I’ve had a few conversations of late with new cyclists about accessories – what’s needed, what would fall under a “want” and the most important, what isn’t needed or useless.
For starters, we can get the obvious, and absolutely necessary out of the way; a flat kit (I have one that slides in my back pocket for short rides [15-100 miles] and a saddle bag for tours). Water bottles and bottle cages are next. Now, on some corners of the internet, you’ll see or hear that carbon fiber cages aren’t necessary and that they’re brittle. They aren’t necessary if you’re on a budget and carbon fiber, by its very nature, is kind of brittle. That said, I’ve never had a problem with any of my six carbon fiber cages and I’ve busted three plastic cages. I also prefer the way a bottle slides into a carbon cage whilst flying down the road. For bottles, I like Camelback. They’re just good bottles. Second would be Purist. They’re both a little more on the expensive side, but I don’t want sports drink all over my bike frame, so I want something that’ll close and not leak under the pressure of shaken sports drink.
Next, let’s get into cycling computers and blinky lights. I’d call this a “want”, but in one way, it’s an absolute necessity. I like having a cycling computer for a bunch of data reasons, and for Strava. The most important reason is, my Garmin hooks up to my blinky/radar, so I can know when cars are coming, how fast they’re coming, and how close they are to me. A Garmin Varia radar/blinky light does all of that. It also changes its blinking pattern the closer a car gets. Human eyes love patterns. Science has shown that if there’s a pattern, things get relegated to the background. When patterns change, or the pattern doesn’t have rhyme or reason, the mind forces the eyes to pay attention. This is a good thing on a bicycle, on the road. Also, to be fair, Wahoo makes an awesome computer that works, arguably, better than a Garmin.
I would say my computer and blinky are the two most important items to my safety after my helmet. Which, while we’re there, let’s look at that. Riding solo, a helmet as important as when you’re riding in a group, especially if one is just going for a cruise around the neighborhood with a 15-mph speed limit. However, it’s a very rare day I’ll ride without one. If I’m in a group, I won’t ride without a helmet. Ever. It’s one of those Second Amendment items; I’d rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. My favorite is the Bontrager/Trek wave cell line of helmets… because the wave cells actually keep bees out of my helmet while protecting my melon. I love that.
Next up, and also in the “can’t live without it” category are shoes and pedals. Price matters on both. Cheap isn’t always horrible, but expensive has always been outstanding in terms of use and feel. I like to go big on the shoes and pedals, though I’ve got two pair of knockoff mountain bike pedals on the tandem and they’re awesome. At just $25 a pair! They aren’t the best in terms of quality, but they’re on their second year of service without a hitch. The mountain shoes are Specialized. My wife’s got the second-tier, I’ve got the third (my wife’s are higher quality). For the single bikes, I’ve got two pair of ultra-high-end shoes, and one pair of second tier.
Next up, under the “wants”, is gloves and glasses. Go as cheap or expensive as you like. I ride with prescription Oakley sunglasses because seeing isn’t overrated. And, without a doubt, some form of eye protection is a need, not a want. I’ve ridden without a helmet before, but without glasses only once and I well never do it again, unless it’s to ride to a campground bathroom or something.
Shorts, bibs and jerseys and the bike aren’t accessories, so I won’t get into those in this post.
Now, that covers most needs and a few wants. What accessories don’t I need? Crazy aero helmets:
Don’t bring the aero d***head helmet to a club ride. You will be laughed at… either to your face or behind your back (or both). Just don’t.
Gimmicky items like those big jockey wheel cages. Don’t need ’em. I’m too fat and slow to bother. I’d be better off buying a salad. Chicken Caesar comes to mind. Anyway, I digress. Ceramic bearings are a neat upgrade. They’re expensive as all hell, but they do their job. I can’t afford them, on my stable, though. A carbon fiber handlebar (see the Specialized Venge above) is nice, but totally unnecessary. My alloy bars work just fine.
Carbon fiber wheels, however, now those are somewhere between a want and a necessity in my book, unless you have Rolf alloy wheels. They have the market cornered, well with Campagnolo, for awesome, lightweight alloy wheelsets. Otherwise, carbon fiber all the way. I love all of our carbon wheels, and they’re unquestionably faster than shallow alloy wheelsets.
So, I’d say for the new cyclist, plan on spending another $300, minimum, on top of your bike, in the necessary accessories… then add another $350 for your computer and blinky. And that figure can go a lot higher depending on those “wants”.
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