Steely Dan

so today was one of the nicest mornings yet this spring in chicago and the bike commuters were out in force. i decided to have some fun with my commute and count the numbers of other riders i saw biking with backpacks/messenger bags vs. those commuting with racks & panniers/trunk bags, or large saddle bags, handle bar bags/baskets, etc. basically, the distinction i was looking for: was the load on the person or on the bike.

and here are the results of my informal survey (i did not include small saddle bags for an emergency flat kit as a load on the bike)

load on the person: 77 riders (52%)
load on the bike: 45 riders (30%)
no discernible commuter load*: 26 riders (18%)

*riders out for a recreational/training ride and/or riders who don't commute with a load everyday.


so it seems that backpacks/messenger bags are the preferred method of load carrying for most commuters along my route in chicago. what about you guys? do you notice similar breakdowns for this stuff or are the percentages different where you ride? do an informal survey on your ride home today and report back.

jdswitters

probably a much smaller data base but I see the same thing. One thing I have noticed around here, there seems to be a certain age at around the early thirties when the messenger bag/backpack gives way to racks with a trunk or full panniers.

Dan The Man

For short rides less than 10 minutes a backpack or messenger bag is more versatile and most people already own one. For longer rides I find it gets sweaty. On my 5 minute commute, I just grab my backpack.

mconlonx

19 mile commute. I use a rack.

Former 7 mile commute, I used a messenger bag... until I got a rack.

Steely Dan

guys, this thread is not about what you personally use/prefer, but what you see other riders along your route using.

i probably should have titled the thread more carefully for those that don't read the first post before they post.

DallasSoxFan

In Dallas, for commuters, my observation is a heavy skew toward racks. It makes sense, commuters are rare and tend to be hard-core and a backpack on your back when it is 110 degrees is no fun.

Doohickie

I don't typically see other riders when I ride to work.

Doohickie

Same in Ft. Worth, although I've been thinking about trying a messenger bag.

Steely Dan

seriously? that's hard for me to relate to; even on the coldest morning that i rode to work this past january, i still saw 9 other bike commuters out there battling the wind and the cold. granted, that's a FAR cry from the ~150 cyclists i counted this morning (most chicagoans are total wimps when it comes to cold weather), but i just can't fathom not seeing any other cyclists at all along my commute.

do you work odd hours/night shift or something like that?

pallen

Yeah, not a lot of commuting going on here either. I don't usually see any other riders going to work, and will occasionally see some spandex dudes out in the evening on my way home. If I do see another commuter, its usually in my neighborhood as I'm headed out.

As for the other's comments, I'm guessing your informal survey is saying more about the length of trips your observed riders are taking than their preference for bags v racks. If most of the riders you see are taking short trip, I would expect more bags or backpacks. If you are seeing mostly long-distance commuters, I would expect more panniers. Also weather is a factor. I cant imagine riding with a backback when its 100 deg outside for any distance.

snowman40

I see more in the evenings, but in the mornings I see about 30% of each.

In my area (Irvine and Newport Beach, California), there are quite a few people who commute in kits as they leave their suits at the offices.

There are more people riding in what would appear to be their work attire.

AlmostGreenGuy

I have never seen another bike commuter in my area. Only recreational cyclists, who are fairly frequent.

MK313

I've only run into one other bike commuter in the two years + I've been at my current job. He was using a large seatpost rack/bag. (I saw Steely's first reply to a comment like this-I work a regular 8-5 job in suburarban Cleveland, OH.)

no motor?

I'm just west of you in the near NW burbs, and don't think I've seen that many commuter period in the 5 1/2 years I've been commuting.* I saw 2 yesterday in front of my condo complex while I was waiting for traffic to clear, and was pretty stunned to see another commuter then,let alone 2. 1 had high viz covers on panniers and I think the other 1 was wearing a backpack.

*I work 10:00 - 6:00 most days, and figure I'd see more commuters during rush hours.

Steely Dan

perhaps not, but where i live it almost never gets that hot, which is why there might be some geographic differences in what commuters choose to use in different areas.

as it is though, i didn't realize that i was such an anomaly on this forum for seeing dozens and dozens of other bike commuters everyday, so maybe this thread won't prove to be terribly interesting.

enigmaT120

I've only met one other rider on my commute, and he didn't look like he was commuting. I was grinding up one of the hills on my way out of Dallas when he came flying down it. I sort of nodded, not wishing to take my hands from the bars. He said "Wheeee!" That pretty much summed it up.

mconlonx

Oh.

OK, so most of the commuters I see are riding road or mtn bikes, with no racks, usually with backpacks. I'd say there's a ratio of something like 1 rack user for every 4 I see riding along with a backpack (not hydration...).

BassNotBass

What?... 150? During the entire winter I saw one other cyclist on only two occasions. During the warmer months I still only see one or two commuters a day at best and I ride during the usual business hours right through the heart of this city. I might see more if I went near UofL but bike commuting certainly is not something most people around here even consider doing. Even people I know who live within 4 miles of work will use their cars and pay for parking... then during their lunch break they go out for a 6-10 mile run.

erileykc

I think you may be barking up the wrong tree on the premise of your question here. I ride with a back pack during my commute because I have a set complement of items that make up that pack. I don't need to reinvent that wheel every day. I also ride with a pair of panniers hanging from my rear rack because I always want my tools, tubes. pump etc in one and I often stop at the food coop or other errand running on the way home for things that fill my other bag. I ride in a major urban area and the other riders are often packing their loads in the same way - that is a combination of the two. About the only substantial divergence I might note is that mountain bikers almost never have racks or on bike load carry capacity but then mountain bikes are pretty rare as commute bikes in my experience - rare enough to be noted when they do go by.

RuggerJoe

I'm In chicago too, riding from the north side to just west of the loop. I'd say the majority of riders I see in my commutes have either back packs or messenger bags.

I used a backpack the first week or two but got tired of getting to work with the back of my shirts soaked through (this was at the end of March). So no I'm one of the few that have a rack and pannier on a mountain bike (though I guress it's technically a hybrid).

I think alot of the riders out there use back packs or messenger bags since it's something they already have. Alot of the commuters I see look like college students at the university near my office and unless it's changed since I was there, cash flow is a very important consideration.

RyanCG

I am not sure, but I haven't seen many bicycle commuters in downstate IL. That may change when our new trail is finished. I have only seen one other person who looks like he might be a commuter. He was using a messenger bag.

Steely Dan

for whatever it's worth, out of the ~150 cyclists i saw this morning, i didn't see anyone with the combo backpack + rack & panniers, so from my experiences, the combo style doesn't constitute a statistically significant segment of the riders i see.

i also saw dozens of people commuting on mountain/hybrid bikes. i was one of them

SouthFLpix

Rarely do I see a bike commuter here in South FL. Plenty of recreational riders, but very few commuters.

tjspiel

Since it was too late for me to count on the way to work and it is nice outside, I decided to take a stroll around the building and count the bikes that are parked.

Of the four that are parked in our suite, 1 had panniers. Of the 4 bikes in the bike room, again 1 had panniers. Of the roughly 26 bikes that were parked outside around the building, none had panniers, though 3 had racks so it could be that the panniers were just brought inside.

Many of the 26 bikes outside probably belonged to students of the recording and production institute. Income may be a reason they don't sport many panniers, or it could be that backpacks just work better for students.

Cycling is a popular way of getting to work in this building. There are lots of bikes kept in the various office suites that I can't count. My guess is the incidence of panniers is higher among those who can keep their bikes in their office than would be of bikes left outside.

Just from memory when I think about people I see during my commute, panniers are used by 1/4 to 1/3 of the folks. I have seen people that use both a backpack and panniers. It's not that uncommon.

chrisb71

I've been riding on the lakefront path once it got warmer (rode on streets in the winter because of the darn wind, well that and the plowing ), and notice the same thing. Most people have backpacks. During the winter and early spring I think i saw more rack mounted bags/milk crates than backpacks.
Perhaps the winter commuters are a different type of rider.

It might also be interesting to count the differences between path riders and street riders. However my 4-5 mile commute at 6:30-7:00 am, i only see maybe a dozen riders on the streets, though probably close to 50-70 on the path. in the winter I'd see under 5 each day that early.