Gear, Tech, and Accessories for Your Next Bike Ride
For many people in the biking community, deciding what to buy simply comes down to math: Is it worth the weight? However, when considering which accessories you want for your bike, a different equation should be used: What’s the enjoyment-to-weight ratio?
When it comes to accessories, the same logic applies: What’s the enjoyment-to-weight ratio of the add-ons you want to customize your bike with? For some riders, only the most important items make the cut, such as a spare tire and tube. Other riders are fine with extra weight if it makes their journey more pleasant, pleasurable, or simply better in other ways. All of the above seem like they’d make it.
Num Lock
The new bicycle season is upon us. The selection of anti-theft equipment has grown a lot in recent years. Now it is not only cables and chains, but also U-blocks, and a lot of variations on the theme of folding bike locks.
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A bike lock is a design designed to make life harder for the thief, and minimize the chances of your bike being stolen. Indeed, even a garage will not protect your bike 100% from theft. But a lock will make the theft as difficult as possible and prolong its time.
Bike lock – not just an accessory, it is, above all, the protection of your bike, and it must be of high quality.
Vented Helmet Strap Mount with GoPro
I couldn’t believe how sturdy the mount was that I attached to my helmet. The surface area on bike helmets is limited because of all the venting, making it impractical to use self-stick mounts. But this strap has a snap-down closure on each side, so it’s very secure. There were no instructions included which would have been helpful but thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult to figure out how everything worked.
The mount is effective because it has medium density rubber on the bottom. When pressure is applied from each side strap, the points of the vents go into the rubber to snug the mount in place. Even if one closure accidentally opens when turning the camera on or off,the remaining strap will hold the mount in place and ensure that neither falls off. I’m really happy with this product.
Make sure you use the vibration reducer (little white rubber thing) that comes with your GoPro to ensure the most stable footage possible whilst mountain biking.
Suunto Connected Family with Ambit3 — Use with a Compatible Suunto Sports Watch
With the Suunto Movescount and Movescount App, you may discover new routes with heat maps to locate the greatest locations to ride your road, CX, or mountain bike. Heat maps are quite useful since they show the most popular paths in the Suunto Movescount community all over the world.
This is based on millions of “Moves,” which is the Suunto app’s way of keeping track of its users to see where the most popular paths are — as well as some of the more off-the-beaten-path hidden gems.
The Suunto Movescount technology enables you to create your own routes using detailed topographical maps. Connect your compatible Suunto sports watch to track the route and navigate it with your watch. It’s that easy.
Revolights (Eclipse + Model)
This light will make you more visible to drivers at night. With my regular LED lights, drivers would sometimes pull over to the next lane when they saw me, but with this light, it’s almost as if they’re avoiding a UFO! (I’m not kidding – one driver even did a double-take!)
This model has the battery in the light ring so there’s nothing installed on your bike’s hub and no ugly wires to see during the day. The only thing that ties the entire installation together are two small magnets that you attach to your bike frame.
The bike ringlight comes with a micro USB charging cable, but you will need to use your own power source – either a wall charger or PC. The batteries are very easy to remove and install into the light ring itself, so they don’t project outwards and become noticeable when turned off.
However, there is a small blue light that shines on the left side of your wheels as it revolves (similar to the light you get from a valve cap LED) which I didn’t see in any of videos before deciding on this product.
I was concerned about how it would fit my front wheel since I have a Trek 2.1 2011 model and when I did the Revolights dollar bill test, it just barely brushed the inside of the fork. I contacted Revolights and was overjoyed at their quick response time, as customer support is extremely important to them.
It was stated that this type is slimmer / thinner than previous versions, so it should fit. They were correct in saying that it fitted with plenty of room for movement. With apparent flexibility, the inner dimension at the crucial spot on my fork is exactly 40mm.
These lights will illuminate you from a long way off, but they can’t be your only source of illumination. They won’t replace your street laps if you live on a street with no street laps. This is no where near as bright as 500 lumen LEDs accustomed to.
Garmin Vector (and Dual-Sensing Vector 2) Pedal-Based Cycling Power Meter
If you’re a low-tech cyclist who doesn’t want to use high-tech gear on your handlebars to track your progress, the Garmin Vector is worth considering.
The precision with which this pedal-based cycling power meter operates will transform the way you train. Outfitted like high-end road bike pedals, they work in perfect harmony with a Garmin device. By understanding how you ride better, you’ll be able to train smarter.
The pedals are simple to install, and you can have them done in a matter of minutes. The new design of the Vector 2 model makes it easier to swap out the power meter between bikes faster. The battery is a 2032 coin cell and is user-replaceable at any time.
Conclusion
The bewildering array of items available in a typical bike shop can intimidate anyone. What’s a hydration bladder, and why would you need one? Is it really necessary to have mudguards?
In actuality, many people are perfectly content cycling while wearing their regular clothes and carrying only a backpack. However, if you do ride on a more frequent basis – be it to stay fit or commute – there are several biking tools that can make your time two-wheeling simpler, safer and much more comfortable. Some gadgets are essentials while others merely act as an enhancemen.