Taking the Bike - Preparation

[sabcycling]

Hi all, I often wonder this but never really follow it through. [Background] Earlier this year I bought a new bike (Giant Escape 4) and I rode it a bit, taking it to parks and places like the greenway in the city. But I got bored of it fast and sort of resented the whole, taking the wheel off and fitting it in the car and whatnot. If the weather was slightly uncomfortable, I avoided it. It has sat in the shed all summer. Back when I was a student (2016-17) I really explored the notion of commuting in by bike. And I got so far in it. My car back then was unreliable and not great at best. Now I have a very comfortable Avensis (and a considerate monthly payment). It drinks a lot more fuel than my old car, and also, if any of you drive much, I don't need to tell you the cost of that in 2022.

[Discussion] I'm revisiting the idea of depending more on my bike. But you know what puts me off? The cold. The wind. The rain. When I don't wrap up, being freezing and getting a bit of a cold. Or when I do <with the wrong normal casual clothes> sweating like a pig, and then being musty if I were to, say go to the office. I now have a girlfriend who doesn't drive and lives in the city who I can stay with virtually as much as I like and cycle to work - though I've never done it. I'm hoping she might like the idea of cycling if I got her into it, she has a kid with a bike too who's virtually never used it, I was thinking instead of days out depending on the car, we maybe did more cycling and exploring locally. I've been spending up to £80 a week on fuel lately, so I'd gladly stay local.

I've tried building a list of barriers stopping me, and I don't mind throwing money at getting the right gear. Problem is, everything you look at promises a lot of features, and choice. How do I know without the time and money, trial and error, what will solve most of my problems of cycling versus the car? One bad jacket could make for a few miserable experiences and I never seriously entertain the idea of bike commuting ever again, you know?

- Temperature (staying warm)
- Weather (staying dry)
- Carrying stuff (like groceries)
- Energy
- Seeing (and being seen) in the dark
- Safety situation in a world where car drivers generally dislike cyclists (personally experienced)
- Comfort (gloves or decent seat?)

Any input would be great. The only decent brand I know of is Altura, not cheap, but also a lot of variety in some of their jackets / gloves etc, it's knowing what to go for for commuting?

 

[Oldhippy]

I've cycled for years as daily transport, my bike is a shopper, a tourer, I've moved house with it and a trailer. I don't wear special cycling gear.

 

[sabcycling]

I've cycled gor years as daily transport, my bike is a shopper, a tourer, I've moved house with it snd a trailer. I don't wear special cycling gear.

For me, I want to have all 'excuses' or barriers covered when the car keys are sitting within reach and very tempting in the moment, you know?

 

[geocycle]

I love cycling commuting, in fact I now feel odd if for whatever reason I have had to use the bus. You just need a routine, decent kit and a suitable workplace, I am lucky in that regard. I have jackets, shirts, trousers, a towel and even spare underwear in my office which I replenish. I ride 5-10 miles each way depending on weather. For work I wear cycling tights, t shirt, fleece and a Gore waterproof most of the year, less in summer of course. Ortlieb panniers have lasted 18 years so far… Supermarket shopping is great, only difficult bits are large packs of kitchen roll and boxes of beer. I use an app so I fill the panniers as I scan things on the way round. I can get a weeks shopping or more. Ferried all sorts of weird things from floor tiles to academic robes!

 

[Oldhippy]

I literally just sold the car as it cost more to keep than use.

 

[bikingdad90]

Before I make any suggestions; I just wanted to mention I’ll assume you are around 25years old and if your girlfriend has a child that he/she is likely to be no older than around 8/9. I don’t know if you’ve met the child or not and if not be vary wary of staying over as children can very quickly get the wrong idea, e.g replacement dad etc. You need to objectively think is cycling from your girlfriends house after staying over the right thing to do at this moment in time for the child’s sake? If it’s the prior, it’s totally irrelevant as the child will know you and that your her boyfriend etc and it should be ok to stay over when child is there.

Anyway, enough about lifestyle choices… onto suggestions to overcome barriers;
- lay your kit out the night before so that it is staring you in the face when you wake up and is easier to grab than clothes from the wardrobe.
- try commuting with a backpack before you invest in panniers and a rack, it’s a hefty investment if you’re not going to use them.
- keep your car but SORN it so you can’t use it (will still need to be insured if on public land/roads), if it becomes a habit then think about selling/ ending the PCP/HP. If it doesn’t then you can always pay the VED and use it again.

As for kit, invest in a good jacket, you can get windproof which is usually breathable or waterproof which despite been labelled as breathable will always be a bit boil in the bag. I’d say it is a case of pick on but not both… For gloves it’s a similar situation but I found that I could get away with fingerless mitts except for the very cold days.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Yes to the Altura jacket, but you will need to reproof it once a year or so.
I bike commute short distances (3 to 6 miles) all year long on generic outdoor clothes, apart from the Altura jacket.
I do own cycling specific gear, but I wear that only on very long rides or on tour.
You can do it!

 

[fossyant]

For me, I want to have all 'excuses' or barriers covered when the car keys are sitting within reach and very tempting in the moment, you know?

I think £80 a week is an incentive. I save about £5 a day in fuel, £4 parking, by riding to work and it keeps me fit.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

When you are in motion, you don't feel the cold.
You might get soaked, make sure you've got stuff to change into at work.
A wee bit of rain never harmed anyone

 

[Juliansou]

Hi there,
I’ve got a few years on you but sometimes feel the same way about commuting. My drive is very easy - 7 miles & virtually no traffic. Certainly very easy just to pick up the car keys as you say. Gear is important to a point, I don’t tend to spend too much on mine, but I have built up a collection of some fairly decent stuff over the years. My view is this:
I think you really need to want to commute by bike. We can sometimes go down a rabbit hole of gear, weather etc etc but in the final analysis it really boils down to whether or not you actually want to/enjoy doing it. I think if you want to commute, the logistics tend to sort themselves out. I’m a great procrastinator when it gets a bit chilly!
just my tuppence and I hope you get to a place when you are enjoying you commute - once you get into it it’s hard to imagine life without it!

 

[Boro44]

This is a problem I have . I usually drive to work 16 miles then i got the bright idea ill buy a good bike and stop using the car . Bought a nice bike and before I could even sit on it a mate of the wife's got badly hurt on his bike on a duel carriage way . She told me I am not peddling 16 miles in the dark on a bike after 12 hour shifts . I could keep it and nip around local on it but its a shame to not get the best out of it so I am flogging it . ill buy a cheap little run about bike for local trips and the car will have to get me to work .

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Actually, bike commuting in the dark outside rush hours is quite safe.
You must have good lights though, plan a good route (think bike, not car).
I am female, have commuted in the dark after 12 (even 14) hours shifts for years.
I change my route depending on the time of the day and other factors that make the roads busy.
A the moment, my commute is only 3 miles each way.
I leave home around 6.30am (dark now), take a wide residential main road, that gets very busy when I finish work, around 3pm.
But my return route is via back roads and a segregated cycle path.
Slightly longer than in the morning, but safer.
On the by, both routes are downhill

 

[Jameshow]

I'd get a Aldi jacket when they are for sale - good value at about £20 and hard wearing.

I'd get a new one every couple of years and relegate the old one to commuting duties.

With reference to you Mrs and child riding I'd suggest building up gradually and flat routes, have a coffee / ice-cream / hot chocolate stop half way around.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

One thing that helps me on the horrible days is a nice treat when I get there with the money I have saved. Nice coffee, bacon buttie, curry for lunch or even all of them.

 

[slowmotion]

I re-started cycling in London in 2007, mainly for utility, commuting and fun although subsequently I have done short hops abroad. I tend to wear jeans, polo shirts and a fleece in my everyday life rather than jacket and tie so my cycling kit advice is pretty much geared to that.

I don't like being cold or wet.
Uniqlo Heattech Ultra vests and longjohns are really good. I tried merino vests but found that they itched like crazy. Also, clothes moths turn them into string vests pretty quickly, and they are expensive.
It's worth getting a buff/snood to keep your neck warm. Uniqlo do a fabulously warm fleece one for really cold days. A beanie hat keeps your ears warm.
To keep the rain out, I got one of Wiggle's own dHB brand commuter jackets. It has quite a long back and fairly heavy fabric and really is rainproof. The good thing about it is that it has a decent zip with chunky teeth that doesn't jam up or fail completely, a common feature of cheaper jackets. I also bought some Altura rainproof overtrousers.......seriously uncool but they keep me dry on the rare days that in rains in London. I have yet to find a solution to the wet foot problem.
For winter gloves, I bought a £20 pair of Mountain Warehouse ski gloves in a sale. They are warm and reasonably rainproof.

If you are going to be lugging stuff about, it's worth getting some panniers. I went for a Tortec rack and some Ortlieb Back Roller Classics. Don't skimp on your panniers. Finding the contents are a soggy mess is really depressing.

Decent lights are a must but I can't give any advice because I'm not up to date. You don't need retina-burning lights unless you are riding amongst rocks and stumps at 35 mph. Whichever lights you buy, angle them so that you don't dazzle other road users.

It's actually quite liberating when you get to a point when you realise that you are pretty much immune to the weather.

Good luck and have fun.