How, then, can you turn what can be a money-saving and health-improving drudgery into a genuinely enjoyable experience?<\/p>\n
You may like<\/p>\n
Proper mudguards<\/p>\n \n If you only do one thing to improve your commute, let it be full length mudguards with flaps. (Image credit: Will Jones)<\/p>\n I cannot stress this enough: Fit full-length mudguards<\/a> to your bike. Before you buy a new waterproof cycling jacket, fancy lights, or a new bag, focus on setting your bike up for success. You\u2019d be amazed at how much water you avoid getting covered in by proper mudguards.<\/p>\n Rain from the sky is relatively clean, so you only really get wet, but water sprayed up from your tyres into your shins, feet, and backside will be a mixture of water, diesel, grit, decomposing leaf mulch, and whatever other detritus litters your commute route. It\u2019ll make you filthy and miserable, and will be a blight on your ride even if there is only surface water.<\/p>\n You probably don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting for the roads to dry or the skies to clear, so get some full coverage options. If your bike has mudguard mounts, then front up for sturdy metal ones and thank me later. My chosen pair are Kenesis Fend-Offs, but most solid sets are decent enough and allow you to go all in and fit flaps. Yes, they look dorky, yet they flap about, but especially on the front guard, they\u2019ll get you to your destination in a much fitter state to create shareholder value.<\/p>\n Get the weight off your back<\/p>\n \n Having your bike carry your luggage, rather than your shoulders, will make life far more enjoyable. (Image credit: Will Jones)<\/p>\n I appreciate that not everyone can have the luxury of a dedicated commuter bike. They are the ideal, with their cheaper parts, full mudguards (I will die on this hill), and pannier rack. Bike panniers<\/a> are the gold standard for portage, and if you can fit a rack, then I suggest you do. It\u2019s a very cheap way of having a more enjoyable ride.<\/p>\n The less weight you can carry on your back, the better, though, and winter often means increased luggage weights as we carry more and bulkier clothes into the office. If you have a locker, or even a drawer at your desk where you can stash a towel, some washing stuff, and a couple of changes of clothes, then you\u2019re going to have a better time than if you carry everything in like a turtle.<\/p>\n Not only do heavy loads increase your risk of saddle soreness, but winter is prime time for sweaty backs. A great part of your body’s temperature regulation takes place in the spine, and so allowing it to breathe more easily can stop you getting sweaty, not just on your back but all over, which can also stop you freezing when you stop, as it all evaporates.<\/p>\n If you must carry things on your back, then a dedicated cycling backpack<\/a> is going to be a lot more comfortable and a lot more secure while pedalling than a generic one, but again, if you can fit panniers, then I\u2019d go for that instead.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Don\u2019t ride in your office clothes<\/p>\n \n You may feel silly striding through the office in a getup like this, but it beats getting your work clothes sweaty or wet. (Image credit: Will Jones)<\/p>\n A really easy way to save carrying a heavy second set of clothes is to simply wear that heavy second set of clothes and ride in them. Don\u2019t do this unless you live relatively close to work and are sure you can arrive without being drenched in sweat.<\/p>\n Normal civvies, made of cotton, wool, nylon, or polyester, simply aren\u2019t breathable enough to cope with riding for even a moderate length of time without reducing you to a sweaty mess.<\/p>\n You really needn\u2019t dress up in skintight lycra, but even having a set of sports clothing designed for higher energy outputs will allow you to remain at a more comfortable temperature, and then once you\u2019re at work, you can change into a non-soggy outfit.<\/p>\n This also means if you get caught out in a surprise downpour, you won\u2019t have to sit in drenched office wear all day like you\u2019ve just fallen into the lobby fountain.<\/p>\n Allow more time<\/p>\n \n Try to avoid setting new max heart rates on the way to work; you’ll just turn up flustered. (Image credit: Will Jones)<\/p>\n It\u2019s natural when it\u2019s cold, and especially when it\u2019s wet, to adopt a \u2018let\u2019s get this over with\u2019 attitude and put the hammer down, but I\u2019d urge caution. Let\u2019s take my commute, which is more or less exactly 25km long. If I take it at a decent, but not absurd pace, I\u2019ll average 28km\/h and arrive in relative comfort.<\/p>\n If I absolutely gun it, I could average 30km\/h, end up gasping and sweaty and devoid of all composure for my first tasks of the day, all for a saving of around 3.5 minutes. If this were a time trial, then this makes sense, but no matter what the men on the Bristol to Bath bike path may have you believe (and it’s always men, before anyone piles into the comments), nobody is winning the commute. Set off a little earlier, get a bit less sweaty, enjoy the view, and even build in a buffer should a puncture befall you. Which brings me on to the next tip.<\/p>\n Tubeless, or at least tough tyres<\/p>\n \n Maybe it’s more of a pain in the arse to set up, but a bit of effort at home can save you from being stranded by the roadside on the way to the office. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)<\/p>\n I used to be a staunch tubeless hater, and my colleague Tom still insists that tubes are the way to go on road bikes<\/a>. For commuting, you really want to do all you can to avoid punctures. Nothing sets you up for a bad day at the office like having to take a rear wheel out from a mudguard-equipped bike and try and repair the hole.<\/p>\n Commuting routes often take in more potholes, glass, and general debris that has gathered at the roadside, and a tyre carcass full of goo is far more adept at dealing with the small holes these create than standard tubes are. Just make sure you use decent sealant – If I had to offer my pick, it\u2019d be Stan\u2019s, Stan\u2019s race, WTB, or Juice Lubes. If you pick your sealant poorly, you\u2019ll not only have tyres that are still susceptible to punctures, but also an absolute mess to deal with when they don\u2019t seal.<\/p>\n If you must still stick with tubes, then opt for a set of tyres that prioritise puncture protection. Pirelli’s Cinturato Velo<\/a>, or the ever-popular Continental Gator Hardshell,<\/a> may not have the ride characteristics or speed of the best road bike tyres, but getting to work puncture-free is always better than getting to work fast and having to get the tyre levers out halfway.<\/p>\n Decent lights<\/p>\n \n (Image credit: Will Jones)<\/p>\n While we have a comprehensive guide to how bright your bike lights should be<\/a>, having a really good set of the best bike lights<\/a> over and above the minimum requirements is advantageous for one key reason: the bigger the light, the bigger the battery and the less frequently you have to charge it.<\/p>\n Running out of juice on your bike lights is not only annoying, but unsafe, and so if you go for a set of lights that are slightly more powerful than you need and run them on a lower setting then the battery will have more of a power buffer, enabling you to not have to worry about charging them every time you get to your desk.<\/p>\n![\"Fairlight](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/r55iQdPj93vAbhmQEnP3RN.jpg\")
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