As one of many few individuals who can declare to now be in my third decade of dwelling an electrical bike-focused life, I’ve examined numerous gear over time. Between the gear I purchase for myself and the piles of random stuff that reveals up on my doorstep from overzealous PR businesses, I’ve gone by means of a variety of instruments, locks, clothes, equipment, and extra. Listed below 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 motorbike 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 will need to have some actually good options and utility.
Foldylock Without end from Seatylock
Seatylock is one in every of my favourite lock corporations because of the varied merchandise’ mixture of safety and worth. The strongest lock that I exploit every single day is my Foldylock Without end. It weighs round 1/3 of a high-security chain lock (slightly below 3.9 lb or 1.8 kg) and is way quieter than most folding locks because of the increased precision safety rivets. It’s rated Gold-Licensed by the premier lock testing company Offered Safe, and is proof against the most typical assaults of blades, bolt cutters, nut splitters, pry bars/jacks, and freezing assaults.
It opens extensive to perform like a series lock, wrapping round extensive objects like bushes or small objects like signal posts, and I additionally actually just like the handy holster that makes it simple to stow and seize one-handed. The extensive design means you too can lock each the body and a wheel, which is vital if you wish to have wheels in your bike whenever you come again to it.
This lock is definitely fairly pretty priced at US $99 on Amazon. Excessive-security locks price so much as a result of they’re meant to guard costly e-bikes, and this one is price each single penny. And that’s even a fantastic 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 Without end above, the Foldylock Compact is smaller and lighter for many who don’t desire a chunky lock. At simply 2.2 lb or 1 kg, it’s nearly half the burden and nonetheless options lots of the similar vital safety elements like these patented high-security rivets.
This may be a fantastic 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 Without end lock.
The third and final lock from Seatylock that I’ve actually taken a liking to is the Mason 220. This may occasionally seem like a regular U-lock at first, however there are two major variations I actually like about it.
The primary is that it’s extensive sufficient to suit across the chunky battery downtube in all of my e-bikes. Most U-locks can’t match round this extensive a part of an e-bike, that means you’re extra restricted on locking areas. The Mason 220 has no drawback becoming anyplace 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 high of all of that, the lock is Diamond-certified 20/20 by Offered Safe, which is the very best attainable safety ranking. It’s proof against reducing, grinding, drilling, bending, prying, freezing, and principally each major lock assault.
At its present value of US $76 on Amazon, it’s a no brainer.
I at all times advocate utilizing two locks on the similar time, and I usually mix the Mason 220 with the FoldyLock Compact (since my spouse tends to steal my FoldylLck Without end for her bike).
E-cuffs electrical scooter lock
This one is a little bit of an odd lock, however follow me. These handcuff-style locks make nice scooter locks, which is what they’re designed for. However in a pinch, you too can apply it to an e-bike.
These aren’t probably the most safe locks on the market, so I typically attempt to use them together with a second lock when attainable, 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 onerous to get a pry-bar inside the lock for leverage assaults.
In addition they mount actually properly to the stem of a scooter to allow them to deploy rapidly round no matter you select to lock onto.
I used them on the VMAX scooter I used to be 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 obtained 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 manner for practically a century. The baggage are sewn in San Francisco and have a major 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-proof zipper, that means you don’t should roll the highest if you happen to choose to stuff it pretty full. You’ll be able to simply zip it whenever 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 it is a buy-it-for-life kind of bag. I usually journey on days whenever 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 desire 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 numerous e-bikes for evaluations and am continuously 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 mild 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 obtained an excellent secure (and heavy) base plate, and the elevate itself might be programmed to recollect varied heights which might be most snug for you.
The modular design allows you to use your personal clamp or theirs, that means you may stick along with your trusty Park Device clamp if you happen to choose.
Just a little over a yr in the past I damage my again (and had my first “OMG this should be what getting outdated 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 making an attempt to assist them one handed and shut the clamp with the opposite.
That is actually meant for bike outlets and professionals, however even people such as you and me who simply are inclined to do work on a number of heavy bikes can actually profit from it!
Past Riders protected driving clothes
I’ve written earlier than in regards to the significance of sporting protecting clothes, particularly on sooner electrical bikes. Past Riders has grow to be my go-to model as a result of its garments seem like 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 Degree 1 or Degree 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 one in every of my favorites too, and it doesn’t even seem like a motorbike jacket. It simply seems like a pleasant canvas jacket!
My spouse additionally likes that I don’t seem like I’m heading out for a motorbike journey, however reasonably I can put on these things on date evening. Whereas that’s not my major concern, the “joyful spouse, joyful life” doctrine at all times applies. So if I can mix security and style in a single, that’s the most suitable choice.
The BEAM’s Virgo helmet
Helmets are clearly important security gear for e-bike riders, particularly since we are inclined to spend extra time at increased speeds. However irrespective of the know-how included in a helmet, if it solely sits on the highest of your head, then there’s an entire 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 influence with a car or concrete curb. The included MIPS system additionally reduces torsional influence in your mind, which is changing into customary on all higher-quality helmets nowadays.
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 seem like a lasagna), a full-face helmet is a good suggestion. The chin bar here’s a bit flexy, so it’s not going to resist the identical stage 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 journey by means of a flock of gnats or an enormous mud cloud with one eye closed simply in case it will get compromised and I would like a backup eye. With a visor, you might have eye safety even on the times you aren’t sporting sun shades. And naturally you may by no means predict the random rock that will get kicked up by a automobile tire and despatched instantly in the direction of your eyes. You solely get two eyes they usually don’t heal the best way pores and skin does. Shield them!
There’s additionally the built-in rear mild for added visibility, and naturally, the a number of measurement and coloration choices. There’s so much to love right here, even when the worth is reasonably lofty.
Peak Design cellphone holder
I’ve examined many cellphone holders for e-bikes, scooters, and bikes. By far, my all-time favourite has obtained to be Peak Design’s cellphone holder.
I obtained 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 fundamental 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 behind the case and securely maintain the cellphone. To launch it, you may 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 one in every 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 reasonably outsized triangular hanging platforms that may take the type of tents or hangout hammocks.
I obtained the six-person big hammock lately, however sadly I haven’t had a tenting journey but to strive it out. To date it seems prefer it ought to work properly although, because it’s properly constructed and large! That’s one other good factor about e-bike tenting, you may 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 if you happen to’ve obtained the posh of including enjoyable gear to your leisure bike-camping setup, that is undoubtedly one that can change the sport. As an alternative of a bunch of folding chairs, you and your mates can all be lounging within the air, suspended from Mom Nature’s anchors – bushes!
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