my bike gear

Posted on January 8, 2009 by Dave Feucht

I thought, just for the record, I ought to do a post about my bike gear, what I use and wear while riding.

As you all know, Portland is a place of grey skies and light drizzle much of the year, with a few weeks of cold weather in the winter, and a few weeks of hot weather in the summer. Seeing as it’s important to be ready for the weather, here’s a few of my favorite pieces of my bike gear.

My rain cover for my head, made of high-tech wool, in a nice donegal tweed:

IMG_9617

I found these great riding shoes, I’m not sure if anybody’s heard of them before. They’re Converse All-Stars:

Hi-tech riding shoes

My warm-weather rain coat:

IMG_9622

And rain pants:

IMG_9623

We definitely do get some cold weather from time to time, and that’s when you need some different kinds of gear, like this long wool coat, and a nice scarf.

IMG_8958

Please excuse the snarky post – the simple point I’m trying to make with this is that you don’t need anything special to ride a bike except the bike itself. You all have clothes that you wear that are appropriate to the weather wherever you happen to be, and those clothes work just great on a bike, too. No need to suit up to go to the grocery store or to work, just hop on and ride.

This entry was posted in portland and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.
  • Clever

    it’s worth pointing out, i think, that you’re able to ride this way in comfort because you DO have a special bike, or a bike that was very special indeed on this continent before very recently, at least new. and it still is rare outside of places like Portland. before fall of 2006, a bike with all the plain-clothes-friendly features you “need” was just plain exotic unless, indeed, you were geek enough to source and/or make it yourself. i posted this before we opened a shop dedicated to similar: http://clevercycles.com/?p=149

    ps: i’m having a fair amount of trouble with your comment authentication system. i persist and succeed, but perhaps other would-be commenters are abandoning.

  • melancholic optimist

    I agree, it’s definitely made easier by having a bike that comes with fenders, chain guard, etc. However, those are things that can pretty easily be added to nearly any bike, and especially with fenders, there are quite a few options in Portland and other places for adding them to mountain or road bikes, and I see a lot of bikes around that have those accessories added to them – as well as more bikes from companies like Trek and Novarra that are coming with them from the factory.

    It’s actually google’s comment authentication system… I’ll try turning off comment authentication and hope I don’t get too much spam :)

  • Clever

    truly full fenders with mudflaps no less don’t fit the dominant genres of bike sold in the US. “adding them” is possible in the way that adding fog lamps and gravel bras to your car is: something for enthusiasts at significant added expense, usually at the expense of style points. try adding a chain guard to a bike with a front derailleur…

    i think we agree violently on nearly everything you’re saying. my only point is that rarities like on-street bicycle parking, bikes with chainstays long enough to accommodate grocery panniers without hitting your heels (in canvas and leather no less), bikes that let you sit upright enough that a corduroy sport jacket won’t bind annoyingly, and a street culture relaxed enough that going helmetless isn’t all that scandalous — these things are rarities indeed, precious, fairly new, and to be had in very few places on this continent. so, it’s not the self-satisfied “snark” i’m reacting to, it’s your attempt to “excuse” it by saying this is nothing special. it’s hella special, so i think grateful gloating is natural :-)

  • melancholic optimist

    I agree with you on that as well… I think more than trying to excuse the uniqueness of a European city-bike type bicycle, I would try to encourage people who don’t own such a bike to not let that be an excuse to simply follow the norm.

    I will add, however – and I’m sure you’ll agree with this one – that if someone were looking for a new bike, and/or was looking to start riding for the first time, I would *absolutely* recommend to them to think very seriously about a European city bike type bicycle, as I believe it’s the most elegant, practical and useful type of bicycle for everyday use, hands down.

  • 2whls3spds

    Hear, Here ;-)

    I have been considered a freak for years because I put fenders on bikes…even the ones that weren’t “supposed” to have them. Comfort comes first, style second, speed is not an issue.

    I admire and support people like Clever who are attempting to bring cycling for transportation into the mainstream.

    Aaron

  • melancholic optimist

    I think another issue related to being able to wear your usual clothes on a bike is the riding style of the rider.

    If you push yourself to go as fast as possible as much of the time as possible, you’re clearly going to get much sweatier than the person who just goes fast enough to make good time, while still remaining comfortable. If you’re pushing yourself, you’re also more likely to crash, which you wouldn’t want to do in your usual clothes if possible.

    I know that certain people, due to the length of their commute or the terrain they have to ride through (over Mt. Tabor, for instance), are bound to get a bit more sweaty. However, I think the majority of Portlanders are capable of making pretty much any of their daily short trips (a few miles or less) in such a manner that they don’t get so sweaty they have to change clothes when they arrive where they’re going.

    It’s all a matter of perspective.

  • Anonymous