What gear do I need for commuting?

[Paulq]

Need a bit of help guys and gals as am about to start commuting to work. Having not cycled, and then it was mainly on a road bike, for a couple of years I have the following gear generally:

• SS Road jerseys
• Couple of DH Jerseys
• Bib Shorts
• Ron Hill bikesters
• Padded undershorts
• Waterproof/windproof jackets
• Shoes for SPD's

can anyone give me guidance as to whether this is suitable and will suffice for commuting? Feels like I have adequate stuff for riding in very warm weather and very cold weather but not sure what the standard fare is for commuters in terms of base layers/fleeces/outer layers etc?

Links to appropriate items would be a massive help if poss.

Cheers

Paul

 

[shippers]

Depends how far you're going, and what you're riding. Sounds like you have more than enough kit. Maybe a bag for the clothes to wear when you get there.

 

[GrasB]

Depends what you're wanting to do really. With that selection I'd just add in a LS base layer or two & some arm warmers, the thickness of these will be a personal choice. At first I go down to your LBS which has a reasonable selection of clothing & try things out, I'd also not rule out running shops for base layers.

 

[swee'pea99]

Blimey - you've got loads more stuff than me and I've been commuting for seven years!

 

[Paulq]

[quote name='swee'pea99']Blimey - you've got loads more stuff than me and I've been commuting for seven years! [/QUOTE]

That's only fair . Seriously what do you normally wear for a daily commute? I get too hot in jackets unless it's peeing down or really cold but sometimes not warm enough in ss jerseys. I suspect I probably need a couple more l/s jerseys and base layers.

How can I put this? Is there anywhere that sells LS jerseys for the 'slightly overweight' amongst us? Don't wanna look like spray on lycra man til I shed a few pounds.

Cheers

Paul

 

[chap]

Need a bit of help guys and gals as am about to start commuting to work. Having not cycled, and then it was mainly on a road bike, for a couple of years I have the following gear generally:

• SS Road jerseys
• Couple of DH Jerseys
• Bib Shorts
• Ron Hill bikesters
• Padded undershorts
• Waterproof/windproof jackets
• Shoes for SPD's

can anyone give me guidance as to whether this is suitable and will suffice for commuting? Feels like I have adequate stuff for riding in very warm weather and very cold weather but not sure what the standard fare is for commuters in terms of base layers/fleeces/outer layers etc?

Links to appropriate items would be a massive help if poss.

Cheers

Paul

• How far are you cycling?
• How hilly is it?
• Are you still going to be using your racing bike?
• Does it have a wide gear range?
• How comfortable is your saddle?
• How long have you been cycling?

For a fairly straight-forward cycle under 10 miles each way, I would say just wear your ordinary clothes - although bring a face towel and some soap lest things get sweaty. I would advise a change of clothes and the face towel + soap for rides up to 20 miles each way. After that, I suppose it would be for you to decide whether you wanted to slip into the Lycra, personally I would just wear a merino base.

I would also recommend you get a lightweight waterproof jacket, these fold up very small and will happily fit into a medium sized saddle bag, or bag. You can get them from Boots for £10. The Regatta lightweight packaway costs about £15. These are handy for those unexpected situations.

 

[kevin_cambs_uk]

Best thing I have is my Altura Hi Viz Night Jacket

 

[SavageHoutkop]

Best thing I have is my Altura Hi Viz Night Jacket

Me too, except that I don't like the feel of it on my skin (needs to have a longsleeve base layer underneath) and it does get hot & 'boil in the baggy' even though it's supposed to be breathable.

I have merino tops (longsleeve and short - two longleeves layered for cold weather, one for intermediate, short for hot weather). Bottoms I wear jeans tucked into my boots ATM, in summer it's 3/4 length cotton quick dry cargo pant type things, or a skort (perhaps not if you're a boy ). Wouldn't be without my waterproof overtrousers either but it's been ages since I've had to use them.

Also I like waterproof gloves & shoes (my boots are waterproof most of the time).

Would have said a buff a week ago but not needed mine this week (again, mine's merino).

My merino is from here and I can recommend for quality and washability.

 

[Tynan]

I've got one pair of bib shorts, one bib longs, a single LS top, two SS tops, two base layers and a gillet

the nghtvision gets out a handful of times in the worse winter weather for warmth, the gillet is fine the resy of the time

and some over shows, one winter glove and some mitts, all you need imho

no idea what people use bikesters for really, lycra and skin doesn't get wet really

yes, sometimes I do smell

 

[HLaB]

Best thing I have is my Altura Hi Viz Night Jacket

Have Altura improved the zips? IIRC there were a few grumbles about them here.

 

[gaz]

yes, sometimes I do smell

But who said it was a bad smell

 

[BentMikey]

Crikey Tynan, how many times do you wear your bibshorts in a row before washing them? All week?

 

[gaz]

Crikey Tynan, how many times do you wear your bibshorts in a row before washing them? All week?

Whats wrong with that? although i wear padded shorts under my bibs.

 

[BentMikey]

I'm assuming bibshorts is the underlayer - it's rare to wear anything under bibshorts. No problem if, for example, it was biblongs over the top, and it was the padded shorts underneath that got changed daily.

 

[MacB]

How can I put this? Is there anywhere that sells LS jerseys for the 'slightly overweight' amongst us? Don't wanna look like spray on lycra man til I shed a few pounds.

Cheers

Paul

Bib shorts or 3/4's and arm/leg warmers I'd use Prendas, you can search for what they have in by sizes:-

http://www.prendas.co.uk/

in fact their jerseys are fine as well just very lairy For base layers I stuck with shortsleeve and use arm warmers if need be, more versatile. For this I rated merino best and a 3 pack from Rapha isn't too expensive:-

http://www.rapha.cc/base-layer-3-pack

their jerseys etc are very nice but maybe better as a treat for when some weights gone. For a good compromise, roomy and long in the back, I rate the Craghoppers Microfleeces:-

http://www.craghoppers.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Category1_13552_25752_-1_25287_11051_25287

lightweight, dry very fast and good enough, with just a base layer, for most temperatures.

Commuting I go with bib shorts or 3/4's, I bought 5 sets cheap from Prendas, naff old team colours but means nothing to me and price was right. Wear the shortsleeved base layer under the bibs, prevents nipple rub from the bib straps. If it's really cold then I add arm warmers and bikester style leggings, then a microfleece and finally a nightvision. Fairly cold then skip the nightvision and the armwarmers and maybe just use legwarmers.

How hard you want to ride will make a big difference to how many layers you need/want. As a fat bastard I can wear quite little and still sweat like a pig feel quite warm. But try not to make the mistake of going too light. I'd rather be a bit too warm than suffering on the downhills with wind/sweat chill.

Hands and feet are another thing, we all seem to be different in what works. At present I'm using a pair of silk liner gloves and fingerless mitts over the top. I find the silk is much nicer on my nose for the snotty moments This combo was pulled in to action early due to melting my Winter gloves(don't ask) but has proved far comfier than any other combo I've used.