This week I have discovered I need a set of lights, mudguards, panniers (maybe) and some sort of lightweight coat for my everyday commute.

So any ideas? I would prefer to spend as little as possible, and upgrade next year if I’m still commuting.

Thanks in advance 🙂

Mudguards – SKS Bluemels in applicable size.
Panniers – Ortlieb Back Rollers (not cheap, but still good value).

LIGHT

IMHO one front flashing light to be seen – can be a cheapo frog type light

One bright as can be front light with excellent battery life so as to minimise recharge time
I used a Lummi battery and a LED personally as this lasted all week

Rear i used one constant on and two flashing rears
IMHO reflective tape on moving parts [ crank arms and rims] is very effective

Technically you need reflectors on your pedals as well

As an alternative to a rack and panniers, the Carradice bags (in particular the SQR slim) can be a good choice and probably works out cheaper. It does depend on how much you need to transport though – it will take a laptop and clothes, but shoes/washkit would be best left at work.

Shoes are being left at work, so is washkit. May look into that. Thanks @Straightliner.

I’m currently looking at these:

Altura Microlite Jacket
Cateye Omni Front and Rear Light Set
Crud Race Pac Mudguard Set

Do these look reliable? I’m going to order them from Wiggle on pay day. I’m trying to keep the cost down below £60, and only Wiggle has managed this.

Are there any cheaper alternatives that are not much worse than the above?

And what’s Wiggles service like? Am I better off elsewhere?

+1 on the Carrdice bags, I moved to these after using panniers, there is only a small plastic block left on the seatpost when your not using the saddlebag. I can’t recommend them enough as they are great bits of kit.

Cateye Omni Front and Rear Light Set

The Omnis are just about bright enough for lit cycle paths and quiet, slow roads but I’d not want to ride on busy roads with just the rear for visibility or away from streetlights with just the front when it’s properly dark.

edit: That’s just my experience obviously, it depends a lot on how much emphasis you put on lights – reflectors are also very important.

edit 2: also, http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXOSH/planet-x-neoprene-overshoes

@lemonysam I’ll be riding down country roads, which are not very busy. So will look to upgrade when the days get shorter.

I’ll be riding down country roads, which are not very busy.

Whilst they’re not busy, the combination of poor sightlines and relatively high speeds mean that I’d definitely invest in decent lights – that doesn’t mean they have to cost lots, having several cheap flashers on the rear is better than a single very bright light.

As an alternative to a rack and panniers, the Carradice bags (in particular the SQR slim) can be a good choice

They look pretty good actually. I have a bombproof Tubus rack and some Ortlieb panniers which have been great, still look like new (once you scrub the mud off!) after 3 years of daily commuting. They are heavy though and I only occasionally need the full capacity.

Howies jacket fro a windproof £25

Howies jacket

Montane featherlite velo also a good windproof that can often be found cheap.

Don’t go cheap on lights. IME you get what you pay for and decent lights keep you alive plus the rechargeable ones pay back over time.

Can you get to Aldi? they might have some stuff in the clearance area and for commuting , it is really not that bad.

Are you doing 5 days a week? and what are you taking in? just working out if you need the panniers. I dropped a weeks kit in yesterday and will commute the rest of the week now without bringing anything in. Luckily work stays at work and so does the laptop.

but as above ^^

don’t go too cheap on the lights

+1 re decent lights. Drivers aren’t looking where they’re going, they might well keep you alive. Personally I go for 2 front and 2 back, one constant and one flashing a) maximum noticeability b) in case on fails halfway through the commute.

Otherwise, enjoy, it’s a great way to start and end your day

I have one of these, I wear it even when the temperatures are around zero.

I have it in red (don’t think black is particularly good for commuting – or cycling generally!).

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/dhb-windslam-softshell-jacket/

The Aldi stuff is really good for commuting. I have been commuting by bike for the last 6 years and got fed up of ruining what I thought was decent clothing. Around October last year when Aldi had the winter cycling clothes in I bought 2 pairs of leggings, a couple of softshell jackets, 3 pairs of waterproof trousers, a pair of shorts, a pair of overshoes, 3 pairs of gloves, 2 pairs of boxers, 2 packs of spoke reflectors and some of the tiny led lights as emergency backup.
I think I spent about £70 in total and initially I planned on only using it for commuting. But in honesty some of it is really good and better quality than stuff I have paid 10x as much for. I expected to get a winter out of it but nothing needs replacing. This is probably partly down to splitting the usage between a lot more items and partly because its decent quality.
Some of it like the leggings and soft shell are only suitable for the colder days as they can get a bit warm.

+1 on Carradice bags as well. For what I need to carry it is much better than panniers.

I got through two or three sets of lights before I found a pair that didn’t jump out of their mounts or give up after a slight bit rain or spray. Currently very happy with my Moon lights but they’re not cheap.

Lights, lights, a few more lights, and then maybe some other kit if you have some money left.

Seriously get decent lights, at least two each end. And some reflective ankle bands. On a dark, wet, and windy early winter morning you’ll be glad you did.

On the subject of budget bright lights the candbseen re-chargeable units are pretty good.

Spoke reflectors are good as well, Aldi well them in the winter kit sale, they’re about £3 a pack and are brilliant.

In fact, while you’re in there they have some very cheap LED lights that clip onto your bars or seatpost. They are not a main or even a secondary light but they live on my winter roadie as an emergency “get me home” light.

And finally, their winter gloves are BRILLIANT. Really, buy some, they’re a bot “boil in the bag” but for £5 they do a right job.

going back to the mudguards for a second are SKS Bluemel the go to mudguard these days?
I’m going to be looking at some mudguards for my road bike in the very near future.

Looks like I’ll more than likely be taken a trip down the local Lidl/aldi. I’ll have a look round on payday, probably see if I can get a jacket, gloves and lights from there. And just order the rest online so I have some nice packages to open.

SKS Bluemel – I’d say so if you’ve got mountings for them. Fiddly to fit but once in place they stay in place IME at least.

You could always go for Chromoplastics instead…

Depends on your commute but I find a bell very useful for people who cross the road without looking.

Don’t think you can do much better than these for the money for a rear light

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LISMRTR2/smart-lunar-r2-rear-led-bike-light

Buy a couple and put them on slightly different patterns on your bag and the back of your saddle. Or either side of your rear wheel on the rear triangle arms.

I recommend the Tortec Reflector Guards as an alternative.

Tortec Guards

Sign up to their newsletter and get £5 off your order. Then get another £5 voucher after you review your order. Got my Blackburn EX1 pannier rack and mudguards in two separate orders, saving me £10 on the already cheapest prices for them 8)

On One’s Phaart rear lights are pretty good too. The dual 0.5 watt at 3.99 makes sense as you can get two for very little money.
https://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/LIPHBPDRL/phaart-bleep-dual-05-watt-led-rear-light

Getting to that time of the year with the low sun morning and evening commutes, I like my Leyzene Micro rear with the daylight flash. Combined with a Blackburn something or other for side visibility I’m pretty happy.

These also get good reviews as a rear light for not much money:

Topeak Redlight Aero

to reflect whats said above (reflect – gettit!)
i have a smart lunar on the seat stay and a magicshine rear on the seat post, and then T off the same battery magic shine front light for me to actually see, then a wee little light on my helmet that flashes to be seen

clothes wise, i find cheap kit doesnt last or keep/dry well, especially when it comes to waterproofs, so buy highly recommended waterproof gear (goretex active jacket, endura waterproof trousers and overshoes), and underneath go for value stuff , tops, socks, bibs etc.

My opinionated advice:

1- Rear Lights:

the ‘Phart’ branded ones on PX/OO are essentially the same as ‘Smart’ buy at least three rear lights (your choice which ones), fit two on the bike one on the back of your lid for a bit of redundancy (and stock up on AAA batteries), at least one of the bike mounted ones needs to be on steady at all times, the other two can flash/blink as “attention grabbers” but the steady light gives a dozy driver a steady point of reference as they approach you, complies with the law and puts liability (should it come to that) firmly back on a driver (IMO)… fit more lights to you and your bike if you can…

2- Front lights:

This very much depends on your commute, personally I have to negotiate a mixture of urban/suburban roads (busy but with street lighting) and quiet countryside (fewer cars but unlit), and find that I basically need two different types of lighting on the bike to suit either…
On busier roads a visible but not so intense light is more useful to get you seen without blinding every other road user (I’m not a fan of flashing front lights)…
On quieter roads higher intensity lights that actually help you see your path are needed, some lights have a mode that covers both environments, others fail abysmally IMO. there are some good far eastern lights but beware those with 500 modes and poor optics. and (IMO) all in one units with the battery housed internally are preferable to those which force you to have to manage trailing leads and non-waterproof battery packs on a daily basis, look at cheap torches and bike lights with XML emitters and simple cheap handlebar mounts on fleabay, consider what sort of runtimes you’ll want and how easy battery charging (at home or at work) might be…

3- Retro reflective tape:

Red on the seat-stays/rear, Amber on the sides of the frame/fork, it simply improves your chances of being seen, especially side on at junctions and roundabouts, you can buy it by the meter on fleabay and you’ll find there are lots of places you can fit it, go nuts.

4- Reflective bits on your clothing:

A surprising number of cycling jackets are verging on invisible, do consider the amount of piping and reflective panels on the jacket/tights/shoes you are buying, you can also get extra iron on and sew on reflective tapes and shapes again from fleabay, for pennies, this worth considering doing… another thing that makes you easier to see.

5- Guards:

Definitely get some, there will be some out there to fit your budget, some can be a bugger to fit or have poor clearance on even slightly wider tyres (going to 28mm from 25 caused me all sorts of headaches last winter with some cheap guards).
SKS are a good place to start, many swear by their ‘Chromoplastics’, some prefer the easy fitting/removal of their ‘raceblade/raceblade-long’, but use those as your starting reference and go from there (other brands are available)…

6- panniers/bags:

Not something I have much feel for as I don’t currently own any but I would say buying a pannier rack and bag makes more sense than using rucksacks, I’ll echo those who suggest leaving kit in the office if you can, to minimize luggage, but that’s not always possible is it…
I quite like the Carradice SQR suggested above, or one of the topeak (or similar) beam type racks, if your luggage requirements aren’t too huge, especially as these can often be removed quickly if needed, I’ll probably be looking for something similar myself soon….

7- Clothing:

Raid the Aldi/Lidl special buys for cheap kit, I’ve found their winter gloves very good in recent years and some of their jackets not bad, I’d not use their cycling shorts/leggings, it’s worth spending a bit on DHB (personal choice) where padding your arse is concerned.
Roubaix lined shorts/tights/warmers are a good idea for the colder months, also look at decathlon kit (Not just their cycling stuff, their skiing base layers are cheap and work IME).

The best advice I can offer is to worry less about having one awesome jacket that will keep all weathers at bay (and probably boil you on occasion) and simply the have kit to layer up/down with as the weather dictates, base layers, leg/arm/knee warmers cheap SS jerseys and, if you’re not buying winter boots, Over shoes, PX neoprene are good IME, go oversized rather than under, they won’t keep rain/spray out indefinitely but they will delay saturation of your feet/shoes enough to keep you comfortable, and add a layer of insulation on cold dry days to retain warmth…

Accept you will get wet on occasion, but do a little planning, have contingencies to deal with this when it happens…

If you can have spare dry kit at the office for days when you can’t avoid getting soaked on the way in then I really recommend it and make sure you have access to lots of newspaper or paper towels and a radiator should you need to dry out a saturated pair of shoes over the course of a working day, nothing make the ride home harder than setting off on soaking wet kit

8- Other stuff to consider:

Carrier bags, Horde them like a nutter! They can be invaluable, anything you need to keep dry put it in one, tie that off then put that in another, I’ve also added a carrier bag over my shoes, under my over shoes to act as a bit of a sacrificial saturation barrier,

Tool kit, the risk of mechanicals goes up with shitty weather, try be sure you are prepared tools/spares wise, especially with tubes/patches/CO2/pumps there’s not much worse than having to fix a flat in pissing winter rain…

Tyres, consider putting up with additional upfront cost/weight in order to avoid having to deal with flats in pissing winter rain, be aware that the wear rate on tyres shoots up during the winther months as debris gets washed about and sits by the kerb and those quiet country roads can be worst of all as they don’t get cleared as much as a major A road would…

Time, allow more time for journeys, traffic in towns will move slower and force you to slow down as well,

I’m sure there’s more but that lot is what springs to mind

@cookeaa thank you for the advice. I’ve saved it all to my phone so that when I do go to look round Lidl tomorrow I’ll have an idea what to look for.

Will also see if I can get a good water bottle and maybe a smartphone armband thingy.

Coat – i just wear my walking waterproof (incl hood) and a fluo vest in the dark/winter. Bike jackets aren’t great for walking round town at lunch esp when its raining and they don’t have a hood.

Lights – Cateye lights last a long time and you can get spare brackets for them.

I’ve just got a set of these though for swapping between bikes and they are very bright; £17.99 Decathlon set

Well payday is almost upon me 🙂

Went into Lidl today and found they now have a whole stack of bike gear, panniers, jerseys, lights and sunglasses.

Oh and one of those lightweight bags.

Really can’t wait.

SKS mudguards are very tough, yet not heavy, and for full waterproofness, the Ortlieb or Vaude panniers. I went for the Vaude ones as they’re £20 cheaper yet just as good, and I think they have a better fitting system. Topeak make excelent racks without spendig a fortune. I’ve found CatEye rear lights to be the best for function and reliability. I still havent found a front light I’m happy with though, altouhgh Smart do some good inexpensive ones. Be prepared to change stuff more often than yo’d think though; daily commuting batters stuff more than occasional mtbing.