Ipedaltahoe

So yesterday I planned for having to ride home in the snow and packed accordingly. Wasn't bad enough to have to dress for and I was in a hurry so I never put snow wear on. I got home and had 5 minutes to get to job #2 and after that went directly to job # 3 then to bed. This morning was a snow day so I slowly started cleaning up and just on my dining room table I had 3 different pairs of gloves, arm warmers, rain pants, shoe covers, fleece bandanna, a beanie and a fleece baseball hat with ear flaps. This is only a fraction of my commuting wear. Anyone else like this or am I a freak?

nashcommguy

Nah, I've got tons of stuff I've accumulated over the years. Stuff goes on closeout at sierra, performance, nashbar, universal, campmor, jenson, etc., etc. What's one to do? Beats playing the horses, substance abuse or heaven forbid buying car parts.

tsl

I'm more streamlined. I don't own a dining room table, or have a dining room to put one in.

Oh, wait. Bike stuff?

Plenty of it, and spares. Just in headwear alone I have 2 helmets, 2 summer beanies, 2 winter beanies and 2 balaclavas. You can get the picture from there.

jeffpoulin

I have a LOT of gear. 5 bikes, 4 pairs of SPD shoes, at least 6 pairs of biking gloves, 4 or 5 biking jackets, two sets of rain gear, two lighting systems, and pretty much backups for everything else.

wolfchild

I own three bikes, also have a lot of spare parts, tools, lot's of clothing. I also have a lot of other outdoor gear not related to cycling, and I live in a one bedroom highrise. I keep my stuff well organized, I like to know where something is when I need it.

BarracksSi

Too much stuff that I don't use anymore. I need to give it away or CL it.

Part of it is because I had up to six bikes in my apartment. Sold three of those, gave another to a friend, and many accessories got left behind. I think there are eight bikes' worth of lights. I've got more Brooks saddles than bikes, too.

eofelis 

5 bikes and probably too much gear and clothes to go along with them. I do use most of the gear though.
I could be spending my money on worse stuff. I shop super clearance sales, thrift stores, yard sales.
Some of my stuff is cool that it's very useful, but I also got the rush of getting a super deal on it. Paying retail usually leaves me cold.
Stuff I can't use but I get a stupid cheap deal on gets ebayed for a few extra bucks in my pocket.

scroca

Yes, but that doesn't mean you're not a freak.

I like your picture.

Ipedaltahoe

Thanks everyone, just did the gear wash and 3 face masks, granted I let kids use for 0 degree ski race yesterday. 2 pair arm warmers, 3 sets of gloves, 3 beanies, rain pants and more. But I am not paying 4.00 a gallon for gas now am I?
And yes Scroca, I am a bit of a freak. Pink or Blue hair, coach nordic ski and shot and discus. My kids love that their coach is a freak.

swwhite

It is totally reasonable to have enough variety in the gear to be able to tune the clothing for a variety of situations, and have backups.

Fizzaly

I have an entire closet for my bike gear, random jackets panniers shoes and other stuff, and a cubby for hats gloves balaclavas and such. So no you're not a freak I would imagine most of us on here have tons o carp

bragi

I'm not like the rest of you. I have one bike that I use, one set of panniers, one set of (very well used) rain gear, one helmet, and that's it. I do have ten pairs of pedals, though, and way more tools than I actually need, and... spare rims, cassettes and bike frames don't count, do they?

AdamDZ

A lot. At least two of everything, for any weather. I also started wearing my biking clothes a long time ago when not riding a bike. Most of my wool tops, hats, socks, gloves, undergarments, etc. work as well as regular clothing. Although, a lot of the stuff I wear when riding is not biking specific: I have some tops and jackets meant for other sports, rugged hiking and work clothes, etc.

Basically, when I buy clothing now I want it to be multipurpose: on the bike and off the bike.

crhilton

I think the op was talking about clothes.

I have about one of everything that I need. It becomes a problem when you lose something important, so I don't blame you for having a whole bunch of stuff.

JPprivate

A few days ago, I had discovered at work that I had brought 4 pairs of gloves with me (my really thick gloves, my regular gloves, my thin gloves -which I decided to wear with my regular gloves, and my work gloves - in case I need to do bike repairs).

Now since the weather got a little warmer I started to bring my rain gear with me. Just yesterday, I thought about how heavy my panniers are. Two u-locks, two full size wrenches, two sets of tubes (for either bike (26 and 700), so I don't have to swap it out) -all that just really adds weight. So I went through everything I had and decided I could ditch the chemical warmers (like 20 grams) and the chain lube (another 50 grams). Not exactly progress.

WalksOn2Wheels

In terms of gear, I have a laughably small amount. I have one winter weight SS wool jersey, one SS synthetic, one pair of bike shorts (bibs), two all purpose LS wool base layers, a helmet, wool toboggan, one cap I made, another one I bought, a jacket, a pair of insulated tights (with a broken zipper on one leg), 1 pair summer gloves, 1 pair winter gloves and only one pair of wool socks I wear almost every day. But seriously, that's it. I have special shoes with SPD pedals for my carbon bike, but for commuting on steel, I just use my sneakers. And I don't even use my bibs. I just wear a pair of nylon TNF hiking shorts.

I seem to have just enough, but compared to most folks who have a closet full, it's kind of hilarious that I commute consistently using such little gear. This winter, I've pretty much worn the same thing every day for months now.

EDIT: Whoops, forgot my shoe covers...

Seattle Forrest

Too much. I've got more than one of the important stuff that gets wet. For example, I have three pairs of SPD shoes, because overnight isn't long enough for them to dry out here in the Pacific Northwet. I have two pairs of wool gloves; like the shoes, I'll only bring one of them with me, but I'll have a dry pair waiting for my next ride.

+1. Nah, plus a million. Bike-specific gear is ridiculous. And buying a set of gear for every hobby you have is unbelievably expensive. ( Plus, in my case, I'll sometimes bike to the dock to go kayaking... )

chipcom 

Once a year I give away crap that I don't use or don't expect to use under some condition...and I still have way too much crap.

colleen c

So far my collection (aka obsession) with gear has resulted with enough goodies to have a garage sale here at BF. Just to name a few:
2 reflective vest
2 warmth fleece vest
5 pairs of glove
3 pairs of sock
3 balacava
3 PDW 1w
4 PBSF
2 Performance bike rear blinkers
5 MG X Thrower
5 MG P rocket
3 S mini
3 P7 flashlght
lots of ankle strap

and the list goes on! Can we say garage sales next week?

Sixty Fiver

You are a freak.

colleen c

Same here. I find myself wearing my bright color bike jackect when I drive out to costco to do some serious heavy shopping. I discover that with the brighter bike jacket, I get less close call with cars almost hitting me while I am walking in the parking lot.

Sixty Fiver

Ok...

13 bikes... or is it 14 ?
4 sets of tour worthy panniers
3 pairs spd shoes for mtb, racing, touring
2 pairs of clip friendly shoes
Gear to handle 40 to 40 weather
Enough lights to signal other planets
Tail bags
2 handlebar bags.

2 commuter bikes are set up for winter riding and in the summer, I ride them all.

BigDaddyPete

Depends who you ask. I think that there's always something I can add to my collection. I'm constantly seeing something somewhere that I need. If you asked my wife, she'd tell you I have a ridiculous amount of stuff and that I never need to buy more. Hopefully I get home before the box from Nashbar arrives today.

no motor?

Is that another way of saying you're full of it?
I started using one of those big plastic storage containers to keep most of my bicycle clothes in, and it's too small for everything now. And the pile keeps growing...