one's own?
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timdiller Posted 3:12 am
28 May 2008
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Delay And Deny Posted 3:18 am
28 May 2008
Thank you for restoring my faith in sexual dimorphism. I live in Seattle where the definition of femininity is having one less tattoo than your boyfriend.
As far as chains, that's why Schwinn designed those big clunky purple and white 3-speed bicycles with the basket and chain guard that my sisters used to ride back in the 60s. I also suggest streamers on the handlebar ends.
Happy riding!
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mihan Posted 3:37 am
28 May 2008
It is more practical than some of the "cruiser"-style bikes, since it's actually meant for commuting and hauling things. They make a 7-speed, 10-speed, and 3 or 4 speed, maybe more.
I don't have streamers on the handlebars (yet---they are shiny and pretty), but I do have a pink smiley-face sticker covering up the American flag. Don't turn me in.
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surg4fun Posted 4:12 am
28 May 2008
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caniscandida Posted 5:06 am
28 May 2008
And, an Umbra quibble: Europe is by no means uniformly "flatter" than the US. In my experience, in those towns which lie fairly flat, and in which petroleum-fueled traffic has not taken over, such as Ravenna, bikes are very common. In others, built on mountain slopes, such as Cortona, one would be crazy to want to resort to a bike for more than very short distances.
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rosalux Posted 5:35 am
28 May 2008
The basic answer is to sit on the back of your skirt solidly, so it can't fly completely up, and have a rack on the back (which you have anyway for hauling things, right?) to protect your skirt from the back wheel. And ignore sexual comments - the spandex-wearing SuperBikers show a lot more of their bodies, they just don't look as girly so people don't bother them.
I had a Breezer U-frame and had to give it up. The little clips that hold the brake cable to the frame gave out in less than one summer, letting the cable wrap around a pedal and try to kill me in traffic. I also learned that the 7-speed u-frame has lower gearing than the standard 7 speed, which was the source of my irritating inability to gain real speed on straightaways on it.
Right now I have a Trek Cypress step through. I like it, but I was told it wasn't possible to get a chain guard for it, because a chain guard would interfere with the derailler. I just stick with skirts no longer than just below my knees, and that's been fine. A standard frame actually keeps a long skirt out of the chain better, but the stepthrough is easier on my hips & lower back.
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raphsperry Posted 5:53 am
28 May 2008
That said, some bikes out there do happily come with chainguards! I recommend the Bianchi Milano I used to own - it has an eight-speed internal hub that was easy to shift and had a very wide gear range, including low enough gears for SF hills. It was around $650. After that got stolen I found a lower-cost model with a chainguard from Pake cycles - about $350. Breezer bikes do look good, but I've never owned one.
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cyclelicious Posted 9:08 am
28 May 2008
Skirt guards a little more problematic -- I don't know of aftermarket skirt guards in the United States, though I haven't looked in the catalogs yet. If you don't want to go the DIY route suggested by Umbra, you can always buy a new bike equipped with a skirt guard. The two models available in the United States are the Electra Amsterdam & Batavus Personal Bike AT.
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mdeblass Posted 1:03 am
29 May 2008
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SpeedEBikes Posted 3:38 am
29 May 2008
My favorite material is coroplast, ie plastic cardboard, which is most frequently used to make signs, especially campaign signs.
After an election it is usually easy to harvest a couple signs. I found two different 4' x 8' signs recently, one lying in the alley and another in the street. Each had some traffic damage but both had large useable sections. I've made a ton of useful things from this material.
Coroplast is easy to cut with a utility razor knife or heavy duty scissors. You can punch holes in it with a small screw driver. By cutting through only one side, especially along a flute, it is easy to make 90 degree bends. Gentle bends like for fenders can be done by heating with a paint stripping heat gun.
Most clear packing tape sticks well to it, although my preferred methods of joining/attaching is punching holes and using cheap nylon cable ties.
The end result is extremely light and can be very rugged too if you do a good job of it.
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rokabiri Posted 4:31 am
29 May 2008
To be honest, the A-line skirts and pinning has always worked so well and has been cheap/convenient enough that, for the most part, I see skirt guards as unnecessary.
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ecomommy Posted 4:52 am
29 May 2008
If you're very modest, you could wear shorts under your shirt- but I don't think this method leads to very much "showing".
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LeeNYC Posted 11:52 pm
29 May 2008
I gather from near my right knee to near my belly, pinch the little black & silver gizmo around the fabric, and I'm off on my 25-year old red "girls" Panasonic. Takes about two seconds; no wrinkles or rips; and they are quite secure.
Happy biking!
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Zeth Posted 3:54 am
02 Jun 2008
On the short side: I know that I can ride in any skirt with a hem within seven inches above my knees. Sit firmly on the back of your skirt and the front will stay in place.
On the long side: I know that for the most part, I can ride in any skirt that doesn't come within 12 inches of my feet. There are a few that I pin up, etc., but I've never had the skirt-in-the-works problem. Not yet, at least.
Trendy: So it might sound weird, but skirts that are shorter in the front than they are on the sides are perfect. The front sits nicely on the crossbar and the sides keep you from getting unwelcome exposure.
I'm not for pimping brands, but a couple of (hint) sustainably-minded companies make practical, beautiful SKIRTS that are designed for biking in. Happy hunting . . . I bought three in different colors.
Ride safe.
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Zeth Posted 3:54 am
02 Jun 2008
On the short side: I know that I can ride in any skirt with a hem within seven inches above my knees. Sit firmly on the back of your skirt and the front will stay in place.
On the long side: I know that for the most part, I can ride in any skirt that doesn't come within 12 inches of my feet. There are a few that I pin up, etc., but I've never had the skirt-in-the-works problem. Not yet, at least.
Trendy: So it might sound weird, but skirts that are shorter in the front than they are on the sides are perfect. The front sits nicely on the crossbar and the sides keep you from getting unwelcome exposure.
I'm not for pimping brands, but a couple of (hint) sustainably-minded companies make practical, beautiful SKIRTS that are designed for biking in. Happy hunting . . . I bought three in different colors.
Ride safe.
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WCusick Posted 5:43 am
03 Jun 2008
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javamsanii Posted 9:44 am
05 Jun 2008
Even here in posh (but cyclist's paradise) Cambridge, I've never seen a skirt guard on a bicycle. In fact, it's not wholly uncommon to see a woman cycling in black tie/formal apparel, in high heels, with a bottle of wine in the water bottle holder (to be fair, it's all I've ever used my water bottle holder for).
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racje Posted 2:56 pm
08 Sep 2008
Still have not worked out how to mix my lovely, light, 24-gear bicycle that scales the hills, and the longish, fullish skirts I like. I've had some experience with the skirts escaping the pins and clips, and have gone back to wearing trousers.
If I had a chain guard, I could attach a skirt guard to it... but can't find a chain guard.
When the elections are over, I'll look around for good materials to try making my own stiff shield that might stand out beyond the chain. Perhaps held out by chopsticks lashed to the rack.
Heels are not a problem on a bicycle, isn't that nice? But the toe cage does tend to eat up nice shoes.
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