I'd get too sweaty riding in my work clothes for a coat-and-tie professional office. My commute isn't extremely hilly, not constant climbing like riding a mountain pass, but still, 350 feet of climbing in just my first mile from the train station to the I-90 trail, then 5 miles of rolling hills... I break a good sweat doing that in under half an hour.

Since I need to change clothes anyway, I usually wear cycling clothes for the commute. They're more comfortable at that level of exercise, especially when it's raining. I have ridden plenty in jeans and a tee shirt, but if I'm trying to make good time on a rainy day, I'd much rather wear something more suitable that doesn't get heavy, wet, and cold.

The missing 11th and 12th commandments: "Thou bike shalt have fenders and Thou shalt not wear lycra".

Why not accept that other people may know what's best for them in their particular situation?

How could anybody deny the benefits of full fenders on a commuter bike ,which is used in all weather conditions ?? I can easily ride without a special cycling costume but I could never ride without fenders...Do you ride in Minnesota winter without fenders ??..If you do, I don't know how you do it...Even during summer time I run fenders on my bikes, it really helps during those thunderstorms and heavy downpours.

Having benefits and being necessary are entirely different things.

For example, it's hard to argue that lighter bikes don't have benefits yet many people decide that there are more important considerations.

I have fenders on my winter bike until the summer. I have fenders on my road bike until late spring or early summer then they come off. I'm going to get soaked during a sudden downpour regardless and it's rare enough during the summer months that I'll just clean up the bike after. A lot of times the bike will be cleaner after a downpour anyway.

True, but I don't want to... I have other options that work better for me. For me personally, a heavy city bike isn't worth the hassle and effort and time. I'd rather have a faster, easier time getting to work. For someone else with different priorities it might be different... I don't have to go to work in nice clothes every day for example, nor do I ever need to carry more than fits in my backpack.

To each their own

Exactly. There isn't only one type of automobile people choose for driving to work. Why do bikes have to be equipped a certain way in order to be considered commute worthy?

Some of us live in climates with defined wet and dry seasons. It rarely rains between May and October in NorCal so I usually take my fenders off around Easter.

If I'm going to run the some errands around my neighborhood, I'll just wear whatever. For riding to work though, I get too sweaty and blue jeans would only make it worse. No matter what I wear I'll need to change when I get to work so I may as well wear the clothes that are good for biking.

It depends on the weather and which job I'm going to. If I'm going to my hospital job, they provide the scrubs so I usually am in some sort of athletic clothing because I don't want to dirty up my normal clothes. (I only have enough jeans/tshirts for about 3-5 days.) If I'm going to my mobile crisis team job, I wear what I would wear for that - jeans or BDUs with thermal underwear and boots, and my agency shirt and jacket on top. Considering most of my coworkers are hippies anyways and most of our clients are homeless, I'm usually the freshest one there despite riding in.

If I'm going to the store, I'll wear weather-appropriate clothing. I always go out with helmet, gloves, and safety glasses, so I guess that's most consistent "gearing up" I do.

Agree, it depends on the climate. I put fenders on mine more recently and quite frankly I don't know why I never had them before. I just got tired of getting sprayed with god knows what on the roads. I think some people use them because of their great usefullness in wet weather and then take them off when it gets dry because maybe the bike looks a little more "freddie" with them on. I believe I will leave mine on because they weigh next to nothing and are a little bit of a job installing and getting all lined up and everything they make my bike look at little more sophisticated and a little less sporty and thats ok with me.

I will sweat through my clothes and need to change at work anyway, so I might as wear riding gear for the ride. They dry much quicker too. Hate dressing for the return ride in cold, wet clothes.

I ride in full cycling-specific gear -- cycling shorts and tights, jersey, jacket or vest, shoes, helmet, etc. My commute is 30 miles round trip on hilly roads. I ride year-round and cycling gear keeps we warm in cold months and cooler in hot weather. It is so hot in NC for much of the year that I almost always get sweaty, even in winter. My cycling gear will dry out during the day at work, so it is dry for my ride home. If I wore street clothes, I'd be walking around in wet, sweaty, stinky clothes most of the time at work. I also would be much less comfortable riding.

Like others, we have showers at work. I carry work clothes in the seatbag on my bike or on days when I drive. I also leave certain items at work(eg, towels, shoes, spare pants, extra clothes). If you can ride to work in street clothes and arrive at work dry and unsmelly, more power to you. Not possible with my commute.

I ride in work clothes, usually under full rain gear (jacket, pants, booties, gloves, everything), with bike shoes.

I take it a bit easy on the way in and don't get soaked with perspiration, I'm not a big sweat-er which helps, and I have a fan in my office to cool myself down if I did ride kind of hard.

On the way home, I ride hard, get all sweaty, and don't care.

There is a mini-gym at work with a locker room and showers, so I could change, but I have to be in at 5:30 AM, so I'd rather sleep longer.