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https://www.condorcycles.com/products/beryl-pixel-light?variant=45572300636481
Beryl pixel is a good emergency 'be seen' back up light - can use it white or red so front or rear. Seems to hold charge a long time if not used as well.
I commute on an old single speed, tatty but functionally fine. Big fan of the Specialized pannier box things, just drop an Alpkit waterproof rucksack in it with my laptop inside.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54232520139_43453e5b2f_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54232520139_43453e5b2f_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2qCkQNF ]Commuter[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
Lots of good advice for the OP to take or leave. I would add 1) don’t ever clean or maintain your commuter and 2) don’t ever spend any money on your commuter
(unless absolutely necessary of course)
I don't get this attitude. For me my commute bike is by far the most used in both distance and frequency, therefore it's actually my most expensive bike, offset by diesel savings and bike to work tax efficiency. And I don't want it letting me down with a maximum 6 mile walk so I bloody look after it too.
light yourself up like a christmas tree. flouro, reflective, the works.
a radar taillight (single best thing for road riding I reckon)
eat before riding home.
Part time commuter here: 2-3 days a week, @40 miles each way depending on route, mostly train back in the winter months.
1) The earlier you can stomach it the quieter the roads.
2) Mudguards, decent lights (I use Exposure Strada front, Garmin radar rear plus a second static rear on the pannier). Prefer pannier to backpack (Tailfin is personal choice). Proviz jacket or similar is a good investment.
3) Lightweight head torch as backup front and to use when doing roadside repair in the dark.
4) Make a note of the temperature and what you wore on that day for future reference. Always have one extra layer in backpack/pannier.
5) Laptop at work, separate laptop at home, files in the cloud.
6) Look after your bike - I love eggbeater pedals, hate their reliability. Check the things regularly.
7) Tried loads of tyres, settled on Schwalbe Marathons (not the plus version).
8) Dedicated toolkit which stays on the bike. Don’t ‘borrow’ stuff from it for other rides.
9) Prep everything the night before, charge everything before every ride.
10) Dont forget your underpants. Don’t walk around the office in full lycra.
I don’t get this attitude. For me my commute bike is by far the most used in both distance and frequency, therefore it’s actually my most expensive bike, offset by diesel savings and bike to work tax efficiency. And I don’t want it letting me down with a maximum 6 mile walk so I bloody look after it too.
Same. My commuter bike was just a SS road bike but it got looked after. OK, it might have had a couple of weeks worth of accumulated grime on it but it had decent parts that lasted well and were reliable.
There are two schools of thought with commuting it seems. The scrattiest most cobbled together bike possible (for anti-theft reasons) and just ride it into the ground or something decent that's at least reasonably well looked after because it's the bike you'll be on most so you may as well enjoy it!
My new commuter bike (actually e-bike!) definitely fits the latter category.
My commute was 20miles each way, 10 miles of it on unlit fast wide A roads but with good sight lines, so the mega bright exposure rears were perfect, and the Tracr on flash is a pulse so doesn’t go out.
My other top tip (and this is a belter) is to put a cheapo rear on the top tube facing down. It lights up the water bottle and chain set, great for side visibility and marking you out as a bike, so you don’t blend in to the car lights but also so you can see it all in the dark.
I also have a reflective helmet, again lifting the visible bits away from car rear lights.
I loved commuting as it was a real mental challenge and I’d be buzzing when I did it.
Also Camelbak forge insulated mugs fit in the bottle cage as well for cold mornings.
Depends on the set up at work, but I had to walk through an office to get to the shower. Wearing overshoes meant that I could leave them with the bike and get to the shower without leaving muddy footprints across the carpet.
My commute was about 20 km, half off road so always muddy in the winter.
Now retired, cycle commute is the only thing I miss!
My other top tip (and this is a belter) is to put a cheapo rear on the top tube facing down.
That is a good tip, and I have an Orb light for the same duty. Blimey it's expensive now though! https://orb.bike/product/the-orb-mkii/
Make your home set up as efficient as possible to have relevent kit ready, easy to get bike in ,out , unlocked, cleaned, relocked etc ,etc
Depending on where you live, search out the quieter roads, the less likely glass strewn bike paths.
Depending also on length of commute, vary it once in a while.
Bike security at work is usually the biggest issue so you have that solved.
Vary pace if you want to get fit or you will start over training.
Easy days and very very easy days !
For 6 miles each way, I’d just ride in regular clothes
Thats what I did for a similar (flat) commute for a few years. After a year, with the money saved, treat yourself to a dynamo hub front wheel and a set of lights to suit, to avoid battery charging/lost light issues.
Many many thanks for the replys everyone. So much great advice. Thank you.
Extra undies!! Great tip. I'm sorted for lights, I've a lezyne front and exposure rear.
Tyres are a good shout, the bike has very basic schwalbe lugano tyres, so I'll swap those out for some with some puncture protection.
I'll definitely be showering in work, the set up is brilliant so it'll be daft not too. I've space to store a towel and shower kit too.
Thanks again.
Conti contact tyres are not horrible to ride on like marathons. Nice soft grippy rubber but still virtually puncture proof. I pulled a dozen bits of glass out of mine once
Latex gloves and a clean up rag for the inevitable filthy puncture repair. I don't think I've ever fixed a puncture in the sunshine... A clean chain helps...
TF is the problem with Marathon+?
Heavy and gripless. I don't want a tyre that will do a million miles. I want grip. Conti contacts are puncture proof and grippy.
Imo marathons are dangerous. If I had them on a bike I bought they would be taken straight off. Hateful things
The only thing that I haven't seen mentioned is a headtorch. Excellent if you have a mechanical problem/puncture; you can get by removing a bike lamp, but fighting a broken bike in the dark is made much easier
You'll work out what you need after a few trips and slim down the lists ^^ accordingly. I was quite happy with bike spares in a frame bag and lunch in a backpack, but I started with a pannier bag
Get a key to the server/plant room, excellent for drying cycling kit 🙂
Imo marathons are dangerous. If I had them on a bike I bought they would be taken straight off. Hateful things
Marathon and also Continental Gator Skin tyres are horrendous. By making them virtually puncture proof, they're also heavy and draggy yet manage to be incredibly slippy on wet surfaces.
Problem is that they've acquired this reputation, a sort of default "oh if if you don't want to puncture, you *need* Marathon Plus".
It's worth looking beyond the Big Two tyre manufacturers, cos the likes of Specialized, Pirelli and WTB all have excellent winter/commuter road tyres, grippy and durable.
I have a Marathon+ on the rear, and an ancient Kenda Nevegal tubeless on the front. Punctures are very rare. Rear isn't draggy, front has grip, perfect compromise 😉
Conti contacts are grippy and not draggy. They do wear relatively quickly though.
Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons (or whatever they’re called now) are grippy, tough, comfortable, and not too heavy. I (accidentally) wore one to the canvas on the back of my commuter without it ever puncturing. It suddenly got very slippery indeed as the last rubber wore off the centre.