Wait...you didn't buy a bike yet?!? In that case, I'm not sure what you are still doing reading this.
But if you are still reading, I'll tell you what you need, regardless. Let's start with the essentials.
Helmet
Bicycle helmets are basically foam hats that are designed to protect your head in the event of a collision between a rapidly moving metal box and/or the pavement. If this sounds like propaganda from the federal government and automotive industry to disgrace people on bikes, you may be correct:
(I will wear a helmet,
I will stay in the bike lane,
I will not cross the solid white line,
I will be good.
I will wear a helmet...)
Furthermore, the federal government has promoted the fact that bicycle helmets prevent 85% of head injuries.
In 1989, a study in Seattle estimated that helmets prevent 85% of head injuries. Later efforts to replicate those results found a weaker connection between helmets and head injuries, but public health advocates, government web sites, and the news media often present it as fact.
If you consider the entire body of research rather than just one study, and look at both head and neck injuries, helmets only reduce the risk of injury by about 15% to 45% .While it is highly unethical to experiment on people, as the article notes, we are almost certain that helmets do still reduce the risk of injury to some extent. At the end of the day, that is enough for me. And unless I'm schlepping the kids down to the neighborhood park, you will find me wearing a helmet. But I wouldn't spend $250 on something like this:
When you can get the something like this, that looks exactly the same, for $65 (or less):
Ironically, a study in Australia for car occupants found, "In about 44 percent of cases of occupant head injury, a protective headband...would have provided some benefit." We can only assume a full helmet would provide an even greater benefit, except for your hair, but you still don't see too many of these around...
Lights
Now, if you will excuse me, I need to climb down from my soapbox on helmets. And let me introduce this next category by telling you a story. Around the time I purchased my first bike, I also purchased this headlight:
At 100 lumens, this light functions well for being seen. However, this light does not function very well to see the road in front of you. Come mid-September-ish, this starts to present itself as a problem. Without the ability to see further than 5 feet or so of the road ahead, I was tossed over the handlebars by potholes, rattled by unseen roadkill and thrown on my side by trash receptacles occupying the bike lanes. And, while none of the these things actually happened, it was clear that these events would be in my near future if I did not upgrade to a headlight that allowed me to see as well as be seen.
So, here is a helpful article with their recommendations, which are pictured, and linked, below.
(Link)
(Link)
Also, below are the upgraded lights that I have used on my bikes for the past couple years. I would highly recommend them, although they are slightly more expensive. My headlight is brighter than the one recommended above at the highest setting (800 lumens). But I typically have it on the second setting when I'm commuting, which is 450 lumens. So the headlight above should serve you justice at 500 lumens. Each of the lights should have a steady setting for use at night or a blinky option for use during the day.
It's also a good idea to throw a second cheap taillight ($10-20) on your backpack, helmet, etc. Here's what it looks like in action:
Fenders
Ahh, fenders. Another true essential for commuters. Unless of course you want to arrive at the office looking like this guy:
In fact, I was so excited after my first ride with fenders that I took this picture:
Well...that was a bit awkward...
Regardless, fenders are essential for keeping you, and your drivetrain, clean in wet conditions. Even if you don't plan to ride in the rain, at least in southwest Michigan, it tends to rain and storm overnight. Then you will wake up to a beautiful, clear morning with completely wet pavement. On that day, you will not want your decision to ride to come down to whether or not you want to arrive at the office with a stripe up your back like Pepe Le Pew.
Now, for my recommendations. First, you will want full length mudguards. And SKS is a great brand. The first set of fenders that I had were SKS Bluemels.
They come in plenty of shapes and sizes depending on your tires. But there is a catch. At least for those of you who may be as mechanically inept as I am.
That's right. "Mark the appropriate length and cut the stays with a hacksaw." My experience with SKS Bluemels ended after a couple hours of frustration with a return box full of hacksawed and bent metal pieces. Then I ended up getting these:
You read correctly, "No-Cut-Strut fenders allow quick, easy, and precise installation." Idiot proof fenders. Installation involved tightening a few screws and some slight adjustments with the allen key. I've had these on my commuter for close to 2 years now with no issues.
And for those of you with road bikes or other bikes with no fender or rack mounts, here is an option for you. I haven't actually used these, although they are in my Amazon wish list, so I will let you know what I think if I decide to make the purchase. These do appear relatively easy to mount, and do not involve the use of a hacksaw.
Apparently it looks something like this when you get it all set up:
Go get a set, and then get a set for your favorite bike blogger too (assuming that it's me).
This should be relatively easy. Considering the average American household has 2.3 backpacks per person in the house (completely made up statistic), you shouldn't have to spend any money here. At the same time I put fenders on my bike, about 2 years ago, I put a rack on the back and purchased a waterproof pannier (Ortlieb is also a great brand if you are looking to go this route), like so:
If you are still insisting on my product recommendations...well...here you go. I would look for (1) high visibility colors (2) reflectivity, and (3) waterproofness. There's probably something I'm missing. But from there, just decide how much room you need.
Small: Timbuk2 Raider Pack. I think it's about 18L, but it weighs in under one pound. And it's still big enough to carry a change of shoes and clothes. Starts getting pretty tight if I need to carry my laptop though. It's reflective, there are plenty of colors, and it has a loop to attach a light (pictured above, about 8 pictures ago).
Medium / Large: I'm just going to recommend anything Osprey sells. They sell some nice cycling specific bags in the 25-35L range, or probably larger if you are still commuting with a desktop computer. You can also get a high vis rain cover:
Accessories
And finally, if you still happen to be reading, here's what you need to carry with you:
- Tire levers
- Patch kit
- Spare tube (for when the patch kit doesn't work)
- Spare tube #2 (for when you blow up the first tube with CO2)
- CO2 inflator
- CO2 cartridge
- Mini pump / frame pump (for when the CO2 cartridge doesn't work)
- Multi-tool
- Cash / Credit card (for when you get hungry)
- Cell phone (for when all else fails)
But seriously, here is what I carry: tire levers ($5), spare tube, or 2 for longer rides ($7-8 each), mini pump (my recommendation here, but you can definitely go cheaper - starting around $20), multi-tool (this one is cool - $25). And then I do almost always have a credit card and cell phone with me.
You can get a seat bag to carry everything but the pump, which you can mount to the frame or water bottle bolts. Or you can throw it all in your bag or jersey pockets, like me. In the second method, you do increase the likelihood of forgetting or misplacing something, especially if you have multiple bags. At least that's what people say, it's certainly never happened to me....
And with that, I urge you to go enjoy the weekend. I'll see you next time.
-Clay
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