Any bike commuteres here?

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Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
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Anybody else around here commute by bike on a regular basis? I just started this past spring and its been treating me great. Hopefully I keep it up once the weather gets nasty!

Anyways, for any of you who do, what type of unusual gear/gadgets do you carry? I've seen a few people modify various compasses for on-bike useage, and of course all types of light setups. I guess I don't carry anything too unusual, other than a fairly decent tool kit (everything but a pump!).
 
i have one of those pumps that is hand held and uses a co2 cartrige. Works terrific. Very portable.
 
I carry Topeak Alien multi-tools on both my bikes. It is the coolest of its type, I think. I also have their RoadMorph pumps mounted to my Motobecane LeChampion road bike and Bianchi Axis cyclocross bike. My road bike has an IncrediBell for clearing the way while my 'cross bike has a similar but larger bell with a big compass mounted on the top. The compass has been surprisingly handy on some long trips. The 'cross bike also has a mount for my Garmin GPS. On each bike the multi-tools, along with a glueless patch kit, a couple of foil-packed WetWipes, a twenty dollar bill, and a couple of spare tubes are carried in a small wedge pack under the rear of the saddle.

Each bike has a red LED blinkie at the rear.

I have a Planet Bike Alias 15W light set-up for the 'cross bike, which is my commuter, but it rarely gets used.

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
I bike all year (yes even during Canadian Winters when the rural roads are closed). Work is close enough that I don't bother with the pump as it is close enough to push the bike to work/home if it broke (though I'm looking to get one of those CO2 pumps). As I work Afternoon shift it is always dark when I'm done work so lights on the bike are important (extra light on me during bad weather), extra reflective tape is a must, fenders on the down bar and mounted on the seat pole are important, bell is useful but not vital. I figure the most important thing I have though is $50 U lock, my town has lots of bike thefts, about a dozen have gotten stolen at the apartment building over the summer and a few from work as well. When you rely on the bike to get to work there is no feeling quite like coming out of the building and seeing that every other bike has been stolen.
 
St. Louis has been making great efforts to promote bike commuting, what with the establishment of numbers of bike routes with dedicated bike lanes and so forth.
I considered it before my creaky knees got even creakier, but I haven't got a safe route for most of the 10-mile commute I do daily. Mostly high-speed surface roads without even so much as a parking lane.
Watching the idiots drive on these roads for many years, I'm disinclined to pedal them.....
 
mwerner said:
Watching the idiots drive on these roads for many years, I'm disinclined to pedal them.....
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It is the same everywhere, I ride on the sidewalk (though I go slow so I don't kill any of the pedestrians, so far not even a funny look from the police) when I'm dealing with the super busy roads that seem to attract idiot drivers.
 
Yup, I too try to stick to the sidewalks. There are always those stretches where you must ride the road, which is why I have two rear reflectors and a tail flasher!
 
no pump, huh?
I wont go out without one, actually- except races, by the time i've got a tire changed, and refilled, I've lost too much time for it to be worth it.
Carrying a pump has made life a lot easier, several times.
I strongly suggest at least one of the small CO2 ones, and preferable would be a frame-attached pump, which is also useful for *discouraging* dogs from attacking.
Other than that, I've always got my cell phone, a multi tool that will do everything on the bike, including break/assemble chain links, a spare tube or two, tire levers, and a digital nite-owl front light & a LED rear light get added at night.
 
sunshaker said:
I figure the most important thing I have though is $50 U lock, my town has lots of bike thefts,
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That's one accessory I forgot to mention. (I bring my bike inside at work so theft isn't an issue.

But I DO have an On Guard Pitbull U-lock and cable set. It has the familiar U-lock and a long piece of really fat vinyl-covered steel cable. You can really do some fine securing with that rig!

Good peddling,
desmobob
 
I bike commute due to lack of other options.

It's good though because school has had me missing a lot of my morning runs.

The only thing I take with me all the time is my water bottle. I have spare tubes but have been too lazy to go get any hex drivers so there's not any point in brigging the tubes along.

Also have an LED bikelight and usually take my knife, hat, and sunglasses with me.

So far, the sunglasses and waterproof, broadrimmed hat, have been pretty awesome for the inclement weather.

The knife doesn't become useful until I get off the bike. :p
 
used to cycle to fishing and have a 6" fillet knife kept inside the handle bar in case I cut myself. :)
 
well, being a bicycle mechanic i can tell ya whatcha need. Onboard bike pump, mounts on the down tube or seat tube. You should carry 4,5,6 and 8 mm allen wrenches. A spoke wrench if you know how to true wheels. 10,12,13 and 14mm open end wrenches. Pair of pliers and a spare tube or two if you have quick release. If you ride at night get a nice front headlight and a blinking light to go on back. And a nice little bell :-)
 
Buck268 said:
Yup, I too try to stick to the sidewalks. There are always those stretches where you must ride the road, which is why I have two rear reflectors and a tail flasher!
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Statistically (and from my own experience riding over the last twenty years or so) you are MUCH more likely to be hit by motorists when riding on sidewalks and streetside bike paths than when riding on the road. On the road, you are a part of traffic. You may irritate some people, but you will probably be seen. Nobody looks for fast-moving vehicles on the sidewalk. Every driveway and alley is now an intersection. Drivers pull out in front of cyclists on sidewalks all the time, but rarely will hit them on the road.
 
Pump, tube, and a few tools. I've used them all at one time or another.

Lights-It may sound like overkill, but I used two rear red LEDs, one flashing on my Camelbak and one on solid on the bike. In winter I also use two headlights, one rechargable and one smaller battery powered job set on flash.

I also wear high-visibility colors such as the slime green/yellow or orange. I've noticed that the more lights, color, and refelctive stuff is on the bike, the more room I get from cars and trucks that pass me.

Helmet-I've heard all the arguments for not wearing them, but I broke my helmet, not my egg, a couple of years ago in what seemed like a minor crash. Had I not had it on, I'd have had at least a severe concussion, at worst, a really bad head injury.

Finally, I second the motion that you are legally a vehicle, and as such, your place is on the road.
 
I had a BMX crash... helmet would have killed me had i been wearing my BMX specific one, woulda snapped my neck. I just lost 3 teeth, got some road rash and half of my top lip literally came off (peek-a-boo i see your teeth! or lack there of...) But yeah, helmets are a very smart idea you never know when youll hit a pothole or slip or something.
 
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