Commuting tips

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Jammyjames
Posts: 15
Joined: 9 Oct 2019, 2:54pm

Commuting tips

Post by Jammyjames »

Hi all,

I'm after some specific tips for daily commuting to and from work in almost all weathers (specifically the wet) and im hoping that some of you fine people could offer some advice?
So firstly im trialing growing my hair (with the failsafe of donating it to charity) but when its raining im just taking the car because there are no hair dryers at work, and my hair can go very curly, does anyone with long hair have any tips on keeping it dry when its raining quite hard?
Im also growing my beard out a bit and im assuming a waterproof neck warmer would be good for keeping this dry, but i am struggling to find a elesticated waterproof one, so are there any other options?
Third, I imagine a lot of people have issues with this, prescription glasses while its p*****g it down out, im finding that when im caught out in the rain im all but blind when they get saturated in water?
Finally, I’m riding a carerra vengence MTB with schwalbe big bens and crappy MTB mud guards, im traveling about 4 miles each way and its taking about 20 mins;
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now im not in the best fitness ive ever been in (putting it mildly) but i dont know how much of this is me, and how much is the bike. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a hybrid bike on the cycle to work scheme (and some gore clothes too) but i don’t now how much of a difference this would make (good mudguards would be nice though) or if i should change my chainset to make the flats and downhills easier and quicker. So will a hybrid be better or will I not see much difference?

Thanks :D
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TrevA
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by TrevA »

Can’t help with hair or beard, other than to say keep all the hair under a hat. Wear a peaked cap or hat when it’s raining, as that will keep most of the rain off. Sometimes I just have to admit defeat and take my glasses off when it’s raining. I’m very short sighted but can still see well enough to ride without them.

Are your bike tyres knobby? If so, swap them for something smooth - Schwalbe Kodak’s or something similar - you may even get Schwalbe Marathons that fit . My MTB is a 29er and is currently shod with Vittoria Randonneur tyres, which are great on the road and not too bad on gravelly tracks. I have a big mudguard that attaches to the seat post which keeps much of the wet and muck off my back.

And a decent waterproof makes all the difference. The water just rolls off my Goretex waterproof top.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
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roubaixtuesday
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by roubaixtuesday »

+1 for peaked cap, or casquette in the rain with glasses.

Your speed is 12mph average which seems perfectly reasonable on a mtb for a short run to me. Not sure why you want to go faster - is 5 minutes worth a new bike?

On keeping your hair wet on a bike in a downpour, best option is to ditch the helmet and wear a waterproof with a hood.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Commuting tips

Post by Brucey »

four miles is about that annoying distance whereby you can get soaked easily enough but it seems like a lot of faff to change clothes/dry off if needs be.

FWIW if you get some better waterproofs, you may find that they also keep the water in quite well, despite being notionally breathable. I find that they limit the amount of effort I can put in when I'm wearing them, else overheating ensues. So about 12mph might be reasonable when I'm wearing waterproofs, a bit faster (without becoming a totally sweaty mess) when it is dryer and I'm not wearing them but I am wearing normal clothes.

However if you dress in cycling garb and change when you get to work then you can ride faster without sweating/rain being such a big problem.

I'm not a glasses wearer (but even so I use a peaked cap in the rain) and I've almost forgotten what it is like to have enough hair to worry about. I'd probably just embrace the curls tbh.

Ideally a bike with more road-oriented tyres and full length mudguards would be better for a road commute; fatter tyres can hurl disturbing amounts of crud in all directions and clip on mudguards don't provide perfect protection. You could convert your present bike to include these things and it wouldn't be very much slower than a different bike.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carlton green
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Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: Commuting tips

Post by Carlton green »

You’ll get a lot of good advice here and have already. One thing I’d add is to try not to go hard core but rather to ease yourself into things.

A MTB isn’t, I think, ideal for commuting but no doubt it can be progressively modified to improve suitability. Similarly clothing changes and you will find what works for you, it’s a process of evolution over time. These days bright is right so buy waterproofs that will stand out. Weatherproof jacket and trousers, and work out how not to get your over trousers damaged by your chainwheel. I suggest having a spare dry set of shoes and socks at work, trousers too. I cycle with something on my head and gloves on my hands, and if water on the glasses is an issue then safety glasses made to go over ordinary glasses might work. Buff scarfs are wonderful, keep your neck worm and put them over your face if need be.

Lights are important, you might not need the best but you do need to be easily seen by other road users.

At one time I had a similar length commute, a twenty minute ride sounds ideal to me. My recollection was that is was not so long as to get really soaked through and frozen (if you have some reasonable gear on) but long enough to enjoy the exercise and maybe not much slower than driving.

Edit. As far as I’m concerned a 12 mph average speed is perfectly fine, there will always be folk who manage quicker but that’s not something I’m fussed about. Be happy with what works for you, look for better but don’t get hung up on the small stuff (or bigger stuff too).
Last edited by Carlton green on 23 Feb 2020, 11:26am, edited 1 time in total.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
eileithyia
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by eileithyia »

Can't help with Beard, but when I had long hair it had to be tied up anyway so would just tie it up and wear under a hat.

Always have spare clothes at work. Especially shoes, socks and underpants. I hate putting wet socks back on.

Find a drying space, failing that a towel to wrap wet clothes in removes excess water and then you can hang somewhere warm to further dry while you are working.

Glasses, Fortunately can see enough without them and while I cycle in prescription glasses I will take them off when it starts to rain....just have a bag to put them into when they go in a pocket.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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mjr
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by mjr »

Jammyjames wrote:So firstly im trialing growing my hair (with the failsafe of donating it to charity) but when its raining im just taking the car because there are no hair dryers at work, and my hair can go very curly, does anyone with long hair have any tips on keeping it dry when its raining quite hard?

Put your hood up.

Can't help with the beard.
Third, I imagine a lot of people have issues with this, prescription glasses while its p*****g it down out, im finding that when im caught out in the rain im all but blind when they get saturated in water?

Keep the glasses clean with a cleaner that sheds some water (there are some from opticians), and try a peaked hat or overgoggles to further cut down water on the lenses. Keep a drying cloth in a waterproof pocket and if it gets too bad, stop in a bus shelter or under an awning and dry all layers of glasses. Sometimes it's too much for glasses.

Finally, I’m riding a carerra vengence MTB with schwalbe big bens and crappy MTB mud guards, im traveling about 4 miles each way and its taking about 20 mins;

That seems about par for a suburban/urban commute to me. Don't be misled by people posting vanity speeds and timings online. Get a new bike if you want one (and definitely see if you can fit closer mudguards) but don't expect a big speed boost. Changing chainrings may help if you find spinning the cranks in top/top gear at 100rpm is still too easy but is it really?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Fairweather
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by Fairweather »

I had a short commute like yours many years ago, I found the easiest and most convenient way to deal with rainy days was just to leave the bike at home. Sometimes it's just not worth it!
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mjr
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by mjr »

Fairweather wrote:I had a short commute like yours many years ago, I found the easiest and most convenient way to deal with rainy days was just to leave the bike at home. Sometimes it's just not worth it!

What a bizarre thing to post to a cycling forum. Of course it's worth it!
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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hemo
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by hemo »

Even with the recent three storm fronts that have been pushing thru I still cycle to work the short 4 mile ride to work , don the weather gear and pass the traffic. Where I am there is one underpass/rail bridge that floods and causes the road closure , said road is used as rat run and when closed local traffic is a nightmare as also any M23 traffic is caught up with those leaving it.
More motons would be less stressed out if they used their brains for short trips and cycled.
peetee
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by peetee »

mjr wrote:
Fairweather wrote:I had a short commute like yours many years ago, I found the easiest and most convenient way to deal with rainy days was just to leave the bike at home. Sometimes it's just not worth it!

What a bizarre thing to post to a cycling forum. Of course it's worth it!


I can see Fairweather’s point. It can be that by the time you have put on waterproof jacket, trousers, overshoes, gloves, bike shoes and helmet, unlocked the bike, ridden to work more cautiously than on a dry day then found somewhere for the bike and changed your gear on arrival the option of grabbing an umbrella and walking could well prove to take no longer.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
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mjr
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by mjr »

peetee wrote:[...]It can be that by the time you have put on waterproof jacket, trousers, overshoes, gloves, bike shoes and helmet, unlocked the bike, ridden to work more cautiously than on a dry day then found somewhere for the bike and changed your gear on arrival the option of grabbing an umbrella and walking could well prove to take no longer.

4 mile commute. About 20mins bike but an hour walk. If it takes you 40 minutes to put on a jacket, trousers and gloves (the other things are unnecessary - wear watertight shoes and a soft hat) then I suspect you're in the extreme minority. So maybe there's an "almost always" missing from my post: cycling is almost always worth it.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Marcus Aurelius
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by Marcus Aurelius »

Most of it is just a case of rule #5. The issues with your glasses can be helped by using Rain-x and / or Fog-x on the lenses. I commute about 8 miles each day, and find that getting my kit ready the night before helps. I’m usually on the road before 05:00 so I don’t want to be messing about too much. As far as rain goes, if it’s only showers / light rain, once I’m smashing it, I find I dry out in between downpours, if it’s really hammering it down, a decent hard shell jacket is the order of the day.
Yossarian
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by Yossarian »

I have a 2.5mile cross town commute, I just take the car if it's raining in the morning. Been on a mountain bike all winter, looking forward to digging the road bike out, faster and less effort! So I would get something for spring/summer/autumn if I was you especially with the cycle to work scheme available.
peetee
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Re: Commuting tips

Post by peetee »

mjr wrote:
peetee wrote:[...]It can be that by the time you have put on waterproof jacket, trousers, overshoes, gloves, bike shoes and helmet, unlocked the bike, ridden to work more cautiously than on a dry day then found somewhere for the bike and changed your gear on arrival the option of grabbing an umbrella and walking could well prove to take no longer.

4 mile commute. About 20mins bike but an hour walk. If it takes you 40 minutes to put on a jacket, trousers and gloves (the other things are unnecessary - wear watertight shoes and a soft hat) then I suspect you're in the extreme minority. So maybe there's an "almost always" missing from my post: cycling is almost always worth it.


Well,, it depends on the convenience of your circumstances but you are assuming that a bike can just follow you out the front door and into the office. If it’s in the locked shed at the bottom of the garden and has to be locked in the work compound at an extensive factory or to the nearest bike rack that could add 10 - 15 minutes. Also a three mile ride through a city used to take me 20 minutes minimum with no cycle lanes and over 20 sets of traffic lights. And all your wet gear has to be carefully dealt with so it’s wearable later in the day whereas an umbrella just folds up. It all adds up, and that’s not to mention the appeal of the simplicity of walking. After all, that’s why people will chose a car over an umbrella a lot of the time.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
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