i ride in shorts and t-shirt and bring a change of clothes with me everyday in a back-pack. i've got 14 miles to go one-way, and i just want to hit that kind of distance way too hard to ever think about commuting in my work clothes. toiletries and that kinda stuff lives at the office.

I try to leave as many work related clothes as possible. Shoes are heavy and jackets if required. We have lockers but I like to carry my stuff with me. Champion sports shorts and long-sleeved sweat wicking shirts work great!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H0F3Q8

I usually carry this:

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Commuting: Work Clothes by sudoshift, on Flickr

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Commuting: Packed by sudoshift, on Flickr


in that


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20-Inch Wheel Commuter by sudoshift, on Flickr

First Question; How fats your wallet. I have found some amazing sites that offer commuter wear that is nice but doubles as bike wear, but it is expensive. Terry is a catalog that had some great stuff and Levis now makes commuter gear and I love it. Worth every penny. Its been 40 on the way to work and I wear my levis jacket, no stench even after a week and its 80 on the way home. The jacket is light enough to put in my messenger bag and take home. I wear layers, today it was a skirt, with legging(tights) and nice dry fit t-shirt and jacket. When it warmed up I took off the tights. I got a few comments but I just said, "too hot" When it gets cold I had waterproof pants, shoe covers and a good jacket. Also, Old Spice makes 16 hour shower gel that really works. keeps the smell at bay all day even when its baking out.

The other thing missing from your NYC <-> Dutch comparison is the bike. Those Dutch commuter bikes have chain guards or fully enclosed chains; sounds like yours doesn't. You can get one that does, if you look in the right places with an adequate wallet.

But for my 8-10 mile ride, with hills, and heat and humidity, you betcha I change. Once I grew up and figured I didn't have to wear soggy clothes all day, I grew to like them dry!

I have an 11 mile commute 22 miles round trip. I keep soap, shampoo, baby wipes and deodorant at my office. I do not ride every day as my schedule does not permit it. However, on the days I do not ride I bring clean clothes. I keep a pair of black and brown shoes in the office at all times. I also have two or three pairs of pants, shirts and some ties. I have a Topeak rack and slide on pack which contains food and other things needed for the day. In the Chicago area, it is just sometimes too hot and humid to wear work clothes. I always shower and shave at home. When I arrive at the office I cool down for about 30 minutes before cleaning up in the rest room and putting on my dress clothes. You just need to get a system going. You'll feel better if you change into fresh clothes. Some days, if it's not too hot, you won't need much clean up at all.

I ride to work in cycling specific clothing and then change when I get to work. Then I re apply deodorant and spray cologne. It works for me.

Reading all the various replies I find it interesting that there appears to be as many takes on the subject as there are commuters!

Here's mine. We have showers, which I make use of.

At work, I leave permanently a pair of shoes, belt, and my shower kit. I also keep an inexpensive rain jacket (the O2) in case I get caught off guard and an unexpected storm blows in about the time I'm ready to head home and I don't have my rain gear with me.

Weekly. On Monday morning I carry in a towel, a pair of blue jeans, and a dress shirt, all of which I leave at work the entire week. On Friday, I take them back home.

Daily. I take in my under-garments, which includes a t-shirt, underwear, and socks.

I commute in cycling clothes.

It all comes down to your ride, I think. European cyclists usually have short commutes, as do I. I usually wear business casual but sometimes require something more upscale if I'm meeting with clients. Either way, I wear work clothes on the bike. I do, however, wear hiking or biking shoes on the bike (depending on whether I want to do any walking at lunch) and keep dress shoes at work.

Just a couple of changes to keep your nice clothes clean:
- Fenders are a must. A bike without fenders is like a car without a windshield.
- Don't overlubricate. A drop on each roller is plenty, and then wipe of the excess your next ride. Putting on too much oil is actually counter productive, since it will gum up faster.
- Keep your pants clipped, or, if you're in the market for a new bike, consider an IGH or single speed (depending on terrain) and then stick on a chain guard.

Of course, if you're riding for an hour each way, none of this really matters. Wear athletic clothes and then change when you arrive. Work clothes are great for the 10 minutes I spend on my bike each way, but impractical for longer, sweatier rides.

yeah, I have done the European thing (Germany). They tend to ride a lot slower (upright commuter bikes with full gear (fenders, lights, bell, etc are mandatory)), and don't expect people to smell minty fresh all of the time. It is a different culture.

In the US, I ride hard (20-22mph), sweat hard, and shower at work.

Hint - unscented diaper wipes do a great job on sweat if you can only do a cat bath at work. I have a friend who uses "astronaut soap" for a dry bath - I might have to try that sometime - if I can find it.

If you bring clothes, how do you keep them from getting wrinkled?

I used to wrap them around a stiff flat piece of foam, but now I just roll everything up into a tight package and secure with a Velcro strap.

Any better ideas???

That's what I do, roll 'em up in a tight roll. The dress shirts I wear at work don't need ironing (permanent press, I guess it's called) and what few wrinkles they might get while in the panniers come out on their own in short order. I keep them on a hanger over night.

Thinking about it, it might be the steam in the shower room that pulls the wrinkles out. Either way, keeping it rolled up tight during the commute seems to minimize the wrinkles.

I do the same thing, but I also keep a bottle of Downy Wrinkle releaser at work, just in case. Every now & then I'll find a pretty good sized wrinkle & the spray takes them right out.

I haul my work clothes and change as soon as I arrive. I leave my work shoes at work, seeing as I never wear them anywhere else.

I sweat too much in all weather for me to wear work clothes on the bike. Riding slower doesn't seem to make much of a difference for me, I'll still sweat. Even in sub zero F weather, I still sweat up my clothes even though at those temps I rarely break 10 mph. My hands and feet are like ice, but my torso is soaked.

Nobody has ever seemed to care if they see me come in or leave wearing non-work clothes. What matters is what I'm wearing once I'm at my desk or at the customer's location.

I too sweat a lot partly because I treat my commute as a fitness ride, not as a Sunday drive. Fortunately, we have a shower at work and my office has a couple of lockers. I carry my daily clothes and lunch in although occasionally, I bring a few days worth of clothes in on a Sunday evening (but that means being prepared, yuck!).

Wrinkled shirts can be avoided by
* Rolling them up, not jamming them into the panniers
* Buy wrinkle-free / no-iron shirts
* Keep a light sweater at the office to wear over the shirt. :)

Depends on your distance. If you bike 10km say, downhill most of the time, you can make do with suits.
You shouldn't be getting bike grime into your pants unless you live in a rural area though.... or a really dirty street.

For most lubes, it's sufficient to have 1 drop of lube every 3 links or so. 1 drop every 3 tooth or so on the front derailuer, and 1 drop every 5 tooth or so on the back wheel. MAKE SURE TO WIPE OFF EXCESS LUBE. You only raelly need lube inside the chain, not thickly coating the outside of it. Take a old cotton shirt and put some gentle pressure on the chain and run it through a couple times. If you wiped too much off, you can put some more in. The more lube there is, the more dirt it attracts.

As for clothes, I change. There's a YMCA near my work, and I'm a member there, so that saves me some grief. I can use their lockers there as well for the day. I have ridden without changing, though. Take some kleenex or paper towels to wipe off hands, face, neck, and armpits. Makes sense to bring some deodorant and some sport-type cologne to mask smell of sweat if you're that worried. Most people swear more on their torso then their lower body, so just go to work in a nice t-shirt and change your shirt at work! :D

Thanks, I'll try that!

my commute is five miles.... I generally throw on shorts (gramicci) and a t shirt and put my khakies and polo shirt in my basket. I keep a pair shoes at work. I do a quick wash face with water and change and I am good to go. Once in a while i have ridden in my work clothes, just adding a leg strap, but I prefer shorts in genera and avoid the chain tattos on my khakis.

If my commute goes to the 8 mile and up range I would (and have) wear bike specific clothes. Why efficiency and that is about where I am pushing my comfort limit, especially on hot days, with non bike specific shorts.

When I ride to work, I change clothes. All of them.