New commuter, problems, any advice?

MichaelUK

Hi people,

First post for me here, I'm a week into commuting to university everyday. I've run into some issues and just wondered if you guys could give me some advice on how you deal with these problems.

The reason i started using a bike to commute is because i was sick of feeling like I was running on someone else's time (trains/buses skipping or too full to get on). The main problem I've ran into is everything seems to be taking so long (big chunks of my day are being taken by getting the commuting on bike thing to work) I'm having to take a huge bag to uni with me which includes a change of clothes and shoes, the clothing and footwear i wear usually doesn't suit commuting by bike (getting caught on the bike(jeans), covered in mud or drenched in sweat).

This morning i woke up at 7.30 (thinking id get to uni early for a full day of study) got to uni at 10.30 due to having to faff about so much at either end of the journey.

What do you guys do to make things quicker and easier? Also are there any recommendations on types of clothing and footwear i should consider purchasing.

Many thanks for your time.

61Sigs

Hullo,

How far is your commute?
Can you leave bulky items (shoes etc) at uni?
Will your bike take a rack and panniers?

MichaelUK

The commute is 2.2 miles long (4.4miles per day), short but only downside is the amount of hills around here (West Yorkshire).

No unfortunately there are no lockers or anything at uni, so everything has to be carried around.

I have a mudguard below the saddle, not sure if any kind of bag could fit there.

I'm riding one of these year 2000 Saracen Fasttrax. Mine is completely stock compared to the one in this photo (only picture i could find of them online).



Realise its not a great bike but want to know im going to stick with it before putting down some money for a new one.

Thanks

richVSrich

im sorry: it takes you 3 hours from waking up to sitting down for class with a 2.2 mile journey on a bike???

im sure you can cut that down to half if you really tried...

1 hour - wake up , shower, get ready
15 mins cycle 2.2 miles at a leisurely pace
15 mins get changed at uni

(surely thats already a generous amount of time)

61Sigs

As it's only a couple of miles, do you need a complete change of clothes? I'd be tempted to get some decent trainers and only take a change of shoes if it's lashing down.

Get a pair of merino tights and stick your jeans in a bag, sorted. You may want to ge a set of crudcathers to keep the worst of the dirt of you.

For 2.2 miles, I'd wouldn't stick a great deal of effort into it or it'll take you longer to get organised than it does to ride.

lockstock666

Lol, are you exagerating when u say it took until 10:30? What were you doing? Oh your a student lol.

To give you an idea this is how my day goes.

I commute 4.3 miles.(on a windless/ slight-tailwind day I can do it in 19 minutes) Admittedly there aren't any hills worth mentioning.

Wake up at 7:00, make breakfast for my 3y old & me, make coffee for the Mrs.
Throw on my commuting clothes.
Make lunch,
Find clothes for work. (usually I intercept them on the airer and give them a blast on the iron.
Pack everything.
Clean teeth.
Find wallet, phone and keys.
I leave at 7:35. A bad day with wind and traffic lights takes 26 minutes to ride. Arrive at work and be showered and dressed and at my desk by 8:15 start time.

To save time in the morn then pack your bag the night before including lunch, clothes, books and whatever else you think you need.

One you do it a few times you will soon know what you need and dont need to bother with.

Try to have it packed so what you need first at your destination is on top.

If you have got that much stuff panniers are prob a good idea.

MichaelUK

I think the key to solving this is finding a pair of trainers i can wear while riding and then wear throughout the day at uni, also purchasing a coat/jacket which can be worn while riding and then worn throughout the day.

Any ideas for these? I've tried riding in flat (pump) style trainers and it wasn't a good experience, so now I'm wearing sports trainers and changing into the pumps at uni. Think i need to find a balance between, maybe some discreet sports trainers.

No honestly it took me that long and that's without making some lunch for the day , majority of the time was spent getting all my stuff sorted and packing my bag before setting off (which could have been done over the weekend really).

61Sigs

Get a pair of Merrell trainers, the'll do the trick, but mostly I'd suggest you get your admin sorted out

Lowride

If you can`t keep a change of clothes at uni then what I would do is get a panier. I would also consider making your bike a bit more road friendly, i.e get some road tyres and put the PSI up real high 100+. This will help make your riding alot easier and quicker, you`ll have massive drag with your mountain bike tyres. You won`t get flustered so much as you`ll use less effort, with a panier you also won`t have to have a big, heavy bag on your back. Not fun when riding and makes you get hot

HTH

MichaelUK

the pannier sounds like a good idea, however it would just give me something else to worry about getting stolen, unless there are ones which can be secured to the frame and locked with a padlock?

Just been looking are there are so many different types and sizes, i presume most of them will fit mountain bikes?

Thanks

graeme_s-2

Agree with the others. It may need some better planning, but you should be able to get the time right down. I get out of bed at 6am and start work at 8am. I get up, grab a quick glass of water and a banana, get into my cycling gear, cycle 21 miles to work, have a shower, get dressed and I'm at my desk at 8.

I am able to keep a towel, shoes and toiletries at work, which admittedly does help.

One thing to do is to make sure you bag is packed, your stuff is laid out ready to put on in the morning and any fettling with your bike is done before you go to bed.

61Sigs

Get a pannier with a handle that lifts off, and just use that as your bag. I never leave my panniers on the bike if it's left in public, some eejit is likely to do something too it.

If you're serious about getting into this, spend a few more quid on a decent pannier with shoulder strap.

cooldad

It would only take half an hour or so to walk.

bails87

I woke up at 7:20 this morning, I was at my desk at 9:15, and that's with a 15 mile commute.

I woke up, got out of bed, got dressed, had a bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee. I put on my (packed last night) backpack and left the house at about 7:50. I arrived at work at 8:40, locked the bike up, and got into the office at 8:50. Then I had a shower, got dressed and presentable and was at my desk ready to start work at 9:15.

That's 1 hour & 55mins from waking up to being at work, and 50 minutes of that was riding.

Say you pootle along at about 10mph, 2.2 miles should take <15 minutes, and I don't think you'd need a shower after, so that's a fair chunk of time saved.

The key is getting stuff prepared. I pack my bag the night before, so I have what I need and it's ready to go. In the morning I know it's just a case of rolling out of bed, getting dressed and eating breakfast, then I can go.

As others have said, for such a short commute, maybe don't bother with a full change of clothes. Maybe just a light cycling jacket and some shorts, with your normal tshirt underneath. Then you can quickly change into jeans when you arrive. If you take it slow then you won't sweat and at such a short distance, the time difference between taking it easy and sprinting isn't going to impact on the rest of your day. But if you sprint and turn up sweaty and needing 20 minutes to cool down, then you'll be slower than if you just took your time.

tomb353

I think the post above regarding walking is the best advice.

For 2.2 miles you should not be having to deal with special clothes, special shoes etc
any more than you would need special equipment to walk 2.2 miles. I would concentrate
on setting up the bike so that you could ride it in a 3 piece suit and macintosh.

1/ Consider replacing bike with a 3 speed gentleman's roadster or dutch style town bike
(Ok if you have really big hills then derailleur gears might help)

2/ if sticking with old MTB then replace tyres with slick city tyres marathon plus or similar
and pump them up to the maximum. (even pumping your existing tyres up will make a big difference.

3/ fit proper mudguards

4/ fit rack and panniers. Panniers could be dutch style ones that you leave fixed to the bike
and leave empty or touring style ones which unclip.

jimmypippa

The walking comment is accurate. Wear normal clothes (maybe with something to deal with the chain marks) and only commute in fine weather at first so you don't need to do anything.

For comparison I'll chose the bike if I need to get to the COOP 3/4 of a mile away. Pick up rucsac, put on gloves and helmet, put on jacket (if appropriate), get bike and cycle down and back takes about 3-minutes preparation (being pessimistic) and 7-minutes moderate cycling, so the longest time is spent in queuing at the shop.

MichaelW

2 miles=normal clothes.
Shower before you ride.
Dont ride hard; if you have hills, use a low gear so you are not straining or sweating. Any time you save by riding fast is lost as you try to cooldown.

Dont overdress.
Those breathable waterproof jackets are boil-in-the-bag, only to be worn during rain. Use a windproof jacket for most riding.
You can wear any shoes you want to; my cheapie Hi Tec Silver Shadow are as good as anything.
My cycle-around-town clothing is a normal T shirt or Merino wool version if it is cold.
Quick-drying olycotton hiking pants (Go Outdoors discount specials), with waterproof overpants for heavy rain.
Normal shirt and wooly jumper.
Polycotton or polyester windproof jacket.

A low mileage utility bike needs to be setup correctly. Fit some Schwalbe Marathon PLUS tyres, the most puncture resistant you can get. I wouldn't even bother with a repair kit.
Full length mudguards will keep road muck off your clothes.
Use a backpack but put the heavier stuff in a front basket. Panniers are good for heavier loads/longer rides but are not so nice to haul around all day.
You need lights, lock, maybe helmet and gloves, bike clips.

My bike is setup for this style of riding so I use internal hub gears (8-speed) and hub dynamo lighting (no need to remove stuff when parked).

baz2003uk

hi

i started commuting about 4 weeks ago now and really enjoy it
its a 6.2 commute each way and take me 30/35 mins on a MTB (diamond back response)
to start with i sed a rucksack for a few days but invested in a topeak bag that goes on the front get a reasonable amount of stuff in there
what i do is on a monday i take the rucksack with a change of cloths 2 of everything then leave them there till friday and bring home to clean rest of the week i use the toppeak bag for lunch phone keys gloves ect

i only invested in mud guards this weekend as was getting covered with mud lol well worth it
i cycle over a busy motorway junction and a unlit road off this (very iffy) i invested in a magicshine 872 and OMG its a pukka light

i am yet to get some good cloths bit baffled by the base layers ect so keep reading reviews on here
i have waterproof trousers and a cheap windproof jacket that work well
i used to run alot so have also been using my long sleeve running top it works very well and after a few mins i am warmed up

i usaly get up at 7 get ready and leave at 7.40 and arrive at work around 8.10 8.15

stick with it and pack the night before

MichaelUK

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've currently got the following equipment, lock (kryptonite series 2), helmet and lights.

Late start at uni tomorrow but I've made sure tonight everything is ready for the morning. I've been planning out the best route to take online tonight and it involves the majority of it riding along the side of a canal (with a steep downhill road section on the outwards journey and steep uphill section on the way back). Would the slick tyres be ok for that kind of surface? Also how do i know the tyres are pumped up to there maximum, always scared to go too far thinking they may explode.

I've also lowered my seat as my lower back was starting to really hurt. Could be the huge bag I've had on my back but seems like I've been leaning over too much. In a ideal world i think id be better with a larger frame as when the seats at the correct level i need to lean over a lot in order to reach the handle bars (20inch frame and I'm 6 foot 4).

Thanks again