SE bikes fixed range

@AidanR Even if one takes it slowly enough not to sweat, it's still not a good idea to wear office clothes. Many years ago I taught in a school in Vauxhall that was a mere five kilometres from my home and, tired of the logistics of keeping clean shirts and suits in a cupboard in my classroom, I thought I would ride in my teaching clobber on nice days. After two days two quite expensive suits had to go to the dry cleaners, one with chain oil on the trousers and the other after I came round a corner straight into the outflow from a burst watermain, plus a rather nice shirt had become good for nothing but DIY or gardening after becoming irrevocably stained when I had to replace a dropped chain in a hurry. Lesson learned, ever since then it's been cycling clothes and leave ten minutes earlier to have time to wash and change.

13km each way. Four days a week, lycra top and gilet/jacket depending on temperature. I have full plastic cover (coat, trousers, boot covers) in my pannier bag along with a t-shirt/shirt for work. Long mudguards with extra flaps for wet ground. Those are e-bike days. From November to April, I have handlebar mitts which, along with the mudguard flaps and boot covers are the best additions I've made over the years. Thursday is road bike day, full lycra, take it easy on the way in to minimise sweaty mess, take the long way home.

@lesterama That won't help him much keep that weight, though.

I have almost always cycled in lycra for commuting. However, I have also had a shower and locker room available. When I have been dressed in my work clothes I did get sweaty. As to speed in lycra vs. street clothes, I suggest looking up the show “The World According to Jeff Goldblum”. He brought that question to the Specialized headquarters, where they have a wind tunnel. Street clothes have an almost 20% impact on speed. So you work harder for the same result. Or you just go slower in street clothes.

The actual travel time is only a part of the equation, and it's skewed by what facilities you have in the workplace. I always used to judge it on time for bed to desk - having shower facilities and the ability to store smart clothes and shoes at work meant there was no question about the advantage of wearing cycling kit for the comfort (and not wearing out the crotch of proper trousers).

I did this exact route today as I do once or twice every week - Midford to Bristol and back through tunnels and along cycle paths. Don't see many people in suits... I agree that lycra is not a time saver but as you're going to have to shower on arrival anyway, 100% agree with Liam that you might as well wear comfy clothes that dry fast.

There's no way I'm not sweating on my 20km each way commute across London, so there's no way I'm wearing my office clothes on the bike!

Does it, though? Looks to me like there's a general surge of the peloton from left to right across the road, and that looks far more likely to have been responsible for the crash than 'confusion' over the bottle incident.

My commute is also 9 miles each way, and no matter what I'm wearing, I'm a sweaty mess at the end of it, and need to shower. So I might as well wear cycling kit.

@kinderje I call it News Wash