Reading the 'How much does your commuter weigh' post got me curious as to how much stuff the average coommuter carries. I have a baisc tool kit on my bike (tube, co2 cartridges, multitool), fenders, a rack & that's pretty much it. I bring a backpack that carries my change of clothes for work & I bring my iphone & wallet. That is pretty much it for me. I see that some people have like 15 or 20 pounds of gear. My question would bem what you are packing that weights 20 pounds & is it stuff that you use regularly, or stuff that you carry 'just in case'? (Not judging, just honestly curious)

My bike itself is a bit of a tank. With me I usually carry a bag on my rear rack containing whatever papers I need for university, pencil case, lock and a small tool kit for minor on-road repairs. I also carry a water bottle on the bike, and of course keys, phone, wallet. For longer journeys (where the halfway point is out of walking range) the only extras I'd carry would be a spare tube and a pump.

I wouldn't count the weight of my seat bag, which contains a spare tube, patch kit, tire levers, & multitool; since I always carry it. My pannier would contain my work clothes (no shoes, I keep those at the office), a second spare tube, my phone, my wallet, and my lunch. I might also have a rain jacket and extra warm gear (heavier gloves, beanie, balaclava) depending on the weather. I also might have some workout clothes and a towel if I'm going to the gym that day. I guess the most my pannier would way is around 10 lbs.

In the category of stuff I don't use all the time, but carry anyway: two u-locks and a cable lock, extra spare tube, spare batteries and lights, bottle of gatorade and some granola bars, Balaclava and wind pants, and a reflective vest. Other than the locks and the gatorade, it really amounts to very little weight. But those things add quite a bit to my total, I imagine.

My 'daily load' is my lunch (including two 20 oz. beverage bottles), my change of clothes (but no shoes or belt), and sometimes a book or other items(s). Oh, I also have pairs of gloves for different weather (in addition to whichever pair I'm wearing) and a beanie which I may or may not be wearing).

The bike load is the patch kit, spare tube #1, 2 multitools and tire levers, masterlink, pump, and the cockpit stuff (bell, airzound, phone case, light, GPS)

I'm not exactly the light, minimalist commuter.

I carry: a spare tube, some tire levers, a few CO2 cartridges, and the clothes on my back.

If the terrorists ever invade while I'm biking to work and the only way to survive is to MacGyver a hideout out of a spare bike frame and 23 bricks, well, you guys should speak kindly of me at the funeral.

Fair question. I never really thought about it, but I'll go ahead and satisfy your curiosity. Mind you, my load changed depending on what I decided to bring home the day before, or if I drove and brought stuff there and back. I tried to coordinate driving with bringing stuff, but sometimes I just had to fit it all on the bike.

My biggest load would be something like this:
stuff I always carried
Jeans / t-shirt / polo / socks
Rain jacket (very lightweight)
2 spare tubes (I've had some bad new ones)
tool kit: multi-allens, tiny screwdriver, tire levers, patch kit, spare cables, zip ties, velcro strips
spare zip-lok bags to carry stuff in if it rained
medium towel (hey, you know what they say about towels! I know where mine is) used for sink baths at work
Clif bars (in case I was extremely hungry going home)

stuff I carried occasionally
Steel-toed metatarsal boots (5 pounds a pair!)
lunch and snacks, lunchmeat and cheese would go in a small insulated bag with an ice block. Sometimes I'd bring cans of tuna.
laptop 14" with power brick and a little padding
various work items, CD's, etc.

stuff that wasn't in panniers
Airzound - for traffic, and dogs, doesn't weigh much
2 water bottles. 1 for riding, the other for spraying on dogs
Avenir combi pump (great pump!)

You can see how on a "heavy" day I could easily have 15+ pounds of stuff on there. Add that to a 35 pound bike, and you got yourself a freight train.

Usually a book, tube, patch kit/tire irons, newspaper, cable & lock (pretty secure site so I don't need a u-lock). And of course the usualy pocket crap: wallet, keys, iphone. Right now I ride in street clothes. In the past I had to carry clothes with me - may have to start once the weather warms up around here.

First off, when commuting, I always wear clothing that I can get sweaty, and carry my change of clothes somewhere.

I keep my shoes at work, so don't have to schlep them. That said, I'd say my clothes (jeans or slacks, shirt, socks, undies, belt) probably comprises at least 50% of the total, and once in the pannier, the zipped up pannier feels like 5-6 pounds.

The next big hitter on weight is my lock. I now mount it on my frame, so it is no longer part of my pannier weight, but the thing is heavy. (Abus bar link lock) - 3 pounds or so?

Next down the list is my spare tube, patch kit, tools (Alien, 3-wrencho, few random bits), spare blinkie, LED headlamp for roadside repairs/flat repair in the dark, and pump. Easily 1-2 lbs.

In the winter, it is regularly 10-20 degrees in the morning and 40 degrees in the afternoon, so the afternoon ride sees a complete layer of clothing stuffed into a pannier. Thats at least a few pounds (mid-weight fleece, rain pants, balaclava, headband, heavier gloves).

If rain is a possibility, I have my shoe and helmet covers stowed (plus rain pants/shell if I'm not already wearing them and the temp is below 65 degrees).


In the summer my load is MUCH lighter. MUCH lighter.
I still pack my clothes/wallet/phone and spares/tools, but that's about it.

About once to twice a month I'll bring some basic supplies and food to the office. I've loaded as much as 20-30 extra pounds in there.

40 pounds total.

20 pounds of bike (3.3 pound titanium frame, carbon fork, carbon cranks, carbon rail saddle, alloy nipples, 2.0/1.5 spokes except 2.0/1.8 drive side, you think it'd weigh less) including rack.

Five pounds is

A saddle wedge containing tube, two allen wrenches, chain tool, pair of tire levers, patch kit, and pair of nitrile gloves +
lock (titanium), lights, full size frame pump, and water bottle

Fifteen pounds is loaded pannier of which six is a laptop that gets used daily and something is wallet + phone + keys + work clothes and fleece I wear inside because air conditioning is cold. There's also a light jacket for wind that I don't roast in, rain jacket which is very water resistant, rain pants, shoe covers, leg warmers, and long or short sleeve jersey (which ever style I don't wear on the way in) so I can handle anything from below 40 to 70+ degrees dry or wet. Plus another spare tube so that I don't need to use my patch kit for the second flat in one day. Plus a spare light so I don't get run over when my main light breaks.

I've used everything and both spare tubes (tire wire can be hard to find the first time).

I carry a lot of stuff compared to an average commuter, so I would be a bad example But I'm the kind of guy that when I go on a club ride people take notice of my rack bags or panniers and sometimes crack jokes, but they're no longer feeling like cracking jokes when their bike breaks down and I am the only one in the group who has pliers and a chain tool