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Looking for a backpack for suits

marc

Speeding Up
Jan 12, 2008
79
1
Hi, sorry for not participating for a while.

I've just started a new job that's a bit more formal than my previous one. I'd like to keep riding to work, but while my current backpack is fine for a polo shirt and jeans, it's not going to cut it for carrying a suit.

This design looked good, but the article is from 3 years ago and company's website now seems to be abandoned. http://www.gizmag.com/suit-commute-backpack/15066/

Amazon lists a couple of garment bags that have backpack straps, but I'm not sure how sturdy or comfortable they are for 30km of daily road bike commuting.

Do any of you have any recommendations? I've seen some riding commuters wearing hardshell backpacks that looked promising, but I'm don't know who makes or sells them.

Thanks!
 
Not sure if it helps but when I had to wear a suit to work many years ago I just found a dry cleaners near my place of work and rather than taking them home I just had them cleaned then picked them up in my lunch hour every Monday, along with my shirts.
 
Are you carrying the suit everyday or once a week? Carrying from job to job each day?
totally different needs.
If the former, then all you need is your jacket left at work and carry bottoms and shirts.
Messenger bag might work well for once a week portage.
 
I commuted a good part of last year. I wore cycling gear on the bike and found a place to leave my suits in the office. I would ride the scooter once a week to restock my socks and shirts etc
 
I'm wearing a full suit once in a while, maybe once a week. The rest of the time it's just shirts and trousers, but the wife wants me to look a little more neat and pressed than I did at the previous job. My plan is to ride in cycling gear, then change and shower at one of the gyms nearby (either joining one a few blocks away, or signing up with one next to the office that has a shower-and locker option for about 2,000yen/month). Changing at the office isn't really an option. I can leave a jacket at office and just take the shirt and pants with me each day.

Mostly, I'm just looking for a garment bag that can be worn comfortably while riding and will keep my shirts and the occasional jacket reasonably wrinkle-free.

The one in GranT's link looks promising, although big.
 
Are you carrying the suit everyday or once a week? Carrying from job to job each day?
totally different needs.
If the former, then all you need is your jacket left at work and carry bottoms and shirts.
Messenger bag might work well for once a week portage.

True, I have a messenger bag that's big enough. maybe just packing the clothes so they don't shift around will be enough. My wife's solution, of course, is to give up cycling.
 
Can you rent a locker at the gym? Might be worth looking in to it?
 
When I was transitioning from a 'suit job' I worked in a Japanese company. I purchased a couple of the cheap , polyester salaryman suits same as everyone else wears. They are great commuting suits as they never wrinkle , easy to clean, easy to pack. Just wear some Pearl Izumi padded briefs (if you need to) and then wear those UniQLo cool t's with the antibacteria treatment. I did what FE did - just get a local dry cleaner to manage the shirts and pick / launder them every week. I'd stash my clean shirts at my desk. No issues at all.
 
Note that the panniers Forsbrook links to don't taper toward the bottom (of course not a bug but a feature). My bike does have a rear rack; and even though the bike has a longer wheelbase than most and my feet aren't freakishly big, my heels would hit those panniers. Unless of course I bought a different rear rack -- not impossible, but definitely an additional complication.
 
Look around youtube, there are some tricks to folding a jacket. Basically, you need to fold the outside in, leaving the lining out after the folding.
 
Thanks for all the feedback, everyone, I still have time to think about what I'll do (have to take the train for the next month or so), but I'll give these ideas a look.
 
I've got a garment bag pannier somewhere. Holds a suit and folds over the top of the rack and locks down. Commute never worked out that way, so I've never used it. Let me see if I can find it in the attic.
 
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