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 whole lot of gear through the years. Between the gear I purchase for myself and the piles of random stuff that reveals 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 packing containers overflowing with them. Which means if a lock has made it out of the packing containers and into my regular-use assortment, it should have some actually good options and utility.
Foldylock Perpetually from Seatylock
Seatylock is one among my favourite lock corporations as a result of varied merchandise’ mixture of safety and worth. The strongest lock that I take advantage of on daily basis is my Foldylock Perpetually. It weighs round 1/3 of a high-security chain lock (just below 3.9 lb or 1.8 kg) and is far quieter than most folding locks as a result of larger precision safety rivets. It’s rated Gold-Licensed by the premier lock testing company Bought Safe, and is immune to the commonest assaults of blades, bolt cutters, nut splitters, pry bars/jacks, and freezing assaults.
It opens huge to perform like a sequence lock, wrapping round huge 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 huge design means you can even lock each the body and a wheel, which is necessary 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 value quite a bit as a result of they’re meant to guard costly e-bikes, and this one is price each single penny. And that’s even an important sale worth, 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 following poor shmuck’s bike.
Whereas this one isn’t fairly as strong because the over-the-top Foldylock Perpetually above, the Foldylock Compact is smaller and lighter for individuals 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 identical necessary safety elements like these patented high-security rivets.
This is able to be an important 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 Perpetually 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 typical U-lock at first, however there are two predominant 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 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 Bought Safe, which is the very best attainable safety ranking. It’s immune to slicing, grinding, drilling, bending, prying, freezing, and mainly each predominant lock assault.
At its present worth of US $76 on Amazon, it’s a no brainer.
I all the time advocate utilizing two locks on the identical time, and I typically mix the Mason 220 with the FoldyLock Compact (since my spouse tends to steal my FoldylLck Perpetually 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 can even 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 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 exhausting 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 lately testing and located them to be a very handy answer for fast and handy locking.
Waterfield Vitesse waxed canvas backpack
For these of you who bemoan the dearth 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 stated you’d pay for American manufacturing, proper?!
This bag is a murals, made of lovely 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 predominant 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 need to roll the highest when you favor to stuff it pretty full. You possibly can 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 damage, as it is a buy-it-for-life sort of bag. I typically 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 a whole lot of e-bikes for evaluations and am consistently 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 mainly 100-lb mild electrical bikes.
That’s excellent because the Remco electrical raise bike stand can assist as much as 100 lb fashions, and I really put that to the check with a number of 100lb+ fashions!
It’s bought an excellent secure (and heavy) base plate, and the raise itself might be programmed to recollect varied heights which can be most snug for you.
The modular design helps you to use your personal clamp or theirs, which means you’ll be able to stick together with your trusty Park Software clamp when you favor.
A bit of over a yr in the past I damage my again (and had my first “OMG this have to be what getting outdated is” second), and so using an electrical bike raise 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 retailers and professionals, however even of us 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 using clothes
I’ve written earlier than concerning the significance of sporting protecting clothes, particularly on quicker 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 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 using jacket remains to be one among my favorites too, and it doesn’t even seem like a motorbike jacket. It simply appears like a pleasant canvas jacket!
My spouse additionally likes that I don’t seem like I’m heading out for a motorbike journey, however relatively I can put on these items on date evening. Whereas that’s not my main concern, the “completely satisfied spouse, completely satisfied life” doctrine all the time 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 essential security gear for e-bike riders, particularly since we are inclined to spend extra time at larger 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 further 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 affect with a car or concrete curb. The included MIPS system additionally reduces torsional affect 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 face up to the identical stage of crash as my motorbike helmets, but it surely’s additionally quite a bit lighter and extra snug than my motorbike helmets, making it excellent for biking.
Even simply the visor provides nice advantages. I can’t let you know what number of instances I journey by way of a flock of gnats or a giant mud cloud with one eye closed simply in case it will get compromised and I want a backup eye. With a visor, you have got eye safety even on the times you aren’t sporting sun shades. And naturally you’ll be able to by no means predict the random rock that will get kicked up by a automobile tire and despatched instantly in direction of your eyes. You solely get two eyes and so they don’t heal the way in which pores and skin does. Shield them!
There’s additionally the built-in rear mild for added visibility, and naturally, the a number of dimension and shade choices. There’s quite a bit to love right here, even when the value is relatively lofty.
Peak Design telephone holder
I’ve examined many telephone holders for e-bikes, scooters, and bikes. By far, my all-time favourite has bought to be Peak Design’s telephone 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 motorbike.
The essential idea is much like Quadlock or different quick-release holders, besides that there’s no twisting. A magnet guides the telephone’s case onto the spring-loaded locking tabs, which snap into place behind the case and securely maintain the telephone. To launch it, you’ll be able to press a button on both aspect of the mount and your telephone 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 motorbike mount on my LiveWire, however there are many totally different mount choices accessible.
Tentsile tenting hammock
I LOVE bike tenting, and one among my latest acquisitions is supposed to make e-bike tenting all of the extra enjoyable with a calming 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 large hammock lately, however sadly I haven’t had a tenting journey but to attempt it out. Up to now it appears 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’ll be able to 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 when you’ve bought the luxurious of including enjoyable gear to your leisure bike-camping setup, that is undoubtedly one that may change the sport. As an alternative of a bunch of folding chairs, you and your pals can all be lounging within the air, suspended from Mom Nature’s anchors – bushes!
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