Must Have Cycling Accessories for Beginners
The current Covid-19 pandemic probably made you buy a bike particularly if you are a daily commuter. You may be wondering what cycling accessories you may need right now as riding your bike may be reasonably dangerous if you do not prepare for it.
Here is the essential beginner cyclists accessory kit to keep you safe and your bike running smoothly for years to come.
There are three (3) types of cycling accessories that we will be needing. First are safety accessories. Second are maintenance accessories. And third are security accessories.
SAFETY CYCLING ACCESSORIES
Your personal safety is just one of those things that you shouldn’t skimp out on. A little investment goes a long way to keep you safe.
HELMETS
Image by Projekt_Kaffeebart from Pixabay
The first accessory that you need to purchase is a proper helmet. It is recommended that you get helmets with universal fits, comfortable, with an adjustable dial in the back, and has enough vents to allow air to flow through so you don’t get too sweaty.
Get helmets from the big manufacturers so you know that you are getting something from a reputable brand.
Cycling is a ton of fun but the road can be an unpredictable place and you should take the necessary precautions. A good helmet could very well save your life.
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TOP HELMET RECOMMENDATION:
The Giro Trinity Adult Recreational Cycling Helmet is a favorite among cyclists.
Check out its features:
- 22 vents
- Roc Loc Sport fit system
- In-mold polycarbonate shell with EPS liner
- Full-coverage shell
- Refective rear decal
LIGHTS
IMAGE SOURCE: Danielle Keller / Public domain
The next essential accessory for safety is a set of lights. A basic set of flashers are not just for riding at night, they also help you become more visible. It is important to have a headlight and a tail light if you find yourself riding late at night or early in the morning a lot.
There are tons of great light sets out there that you could get cheap.
Criteria for choosing lights:
- They need to be bright enough
- USB rechargeable so you can always have battery in them
- Weather resistant
- Have simple mounting options
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TOP LIGHT SET RECOMMENDATION:
The Cygolite Dash Pro 600 Lumen Headlight & Hotrod 50 Lumen Tail Light USB Rechargeable Bicycle Light Combo Set is a good choice.
Check out its features:
- Both Dash Pro 600 and Hotrod 50 feature Daylighting and Steady Pulse modes as well as Enhanced Cycling Optics that cast an extra wide and long range beam compared to conventional lighting op
- Built-in battery low and charging indicators
- Water-resistant design for all riding conditions
- Lumens Front: 600
- The sleek Dash series is engineered for road cyclists, its highly efficient lens enables an extra wide, long range beam to maximize your line of sight. Beyond its exceptional night capability
MAINTENANCE CYCLING ACCESSORIES
You need to keep your bike running smoothly and reliably for years to come hence the need for some maintenance accessories. There are only three things that you need to take care of as far as maintenance goes when you start out cycling:
- tires
- chain
- bolts
For tires you will need a good pump, one or more spare tubes, a patch kit and tire levers to fix flats.
PUMPS
FLOOR PUMP IMAGE SOURCE: User Ewok Slayer on en.wikipedia / Public domain
For a pump, it is recommended to get one with a gauge and make sure that it has the appropriate valve head for your bike. The two most common are Presta valves and Schrader valves.
This is how a Presta valve looks like (image below):
PRESTA VALVE IMAGE SOURCE: Ralf Roletschek / GFDL 1.2
And this is how a Schrader valve looks like (image below):
SCHRADER VALVE IMAGE SOURCE: BohwaZ / FAL
The Topeak Joe Blow is an excellent pump and serves as the gold standard for floor pumps. The construction is really sturdy and it has both Schrader and Presta valve heads. It has an accurate gauge and can get up to high psi’s pretty easily.
If budget is a concern, the Topeak Road Morph G is a mini pump that can actually replace a floor pump. It has an accurate gauge and the chamber is big enough such that it doesn’t take too many pumps to get your tires up to an appropriate psi.
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SPARE INNER TUBES
INNER TUBE IMAGE SOURCE: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:Legalnycyklista / CC BY-SA
It is a good idea to have some spare inner tubes because flats are just an inevitable part of cycling. Continental tubes is a very reliable brand. When shopping for tubes it is important that you get the correct dimensions for your tire size. If you don’t know what your tire size is, you can usually find it printed on the sidewall of your tire and secondly make sure that you get the appropriate Presta or Schrader valve for your bike
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PATCH KITS
PATCH KIT IMAGE SOURCE: Björn Appel / CC BY-SA
A patch kit is another essential accessory because you will get flats and instead of having to replace your tubes every time you get a flat, you can simply patch them up to save money.
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TOP PATCH KIT RECOMMENDATION:
The Rema TT-01 Standard Patch Kits are known to work well.
The kit consists of:
- 4 Tube patches size F1
- 1 Tube patch size F2
- 1 Tube of SVS vulcanizing fluid 3 g
- 1 Emery paper with special rubber pad
TIRE LEVERS
TIRE LEVERS IMAGE SOURCE: Ian Harvey / Public domain
In order to change your inner tube you are going to need some tire levers to help you get your tire off of your rim.
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TOP TIRE LEVER RECOMMENDATION:
The Pedro’s Bicycle Tire Lever is a favorite choice. Check out its features:
- Ergonomic shape and refined composite construction for stiffness and strength
- Spoke grabbers
- Include two levers
- Clip together for easy storage
CHAIN MAINTENANCE
CHAIN IMAGE SOURCE: Cjp24 / CC BY-SA
The second thing that you need to maintain is your chain. All you will need is a rag and chain lube. Chain lube will keep all the components in your drivetrain clean and running smoothly. This will make them last longer, saving you money in the long run and also makes your bike more enjoyable to ride.
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TOP CHAIN LUBE RECOMMENDATION:
The Rock N Roll 135816 Gold Chain Lubricant is a favorite chain lube to use because it is the simplest to use. With other chain lubes, you first need to clean your chain. The Rock-N-Roll chain lube both cleans and lubricates your chain in an all in one formula. All you have to do is spray a healthy amount onto your chain, spin it around and then wipe off the excess.
Features:
- All-purpose lube for mountain or road bikes
- Cleans and lubricates simultaneously
- The legendary smoothness and quietness of this lube just went to a new level
- Makes drive-trains look like they just came out of the box
BOLT MAINTENANCE
BOLT IMAGE SOURCE: AndrewDressel / CC BY-SA
The third simple thing for maintenance is keeping an eye on your bolts. Knowing how to adjust a couple of things will make your bike fit better. Proper adjustments will make your bike more comfortable, feel faster and also avoid possible injury.
Bolts can also loosen over time and just having a simple set of allen keys can save you a trip to the bike shop.
The Park Tool hex wrench set is highly recommended. Park Tool is a bit more expensive than other brands but that is because they serve as the standard for tools in the bike industry.
They are a bit more expensive upfront but they last for years and are worth it.
The three millimeter to ten millimeter hex wrench set will cover all the bolts that are on your bike.
If you are on a tight budget you can get a generic hex wrench set. Make sure that they are metric and not English sizing because English sizes are slightly different and if you use those they will round out your bolts.
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GREASE
You need to make sure that the things on your bike that have metal to metal contact are properly greased. An ungreased seat post or ungreased bolts can become seized over time and become a big headache and a costly trip to the bike shop. The Lucas Oil waterproof grease is highly recommended because it’s reasonably priced.
As a rule of thumb, make sure that most of your components that have metal to metal contact with a few exceptions are properly greased once per year.
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SECURITY CYCLING ACCESORIES
The last essential beginner cycling accessories that you will need for your bike relates to security and for keeping your bike.
Unfortunately bike thieves are very good at what they do and if they want your bike they will take it.
The key for deterring bike thieves is to make your bike not worth their efforts. It is a good idea to spend some money on locks to deter bike thieves.
As a rule of thumb use two good locks, a beefy primary u-lock and a secondary cable lock.
If you always practice good locking technique you can almost never have your bike stolen.
These are all the essential cycling accessories that you will need to keep you safe, your bike safe and your bike running smoothly.
Please comment below if there are other essential cycling accessories that you wish to add.
Other cycling articles are HERE.
PHOTO: Photo by Daniel Frank from Pexels
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