As one of many few individuals who can declare to now be in my third decade of residing an electrical bike-focused life, I’ve examined a variety of gear over time. Between the gear I purchase for myself and the piles of random stuff that exhibits up on my doorstep from overzealous PR companies, I’ve gone by way of a variety of instruments, locks, clothes, equipment, and extra. Listed here are my favorites of all of the stuff I’ve examined this yr.
I’ll begin with locks as a result of I’m a little bit of a motorcycle lock collector. I’ve bins overflowing with them. Which means if a lock has made it out of the bins and into my regular-use assortment, it should have some actually good options and utility.
Foldylock Endlessly from Seatylock
Seatylock is certainly one of my favourite lock firms because of the varied merchandise’ mixture of safety and worth. The strongest lock that I exploit on daily basis is my Foldylock Endlessly. It weighs round 1/3 of a high-security chain lock (slightly below 3.9 lb or 1.8 kg) and is far quieter than most folding locks because of the larger precision safety rivets. It’s rated Gold-Licensed by the premier lock testing company Offered Safe, and is immune to the commonest assaults of blades, bolt cutters, nut splitters, pry bars/jacks, and freezing assaults.
It opens huge to operate like a sequence lock, wrapping round huge objects like timber or small objects like signal posts, and I additionally actually just like the handy holster that makes it straightforward to stow and seize one-handed. The huge design means you can too lock each the body and a wheel, which is essential if you wish to have wheels in your bike if you come again to it.
This lock is definitely fairly pretty priced at US $99 on Amazon. Excessive-security locks value so much as a result of they’re meant to guard costly e-bikes, and this one is value each single penny. And that’s even a terrific sale value, contemplating it usually prices $125.
I’ve additionally been testing a smaller model of the identical lock, the Foldylock Compact. It is available in a number of colours, however I just like the orange-accented one because it has that good poison treefrog coloring to let thieves see it from a distance and remind them to maneuver on to the subsequent poor shmuck’s bike.
Whereas this one isn’t fairly as strong because the over-the-top Foldylock Endlessly above, the Foldylock Compact is smaller and lighter for many who don’t need a chunky lock. At simply 2.2 lb or 1 kg, it’s nearly half the load and nonetheless options lots of the similar essential safety parts like these patented high-security rivets.
This might be a terrific choice for scooters, too, because it’s smaller and extra compact for the lighter frames on scooters.
At US $71 on Amazon, it’s a extra inexpensive model of the flagship Foldylock Endlessly lock.
The third and final lock from Seatylock that I’ve actually taken a liking to is the Mason 220. This may increasingly appear to be a normal U-lock at first, however there are two fundamental variations I actually like about it.
The primary is that it’s huge sufficient to suit across the chunky battery downtube in all of my e-bikes. Most U-locks can’t match round this huge a part of an e-bike, which means you’re extra restricted on locking places. The Mason 220 has no downside becoming wherever on my e-bikes.
The second factor I like is that the lock’s shackle has a pentagonal profile. That helps cut back weight whereas strengthening the cross-section in comparison with spherical or sq. bars. The engineering reply is that it places extra materials additional away from the middle axis with out losing materials the place it isn’t wanted. It additionally prevents thieves from having two flat surfaces on both aspect for making use of varied instruments. However in layman’s phrases, it’s only a extra environment friendly profile for anti-theft.
On prime of all of that, the lock is Diamond-certified 20/20 by Offered Safe, which is the very best potential safety score. It’s immune to chopping, grinding, drilling, bending, prying, freezing, and principally each fundamental lock assault.
At its present value of US $76 on Amazon, it’s a no brainer.
I at all times suggest utilizing two locks on the similar time, and I typically mix the Mason 220 with the FoldyLock Compact (since my spouse tends to steal my FoldylLck Endlessly for her bike).
E-cuffs electrical scooter lock
This one is a little bit of a wierd lock, however persist with me. These handcuff-style locks make nice scooter locks, which is what they’re designed for. However in a pinch, you can too apply it to an e-bike.
These aren’t essentially the most safe locks on the market, so I typically attempt to use them at the side of a second lock when potential, however the E-cuffs do have a number of good security options as a part of their design. The triple-ply metal is tougher to chop and the tight locking cuff makes it arduous to get a pry-bar within the lock for leverage assaults.
Additionally they mount actually properly to the stem of a scooter to allow them to deploy shortly round no matter you select to lock onto.
I used them on the VMAX scooter I used to be just lately testing and located them to be a extremely handy answer for fast and handy locking.
Waterfield Vitesse waxed canvas backpack
For these of you who bemoan the shortage of American manufacturing, right here you go! The Waterfield Vitesse waxed canvas backpack is made in America. It’s additionally bought made in America pricing at US $219, however hey, you mentioned you’d pay for American manufacturing, proper?!
This bag is a murals, made of gorgeous waxed canvas from an American mill that has produced it this fashion for practically a century. The luggage are sewn in San Francisco and have a fundamental open pocket with organizer pouches inside, a laptop computer sleeve that may match as much as a 16-inch laptop computer, and a pleated entrance pocket. The roll-top design additionally has a water-resistant zipper, which means you don’t must roll the highest should you want to stuff it pretty full. You’ll be able to simply zip it if you don’t have the additional materials left over to roll it.
The neoprene-padded straps and leather-wrapped deal with are snug and clearly constructed for years of wear and tear, as this can be a buy-it-for-life sort of bag. I typically trip on days if you by no means know what sort of climate you’ll have, and so the waxed canvas and waterproof zipper are key for cyclists who need a handsome bag that also withstands the weather.
Remco electrical lifting bike stand
This stand has modified the sport for my bike work. I assemble a variety of e-bikes for evaluations and am always doing work on my bikes, whether or not regular upkeep or main repairs. Lifting heavy e-bikes onto a stand isn’t enjoyable, particularly as lots of the “e-bikes” I evaluation are principally 100-lb gentle electrical bikes.
That’s excellent for the reason that Remco electrical elevate bike stand can assist as much as 100 lb fashions, and I truly put that to the take a look at with a number of 100lb+ fashions!
It’s bought a brilliant steady (and heavy) base plate, and the elevate itself may be programmed to recollect varied heights which are most snug for you.
The modular design helps you to use your personal clamp or theirs, which means you possibly can stick together with your trusty Park Instrument clamp should you want.
A little bit over a yr in the past I harm my again (and had my first “OMG this should be what getting previous is” second), and so the usage of an electrical bike elevate for heavy electrical bikes is simply such a pleasant addition to my bike workflow that I can’t think about anymore muscling these 80 and 90 lb e-bikes into the air whereas attempting to assist them one handed and shut the clamp with the opposite.
That is actually meant for bike retailers and professionals, however even people such as you and me who simply are likely to do work on a number of heavy bikes can actually profit from it!
Past Riders protected driving clothes
I’ve written earlier than concerning the significance of sporting protecting clothes, particularly on quicker electrical bikes. Past Riders has turn out to be my go-to model as a result of its garments appear to be typical on a regular basis clothes but have hidden armor and are produced with heavy-duty fibers designed for abrasion resistance.
I’ve simply began testing out their flannel shirt and cargo pants, which have choices for Stage 1 or Stage 2 armor inserts to guard your shoulders, elbows, backbone, hips, and knees. I’ll do a deeper dive on these quickly.
Their canvas driving jacket continues to be certainly one of my favorites too, and it doesn’t even appear to be a bike jacket. It simply appears like a pleasant canvas jacket!
My spouse additionally likes that I don’t appear to be I’m heading out for a bike trip, however relatively I can put on these things on date night time. Whereas that’s not my main concern, the “blissful spouse, blissful life” doctrine at all times applies. So if I can mix security and trend in a single, that’s the most suitable choice.
The BEAM’s Virgo helmet
Helmets are clearly essential security gear for e-bike riders, particularly since we are likely to spend extra time at larger speeds. However regardless of the expertise included in a helmet, if it solely sits on the highest of your head, then there’s a complete lot of face materials left flapping round within the wind.
The Virgo helmet is a full face helmet with added chin bar so as to add additional safety.
You pay handsomely for that safety, to the tune of US $299, however you get much more face protection than your typical helmet. Which means your jaw has a greater likelihood of staying hooked up in a catastrophic impression with a car or concrete curb. The included MIPS system additionally reduces torsional impression in your mind, which is turning into commonplace on all higher-quality helmets lately.
And for much less disastrous crashes, you don’t have to fret about regrowing the pores and skin in your face. In case your face is the way you make your cash (otherwise you simply don’t need to appear to be a lasagna), a full-face helmet is a good suggestion. The chin bar here’s a bit flexy, so it’s not going to face up to the identical degree of crash as my bike helmets, nevertheless it’s additionally so much lighter and extra snug than my bike helmets, making it excellent for biking.
Even simply the visor provides nice advantages. I can’t inform you what number of occasions I trip by way of a flock of gnats or an enormous mud cloud with one eye closed simply in case it will get compromised and I want a backup eye. With a visor, you could have eye safety even on the times you aren’t sporting sun shades. And naturally you possibly can by no means predict the random rock that will get kicked up by a automobile tire and despatched immediately in the direction of your eyes. You solely get two eyes and so they don’t heal the best way pores and skin does. Defend them!
There’s additionally the built-in rear gentle for added visibility, and naturally, the a number of dimension and colour choices. There’s so much to love right here, even when the worth is relatively lofty.
Peak Design cellphone holder
I’ve examined many cellphone holders for e-bikes, scooters, and bikes. By far, my all-time favourite has bought to be Peak Design’s cellphone holder.
I bought the case for my iPhone, and now I’ve the matching holding on a number of of my e-bikes, in addition to one on my Gogoro scooter and one other on my LiveWire Del Mar bike.
The essential idea is much like Quadlock or different quick-release holders, besides that there’s no twisting. A magnet guides the cellphone’s case onto the spring-loaded locking tabs, which snap into place at the back of the case and securely maintain the cellphone. To launch it, you possibly can press a button on both aspect of the mount and your cellphone immediately pops off. It’s rugged but simply launched – a tough mixture to grasp.
I purchased the $39 common mount for my bikes and scooters and I’ve the $79 devoted bike mount on my LiveWire, however there are many completely different mount choices obtainable.
Tentsile tenting hammock
I LOVE bike tenting, and certainly one of my latest acquisitions is supposed to make e-bike tenting all of the extra enjoyable with a soothing hangout. Tentsile’s tree hammocks aren’t your conventional hammocks, however relatively outsized triangular hanging platforms that may take the type of tents or hangout hammocks.
I bought the six-person big hammock just lately, however sadly I haven’t had a tenting journey but to strive it out. Up to now it appears prefer it ought to work effectively although, because it’s properly constructed and big! That’s one other good factor about e-bike tenting, you possibly can afford the additional weight of drugs like this as a result of the battery helps take the ache out of the pedaling.
That is one other one which ain’t low cost, at $384. However should you’ve bought the luxurious of including enjoyable gear to your leisure bike-camping setup, that is positively one that may change the sport. As a substitute of a bunch of folding chairs, you and your folks can all be lounging within the air, suspended from Mom Nature’s anchors – timber!
FTC: We use earnings incomes auto affiliate hyperlinks. Extra.
