Commuting clothing and gear
 

Hey gang, I'm new to the world of road biking and commuting and I have a question.

What types of shorts, shirts, socks, shoes (I don’t want to use clipless peddles and shoes)...........are you all finding to be the best for commuting. I won’t necessarily be using my bike to commute to work, but I will use it on my days off to navigate my local area and run errands. I don't particularly care for the spandex types of shorts and shirts, but I've ridden in regular street clothes before too and I know that’s only going to be comfortable for very very short rides.

If you don't like spandex, jerseys, street clothes then you can use MTB shorts and synthetic shirts. The MTB shorts will give you the padding of the spandex and the synthetic shirt can wick away the sweat like a jersey.

http://www.awdirect.com/ansi-class-3...422x/t-shirts/

http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___58151

short cotton socks from Nike/Reebok and discontinued SPD shoes similar to:

http://compare.ebay.com/like/1604652...Types&var=sbar

I like padded bike shorts. If you don't want the Lycra kind, look for mountain bike shorts that have a Lycra liner with a chamois (pad) sewn into a more normal-looking pair of shorts, or just throw on a pair of regular shorts over your Lycra.

For shirts, since I wear Lycra shorts, I prefer jerseys with three pockets in the back. If you've got shorts that have pockets, though, you can do with just about any shirt - I find wicking fabrics most comfortable, but there are plenty of other opinions out there. I've done plenty of riding in just a cotton T-shirt, but even here in the desert it gets pretty sweaty, and in Fort Worth's humidity would probably end up soaked and unpleasant.

I wear plain old cotton socks with walkable mountain bike shoes. Even if I weren't using clipless pedals, I'd probably still wear this sort of shoe, since I appreciate the stiffness of the sole. If that's not an issue for you, then just about any shoe will work - I'd suggest, though, that you might want to stick to something with a closed toe to avoid bloody toes from the tread on your pedals.

Define "very very short." Unless you're talking hours and hours in the saddle, street clothes are going to be fine. Just make sure you have a comfy saddle - I love my Brooks.

I've looked at the MTB shorts, and I think that's the route I'm going to take. I wonder how much they're going to bunch up while riding, I guess no more than normal street shorts.

For Shoes on platform, or pedals with cages I would look for something with a stiff sole. You've said you don't want to wear bicycling specific shoes. In the past I've used things like Addidas Campus shoes. They're not nearly as good for cycling as my Shimano shoes are on the bike, but they're far better off the bike.

For clothes, mtnwalker hit the nail. I have a pair of Canari mountain bicycling shorts that look like "board shorts"
http://www.google.com/products?hl=en...ed=0CDYQrQQwAg

Standard Under Armour "heat gear" in the summer, and "Cold gear" in the winter seems to work well, and isn't horribly uncommon. The Under Armor Golfing Polos are pretty good for summer time riding as well.

Just try street clothes. If you're only going a couple of miles at a time, you'll probably be fine. Add in something fancy if something specific is bothering you, like REI padded underwear if your butt hurts too much (or get a different seat), or get normal clothes made of polyester as opposed to cotton if you're staying too wet. Or slow down.