gerv 

I used to always wear cycling gloves, but a couple of years ago I decided it was just too much trouble especially if my bike trips had a couple of stops.

Likewise I used to wear a cycling cap under my helmet, but have recently taken to wearing a baseball cap. When people ask why I wear a helmet, I tell them it keeps my hat from blowing away!

What about you? Are you still wearing cycling shorts under your jeans?

Machka 

I still cycled wearing:

-- helmet
-- headband when it is cold
-- short fingered gloves when it is warm and full-fingered gloves when it is cold
-- layers of jerseys
-- jacket or vest as appropriate
-- cycling shorts
-- tights or knickers if it is cold
-- leg warmers on those days where it starts cold and warms up
-- layers of socks
-- cycling shoes
-- toe warmers or booties if it is cold or rainy.

Hmmm ... about the only thing I don't wear very often are arm warmers. My arms are skinny little things and I have trouble keeping them up. And I rarely need to wear my heavy neoprene booties here in Australia.

loky1179

I also stopped wearing cycling gloves. I'm sure I'll pay for it some day if I crash, but it is just too much trouble for my daily commute.

I messed around with various pants clips. Also too much hassle. Now I just tuck my pant leg into my sock, and if my sock gets greasy, oh well.

My Zzipper road fairing. I loved it, but it was a pain to use on a daily basis.

Trunk bag/panniers. Again, too much hassle. Much easier to use a backpack and always have my stuff with me.

Sunglasses, surprisingly. Not sure why, but when I use them with my clip on rear view mirror, it actually seems to make my eyes more tired. I'm typically riding home between 4-6 PM, so the sun is not at its highest anyway.

wahoonc

Depends on where and what I am riding. I always wear gloves, I have seen the results of a road crash where the guy wasn't wearing gloves. Not pretty and even today some 30 years later he doesn't have full use of his hands. As far as to what I don't wear much is my helmet, especially if I am on an upright slow moving bike. Seldom wear any other cycling specific clothing unless I am on a longer ride on a drop bar bike.

Aaron

Roody

I wear the bike shorts on days when I'm riding all day, but not for those little jaunts and commutes that make up so much of transportation cycling. Other than the shorts, I don't use any bike clothing whatsoever.

I never wore cycling gloves, although I have a wide assortment of real gloves for cool and cold weather riding.

I quit using the helmet when my dad died. The only reason I wore it was as a promise to him, and I figured his death released me from that promise. So far I'm lucky. In all my bike falls/crashes, I've broken wrist and ribs, abraded forearms, thighs, stomach, and especially knees. But I have never hit my head.

I used a bike computer until my son lost the little doohickey that goes on the spoke. I will probably get another one whn I start riding again next year. This is a frill, but I do love playing with data and statistics.

I have two battery headlights and a number of blinkies. I usually only use one of each but it's good to have spares of such important equipment.

Dahon.Steve

I added the helmet after my accident. I have to say that I stopped using clipless shoes because they make horrible walking shoes. I never wore the helmet but after my accident, I’m wearing one all the time. I have a mortgage to pay! I still wear cycling gloves in the summer because my hands sweat and they slide all over the bars.

B. Carfree

I finally bought some arm warmers this year and enjoy them. I always thought of my arms as skinny, but the arm warmers are a bit tight.

My neoprene booties get lots of wear, even in the summer here because I like to ride in the hours before sunrise; I often encounter temperatures around 4-8C out in the valleys of the coast range at dawn. I even have some neoprene gloves that I wear, often with wool gloves over them.

Thirty-odd years ago, I started wearing my helmet around town after my wife put her head on the asphalt a couple of times. My reasoning was that they are designed for low-speed falls, exactly the sort that happen in close quarters around town and on bike paths. Also, I really wanted my wife to wear hers since she seemed to have a knack for landing on her head and I figured she'd be more inclined to do as I do.

Over the past year or two, I have returned to just wearing a hat to keep the sun off of my (ample) nose. I think I'm more at risk from skin cancer than from falling on my head at low speed. I still wear a helmet on "fun rides", primarily because of its ability to prevent abrasions if I should find myself rubber-side up.

Artkansas 

I no longer wear a leg light at night.

Roody

Nah, that's just the classic cyclist's physique.

fietsbob

Clipless Shoes and Pedals . because, 'performance', it does not matter that much anymore ..


I wear sweatpants , no more "levis" on the bike.

B. Carfree

They are a phlebotomist's dream. Pick a vein, any vein. Heck, someone could probably stick a needle in by feel.

bluegoatwoods

I also don't wear much bike specific clothes. I always carry a pair of padded leather finger-less gloves because I'd really like to wear them. It makes riding more comfortable and there's also the hand protection in a wipe-out.

But I never wear them because just digging in your pocket for your keys or your wallet is just about impossible. And it's tiring to take them on and off. I'd probably quit carrying them at all except that they are handy for digging or other work where you want to protect your hands.

I do wear a weather-proofed helmet from fall until spring. It's dry during the fall and spring rains and it's warm during the winter deep freeze. But I don't pretend to wear it for safety. I wear it for comfort.

And I wear a reflective vest. But it's not bicycle specific. I buy them at the tool store and they're more meant for people who are on the job.

I do carry two headlights and two tail lights. For the reason that Roody mentioned above; if one of them dies, then I've got something to fall back on.

Machka 

My arms are toothpicks, and veins are quite easy to find. But the funny thing is ... I've had several nurses tell me that I have exceptionally thick skin.

Must be all the time I've spent on Bikeforums!

Roody

OK, I have to ask...Why do you do so much digging when you're out for a bike ride?

Hypno Toad

My brother had one for his 700 mile tour in 1982, I wish I still had that, it would be some good laughs on a group ride!

I'm trying to think of bike stuff I have around that I don't use.... but I honestly can't think of anything. I've been good at getting rid of stuff I don't use and the bike stuff in the house all gets used. If I have parts around that I haven't used in a long time, I find a reason to put that gear on a bike and ride it, just 'cause I have it!

duane_pipe

gloves - no need

Eric S.

I quit using any kind of road-specific clipless pedals over 5 years ago. I have Shimano SPD mountain pedals on all my road bikes now; doesn't matter that a couple of them are nice old Italians.

Soon after that, I stopped using mountain SPD pedals on my commuter and now have rat-trap pedals with Zefal mini clips (which are really just strapless clips).

tandempower

Funny, I thought this thread was about not shifting into certain gears. I was going to say I can't shift into the rear low gear on my around-town bike because the derailleur won't reach it and one of the front gears is bent and the cable is broken so that one stays in high gear all the time too.

I never used much bike gear but I did use a speedometer for a long time until the first one broke and then the second one ran out of battery power too quickly to justify replacing it that frequently. I don't really understand why these speedometer/computers don't have rechargeable batteries that power up with little built-in solar panels and/or charge from the dynamo effect of the magnet passing over the sensor.

bluegoatwoods

Oh!......well....you see, being something of a klutz, I'm constantly losing keys, contact lenses, kryptonite lock, stuff like that. I spend some time looking for them.

I suppose that enters into my 4 mph average speed out on the open road.

Machka 

Wrong thread ... here ...

https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...-less-why.html

bragi

I've actually been pretty consistent over the years with what I use: panniers, rain gear, and a basic repair kit are things that I still, after many years of almost daily riding, almost always ride with. However, I have abandoned a few things:
1. Bicycle computer: you don't really need to know how fast or far you're riding on the way to the store, work, the pub, etc.
2. Clip-in pedals: I tried these for about half a year, and decided they weren't practical for urban riding. Now I use platform pedals with little studs in them for foot retention, and like them a lot better.
3. Rim brakes: Disc brakes are heavier and more expensive, but they have better stopping power in the rain, and maintaining them is still a lot less expenisve than buying new rims evey 18 months.

I've thought about ditching the helmet -it's pretty much just a Styrofoam hat, useless in the types of accidents that are likely to actually hurt me- but I have to think that one over a bit more.

79pmooney

I no longer use the Zzipper fairing (winter windy commutes aren't common in near westside Portland like they were riding north-south in Seattle). Sew-ups. Love 'em but to much hassle and $$s now that clinchers are so good.

There are a lot of great items I no longer use because I cannot find them anymore but I don't think that is the intent of this thread. There are other dark ages items I never stopped using like toeclips, straps and cleat. (On 2-3 bikes and 505 TO 905 of my miles.) Down tube shifters. (DT stands for Digital Technology with feedback.)

Ben

Walter S

A styrofoam hat could be just what your soft brain needs to cushion the blow.

wsgts

Backpacks.. haven't put one on in a while. This is because I now have panniers and saddlebags to move stuff.

T

alathIN

I started commuting with flip pedals - they are platforms with power grip straps on one side, and MTB type clips on the other. I never commute with the clips and cycling shoes - always street shoes and straps. The only time I bother with bike shoes and clips is if I do a weekend recreational ride (which is not as often as I'd like)