Junk in the trunk

[jrenaut]

@Lt. Dan 20278 wrote:

Done

Shoot, you actually have to buy something to get me the credit. So, if you see something cool, you should buy it. They do have good deals, so long as what they have on sale is something that you want. I’ve seen the Chrome bags up for about 50% off three or four times in the last 6 months or so.

[Riley Casey]

Winner, best in thread award. :rolleyes:

@acc 20266 wrote:

You have discipline. Me? Happiness is having enough room to drag a dismembered body home on my bike. :rolleyes:

But to return to the topic. I have a small pannier on one side with the desert island stuff, tools, pump, tube, lube bottle, granola bars, a few of those alcohol prep pads and a couple of rags for cleaning up in case of repairs. On the other side I have the big grocery pannier. Easy to travel light by dropping the big one while still feeling warm and fuzzy about having the essentials. I have a tendency to go out for a short ride and come back 20 or 30 miles later for no apparent reasons so this serves me well.

[washcycle]

To answer the initial question I use panniers. It’s so much better.

But I’ll add that one idea is to bring less stuff. What are you bringing?

A lap top? Probably unavoidable, but worth asking if you really need to bring it home at night.
Clothes? I found a cleaners near work. On Monday I stop by and pick up clothes and store them in my locker all week. On Thursday evening I drop it off (except clothes for Friday).
Lunch? Here again, I go to the grocery store near work and store everything in the work fridge or my office.

[off2ride]

I use a medium size Timbuk 2 messenger bag in the winter months and a smaller back pack in the summer months. From what I’ve seen in our shop, some commuters go over board on the panniers and racks. I’ve seen a few broken axles in the rear hub and wobbly wheels due to the heavy weight. On car tires, there is an embossed “Load Limit” number on the sidewall. I think bike tires should have the same or at least fatter spokes to support the weight.

[mstone]

@off2ride 20310 wrote:

I use a medium size Timbuk 2 messenger bag in the winter months and a smaller back pack in the summer months. From what I’ve seen in our shop, some commuters go over board on the panniers and racks. I’ve seen a few broken axles in the rear hub and wobbly wheels due to the heavy weight. On car tires, there is an embossed “Load Limit” number on the sidewall. I think bike tires should have the same or at least fatter spokes to support the weight.

This gets back to that whole “it’s hard to find non-racer bikes/shops” meme. If someone’s commuting and wants to carry a bunch of stuff, they should probably not be getting a lightweight road bike (or a full suspension mountain bike). But the shops push what they have…

[americancyclo]

Everyone uses QBP and they have Salsa, Civia, and Surly bikes which all have great commuter options that are made for carrying loads. The problem is that they’re almost never on the sales floor, and I think most people would balk at walking in to a shop and asking the mechanics to order and build them a bike.

[mstone]

@washcycle 20309 wrote:

To answer the initial question I use panniers. It’s so much better.

But I’ll add that one idea is to bring less stuff. What are you bringing?

A lap top? Probably unavoidable, but worth asking if you really need to bring it home at night.
Clothes? I found a cleaners near work. On Monday I stop by and pick up clothes and store them in my locker all week. On Thursday evening I drop it off (except clothes for Friday).
Lunch? Here again, I go to the grocery store near work and store everything in the work fridge or my office.

Definitely worth considering. For myself, I don’t have any place practical for storing clothes/wet towels/etc at work. So mostly I bring clothes and towels back and forth. I recently switched to one of the topeak mtx bags, we’ll see how that works out. In general, everything I need will fit in the trunk, and the fold-out panniers will be there for anything unexpected. I was using some mid-size panniers, but they were mostly empty. I will not do a heavy pack for a couple of hours on a bike, my back is bad enough. I generally don’t need a laptop, but I need to look into one of those foam sleeve things for times when I do, and the MTX will still probably suffice. I do have a pair of shoes stashed at the office, which helps a lot, as does using one of those microfiber backpacking towels. If you need to carry the whole kit, including shoes, towel, laptop, food, emergency road gear, etc., and you need clothes that don’t easily compress, then you probably do need the full panniers or even one of those suit bag things.

[mstone]

@americancyclo 20314 wrote:

Everyone uses QBP and they have Salsa, Civia, and Surly bikes which all have great commuter options that are made for carrying loads. The problem is that they’re almost never on the sales floor, and I think most people would balk at walking in to a shop and asking the mechanics to order and build them a bike.

Yup. And if you’re not sure what you want, and are just looking to try things/buy something, you’ll never know about them. Definitely you’re unlikely to order 4 or 6 of them in different models and sizes to see what works for you. But there are like 200 road bikes on the floor, and that’s what everyone buys, so why waste time on something else?

[rcannon100]

@mstone 20313 wrote:

This gets back to that whole “it’s hard to find non-racer bikes/shops” meme. If someone’s commuting and wants to carry a bunch of stuff, they should probably not be getting a lightweight road bike

Hybrid urban bike! Takes a beating and is built to carry crap. I am riding a Cannondale Bad Boy. Not as elegant as some of those road bikes I see out there. But its my second hybrid and neither ever gave me trouble (well, when the first one got hit by a car, the fork did bend, the crank did crap out, the head went wobbly, and the wheels did go loopy). Good hybrids can also be very moderately priced.

[jrenaut]

@jrenaut 20228 wrote:

I’ve seen Chrome bags on sale (mostly backpacks) at The Clymb. They’re a daily deal site, and if you sign up through that link I get a $10 credit.

They have Skratch Labs hydration mix up on The Clymb right now if anyone is looking for 50% off the 1lb bags.

[KelOnWheels]

@mstone 20316 wrote:

Yup. And if you’re not sure what you want, and are just looking to try things/buy something, you’ll never know about them. Definitely you’re unlikely to order 4 or 6 of them in different models and sizes to see what works for you. But there are like 200 road bikes on the floor, and that’s what everyone buys, so why waste time on something else?

Yup. This is the problem I’m having as I look for something new… well, that and mah tiny budget :p

[mstone]

@rcannon100 20320 wrote:

Hybrid urban bike! Takes a beating and is built to carry crap. I am riding a Cannondale Bad Boy. Not as elegant as some of those road bikes I see out there. But its my second hybrid and neither ever gave me trouble (well, when the first one got hit by a car, the fork did bend, the crank did crap out, the head went wobbly, and the wheels did go loopy). Good hybrids can also be very moderately priced.

The hybrids generally come with flat bars, which suck (IMO) for hours on a bike. Their ability to carry a load varies, depends on the particular bike whether they have the appropriate braze-ons, whether they’re geared low enough, and (to a previous poster’s point) most of them don’t have particularly strong wheels. A lot of them nowadays tend to have a bunch of blingy suspension stuff all over, etc. Depending on your needs they might suit, but it’s not the same as a bike designed to carry stuff over a long haul.

[vvill]

“Hybrid” is a very broad term, at least to me, and covers everything from flat-bar road “sport/fitness” bikes to disc brake/belt drive/IGH commuters to utility and touring bikes.

I agree that often the ones with cheap front shocks that look basically like a 90s MTB with front shocks are not that great. They’re sort of “not good enough to be a bike of any particular purpose” hybrids.

[KelOnWheels]

Hmm, maybe I should start a “This is what I think I want in a bike, now tell me what to look at” thread

[eminva]

@KelOnWheels 20349 wrote:

Hmm, maybe I should start a “This is what I think I want in a bike, now tell me what to look at” thread

Had this forum existed four years ago and had I known about it, I would have asked that very question. I think you will get a better and more honest answer from the folks here than from LBS sales staff, unfortunately.

Liz

[Author]

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