What accessories do I need??

fishdisco

I've put down a deposit for a Specialized sirrus (basic model). The shop said I can have £40 worth of accessories. In your opinions, which are the most important accessories. I already have a lock. These are all what I want::

- a wedge pack
- a drink carrier thing
- helmet
- lights (the ones for you to be indentified as oppose to the headlights)
- pump
- tube
- helmet
- fluorescent top

Now - what do I actually NEED? I'm using the bike for a 5 mile commute. The boy in the shop reckons I should have a pump and tube for definite. Personally I think they should have given me the pump free with the bike but they are not. The lights I thought were not really essential at this point. Nor the helmet (I know you're all going to say get this). The things I really wanted were the drink carrier and wedge pack!! Although whether these are the most important is debatable I'm sure. I also wanted at some stage some off-road tyres, they showed me some which were £10 each but I'm going to wait until later to get these. I can't believe how expensive the accessories are. Where can I get these things cheap? what are the most essential?

Thanks, Fish

fishdisco

helmet wasn't supposed to be on the list twice btw!!

Bronzie

- pump (you will get a puncture sooner or later)
- spare inner tubes (as above)
- *****TYRE LEVERS***** (to get the tyre off to change the flat tube)
- a wedge pack (to hold nos. 2 + 3 or stick 'em in your back pocket)
- helmet (or could be no. 1 or 15 - that's your call, but this is my opinion)
- lights (only if you are riding near dark, otherwise wait until the evenings draw in)
- fluorescent top (as for lights)
- bottle cage + bottle (if you are only riding 5 miles, don't bother - for longer rides (1 hour plus) fit one)
- computer (so you can see how much faster you are getting as you get fitter!!)

Also, somewhere in there I'd put:
- ID (carry something to identify you with emergency contact numbers / medical info, just in case)
- multi-tool (screwdrivers/allen keys/chain tool)
- shades (to keep bugs and grit out and make you look cool)
- rear view mirror (if you are not confident riding in traffic and want to keep an eye on White Van Man behind you)

ENJOY!!

fishdisco

Thanks!!! God, this new activity is going to cost me so much more than I thought!!! Really much appreciated though.

jibi

If there is an Aldi near you get in the scrum next Thursday 19th

some "cheap" cycling gear coming up.

george

fishdisco

I've just been LMFAO at the erection thread!!

Thanks, I will check out Aldi. What kind of stuff do they usually have? What do u think I should get from the bike shop and what from Aldi? Because I have to get the stuff from the bike shop this week unless they give me a voucher which I doubt......

fossyant

Aldi, don't always do the deals, but as it's summer you might pick some leftovers up - watch out on here for the heads up. Deffo go for a good pump and repair kit/levers first. Allen keys and or multi tool just in case something comes loose.

It gets quite an expensive hobby/sport when you get bitten by the bug, you'll soon have multiple bikes with a multiple choice of clothing/shoes, and a fully kitted out tool box.

Crapaud

Personally I would get:

pump inner tube tyre levers p***ture repair kit lube for the chain

I'd second a computer, even a cheap one - I found it very motivational when I was just starting back on the bike.

It does look very expensive when starting out, but buy a bit at a time and you'll soon have everything you need. It took me ages to get all my stuff, but it gave me time to work out what I really needed as opposed to what I thought I needed (or wanted).

baudman

My suggested order of importance would be:

Helmet! (It's mandatory in my opinion, as well as in many places on the planet!)
Seat wedge/tube(s)/lever/pump (Gotta have all of that)
Bidon cage (your drink carrier thing) - dep on how hot it gets
lights and fluorscent top are secondary, unless it's getting dark, then they go up before the helmet.

Also - if you are one of those people who are difficult to buy presents for, ppl can now get you bike stuff. Easy!

gkerr4

personally, I;d get something that you might not treat yourself to later down the line - you will always buy yourself tyre levers as they are only a couple of quid - tubes likewise -

if it were me, I'd want a nice good quality multi-tool - something that, later on, you will look at but perhaps grudge the £20+ they cost - specifically I'm thinking something like the crank bros19 in that little stainless case. Next I'd buy either a nice under saddle wedge back - the topeak ones are neat - or a good track pump to ensure that the tyres are nice and hard.

fishdisco

Thanks all for your replies. think I will definitely go then for the pump, tube, possibly the tools, bidon carrier and wedge pack. I'll get a helmet too. All this is not going to be within the £40 I'm sure but I will just have to spend some extra I suppose. My problem is that I'm buying the bike as I really want to get fit and also because I don't have a car anymore. I might be going abroad though by the end of the year....so I didn't want to spend too much money as I don't know what I'm going to do with the bike later. It's a bit off my original topic but do Specialized Sirrus sell well?

RufusA

Other things worth considering:

Swapping the tyres for "Armadillo" version from the Elite+ models - will prob cost £5-10 if tyres not used yet, but will keep punctures way down!
Mudguards (if you don't want a black stripe up your back and hair).
Rear rack & pannier bag (if you need to carry stuff).
Going clipless - I found the clips on the Sirrus too small for my average sized feet, and they ruined my shoes! Buying larger clips or going clipless was a no-brainer for me.

Not to mention all the fancy clothing and waterproofs when you want to extend your ride by a few miles on a rainy day just for the hell of it!

For me a good helmet was essential. I've hit a car that's pulled out of a junction in front of me before "didn't realise you were going so fast - mate", and I did a roll over their bonnet and up the windscreen, my head striking their roof mounted aerial. I am pretty sure if I wasn't wearing a helmet at the time the aerial shaped crack/dent in the helmet would have instead been in my skull, not to mention all the bits of glass etc. I would otherwise be picking out of my forehead!

Finally you also mention "already having the lock" - is it up to scratch, and does it have a cable to loop round the front wheel as they are QR on the Sirrus?

I suspect by the time I'm fully kitted and happy I'll have spent as much on accessories as on the bike!

HTH - Rufus.

rafletcher

For a 5 mile commute you won't need a drink - but if commuting in winter a bottle cage battery could be needed.

Definitely pump, tubes (2), repair kit and tyre levers. helmets up to you but they're not much good for stopping you being crushed by a bus! I do wear one, but only wehn blatting around country lanes where they may do some good if I come off.

Mudguards if not fitted a standard.

alfablue

rafletcher wrote:

helmets up to you but they're not much good for stopping you being crushed by a bus! I do wear one, but only wehn blatting around country lanes where they may do some good if I come off.

is that logical? if you believe the helmet will help when hitting the road in a country lane, why wouldn't it help you when you hit the road when knocked off by a bus but not crushed?

joe24

The accessories for my bike wasnt over £40. I got a saddle bag from wilkos, because it was cheap. The only problem is if you wont to take it off, you have to undo the strapping. I already had a helmet anyway, i didnt wear one at the start, but when i wore my other hat to keep the sun out my eyes, my head got very sweaty. It would also lift up if i went fast. I dont have a spare tube or a pump, although i will get a pump and fit it to the bike. The repair kit is one from wilkos so not expensive. Lights are ones from wilkos, i have them at the moment if its misty or foggy or if it rains really hard. I got a bottle cage and bottle from wilkos, the bottle is rubbish, but decent bottles arent expensive. I havent got a flurencent top, but if it rains and you wonted one, camping shops like millets do a flurencent cag that packs away.


Joe

fishdisco

Thanks guys. Doesn't the basic specialized have puncture proof tyres or mudguards? Tomorrow is the crunch day when they have built my bike but I'm inclined to maybe go for the elite model instead if they let me. The guy in the shop had told me I won't feel the difference (I was only able to test ride the Elite as they didn't have the basic in stock). I just didn't want to spend £500 but if the better tyres and things are going to cost so much anyway, I may as well buy the elite?

Even if I got a puncture and had all the tube, pump and tools, I'm not sure I would know how to fix it?

secretsam

As chance would have it, I was looking at one in Condor at lunchtime, nice bike, is on my wishlist (see my other thread)

No, no guards, so I'd go for them, some lights and puncture gear

If you carry a bag you won't need a saddlepack

Max Weber

is that logical? if you believe the helmet will help when hitting the road in a country lane, why wouldn't it help you when you hit the road when knocked off by a bus but not crushed?

It's about acceptable risk v the inconvenience of wearing a helmet... he may believe that out in the country, cornering fast round potentially slippy roads, you may be more likely to slide off and bang your head on the road/kerb and that the helmet will protect against this, but that in town the chances of misjudging a corner at speed and coming off are negligible and the greatest risk is a bus/lorry/whatever, which a helmet would do little to protect against.

alfablue

Max Weber wrote:

is that logical? if you believe the helmet will help when hitting the road in a country lane, why wouldn't it help you when you hit the road when knocked off by a bus but not crushed?

It's about acceptable risk v the inconvenience of wearing a helmet... he may believe that out in the country, cornering fast round potentially slippy roads, you may be more likely to slide off and bang your head on the road/kerb and that the helmet will protect against this, but that in town the chances of misjudging a corner at speed and coming off are negligible and the greatest risk is a bus/lorry/whatever, which a helmet would do little to protect against.

Yes, he may believe that but I believe the risk of being knocked off by a bus (car, van, truck, RLJ'er etc) and hitting the road and not being crushed are as great (if not greater) than the lkelihood of being crushed. It is possibly also more likely that one of those eventualities will occur rather than the slip on country lanes. I expect that more people get knocked off than crushed, so why decline a potential safety measure on the grounds that a hazard of greater magnitude may occur with less likelihood...? My simple brain can't get the hand of that logic :oops:

AchillesT

I was wondering about a 'Morph' type carryable track type pump - is it worth it? ( especially on multi day tours)

I ask because the only time I have used my minipump, I managed to damage the tube where the valve joins it due to my over-enthusiatic pumping

alfablue

I can thoroughly recommend the Road Morph and Mountain Morph pumps, probably the easiest way to get full pressure in your tyre, with it's "track Pump" characteristics, and the hose means no strain on the valve stem. I also have a Cycleaire (normal, not rapid) which is virtually as good, just the arm movements required are a bit more extreme.

Max Weber

Yeah, I'd agree it's not the most conclusive argument Alfablue... I suppose it's based on the belief that although relatively unlikely, coming off on a descent or at high speed on a country road is dangerous enough and likely enough to warrant protection, whereas an urban spill (lorry aside) is neither quite likely enough nor seemingly dangerous enough to overcome the nuisance/inconvenience of wearing a helmet.

fishdisco

Hi there. I got my bike! I decided on the following accessories - wedge pack, inner tube, pump (it's a dual action mini one, fits on the frame), tyre levers and bottle cage. All that came to £40!! So I still need a helmet. Looking at the weather I also think I need some waterproof cycling clothing.

The pedals that were on the Sirrus were these funny ones which you put your foot into. I took them off and now the pedals are not comfortable as they are not flat, so I may have to buy some better pedals....Also thinking of changing the tyres in a few weeks.