duckforcover

Stock answer, "it depends how complicated your life is."

wait... or is it, "right back atcha babe"

no, no sorry. wrong scenario.

ianbrettcooper

I suspect 80 is probably on or beyond the high end of the normal range for commuters - and we are talking about commuting here. As for me, I've never timed my cadence - for me the bike is a transportation tool that I pedal as hard and as fast as feels comfortable. It's never been something I try to squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of. Heck, I've never even owned any kind of cycling computer, so I have no idea how fast I go. As long as the bike gets me where I want to go faster than running, I'm happy.

alan s 

The answer to the OPs question is NO, it's not that complicated, if you have a short, fair weather-only commute on MUPs and city streets.

However, if you regularly have a long commute, in all weather, at night, during all seasons, in traffic, carrying your gear to and from work, etc., the answer is YES, it is actually fairly complicated. There are so many options as to bikes, clothing, equipment, technique, and so on.

By all means, start commuting by bike. You'll get some good advice and some bad advice here, and from fellow commuters you meet along the way, and you will learn what works for you with actual experience.

wolfchild

I still believe that cotton is a bad choice for any physically demanding outdoor activity in wet or snowy or icy weather conditions. In the winter of 2008 I fell through the ice when riding my bike.. it wasn' t too deep, up to about my thighs, it was -15 C , and I am very glad that I wasn't wearing jeans or any other cotton clothing, I was about 8 km from my home.
Wool, merrino wool, and synthetic clothing has been proven to work much better in extreme weather conditions. Many years ago when I was involved in teaching wilderness survival skills, we would Forbid the students to wear anything made from cotton when we took them out into the bush for an overnight trip with no camping gear in the middle of winter. Canadian winters can be very unforgiving. Proper clothing makes all the difference.

ianbrettcooper

I'm not advocating wearing only cotton (remember I also included a coat for cold weather - if I recall it was made of some Nylon crap). I just think cotton is the most comfortable fabric for everyday use - and I'd much rather sweat in cotton than in lycra. And I agree, for cold weather, wool is best. My point - I like all those natural fabrics and I think the plastic ones are overrated. Okay, they're reasonably good insulators for their weight, but I hate them sooo much - cheap, sweaty plastic garbage!

Getting back to the point of the thread, I just don't see a need to complicate a commute, other than bringing the usual extra clothing you'd wear for a colder season. I've always ridden my bike in everyday clothes. I see no reason for buying specialized clothing for a simple commute. An overnight winter wilderness trip, or a 3 month SAS survival course, would naturally be a different kettle of fish. I just don't see a 30 minute commute becoming that sort of thing, unless society really suffers a catastrophic breakdown.

dahut

I agree. You CAN get as complicated as you want, but in the beginning, dont.

steve0257

Riding year round in Minnesota in the 70s I found the synthetics available at that time worse than cotton. If it was cold I put a pair of wool longjohns on under the jeans. I still find synthetics uncomfortable. For comfort I need a cotton or wool blend, with a little bit of synthetic acceptable. I roade a couple of centuries this year wearing carharts, t-shirts, and red wings with no chafing or discomfort.

MVclyde

+1.. I love this...... Puts things back into perspective. On the other hand, I'm a gear junkie.

Rhodabike

Um, you get what you pay for. Not all synthetics are cheap, and the quality synthetics are not sweaty or "plastic" feeling, nor do they hold odors. As for a 30 minute commute not being a problem, it was on a commute of just that length that I got caught in the rain and got hypothermia. It doesn't take long.
Some of us just can't wear wool of any kind without scratching our skin off, so the synthetics have been a wonderful invention for us.

electrik

Cotton has never had a place in Canadian winters... historically speaking. Well except for all those dead British explorers.

agarose2000

Y'all keeping forgetting the OP.

I GUARANTEE that recommending her to keep it simple and to just "wing it" with minimal accessories for a 13 mile ride on hairy roads in evening hours will cause her to never try bike commuting ever again. Plus, she's on a mountain bike and avowedly is a beginner to this whole cycling/commuting thing.

She'll get stuck on a busy road, feel that her life is in danger by all the traffic that can't see her, and it'll be over.

If she could drive 10 miles and bike the final 3, ok, just wing it, but that's terrible advice for the OP.

mtnwalker

+1 on tweaking your route. I learned early on when I started to commute by bike that the shortest route is not always the best route to take. My original route included 40 mph streets without bike lanes right next to the highway and high traffic streets that I'm very familiar with when I'm in the car. Now, my route takes me through streets with bike lanes and residential streets. It did make my route a mile or two longer than the original one but the peace of mind is way worth it.

ianbrettcooper

The thing I'm hearing from the OP is that she wants to commute but is being overwhelmed by the pressure to spend hundreds of dollars (money that she doesn't have) on accessories. She has her bike and she just really wants to ride it. What I fear is that although she has the tenacity to get on it and get to work, she will get frustrated and disheartened by a mountain of irrelevancies before she gets in the saddle. A 13 mile commute is hardly Captain Scott's final day of march in the Antarctic. Some here seem to want to portray it as a dangerous endurance test when all it is is a commute. Why complicate things?

Hell, if I had the advice I'm hearing here, I would never have started commuting to work in 1978, never mind taking off on a 10,000 mile journey through Europe. I would have blown my budget on hi-tech clothing before I even started!

electrik

She will get stuck on a busy road, traffic won't always see her. Should she, or we, pack it in? Most of those gadgets and clothes are just panacea, if you haven't realized that yet take some time to think about it now. What you seem to be encouraging is the attitude that commuting on a bicycle is complicated - it is not - after a point it is as complicated as you choose to make it.

ianbrettcooper

Yes, but let's not forget that the OP is on a budget. Cotton is cheap and works for most temperate climate situations. A cheap nylon coat with padded polyester lining works for most cold weather riding. Sure, she may be a little chilly on some rides, or a little sweaty on others. But heck, I'm sure she's not such a delicate flower that she can't take a little weather. Why complicate things?

whitecat

Cotton is cheap, and unsuitable for this purpose. We're not in the previous century anymore, synthetics are much improved these days, take a look at technical materials such as Coolmax, and similar, try wearing them for a while, and then go back to wet, heavy, stinkin' cotton. I am pretty sure you're going to ask yourself what were you thinking wearing cotton all the time. Cotton simply does not work for this, and when it gets wet it's all over - get caught in colder rain in cotton, you can get hypothermia and cold in under 15 min. It doesn't wick sweat effectively, and it doesn't breathe at all when it's wet, you might as well put a common nylon bag over instead of your clothes, wet cotton feels the same to me - hot, wet, sticky and non breathable. It doesn't dry nowhere quick as a good synthetic does. It is an unsuitable fabric for the application, it might work just barely ok on short, easy summer commutes, but not much anything else. A proper set of clothes, is in my opinion and experience having done more then 5,000 miles on bike in any weather - blizzards, snow, ice, thunderstorms, pouring rain, sun - proper set of clothes is invaluable personal gear, just like gloves, helmet, and lights as a bare minimum. And such clothes can be had for cheap today, if you shop around.

ianbrettcooper

The OP is on a budget. Based on what she says, she doesn't want to be shopping around. She doesn't want to be shopping at all!

Cotton is perfectly suitable for a 13 mile commute. Heck, I've used it on century rides with no problems at all. But anyway, the OP is not doing a century ride every day, rain or shine, at 30mph. She's doing an hour's ride once a week (presumably when weather is good) at around 13mph.

Getting her on the bike is key. Getting her to waste time she could be cycling buying accessories is counterproductive.

chipcom 

One only needs to read this thread to see why the OP feels overwhelmed and commuting seems complicated.

ianbrettcooper

Exactly.

The first cycling craze happened in the 1890s, long before spandex. This thread might lead some to believe that cycling in cotton and wool was/is so uncomfortable that doing so is tantamount to cycling while wearing some kind of torture device. If cycling in 'unsuitable' clothing is so darned uncomfortable, I guess maybe either the Victorians cycled 'au naturel', or the cycling craze of the 1890s was a mere fantasy.

TeleJohn

No.
What is easy and spontaneous for an 8-year-old, turns into hours of analysis and deliberation for an adult.
Just do it.

canyoneagle

+989.236

agarose2000

I speak from direct experience (as I'm sure you will relate to yourself) having seen dozens of would-be commuters attempt a measly 10 mile commute with impromptu gear and get so frustrated they never do it again.

I also have seen a good number of would-be commuters who at least got proper gear (nothing fancy, but minimal essentials, like a rear blinkie and clothes that don't catch on the drivetrain) that spent more than they thought they would, but found it exciting and fun now that they were outfitted correctly.

Would YOU enjoy riding a mountain bike for 13 miles in 45F weather in a drizzle at near-end of rush hour in the dark (pretty soon it'll be completely dark by 5:30PM) in cotton and a T-shirt? Would you feel safe with cars rushing by at 45 mph that can barely make you out on the road? Would you enjoy that brisk breeze while in damp cotton for an hour and a half, twice per day? Methinks not.

It's not complicated IF you have a short, easy, commute OR are "hard-core" meaning you get enough pleasure out of the mere act of cycling to overcome serious obstacles. I consider myself hard-core, and as said above, even I find commuting in the common conditions I just describe difficult enough that I would NEVER attempt it without my current lighting, clothing, and bike choice setup. For sure, telling a beginner to attempt a 10 mile ride in similar conditions with no preparations guarantees failure.

We're not trying to make it unnecessarily complicated - I'd do it in my underwear if it was doable. But fact of the matter, is that depending on conditions and length of your ride, it can REQUIRE some preparation - real preparation in the OPs case.

I am ALL ABOUT low-cost and nonfancy solutions (I refuse to even pay for a bike-specific headlight, since LED flashlgihts for $25 are just as good!) but for sure, the main thing I've learned about commuting on a regular basis (meaning not just for one week and calling it quits) is that the more faith you have in your gear, the more likely you are to do it. When you're on a bike that feels fast and sturdy, have confidence that you're definitely visible even for distracted drivers, and can brave reasonable changes in the weather (how many times have you thought it wasn' t going to rain but then it did?) you start looking forward to the commute rather than worrying about the details.

electrik

Are we done with this? I've seen people with closets full of commuter gear and people who could fit all their gear in a 10L bag. We aren't on the north face here - this is a 10 mile commute. Get yourself some blinky lights, a hi-viz sash use the backpack in your closet, then ride your butt into work. You will discover which items you really need later on and not be left with a closet full of junk - the only way to discover what gear you truly need is to experiment and conclude you need it. Just do it!



Just click here for a thousand other opinions.

tjspiel

Since the OP's goal is about once a week, that means she can choose fair-weather days for her commutes. That simplifies clothing selection quite a bit.

When I first starting riding a bike to work 20 years ago, it was 8 miles, not 13 but like the OP's my goal was once a week. I rode in my work clothes which included a tie. I rode on days that weren't too hot or too cold and with little chance of rain. I didn't carry anything with me. I only did it when it was going to be light both ways.

You could argue that a MTB with knobbies is not the best for that distance but my cruising speed is maybe 2 to 4 mph faster on a road bike vs an MTB. The difference in average speed is less than that. It's going to take her some extra time but not an order of magnitude difference.

She'll be fine.

Yeah, she might have a bad experience and decide that it's not going to work after a single attempt. She might make that same decision after spending another $200-300 on lights, tires, and clothes.

Her biggest challenge will be learning how to deal with the traffic on her commute and maybe conditioning. Twenty six miles in one day can be tiring if you're not used to it. But both of these will get better over time, regardless of clothing or equipment.

colleen c

Wow page five! It's no wonder why not many women commute. Too hard to get a simple answer! I think the OP has left the building