Part 3: Gear - This might actually be useful

Tonight in my multipart series of things you don't care about I taking a look at some of the gear I use. I've burned through quite a bit of crap over the years and find this stuff works well.

Lights:

If you're only going to have one light facing forward, put in on your helmet. The light on the helmet will shine where you are looking. Lights on the handlebars don't always. This is particularly noticeable turning when there are no street lights around. This light is from AY-UP. I've had it for 5 or 6 years and it's been rock solid the whole time. The run time is 3+ hours and I carry a spare battery so I've got more than enough light for a days commute (or 2 if I forget to charge the battery).

My helmet also has a rear blinking light

It clips onto a special mount that's part of the helmet. It uses coin batteries that I feel tend to not last very long so I don't use this very often. It's more for emergency situations like if my other light dies or I'm in weather conditions (fog, heavy rain) that I feel warrant the visibility. It's also nice to have if I caught out after dark when I wasn't planning on it and don't have another blinky light.

I do have two other lights. Both are from Light & Motion

The urban 550 was given to me. Then I lost it, so I bought another one. Do I need all the light provided by the 550? Not really. It has 4 settings (H, M, L and blinking) and most of the time I have it on low. The only time I have it on high is riding through the woods. Even then it's more of a luxury than a necessity. If I were just getting it for commuting I'd probably get an urban 200. Still, I love the light. It charges quickly on a USB, and is super easy to take on and off the bike. 

The other light is a vis180. It's ok. It doesn't blink so much as fade in and out sort of. It has four settings. 3 of which are not very different. The 4th setting (paceline) is useless IMHO. Don't get me wrong the light is plenty bright and I'm not worried about it's ability to make me visible. It's just after having the urban 550 first, this was a little disappointing. On top of that, the mount broke within just a couple of weeks. To their credit, all it took was one phone call to Light & Motion and they sent out a replacement light with a new and improved bracket. 

So yeah, I have two front and two rear lights. Why??? With the convenience of USB recharger comes the danger of forgetting to recharge it and not being able to just pop a new battery in if it dies mid ride. My other lights can swap batteries and I carry spares so hopefully I won't get caught out in the dark although I've come pretty close.

Helmet:

Besides the semi integrated rear light, my Uvex helmet has another feature that I absolutely love for commuting. 

That's an adjustable buckle for the chin strap. Whether I've got a balaclava and heavy winter hat or a light cycling cap, the helmet's on nice and snug without having to futts around with adjusting the strap. It's a little thing, but in the spring and fall I find the head wear you need varies dramatically from day to day. Add to it the fact that you've got the added weight of a light on your helmet and having the easily adjustable fit is a big deal. 

Fenders:

I've got clip on SKS fenders for the SS. 

I told you I don't clean the commuter much

The rear fender is clips onto the seatpost. I happen to have the same dia seatpost on my road bike so it's super easy to swap over when needed. I don't bother with a front fender on the road bike. I just don't find it's needed. On the MTB, between the clearance on the fork and knobby tires, ample water get's thrown up. Not just directly into your face but also in front of you for you to ride into. 

You may notice I've put some reflective tape on the bike as well. Anything you can do to help be seen is usually worth it. I've got more reflective tape strategically placed on my helmet.

Booties:

I've got 3 winters of regular use into my pair of Endura MT500 and they're only starting to show a little wear. They were worth every cent and then some. I've also got a pair of mavic rain booties. They're ok at keeping the outside of the shoe dry. Unfortunately, they aren't tight around the ankle, so the top of my sock gets wet, which leads to my whole sock getting wet which leads to wet shoes (from the inside out). Speaking of wet shoes, I find stuffing them with paper towel the best way to sort of dry them out at work. 

Gloves:

I don't have anything special to say about gloves. I don't own a pair of lobster claws. I imagine they work pretty well. I've gotten by without them.

Backpack:

I mentioned my backpack in part 1. Here's a picture.

It's from Patagonia. I forget the model, but it doesn't matter. They don't make it anymore. Other than being dirty, it's in as good of shape as it was when I bought it 5 yrs ago. You can sort of see the 2 compartment set-up. The main compartment also has a pouch for a laptop in it. It works equally well for any sort of paperwork that you don't want to get all crumpled. 

Tires:

MTB - whatever leftovers there are that still have some tread but no longer work tubeless.

Road - Something in a 25c. I've been having really good luck with Vredestein Tri-comps. Well, except when I take it off road on an old railroad bed and cut the sidewall. 

Cold Weather Stuff:

I have a set of Bar Mitts I use when the temps drop into the teens. I have the flat bar version. It turns out they also work well on drop bars as long as the shifter cable doesn't come out the side of the shifter. These things are fantastic. You can ride comfortably in the teens with just a medium weight glove on. The only negative is you lose a little hand mobility and become less inclined to signal. 

I also have a full face mask and ski goggles for when it's really cold. It's works great. The one issue is the goggles cut down on your side vision. You really have to turn your head to see behind you.