Comments on: Putting it all together:The accessories you need to successfully bike for transportation

By: anon-a-mouse

anon-a-mouse — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:38:58 +0000

Lots of good points, all!

Edward, you make a lot of good points, but I think you’re looking at things from the point of view of (an experienced, thoughtful) someone riding in chilly, rainy London. The weather has a lot to do with how you ride.

Chain lube isn’t as necessary in drier climates. Riding in Seattle, I think it’s still only necessary when I get home. I’ve even heard that the high end waterproof grease liquefies in hotter temperatures, but I can’t vouch for that.

And a water bottle, on a 100+ fahrenheit (38+ Celsius) day, is pretty necessary for 30 minutes or more of brisk riding.

…and as far as helmets are concerned, you can quote that popular study (stating that drivers were actually more careful around female riders without helmets than anyone with a helmet, etc, etc.) all you want, but…

I know one person at least who should’ve been wearing his helmet when he wrecked. The person I’m thinking of was on a bike path, ran into another cyclist, and his orbital bone (outer eye socket) was crushed. He’s gone through a lot of expensive surgery just to use both eyes again. If you value your quality of life, wear a helmet.

By: Risa

Risa — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:44:41 +0000

A complete list for sure! I have some pretty detailed information about how to decide *what to carry your stuff in* on my blog here: http://www.livebikework.com/?p=47 — starting with these questions:

How much and what kind of stuff will I be schlepping?
Will I be schlepping stuff year-round?
Will I need to pick up or drop off stuff before or after work?
Do I also need to prepare for additional activities, like going to the gym, a knitting club, a dinner party?
Do I need to schlep in some nice clothes for work?
Do I schvitz like mad, no matter what the season or weather?
Oh my God Honey, I forgot The Kids.

By: J.R.

J.R. — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:19:54 +0000

I would say that gloves, specifically Specialized Body Geometry gloves, are necessary on an all-aluminum bike for any distance beyond a couple of miles. As for flats: you should never need a spare tube. If your tubes are ripping at the valve, your wheels have too large a valve hole (perhaps you’re putting a presta tube on a schraeder-drilled rim) or you’re not aligning the tube properly with the wheel. Any puncture flat is repairable. Pinch flats and all blow-outs are basically avoidable. One patch-fixing bit you missed, though: tire patches. Especially on >100psi road tires, the tube can blow out through cuts in the tire (admittedly, if you patch the tube there and align it, the patch will reinforce the tube). I use the pre-glued tube patches as tire patches (but they make terrible tube patches, as they develop leaks, at least at high pressures). Also, for more than casual riding, or when biking is the primary exercise, clipless pedals should be in the should-haves. Platform pedals, and to a lesser extent clips, result in much worse muscle imbalances.

By: marcus

marcus — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:50:04 +0000

Good point on the gloves, but I think a lot of that depends on your bicycle’s frame materials, and your grips. On an aluminum framed bike, yes, I would definitely go for gloves.

By: Punditus Maximus

Punditus Maximus — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:09:48 +0000

I find that cycling gloves keep my wrists from getting sore due to vibrations. YMMV.

By: marcus

marcus — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:29:15 +0000

Really good point on the “fun part” – and yes it can seem pretty miserable, at moments when you’re really straining, surrounded by traffic, and it’s 105 degrees on the pavement.

By: Rolling Librarian

Rolling Librarian — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:52:57 +0000

You forgot to mention handlebar tassels… although some may see them as optional, they are almost essential in my book. Not only do they make you more noticable to drivers, they remind you that “cycling is fun” when your slogging up a crazy steep hill on a sweltering Austin afternoon.

By: Mark Stosberg

Mark Stosberg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:25:37 +0000

A useful list.

Personally I would put a mirror at least on the “should have” list.

I use a regular “ball cap” instead of cycling cap. I like the larger bill on my hat, but any hat worn under a helmet seems to look dorky.

By: elliott

elliott — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:41:44 +0000

Thanks for the great responses.

lvleph- This is not meant to be a list of everything you HAVE to carry but things that will make your ride more enjoyable, especially for someone just starting out. I do beg to differ on the spare tube. I’ve had several instances of tubes tearing at the valve which cannot be patched. Also, a helmet keeps your brain in your head, a cap keeps your head warm and rain out of your eyes. I think they have two different purposes. The leg strap is mentioned as an instead of if you don’t have a decent chain guard. Thanks for mentioning the CO2 cartridge. I don’t use them and forgot to mention them.

Charles- Thanks for the recommendation on gloves. I use regular gloves and they work just fine for me, but cycling specific gloves will work better especially for longer rides.

Edward- Great comments. Want to be a columnist for AustinBikeBlog?

By: Edward Abbey

Edward Abbey — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:12:56 +0000

Beg to differ on a few of these. In London we all wear hi-viz jackets except for a few clever-so-and-sos that bought into the helmet FUD. Hi-viz is the way to go, those extra reflectors on the bike are near invisible compared to a proper jacket. The cheap ‘builders’ ones are better than the ones sold in bike shops, they also comply to standards. Visit the 3M site if you don’t get what hi-viz is all about.
I am agreed about clip pedals, however, it is SPD not SPD-SL that you want. The soles on any proper bike shoes are stiff enough, the racer ones OTT – and garish.
Water bottles. That depends on distance. There is huge pose value in being able to drink whilst waiting at the lights, however, if you enjoy your beverages it is best to wait till work time.
Pump. Whoever said CO2 doesn’t get it. The best pump is the most straightforward small one. I have had fancy ones fall apart on me. A mini-pump on the bike is one, the track-pump at home is the other one you need. This one has the valve and you check your tyres every fortnight to make sure they are at the number written on the tyre sidewalls.
Lock. That is a heavy option. Leave at home and have one at work. Don’t carry it unless you are shopping in town or going to the pub. If you don’t have a lock and you do stop off en-route you can do so at a garage or somewhere else where you can keep your eyeballs locked onto your bike and not be more than six seconds away.
Bell. This depends on your route. If you take any shared pedestrian/cyclist underpasses then the bell lets people around blind corners know you are coming.
You are right to put helmet in the b-list. Despite every car driver being able to tell you an anecdote they are only of use off-road where you are likely to fly over your bars or if road-racing in tricky sprint situations. In Holland people say ‘nice hat’ when they see some idiot with a chunk of Chinese polystyrene on his/her head.
Mobile phone needs to go on this list somewhere, not that I have had to use mine for emergency purposes, it is just cool to use one on a bike when car-drivers are banned from using theirs.
Slick tyres. I think you should insist on kevlar protection unless you are road racing with a team car behind.
Shower supplies and clothes. These can stay at the workplace, or you can just swap your under-garments to freshen up.
Snack. This is part of the emergency repair kit. Chocolate tastes a million times better when it is dark, wet and cold with a flat tyre to repair a long way from home.
Spare batteries for light. Really you should be using rechargeable AAA cells in your flashers, with spare lights on the bike, on the same battery format.
Rear lights. Get two. Reason being that the batteries that look good at the start can fade a short distance down the road if you forgot to charge them. This is less likely to happen with two lots of lights. Also water ingress is a problem, as are brackets working loose. Two rear lights is a must.
Lube. What happens is that the rain washes this off the chain and you only realise this on the next journey, once you have set off. Ten miles is intolerable with a dry chain, so pack a small bottle with a top that works.
Sun-cream – depends where and when you ride, however noses can get burned quickly when cycling as can calves.
Trouser-bands. These are important for safety. If wearing trousers you don’t want to go straight over the bars because clothing got caught in the chain.
Bag to put it in. I have all the options, but the one I use is not on your list – saddlebag. These are the best – the old fashioned ones in cotton duck – because the weight is where you want it, as are your nik-naks. Shame they don’t sell them or saddles with the pre-requisite loops.
One commenter here carries nothing. That is fine if you only go half a mile into town centre, in fact advised – who needs to carry anything if going that sort of distance? You don’t! A walk more than half a mile is a bit far for me though, and I think this list needs to recognise that. If you are riding 100 miles a week to and from work or elsewhere you do need to be prepared.