Whether you’re a commuter or a cyclist looking to add some fun and fitness after work, bike lights are essential accessories. Their use doesn’t have to be reserved for after dark. Since 80% of cycling accidents occur during the day, adding lights to your daytime use is also a bright idea.
Fortunately the latest LED lights are unobtrusive, fairly inexpensive and easy to use and recharge. Here are the best bicycle lights to see and be seen.
Updated 9/30/17
Helmet hair. Helmet head. Forgoing a helmet altogether.
It’s rare for cyclists to display much love for their lids. And for good reason. There’s nothing worse than an uncomfortable or ill-fitting helmet rattling your skull for hours. The best helmet is one you forget about until you actually need it.
If you’re looking to add an action camera to your cycling set-up, you can’t go wrong with a GoPro. They’re the industry standard in action cams, offering every feature you can imagine to capture your wildest adventures. But which camera is right for you? The GoPro Hero4 Black and the Hero4 Silver look very similar, but have a few distinct differences.
They’re called groupsets, drivetrains and components, but they all refer to the group of parts responsible for shifting and braking. Choosing road bike components is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make when buying a new bike or upgrading an existing one. Do you go with mechanical or electronic shifting or use a compact or standard crankset? We’re inundated with options, but it pays to take the time to match your riding style to the right components. It could mean the difference between spinning confidently up a hill and feeling constantly bogged down in your easiest gear.
Updated 5/1/16
Now ubiquitous on new bikes and slowly trickling into the pro field, disc brakes are proving to be much more than just the latest fad. But are road bicycle disc brakes really necessary? Should they be on your next bike?
Winter can be a lonely time for cyclists accustomed to in-season group rides. But the solution is as simple as picking up an ANT stick and a $10 monthly subscription to Zwift. After downloading the software and syncing devices like power, cadence and heart rate, you can invite your buddies on a virtual training ride or hit the road with other cyclists (including pros) across the globe. Vie for Strava segments and points or follow Zwift’s virtual training programs as you ride one of two routes, including Richmond, Virginia’s World Championship course.
When Shimano threw their hat into the lifestyle gear ring with the launch of their CM-1000 Sport Camera in 2014, they left out a key component— the camera’s accompanying software. Users had to wait until August of the following year to get their hands on the tools that promised to enhance the camera’s functionality by integrating metrics like power, speed, heart rate and Di2. Now that this sprinter has his leadout man, we can finally tell if Shimano’s point of view sport camera lives up to the initial hype.