Commuter newbie tips

Khannie

So I've recently started commuting by bike. Skerries to the City Centre. It's a good jaunt. I've learned a few things from asking, some from reading and some the hard way. I'm sure there's a wealth of knowledge in here that could make it easier for people starting out so get sharing. I'll add anything useful to the commuting wiki page.

Stuff I've learned:

• You don't need to be scared of traffic. Just learn how to deal with it. Read the safety section of the wiki for some excellent advice.
• Don't bother with a puncture repair kit. You have no handy bucket of water at the side of the road. Bring a spare tube. You'll be glad you did.
• Bring a pump.
• If you're very short sighted, consider wearing contacts for a long commute. Having to crane your neck up on a road bike to watch out for potholes becomes uncomfortable after a while. You can get very cheap contacts here.
• Keep your chain clean and lubricated. I could not *believe* the difference a clean chain made.
• Unless your commute is very short, consider getting a good bike. If you think it's not worth the money, try one first. It's worth the money. The bike to work scheme allows you to get a 1000 euro bike for around 530 euro net cost if you're earning in the upper tax band (spread over 12 months if your employer is kind).

Raam

Learn to love a head wind.

Canis Lupus

Khannie wrote: »

[*]Don't bother with a puncture repair kit. You have no handy bucket of water at the side of the road. Bring a spare tube. You'll be glad you did.

I disagree somewhat. A new tube will obviously be faster but you don't need a bucket of water to detect a puncture. Just pump the tube up and regardless of traffic it's usually instantly noticeable where the hole it if not instantly spotted just spin the tyre close to your mouth. Your lips will pick up the air escaping although you might look a touch odd

ccull123

as previous poster said......you just have to accept the "head wind". The last two/ three weeks have been a nitemare!!! I seem to get it going and coming from work but then today..........had a tailwind on the way home. You truly appreciate it when u have been cycling against it for a few weeks...

Other than that just know that cyclists are invisible to motorists(not all) but most. Twice today cycling home i nearly got cleaned out of it. You just have to be ALWAYS alert and expect the unexpected.

Squidgy Black

Khannie wrote: »

[*]Don't bother with a puncture repair kit. You have no handy bucket of water at the side of the road. Bring a spare tube. You'll be glad you did.

I always bring both, in case there was a shard of glass or something in the tire, you puncture the 2nd tube and just then realise there's something in the tire

kumate_champ07

stetyrrell wrote: »

I always bring both, in case there was a shard of glass or something in the tire, you puncture the 2nd tube and just then realise there's something in the tire

you should always check the tyre after a puncture for bits of glass that might be stuck, its good to check them regularly anyway if you ride in the city because sharp objects can become embedded and can cause a puncture later on

ontheditch2

@Khannie
How do you find that route, considering commuting the opposite direction going from Templeogue area to Rush, how long does it take??

BostonB

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

you should always check the tyre after a puncture for bits of glass that might be stuck, its good to check them regularly anyway if you ride in the city because sharp objects can become embedded and can cause a puncture later on

+1 seems to the cause of many of my very few punctures

BostonB

I usually go up the canal and through the phoenix park. I seem to have head wind both directions. I assume because both are so open, unsheltered. Going though the city center or on shorter roads, with lots of turns, with lots of buildings reduces the wind a lot. I just slow down so I'm not pushing against the wind. Though if you tuck in behind someone, or a group of commuters, at a safe distance it takes the load off. Usually I just slow down so I'm not pushing into the wind. Its not that much of a problem unless its really windy. In my experience, Truely windy days are quite rare, but maybe I'm not cycling enough. Its rarely bad enough to be annoying on my commute.

blorg

I remember reading a study that a a analysed the effect of wind on cyclists. The conclusion was that it was negative, across a range greater than 180 degrees, maybe as much as 270 degrees. So, in other words, yes, there really is always a headwind.

shaungil

breath out after you get to the Tesco distribution centre roundabout, always feels easier after that for me. Might see you on the road some day Khannie Swords gear red Specailised normally leave 7.30 2 or 3 days a week.

kennyb3

Decent tyres make a massive difference in terms of puncture resistance. The bog standard ones that arrive with most bikes are worth changing imho.

Khannie

ontheditch2 wrote: »

@Khannie
How do you find that route, considering commuting the opposite direction going from Templeogue area to Rush, how long does it take??

Templeogue to Rush would be very long. Town to Rush is about the same as town to Skerries. It's taking me somewhere between an hour and a quarter and an hour and three quarters though I expect that to drop a bit as my fitness improves and I've a new bike on the way. I'm currently doing a cycle in, train home, then train in the next day, cycle home. The legs aren't quite up to the 70K a day yet.

One of the lads in the office drives from Drogheda into Santry, then cycles the rest. That's the best of both worlds because you're whizzing past traffic on the way in and the way out.

Khannie

stetyrrell wrote: »

I always bring both, in case there was a shard of glass or something in the tire, you puncture the 2nd tube and just then realise there's something in the tire

Yeah, I think I'll be doing the same in future. I was cycling in the other day, got a flat. No problem says I. Quick release wheel, new tube on in five minutes or less. I'm pumping and the flippin' valve snapped. I was *not* impressed.

shaungil wrote: »

breath out after you get to the Tesco distribution centre roundabout, always feels easier after that for me. Might see you on the road some day Khannie Swords gear red Specailised normally leave 7.30 2 or 3 days a week.

I'm the one on the ancient raleigh road bike. (for now that is...I've a canyon on the way). Say hi. I think I might have seen you the other day alright.

Beasty

Hope you're enjoying the commute Khannie - what time are you typically heading in? I'm sure our paths will cross at some stage

On the tubes point, I carry a couple, and a repair kit. I've never needed more than one, but you can rest assured the first day I carry only one spare will be the day it happens

A couple of route options I take to avoid traffic and/or road problems

On the way in I take the Lusk by-pass - it adds about 0.7km to the route, but the road quaility is much better - Lusk is a bit of a mess at present

A lot of people avoid coming back on the Blakes Cross to Lusk road. I tend to head up either to Balbriggan, or take the short-cut up to the Man 'O War. The second option only adds about 2km, although there is more of a hill to get up. Traffic past Blakes Cross is much easier - the hard shoulder is a bit of a mess in places, but the road is wide enough to allow vehicles to pass comfortably

Khannie

Beasty wrote: »

Hope you're enjoying the commute Khannie - what time are you typically heading in? I'm sure our paths will cross at some stage

Ah I'm sure they will at some point. I normally leave between 7.30 and 8 in the morning. Say hi if you think it's me. I'll have a bag on my back and a high vis vest over it. Ancient raleigh road bike.

Beasty wrote: »

On the way in I take the Lusk by-pass - it adds about 0.7km to the route, but the road quaility is much better - Lusk is a bit of a mess at present

I was just thinking of that yesterday.

Beasty wrote: »

A lot of people avoid coming back on the Blakes Cross to Lusk road. I tend to head up either to Balbriggan, or take the short-cut up to the Man 'O War. The second option only adds about 2km, although there is more of a hill to get up. Traffic past Blakes Cross is much easier - the hard shoulder is a bit of a mess in places, but the road is wide enough to allow vehicles to pass comfortably

Hmmm. I'm the bridge side of Skerries (not far from the bridge in fact). I might try that one day, but I'll wait for the new bike. There's also the option of the back road in to Lusk (that would bring you out at the monument in Lusk). That might be worth a lash too.

Khannie

More tips:

Bring gloves if there's any chance at all of rain. I brought some this morning and I was DAMNED glad.

Make sure your tyres are pumped hard.

Avoid full suspension bikes for long commutes.

blorg

1 tube is fine if you carry a repair kit (which is a lot smaller and will do more than one puncture.)

SuiteCheex

Raam wrote: »

Learn to love a head wind.

I've tried, Lord knows I've tried. But I LOATHE a head wind. Puts me in bad form for the day!

Karagesh

On the days I have to drive to work, I leave all my work clothes/towels etc in work. I'm lucky enough there is a spare house on site that is no longer used with a shower etc, and have a place to lockup the bike. The less you can get away with the better. I also have a few old jerseys and bib shorts in work incase of rain in the morning and a track pump/tubes. Preparation is the key imo.

Blowfish

Khannie wrote: »

Bring gloves if there's any chance at all of rain. I brought some this morning and I was DAMNED glad.

Along with decent overshoes. Generally the rest of your gear will dry out easily enough during the day but shoes/runners don't and end up stinking. There's nothing worse than having to get back into soggy shoes/runners for the trip home again.

Hrududu

I'm new to commuting myself. How often should you have to pump your tyres? I pumped mine on Friday evening. The bike was then sitting there over the weekend. When I checked the air pressure on Monday it had gone down by about 20 psi in one tyre and about 30 psi in the other. After I pumped them back up to 80 psi I went out on it for about an hour. I checked it again when I got in and one tyre had gone down again by 30 psi.

Normal or something off?

Blowfish

I'd say something off, normally the pressure does drop a bit after long trips, but it shouldn't be anywhere near as much as that, especially after an hour.

Karagesh wrote: »

On the days I have to drive to work, I leave all my work clothes/towels etc in work.

With this, even if you bring in your work clothes every day, it's still worth having spares stored in work as you'll inevitably forget something at some point. I actually managed to forget to bring a shirt one day and almost ended up spending all day wearing a boards jersey (I work in a 'shirt and tie' office, so it would have been pretty bad), but thankfully one of the other cyclists actually had a spare shirt as the same thing had happened to him.

Karagesh

Blowfish wrote: »

I'd say something off, normally the pressure does drop a bit after long trips, but it shouldn't be anywhere near as much as that, especially after an hour.
With this, even if you bring in your work clothes every day, it's still worth having spares stored in work as you'll inevitably forget something at some point. I actually managed to forget to bring a shirt one day and almost ended up spending all day wearing a boards jersey (I work in a 'shirt and tie' office, so it would have been pretty bad), but thankfully one of the other cyclists actually had a spare shirt as the same thing had happened to him.

When I drive I bring in 2/3 weeks worth of clothes

Khannie

Haha. You must be minted. I don't *own* that many clothes.

seamus

Blowfish wrote: »

With this, even if you bring in your work clothes every day, it's still worth having spares stored in work as you'll inevitably forget something at some point. I actually managed to forget to bring a shirt one day and almost ended up spending all day wearing a boards jersey (I work in a 'shirt and tie' office, so it would have been pretty bad), but thankfully one of the other cyclists actually had a spare shirt as the same thing had happened to him.

I've been doing it for so long now, it's pretty much second nature. I have a whole routine built up around packing my bag.
In the early days before I wore proper cycling gear I forgot jocks and socks once. So I did have jocks and socks to wear all day, but it wasn't the most pleasant. Haven't forgotten them since.
Forgot a t shirt one day and wore a base layer under my shirt. Very flattering. Outside of that I very occasionally forget a tie or a belt. Tolerable.

Oh and once I forgot a towel. So I used my cycling gear to dry off. Great solution, until I had to go home.

It's not without it's pitfalls