Cool stuff for you and your bike that you didn't even know you needed!
LIGHTS!
The law says you have to have a white light on the front of your bike, a red reflector on the back of your bike and yellow reflectors on your pedals. I say "Why stop there?!?!" It's fun to bling your bike with lights and really make it something fun to look at. It keeps you safe and helps you be seen. What could be better?
Here are some cool things you can use to light up your bike.
SERIOUS: Good quality lights are really important for your safety when biking after dark or in low light conditions. You can get good quality battery operated lights that install easily at any bike shop. When purchasing bike lights make sure to keep in mind battery replacement costs. Many bike lights use watch batteries, which can be expensive to replace. Double and triple batteries are less expensive. Of course, rechargeable batteries are a better bargain in the long run, but cost more up front. One of my favorite kinds of lights are Reelights. These are battery free lights that mount to your front and rear wheel axles. Whenever your wheels are turning, your lights are flashing. I LOVE these lights. I put them on all our bikes. Now i know that the kids have lights flashing when they bike whether I am there to turn them on or not. I never have to remember to replace the batteries and the lights don't get taken off the bike and used for a flashlight. I highly recommend these lights for your bike or your kids' bikes. The initial investment is about $15-$20 more than a low end battery light set, but they are worth the investment. Klunk Cycles and Walt's Bike Shop both carry Reelights.
Cycling at night or in any low light conditions, it's a good idea to wear a reflective vest. I found a great reflective vest with flashing LED lights for less than $15 at Northern Tools. It uses 2 AA batteries. The vest has LEDs up the front and back and has about 5 flash pattern. It really lights you up when riding at night.
FUN: I love decorating my bike crazy with lights in the fall and winter. One of my favorite things to do is decorate my bike with Christmas lights. You can find battery powered and Solar LED Christmas lights at Walgreen's...Target also has 4 or 5 styles of battery powered and solar lights available for the holiday. It is worth looking at these stores for these fun light options. If you get some just wrap them around your bike frame and/or rack, make sure the wires won't interfere with your bike's operation, and secure them with zip-ties.
Niteize has some amazingly fun and affordable LED light options for fastening to bikes or helmets. My friend, Ginny, has some of their SpokeLits. They look really cool, were easy to install, and hold up well.
Monkey Lectric has crazy cool spoke lights that light up in different designs. I do not have any experience with this product. It looks very cool, but has always been a bit out of my price range.
Chubby's One Stop Cruiser Shop has some really cool Bike Glow Safety Lights. I have never used these, but they look like they would look really good on a bike and will work well. Chubby's has loads to cool accessories for all kinds of bikes, it is definitely a good place to look around for gift ideas.
Down Low Glow makes ground effects lights for bikes. Down Low Glow lights are rechargeable neon light tubes that mount to the bottom of your frame, casting a halo of light on the road all around you. They are really cool looking and REALLY make you visible on the road. I got a set about 5 years ago, I get lots of compliments on them.
Here are some cool things you can use to light up your bike.
SERIOUS: Good quality lights are really important for your safety when biking after dark or in low light conditions. You can get good quality battery operated lights that install easily at any bike shop. When purchasing bike lights make sure to keep in mind battery replacement costs. Many bike lights use watch batteries, which can be expensive to replace. Double and triple batteries are less expensive. Of course, rechargeable batteries are a better bargain in the long run, but cost more up front. One of my favorite kinds of lights are Reelights. These are battery free lights that mount to your front and rear wheel axles. Whenever your wheels are turning, your lights are flashing. I LOVE these lights. I put them on all our bikes. Now i know that the kids have lights flashing when they bike whether I am there to turn them on or not. I never have to remember to replace the batteries and the lights don't get taken off the bike and used for a flashlight. I highly recommend these lights for your bike or your kids' bikes. The initial investment is about $15-$20 more than a low end battery light set, but they are worth the investment. Klunk Cycles and Walt's Bike Shop both carry Reelights.
Cycling at night or in any low light conditions, it's a good idea to wear a reflective vest. I found a great reflective vest with flashing LED lights for less than $15 at Northern Tools. It uses 2 AA batteries. The vest has LEDs up the front and back and has about 5 flash pattern. It really lights you up when riding at night.
FUN: I love decorating my bike crazy with lights in the fall and winter. One of my favorite things to do is decorate my bike with Christmas lights. You can find battery powered and Solar LED Christmas lights at Walgreen's...Target also has 4 or 5 styles of battery powered and solar lights available for the holiday. It is worth looking at these stores for these fun light options. If you get some just wrap them around your bike frame and/or rack, make sure the wires won't interfere with your bike's operation, and secure them with zip-ties.
Niteize has some amazingly fun and affordable LED light options for fastening to bikes or helmets. My friend, Ginny, has some of their SpokeLits. They look really cool, were easy to install, and hold up well.
Monkey Lectric has crazy cool spoke lights that light up in different designs. I do not have any experience with this product. It looks very cool, but has always been a bit out of my price range.
Chubby's One Stop Cruiser Shop has some really cool Bike Glow Safety Lights. I have never used these, but they look like they would look really good on a bike and will work well. Chubby's has loads to cool accessories for all kinds of bikes, it is definitely a good place to look around for gift ideas.
Down Low Glow makes ground effects lights for bikes. Down Low Glow lights are rechargeable neon light tubes that mount to the bottom of your frame, casting a halo of light on the road all around you. They are really cool looking and REALLY make you visible on the road. I got a set about 5 years ago, I get lots of compliments on them.
A New Bike - What to know when buying a new bike.
There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new or new-to-you bike for yourself or someone else. Where to begin?
Stay away from big box stores - I could, and often do, go on and on about how it should be a crime to sell the junky bikes they offer at big box stores, but I won't do that here. (If you are interested, ask me sometime, I'll tell you all about it.) I will just touch on the main reasons not to purchase bikes from Wal-Mart, Target, sporting goods stores, etc. Bikes at big box stores are cheap, heavy, poorly designed and generally crummy. These bikes are made from lower quality metals and tend to be quite heavy. They are generally made to look cool with little attention paid to function, comfort, speed; hence they tend to be uncomfortable and cumbersome to ride. Components (brakes, gears. brake levers, shifters, bolts, pedals, saddles) on big box bikes (BBB) are lower quality than what you will find on even the least expensive bike store bikes. This means that it is often really hard stop the bike because the brake levers are too hard to pull; bikes won't stay in gear; brakes, pedals, gears break quickly and easily and can not be fixed because they are of such poor quality to begin with. Most bike shops will not even work on BBBs, because they know that even if they can get something fixed, it won't stay fixed for long and the customer will blame the mechanic, not realizing the problem is actually with the bike. Even the cheapest, oldest, used bike shop bike is going to serve you much better than a new BBB.
Used bikes -A used bike shop bike will serve you much better than a new BBB. You can find used bike shop bikes on Craig's list, at garage sales, in the classifieds, and in COMO at Klunk Cycles. Buying a used bike takes a little more work than walking into a shop, because you have to keep hunting around. Even at Klunk Cycles, their inventory of used bikes is constantly changing. A nice thing about buying your used bike from Klunk Cycles is that you know it has been checked out by an experienced mechanic, you know it is a good quality bike shop bike (they do not sell BBBs) and they have a service guarantee (ask the shop for details) if you have problems. When buying a used bike from someone else, check it over to make sure the brakes are working, there is little or no rust, make sure the seat post will move up and down, make sure the gears are shifting smoothly, and make sure the frame is in good shape (no cracks or major dents) There are a lot of things that can be fixed pretty easily at a bike shop if need be. SO, how do you know if a used bike is a bike shop bike? Check the frame for the make of the bike: Trek, Giant, GT, Specialized, Schwinn (older ones only), Vista, Bianchi, Bridgestone, Cannondale, Diamond Back, Electra, Felt, Fuji, Nishiki, Iron Horse, Litespeed, Peugeot, Motobecane, Novara, Raleigh. are all good reputable quality bike brands Stay away from: Newer Schwinns (they started making cheap BBBs a few years back), Magna, Pacific, Huffy, Murray, Mongoose, Next, Roadmaster.
What will you use the bike for? Why are you buying the bike? Where will you bike? How much do you want to spend? How fast do you want to go? Will you bike all seaons? There are bikes designed for just about any type of biking you can think of: biking on mountain trails; racing; bike polo; jumping over things; getting around town; traveling the world; you name it, there's a bike for it. While you can use just about any bike for any purpose, the right bike for the job will make your life much happier. Once you figure out what you will use your bike for and how much you want to spend on your bike, you can start narrowing your search. If you will primarily use your bike for transportation, here are some things to consider. Frame type/riding position: You will probably want a bike that offers a relatively upright riding position so you can see what is going on around you, be seen and be comfortable. Hybrids, city bikes, comfort bikes,touring bikes, and modified mountain bikes all make good choices for bike commuting. Handlebars:You will probably want handlebars that let you sit upright. Straight bars or bars with a slight curve are good for this. Some folks really like ram's horn bars (10 speed style bars), because they offer different hand positions. Gear shifters: There are many different types of shifters available on bikes. The type of shifter you get is a matter of personal preference. If you are going to be biking in all seasons, I would recommend staying away from grip shifters (the ones on the handle bar grips that you twist go shift gears with). When wearing gloves it is really hard to shift with this type of shifter. I bike with kids on a regular basis and have seen many kids have trouble with grip shifters when wearing gloves in cold weather. Tires: When biking on city streets you will want tires that are relatively skinny, have a high inflation pressure (70-100psi), and are relatively smooth, usually these types of tires are called city tires or road tires. Stay away from knobby, fat, low pressure mountain bike tires as they offer too much rolling resistance, make you work harder than you need to, and are not very good for winter biking, because the treads fill with snow decreasing traction and increasing weight.
Stay away from big box stores - I could, and often do, go on and on about how it should be a crime to sell the junky bikes they offer at big box stores, but I won't do that here. (If you are interested, ask me sometime, I'll tell you all about it.) I will just touch on the main reasons not to purchase bikes from Wal-Mart, Target, sporting goods stores, etc. Bikes at big box stores are cheap, heavy, poorly designed and generally crummy. These bikes are made from lower quality metals and tend to be quite heavy. They are generally made to look cool with little attention paid to function, comfort, speed; hence they tend to be uncomfortable and cumbersome to ride. Components (brakes, gears. brake levers, shifters, bolts, pedals, saddles) on big box bikes (BBB) are lower quality than what you will find on even the least expensive bike store bikes. This means that it is often really hard stop the bike because the brake levers are too hard to pull; bikes won't stay in gear; brakes, pedals, gears break quickly and easily and can not be fixed because they are of such poor quality to begin with. Most bike shops will not even work on BBBs, because they know that even if they can get something fixed, it won't stay fixed for long and the customer will blame the mechanic, not realizing the problem is actually with the bike. Even the cheapest, oldest, used bike shop bike is going to serve you much better than a new BBB.
Used bikes -A used bike shop bike will serve you much better than a new BBB. You can find used bike shop bikes on Craig's list, at garage sales, in the classifieds, and in COMO at Klunk Cycles. Buying a used bike takes a little more work than walking into a shop, because you have to keep hunting around. Even at Klunk Cycles, their inventory of used bikes is constantly changing. A nice thing about buying your used bike from Klunk Cycles is that you know it has been checked out by an experienced mechanic, you know it is a good quality bike shop bike (they do not sell BBBs) and they have a service guarantee (ask the shop for details) if you have problems. When buying a used bike from someone else, check it over to make sure the brakes are working, there is little or no rust, make sure the seat post will move up and down, make sure the gears are shifting smoothly, and make sure the frame is in good shape (no cracks or major dents) There are a lot of things that can be fixed pretty easily at a bike shop if need be. SO, how do you know if a used bike is a bike shop bike? Check the frame for the make of the bike: Trek, Giant, GT, Specialized, Schwinn (older ones only), Vista, Bianchi, Bridgestone, Cannondale, Diamond Back, Electra, Felt, Fuji, Nishiki, Iron Horse, Litespeed, Peugeot, Motobecane, Novara, Raleigh. are all good reputable quality bike brands Stay away from: Newer Schwinns (they started making cheap BBBs a few years back), Magna, Pacific, Huffy, Murray, Mongoose, Next, Roadmaster.
What will you use the bike for? Why are you buying the bike? Where will you bike? How much do you want to spend? How fast do you want to go? Will you bike all seaons? There are bikes designed for just about any type of biking you can think of: biking on mountain trails; racing; bike polo; jumping over things; getting around town; traveling the world; you name it, there's a bike for it. While you can use just about any bike for any purpose, the right bike for the job will make your life much happier. Once you figure out what you will use your bike for and how much you want to spend on your bike, you can start narrowing your search. If you will primarily use your bike for transportation, here are some things to consider. Frame type/riding position: You will probably want a bike that offers a relatively upright riding position so you can see what is going on around you, be seen and be comfortable. Hybrids, city bikes, comfort bikes,touring bikes, and modified mountain bikes all make good choices for bike commuting. Handlebars:You will probably want handlebars that let you sit upright. Straight bars or bars with a slight curve are good for this. Some folks really like ram's horn bars (10 speed style bars), because they offer different hand positions. Gear shifters: There are many different types of shifters available on bikes. The type of shifter you get is a matter of personal preference. If you are going to be biking in all seasons, I would recommend staying away from grip shifters (the ones on the handle bar grips that you twist go shift gears with). When wearing gloves it is really hard to shift with this type of shifter. I bike with kids on a regular basis and have seen many kids have trouble with grip shifters when wearing gloves in cold weather. Tires: When biking on city streets you will want tires that are relatively skinny, have a high inflation pressure (70-100psi), and are relatively smooth, usually these types of tires are called city tires or road tires. Stay away from knobby, fat, low pressure mountain bike tires as they offer too much rolling resistance, make you work harder than you need to, and are not very good for winter biking, because the treads fill with snow decreasing traction and increasing weight.
Accessories - Making your bike a super transportation machine.
Accessories help make your bike more comfortable, safe, practical and fun.
Fenders: Fenders are a must for bike commuters, because they keep you and your bike clean and dry in wet weather.
Rack: A rack allows you to carry stuff on your bike. You can easily and inexpensively attach stuff to your rack with bungee cords. You can also attach a milk crate to carry stuff in. It's so nice to carry stuff on your bike! Now you can go shopping, carry books home from the library and take your backpack to school without having to carry it on your back.
Panniers: Panniers are bags that you attach to your rack to carry stuff in. Panniers are nice, because they often can hold more than a rack or milk crate. Panniers also distribute the weight of your load down low near your rear axle rather than on top of the rack, this makes for a lower center of gravity and better bike handling. Panniers also keep your stuff dry in case of rain.
Bells: Bike bells make fun happy sounds and are fun to ding while biking around town.
Fenders: Fenders are a must for bike commuters, because they keep you and your bike clean and dry in wet weather.
Rack: A rack allows you to carry stuff on your bike. You can easily and inexpensively attach stuff to your rack with bungee cords. You can also attach a milk crate to carry stuff in. It's so nice to carry stuff on your bike! Now you can go shopping, carry books home from the library and take your backpack to school without having to carry it on your back.
Panniers: Panniers are bags that you attach to your rack to carry stuff in. Panniers are nice, because they often can hold more than a rack or milk crate. Panniers also distribute the weight of your load down low near your rear axle rather than on top of the rack, this makes for a lower center of gravity and better bike handling. Panniers also keep your stuff dry in case of rain.
Bells: Bike bells make fun happy sounds and are fun to ding while biking around town.