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Thread: What are your favorite bike accessories?

  1. #1
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    What are your favorite bike accessories?

    I know many of the people on this forum use their bikes for transportation. I love all the extras you can buy at the bike shop. Here are some of my favorites:

    my sheepskin bike seat cover
    hand grips
    Tuff tube and slime to prevent flat tires
    A headlight and tail light that I can recharge on my computer (instead of buying batteries)
    my lock
    my walkydog attachment

    When I was a child, I loved my Mickey Mouse bell and the horn that I got for Christmas. Sissy bars and flowered banana seats were big in those days. The kids in our neighborhood rode out bikes everywhere. Nobody wore helmets back then...now I always wear one.

    How about you?

  2. #2
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
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    A good sidecar and a Browning.


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    Senior Member Selah's Avatar
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    LOL, bae!

    Of course, I love my lock--it's clear someone already tried to steal my bike at least one time, and twice I had my lovely headlight stolen. Now I have little plasticky ones that I can just pop off and throw in my purse whenever I park my bike, so no one can steal them.

    I love my gorgeous and comfortable leather seat, and front basket, which is great for keeping my purse in view and my phone easy to access if I have to pull over and answer. I run a small business, so answering the phone as soon as people call is very important.

    I also love my ugly, rusting, wire basket on the back of my bike, which neatly holds my backpack and at least three bags of groceries. I wish it were in great shape and painted black, to match my bike, but it functions beautifully.

    The only tiny problems my bike has is that it won't hold a water bottle holder (because of the "girl" frame), and it has narrow tires which are great for the street, but not so good for gravel or dirt roads (which Israeli streets frequently and inexplicably turn into, even in residential areas). Otherwise, my "old lady" bike is wonderful and I love her more than any other bike I've ever had!

  4. #4
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    I don't see all the posts. You sound so enthusiastic about your bike, Selah. Sorry to hear you had your headlight stolen. (twice.) I have to remember to take my head and tail lights off each time I lock my bike, too. I'm afraid someone will take them. I have the little plastic ones, too. They're great!!! Have you seen those huge headlights for driving at night? They provide almost as much light as a car. (I used to commute from work at night. I got home at 10:00 p.m.)

    A leather seat! Wow! I haven't seen those. It sound like you really take good care of your bicycle and use it all the time. I've been meeting a lot of people who commute by bicycle, and they're really nice people. They always seem so happy and positive.

    Another thing I love is the bike racks they have on our city buses. I really don't feel like I need a car here. (except for Costco trips.) We have over 100 miles of bike paths that can take you all over the city. The metro train station is also within biking distance, or a short trip by bus. We can take bikes on the train here, too.

    Anybody else?

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    I've been in the process (slowly) of trying to come across a cheap old bike, preferably made here. (only found girls or wallyworld imports) I want to put one of those small Chinese motors on it and paint it line an OLD (1900-1915) motorcycle and use it for runs that are a little longer then I want to pedal to. (pedal for a while then use the motor)
    Other then that, probably a bike computer and a gel seat.

  6. #6
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    There's a guy where I live that has something that sounds just like that. It sounds like a lawnmower when he rides by me. He loves it.

    I have one of those gel seats. It's really comfortable. It was starting to wear out, so I patched it with an old pair of jeans.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Gardenarian's Avatar
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    I don't have any accessories! I'd like to get a water bottle holder.
    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” -- Gandalf

  8. #8
    Senior Member awakenedsoul's Avatar
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    Gardenarian, Oh, me too. Especially in this heat. Maybe I'll buy one of those tomorrow. I also have this fabulous backpack designed by Betabrand. My mom bought it for me as a gift. The ad had a girl on a bicycle with all of her groceries in it. It has all of these zippered compartments that are lined with plastic. It holds all the contents of my box of organic produce from the co op. I think it was really expensive, but it's held up with daily use for years. I just love it. It's such good quality.

    I have a feeling my new Burley bike trailer will be another favorite. Some of the pet trailers I researched sounded very rickety. This one is very well made, and should last for years..

    Oh, another favorite of mine is my bike basket. I got it at the Salvation Army. It's a wire mesh basket that is perfect for holding my purse. It snaps off and you can bring it with you. I got it for a dollar...

  9. #9
    Senior Member pony mom's Avatar
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    The only real accessory I have, besides my water bottle holder, is a small zippered pouch that fits beneath my seat. In it I can squeeze my cell phone, car keys, tissues, fruit bar, xylitol (can't neglect my teeth), and a business card with my name and phone number/home number in case something happens to me. Looking at it today, a larger bag would be handier to carry more food. Or one that fits on the handlebars.

    Oh, I also have one of those computers that tracks mileage, speed, etc. Since I'm a person that loves keeping track of things, I keep a log for each trip and include something of interest from that trip (like today I saw a blue heron).

    awakenedsoul, is your sheepskin seat cover real sheepskin or synthetic? I want a real one ever since I used a real pad for my horse. It's warm in winter, cool in summer, and breathes so it doesn't get smelly. My horse saddle has one on the seat and it's comfy.

  10. #10
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    One I didn't mention, is an accessory I use, but not a lot of other people do; handcuffs. I have two bags on the bike, the one under the seat, holds a spare innertube and change tools, while the one at the front, holds the handcuffs, to lock up the bicycle. People see it handcuffed, and tend to not mess with it. (and they were around the same cost as some of the better bike locks)

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