Planemaker

It looks like my wife and I are going to be one car down for a while so, I am going to attempt to go car free as much as possible. The current plan is for my wife to drop me and my bike off at work and I will be on pedal power for the rest of the day. My bike of choice will be my trusty Trek 7.4 FX which is currently equipped with 35mm Schwalbe Sammy Slick tires and a Bontrager rear bike rack. I would like your advice on the following:

1. Thinking of switching the tires back to 28mm for less rolling resistance. Good or bad idea?
2. Bontrager makes a bag that fits specifically on the rack which has expandable side paniers and a rain cover (cost depending on size can be up to $120). Bontrager Interchange Rear Trunks - Essentials -Trek Store. Is this a good way to go or is there another better/cheaper option to carry my gear on the back rack?

irwin7638

You have to use your own judgement about carrying stuff and how much. That will also change as time goes on. My advice is ditch the cars unless you have to leave town. I'm down to 1500 miles a year and that includes out of town trips a couple of time a year.

After a while you just get the hang of it.

Marc

TGT1

Tire rolling resistance is purely a product of tread/carcass design and inflation pressure.

I switch back and forth between a 22/24 mm racing set and 42mm conti crossrides. There's a huge difference in crosswind sensitivity, a barely perceptible difference in acceleration due to mass, a slight difference in aerodynamic drag, and no difference in flat cruising speed or effort.

for commuting wider is probably better.

FBinNY 

Since you already have a bike you've been riding I wouldn't over-think anything. Start with the bike as is, except maybe adding the rack if you don't have one yet. Then ride it and let the bike suggest any changes. Things like tire choice depend on road conditions, so you'll know what changes you want after riding.

As far as the bag goes, it depends on what you need to carry. I've always had the philosophy that people tend to carry up to the limit of their capacity (bikes , bags, and car trunks) so I always opt for limited capacity. But you have to make your own decisions.

JanMM

For commuting, I've been using a pair of compact Delta panniers on a rear rack for more than a few years. Has always been enough for a change of clothes plus emergency gear, personal stuff, etc. Not an everyday commuter, by any means, but when I was, my panniers were modestly sized. (Rode to work every day while living in Atlanta and sharing one car with wife.)

B. Carfree

All else equal, wider tires have lower rolling resistance in the real world. (If you live in some ideal location with perfect road surfaces, then there's no advantage to wider.) However, to get that lower rolling resistance you have to select a tire that has less flat resistance. Since I'm going 0 mph when I'm stopped fixing a flat, I generally opt for a bit more flat protection on commute/errand bikes.

John E

Good advice in this thread so far -- start with what you have, focus on tire durability, etc. My wife and I have two cars, but we put a combined total of about 4k miles/year on them, so I expect to be able to keep both for several more years. This is a huge savings.

OldTryGuy

Years ago I had a 35 mile round trip work commute on a 18sp Raleigh Seneca, https://www.kurtkaminer.com/1986raleighcat_usa_19_lg.jpg. Slimed the tubes, fenders, rear rack, reflectorized triangle on rear of rack, pair of fold-up baskets on rack, rack top bag, generator lights, computer, mirror each side, bell. Total weight was 56 pounds and a blast to ride.

On my way home during a Florida summer afternoon storm a lightning bolt hit a tree within a hundred yards of me. Picked up my cadence quite a bit after the hit.

Planemaker

Today was my first day of being dropped off at work and being car free for the rest of the day. I left work at 4:00 and cycled 10 miles to the ymca and did an hour spin class and rode 3 miles home.

I really enjoyed it.

Lessons learned
1. 35 mm tires are perfect for street riding and plent fast
2. A bike specific bag for my rack seems to be a must for ease of use

Ursa Minor

I've been seriously considering giving my car to charity. Perhaps I will after my twin sister visits me in January for our 65th birthday.

Charlie

tsl

For the record, there is only one way to be car-free, and it's full-time. There's no such thing as car-free "as much as possible". By definition, car-free means "free of the car", not "left the car at home and took the bike".

"Car-lite" is the term for what you propose. (And it is still an admirable goal that a good share of the population won't ever achieve.) As long as your household owns a car, you can't be less than car-lite.

I've been car-free since April 1999. I was car-lite for two years before that. It's a lot easier than it sounds. It's also much too easy to over-think it.

However, if you're going to be toting stuff with the bike regularly, you shouldn't go cheap on your panniers (or your rack). They'll take a hell of a beating and cheap ones will cost you more in the long run. The old saying, "buy nice or buy twice" applies in spades.

My grocery panniers are Arkel's Shopper, at $115 each (on sale now for $90 each). I own a pair. Best money I ever spent on any bike accessory. I have six years on them now and they still look and work like new. I've loaded them with about 40 pounds each, although a more typical weekly load is 25-30 pounds each.

BTW, skip the rain cover. I've never needed it. Most stuff is already waterproof (produce) or wrapped in plastic (meats, cheese, bread) or in bottles, cans or plastic containers.

A car-free woman I know locally bought the Bontrager grocery panniers. She had to replace them after two years. She saw mine, and now owns a pair of them too. When people ask me about things at the bike rack at the grocery store, the number one question is, "Where can I get some of those?"

For commuting and other light-duty toting, look at touring panniers. Some have all sorts of flaps and compartments and are divided up into lots of organized spaces. It's hard to use those. Look for big empty space inside.

Mine are Ortleib Sport Packer Plus. They're actually made for the front, a little smaller than those intended for the back. I already have the shoppers for big stuff. I can fit a pair of jeans, four shirts and a library book or two in one side, and four days of lunches and snacks, my lock, and a couple more library books in the other.

They're also big enough to hold a gallon of paint and some brushes, or roller covers from the hardware store.