The best accessories for the trail and the road.
1. Nonetheless NeoShell Weatherproof Jeans
This Chicago-based bike apparel manufacturer understands the challenges of riding to work in foul weather. So they built these pants out of Polartec’s new NeoShell fabric, which offers all the weatherproof protection of the best membranes and even more breathability. The result? You are dry and don’t stink when you roll in for that 9 a.m. meeting.
$250; nonethelessgarments.com
2. Gregory Wasatch 12
The prime rule of a bike pack—you don’t want to know the thing is on your back. Gregory achieves just that thanks to a suspension system that moves with the torso. It was designed to mimic the way ligaments and tendons function in the body. Sure, it sounds wanky, but we barely felt it during a seven-hour, 40-mile desert singletrack epic in Fruita’s Rabbit Valley.
$80; gregorypacks.com
3. Rudy Project Ryzer
Rudy’s standby bike shades stay on your head no matter how hard you are charging thanks to soft, easy-to-adjust arms and come with a ton of lens options to deal with ever-changing light conditions on the trail and the road.
rudyproject.com
4. Lazer Helium
Lazer’s helmets have become a staple of the professional cyclocross peloton, covering the domes of the who’s-who from Fort Collins to Flanders. The Helium is the brand’s high-end lid for racers, tapping Lazer’s staple RollSys retention technology, a simple twisting mechanism to adjust helmet snugness on-the-fly. Its 290 grams only outweighs its price.
$230; lazersport.com
5. Pearl Izumi Launch Kicker
Unless you got what it takes, no one wants to see you hangin’ in the cafe in those tight shorts, bro. This 2-in-1 short features removable tighties, nicely hidden away in bro-style four-way stretch shorts with big pockets and an adjustable waistband.
$130; pearlizumi.com
6. Specialized Rime with Boa
The Boa lacing system isn’t really lacing at all (in fact, the brand’s mission is to make laces obsolete). Simply dial in and metal cords cinch your foot in place in the shoe. It’s an ideal system for biking, when you never want to think about tying or adjusting your shoes in the midst of a grueling ride.
$175; specialized.com
7. GU Roctane Drink
GU packed its liquid version with carbs and electrolytes, making it powerful yet easy to imbibe when mid-ride.
$29 (box of 10); guenergy.com
8. Wahoo Fitness
This company provides the full kit that will allow you to use your smartphone to track your fitness progress. Using ANT+ sensor and data transfer technology, Wahoo offers a range of products, including integrated crank and speed sensors, waterproof/shockproof cases, handle/aero bar mounts, heart rate monitors and even battery packs to extend the life of your phone for those super long rides. Wahoo has built its own apps but also provides a library of other apps (Apple and Android) that work with its sensors.
wahoofitness.com
9. Cy-Fi Wireless Sports Speaker
This baby lets you bike to your tunes. Considering it’s illegal in many instances—not to mention, um, totally unsafe—to ride with headphones, here’s a solution. Mount the Cy-Fi Wireless Sports Speaker to your bike and let the music rip. Granted, you probably shouldn’t play it too loud otherwise you’ll be just as dangerous as you were wearing headphones. The Bluetooth version can also used as a speakerphone to grab a call.
$160; rei.com
10. Hokey Spokes
Are just that, totally hokey. But some cycling situations warrant some silliness. Add these lightbars to the spokes of your wheels and you’ll be riding on light disks of various patters or display your own custom text message up to 16 characters long.
$30 each; hokeyspokes.com
11. Outdoor Research Sensor Gloves
The Touch Tech leather on the finger tips of these warm gloves was designed so that you can operate your smart phone touchscreen while wearing them. Just don’t Facebook mid-ride, please.
$65; outdoorresearch.com
