Things I've learnt from commuting

[Kenty]

9 hours ago, Hairy said:

Nice bike, but given this is not a bike with horizontal drop out I would honestly run the front and rear brakes to avoid the risk of failure with the current SS setup, and once you see some wear in the chain, your tolerances will be worse with more risk of failure.

I have gone full circle with ghetto setups running SS and when you get a proper SS frame the difference in wheel security and ride feel with proper tension is night and day.... and our daily commute loop was 50km, in rain, wind or shine in CT.

Something like the ROOK One is a good buy to get started on.

https://rookcycles.com/collections/new-bikes-in-stock/products/rook-one-the-emerald 

Mornings , I absolutely hear you and couldn't agree more , hence I'm on the look out for an old steel track bike frame in the 50 to 53 cm range .. .I will get one , in the meantime I will be "gently" be pedaling on the OCR3...

[i24]

On 10/28/2024 at 6:15 PM, NotSoBigBen said:

Real fixie riders don't need brakes 🤪

The judge in this case had a different opinion.

https://www.stephensons.co.uk/site/news_and_events/uptodatenews/cyclist-sentenced-over-death-of-pedestrian

[PappaWatTrap]

Hi everyone,

Any tips on bags that you use for commuting? Space for some shoes, laptop, clothes ? Then durable and somewhat waterproof?

[Zebra]

1 hour ago, PappaWatTrap said:

Hi everyone,

Any tips on bags that you use for commuting? Space for some shoes, laptop, clothes ? Then durable and somewhat waterproof?

First off, leave EVERYTHING you can, at WORK, as much as is feasibly possible… probably no need to be carting WORK shoes hither & thither!!!

A backpack leads to a hot back; where possible, let the ‘Donkey’ (bicycle) carry the load (your gear)…

That said, a laptop may be better on your back (suspended, as it were), but if no laptopk, try and get the BIKE to carry your load.

Bags, you say! What BIKE are you riding? Hard tail, Full Suss, Road?

[PappaWatTrap]

30 minutes ago, Zebra said:

First off, leave EVERYTHING you can, at WORK, as much as is feasibly possible… probably no need to be carting WORK shoes hither & thither!!!

A backpack leads to a hot back; where possible, let the ‘Donkey’ (bicycle) carry the load (your gear)…

That said, a laptop may be better on your back (suspended, as it were), but if no laptopk, try and get the BIKE to carry your load.

Bags, you say! What BIKE are you riding? Hard tail, Full Suss, Road?

The plan is to leave my extra set of vellies at work and then I should be able to leave my laptop at work as well. I am on a hardtail but not really space to mount anything on the bike

Edited Tuesday at 06:13 PM by PappaWatTrap

[ChrisF]

9 minutes ago, PappaWatTrap said:

The plan is to leave my extra set of vellies at work and then I should be able to leave my laptop at work as well. I am on a hardtail but not really space to mount anything on the bike

 

Is the HT destined to be a commuter ?  

 

I have a carrier on my commuter.  Got lucky and bought a canvas bag that velcros onto carrier.

 

Nothing on my back is just SO much better !!!  On the odd occasion I have to use a back-pack ... certainly thee worst part of commuting.

 

Spare shoes at office helps.

Spare undies at work for those days you ride in cycling pants and only pack your pants and shirt ... 🤣

Towel and wash cloth stays at work, as does a can of deodorant.

[PappaWatTrap]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Is the HT destined to be a commuter ?  

 

I have a carrier on my commuter.  Got lucky and bought a canvas bag that velcros onto carrier.

 

Nothing on my back is just SO much better !!!  On the odd occasion I have to use a back-pack ... certainly thee worst part of commuting.

 

Spare shoes at office helps.

Spare undies at work for those days you ride in cycling pants and only pack your pants and shirt ... 🤣

Towel and wash cloth stays at work, as does a can of deodorant.

Ah the joy of leaving your jocks at home, what an uncomfortable day in a pair of jeans. 

Yeah the HT is what I have, I am looking for a cheapish gravel bike but for now I'll have to do with what I have. 

[Zebra]

Just a thought - if you could get someone to make you up an INEXPENSIVE f-r-a-m-e fit bag, that can carry some gear - then you only need to relocate say 1x water-bottle cage(s)...

Otherwise, TEMU & co have VERY inexpensive seat-post-mounted w/proof 'out back' bags, will try and find you a pic, inexpensive as in dirt cheap, not GREAT quality, but they do work, after playing around with the strap positions - will try and dig out a picture...

[alleyne]

Don't write off the old backpack to soon. I had an uber turn in front of me on my way to work and ended up hitting him and going OTB, landed on my backpack and no injuries. (carbon front wheel not so lucky).

[PappaWatTrap]

3 hours ago, Zebra said:

Just a thought - if you could get someone to make you up an INEXPENSIVE f-r-a-m-e fit bag, that can carry some gear - then you only need to relocate say 1x water-bottle cage(s)...

Otherwise, TEMU & co have VERY inexpensive seat-post-mounted w/proof 'out back' bags, will try and find you a pic, inexpensive as in dirt cheap, not GREAT quality, but they do work, after playing around with the strap positions - will try and dig out a picture...

Shot thank you, I didn’t even think about temu yet. Let me do some googling as well. The more I think about it the more the frame bag sounds like a win

[peetwindhoek]

18 hours ago, PappaWatTrap said:

Hi everyone,

Any tips on bags that you use for commuting? Space for some shoes, laptop, clothes ? Then durable and somewhat waterproof?

 

I used one of these for years, commuting roughly 20 km to the office and back - before I took over school drop-offs and pick-ups. It held up well and is still somewhere in the house. As Zebra mentioned, it gets heavy if you don’t leave things at the office. I remember it being over 20 kg when fully loaded one day and always considered it part of my strength training.

Another thing to consider is that carrying a backpack might make you look like a more valuable target for theft.

[Skubarra]

1 hour ago, PappaWatTrap said:

Shot thank you, I didn’t even think about temu yet. Let me do some googling as well. The more I think about it the more the frame bag sounds like a win

How far is your commute? Personally a normal backpack never bothered me. That is where I would start with if I was you before investing in a carrier. But then my commute is only 40 minutes (on a slow day). Like @peetwindhoek said, I consider the backpack part of my strength training.

[ChrisO]

New commuter to the conversation. 

For years Ive been sitting in my car in notorious Stellenbosch 8am and 5pm peak traffic, an hour wasted in total, to cover a mere 10k's (there and back).

This month the traffic seems to have doubled from last year, so I decided to start riding my MTB to work. It is the best quality of life decision I've made in a long time.

Now I get it - the calm, the joy of passing long rows of crawling cars, fresh air, smiles, changing the route, slipping in a gravel or trail section along the way, no hunting and paying for parking, no Wrangler V6 fuel bill, greeting pedestrians and cyclists along the way, waving at a mate ... the simple joys of a zen bicycle commute.

No more "drive to work in traffic" angst.

Thanks to you guys!

[Mamil]

16 minutes ago, ChrisO said:

New commuter to the conversation. 

For years Ive been sitting in my car in notorious Stellenbosch 8am and 5pm peak traffic, an hour wasted in total, to cover a mere 10k's (there and back).

This month the traffic seems to have doubled from last year, so I decided to start riding my MTB to work. It is the best quality of life decision I've made in a long time.

Now I get it - the calm, the joy of passing long rows of crawling cars, fresh air, smiles, changing the route, slipping in a gravel or trail section along the way, no hunting and paying for parking, no Wrangler V6 fuel bill, greeting pedestrians and cyclists along the way, waving at a mate ... the simple joys of a zen bicycle commute.

No more "drive to work in traffic" angst.

Thanks to you guys!

My commute this morning (Its a 2km mooch in work clothing) was a little less idyllic and included stopping at a stop street next to a guy in a merc on his cell phone looking right while almost pulling out in front of an ambulance, sirens wailing bombing down the road we were trying to cross on the wrong side of the road with a silver corsa lite tailgaiting it. The corsa was piloted by a crew of morons with their toddler on the mother moron's lap and kids in the back seat. Tailgaiting them were 2 taxis also on the wrong side of the road, all doing 60kmph next to column of stationart traffic other a kilometer long headed towards liebeek parkway.

As the pandemonium of that died down and I snuck across the road to the 20 meter little stretch until the next stop street, I got hooted at aggressively by a car that had turned behind me for not being on the left of the road.

I lost my cool.

"Are you seriously f$#$ hooting at me on my bicycle after that sh#$3 show?" 

But you're right - it's great riding past thousands of tons of metal and plastic sitting in frustrated queues, seeing the regulars, the kids walking to school, the bergie at the dustbin, the other people on bikes .... the more I do it the more utterly bonkers private car ownership looks. 

[Mamil]

6 hours ago, alleyne said:

Don't write off the old backpack to soon. I had an uber turn in front of me on my way to work and ended up hitting him and going OTB, landed on my backpack and no injuries. (carbon front wheel not so lucky).

laptop?

[Kuys]

On 2/18/2025 at 6:29 PM, PappaWatTrap said:

Hi everyone,

Any tips on bags that you use for commuting? Space for some shoes, laptop, clothes ? Then durable and somewhat waterproof?

I use this https://www.firstascent.co.za/flint-25l-backpack?srsltid=AfmBOoqWLzA0whOa6-89tBfdcuvxj3s0vjNc7Y_4LvhFJpSd9UMyknHw

It has a rain cover which works very well. 

Chest and waist straps are important to keep pack secure, also prevents someone from grabbing it off your back. 

It has a frame that keeps the back pack away from your back to improve air flow and reduce sweating. It does restrict internal volume though. Enough space for clothes set and lunch (no shoes or laptop)

I ride a full suspension so kinda forced to go the back pack route. If on hardtail I would have explored the bike pack route for sure. But having the pack on my back instead of the bike allows for easier manoeuvring of bike on side walks etc, like bunny hopping curbs etc.