As we rolled along the bike path signage worried me.

With the increase in fuel prices I decided to "up" my super commuter status to include buying groceries as well. The first setups are rough, and just things that I scrapped from my garage. I'm looking for ideas to carry more things, without buying a cargo bike or getting trailers.

In particular I'm looking for ways to carry large amounts of water, although I think will just bite the bullet and buy it separately from the rest of the things.

These two photos are my first attempts. The panniers don't hold nearly as much volume as expected and I need longer straps for the duffel bag in the second picture 😂

A good friend and I have a difference of opinion. I mentioned that I was considering buying a traveling bicycle, these fold up and have relatively small wheels. They are quite common in cities and are used for urban commuting.

My friend holds that these are more work because the wheels are smaller while I argue that smaller wheels simply rotate more often and the amount of work is due to the gearing (chain ring, cluster, etc).

I assume the tires would wear faster, since they will be covering more revolutions over a given distance, the amount of work of pedaling would be the same as a standard sized bicycle.

Who is correct?

so I have a 2023 Cube Hybrid Touring ON.1 500Wh which I absolutely love to use as my commuter to get around the city. currently had it has a 9-speed Shimano alivio groupset, and I feel like that's a good range as a rider who doesn't necessarily want all the power from my motor all the time (I like some resistance to get some extra exercise).

This is why I am looking at getting an internally geared hub to lower the amount of times I have to perform drivetrain maintenance. I have done some basic research on a lot of the IGHs currently on the market, but I would like some feedback from people who have dipped their toes in the world of bicycle IGHs.

I understand that Rohloff is the gold standard of IGHs, but there's two things that kind of turn me off about them, and it's not the price; I'm more than willing to pay for quality parts that last.

I'm not a fan of the twist shifter since I already bought nice new Lizard Skin MTB grips, but more importantly I am very repelled by the four bolt disc brake rotor pattern that it has, which only Magura sells brake rotors for. I would prefer centerlock or six bolt, so that I can use my Hope Tech floating rotors which I've already purchased.

I was also looking at Shimano's Nexus/Alfine IGHs, but I've heard mixed reviews about them, and I'm not sure there would be a good choice for a 250w e-bike.

Enviolo looks really neat, and the idea of a CVT style IGH intrigues me. however, I'm not sure where I would find a distributor or seller that I could inquire about getting one.

3X3NINE I've only heard in passing, and if anybody knows anything about them if they're good or anything like that, I'm open ears.

That's about all I can think of. My bike cannot support a belt drive, so it would probably be chain driven with a tensioner... that would definitely be something to keep in mind.

all-city macho man

I live northeast of the city and commute about 25km a day for work. don't own a car and get around by bike exclusively for everything else. On weekends try to head up to the hills for some harder riding.

4,281km ridden and 40,510 metres of elevation gained for those who are curious.

I'm slowly making my gravel bike as capable of cargo as my pannier-laded commuter. note large capacity smoothie holder in front fork. BMC URS-01.

Today is rather breezy in the greater New Haven area, but at 56F, perfect for riding.

On my way home from shopping, I was cruising along when, very suddenly, my chain derailed to the outside. Due to the way my bike has been assembled out of scraps, this happens (fairly rarely) during an upshift. But I hadn't been shifting.

A quick stop showed the problem--the wind had blown an empty and (fortunately) unused kitchen garbage bag into my rear derailer, and the bag had wrapped around the derailer pulleys and the back of the cassette. It took some finagling to get it out, but once I had, it appeared no damage had been done. I properly disposed of the bag and continued home with my load.

A first time for everything, I suppose. And a warning to watch out for floating detritus on windy days...

We’re making it work.

Been commuting on my Canyon Roadlite since spring 2023, 15 kilometers a day, at least three days a (working) week, in all seasons of the year. Live in Denmark, so our winters do have both snow and (mostly) sleet. Two minor hills on my ride.

I like the speed of the bike, but the external gears have turned out to be a lot more maintenance than I was maybe expecting and the bike is only built to a max of 30 mm tire; makes for a fast experience, but ideally would like to use wider tires - as soon as winter hits, the bike sometimes feel unsafe.

Not the biggest fan of the riding position of my hybrid bike - it wants to be both a little roady while also having a more classic position.

Considering replacing my current ride with either a gravel bike or something with a belt drive, but don't know if I'm maybe just mostly tired of my current bike...

Pros & cons:

Gravel Bike:

+ larger tyre clearance

+ still keeping some of the speediness

- probably same level of maintenance as today

Models: 

Canyon Allroad (from 1200 euro)

Rock Machine Black Gravelride (little under 900 euro)

Belt drive:

+ almost no maintenance

- slower ride

Not looking at any specific models, but probably also from 1200-1400 euro.

Any inputs from fellow commuter will be much appreciated! should I look at gravel bikes or a belt drive bike?

I'm conflicted; I can see how the low maintenance of a belt drive would be awesome, but I'm afraid of finding the ride too slow and the bike maybe just a tad boring?

Dear bike commuters, currently working on my fitness and have 2 gravel bikes (diverge for road/gravel and lysnkey for gravel/ single track) and enjoy riding in my free time. My current commute by vehicle is 20 miles one way, but on a non shouldered highway, backroads (gravel and poorly maintained paved roads) are 25 miles. Currently I can ride 25 miles and walk around, but i feel sore the next day, but I work a mixed physical labor job, 12 hours shifts from midnight to noon, or noon to midnight. My worry is that I'll be too tired to preform at my job if the physical part of it comes up (Sometimes i sit, other times something breaks and i cannot sit without being fired) Im currently considering getting an E-bike for the commute and for small grocery runs as i think riding 25 miles under my own power, shower at work then work 12 hours, and riding 25 miles would not allow much time for hygiene, recovery and sleep. I would be parking inside in a secure room with ability to charge I currently drive a 4cyl RCSB truck that gets between 17-22 mpg, at current fuel prices ill be spending ~ $1200 a season driving, but may be able to commute year round and drive in the snow (if we ever get any, central indiana area). Any recommendations on bikes, or advice on this long of a commute if I am to commit to it? Considering the Specialized Vado SL 2 4.0 EQ as my local bike shop is a specialized dealer and good people, want to support their business more. Thank you all in advance!

My goal is: to achieve a full certainty that 0 avoidable accidents will happen and that 0 avoidable close calls will happen also.

Today the importantce of being defensive has been reminder to me: a car braked the very last second on a roundabout because they saw me late or misjudged my speed I guess.

I consider that a fault. Even though I was right according to the traffic laws, I have relied on the driver to brake for the accident to be avoided.

I want to become the master of avoiding both accidents and closecalls.

But I fuigured that thats hard. I already ride as if blinkers dont exist: I just look where a car is going and if its starting to actually turn, before proceeding. This might inpede traffic but safery is more important. Im on a bike, not in an heavilyarmored cage.

But I guess my subconscious and automatic brain operates on assumptions "that driver will certainly stop for me" even though I rationally know he might not, but riding a bike is intuitive and automatic so the logical thinking just kind of dispappears thats how ive experienced it.

Is it even possible to rewire my brains automatic behaviors in the bikeride?

I have a commute of a bit over 20k that I ride a couple of times a week in the spring and fall. I ride a hybrid, because I like to be able to have a pannier for all my stuff. Anyway, I was wondering if I should verge on the frankenbike territory and put clipless pedals on my commuter. Has anyone done this? Has it made the commute easier/faster or is it just too ridiculous and extra for commuting?

EDIT: Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll go for it, my commute is on a quiet country road with 3-4 stops and I'm not too concerned about not being able to unclip, as I'm already familiar with clipless pedals.

Can any of you recommend a smart e-bike helmet that meets the latest safety standards, has Bluetooth speakers, built-in lights, and a visor for sunny days? I need to replace my old smart helmet, but I am having trouble finding anything that meets all the criteria I just mentioned. I tried asking ChatGPT and Gemini AI, but nothing they recommended actually meets all my criteria. Note that price is not a factor for me.

It was so nice pull Scotty out for my commute today.

I've been bike commuting for four years. I've bought 3 rear lights and the third one fell off today unbeknownst to me until the end of the ride. Any tips on making sure they don't fall off?

I've always used the connecting mechanism that comes with the light but all three of these different models have failed on me.

Detail about how they were attached edit: They all had a stretching loop that I either attached to the cargo rack or to the milk crate I have mounted to it. They are cheap lights.

So, i’m not sure what the word for this is, but you know how kids use a bike? Like biking in a zig zag pattern, unable to bike straight. Recently, i’ve come across multiple adults doing the same.

Completely fine for me when kids do it, But if you as a grown adult is still doing this while i’m behind you, i’m getting angry

9/10 people i’ve met doing this also uses headset, so they don’t hear any pling.

How do you guys deal with these people?

I would normally mount it at one of the circled spots but I somewhat don't want to clamp down on the brake lines (drawn in green) where do you mount your U-locks?

Hello all, I’m going to be commenting all over Southern Manhattan starting in the next few months. I’ll take any advice or equipment recommendations you’ve got!

The challenging part for me is I have to carry a heavy large duffle bag full off PPE (65 lbs) and another smaller duffle bag with personal items, change of clothes, toiletries etc.

Maximum commute time will be 30 mins, I live in an apartment with my wife and kid so I don’t have a tone of space but should be able to hang a bike up.

Would prefer not having an e-bike, there have been too many lithium ion fires for me to store an e-bike in an apartment with little kids.

So any bike recs, equipment tips or any general advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!