Commuting clobber/lights/mudguards

Not sure why but the uk really seems to have an aversion to sensible commuting bikes

Perhaps I just like getting wet 🙂 I do love it when you get that stream of water to the face from the front wheel, like a bonus shower… For a short commute you'd never get uncomfortable. Drying clothes is fairly easy over radiators, or very easy if you have a boiler room with hanging rack installed 😉

I *hate* getting wet so i wear a nice Event hooded jacket, Goretex cycling overtrousers, Goretex shoes and Sealskins waterproof gloves. Underneath i wear my work clothes and i only get a bit damp if i end up getting silly and Fred-racing someone so that i sweat too much.
I ride about 4 miles each way everyday, all weather. Absolutely agree that full mud guards are a must. I love cycling to work. It wakes me up in the morning and chills me out in the evening. 🙂

Richpenny, you must be a fair weather commuter! :-), I have got completely soaked just on short runs from waterloo station to work 2.3 miles and at the other end as well on my Brompton. reminds self to get waterproof cover for Brompton bag so front pocket does not fill up with water lol… Will see how it goes on the full 27miles in from Woking to london on my new road bike 🙂 (fitted with mudguards by they way)

i cycled to work every day for 2 years in my work clothes. it was only 4 miles each way though. Just went slowly-ish. If it was raining REALLY heavily i'd put some waterpoof trousers on, but it really doesn't rain as often as you'd think and full mudguards keep most of the muck off.

In london i'm sure you get less sweaty cycling than crammed on a busy bus or tube.

synthetics do hold bacteria that make sweat smell – hence "smelly hellys" and others. This is well know and a fact. Just use your nose.

Here is a link to discussion on it. Its all about the structure of the threads. natural fibres reduce teh growth of bacteria.
http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=7795&PageNum=&CategoryID=

i did not read everything (I am dying so small letter makes my brain aches) but i got stuck after the 6th people saying I don't wear cycling kit so I'll look normal. That is because all your cycling kit is road kit you plonker. If you use modern petrol base technical t-shirt for riding you will still look normal (patagonia capilene spring to mind). Kona prima pants and most of the dainese stuff looks pretty normal too me too. Same goes for patagonia/TNF/marmott trekking trousers. Very cycling friendly but without the 'look at me I wish I could foucking compete in the fouckier tour of france'. And this is supposed to be a mtb forum, not a jey hey racing wipper one.

So my opinion on this. If you have shower go for cycling kit (whatever you choose to wear) have a shower and a change of clothe. If you can cope with your sweat all day long well do as you wish.

And lets face it I have very much doubt most people in copenhagen will commute more than a couple of Kms…

synthetics do hold bacteria that make sweat smell – hence "smelly hellys" and others. This is well know and a fact. Just use your nose.

Newer, better quality garments, ime, and as written in that article you link to, are much much less susceptible.

For example

Fabrics have evolved in the intervening years and now the better garments use a closed knot yarn that reduces the number of microscopic hiding places for sweaty bacteria. "Basically, you get what you pay for," says Vanderoef, noting that entry level tech garments will use a less highly finished fabric that is more susceptible to odor retention.

Claiming you're more likely to need a shower because you wear synthetic fabrics is just, frankly, hilarious.

Are these the ones I'll need i think it has the mounts

If they rattle though there will be trouble!

But the truth Nick Hilarious but the truth. Wear natural fibres you smell lwess than if you waer synthetics.

Of course washing is best.

jeremy that's balls, I smell less in my capilene than I do in my merino, why well simply because merino is poo and get soaked whereas the capilene doesn't.

Plus after a day of riding (4 hours for example) my synthetic clothes smell less than my natural fibre gi after 4 hours of matt…

I'm on a Spesh Globe with an 8 speed internal hub (so it looks single speed) and wear my mountain bike cycling gear with a gortex coat, buff and normal lid, shorts with pad thing, 5-10's etc.

My globe has full mudguards and it looks like an old man's bike but its great if it rains because only the tip of my to gets wet as water drips off the bottom of the front mud guard. (Must extend it with a sheet of plastic at some point)

Generally the rain isn't ever that bad. Its the spray that will do your head in, so mudguards are the way to go IMO.

I use my Hope twin LED lights on the front if it is proper dark but in summer just a normal LED. Flashing red LED on the back.

I have spare cloths in work and we have a shower there so I'm well sorted.

Shame I'm a bit of a 3 season rider, spring – summer – autumn. I seemed to have not bothered at all this winter.

I've been cycling to work 4 days a week for the past year or so and in my experience merino wool is far less smelly / smell prone than synthetics (and we're not talking cheap stuff either). A decent baselayer might take a couple more minutes to dry out over a man-made jersey but at least I'm not going to be smelling of wet-dog afterwards (and part of my commute is by train so it's anti-social to be too stinky).

My commute is also relatively long (between 2 and 4 hours on the bike every day) so wearing my work clothes would just not be practical. I've coped with pretty much all weather from the occasionally hot summer to recent subzeros temps with a kit list of a couple of pairs of shoes, t pairs of decent baggy shorts, 1 set of bib tights, 1 set of full-length tights, a gilet, handful of merino baselayers and 5 or 6 cycling jerseys. Layering helps with the cold and to be honest, if you're riding hard in the rain for longer than 20 minutes even the best waterproof is going to get me sweaty or start leaking from sleeves / neck etc.

Lucky enough to have a shower at work too which makes all the difference.

I ride every day rootes 🙂 Maybe it's the Welsh blood in me.

SKS chromoplastic mud guards, I never liked mud guards untill I tried the SKS ones. Still not silent, but not too bad. And stops arse/bag/back getting muddy and covered in dog egg.

Panniers make life easier, just chuck locks and spares in one side, clothes in the other. Avoids getting a sweaty back.

Wear fresh clothes every day, I tried wearing the same t-shirt 2 days in a row, it just smells. Buy up some £10 shell/tracksuits bottoms from socer-world/Decathlon/TKMaxx. Decathlon do synthetic t shirts for about £4 in realy bright colours, great for just about everything, i hardly wear normal t-shirts anymore.

Plenty of lights, I use one blackburn mars (stupidly bright) rear light and 2 more normal catey 170's. Then hook a catey 170 front light onto my shoulder straps. Trick it to make yourself look unusal so drivers will conciossly pay attention to your movements. Reflectors in spokes, pedals, lights on helmet, etc all help.

I (try to) do 3 miles each way on a touring bike.

I ride every day rootes Maybe it's the Welsh blood in me.

good man!

i only missed three days so far this year as the snow was deeper than my brompton wheels (but did go out on my mountain bike night biking to make up!)

winter commuting has its benefits in london as there are less cyclists! though commuter racing tends to be a bit more hardcore as winter commuters also tend to be a bit more hardcore lol

si

re materials – get a mix helly and ground effect do nice synthetic / merino mixes – best of both worlds

What I've neglected to mention is that I'm normally clad in Gore Windstopper softshell tops and troos, the finest material known to man.

What I've neglected to mention is that I'm normally clad in Gore Windstopper softshell tops and troos, the finest material known to man.

yes that would help! 😉 – though gore stuff is expensive, their garments really do work well

Si

I commute nearly every day and wear merino. It looks good enough to work in and doesn't stink like synthetics so I don't have to change. And yes synthetics do stink. The trick is to get the sort of merino gear that isn't biking-or anything else specific. You just look a dork. ChocFish stuff is good for this. Most other stuff either looks like underwear, makes you look like a refugee from the Tour de France, or just looks ratty – I particulary dislike Finisterre – was bought one of their tops for Xmas and it fitted like disease and looked dreary. It went to a charity shop. Depends of course on what sort of job you do, whether it entails having to look smart/presentable cos you've got to meet people, or whether you can hide away. My job's a bit of both so the merino works well.

If its chucking it down I just pull on a pair of waterproof pants and I've got a waterproof poncho/cape thing I picked up in Holland. Both roll up small and tuck away easily. The only things I change when I get to work are my shoes and socks and for this I keep a pair of each at work.

Like thisisnotaspoon says: reflectors everywhere, good quality lights and making sure to keep them clean and check they're working properly. And yes to mudguards.

waterproof pants

?

incontinence pants? 😆 well probably easier than going for a pee with bibs on 😆