Advice on what to wear - practicalities of a newbie commuter
- Thread starter Hotchilidamo
- Start date
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I got spare power supplies so that I could keep one at home and one at work, saves a bit in both weight and space. The rucksack is awfully heavy when I carry the 15" Mac Pro and XPS 13 home at the weekend, and back in on Monday morning. All adds to the workout I guess ;-)
thefollen
Veteran
- Location
- Balham/Tooting Bec
Me = 8miles each way too.
I'm a backpack person myself. Was a full one this morning with lunch, shoes, clothes, boxing gloves, lock and the standard base tools/stuff. There are packs to accommodate the majority of requirements but you'll become savvy regarding what you can leave at work to lighten the load.
The key is to experiment and find out what works for you. I put the legs in so consequently run pretty hot- even on chilly days I'm fairly minimalist. Have made the error of loading up on layers thinking it'll be cold, only to be baking at around 4miles. Definitely padded shorts and a pair of gloves (full finger for winter and fingerless for warm days). Currently wearing a pair of 'normal' shorts over the lycras purely because they have a hole in them!
Ensure you have a little pump, spare inner, tyre levers, spare batteries (lights) and a multi tool also :-)
I'm a backpack person myself. Was a full one this morning with lunch, shoes, clothes, boxing gloves, lock and the standard base tools/stuff. There are packs to accommodate the majority of requirements but you'll become savvy regarding what you can leave at work to lighten the load.
The key is to experiment and find out what works for you. I put the legs in so consequently run pretty hot- even on chilly days I'm fairly minimalist. Have made the error of loading up on layers thinking it'll be cold, only to be baking at around 4miles. Definitely padded shorts and a pair of gloves (full finger for winter and fingerless for warm days). Currently wearing a pair of 'normal' shorts over the lycras purely because they have a hole in them!
Ensure you have a little pump, spare inner, tyre levers, spare batteries (lights) and a multi tool also :-)
OP
OP
Hotchilidamo
Active Member
- Location
- Bournemouth
Well now this is where I'm confused. I managed to negotiate £120 worth of free accessories with my LBS when buying the bike. I pick it up on Wednesday and need to decide which accessories I want.
I have an old Bell helmet that I'd like to upgrade but not essential right now
I guess my essentials should be:
- pump, spare innertube, tyre levers
- shorts (how many? one for each day? sounds expensive)
- bright jacket/top (again how many?)
No idea what I really need, and what I can get away with to start with. I don't really want to spend a fortune on extra stuff outside my £120 allocation. Any tips?
I guess in reality I'll be cycling 2 times a week to start and then slowly upping it
thefollen
Veteran
- Location
- Balham/Tooting Bec
I only have the one pair of cycling shorts (possibly explains the hole in them). They'll last a few commutes without becoming too bad. I shower in the morning before leaving and then when arriving at work so am pretty clean when in them.
My shorts were £50 but believe you can get them for cheaper. Perhaps start out with an entry level pair and see how you find them- personally I go for comfort and breathability. Defs give them a try-on first if you can (you'll probs have to keep your boxers on for this part though! Generally you'd rock the lycras commando when riding)
However,
For your £120 I'd say cycling gloves (full finger), basic tyre tools, set of alan keys, lights, pump, some chain lube. You should have some change to play with after that for some shorts if you like. Which bike do you have? With any bike your backside will have a week or two's 'getting accustomed' spell where it's a little sore if you haven't ridden for any length of time previously. If it's a hybrid with a nice squashy seat you can get away with regular shorts if you don't fancy forking out for the lycras right now. I did a full year before going lycra. They are nice though.
Regarding jackets I'm not really a decent one to speak to about them since I avoid wearing them whenever possible. Despite many being breathable I always tend to 'boil in the bag' (esp with a back pack). Only indulge for heavy rain, which to be fair is only very occasional. Otherwise I wear a tech t-shirt/vest and if cold a thin long sleeve tech top over. Can pick stuff like this up for quite cheap.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Don't do it !! One pair can be fine, but wash every evening and pop it on the radiator - will be dry by morning. I wash base layers everyday !
Do you need the different operating systems at the same time? My first thought would be to keep one laptop at work 24/7 and the other at home, and then keep them sync'd through the cloud.
vickster
Squire
How old is it? Has it any damage, has it been dropped, what is the polystyrene like? I'd say a new helmet is pretty essential, if wearing one, make sure it's fit for purpose, otherwise you could question its usefulness. £30 buys a snell certified specialized Align. I think you should replace every 3 years at a minimum if used often.
Otherwise, good gloves, good lights, good lock
Yep, MacBook for BE web dev stuff, have a windows VM on it for client dev, but VM's don't exhibit all the nuances so have a small lightweight windows laptop for client dev and firefighting @ night.
Everything is in the cloud (so long as I remember to push before going home) so it's pretty straight forward to switch contexts.
Keeping one at work and one at home would work perfectly, but you miss out on the free training :-)
SomethingLikeThat
Über Member
- Location
- South London
In terms of rain jackets they can get seriously expensive for good ones. I wouldn't bother and instead wear a lighter layer most of the time, such as a soft long sleeve jacket or something (I've got a Trespass one that works well) unless it's really tipping it down (where you'll want waterproofing) otherwise you are going to get overheated and uncomfortable. A light drizzle isn't going to get you soaked.
summerdays
Cycling in the sun
- Location
- Bristol
As for accessories, I can't remember if locks have been mentioned, but you need a D lock, if that is the only place you need to lock it up you might be able to leave it on the bike stands at your work. Don't bother with just a cable lock, they don't give much protection at all.
My tips:
Eww, buy a few more pairs of cycling shorts and then you don't have to worry about not having a clean pair.
Don't bother with a rain jacket - they just flap around and you end up boiling. When it is properly chucking it down you are going to get wet regardless. Overshoes are useful though because shoes take a while to dry out and saves your shoes from getting mucky.
Leave shoes/trousers/work jacket at work if you can. If you need them for something not at work you can always bring them home.
Anyway to leave the laptop at work/home? Do you really need it both ends? Will be a pain to lug back and forth.
Eww, buy a few more pairs of cycling shorts and then you don't have to worry about not having a clean pair.
Don't bother with a rain jacket - they just flap around and you end up boiling. When it is properly chucking it down you are going to get wet regardless. Overshoes are useful though because shoes take a while to dry out and saves your shoes from getting mucky.
Leave shoes/trousers/work jacket at work if you can. If you need them for something not at work you can always bring them home.
Anyway to leave the laptop at work/home? Do you really need it both ends? Will be a pain to lug back and forth.
MissTillyFlop
Evil communist dictator, lover of gerbils & Pope.
Deffo take a change of clothes, nowt worse than a sweaty crotch and back! (As much for the benefit of your colleagues as for you!)
Take two flannels, one to. Wash, one to dry and a travel sized deodorant.
Jeans, tshirt and underpants can be rolled up quite small anyway do you should be able to fit it all in a small backpack.
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MissTillyFlop
Evil communist dictator, lover of gerbils & Pope.
If you need waterproofs, you'll need a change of clothes - I tend to get just as wet from sweat as from the rain if I wear waterproofs!
