Commute to work by bicycle? Click me! [plus loads of bike-related questions]

[snowdog]

Hello

I've bought a new bike for commuting (Carerra Subway hybrid-style) and tomorrow I'll be cycling to work for the first time on it. Who else does this and how do you enjoy it compared to driving?

I always used to cycle about 3 miles to work before I had a license... And half a mile to school every day.
I didn't particularly enjoy it but I'm a lazy ****, it's not terrible and easily doable though, a tad annoying to cycle against the wind but meh, it's all easily doable. You will save money on fuel though of course and it might help you with your daily exersise.

I'd also like to hear:

- How long should it take a reasonably fit male in his mid twenties to cycle 3.8 miles on a relatively flat cycle path?

Took me 15-20 minutes for 3 miles depending on how fast I cycled ( but I had quite a lot of traffic lights on the way). Could do it faster if you are in normal/good condition but that was the ONLY exercise I got, my fitness was ****.

- No showers at work, but there are at a gym three minutes from work. Is my best tactic to go in work clothes and hope I don't sweat / get drenched / get terrible helmet hair, go in light casuals and change at work, or cycle straight to the gym and shower there? By which I really mean, what do people that don't have showers at their workplace do to 'stay fresh'?

I just used my normal clothes, I did not wear a helmet as that's not the habit here ( so can't comment on that), you aren't drenched in sweat, you might sweat a tiny little bit ( or well, in my case anyhow) but nothing a bit of deo in the arm pits can't take care of. Of course if you cycle more relaxedly you will barely sweat at all and even without deo you won't smell... It's quite easy, cycle calmly if you don't want too much sweat, cycle as if the cops chase you if you want sweat to drench you...

- What lock should I buy? The bike is worth £200, is kept in a garage at night, and will be stored indoors on company premises during the day. Insurance covers against theft from home, if on actual property.

200 is relatively cheap, I'd spend 50 ish on a lock just to be sure, I have a bike worth 250€ new and used an expensive 70 € lock for the first 2 years, after that cheap locks and it never got nicked and bike nicking is very common here. Atm I use a 3€ lock which can probably be cut with regular scissors but my bike now looks quite worn and rusty in places so it doesn't really get nicked, nobody will bother for a bike probably worth only 20-40 on sale...

- Recommended pressure for the tyres is 45 - 60 PSI...what end of this scale should I be inflating to for road commuting?

I'd use the max recommended pressure, it loses pressure anyhow and more pressure means easier to pedal/less resistance, it'll lose pressure over time anyhow, just re-inflate once it reaches about 40-45 back to 60 and ride like that, that's what I do, max recommended pressure at inflating, and inflate again once it goes below the recommended ( or well, I used to ride on it till it was so bloody soft that if you went off a curb the rim would hit the ground, but that was due to laziness and I wouldn't recommend it).

- Where's the best place to buy accessories like mobile repair kits, water bottles and holders, pumps, panniers, etc.? Specific links if internet please.

Can't help you with that I'm afraid, I just buy all my stuff for my bike at Halfords, it's a cheap mountain bike anyhow (mine).

- What greases and oils should I buy to keep the chain and gears protected and where should they be applied?

Love you!

Something that does not stick to dirt, that is the most important, I used to spray my brake cable ( they were not moving smoothly) tubes with an oil that did and in the end a lot of dirt attached to the cable and it broke in the end.( a very thick layer of dirt mixed with oil attached to the brake cable when I took it out of the tubes it went in) Afaik WD40 does not make dirt stick to it ( somebody correct me if I'm wrong), but bike shops recommend something called ''kroon'' oil here which is actual oil not a spray, do not use generic silicone oil sprays though like I did...

 

[Amp34]

Also, as for the overtaking space issue, I purposely cycle on the far outside of the cycle lane, partly to annoy motorists, but mainly because none of them give me enough room when they pass me, so it gives me chance to pull further in so I don't go flying

As for the riding in parallel Where is your God now?

I used to cycle to work a couple of times a week, took me around 15 minutes to cycle 2ish miles, however about 5 minutes of that was walking/cycling slowly through the town centre. I'd suggest around 25 mins to begin with, less when you get fit.

As for the overtake issue a cyclist should cycle around 1m from the curb (certainly not less), means you get out of the gutter and you can move into space if a car cuts too close, however if I'm going near the speed limit i'll normally move out even more and cycle around a metre from the central line, much like motorcyclists. If a car wants to go past it's likely to be speeding and will have to treat me like a car.

 

[Participant]

Thanks all, some great tips / advice in here.

I cycled in this morning and totally enjoyed it! I gave myself 30 minutes, just in case. It took me just under 15 minutes, but the route to work is VERY much on the downhill side of things. It felt like I was freewheeling half of the time and I took it fairly easy. The way back will be a different matter altogether I think! Only slight problem with the bike seems to be that it misses the gear when changing down from the highest to the second highest sometimes, but that might be something that needs adjusting. I might also be using the wrong cog combinations, but I wasn't exactly checking.

It's a nice enough route, path all the way (not sure I should be using it but it's empty so I did), for example:

And the hill on the way back :

I bought a spare pair of suit trousers from M&S and travelled in those and my normal work shirt. Was absolutely fine in terms of sweating; felt slightly hot where the backpack was against my back but no problems in terms of stinking and overheating (though it was quite a fresh morning).

Tyres were put up to 60 - feels great and the bumping and jarring certainly isn't a problem despite the poor quality of the cycle path. There's no suspension on the bike but I certainly didn't feel that I needed it.

Wife is at home today, so I risked travelling without a puncture repair kit or spare tube.

I'll definitely be buying panniers as the backpack was slightly annoying and doesn't carry enough stuff on gym days (to mpledge52 - I've never heard of leisure centre membership statuses that allow you to use the showers but not the gym; you can but ask but I highly doubt it).

Regarding the single file / two abreast debate, I tend to stay single file and two lanes of traffic can still operate normally that way, but can see the argument that staying in the middle of the lane or at least well away from the pavement forces people to overtake properly.

 

[antijoke]

Interesting thread. I'm considering getting a bike for my morning commute instead of using the car.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Wife is at home today, so I risked travelling without a puncture repair kit or spare tube.

Don't make it a habit; I had two punctures this morning!

Glad you enjoyed it and hope you keep it up.

Panniers are a good idea; I take in my close for the week on Monday and bring it back on Friday. It means that Tues - Thurs I can choose to take one of my quick bikes, or enjoy a nice detour home without the extra weight.

You might also want to look at waterproofs for when the weather is bad.

 

[platypus]

Better in the SA I'd have said but I have a question:

I am about to start commuting largely by train but with a bike ride. Panniers, mud guards, and such are necessary - spec me a commuter .

 

[malachi]

Starting doing this last week. Brought a bike last week and did a test ride to work. Took me 35mins going along the canals as I work in the centre of Birmingham. Even though it was on the Thursday were it a sunny day, I didnt sweat as much as I thought. Lucky for me we have showers at our work place.

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

Better in the SA I'd have said but I have a question:

I am about to start commuting largely by train but with a bike ride. Panniers, mud guards, and such are necessary - spec me a commuter .

Thought you were building a fixie? Can't you put a rack and some SKS guards on it? You cna use p-clips if there aren't any fixings on the frame.

Otherwise, what's the budget? You are probably looking for a touring bike.

 

[HypnoToad]

- How long should it take a reasonably fit male in his mid twenties to cycle 3.8 miles on a relatively flat cycle path?

not too long, I'd say a week or two, at most

- No showers at work, but there are at a gym three minutes from work. Is my best tactic to go in work clothes and hope I don't sweat / get drenched / get terrible helmet hair, go in light casuals and change at work, or cycle straight to the gym and shower there? By which I really mean, what do people that don't have showers at their workplace do to 'stay fresh'?

i had some trousers where i could zip off the bottoms and they turned into shorts. these worked well. i did pack a spare shirt tho as it tended to get sweaty in the summer

- What lock should I buy? The bike is worth £200, is kept in a garage at night, and will be stored indoors on company premises during the day. Insurance covers against theft from home, if on actual property.

d-locks are nice, it's a shame they're so heavy. i'd check your companies insurance tho, it may cover your bike

- Recommended pressure for the tyres is 45 - 60 PSI...what end of this scale should I be inflating to for road commuting?

60psi

- Where's the best place to buy accessories like mobile repair kits, water bottles and holders, pumps, panniers, etc.? Specific links if internet please.

i quite like http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ and http://www.wiggle.co.uk/

 

[CraigN]

i cycle just over 4 miles to and from work i use a mix of cycle tracks roads and a bit of pavement cheating.

On the way its pretty much downhill and takes me 18 mins.

On the way home its all uphill and takes me 25 mins on a good day.

Im quite large and i use the cycling to get fitter and loose weight but i still cycle as hard as i can treating it competitively and trying to beat my best time to and from work.

Even on that short journey i sweat like a train and i shower as soon as i get to work and as soon as i get home.

 

[NotAGolf]

to mpledge52 - I've never heard of leisure centre membership statuses that allow you to use the showers but not the gym; you can but ask but I highly doubt it.

I did indeed ask, turns out you can become a member of the leisure centre for £25 a year. It basically entitles you to use the changing facilities and gives you a discount on the gym/pool/classes etc if you go to any of them.

Ideal really....but turns out there's a decent gym that I didn't know about so I'm joining there instead so it doesn't matter any more!! Thought I'd share in case anyone else is in the same boat!

 

[platypus]

Thought you were building a fixie? Can't you put a rack and some SKS guards on it? You cna use p-clips if there aren't any fixings on the frame.

Otherwise, what's the budget? You are probably looking for a touring bike.

I am building a fixie - but for training not commuting!

Well, anything reasonable considered, but for arguments sake max £750.

 

[greengiant]

One of the best purchases I have ever made was a Brooks B17 Saddle:

http://www.brooksengland.com/en/Sho...addles+-+touring+&+trekking&prod=B17+Standard

 

[[DOD]Asprilla]

I am building a fixie - but for training not commuting!

Well, anything reasonable considered, but for arguments sake max £750.

How about a Dolan Preffisio (as used by the Sport Relief JOG-LE). Not sure if it's got rack mounts, you've have to ask them.

 

[cb_linus]

I'd been going on about cycling to work for a while and reading this thread last night gave me an extra push - I purchased a few essentials after work (needed a new pump, puncture repair kit etc) and did a test trip this evening to work and back. It's about 3 1/2 mile round trip and I did it in 20 minutes, pretty much all flat, there and back. Not too confident in the shower at work so pretty glad I didn't sweat much by the time I got to my office but not travelling in my uniform just to be safe

Unfortunately I still need my car to travel to different offices maybe once or twice a fortnight but I'm looking forward to the obvious benefits:

- get fitter (maybe I will cancel my gym membership, though I still enjoy it)
- save money on petrol

Also, about 20 minute there and back on my bike is more or less the same time as my car journey

I still need to get some lights for the winter. I nearly ran into someone earlier this year (in my car, at a roundabout) when it was late in the evening (and dark!!) who didn't have any lights on, who wasn't wearing a helmet and he wasn't as far as I could see wearing any reflective clothing. I'm not proud but there are things we can do as cyclists to minimise the risks of accidents

Anywho, my first proper cycle to work should be tomorrow morning, feel like I'm a kid again

 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

How long should it take a reasonably fit male in his mid twenties to cycle 3.8 miles on a relatively flat cycle path? I cycle 8 miles across hills and it takes me 25 minutes.

No showers at work, but there are at a gym three minutes from work. Is my best tactic to go in work clothes and hope I don't sweat / get drenched / get terrible helmet hair, go in light casuals and change at work, or cycle straight to the gym and shower there? By which I really mean, what do people that don't have showers at their workplace do to 'stay fresh'? Can't really answer that one as I have access to a shower.

What lock should I buy? The bike is worth £200, is kept in a garage at night, and will be stored indoors on company premises during the day. Insurance covers against theft from home, if on actual property. Check out Wiggle for loads of security options

Recommended pressure for the tyres is 45 - 60 PSI...what end of this scale should I be inflating to for road commuting? I just inflate mine until they are rock hard, I don't bother with psi.

Where's the best place to buy accessories like mobile repair kits, water bottles and holders, pumps, panniers, etc.? Specific links if internet please. You have loads of options for bags and packs that can fit on various parts of your frame, again, Wiggle is your friend.

What greases and oils should I buy to keep the chain and gears protected and where should they be applied? My own favourite is Slippery Spit (oo'er)which is liberally applied to all moving parts. It's never let me down.

 

[Peter Diffey]

I commute a similar distance to OP, I have a cross country bike (front suspension) but have fitted road tyres with a special lining that make them almost puncture proof (cant remember the name now!) which I would definately recommend, I have ridden around 400miles on them now and never had a puncture......

Pump them up every other week to 60psi, this allows me a bit of margin for when I have to crash over potholes etc

I also recommend buying a speedo, from a fitness point of view its nice to see how fast you are going and to try and hit that extra MPH.

I dont have a shower at work, I just have a shower the night before and use plenty of deodorant in the morning.

I also bought one of these http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix_l2d_q5.html which is brilliant as most of my commute is busy town roads

I would say it took me a good month or two to improve my fitness and for the ride to seem easy, you know when you are getting fast when you start overtaking other cyclists on the commute

 

[Participant]

It's a lot more enjoyable than driving (so far, now the weather's pretty good!). Took me 20 minutes on the way home, which is majorly uphill, so pretty pleased with that and I'll certainly be doing it every day from now on (subject to uncontrollable factors). Bit more sweaty on my back under the backpack when I got home but that doesn't matter.

Crazy how it can only take five more minutes than in a car!?

 

[Hotwired]

Crazy how it can only take five more minutes than in a car!?

It's much more enjoyable when its a nice day (slightly overcast and cool is my preference) and the roads are packed with cars.

The solid traffic makes very little difference to you but the cars ain't going anywhere fast.

Its a nice feeling to overtake cars

Not quite the same as overtaking a fast cyclist but +1 to cheerfulness scale at any rate.


The best one is when you have the wind behind you, a flat/downhill stretch and a speed camera on the road.

If you spin those pedals you can get over 30mph and overtake (undertake ) the cars which are trying to stay in the speed limit

 

[leaskovski]

Did my first commute of this year and am hoping to get more miles in than I did last year.

Heh, The 5 miles in took me just over 15 minutes, and thankfully the showers at work are still in working condition as I had a bit of a ming on after I got there.