Singletrackcommuters…

Does anyone commute offroad? I commute along the toe path which is brilliant 90% of the time, but there are patches of it that get pretty boggy at times so I normally end up plastered in mud by the time I reach work. I normally managed to strip off most of my muddy gear near the front door and place most of it in my bag cover, is just a bit of a pain not trying to get mud everywhere when I get to my locker.

Clothes wise I manage to get clean shirt, boxers, socks and lunch into my dakine nomad. It is a bit of a squeeze, but shirts seem to stay reasonably crease free. Helps having the locker to keep everything else in.

I’ve been using some dakine gloves for a while that I can’t recommend highly enough, they’ve got a fleeced back to them which seems to keep my mitts warm in most temperatures 🙂

Can’t add much to the preceeding, excellent, advice but find a Schwalbe Big Apple (2″) on the front of the dedicated MTB based commuter Frankenbike adds a wee bit of comfort. Use a Berghaus 30+8 Freeflow rucksack for transporting clothes, food and files – also contains enough spares/tools/locks to stock a small shop. Weighed it last week before setting off into work and it came out at 10.2kg!!

Weighed it last week before setting off into work and it came out at 10.2kg!!

Ooof! 10kg bouncing about on your spine twice a day?

Get some panniers or a Carradice and you won’t need regular visits to the Osteopath 😀
Also you’ll be a lot less sweaty.

I bought a load of Karrimor gloves from mandmdirect a while ago, they’re really warm, waterproof, and were £3 a pair. I got matching liner gloves for extra warmth too and have enough pairs that I can alternate while they dry. I’ve been taking in a spare t-shirt so I ahve dry for the evening and coping with wet lycra. I always wear my waterproof at the moment as it’s pretty much rained everyday and I’ve not ended up getting too hot yet.

I’ve also got some 3M reflective tape (black) that I found on eBay that’ll go all over the rear of the bike when I havea chance. I have a DX 300 lumen rear light thing that is on the back of the pannier rack and one of the original 900 lumen ones on the front. Full length mudguards that are adapted for group riding, so I have no issues ploughing through puddles.

I remember last time I commuted daily that I rarely got wet, but something is different this year. Hope when winter comes the rain elvels return to normal!

looking for any tips and tricks that make commuting that bit easier for you?

Make sure you remember your clothes, particularly shirt, pants and socks.
Leave the shoes at work (saves you carting them in and out every day).
Also probably leave a towel and shower gel at work if you have a locker (and a shower there).
If you’re in the habit of taking your lunch with you, remember that fruit can produce some of the hardest-to-remove stains known to man – banana in particular doesn’t mix with a toolkit and a work shirt.

And you’ll only forget to pump your tyres hard to avoid pinchflats on potholes once. Or perhaps twice, but after that, never again.

Ooof! 10kg bouncing about on your spine twice a day?

Get some panniers or a Carradice and you won’t need regular visits to the Osteopath
Also you’ll be a lot less sweaty.

Suprisingly, it doesn’t bounce around and the Freeflow system keeps the back, fairly, unsweaty. I’m a bit suspicious of panniers,to be honest, although I’ve never tried them. Don’t they effect bike stability – partcularly off road (about a 1/3rd of my commute can be done on, erm, “urban singletrack”)?

Does anyone commute offroad?

Yep. If I’m in a rush I’ll ride along the road, but there’s a parallel option of 5 miles of properly knackered towpath that I’ll take for preference if I’m not short of time. It’s a bit slower, but lacks murderous minicab drivers, etc. It’s also a bit of a mess in parts at the moment, very muddy with loads of puddles – I even have to carry up one bit of it currently, it’s that washed out. But I don’t get very muddy at all, I can work in the clothes I commute in unless it pees it down, because I have good mudguards.

Old-school full-length mudguards are your friend. I have SKS Chromoplastics on my old rigid Marin, my shoes get a bit spattered, and the bottom of my trousers a little bit if it’s really grim, but that’s about it. They’re ace, get some.

Does anyone commute offroad?

Yup ,part of my commute is forest tracks ,the rest is B roads and cycle path.
Went for a CX with chunky touring tyres ( they still go under the guards) and it’s perfect.
I love my commute,and as Ton says ,the weather doesn’t bother you (most of the time)when you have your happy face on. 🙂

Does anyone commute offroad?

My glorious commute is 99% traffic-free and a good part of that is bridleway, mainly rough tarmacced, but quite muddy in places and prone to the odd flood.

Slicks + mudguards help. As does taking the back stairs so the secretary doesn’t see me 😀

I’m a bit suspicious of panniers,to be honest, although I’ve never tried them. Don’t they effect bike stability – partcularly off road (about a 1/3rd of my commute can be done on, erm, “urban singletrack”)?

Well, speaking for the Carradice, I only really notice it when it is very full and I try to take a sharp corner at speed only to discover my back end overtaking me. 😀 Other than that I don’t notice it and it survives being bumped around on bridleway fine (never tried anything more rigorous with it).

Do you use your commuting as training or as transport?

I currently do 23 miles each way 2-3 times a week on a cross bike with road tyres. Takes 1h10ish and includes hills or intervals or headwinds.

I’m about to start 10miles each way most days and am considering buying a fixed gear road bike (pearson touche/ day one etc) as it doesn’t seem long enough to get a training effect with a geared bike.

Anyone commute fixed? Noticing any benefits?

The SQR Tour is also a good bet if you don’t need the width.

I use a Tour – good but the side pockets are a bit crap as they do not shut well..

Think the slim is neater – both are 16litres

Do you use your commuting as training or as transport?

Half and half, I tend to try and squeeze in some intervals miles on my way home from work as ‘training’. Normally try and keep a pretty steady HR on my way in to not kill myself for the rest of the day. Doing a 30 mile round trip is enough in itself for me.

i used to commute 30 miles round trip fixed on 42:19

found that by friday i didnt want to ride at the weekend (and getting to work on friday was a chore)

im at the end of week 2 with gears and my legs feel good – my times are the same but im going faster on the flats and taking the hills easier.

“seem long enough to get a training effect with a geared bike”

pedal harder 😀

I used to do 20 miles each way to uni on a fixed on 44:14 but it was pancake flat along the a92 arbroath to dundee . Coincidently that coincided with some of my best racing results but i believe that to be quantity of miles rather than the fixed portion of it.

camper long flap in situ – NEVER hit it with my legs ever.

ive been off road with it on the back of the TD 1 and its done it admirably. Propper underrated bit of kit .

I have been looking at puncture-resistant tyres – has anyone used these Vittoria Randonneur City Tyres, currently £16.79 at cyclesportsuk.co.uk:

http://www.cyclesportsuk.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=5942

Also, my standard 28c tyres just about fit under my mudguards currently – would I need to replace with 25c puncture-resistant tyres or do they generally measure-up the same (I’m thinking they may be taller due to the extra puncture-resistant material)?

Do you use your commuting as training or as transport?

Go at it when I feel like it, take it easy when I don’t.

Always log it with Endomondo so I get an idea what my average/best is and an honest log of how many miles I’m putting it.

I struggle with long sentences so this may have been covered, but if at all possible vary your commute times. Arriving at work at 10am, the roads are far far nicer than if you are arriving at 9am. It’s like night and day.

I do train when commuting too.

Lots of good advice above, I use the Continental puncture proof summer and winter tyres, both very good, well worth the price (which is a lot). I do between 12km and 18km each way everyday during the week come rain, shine or snow, and apart from the odd moment when I tired out and the weather is grim I love it, I think it keeps me sane. Some days when I’m feeling frisky I push it, particularly on the way home as it doesn’t matter so much if I get sweaty. Other days I just go steady.

vary your route in too

you will be amazed what good routes you can find just by taking different turns off your normal route, go explore 😉

Anyone commute fixed? Noticing any benefits?

10 flat miles each way on 42:16. Plus a further 30 miles on Tuesdays on the club run. The luggage helps with intervals and resistance, but cruising above 21-22 mph requires a lot of effort and isn’t sustained. I rode at pace with someone last night though.

And yes I have noticed that when I take the road bike out on Saturdays, I never coast. I also notice that on Wattbike I have one of the smoothest roundest pedal strokes around.

This is my Fixed wheel/winter bike commuter. 60’s Olmo road frame, parts bin stem, seatpost, crank. Mavic open pro ceramic front wheel, Cheap Omega rear wheel, Conti Gatorskin 28C tyres (big pot holes around here). Due to a change in my place of work and the need to negotiate a hill on a major road I have fitted a rear brake using clamps on the seat-stays to avoid the need of a huge 64mm drop caliper.
Lots of lights front and rear. Gearing is 44:16.
Used for my 30 mile round trip commute over rolling roads.
Riding Fixed over the winters has improved my leg strength, smoothed my peddling style and stopped me coasting on my road bike.
As for the biggest benefits, cheap, easy to clean and maintain and soooo quiet, just the hum of tyres on tarmac.

Training wise, and to reduce the boredom of the same route five times a week, I alternate between “mashing” and “winching” days on the climbs for a bit of variety.

Mine: A kona Paddy Waggon with Harry Rowland custom wheels (Miche/Sapim/Open Pro), Topeak rack (removed for the day), and full SKS chromoplastic narrow guards. 23c Durano S tyres, rear Rapid 1 and front Strada lights. 10 kilos.

And previously before the diet and new wheels, it was about 12.5 kilos plus luggage.

Wow! Those rims would get you noticed!

They came with the bike (2009 edition). They are slightly aero and very stiff. The original cheap continental tyres punctured almost daily, but the Durano Plus were much better. The new wheelset, including tyre change is 900g lighter – they also cost more than I paid for the whole bike (£220 on ebay).

Since I spend a lot of my total riding time commuting, I feel it should be on something I like. I also think that this should be a general rule. I see nothing wrong in having a dedicated commuting bike. I also have a town bike shared with my wife for errands.

EDIT: and if anyone fancies a pair of yellow rimmed wheels, I’m open to offers (email in profile). Tyres still have a little life left in them too. Hubs are superb sealed Novatechs.

Dj austin that was my thoughts too hence the road rat

All my other commuting bikes through uni were skip finds …. Bought a tricross after uni and it felt dead and uncomfy

Treated my self 🙂

Proper panniers are bestest for transporting clothes and food into work, and smuggling illicit purchases back home that you’ve had delivered to work. Apparently. You could probably fit a complete 105 groupset in if you tried. Not that I have…..

Not much to add to some very good advice here, just this:
* Bell was a good call – get a loud one
* White gloves or luminous wrist bands so drivers can see your hand signals in low light – always use the hand signals
* Ride at the pace you enjoy – don’t get caught up in commuter racing or sucked into red light jumping.
* Try to avoid getting caught up in bunches of cyclists at lights – pull in behind a car instead if you see that happening
* If you have to lock your bike outside, lock the wheels to the frame, the frame to a lampost (or whatever). I also lock the saddle to the frame. Consider a big ****off bike lock that you can leave at work. Plastic bag on saddle.

I keep a pair of shoes, two pairs of trousers and a few ties at work. Every so often, when I’m passing in the car, I’ll drop off maybe a dozen shirts and a dozen pairs of socks. That keeps me going for two or three weeks.

I’m blessed in that I’m on B/C roads with a shower and towels etc laid on at work plus a coupla lockers. Only carry butties and tools in my bag, take a months clothes in one go and store at work (in a lab, so v casual).

rode fixed for 6 months or so but it’s too hilly around here so have moved to an alfine set up, just as durable as ss but much more adaptable and loads faster.

I got a sheet of black scotchlite from CRC, works well with smart lunar R1 and assorted mini-led commuting lights for the rear, for the front I have a exposure race maxx (the precursor to their dedicated road light thing) plus a hope vision 1 on the helmet. Have to have proper lights as it’s pitch black at night.

base layers from aldi are stunning value, just got some more for spares but last years 3 are still immaculate.

I use an evoc 16L backpack, it’s a bit warm in summer (but i sweat like a priest in a playground at the best of times), but it’s ace when colder. I also get comfort from the spine protector thing in case I’m ever hit, although I’ll probably die from rotational whiplash or something.

Desite being in the sticks i’ve not had any punctures – and i’m running 23c racing slicks (evo2 extreme or something) which are fast if bumpy on the rougher stuff (irish roads are a bit poor at times).

I use decathlon winter gloves, have zips to open up when too warm and the liners are fixed unlike the endura winter gloves I used before, each time I took my hand out the liner prolasped out with it, was like pushing a calf bed back in each time. pita. Going to try some overshoes this winter (again from aldi) as I did suffer during the snows with just my 1000miles socks.

Endura do make a good head cover – a buff is ok until the deep winter when it’s just not wind resistant enough.

Anyone commute fixed? Noticing any benefits?

Yes, but I do wonder if I should just go single-speed. I thought riding fixed would force me to slow it down, rather than racing home, but it hasn’t – I instinctively seem to go as fast as I comfortably can.

Haven’t ridden in the winter yet, but intending to keep riding into work as long as possible. Winter mornings here can be -20 with 4′ of snow, so could be fun!

molgrips – Member

I struggle with long sentences so this may have been covered, but if at all possible vary your commute times. Arriving at work at 10am, the roads are far far nicer than if you are arriving at 9am. It’s like night and day.

Indeed! I work silly nursing shifts, but I stayed late yesterday and rode home with the 5pm traffic and it was well rubbish. 🙁 Also not keen on 8am ride home after nights either, but that is as much to do with being dog tired as the morning rush hour…

Oh – if you are not an experienced rider in heavy traffic, remember to make eye contact as much as possible. For example, don’t just glance over your shoulder turning right, turn your head fully, show your face and look at the driver. It makes a huge difference to how they see and percieve you. And always nod when you are acknowledged.

I ride 10 miles each way on my winter road bike ( trek 1.5). I try to keep the bike as light as possible and use standard road tyres (espoir elites) and no pannier rack to keep the weight down. I just use a dakine rucksack that can carry a shirt and trousers and a bit of food. The rest such as shoes i leave at work. The theory is that the quicker I can ride to work, the more time in bed.

I don’t bother with full waterproofs on a commute, I use a gore windstopper jacket and gloves that will keep you dry for around 45 mins of rain, more than enough for a commute. I also use standard lycra 3/4ers most of the year as i need to leave around 6am-ish where it’s still fairly chilly. If it’s rainy in the morning i’ll pack a 2nd pair for the ride home.

The exception to that is feet. Overshoes and sealskins are a brilliant combo for cold, wet days.

For lighting i use a set of leynze macro drive’s. More than bright enough and you can charge them using a usb so no need to faff with batteries.

Carry a small multi tool with you, i use a topeak mini 20, and take a c02 inflator. You dont want to be strugging with a mini pump on a cold, rainy winters morning.

Oh, and strava.

Anybody out there can provide me LED lights?

I do a 25 mile round trip 3 – 4 times a week. Am very fortunate that my employer embraces the healthy living stuff, provides showers, heated towel rails, bike2work scheme, encourages lunchtime runs etc etc.

Would recommend non-iron shirts though. Rolled up in a rucksack / pannier bag they come out okay. I leave shoes and trousers at work.

Definitely agree with the two light thing. If one fails, having two will save your butt.

For cheap commutey clothes try Dare2B. Good quality, VFM stuff, and absolute steals available during their sales.

I do live in a mild part of the country, but rarely wear a jacket now. Just go with layers, topped off with a light Gore windstopper gilet. Brill piece of kit.

For me, commuting is the time to enjoy being on a bike and the changing seasons. Race if you like, but don’t feel pressured to break you back over it if you don’t want to. You need to save a fair amount in reserve to do a full week! 🙂

Oh, and wash your bike down as much as you can. There’s plenty of crap on the roads during winter.

Buy as many pairs of gloves as you can, nothing worse than rummaging around just as you are about to leave the house. I’d recommend a whole change of clothes at work, i have had to use it twice in the last few years.

A plastic box can keep your shower stuff from dripping on the floor at work and can also store really stinky clothes.

Avoid school traffic, parents are crazy . I’ve nearly been knocked off three times within 100m from my home this week.

Last but most importantly: dresses crease less than shirts, so go out an buy that little black number you’ve always dreamed of 🙂

If you’re not 100% confident in traffic, buy “Cyclecraft” (if you’re REALLY not confident then a book is unlikely to be the best bet though)

so… breakfast before or after or during! the morning commute ride…?

Before for me.

Breakfast after for me.

I have a quick espresso and an orange squash before I leave the house.
Then reward myself with a sausage and egg bap when I get to work 😀

I asked recently on here which way round was best for weight loss – opinion seemed quite divided (as usual 😉 )

Probably depends how far you’ve got to go – mine is only 11 miles so I won’t exactly starve.