I am pretty hooked myself. I buy new bikes, classic and vintage bikes. I wrench on bikes for relaxation, I watch bicycle movies, and read bicycle books. And I ride... lots.

I hear that now and then because I ride heavy bikes, carrying lots of stuff.

I could ride a light bike and carry little or nothing, but it wouldn't change how I ride, so I would gain nothing, and sacrifice comfort and convenience. Its simply a matter of having different preferences and desires from more performance orientated enthusiasts.

The only needful things are a bike, a way to carry what you want to carry, and a backup plan in case of trouble. All the rest is embellishment. I like the rest, though.

I think it depends. Bike commuting doesn't stick if it is too uncomfortable and doesn't appear to fit into someone's lifestyle. Everyone has a different answer into making it work. Also, people fail to budget for lights and locks. It is illegal to go without a front light after dark around here. And if you are the wrong skin tone, you can get pulled over by the police (and it can escalate). So it would be nice to educate people on what is necessary, what is convenient, and what might fit your lifestyle so the bike "Sticks."

The answer isn't the same for everyone.

[MENTION=202156]BuffaloBill[/MENTION]...well I can tell you weight wise I am not carrying too much, but I use both my panniers. In one I carry my lunch, cause eating out everyday get expensive, and the other holds a change of clothes (much lighter now that tht can consist of shorts and a polo) and my size 13 shoes...which can be a pain to fit in somewhere else. I do keep a pair at work, but those are more for if I forget to pack my shoes. Being a very casual work environment, I don't have a designated pair of work shoes I want to leave there.
Add in some basic tools (more than usual right now because I am still dialing in my fit and everything is bolt on), repair kit with new tube, tire boot, levers and an allen key, and maybe all in that's 10 pounds of weight, probably less. Less on the way home due to lunch being in my belly.
It makes you strong! I've noticed on my recreation rides that I have gotten stronger than some of my friends, especially going uphill whilst not lugging a bunch of stuff.

Anyways, I don't usually have spirited commutes. I like to keep them around 14 moh averages or I find I burn myself out

I agree, and not just for commuting. I started here years ago when I wanted to buy a bike and learn to ride, and I was overwhelmed. I bought a used "big box store" bike and the more I read BF, I was ashamed. So I bought a "real" bike just to feel legit. It was more money than I'd spent on anything at that point, and I was so afraid to have it stolen that I ended up riding the cheaper bike most of the time. My expensive bike has probably been outside 3-4 times in the 7+ years I've owned it.

When I moved cross country, I could only take one bike, so I now only own the "expensive" one and now that I'm thinking of riding outside, I'm worried again. I sometimes wish I still had that gold old 'cheap' bike.

At the time, I remember considering a "mid range" bike at a sporting goods store--maybe 2-300$US. I couldn't get it out of my head that tons of people on this site swore up and down I'd be failing at life if I did not buy from the LBS instead. I was in Boston so of course they were all massive a-holes at those shops, and it totally sucked giving them my money but I did.

I am "stuck" with what I have, and I know I have been "held back" from riding outside for the last couple of years because of the worries surrounding having everything "right" and of course the theft thing. Even now, I've tried to go through all the motions to get it outdoors, , and I wonder whether I'm just better served renting or doing bikeshare.

I wish I had never spent that much in the beginning. If I ever did it again, I wouldn't and I'd never tell anyone they need to spend a ton to get started.

I thought I was doing overkill with two small panniers: Change of clothes, Lunch, spare tubes etc. I still had room to spare, but not much. Then I read about people bringing clothes, a lunchbox, multi tools, spare chains, spare tires, etc etc.

I think that a large portion of the commute is planning. My lights are USB recharge, so I left spare cables at the office. I used to be able to leave shoes at the office, so I had one less thing to carry. Some weeks I would drive in on Monday and bring lunch for the week and a few changes of clothes, then ride in with my roadie, no bags. It was nice. I had a nice setup with my bike in the office, so I never needed a lock, so it's a variable for everyone.

haha. this^^

Yes. Get a bike, ride it to work. That's all that is required.

That sucks you feel it was a possible waste of money. Just think though, you have had it for years at this point, and it is only an object. May as well get it dirty and ride it all the time. I don't quite know what you mean when you say "having everything 'right'" - a bike is right when it works, wrong when it doesn't (or just sits not being used, lol). If you have a good lock or two, try not to worry too much about theft. It sucks if it happens, but if the bike doesn't go outside, what purpose is it serving you? Anyway, I hope you end up riding your nice bike more!

From my personal experiences, things did get a little more complicated as the commuting distance gets longer and longer. Reliability, comfort, preparation for weather, ability to fix things on the spot and time (as in getting to work faster and on time) became quite important. I would hate to be stranded with still 20 miles to go in the dark with cold/wet weather.

Advice found on this list and others on BF is overloaded with advice aimed to push people into LBS shops to buy their product and/or services. Even responses to buy a Craigslist or garage sale special usually includes the standard "advice" to take it to an LBS for new accessories and servicing. The advice from the "experts" that includes bad mouthing of any bicycle product without an LBS provenance for any commuter purpose probably creates more complications and expense for more would be commuters than any other "helpful" tips provided here.

I use just a seat post mounted rack too. But the bag on mine is probably half the height of yours. I leave enough clothing at work that I only need to carry a shirt on most days. Then it's just food, wallet, keys, phone, and pump. Tube and tools are in a separate small under-the-seat bag.

It really all depends on your commute. 29% of the American population works within 5 miles of their home... if you commute during daylight only hours, it doesn't take much to cover 5 miles on any comfortable bike.

But as soon as you start riding at night, you need lighting... Anything beyond that... racks, clothing, fenders, better bike... is just to improve your comfort.

Consider this... while you consider $800 a steep price for a simple commute, bear in mind that people pay 10s of thousands for a 4 wheel moving "couch" to go that same 5 mile distance. Go figure.

Ironically, if it had been stolen you wouldn't have lost much, since you weren't using it anyway. Now that it's 7 years old, maybe it's time to worry less about it and starting riding it regularly.

It can be easy to overthink it, but I agree with the posters who's sentiment is "just get on a bike and go" - this is how I started.

As a teenager in the country the next town over was an hour bike ride in any direction so I would just hop on my department store mountain bike and start riding, absolutely no tools or gear with me.
Thank goodness I never got a flat while doing this for several years. That would have been a "fun" lesson to learn in the pre-cell-phone era. lol

The gear does get accumulated from experience though.

I did eventually get a flat during a long ride around the city a few years later and would have had to walk back home in the rain had a kind stranger not taken pity on me and patched my tire.
So when I started commuting by bicycle I used an old 10 speed to ride 20km to work and back many days with some tools and a pump so as to not get stranded again due to a flat.

After a few rides, I put a rack on to get the back pack off of me so I wouldn't be as sweaty from the ride.
Rainy days and muddy trails led to getting fenders.
Then I added lights as the season changed and I was more often starting off and ending my ride in dimmer light.

This all led to my basic commuter setup which I also configured a bike for my wife to use - any-bike-you're-comfortable-on + rack/fenders/lights/pump/patch-kit.
Other people have different experiences and likely have other pieces of gear they feel they need, or different ways to solve the particular challenges they've faced while riding.

I think once you've been at it for a while, the items you've accumulated to make your setup work for you become "essential" in your mind because you remember when you didn't have those items and why you ended up getting them.
So when someone comes here and asks "what do I need to get started?" there is a tendency to give them a shopping list and say "this is what you need".

Agree wholeheartedly with Novakane. Folks who have been riding many years accumulate biking 'stuff' and then possibly ascribe that stuff as essential to a new commuter/rider. Start easy, get complicated if that's your bent!

I started bike commuting 25 mins 9 years ago on a 30 yr old road bike that only one brake, a rear derailed that did not move at all, and some kind of kinky, pealing and chipping hard plastic molded to the handlebars instead of bar tape...and tires that looked cracked all my over...I wore a backpack.....

...I've since upgraded to a $ 200 wal-mart hybrid, with lights and a rack to which I strap down a bag with clothes with bungee cords. I now go 15.miles round trip.

I say start simple, then you'll figure out what you need as it goes...but be ready to fix a flat!

In fairness, I think most of the threads responding to newbie queries do include a mixture of suggestions, including a reasonable share of posts recommending simplicity. You ask a question, you get a whole range of opinions, and you take the advice that you find makes the most sense to you.

There are also people that come here who very happy to drop significant coin on a new bike. The last thing they want to hear is that their current bike is just fine or that they should save some money by getting a 20 year old bike from craigslist.

Hey, I'm one of them... I commute on expensive bikes because I like the ride, and I like cycling... but that doesn't mean everyone NEEDS an expensive ride... especially if your commute is just a few miles.

I often take my garage sale Huffy to the local grocery store... just because it works... why break out the best bike to go 2 miles. People buy $200 dollar shoes to run in, but my $50 shoes work fine to walk a few blocks.

I agree with the OP in that it doesn't REQUIRE an expensive ride for commuting... depending on how far you go. Interesting that ultimately the OP got an $800 ride... just for more comfort.

Overcomplicate, sometimes sure. Any bike with 2 wheels and pedals will work. On my 18 mile commute, I like a bike that won't get flats, shifts well and doesn't spray water all over me when I go through a puddle. Bags and rear rack keep the weight low and off my back. I'm a fan of the right tool for the job. Lights, fenders, proper clothing all are part of the right tool. 1.5 -2 hrs in 40 F rain or 20F snow means making some good decisions before heading out the door. Tools to fix a flat, helpful as well.

Commuting can be as complicated or simple as you want it to be. For some people, bike commuting is just a way to get to work, and they don't want to invest any more effort or money than what is absolutely necessary to accomplish that. For others, it's an extension of their cycling hobby, and they enjoy investing in the best equipment and clothes.

Like probably many others, I started out relatively simple and became more complicated with time. I started commuting more frequently, in a wider range of weather conditions, and my route increased in distance. Eventually, the bike that seemed fine riding 20 miles round trip 1-2 days a week seemed inadequate for riding 30+ miles round trip 3-5 days a week. One good thing about cycling gear is that most of it is durable and well made, and it tends to last a long time. So, after your initial investment in a new bike, seat bag, rain jacket, etc., you usually don't have to replace for a long time.

It's disappointing that you felt 'shamed' into spending more than you wanted to. Certain things like suspension forks or department store bikes certainly tend to be 'taboo' here, and often times without good reason. Sometimes you get the impression that commutes are just another word for time trials, where every little bit of weight savings, aerodynamics, and power delivery make a huge difference. The reality is, there is not much difference in arriving to work at 8:45 or 8:48 am.

Agree, Agree; so many "commuting" posts touting equipment for maximum speed and/or shilling for pricey LBS products.