Busier roads. Increasing travel costs. Rocketing pollution. Longer, more depressing commutes. Expanding waistlines. What do these real-life challenges have in common? The car. Over 75% of short-distance, inner-city travel is made by one. We believe it’s time to escape these metal boxes, embrace two wheels, and reignite your freedom to move. However, cycling to work may cause several concerns such as: What kind of bike is suitable for city commuters? How to avoid fatigue when cycling to work every day? What are the appropriate types of clothes for cyclists?
Aware of these concerns, we’ve got you covered with our top tips for commuting to work by bike.
1. Choose a bike that you can trust
If you cycle to work every day, you’ll need a bike which can carry you through all weather conditions with minimal maintenance. Also, since you may be commuting in all kind of terrains and inclines, you’ll want a bike that is lightweight and durable enough, to get you to work in speed and safety. Understanding commuters’ patterns, we suggest you choose a bike that is equally great at performance as it is in style (you’re not going to want to ride the bike if you don’t like how it looks.)
Roads are not always flat and easy; therefore, a wide range of gears will facilitate you a smooth ride even on the hilliest roads. Mudguards will come in handy to keep the muck away from your backside on the wet days. Also, you can customise your bike with a pannier rack to carry your luggage to work conveniently.
Reid bikes combine all these elements together to give you a ride to work you’ll be looking forward to getting up for. And we’re confident in the quality of our products, so much so that all our bikes comes with a lifetime frame and rigid fork warranty! You’ll have peace of mind knowing that we have you covered on your daily commute, we believe that any stress at work is enough stress for the day.
More significantly, if you’re looking for a bike to travel without the usual soreness, front suspension and a suspension seatpost are nice additions to ride in comfort, much like our aptly named Comfort bike! (We also make this bike specifically for women, the Comfort WSD.)
2. Charge up your energy for the daily ride
Riding hungry is the worst. A light breakfast is the perfect way to start the day before departure to fuel your cycling journey. We love and recommend a classic bowl of porridge! Oats gradually release sugar into the bloodstream, providing a steady energy release, plus spice it up with some berries and yogurt and you’re in for a winner.
Additionally, late afternoon snacks are common in the office, but choosing the right snack may help on that ride home! Various types of nuts such as cashew, almond or walnuts give you a boost of energy without extra sugar and carbs and are also pretty tasty. A good number of commuters regard cycling to work as their primary physical exercise to keep fit and healthy, when the alternative is often a car, why not combine fitness into your commute? Making more of your time, your time.
P.S: Keep yourself hydrated. You definitely don’t want the thirst to pull your speed back.
3. Dress properly and have spare clothes at the office (if needed)
In comfortable weather days, it’s quite easy to dress comfortably and casually for your commute, especially if have a nice short or flat commute. No lycra needed here! It’s as easy as a comfy top, a pair of elasticated trousers and a light jacket (for windy chilly days). However, for longer or more challenging days commutes, there are some essentials that shouldn’t be neglected such as dry shampoo and wet wipes if your office doesn’t have a shower.
On the other hand, if you need to wear a suit at work, you may want to change into it later, because the clothes you wear makes a big difference to how enjoyable cycling can be. Most of us are getting a little sweaty when cycling to work; hence, wear the outfit that you don’t mind getting a bit wet or dirty. Again, you can always change your clothes afterwards.
What concerns people the most about their commute to work, is when winter comes. In this case, don’t be discouraged! Thermal wear is very widely available and cheap. Layers are key! Add another pair of tracksuit bottom, a couple of long-sleeved tops or sweaters, a pair of warm gloves and thick socks. Take on or off depending on your heat and with the more layers, the more you’ll be able to find that sweet spot just right for you.
We hope these tips help you on your current commute to work or if you don’t commute, hopefully, you’re now more inclined to!
We do have a wide variety of bikes suitable for commuting, so if you like what you’ve read and fancy a Reid, check out the few categories of bikes we can personally recommend to make your commute better, below.