What Should Be On A Commuting Bike?
I’m sure this question’s been asked and answered before, but I got put on the spot in a meeting today:
What sort of bike should people have for riding to work?
Just to be clear about this - we’re talking about the 75% of people at the organisation I was visiting, who live within 5 miles of their office.
Rather than just saying, “Oh, you want an XYZ bike”, I talked about the features that you should look for when you buy the bike. Here they are in picture form - have I missed anything off?
A bell!!! If you’re ever using shared pedestrian/cycle paths then a bell is a must!
D’Oh! Of course. I guess that because all bikes in the UK have to come with one fitted, it never occurred to me to point out that a commuting bike should have one!
The arrow pointing to the hub is because it contains gears, or because it contains a dynamo? Both are probably a good idea.
The bottom one’s for hub gears, while the one above is the front wheel’s dynamo / hub brakes.
Puncture proof tyres and a damned good paint job ! Seriously. It’s one of the biggest differences between the cheap Dutch style bikes that start to in the first winter of riding on salted bike paths and proper ones which don’t rust. At all. Ever. They’re supposed to be good for a 20 year life standing outside all the time.
Oh, and it’s nit-picking relative to not having a rack at all, but while the type of rack you have in your photos is fine for occasional use, perhaps on a touring bike, they won’t last long if regularly used to transport your girlfriend. The really sturdy steel racks will, and last much longer. Same goes for mudguards. Steel outlasts plastic.
but you do also want to say - ‘whatever bike you’ve already got is a good start’. Apart from lights and brakes, nothing’s essential, and I’d hate to have someone say ‘oh well, I was going to cycle in to work but I don’t have hub gears on my bike, so I’ll have to wait until I get a chance to buy a new bike’
Start on whatever’s sitting in your garage or shed or on freecycle and when you’re hooked, start shopping for something more suitable
Well said, town mouse.
Yep - that’s a brilliant point that I’d like to second!
One that fits… ;>)
Aaron
Where’s the puncture repair kit? I’ve only had to use mine a handful of times but those days would have been ruined without it.
[...] fast forward eight years to yesterday. In response to one of the comments on my post asking what should go on a commuting bike, I went looking for pictures of funky bells, and came up with [...]
I don’t see a rear light. Required for riding at night here.
@Adrian - Yes, when you really need them, they’re complete life-savers. But for short trips, I’d probably opt for specifying puncture resistance (prevention) rather than repair (cure), especially for newbie bike commuters. Punctures are a whole lot rarer than people think, and for this target group I’d maybe have the office set up an account with a local taxi firm instead. “Get a flat? Call Joe’s Taxis - they’ll drop the bike off at The Kickstand Cyclery for repair, and bring you into work” or something like that.
@Kevin Love - Fair point - with the image of the front light, I’d meant, “Lights, ideally fixed to the bike”, but that’s far from explicit.
In the UK, if riding between sunset and sunrise, you must (i.e. it’s the law) have front and rear lights, a rear reflector, and amber reflectors on the front and rear faces of your pedals (though I’ve never seen clipless pedals with any sort of reflector).
Full details are available on the CTC’s page on bicycle lighting regulations.
you forgot: a commuter…