Today I...

I'm happy to pay a bit more for things (vulpine, swrve, chrome) but some brands (Arc'Teryx, Outlier and Rapha for example) are extortionate.

Oh nice, what ones are they? I'm a right bugger for sizing, 32" would fit in the calves/arse but I have a tiny waist! If you could bring them to the next beers to try that'd be great.

I think you should just get some proper cycling gear to see how you get on with it, and accept that you'll get changed once you get to work. Anything 'commuter' will compromise on comfort on the bike/look at the other end in one way or another, and you could end up in the ridiculous situation where you ride in in one pair of jeans, only to get changed into another pair for work, to get changed back into (potentially wet) jeans for the ride home. You can get bib shorts for dirt cheap on eBay - get a pair, and some compression tights, and just embrace the lycra and see how you go. Then if you really don't like it, I'll have whatever cycling stuff you get off you :)

A valid point @thross!

I think I'd feel weird to ride a bike in anything other than bibs of some sort!!

I do keep getting tempted to get some other stuff though, would make me more inclined to ride into the city on my day off!

Normal clothes are absolutely fine for trips into town, as long as it's dry. The only time I'd not ride somewhere in my normal jeans is if it's pissing down, and the chances are I wouldn't go out in that anyway! The time/effort of putting on bibs etc isn't justifiable for the extra comfort if the ride is less than 10 mins, in my opinion, but anything longer than that, and jeans become a right ball ache. Literally.

Yeah sure, I'll try and find them. They are actually a 3/4 length short/trouser thing, so maybe not ideal for right now.

I ride 25 mins each way to work. Originally I wore the full lycra get up but now its pretty cold and I'm finding I don't really break sweat I just wear my work trousers and change tops at work. I need to inspect my gear though, don't want any crotch blow outs mid meeting!

It's not going to happen haha. I agree that normal clothes are fine to wear, I'm not denying that, I just want some 'normal' cycling gear. I spend a lot of money on my clothes and the last thing I want to do is end up ruining them in a few months. I'm thinking rather than just buy some jeans I don't care about I'll buy some 'cycle specific' trousers and see how they go. I was hoping for a few ideas but it looks as though no one feels the same way about this sort of thing! It's cool I'm happy to be the guinea pig, I'll get a few bits over the next couple of months and let you all know how I get on.. If anyone's interested that is

@invertedcriss, not really what I'm looking for at the moment but thank you! Might take you up on the offer when the weather picks up

No probs.

Have you looked at Creux stuff?

Nope,I'll have a look now. I've been looking at SWRVE, Vulpine, Levis and a few other bits of non cycle specific activewear so far

I think the problem is that 'normal' cycling gear, and 'cycle specific' trousers are both ways of describing bib shorts. Commuter wear isn't cycle specific, it's a compromise between functionality and 'not wearing lycra' that just so happens to be marketed as cycle wear. They will be made with some benefits, like the non stretch, reinforced fabrics you mentioned earlier, but they're essentially just 'clothes' rather than 'kit'. When I realised that the idea of spending a premium for fancy 'cycling' brands, or any 'active' clothing rather than specialised kit, went out of the window for me.

I'm fully aware that thays what I'm paying for, it is because I don't want to wear Lycra that I'm going down this route.

But yeh, I'll keep looking and I'm up for suggestions if anyone has any!

Today I...fell off my bike

Note to self, the commute home isn't a stage of the TDF, especially when the roads are greasy!

Ouch

You alright? No lasting damage, to you or the bike, I hope?

Mainly bruised ego thanks @thross

Nice bit of road rash on my leg/hip, bibs scuffed up, bar tape mashed and most annoyingly I've scuffed my saddle...bastard!!

Just went into the heartsease roundabout too hot, leant over and the bike slid from underneath me - I'll learn one day!

Ah, that doesn't sound too bad - still sucks, but could have been a lot worse. HealTFU.

We've all done it too though, so just make sure you get back out soon, otherwise it'll become a psychological thing as well as a physical one - when I dislocated my shoulder in similar fashion I had a weird mental block that meant I couldn't turn left properly for ages, which wasn't fun!

I will be back on it tomorrow morning!

I don't know whether it's a good thing or not but I think because I'm so inherently clumsy if I hurt myself doing something it generally doesn't put me off doing it again!

Aha, I think that's a good thing for sure. I used to bounce back all the time when I was throwing myself down 4X courses, but for some reason I find falling on roads is much worse.

On the up side, now you know not to lean so much? Silver linings etc

Glad you're alright! Shame about the saddle, how bad is it?

Slightly off topic and not strictly today but I took a shortcut through Mousehold on the Genesis yesterday and it faired surprisingly well, I only wish it had a bit more clearance for some knobblies

It's not awful, in fact it's very minor but it'll annoy me until I resign the Caminada to being just a commuter!

Picked up some Levis Commuters in the sale today, haven't ridden in them yet but they seem nice and stretchy and have a side zip phone pocket which is quite handy, I shall report after a few rides

What sale?

The Levis sale

how much were they? @Rikki

£60. Definitely worth it so far, they have a bit more room around the knee and thigh (on the back and sides to rid them of that annoying baggy knee that jeans get) and a bit of give all round without looking saggy. They taper quite nicely too. They're relatively warm and are apparently weatherproof to a certain extent, can't really imagine them holding up against anything more than a few drips tbh, although I did spill some water on them whilst washing up and it just wiped off. They have a stash pocket on the thigh where I keep my phone, it could do with being a tad shorter as my phone did rub on my knee a couple of times but nothing too bad.

I also got a North Face Stratos jacket in TK Maxx the other day. Not strictly a cycling jacket but it's a weatherproof soft shell with a slightly longer tail, visor on the hood and big pockets with draw chord hems all round so it'll do the job!

I also bought some Altura Waterproof gloves and a Specialized Chamonix helmet. The gloves fit really (I hate baggy gloves!) but aren't as warm as I thought they'd be which is a shame, they aren't terrible though. The helmet is just a pretty standard helmet, I didn't have one so I picked up the most reasonable/inconspicuous one I could.

That's me pretty much sorted then, it's just a coincidence its all black! Not the best choice but I'll make sure I'm well lit up. I set out to find some gear suitable for cycling that looked 'normal' for a reasonable price and I managed to get some jeans, a jacket, gloves and a helmet for less than a single pair of outlier trousers ;)