Yup, would agree with that. I have another ‘steady’ light for unlit sections. Two lights on the back, the one above plus a big Lezyne rechargeable one.

I like quick release mudguards – as others have said, it doesn’t really rain that much and I hate having them on.

It doesn’t rain that much, but the roads are often in winter. Guards keep your feet and bum dry, and your bike clean.

I leave/put them on in the wet. Duh!
In fact, I pu them back in this morning for the first time in months.. the had to take the back one off cos it was rubbing on the new fat back tyre. So a rethink is in order!

Definitely get (good) mudguards. As above, it doesn’t rain much but it’s often wet on the ground. If you have to commute at the start and end of the day (as most of us do) then having dry clothes to get into when you finish work is amazing. A wet gooch, no so much. IME an 8 mile ride (which is what I do) is very tolerable even in pouring rain if you start off dry. It takes 20-30 minutes to get fully soaked (even without a waterproof) and by that point you’re nearly home.

I disagree with almost everyone about panniers. I know I’m in the minority but I have tried them and I prefer a rucksack. Less faffy, lighter.

The main thing is to get into a routine – once it becomes normal it becomes easy.

My top tip: Get a headtorch that can double as a red and white light. I have a Petzl one that can be both my backup front AND rear light. So I take a decent front light, two rear lights and the Petzl spare. I haven’t been caught out yet.

1) More exposure handlebar mounts so my 6pack can go on all my bikes.

For commuting on the road? Really?

For rear I’d recommend the Garmin Varia light radar thing. I was pretty sceptical at first but the extra info it gives you is really useful to have. Or you could just get one of those bar end rear view mirror things.

Edit… and I’d go panniers over backpack, though I guess it depends on how much stuff you need to lug about. And Proviz stuff is good for being seen.

I leave/put them on in the wet. Duh!

Do you carry them with you in case it rains during the day?

Think the rucksack v panniers debate is dictated by how much you need to carry. Both have pros and cons. I don’t need to carry to much so a 20l size rucksack is more than enough for me, and as I commute on a decent road bike I prefer to enjoy the ride rather than ‘truck’ in with panniers messing that up. But everyone’s needs are different.

But as above mudguards and decent clobber. I have 3 rear lights, nowt expensive, and cheapish front flasher and a Smart 700 lumen thing, all usb chargeable. And for road commuting I don’t feel lacking in light.

Enjoy.

+1 for no SixPack on the road, just blinds every other road user, and even yourself from some reflective signs if they are at the wrong angle.

Do you carry them with you in case it rains during the day?

It’s an idea 😆
I keep a few sets stashed in bushes on the way just in case like.

Ok I’ve listened to the no 6pack, and just nipped to leisure lakes and come back with an exposure trace pack and a red eye to go with my joystick.

Will probably have the 6 pack on the bars anyway for when I decide to have some fun on the way home.

Thanks for the tyre recommendations guys but as I said I’m going to use my xc race type bike this winter to keep my road bike nice and also because I won’t get punctures (half a pint of stans anyone?).

Really like the look of the proviz backpacks but £70!!!!!

It’s an idea
I keep a few sets stashed in bushes on the way just in case like.

My bike has special attachments for carrying them…

Rather than panniers, a 15-20 litre drybag strapped to the top of a rack is big enough to contain a laptop, food and clothes. Apart from the shortest of rides, I avoid backpacks.

‘Paddling gloves’ neoprene waterproof and warm

Will probably have the 6 pack on the bars anyway for when I decide to have some fun on the way home.

If/when you do, at least take a few minutes one night to prop your bike against a fence, or something with the lights switched on and look back at it from 50 yards down the road so you get a ‘driver’s eye’ view of your setup. It’s amazing how dazzling the LED off-road lights are, even on low power. It can be impossible to see beyond the light, and makes it very difficult to judge distance / speed. I suspect you’d be surprised just how much you need to tilt the light downwards to stop this happening.

Oh, and a single Ortlieb front pannier on a rear rack for lunch / undies / shirt, etc.

+1 for panniers. Mainly because then I can wear a thin waterproof without getting too hot. Find backpack and waterproof too hot on even the coldest days

Also, taking a weeks worth of kit in on a Monday morning, then riding luggage free until bringing it home on Friday works well

Don’t use the 6 pack. Off road lights which are so bright they blind drivers, or (even worse )cyclists coming the opposite way are a bloody nuisance and quite disorienting when it’s otherwise dark.

This^^

Last winter I nearly hit another cyclist on a narrow shared use path because the bike coming towards me had a helmet light brighter than the sun and the guy behind him had a light free from a Xmas cracker. I was so dazzled that I was unaware the second cyclist was there.

I’m glad you finally heeded the advice about the 6 pack – it’s not just a case of being annoying, it’s about being road legal. Getting f the Trace has sorted it 🙂

Decathlon have some decent “be seen” lights that have both white and red lights and are USB chargeable.

I’ve got the onea alpin suggests above, very good. I have a dynamo but to be honest if it is just for commuting a short distance and you have the opportunity usb charging lights are just as good.

Keep an eye out for the Polaris sales, they have a couple of nice commuter bags and the sale price is significant. Wouldn’t pay full price though.

No panniers just rucksack

Monday: Bring fresh cloths and towel in for the week, bring old cloths back
Tuesday Morn: Bring fruit crisps nuts etc for the week
Wed-Fri: No backpack sandwiches in back pocket, ride long way in/out bringing rucksack back on one of the days I have to get home prompto .

Would buy a dedicated bike for commuting mind (sounds like your using your XC bike?) N+1 if its cheep looking enough can double as pub bike etc.

Can go wild for lights and reflective whatever or you can just ride wise don’t filter to the front because its your right, but only filter if you feel it safe never be a dick if a car’s being a dick give way don’t challenge it what’s the point of getting knocked off even if your in the right. Aim to overtake not undertake but whatever’s safest. Don’t race other cyclist just chill and let them go at the lights/when its hectic and drop the hammer when its uphill and safe to do so (if you have to that is).

When your drenched and have no dry spot on you smile. When your filtering through car after car stuck at the lights smile, when the sun’s shining and you’ve no backpack and you turn towards the hills instead of your house on the way home smile!

just nipped to leisure lakes and come back with an exposure trace pack and a red eye to go with my joystick.

Really, go back to Leisure Lakes and see if you can get your money back. Those Exposure lights are a pretty poor design IMO. The front is an unshaped beam so, while it might not be as dazzling as the 6 pack, it’s still throwing light upwards to dazzle rather than low where you need it.

Likewise the rear is too focussed and the mount angle can’t be changed so it also has a tendency to blind cyclists riding behind you.

Rear lights are simple – even cheap ones are more than bright enough. One flashing, one not. 100 hours on low gives some many weeks of life and use rechargable batteries.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/c/q/accessories/lights/rear Loads of cheap options there – those £2 lights are amazingly visible.

For the front get something that’s German road legal which will have a proper shaped beam and not dazzle.
Eg
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lightinglighting-usb/busch-muller-ixon-core-iq2-usb-front-light/

Can’t recommend any but the B&M dynamo lights i’ve got a great.

Don’t have flashing lights on the front – as others have said, makes you harder to see. A good idea to carry a ‘get you home’ emergency flasher of some kind.

Reflectives – make it simple for yourself. Seek out some tyres with reflective sidewalls. Reflective ankle bands are pretty effective IME as a driver and they’re something you can wear in all weathers whether it’s hot or cold. Lots of arguments about hi-viz – it can mask you in some lights – but a picking jackets and tops that are not black is a pretty good idea.

Out of interest how far are you cycling each way? I cycle every work day, all year round, but as it’s only 4 miles it’s relatively hassle free.
As suggested above, lights, panniers, mud guards are very useful for making things safe and comfortable. Warm gloves and a warm buff are less obvious, but there is little worse than freezing face and hands.

It’s about 9 miles each way depending which way I go.

When your drenched and have no dry spot on you smile. When your filtering through car after car stuck at the lights smile, when the sun’s shining and you’ve no backpack and you turn towards the hills instead of your house on the way home smile

I’ll remember this. Thanks 🙂

I probably go against the grain here but I cannot stand mudguards so just don’t use them. I just use a buff as a neck gaiter and pull it over my mouth if it starts getting wet and mucky. I wear shorts year round as skin is easier to dry than clothes.

I’ll use a rucksack cover only if it’s raining hard. Normally I just organise my kit into Ortlieb drybags in the rucksack which keeps everything clean and dry.

Definitely think about side visibility. I’ve put patches of the black scotch light sheet on the frame – it lights up very well under car headlights and does ruin the bikes look. When darkness does come, assume everyone is out to kill you and ride accordingly.

Helmet camera, hope you end up thinking it’s a waste though, ie hope you never need to use the footage.

I use the £2 Planet X lights on my rear hub (with other lights) apparently it looks quite funky as the wheel spins, so job done as I’ve been noticed.
The Decathlon red/white USB chargeable lights are good but I found they don’t like to get wet and the clip snaps really easily especially if cold. Good back up light though.

A choice of hats with an effective peak for when it’s raining (especially if you wear glasses). In Spring to Autumn a cheap cotton road racing casquette style cap will do, but in Winter I would suggest either the belgian style Castelli Difesa or the Rapha Deep Winter Hat, or both (the Difesa is just uninsulated Windstopper, so is not as warm as the insulated Rapha Deep Winter Hat). Providing your bonce is not so big that your helmet is at the limit of its adjustability, you should be able to wear them under your helmet (especially the Difesa which is thinner). Alternatively you may be able to get something equally effective or better from the mountaineering clothing makers, like the Lowe Alpine hat, which is a shelled fleece lined cap with a wired peak, which covers the ears, but which probably won’t fit under your helmet (unless you can buy a larger helmet).

Incidentally, a downside of hats covering your ears and keeping them warm, is that they can make it more difficult to hear vehicles behind you. So I would be tempted to get whichever Busch and Muller mirror is suitable for your handlebars. It’s not a subsitute for looking over your shoulder, but it does make it easier to keep track of vehicles approaching from behind.

Like most others, I would avoid a backpack. A particular issue with backpacks on the road can be that they make it more difficult/awkward to look over your shoulder, although a pack like the Osprey Talon which puts most of the carried weight lower on the back might reduce this effect.

Lastly, I would say the most important thing is your route: I would do everything I could to reduce the risks from drivers, including a longer route using off road tracks, cycle paths and quieter and safer roads. In dangerous traffic I would even go so far as to ride on the pavement if there are no pedestrians on it: in some areas some sections of pavement seem always to be empty of pedestrians. However, if I did this I would ride much more slowly as a precaution against someone stepping out from behind a hedge, and stop if I encountered an oncoming pedestrian to allow them to walk past me.

One of the key points on mudguards, that others have already mentioned, is not about them protecting you, but about them protecting your bike. They keep all manner of grime, grit and gunk off your bike, helping prolong the life of components and reduce maintenance intervals.

If your bike is a mode of transport, form always trumps fashion.

This is what a bike for a 9 mile commute looks like to me;

Comfortable. Reliable. Efficient. Clean. Oh, and skinwalls, natch. Would be even better with a belt drive, IMHO.

Single sprocket = Heebie Chainglider to keep it clean.

CFH/molgrips, who needs belt drive or a Hebie Chainglider if you have a Gazelle Heavyduty NL. It comes with chaincase, stand, lock and dynamo, and is about as maintenance free as it gets. Stick a crate on the front rack and you can throw your backpack in it.

At 23kg it makes the Genesis Smithfield look postively malnourished, and regularly riding 9 miles a day on it should makes you as fit as a butcher’s dog.

Those are lovely looking things!

Bikes as transport. Awesome.

Do you think it was named ironically? Gazelle?

There’s a small “herd” discreetly written after Gazelle. 😈

I highly recommend the ‘turn a light on yourself’ suggestion; I felt a bit silly for a few rides, but illuminating a big area to show you’re there is soooo much better than relying on a tiny-but-bright LED light alone. Drivers do recognise you as a human and get a sense of how far away you are. The difficulty is angling the light so the it shines up your front without dazzling you.

You can sort the light shining at yourself issue by turning the backlight on your gps to “night sun” mode

Drivers do recognise you as a human

Ankle bands.

Instantly recognisable as a cyclist through the up/down motion.

These are the business;

Ankle bands by Respro.
Socks by Bridgedale.
Shoes by Scott USA.
Stickered up Zaskar by Respro.
Ankles, model’s own. 8)

True, but anything reflective requires light to be shining upon you, mainly from the direction of the viewer. Lighting yourself overcomes that hurdle, one which I would say is fairly significant in the case where a car is pulling out of a T-junction and the headlights are pointing dead-ahead.

Lastly, I would say the most important thing is your route: I would do everything I could to reduce the risks from drivers, including a longer route using off road tracks, cycle paths and quieter and safer roads. In dangerous traffic I would even go so far as to ride on the pavement if there are no pedestrians on it: in some areas some sections of pavement seem always to be empty of pedestrians. However, if I did this I would ride much more slowly as a precaution against someone stepping out from behind a hedge, and stop if I encountered an oncoming pedestrian to allow them to walk past me.

This. I particularly hate narrow up hills in traffic – if there’s a pavement to ride on here I’ll take it and save my stresss levels (luckily for me they’re empty). I also sometimes get caught up in the tussle of traffic and take risks, nothing major, nothing that’s caused accidents yet, but it’s just not very clever – so I avoid routes with heavy traffic. Lungs/throats thank me for it too.