[Closed] Winter commute advice

Mudguards - SKS Chromoplastic.
Lights - For well lit areas then something with a bright flashing mode. I use a Hope Vision 4 which is also excellent for the unlit parts of my commute. On the rear a Cateye LD610.

I still cant get over how effective my helmet lamp is on flashing mode when I commute

Its a Joystick FWIW but anything would do

The advantages of helmet mounting are security and also point and shoot

Id had it for a while but not used it but one close shave of a ****wit pulling in front of me made me use it for the commute

It really really gets you seen

Cheers!

Not sure how long your commute is mine is between 2 and 15 on country roads so I have a homebrew kin bright light up front for being able to see and a single flashing job for being seen. out back I have 2 blinky lights and 1 steady.

Mud guards IMO don't bother as if its piddling down you'll get wet anyway I have water proof shorts (don't mind wet legs can't stand a wet arse) Knee Warmers, waterproof socks, waterproof jacket. Fleeces, Hats, windproof gloves as required. Good waterproof bag or panniers

SKS mudguards, make a massive difference even if its raining. Its the difference between soaked to the skin and a bit wet, with guards my clothes dry at work.

mudguards: definitely sks

jacket: the dhb event jacket from wiggle. Its the same jacket as the old gill event stuff and its very good. Fleecy tights and longsleeve baselayer or two underneath is all you need

lights: if its all well lit then something flashing up front like a 20-30quid catlight. But i would festoon your back with red flashing lights as i reason thats the side that somethings going to hit me. I use a catlight on the bike, smaller tesco thing on the bag and a little knog on the helmet.

Have a look at the new crud roadrace mudgaurds,just ordered a pair from Wiggle,look good.

Punk_Drummer - Member
Mud guards IMO don't bother as if its piddling down you'll get wet anyway

I rode home in the pissing rain tonight and when i go t home the only part of me that was dripping wet was my upperbody on the front my feet were merely damp.
I use sks full length guards set as close to the tyres as i can get them.
I have used my helmet cam on the trailer and recorded my ride in the rain and it is amazing the amount of water that pours out of the bottom of the rear guard.

Mud guards IMO don't bother as if its piddling down you'll get wet anyway

So so wrong.

Slicks throw up all of the water from the road, so you get soaked even if the rain has stopped. I commute every day, in all weather, SKS mudguards are essential if you want to be out in all weather. Get them close the wheels and feel smug when you arrive dry and other cyclists are soaked.

Commuting by bike is great, just be organised and make a point of doing it every day, even in crap weather. Great start to the day.

I use that smart lightset to commute and as back up for races- it's really very good. Batteries last ages (I don't think I've swapped mine yet and I've had them a year) and they are VERY bright for such a little light.

I too commute on a pompy 🙂 I use sks chromoplastic guards, a Blackburn Quadrant and MARS light set for being seen (and giving people epileptic fits)and I currently have a DX Bastid on its way to me. If your journeys a long 'un like mine (15 miles each way) invest in a carradice saddle bag they are teh nuts! I use a berghaus pac lite and it's ace but I hear good things about this jacket http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=11427

Mudguards - yes
Woollen base layers - yes
All the lights you can get - yes. A constant and a flasher each end is the going rate even in London I reckon. Country roads and you need proper off road lights I expect.
I'm also a big fan of the scotch lite reflective strips you velcro around your ankles - the movement makes them v eye catching.
And I'm sorry to say it but you will also be alot safer with a bell. I feel v vulnerable if I'm on the other bike that doesn't have one.

Just got some of the Crud Roadracer guards. Fitted the front one, still got the rear one to do.

Look pretty good so far as mudguards go but I haven't ridden them yet

If you look [url=

you can see just how much water is coming off the mudguards.

Mudguards - SKS all the way. I've just got some of their commuter ones and they work a treat (and were only £16ish).

Lights - I have the very same set. They work very well. I've also got a [url= http://reelight.net.dynamicweb.dk/ ]set of these[/url] on. Free lighting (sort of).

Those reelights are excellent - must make a note of them.

Mudguards - SKS work really well
Lights - I use a Hope Vision 2 and a small flasher (can't rember the make) for the front and flashers (different flash patterns) on the rear.

Also paniers are agood idea to get the weight low, I use dry bags to keep everything in working order

Another vote for SKS Chromoplastics - they make a massive difference. If it is pissing it down your bum still stays dry and your feet stay a lot dryer too.

I would also run a 2nd light on the rear and another flashing on the front. I would never ride with only 1 light on the rear. I'm getting a set of fibre flare lights for this winter to fit on the seatstays.

I would make sure you remember to take your lights off after riding about in the rain and put them somewhere warm and dry. Back lights especially I find are prone to water ingress and will eventually pack in if you don;t give them chance to dry out.

samuri I find thats another benefit of using guards, the lights get very little rain on them. And I think it's the spray from the road, rather than rain from the sky, that really does the damage to lights.

Been doing a daily ride to and from work now for over a year in just about every type of weather. My kit advice, for what it's worth:

Mudguards are essential, forget about aesthetics, when it's tipping it down you'll be glad you're not getting soaked from the road as well as the sky.

I wouldn't bother with a 'waterproof' - it comes down to preference but personally I've tried pretty much every combination of fabric, from £££ eVent through to your cheapie boil-in-the-bag type. If you're doing any sort of mileage then you're going to get wet one way or another and if you're wearing a waterproof, you're going to get hot and sweaty too. I've found that a decent softshell is far more breathable and more importantly for me, dries quicker and stays warmer too. When i get to the station I have a 30-40 minute train journey on the way to work and there's nothing worse than standing in a sodden waterproof shivering. Unless it's absolutely throwing it down usually I'll wear a gilet and armwarmers rather than a jacket and stick the jacket on when I get to the station. The gilet is windproof at the front so keeps the wind-chill down and stops your torso getting soaked as well. I use a Gore gilet and a Rapha softshell and armwarmers.

Merino wool is your friend. Again - insulates fantastically and dries really quickly. It also doesn't smell! I got my baselayers cheap from uniqlo and they've lasted a hard winters riding and washing without shrinking or shredding.

Sealskin socks are great. I've got both waterproof boots and 'normal' road cycling shoes but find myself wearing the shoes 99% of the time. If it's raining on the morning ride it means soggy footwear and I hate putting my feet into wet boots to cycle home. I find the lightweight, fast draining shoes dry out much quicker during the work day than the boots. Sealskins mean that your feet stay pretty toasty-warm regardless. If you can't stretch to them then M&S do decent Merino wool socks for about £9 for 3 pairs that are pretty good value for money.

A large portion of my ride is on unlit country roads so I've got light overkill with a Maxx-D and Joystick on bars/helmet and a Red-eye rear light. I'm also going to get a couple of knogs as 'backup' that I'll run flashing too. You have to be careful not to blind other road users with some of the current batch of lights as 900+ lumens is very bright. If it's all about being seen rather than seeing then I'd go with a combination of the usual recommended units from Cateye / Blackburn / knog.

As far as luggage goes I've got an Ergon rucksack that I can't recommend highly enough and a Carradice Super-C saddlebag. The only thing with the carradice is that when it's really heavily laden you have to be careful when out of the saddle that you don't move the bike from side-to-side as you easily tip over 🙂 I've got a rack and may try panniers this winter but usually I travel light so it's a little OTT - it's far easier to stick a pack lunch and toolkit etc into the Ergon and strap it tightly to your back - the pivot joint means that you forget it's there.

(Good grief, sorry for banging on, I'll stop now 🙂 )

Wrap a bit of ducttape round the 'seal' of rear lights to stop water/salt ingress.

I notice the difference of drivers actions when I'm wearing a Hi-Vis, so I tend to wear one.

Great thread, lots of good advice. When it's tipping it down, I tend to get home and stick the bike straight into the shed, sometimes a quick dry off with a rag and a squirt of GT85 on the chain, but more often than not, don't bother. I usually give it a good once over at the weekend and relube the chain etc then.

Am I storing up problems by not drying the bike completely after every ride? I live in Glasgow, so dry rides are at a premium just now.

Roscoemck that's exactly what I do, and have been doing for the past 3 years. Not had any problems so far. And I work in Glasgow (ride from Ayrshire) so see plenty of wet rides too. Yesterday was crazy rain.

Buy a metre of reflective tape from Ebay and conver your bike in it!

I've got some of those cheap tesco flashing leds. I point them so I'm visible side-on from both right and left - for roundabouts and junctions. I always have a flashing light and an always-on light front & rear.

Cheers for all the advice. School run started today so just ordering the bits I need so that I dont get stuck in all the traffic.

Ordered 2 sets of http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Smart_5_LED_Front_and_317_Rear_Light_Set/5360026000/. Will have one set flashing, the other always on. For the price I couldnt see anything better.

Ordered some sealskinz socks as well as ive always fancied a pair for DH, and my mates always recommended them.

Just need jacket, mud guards, and a lid. Will go for the sks just need to check my tyre size as my bikes at my parents atm. Jacket and lid will get from my local bike shop hopefully. Then i'm all set. Just in time for winter.... Woop!

you'll need to drill the sks guards to fit them to a pomp at the seatstay 😉