Hey /out/, I wanted to get some opinions on a commuting situation.

>>939351
>So do you guys reckon I should buy a bike and take the bus when the weather's bad
That's what I do. I don't even mind bad weather much so much, as long as I'm able to get to work dry (dont care if I get wet going home because I can change).

Cold isn't really a problem because riding keeps you warm. I ride all winter in Toronto, Canada (not that we're getting much of a winter this year) unless it's below about -15F, or during a blizzard - and that mostly because of bad drivers, the snow itself is kind of fun.

Alternately, if it's a 15 minute bike ride it should be about an hour walk, if you don't feel like waiting for the bus.

>>939366
True, riding will keep me warm. The bike in pic is an 'urban bike' (whatever that is), and doesn't have an amazing amount of grip, but I guess it doesn't full-on snow here, only some minimal snow/ice for a week in the winter.

>>939351
>>>/n/

>>939383
>'urban bike' (whatever that is),
Probably means it comes with a rack, fenders and upright bars. You'd want to add lights as well, I wouldn't have called it an urban bike without including lights.

>and doesn't have an amazing amount of grip,
Yeah but you can change tires if you need to. Light snow isn't usually a problem with street tires though, and tread won't really help with ice, you need studs to make a difference.

When I said -15F up there I meant -15C but the point is NZ winters shouldn't be too bad. It's been just above freezing here most of the week & I've been riding in just a wool or fleece jacket over a thin sweater, thin cap under my helmet, and wool gloves. I don't really think of it as "cold weather riding" until around -5.

>>939582
still better than the trundling thread or pipe general or whining about youtube survivalists.

>>939351
>>939366
If you're not /fit/ (telling from my experience here), you will get pretty sweaty with 15min+ ride. I have about 30min not so slow ride one way to uni and I'm almost always sweaty despite fitting clothing to the weather.

Also if you're living in urban area with smog problem, consider buying pollution mask.

>>939582
I agree with >>939648

>>939712
If you ride slower you're less sweaty. Easier said than done because going fast is fun (and because it means leaving 10 minutes earlier), but it is possible.

Breathable gear helps too. I've stopped wearing my wind shell and carrying an extra fleece in my bag, now I ride in the extra fleece and keep the windshell in my bag (at least when it's above freezing), and that helps.

>>939731
Agreed, but I personally can't drive slower. Firstly it's boring, secondly this 10mins earlier is not possible with my morning routine :(

>>939735
Like I said, it's easier said than done. When I was in uni I treated my commute like a time trial.

>>939735
>drive
I meant ride, ofc. English is tricky sometimes.

>>939738
Same here, actually. Every other day I break the speed record in how fast I can get to the building, because it means less late arrival.

>>939351
Your primary concerns should be whether you need to shower after doing that cardio (does your office have showers?) and how heavy traffic is where you live (risk of getting hit by a car). If neither of those are an issue, it's probably a good idea, otherwise you could still just hit the gym after work, and be able to push harder and longer, since it wouldn't be limited to the distance to/from work.

>>939351
>>939742
15min cardio is pretty ineffective. Especially if you're calling commuting to work a cardio.

>>939351
bikes are great options if you have a good route. i ride to work in portland, or and either take a trail or back streets. dont over think though. if the weather sucks, just take the bus. rainy day commuting on bike is a pain in the ass, requires alot of specialized gear to not be miserable and bike upkeep is messy. ride on clear days for sure but dont sweat it if you cant and need to take the bus. i split up my commute between walking, bus or bike, or sometimes drive if im feeling extremely lazy. i didnt have a car for a long time though, so i just switched between bus and bike.

>>939582
>>939712
my bad

>>939648
Yeah, I assumed celcius. It only gets to -8C here for like a few days, so it shouldn't be a problem (although a friend of mine keeps telling me about "all the ice", but I only just moved here so idk)

>>939712
I sweat very easily, which is what I'm worried about, Although the ride to work is a small downhill, then flat (literally) all the way, but still not sure. And cheers for the mask idea, but it's pretty nice where I live.

>>939742
Unfortunately I just work at a fast food joint, so no showers, but my excessive sweating can get really embarrassing, especially since my glasses tend to slip off of my sweaty nose.

>>939751
Yeah, since the route is only 10-15 mins and it's almost all flat, I was still considering joining a gym for an actual workout, but then again I don't want to sign up for a contract if I'm too lazy to go

>>939939
Just men up for the first few weeks. It becomes a habit quite easily. I had wasted like 3 months gym subscription, because I was too lazy, but then I stopped being miserable piece of shit and just men up.

>>939938
>I sweat very easily, which is what I'm worried about.
>excessive sweating
>glasses tend to slip off of my sweaty nose.

I would really recommend you getting fit first, then. I don't mind sweat marks on t-shirts and stinking whole day and I really enjoy riding a bike, so I do it as addition to my cardio, but you seems to have some major complexes here.

>>939976
I've been trying to go for runs over the last couple months, but again, I often find it hard to be motivated to run. I'm fine sweating in sporty situations (like in a gym), just not in the general public/work

OP here, my friend convinced me to get the bike anyways, just because I found it fun. I'll probably sign up for the gym, too. I guess if riding it to work is inconvenient or something, I'll just grab the bus instead and just bike for fun.

>>939986
I recommend doing fun cardio bike rides on weekends. Just keep in mind that cardio means moderate physical exertion for over 30mins and if you plan longer trip pack some food to prevent burning your muscles. Personally I like to make 30-50km routes every other week if I have time, which takes from 2 to 4 hours depending on distance and landform.

>>939982
If you ride at a walking effort you won't sweat any more than you would walking, and that shouldn't be too much of a problem if it's flat. I never found sweating to be too much of a problem except in summer.

>I often find it hard to be motivated to run
Signing up for 5 or 10K race every now and then gives me something to train for so that's a bit more incentive to get out. Most of the races I've done are pretty casual atmosphere with people of all abilities, and nobody really cares how slow or fat you are as long as you're running. I'm guessing your commute is around 5km so you could bus to work and run home once in a while.

>>939996
Do you recommend like, mountain biking? The bike I'll probably buy isn't very good for mountain biking, just roads

>>940008
Running back from work is actually a pretty good idea, I'll definitely try to do that

>>939996
Do you recommend I get a mountain bike instead for trails? There are lots of trails near me. I thought I could just join a gym and use those gym bikes instead, but outdoors is nice

>>940099
Not that guy, but I was going to suggest getting something like a hybrid or cyclocross or MTB and look into the local trails. A full on MTB set up with knobbies isn't as good for commuting, but it's better on rough trails, a hybrid or cross is good on pavement and also fine for moderate trails but not as good on really muddy or really rough stuff.

In general I'd say if you're in NZ don't join a gym because there's so much great stuff to do outside. I really had fun the couple of months I was there.

>>939366
I'm in Toronto as well( parkdale), I ride pretty much the entire year aside from the few weeks where roads were very icy. I find it hard to keep dry in winter jacket, you either be cool when commuting or freeze when off the bike

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>>940096
>>940099
I personally use cross bike as there are mostly pavement trails around my location. (pic related - it's something like this).

It's just like >>940125 said. You need to figure out if you will need bike for muddy trails more. If it's the case buy MTB - 15mins pavement route to work won't a big pain in the ass, but you will feel better off the road. If you have some neat pavement trail around you I would go for cross instead.

>>940211
I wear fleece in layers, with a breathable windshell with arm vents I can unzip when I get hot. I don't use my rain jacket as a wind layer unless it's raining or really cold, because even with vents and goretex it's too sweaty most of the time. I carry an extra layer for not freezing when off the bike.

Specifically I really like this jacket, which is actually a copy of an old, discontinued MEC cycling jacket. The link is to the girly version but they make men's ones too:
http://ca.shop.runningroom.com/collections/reflective-jacket-with-pockets.html

>>940337
Cheers, I'll look at cross bikes. It's illegal in NZ to ride a bike on the pavement, but there are little bike lanes on the road.

I'll still probably end up getting the urban bike in the OP pic, it was really comfy to ride when I tried it and I'm joining a gym today so I can do more intensive stuff there. Unfortunately bike riding isn't very popular here, so it's a little weird to be the only one on a bike

>>940714
urban bikes are really the best for commuting to work OP.

They are more comfortable and also important: you remain 'cleaner' on them. Meaning if you ride through a puddle an urban bike will protect your clothes more than other kinds of bikes.

The suspenders above the back of the wheel are useful when you come back from work, drive to a shop and need a place to put some of your groceries. Over here we use it to carry trays of beer around.

But the best thing is being able to sit upright and cycle slowly. Cycling slow on an MTX sucks but on an urban bike you can enjoy a bit slower ride.

Basically half my nation commutes to work on bike and we all use urban bikes, not mountainbikes or something.

>>940721
It's good to finally hear someone recommending urban bikes, haha. They also seem to be the cheapest; I don't really want to flesh out a thousand for a bike + accessories.

>>940733
Do try to remember that urban bikes are for commuting only.

When I was a kid I used to destroy a bike every other year or so by using it in the wrong way. Parents quickly learnt to buy third-hand bikes haha.


Also, flat tires are very easy to fix on urban bikes. You need to buy maybe 10 bucks of stuff and you are set for years.

>>940714
> illegal to ride bike on the pavement
I meant asphalt, sorry for my English - not my 1st language.

>>940721
Cross bike is a nice compromise between MTB and urban ones. It's pretty comfy and with addition of mudguards it's also pretty clean to ride them. However you need to spend quite a lot to get a decent new one. It's easier and cheaper to buy urban bike at least in most European countries. For example in Denmark you can buy quite decent urban bike for less then 20 bucks, even more so there are a lot of abandoned bikes on the streets as a lot of people coming to Denmark for seasonal jobs leave them behind, because it's too pricey to get them along back to their countries.

j>>940781
Flat tires are easy to fix on most kinds of bikes.

>>940882
$20?! That's insane. Have to pay at least a few hundred here in NZ.

>>940898
There are total overload of bikes there, so you know 2nd, 3rd or even 4th-hand bikes market is reasonable to be this cheap.

>>940721
>urban bikes are really the best for commuting to work OP.

Not necessarily. A hybrid or touring bike with rack and fenders can be just as good. And personally I wouldn't ride a stereotypical 45lb Dutch Opafiets unless I literally had no other choice. They're great for what they're meant for - short trips under 2 miles on flat ground, without ever doing any bike maintenance - but my commute's too long and my city's too hilly for me to be happy on one.

>They are more comfortable
Comfort is pretty individual. I don't like super low handlebars like on a race bike, but I don't like upright ones either, especially on long rides.

>>940946
>comfort is pretty individual

I guess thats true. I loved my old Omafiets when I was a teenager, thing was quick and comfortable enough for me. So basically for the reasons you posted.

If you're area is hilly, things may differ. I forgot to take local environment into account.

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Zip ties on your tires make them grip in ice and snow better, no troll. Works better with disc brakes because, you know, zip ties on your rims.

>>943096
uhhhhhhhh............

>>939351
Dude you need to get your drinking problem under control. Buying a bike because the state took your driver's license is a terrible plan. INVEST IN YOUR HEALTH. STOP DRINKING.

>>939582
Fuck those globalist yuropoors commies.