Evening all. I’m shortly going to start riding part of my commute and then getting the train the rest of the way but big problem – what the heck do I do with shirts and trousers? Is there a commonly recognised way of transporting shirts and trousers neatly folded and kept crease free? How the heck do you do it – I managed to get creases in my clothes walking downstairs on a morning!

And any reccommendations for decent commuting gear? Don’t want to dress as a full on MAMIL whilst sitting on the train for 30 minutes…

Rapha winter jacket this time of year – super warm, waterproof and looks good. Tights with a pair of long’ish shorts over the top to keep it decent.

For work I take in shirts, tie and trousers then have them dry cleaned near work. Drop off Friday afternoon, collect Monday morning. You can buy special bags to carry shirts, there’s tricks to rolling them and carrying in a plastic bag inside your bike bag but they always look awful.

Can you let us know the following:

1) Distance of the cycle part of your journey
2) How much effort you’ll put into the ride, e.g. will you be using it as part of a training regime, i.e. sweating
3) Perhaps a silly question, but will you still do the bike ride when it’s raining ?

My main tip would be to get a pannier bag that can be worn as a rucksack, and get something like a slim laptop bag to store your smart clothes in (as they’ll be kept reasonably flat) and stick this inside the pannier bag.

http://singletrackworld.com/reviews/henty-wingman-cycling-suit-carrier/

My commute is 20 mins ride so I just wear my normal office clothes. However I am a scruff and only iron my shirts a few times a year…

Non-iron shirts – roll up rather than fold if you can’t take them in and leave there.

Never found any way of transporting clothes in a neat way and I don’t really even have to be that neat at work and they’re still unacceptable.

I tend to sacrifice riding on Monday to drop off clothes by car, then bring them back on friday and wash them all.

Don’t understand commuting slowly enough to not sweat!

I take in all my clothes on a Monday then bring everything home on Friday

Look at Vulpine

Might have to do the taking clothes in on a Monday thing.

The cycle commute will only be a couple of miles but its either that or a hourly bus service to the station or a 40 minute walk plus during the summer, options for longer routes home will be plentiful!

My commute varies, depending on where I’m working.

For a short commute (15-20 minutes) I just ride in my work clothes. If it is raining I wear a rain jacket, waterproof overtrousers and change my shoes when I get to work.

For a longer commute where I’m wearing cycling gear, I just fold my shirt and trousers and put them inside a pannier on Monday. The trousers stay at work during the week and I carry shirt and underwear each day.

Just saw your update. For a couple of miles, I wouldn’t even think about cycling gear. Just hop on your bike.

I guess I’m lucky enough to work for a company where there’s a big enough community of cyclists and runners that it’s okay to look a little creased.

I know some of the smarter blokes at work hang their non-iron shirts just outside the showers as the steam helps the creases drop out.

I spend 3 hours a day commuting to an insurance brokering job so have to look pretty smart. Buy low or non iron shirts and roll rather than fold, same with trousers no one has complained so far. The shirts look a bit ruffled when they first go on but they soon smooth out.

I have a work wardrobe that I keep at work, so that I can just wear a tshirt and jeans when I ride my four miles. On the rare occasion that I have to do any transporting of clothes, I roll them and put them in my pannier.

I just, oh.

Smart you say? Nah, i just stuff a pair of chinos and and a tshirt in my old camelbak

It depends on what smart is. No cycling kit is going to be an alternative to a proper suit, and even if it is you’ll not going over the fact that you’ve cycled in it.

I left a couple of suits/ties at work. Bring shirts in one day (on the train), then cycle other days. Needs storage and changing though obvs.

That said… A couple of miles, I’d just do it in a suit. Perhaps change shoes as pedals wreck nice soles.

As njee20 says – couple of miles? Just wear a suit.

I’ve got a Wateroffaducksback raincoat – it’s got reflecty bits, isn’t too warm 3 seasons and covers your thighs when pedaling so you can avoid over trousers most of the time, they’re useful for downpours though walking or cycling. I didn’t like the all dark options on the ‘duck so went on to a light coloured Vulpine Harrington over my suit jacket – it’s not too hot in any weather, and is fine in winter with a suit jacket underneath, brilliant jacket although the Rain jacket has more reflecty bits.

If you’re getting sweaty slow down, get fitter, or avoid that hill – I have a huge hill on my way home and cycle around London in a suit all through the summer (I.e during the day, not just to and from the station) so I went for some electrical assistance – it stops me having to try too hard when it’s hot or up hill where I might sweat, but the rest of the year mostly just gets me away from the lights pronto! The motorbikes can’t believe it….

I found the same as Prawny – I’d fold as a standard shirt then fold in half again. It looks at least as smart as someone who’s arrived by Tube but that was for a 9 mile commute – for a couple of miles it’s only in the extremes of weather you will have a problem

There are packing things as well –
http://road.cc/content/review/169292-patrona-shirt-shuttle-mk3

I used to leave my suit at work, which was only worn if clients were visiting.

The rest of the time, I used Next office trousers and non-Iron shirts, from whatever shirt shop has an offer on, folded in a rucksack, or worn for short Brompton ride.

As above, tube, bus, walking can get stuff just as creased, especially in the summer when its hot and crowded.

Trousers and shirt get ironed, folded and then popped on top of lunch etc in the Carradice saddlebag. As long as I haven’t got the saddlebag stuffed full then they remain relatively crease free.

Find a dry cleaners close to work and negotiate a deal for regular use.

Thats what i have always done so i can ride in whatever.

I have a Troy lee casual jersey and either madison waterproof shorts or some slim fit chinos to stop chain snags.

Fortunate enough to have full on changing facilities at work so the obvious answer for me is to sacrifice the Monday commute and take a week’s worth of clothes in and cycle Tues – Fri bringing dirty laundry home each day.

Never got the commuting slowly enough to not sweat!

Electric Bike! n+1! You could tow a wardrobe if you wanted.

I don’t have to look super smart at work not like those London boys that wear the shirts with the different colour collar with their pin striped suits, but I do wear shirt and trousers in the office.

I just take trousers in and leave them there and carry a shirt in my bag, or iron a few and leave them in my draw if I can be bothered. Usually if a shirts ironed properly they don’t too many creases and any you do get from being in your bag drop out after a few minutes of wearing.

My commute is about 40 minutes.

due to personal circumstances i dont commute on the bike anymore, but when i did it was a 5 times a week job for me.
i would leave my shoes, trousers, belt and shower kit in the office. the shower room had a heated towel rail so the towel would stay there.
the only thing i would bring in daily was my shirt, vest, socks and underwear.
the best way i found was to neatly fold the shirt like int he picture

but then fold it in half again into a square shape. i would then roll up the socks and stuff them in the collar area and the vest and undies would be folded flat behind the shirt.
i would then get a small Next carrier bag and as long as i’d folded the shirt to the right size, it would then slide in perfectly into the bag and the top of the bag then gets folded over.
i would then put the bag i my camelbak near the top with my lunch n the bottom so it didnt get too squashed.
the shirt would come out looking perfect everytime.
the trousers and towel would go home on the friday to be washed.
bringing them back on a monday was the same. just neatly fold the trousers and slide them also into the same carrier bag and the towel just got rolled up and shoved in the bottom of the camelbak.
you do need a decent sized rucksack for this

I second the above clothes-folding advice.

I have a 15-mile round trip to my main place of work, which I do 2-4 times per week. I keep shoes, two suits, belt and lock at work – took me ages to work out that I didn’t need to take stuff every day!!!

I usually just take shirts, gruds and ties to work.

I also commute on longer trips via a railway station, so often wear a pair of Howies Crosstown chinos and SPD shoes – with smart shoes and jackets added to my bag, depending on how smart I need to look.

eddiebaby – Member

http://singletrackworld.com/reviews/henty-wingman-cycling-suit-carrier/

Eddiebaby has made reference to an excellent review.

I’ve been using the Wingman for months and, apart from the time it got sprayed with dog shit, it has been excellent. I’m not sure that I’d want to stuff a laptop in it though.

Always keep an emergency pair (or pack) of undies at work, as you will forget to take them occasionally and have that dilemma…

I leave everything at work. A 5 day a week commute means local dry cleaners doing my shirts, but I usually take a whole load of shirts into work (e.g. 10) as I’m not on the bike every time, just most of the time

Always keep an emergency pair (or pack) of undies at work, as you will forget to take them occasionally and have that dilemma…

+1

and always leave a spare pair of trousers at work unlike me…split them along the rear seam….had to sit in the office in my riding kit for the rest of the day!!
also keep a spare jacket there for when you need to pop outside unless you dont mind going out in your riding jacket

Has anyone tried those vacuum pack thingies for taking the clothes in?

I don’t need to be smart at work, but take in underwear, t-shirt, everyday, change trousers & jumper twice a weak. I fold the jeans leg to leg, and then fold up the t-shirt & boxers and place them half way along the leg and then wrap them in the jeans. This happens to be the same size as an Alpkit Airlok Xtra 20l Dry Bag which they slide into. I then sit on the dry bag to squeeze out the air and roll the top up. Keeps them presentable and reduces the space they take up.

Eagle Creek PackIt stuff is quite useful

Eagel Creek Pack It

its either that or a hourly bus service to the station or a 40 minute walk plus during the summer, options for longer routes home will be plentiful!

I’d consider walking it – 40 minutes is a nice length and when you factor in all the fannying around with clothes and locks, it might not be a lot more time consuming than riding.

Shirt, trousers, boxers and socks all rolled together into a nice neat bundle and transported in a dry bag along with my lunch.

Leave shoes, towel, shower stuff and a few ties (not that I ever wear them) in a drawer at work. Also leave an emergency shirt and cheap trousers at the office just in case…

Edit, I can get it all in an 8L airlock xtra, if I have to transport shoes an airlock xtra 20L does the job…

Optimal distance for a stedy commute before slow and smart loses time to fast and shower and change is about six miles for reasonable assumptions.

For a couple of miles, wear smart clothes and ride slowly. You may want to roll a pair of trousers and ride in something a little more sturdy. I like Levis commuters.

But then I wear full lycra into the office and keep a suit in a locker. I also fold and roll shirts, wrap them around underwear, and place in a plastic carrier bag before folding into a pannier or rucksack.

Never had a problem with creases.

Always keep an emergency pair (or pack) of undies at work, as you will forget to take them occasionally and have that dilemma..

+1

And socks.

My approach:

Eagle Creek pack-it for trousers and shirts.
John Lewis cheap suit trousers are indestructible and almost uncreasable.
Lewins or Tyrwhitt non-iron shirts iron themselves after 5 minutes wear

On the train I wear MTB gear – baggies or walking trousers in winter, loose tops etc, and SPD shoes make it easy to walk around in stations and office car parks. If it’s a long ride to the station in summer and a long train journey I take a second tshirt to avoid the first one getting smelly whilst sat on the train.

If I have a regular office, I leave shoes, lock and sometimes belt and trousers at work, just packing a shirt and underwear.

Stash as much as you can at work; shoes, coat, full emergency change,

Roll shirts and trousers