Commuting - If you could start again as a new commuter, what would you do differently?

1. I'd have brought a cheap MTB from home instead of buying an overpriced Jamis Coda (http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/archives/2008/08_coda_archive.html) from the LBS. This was what I'd originally wanted to do, but my parents wouldn't go along with it.

2. If I'd wanted a road bike (which I did), I would have gotten my Forge (http://www.target.com/Forge-1000-Road-Racing-Bike/dp/B000LWFG9C) first and called it a day. It cost less than the Coda, is more fun to ride, and would have been more than enough if I'd gotten it first.

3. I'd have bought a TSG Evolution helmet instead of the Giro Transfer. Since I got the TSG, I haven't worn the Giro, and will probably not wear it again unless I land on the TSG and need something while its replacement is in the mail.

These are just a handful of the things I'd have done differently if I'd had my current knowledge a year ago. How about you?

Started commuting 30 years ago. Aside from that, everything else ranks as minor learning experiences.

I would have bought a bike that fit me.

I wouldn't do anything differently. The most important thing is starting... and the second most important is sticking with it.

the learning curve is half the fun. If I could go back, however, I would have started using panniers sooner. Really changed how the ride goes.

Would've gotten a singlespeed 20+ years ago when I started commuting in Chicago. A hardtail mtb w/1.75 SMPs and Mr. Tuffy tire liners. Did SMPs even EXIST back then? Would've learned to build my own wheels THEN instead of 17 years later. :o Rack and trunkbag instead of a backpack. Tire levers instead of 2 screwdivers. :rolleyes: NR Trailrat(old school...2.2 lbs) instead of the virtually worthless Cateye I insisted on using because it was cheap. Would've hung on to the old flowered shower cap I used as my first helmet cover...it got thrown out in a foolish fit of embarassment. Would STILL be using the old White/w/orange stripes Bell helmet I found at a thriftstore for .99. It rocked and was almost bulletproof. I'd have told a bike snobby salesman at an lbs to go eff himself for his condescending tone he took to my newbie questions early on. Better pump...but the old Zefal I had did the job when it was needed. Can't think of anything else, though I'm sure there's more...Oh, yeah I'd have learned how to tango. :p

Nothing. The whole thing has evolved quite well. If I could do over the last few years, I'd live closer to work.

Nothing.

I would immediately have bought my Giant OCR. Besides that, I would have started about half a year earlier, so I would have been in shape before summer.

I would have started commuting a long time ago, I wish I would have realized sooner how easy it was.

7 miles from work I drove for over a year before begining commuting.

i would have started commuting instead of shifting from bike to another, from mtb to road, commuting is the right cycling life for me. and i am loving it, and bikes are cheaper than anything I owned. also i love that i can wear what i want, and carry what i want.. kapish..

Skip the myriad of low end lighting systems I purchased that didn't do the job or failed outright and just bought the best right at the beginning. My Lupine light is expensive but so was buying several systems over the years. The Luipne has outlasted all of them combined and provides the best light I've had.

Learning is part of the trip.

I would have started much sooner, like when I started school. In fact, if I knew then what I know now I would probably have never owned a car ever, but then again there's a zillion other stupid I wouldn't have done. Unfortunately it was actually doing the stupid things that taught me that they're stupid things to do and to not do them.

I'd have begun bike commuting in college. I'd have continued thereafter. Hell, I didn't begin bike commuting until I was in my 40's -- my wasted youth was wasted riding around on fossil fuel.

1. I'd have brought a cheap MTB from home instead of buying an overpriced Jamis Coda (http://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/archives/2008/08_coda_archive.html) from the LBS. This was what I'd originally wanted to do, but my parents wouldn't go along with it.

2. If I'd wanted a road bike (which I did), I would have gotten my Forge (http://www.target.com/Forge-1000-Road-Racing-Bike/dp/B000LWFG9C) first and called it a day. It cost less than the Coda, is more fun to ride, and would have been more than enough if I'd gotten it first.

3. I'd have bought a TSG Evolution helmet instead of the Giro Transfer. Since I got the TSG, I haven't worn the Giro, and will probably not wear it again unless I land on the TSG and need something while its replacement is in the mail.

These are just a handful of the things I'd have done differently if I'd had my current knowledge a year ago. How about you?

Great thread idea.

The Jamis Coda was recommended to me, but being cheap, I went with the Giant Cypress DX. It was a good choice for a starter commuter bike. Over time, the suspension fork and heavy aluminum frame became less than ideal. I might have been happier with the Cypress ST or a Jamis Coda, these bikes feature steel frames and standard forks. Steel framed bikes make great commuters, the ride quality is better than aluminum IMO. Suspension forks reduce acceleration, since the fork captures some of the pedaling forse applied by the rider.

After 4 months I upgraded to a steel frame Cyclocross bike. The bike is fun, fast, comfortable and a very good long distance traveler.

I'm grateful for the duty the Cypress provided. It was reliable and got the job done. If I had selected a bike that was overly demanding, uncomfortable or unreliable it might have discouraged me from commuting. I still use the Cypress as a utility bike and on rainy days.

Michael

I would have bought a bike about 8 years earlier. Man, I had no idea cycling was such viable transportation.

Skip the myriad of low end lighting systems I purchased that didn't do the job or failed outright and just bought the best right at the beginning. My Lupine light is expensive but so was buying several systems over the years. The Luipne has outlasted all of them combined and provides the best light I've had.

+1 that's what I was going to say, but for me it was the Dinotte 200L and Dinotte 140L taillight. Of course, neither was available when I started. But still, the lesson is to not buy crap and hope it will do; I wasted enough money on junk lights to have bought a good one.

Never thought of it as commuting until I moved 16 miles outside Boston.
MY first commuter specific bike was a Trek hybrid fitted with a bottle
generator and fenders. 12 years,4 seasons,spending only a couple hundred in parts.
That bike was a champ!! I passed it on to my sister, only I couldn't save the bike
bug she used to have. Like an old horse in the stable the bike rarely gets ridden.
I suplemented my bottle generator with a decent helmet light.
Waited a few more years to upgrade my lights on a catalog sale.:)

I would have listened to my buddies and spent the extra money for higher-end components because, now, I realize how much a quality component setup makes a difference. I just told them I would upgrade the components later. True, it was a few years later that I realized the upgrade cost me a lot more for an older bike. Even when I was shopping for the components, I could have bought a new bike (with low end components again-lol) but I couldn't see wasting a perfectly good frame, wheels, etc, when all I wanted was new components.

But the next time I bought a bike I spent the extra money up front. So, my tip to you is, wait and save up the few hundred dollars more and buy what you want/like/need and you'll be a lot better off down the road. (no pun intended)

spent the extra money for higher-end components

+1. I'd have spent a quarter the money that way, over the years.

I would have not thrown out my old beater bikes. Due to life circumstances, I couldn't haul around my teenage and college bikes, nor did I have a place to store them. But just 10 years ago I threw out a mountain bike that I had modified for a self supported road tour in the mountains. It had become neglected, needed lots of work, and back and hand trouble made me unable to ride it. I Hope it made someone happy, it was gone before the trash pickup. But now I wish I hadn't thrown it out. Now I would wrench on it myself, turn it into something I liked, and every time I looked at it or rode it I would think of the weeks I spent touring Yelllowstone. It was the bike I got severe bilateral carpal tunnel syndrom while going down Yellowstone mountain and did my infamous 60+ mph, can't stop, dodge the cars, bison, and logging trucks record descent. What was I thinking!!!!!

There's really not much I could have done over my many years of cycling, since I pretty much had to wade through several bike/accessory evolutions between my first to my current commuter.

Put me in the start sooner and buy better stuff without working my way through cheaper junk category. 90% start sooner and 10% buy better stuff. Except for my Topeak pump, I haven't bought anything that I really didn't like or didn't work and the stuff I bought but don't use much anymore still works OK. I just have something I like better to use now, and it's nice to have a backup.

I should have bought different wheels and better light when I got my bike.

Yep, would have started sooner.

last year I wouldn't have gotten a mountain bike, and then i wouldn't have locked it in the exact same place in my apartment's parking garage every night, and then i would have bought a kryptonite lock instead of the cheap cord i was using... i'm still on the look out for that bike

1. started sooner
2. learned on drop bars instead of flat bars
3. not stopped for 5 months

everything other than that I'll chalk up to learning and experience

I'd have started doing it in college, instead of after.

Skip the myriad of low end lighting systems I purchased that didn't do the job or failed outright and just bought the best right at the beginning. My Lupine light is expensive but so was buying several systems over the years. The Luipne has outlasted all of them combined and provides the best light I've had.

Me too on this one, I spent god knows how much on DIY lights, DIY battery pack a charger for the pack, a 200 lumen light, then some cheap helmet lights (like from depot), then a pair of 150 lumen lights, then about 6 different taillights. For the money I spent on this stuff I was never really happy plus could have bought a HID and a dinotte taillight. Now I got a P7 and a 140L and am finally happy with my lighting.

Would have started commuting to secondary school instead of starting in the 3rd year of uni! Also would have gone with a cross bike straight away. I started on a hybrid - didn't think I'd like drop bars and ended up hated flat bars. Then I got a road bike and I love it, but sometimes wish for disk brakes. When I start work I am going to get a salsa la cruz for wet weather. I should have got it in the first place but hey!

Also would have avoided buying cheap crap and gone for decent stuff right away. Too much money has been wasted on cheap crap!

I would have started on drop bars also. I looked at what everyone else was riding (mountain bike type) and bought something with flat bars. I still love the bike, but for my riding purposes drops were the way to go. Other than that, probably all the other odds & ends that I really didn't need (stems from 45 to 100 mm, cycling specific jacket, fancy helmet (that was to small), fancy saddles, a "better" frame to build up, etc...). I'm glad my LBS was willing to take some things off my hand and give them to people who could use them.

Totally agree with the cheap lighting comments of others, went down the DIY path after trying around 3-4 expensive manufactured Brand lighting systems, (Cateye, Vista Light, Nite Flux, etc), only to have all of them fail as none were designed to be on for over 45mins, 5 days a week in crappy conditions - basically none were designed for commuting.

DIY was heavy and I also had a weird accident when the wiring went up in flames :lol: :eek:

Happy now I've found http://www.nightlightning.co.nz/endurenz%20details.htm iblasst which I've had for a year or so now and are still going strong and look like they will go on for several more years. Fantastic lights :thumb: (Also quite reasonably priced I imagine for my brother Commuters in the US due to the pitiful strength of the NZ dollar:))



Also I'd have switched from wearing jeans to cycling/MTB shorts and longs earlier - Jeans+Wet UK & NZ conditions = :notamused:

The year after I build up my La Raza, Salsa dropped the frame and came out with the Cassaroll.
I would rather have the Cassaroll.

In hind sight, I should have built up my Surly Pacer 1x9 from the get go, with one downtube shifter and bullhorns like it is today. Instead, I took a very costly diversion through brifters and two separate drop bars.

But, as someone else already mentioned, learning is half the adventure.

I wish I know alll the how-to's of building my current bike at the beginning.

My journey to becoming a commuter evolved its way through time: from a crap beater that the last renter left in the basement, a walmart Schwinn Ranger MTB 7 days later (35lbs Unloaded Weight!!) , a target Schwinn Prelude Road bike 2 months later, and now 2 years after my first contact with a bike, I finally arrive at my bike that I built from bottom up.

There was no way I could know what I was doing right at the beginning...

Knowing what I know now, I would have bought a touring frame or sport touring (like a Salsa Casseroll) when I started commuting. I finally did that this winter, buying a Bob Jackson touring frame, and it makes a world of difference commuting on a bike designed to carry loads and with fittings for racks and fenders.

I have no regrets about my learning curve, however. I had just bought an old Italian racing frame (De Bernardi) for a great price when I started commuting, so that's what I used for two years. I adapted it for commuting, but it wasn't the same as a touring frame. Now that I've got the Bob Jackson, I've converted the De Bernardi to a fixe/SS, which was my original intent when I got it. Now I've got the best of both worlds.

I would have never given up my bike for a car. I would still be riding my huffy wind from 1983. I spent 8 years driving 6 miles to work another 10 driving 16 miles. All of my work locations had a shower. I now commute 40 miles round trip and its the best 2 hours of my workday. I cant go back but I can ride everyday in future.

Would have bought a bunch of Italian bikes in the 70's when they were new and ridden one and kept the other ones pristine so I could sell them at some crazy price here. :)

Ate more food. Slept more. Adopted a better training regime. Switched to cycling gear sooner.
Purchased my fixed gear instead of the other bikes I went through.
However, life is about making mistakes and more importantly learning from them. I think I am fine where I am at.

I currently ride a fairly decent touring bike with pretty-good components, but I would not have skipped my whole riding-a-piece-of-**** phase. My first few years of commuting/being car-free, I rode an old hybrid that I'd purchased for $75, and, since I didn't know any better, it was fine. Then I got a good bike, and riding became a qualitatively different experience. The hybrid experience, though, was invaluable. I learned how to negotiate traffic and other hazards without having to also deal with a bike that was too challenging for my skill level, and I had the luxury of deciding what worked for me, and what didn't, without having to spend an inordinate amount of money. If I had to do it all over again, I'd do what I did, but speed the process up a bit.

I would have purchased a Surly Cross Check, or another nice steel commuter, as my second bike instead of the Hardrock I purchased. I wish I had also started biking and commuting earlier also.

I'll be getting another commuter (probably a CC) soon but may still keep my Hardrock as a family bike since it's easier to ride slow with my wife and son on that bike; it's hard to ride slow and do casual rides on a Tarmac.

I would have listened to my buddies and spent the extra money for higher-end components because, now, I realize how much a quality component setup makes a difference. I just told them I would upgrade the components later. True, it was a few years later that I realized the upgrade cost me a lot more for an older bike. Even when I was shopping for the components, I could have bought a new bike (with low end components again-lol) but I couldn't see wasting a perfectly good frame, wheels, etc, when all I wanted was new components.

But the next time I bought a bike I spent the extra money up front. So, my tip to you is, wait and save up the few hundred dollars more and buy what you want/like/need and you'll be a lot better off down the road. (no pun intended)


+1. I'd have spent a quarter the money that way, over the years.


Put me in the start sooner and buy better stuff without working my way through cheaper junk category.

You guys have me thinking I may want a bike with at least Shimano 105-level stuff to start with. Hrm. Perhaps I should look a year or two used.

Mr. Tuffy liners, a frame that would take larger tires, and panniers, rather than a knapsack.

Probably disc brakes too, for the pnw 20-30 or so rainy days.:rolleyes:

Great thread.

You guys have me thinking I may want a bike with at least Shimano 105-level stuff to start with. Hrm. Perhaps I should look a year or two used.

The catch is that if you decide you don't want to bike commute after all, you've spent more for the lesson than you had to. But if you do end up continuing, buying good stuff up front will save a lot of money.

The catch is that if you decide you don't want to bike commute after all, you've spent more for the lesson than you had to. But if you do end up continuing, buying good stuff up front will save a lot of money.

Honestly, I telecommute, so I'll ride into the office approximately never. I'm mostly looking for fitness, and I've had a 100% success rate at actually going to the gym consistently when I sign up, so I don't anticipate a big problem there. Just the learning curve.

When I bought my first bike new from the bike shop, I would have bought the right size, not one that's to big. :-( If I had done that, it could be my "beater" bike now...

Also, I paid about $500 for 2 Dinotte 400L's for a front light, plus have a $100 Dinotte headlamp. Works fine, but my $110 Lumotec Cyo + $100 Dinotte headlamp on my other bike works just as well, if not better because the Lumotec has a shaped beam, so I think could have bought a battery version (of the Lumotec) and pretty much been just as well off for half as much money...

I'd probably start commuting in high school. I lived less than a mile from the school and had to pay like $40 per year for a parking permit plus gas.

Would have got a bike thats more commuter friendly (ie has fender and rack mounts) rather than use my road race bike (which has neither, and was originally purchased for training but now has gone to commuting duty).

Would have bought mtb pedals/shoes instead of road specific ones.

I'd say get a better fitting, nicer bike, but - scratch that.

I never would have started had it been an up front $1000 or even $500 investment. I'll dump my $200 BD beater at some point, but it gets me where I'm going and has been practically maintenance free for a year.

Actually, I would have stopped caring how my bike looks long ago. Bring on the reflective tape and seizure-inducing blinkies!