cz2509

You don't need to dress up like a spandex super hero to ride your bike.

I like to dress like a spandex super hero - its almost like being naked in public without the risk of sunburn .

I just wish they would wear capes on the tour.

Jtgyk

Hmmm.......Capes + Spokes + speed.

(heh) Probably NOT a good Idea.
Just google Isadora Duncan:

(From Wikipedia.....

".....when Falchetto drove off, Duncan's immense handpainted silk scarf, which was a gift from Desti and was large enough to be wrapped around her body and neck and flutter out of the car, became entangled around one of the vehicle's open-spoked wheels and rear axle. As The New York Times noted in its obituary of the dancer on September 15, 1927, "Isadora Duncan, the American dancer, tonight met a tragic death at Nice on the Riviera. According to dispatches from Nice Miss Duncan was hurled in an extraordinary manner from an open automobile in which she was riding and instantly killed by the force of her fall to the stone pavement."[6] Other sources describe her death as resulting from strangulation, noting that she was almost decapitated by the sudden tightening of the scarf around her neck."

Anyone who has watched "The Incredibles" knows that capes have been the downfall of many "supers"

rumrunn6

This reminds me of something that crossed my mind the other day. When the cagers are stopped at a light and wicked bored and pissed about going to work, they see us riding by and watch what we do. We're kind of like entertainment for them for a few seconds. It's a kind of stage, for lack of a better metaphor. I'll start a new thread about our responsibility to recognize our spotlight and what we can do with it, how it motivates us and how annoying it can be.

chipcom 

I prefer to remain in my delusional world where they don't see me at all unless I am in their way.

jdmitch

Yeah, I immediately thought of that...

Bat22

Only use my invisible cloak when I gotta getthefugottathere.

no motor?

So what about all the hi-viz stuff we tend to collect? Are you guys (and KitN) going to wear a vest over your work clothes? I've gotten spoiled by the extra visibility my vest gives me, but am going to need something with less drag (even at the speeds I ride) when it gets warmer.

Jtgyk

I usually only use the HiViz gear early Mornings or riding home at Dark Thirty.
(I work 3 evenings, 1 morning, and 1 afternoon...talk about messing with the sleep cycle!)

rumrunn6

Been looking for a hi-vis shirt, not expensive and without back pockets but long enough to cover my lower back. I have an orange t-shirt that can go over anything. But I'm digging how the day-glo lime green is so visible.

yoder

The hi-vis clothing (like vests) is a small step away from the simple commute. Such clothing is generally not essential, but everyone's needs/traffic situation is different, so it may be the perfect thing, even for simple commuters. Permanently wrapping your bike with reflective tape (or something similar) perhaps better fits the simple way if you really have a significant high visibility need. You do it once, and then your bike is all ready all the time, and you can wear your normal clothes. (Not the same as a vest I know). Even a flag or something always on the bike would be better than a specialized clothing article.

jdmitch

Alert Shirts? - scroll down...

chipcom 

Nothing wrong with a lightweight mesh reflective vest in the summer...and a non-mesh vest can be useful as a wind vest outer shell in the winter.

KitN

Agreed. I've been contemplating a hi-vis vest for my dusk/night rides... But everything I've seen is really huge on me or just so cheap and flimsy that I don't think it will hold up for more than a few days of use.

I'd like something sturdy yet breathable, highly visible with reflective tape and made for a smaller female form. It should also roll up or fold down into a very small package to be easily stowed away in my seatbag. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

jdmitch

It's not "women's cut", per se, but I would think something along the lines of a Nathan Sports Streak fit's pretty much all of the other criteria.

There's also the Brooks Women's Nightlife but that's probably less breathable than you're looking for. That or a Illuminite Women's Java. Both claim high breathability.

PS - I've never actually handled any of these in person.

jdmitch

Also, just found this I suspect it might feel "cheap and plasticy" though...

no motor?

I use the Performance Illuminte vest. It's thin, but sturdy, and after using it for a while I realized my worries about it not holding up were wrong. It does fold down to a small package and is breathable, but slows me down when I have the zipper unzipped. One with a mesh back would be better for the warmer weather.

I was wearing mine this morning and using the Fenix on strobe this morning, when a guy on a cell phone got so distracted by my appearing at a right angle on his left he stopped and pulled the phone away from his ear. Both the light and the vest made me more visible.

KitN

I was thinking something along those lines but smaller (read: narrower). Thanks a lot!

KitN

Gotta love that website's name: "teamestrogen.com"

And the description of the vest:


Thanks so much! I'm going to poke around on that website and see what they have for folks with "estrogen".

jdmitch

Er...? Really...? Wow, completely missed that in the crtl+L, ctrl+C, ctrl+V sequence... I'm better at finding women's gear than I thought. Then again, maybe that's not the best thing to realize about myself...

bpeder

My commute would be 10 miles each way and very pretty as it winds past Grays Bay on Lake Minnetonka here in The Twin Cites of MN. But a couple years ago a guy pulling a huge boat on a trailer cornered so close that he brushed my pants leg with his trailer. Now I have a nice lady who manages an apartment complex at the halfway point who lets me park days. This gets me past the two most dangerous parts of the full ride. I miss it, but I'd miss my life or health more. You really have to stop and think about things when you are sole providor for your family. I bought a pair of heavy chrome steel loops like the ones that you see on the bed rails of pick up trucks and mounted them to the trunk of my '92 Camry. Also at Home Depot, a pair oversize carabiners. It took a little experimentation but I can clip the bike to the back of my car in about 10 seconds. The right crank has to be down and I carry a 6mm allen key to turn my bars 90° left, but it cost me less than $8.00.

I'm riding the same Ross Super Gran Tour XV I bought new in '82. With the Shimano 600 Arabesque group, it's always been a sweet ride. I run on a set of knobby 27" tires too that are soft and comfy so I can go off road or onto a rough shoulder if necessary. I ride in my work clothes, slacks with a velcro strap and a polo shirt with running shoes. Platform pedals with toe clips give me good power. There's a fan at work where I can grab a quick cool down and old cloth diapers make excellent sweat rags. I wear cheap pigskin work gloves partly for comfort and also for some protection if I crash. A Bell Citi in flat black with the dedicated mirror works well. I can't stand those helmets that make you look like the Alien or that Olympic luge team back in the 80s. I bought a mesh vest for $15.00 at Northern Tool. In a pinch, on a hot day, I can wear just the vest and pop my shirt into a shoulder bag.

There are so many levels of good even with a short commute. I'm going to be 50 in September and I want to feel like I did at 40 when 50 comes. "40 by 50" is my motto and this short commute is just the right tempo for getting back to even that modest level of condition I'm shooting for. People at my office either ignore me or are jealous and wistful. I try to tell them it's not that hard! Just decide you're going to do it.

I guess the hard part is the same as it's always been - staying safe. Drivers have not gotten any mellower over the years have they? "Go go, faster faster, hurry hurry hurry" seems to be the rule and seeing a guy doing a good thing like commuting by bike just seems to bring out the worst in some drivers. And did they always run so many red lights? I swear, there used to be a law that said you could not enter an intersection when the light was red... Now red is the new yellow. Even though my commute is short, I'm so glad to be out of that rat race for even a small part. Good luck to you all and watch your backs! But enjoy your commute no matter what the length.

Big_e

When I'm not riding a bike with racks, I'll use my ICU-UCMe hi-viz backpack(scroll down). The reflective back panel covers the entire packside of the backpack and cars give me plenty of room. When you're indoors, the reflective side can flap over so that you have a normal black handbag.
Ernest

yoder

In Copenhagen it looks like everyone is already in the club: https://vimeo.com/1910758?pg=embed&sec=1910758

Gives you a sense of the bike traffic there, since the guy rides to an intersection on the Green Wave and just captures with camera as all the people go by.

chipcom 

Got the new bike this past weekend and used it for the commute this morning. My lights have not yet come in for it, so I just threw one of my PB Superflashes on the back of the rack trunk for now.



For the ride in I wore a pair of RailRiders Yukon pants, merino wool boxers, a poly golf shirt, thin smartwool socks, my regular work shoes and my sunglasses - no cycling-specific clothing, shoes, gloves, etc.

My commute is 4 miles of rolling terrain. I tried to take it easy and spin up the rollers in a much lower gear than I would on my other bikes, while pretty much coasting down. The Alfine IGH 8 speed has plenty of gear range for the terrain.

The last mile is mostly downhill, which is nice for a cool down. When I got into work, I had worked up a little sweat, but really no more than if I had walked a mile rather than rode 4.

DataJunkie

Did you sit on the top tube?

rumrunn6

Oh man, that is a nice bike! What kind of shifters does it have? What's with fenders these days that they have no sides?