Accessories

[cyclenut1952]

Hi, I realise this could win stupid question award, my wife and I are getting two folding ebikes, they come with all the accessories I think we could need ie. bags locks pump bell helmets etc, but not having had a cycle for many years is there anything else I should have?

 

[Fishy]

Mirror, wouldn't be without one now.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi, I realise this could win stupid question award, my wife and I are getting two folding ebikes, they come with all the accessories I think we could need ie. bags locks pump bell helmets etc, but not having had a cycle for many years is there anything else I should have?

I myself have added battery (rechargeable cells front), and a builtin USB chargeable rear light, with loud alarm, if the bike gets the tiniest bit moved, with a remote control and several modes of red rear light.
Plus, cycle lock chains of good quality, two per bike for front and rear frame to wheel, then to something substantial at the parking place!
A thief cannot cut both and not start the alarm.
Alarm only, runs for several weeks on one charge.
Cheap to purchase on ebay. ask me and I will point one out for you if you wish, and it fits under the saddle....
Having only a single source of power to the lights (bike battery) is to my mind dangerous. Two separate systems are needed, as being in the forest, or on a road, on a dark night and no lights and an empty battery, is really no fun at all!
Been there.....
best regards
Andy

 

[Deleted member 25121]

I myself have added battery (rechargeable cells front), and a builtin USB chargeable rear light, with loud alarm, if the bike gets the tiniest bit moved, with a remote control and several modes of red rear light.
Plus, cycle lock chains of good quality, two per bike for front and rear frame to wheel, then to something substantial at the parking place!
A thief cannot cut both and not start the alarm.
Alarm only, runs for several weeks on one charge.
Cheap to purchase on ebay. ask me and I will point one out for you if you wish, and it fits under the saddle....
Having only a single source of power to the lights (bike battery) is to my mind dangerous. Two separate systems are needed, as being in the forest, or on a road, on a dark night and no lights and an empty battery, is really no fun at all!
Been there.....
best regards
Andy

When the battery gets low on quality ebikes the motor will be shut down a long time before the power to the front and rear lights is removed.

 

[Andy-Mat]

When the battery gets low on quality ebikes the motor will be shut down a long time before the power to the front and rear lights is removed.

I believe you.
I myself was riding a very cheap bike for over 6 years. It was secondhand and I paid about 200 UK pounds for it, one year old....the battery was alone worth far more!
But over the years, I have never seen an e-bikes tech spec that specified clearly what happened when the battery was empty.
My first bike switched only the front light off, my current bike, removes all power....
Also, I have had two LED front lights fail, bike battery power yes, bike light no, so a similar situation.....
Without buying the bike and using it, how would one find out exactly hat happens.
I do believe that the best alternative is both types on the bike at all times.
So I still say, better to be safe than sorry!!
regards and have a great weekend!
Andy

 

[cyclenut1952]

Never thought of a mirror or alarm,
Andy I would be grateful for alarm advise given the cost of bikes makes excellent sense, thanks to all for the ideas, so pleased I joined you all.

 

[Andy-Mat]

This is the one I have:-

4 in 1 Cycling Smart Wireless Rear Light Remote Control Alarm Lock Bike Tailight | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 4 in 1 Cycling Smart Wireless Rear Light Remote Control Alarm Lock Bike Tailight at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Has a long battery life when working only as an alarm, which I feel is important. Mine is on all the time I am not actually riding, and it has gone 3 weeks without a recharge!
Is a great rear light with several programs, very bright as well....
It has a remote control, with a range of an estimated 30 feet or so.
I bought a cheap programmable Remote off ebay, as I needed a second one, and cloned it from the first one and it cost me about 5 UK Pounds to buy the second remote! It is actually better made than the original!!
The rear light/alarm, sort of hides under the saddle, and unless you KNEW it was an alarm, you could never actually guess....
I hope this helps.
Andy

 

[cyclenut1952]

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your time, I will look at the link to it, very grateful
Brian

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi Andy,
Thanks for your time, I will look at the link to it, very grateful
Brian

No Problem, let us know what you actually do please.

By the way, there are several differently made, from other manufacturers rear light alarms. I bought this one mostly because it was cheap and it fitted under the saddle, but that is over 2 years ago and it still works fine!
If it ever went wrong, I would still buy the same mode! again.
Regards
Andy

 

[georgehenry]

I commute to work and back, sometimes on a rear hub road bike with wired in lights and sometimes on a crank drive hard tail Haibike that has no wired in lights.

Like Andy-Mat I like to have two rear lights. On the bike with wired in lights, that's the wired in light and a very bright seat post rechargeable LED flasher, and likewise at the front a bright rechargeable handlebar mounted light as well as the wired in light, that would be too dim for night riding on unlit roads anyway.

On the Haibike it is two rechargeable lights, front and rear.

When I added a bright flashing rear light I noticed immediately that cars noticed me and mostly passed giving me more room. I use the bright flashing rear light in day light and notice the same effect.

 

[cyclenut1952]

Thanks

 

[James63]

I wear a hi viz waistcoat over whatever else I have on. They are really cheap and lightweight and the pockets are handy.

 

[cyclenut1952]

Thanks will get 2.

 

[BazP]

This is the one I have:-

4 in 1 Cycling Smart Wireless Rear Light Remote Control Alarm Lock Bike Tailight | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 4 in 1 Cycling Smart Wireless Rear Light Remote Control Alarm Lock Bike Tailight at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

Has a long battery life when working only as an alarm, which I feel is important. Mine is on all the time I am not actually riding, and it has gone 3 weeks without a recharge!
Is a great rear light with several programs, very bright as well....
It has a remote control, with a range of an estimated 30 feet or so.
I bought a cheap programmable Remote off ebay, as I needed a second one, and cloned it from the first one and it cost me about 5 UK Pounds to buy the second remote! It is actually better made than the original!!
The rear light/alarm, sort of hides under the saddle, and unless you KNEW it was an alarm, you could never actually guess....
I hope this helps.
Andy

Like you Andy I thought that this same alarm was a good idea and probably still is. Unfortunately the thief who stole my bike, in a very busy street, didn’t seem perturbed as he rode away with me giving chase and the alarm doing what alarms do. He soon lost me and probably ripped the alarm off ASAP. He also snipped through a cable lock whilst pretending to tie a shoe lace. Took him about 10 seconds in total.

 

[georgehenry]

Luckily at work I have an inside space to leave the bike, and do not need to carry my heavy Kryptonite U lock, and even that would be easily enough overcome by an battery angle grinder, but cable locks can just be snipped with a hand tool.

On all my shopping/errand rides I use the u lock, despite the inconvenience of carrying it around, really just to increase the effort of stealing the bike.

I also do most of my shopping trips on a 2011 rear hub Oxygen emate with battery behind the seat which is now pretty old and looks very well used which is quite a good anti theft deterrent in its own right.

 

[Nealh]

I carry two locks on my town bike, one a 10 mm U lock and another snake type one with the spiral outers that rotate around the inner cable. Cable ones on there own are not worth having and two locks are harder to defeat then one. The seat alarm gizmo is just that a gimmick and not going to stop someone riding off unless is delivers a high leccy shock or drives a spike up the riders back side.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Alarms don't prevent theft, they just alert you that it's taking place and passers by will just ignore it.

Far better to go for 2 secure locks and a tracking system.

 

[Deus]

Alarms don't prevent theft, they just alert you that it's taking place and passers by will just ignore it.

Far better to go for 2 secure locks and a tracking system.

Tracking systems are only good if you are prepared to get it back yourself once you have tracked it down the police will not help you this has been the case with a few cyclists and many iphone owners and owners of tools etc that have tracking

 

[RossG]

We have all these anti-theft devices like alarms, GPS, huge U bolts etc but if someone wants your bike they will try anything to get it. We have to consider this, the more we do to protect our property the more it slows down the thief..it won't stop them entirely, just curtail their progress.
I have the same alarm as Andy-M tucked under my bike seat, obviously a villain can still attempt to swipe my bike but at least it will draw attention, and that does work. I think I mentioned on here once before I set mine off accidently outside a store and people came running out to see what the racket was about. For £12 it's a no-brainer, the light's intense to boot so there's your back up light if you better for having one.

 

[RobF]

Hi, I realise this could win stupid question award, my wife and I are getting two folding ebikes, they come with all the accessories I think we could need ie. bags locks pump bell helmets etc, but not having had a cycle for many years is there anything else I should have?

The supplied pumps will almost certainly be of poor quality, so get a track or stirrup pump.

No need to spend a fortune, but get one with a pressure gauge you can read.

The most overwhelmingly likely cause of a breakdown on a bicycle is a puncture.

You need to carry tyre levers, a spanner to remove the wheel if it's not quick release, and a spare tube.

Also worth carrying a puncture repair kit, although it's often quicker at the roadside to change the tube, and repair the punctured tube in comfort at home.

Either traditional rubber solution patches or self-adhesive ones will work.