Bicycle accessories designed to that make your cycling experience safe, secure, and exciting!

If in this era of pollution, pandemic, and panic, you aren’t already a bicycle person, it’s high time you convert into one! Bicycles are slowly becoming people’s preferred means of transportation. People are ditching the fossil fuel consuming and air pollution causing automobiles for the more eco-friendly option of bikes! Not only are bicycles a boon to the environment, but they also promote good health and ensure we get our daily dose of physical exercise done. In fact, you can even upgrade and amp up your bicycle with some fun and functional accessories! From a detachable bike bag that incorporates a rear signal light to a minimal wall mount that truly showcases your bike – these accessories are the perfect sidekicks to your bicycle!

This minimal bike wall mount truly showcases your ride! Bike wall mounts are usually eyesores because of their clunky form. You rarely find a wall mount that is aesthetically pleasing but this one by Alexander Yoo is what visual zen looks like. The wooden brackets and metal base works with any interior set up and the CMF gives it an evergreen style. This bike wall mount puts your ride in the spotlight. It keeps it visually clean and clutter-free!

The Lumis Bike Bag from Happy Buddha integrates a translucent compartment area and accompanying rear signal light for their storage bag to assure riders that they’ll be seen on the road even at night. To attach Happy Buddha to their bicycle, users simply slide the Lumis Bike Bag’s translucent plastic covering onto the rear light and both can then be connected to the bicycle. The rear light projects onto Lumis Bike Bag’s plastic top to increase its visibility and brightness for nighttime riding and packed city streets. Whenever the user’s bike is left unattended, the Lumis Bike Bag itself can easily be dislodged from its joined rear light, providing portability and an added sense of security.

Litelok Go Flexi-U is the world’s first insurance-rated, flexible U-lock for bikes. Unlike conventional U-locks that come with a rigid design, the Go Flexi-U sports a flexible design that can easily wrap around poles, fences, and other objects. It matches the strength and durability of traditional U-locks while being incredibly lightweight (641 grams). Moreover, it easily straps to your bike’s frame, making it rather easy to carry around with you as you ride!

Don’t let its unseemingly tiny design fool you, Canyon’s Fix 3-in-1 tool houses a veritable bicycle-fixing tool-shop in a compact yet extremely versatile form factor. Combining 3 tools into 1 small, light mini-tool, it features a ratchet with 4 double-sided bits, a Dynaplug® tool to fix punctures on tubeless tires, and a CO2 inflator to pump up flats. With a CNC-milled aluminum body, it weighs just 45g yet can deliver up to 30 Nm of torque, helping you pull apart your cycle and fix it together with no fuss. Plus, it’s about the size of your finger, so you can easily stash it anywhere while riding.

The Corky by THE BEAM gives you the literal power of hindsight. Designed to snugly dock right into your bike’s drop bars, Corky’s universal design retrofits into any bike’s handlebars, giving you an instant flip-out convex rear-view mirror that lets you occasionally get an idea of what’s behind you. The Corky’s design weighs a mere 16g, adding functionality to your bike without adding weight. The ABS body is lightweight and impact-resistant, while the PC mirror is robust and can resist scuffs and scratches. Within the ABS body lies a steel bolt that lets you tightly fit the Corky into your bicycle’s drop bar.

Vanity is one of the main reasons why cyclists ditch the helmet and ride without any head protection. I understand their point of view, but don’t agree with them. You could be a safe cyclist, but there is little that you can do about an inefficient driver. Solving the issue of using a helmet that mars your appearance, the Porsche Vuelta Smart Cycling Helmet looks sleek and sexy. It almost makes you feel like you’re riding a Harley Davidson or a Porsche Bike! The goodness doesn’t stop here, designer Jihwan Lee has also included smart functions like front and rear lights, hard brake and turn signals, onto the helmet. The Porsche Vuelta pairs up with your phone via Bluetooth and intuitive buttons are on the side to adjust volumes without having to take your phone out.

The UFO Lights are a pair of pretty standard-looking pedals, albeit with a key difference. They come with detachable lamp modules that sit flush at the end of each pedal, and you can switch them on to help other vehicles on the road see you better. The lamp units come with 300-lumen LEDs on the inside that automatically switch on when you begin riding, and turn red when you decelerate, just like a taillight would. The lights move as your pedals rotate, creating a motion pattern that makes them easily visible in the dark – allowing cars, bikes, larger vehicles, and even pedestrians to be alerted of your presence. Beams are even cast on the road below to create a 1-meter halo, giving other vehicles a buffer zone as they overtake you.

bosch_kiox_1

bosch_kiox_4

The Kiox is an onboard computer for your e-bike that lets you visualize data such as your speed, cadence, distance, battery level, and even access more niche features like indicating when your bike needs servicing, as well as rider’s health stats like heart rate, etc. Kiox’s main device sits right between your handlebars, while its control (a separate unit) can be mounted near your left or right hand for ease-of-use. A 1.9-inch screen comes with vivid colors that can display data in all weather and daytime conditions, and it even comes with a GorillaGlass cover to protect it from scratches, bumps, or even grit that may get on it as you cycle through demanding conditions.

berlin_bicycle_rack_layout

berlin_bicycle_rack_01

Wall-mounted bicycle storage appeals to two demographics, the first being fanatics who view their bicycle as a piece of art and would love for it to become a feature in the home. The second is for people who live in compact, inner-city apartments where space can be limited and having to store a bulky and awkwardly shaped bicycle can be a hassle. The Berlin Bicycle Rack caters to both these demographics, as not only is it a stunning, Nordic inspired bicycle rack, but also a storage system for other household possessions; the Birch wood assembly lends itself to the storage of magazines, bicycle accessories, books and office items. The hand finished, contemporary design allows for the Berlin Bicycle Rack to be introduced into a wide variety of interior décors and to be seamlessly integrated into the space.

Designed to look like an abstraction of a wall-mounted animal trophy, the Longhorn is hand-crafted in Portland, Oregon, using Evergreen Wood, a leather bicycle seat, and bull-style road handlebars. The wall art isn’t just aesthetically pleasing, but it serves as a functional bike rack too! Equipped to hold any standard-sized bicycle (weighing up to 65lbs), the Longhorn suspends itself using 3.5″ screws to bring unquestionable stability no matter what wall material you hang it on. No bicycles were harmed in the making of this rack… I assume.

For more handy and innovative bicycle accessories, check out Part 1 and 2 of this post!

Bicycle accessories that’ll make your next cycling experience safe, secure, and fun: Part 2

Slowly and steadily, people are ditching the fossil fuel consuming and pollution causing automobiles for the more eco-friendly option of bicycles! Bicycles are a means of transportation that are not only healthy for the environment, but for us too! They’re a fun way of completing leg day without actually visiting the gym! Amping up your bike with handy and innovative accessories always adds on to the cycling experience. From bike tires that can last a lifetime without any punctures to a foldable bicycle helmet, we’ve got you covered with a whole range of fun and functional products. Bike on!

retyre_4

“You’re used to changing your shoes and jacket to match the location or weather. Why shouldn’t you be able to do the same with your bike?” reTyre’s zippable tire-tread system gives your city bicycle the versatility to work off the road too. A simple zipping mechanism allows you to add a secondary, tougher tread on your tires, letting you go from riding on smooth asphalt to traversing through tough terrain. No matter the speed, the distance, or the condition, reTyre’s selection of treads make it the only set of wheels your bicycle needs… and in turn making your bicycle the only bicycle you’ll need too. reTyre’s special bicycle tire comes with a zipper lining and a selection of treads or skins that you can clad on your existing tire. The original tire works great on asphalt, and the wide variety of skins allow you to ride your bicycle on mud, gravel, rocks, or even snow.

Just when you thought tubeless bike tires are the best thing on the road for your bicycle, the next revolution has arrived. The very technology that NASA uses in its Mars rover and lunar mission, has now made it through to the consumer-oriented arena in the form of METL tire developed by the startup Smart Tire Company, which has licensed the technology to bring to the bicycle lanes in the near future. The airless METL bike tires are crafted out of the Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology (SMART) – made from strong (like titanium), lightweight yet ultra-elastic material (like rubber) known as NiTinol+. This magic material according to Smart Tire Company, “rearranges its molecular structure when you bend it, but instantly goes back to its original shape, perfectly.” In fact, these tires are so good, they can last your bicycle’s lifetime – meaning you don’t even need to bother about flat, tires, or ones with the tread wearing – needing to change to a new one.

At Hövding they thrive on the impossible. The brainchild of industrial designers Anna Haupt and Teres Alstin, the Hövdingan airbag for urban cyclists has progressed from an idea to a groundbreaking and certified product! Since its conception in 2006, the product has been renewed again (and again), and today it is rated the world’s safest means of head protection for cyclists. But after four years of vigorous R&D, the Swedish company has released its third generation of airbags: The Hövding 3. Worn around the neck like a collar, it is considered to be 8x safer than traditional bicycle helmets. In the event of an accident, the airbag inflates and forms a protective hood around the head and neck within 0.1 seconds! The airbag forms a protective cushioning around the neck, fixating it and providing extremely gentle shock absorption. The pressure remains constant for several seconds, enabling the airbag to withstand multiple impacts to the head, during the same accident. Once its job is done, the airbag quite simply deflates.

The TorchONE hopes to alter a scary statistic around cycling. In 2019, 56,000 cyclists lost their lives worldwide, and an estimated 60-70% of them were during low-light conditions. By integrating lights right into the helmet, the TorchONE approaches this problem with a two-fold solution – Prevention and Protection. A finalist at the 2020 EuroBike Awards, the TorchONE boasts of a streamlined, aerodynamic design that weighs a mere 382 grams with large, highly visible, removable lights on the front and back. Designed to provide 360° visibility, these are the largest lights to ever be fitted onto a bike, ensuring that they’re sufficiently visible even in bad weather. Attach them when you need and the lights can run 24/7, detach them during the day and the helmet’s weight drops to an incredibly lightweight 266 grams.

Many modern bikes come with a rear light, signaling to the trailing traffic behind the rider that they must share the road. Often, when bike storage bags are attached to a bike behind the rider, that rear light ends up getting covered, making for unsafe riding at night and busy streets. The Lumis Bike Bag from Happy Buddha integrates a translucent compartment area and accompanying rear signal light for their storage bag to assure riders that they’ll be seen on the road even at night. To attach Happy Buddha to their bicycle, users simply slide the Lumis Bike Bag’s translucent plastic covering onto the rear light and both can then be connected to the bicycle. The rear light projects onto Lumis Bike Bag’s plastic top to increase its visibility and brightness for nighttime riding and packed city streets. Whenever the user’s bike is left unattended, the Lumis Bike Bag itself can easily be dislodged from its joined rear light, providing portability and an added sense of security.

The Dual Beam has an interesting take on a pretty common problem with being a bicyclist. A majority of bicycle accidents don’t occur because of bad roads, or because of faulty mechanics, but rather because of a lack of visibility. Given how slim they are and how quietly they drive, most bicycle accidents occur because they’re difficult to notice in low-light settings, effectively putting the biker at risk. Dual Beam takes on this problem with a rather innovative approach. Unlike bike reflectors that just passively reflect light, the Dual Beam is, in fact, a headlight for your bicycle… but instead of just shining on the roads to illuminate your path, the Dual Beam also shines on the rider like a spotlight, making you, as well as the road ahead of you visible. A literal two-birds-one-stone scenario. The sheer genius of the patent-pending Dual Beam is that it makes its rider visible without distracting or blinding others.

Discarding the notion that a helmet needs to be a sturdy, stiff, singular form, the FEND One is, in fact, foldable. With two segments on either side that fold inwards, the Fend becomes rather portable, occupying a fraction of the volume it would when opened. Its folded design makes it relatively flat, allowing it to slide easily into messenger bags and backpacks… a feature that makes carrying helmets so convenient, you’re more likely to wear/carry them everywhere. The FEND One reduces the number of moving parts in its original design by ditching the bellow-style fold for something more simple and secure. The helmet exceeds US CPSC and European EN1078 safety standards for bicycles, skateboards, and e-bikes/scooters under 20mph, and comes with an impact-resistant outer shell made from ABS and PC, and a cushioning EPS inner that’s both lightweight as well as shock-absorbing.

Crafted from solid wood and sheet steel, B-spot is a wall-mounted bike stand. It comprises of a matte black panel protruding from the wall, with a layer of solid wood on top. The lower portion of the hanger is characterized by two hooks. However, the B-spot doesn’t simply hold bicycles! The black steel and solid wood panel duo can be used to hold planters, vases, your wallet, keys, and other miscellaneous items. The two little hooks can be used to hold your clothing items, caps, coats, umbrellas, and more. The hanger’s most interesting feature would be how its black panel curves in the front, forming a long rectangular slot. The slot serves as a little nook to hang your bicycle on! So once you’re done riding your bike, simply lift it up and place it within the slot. The sturdy steel structure holds your bike effortlessly.

Designed to be the most universal grip ever, CYCLYK works with every smartphone, with or without a case. Multiple bands hold your smartphone in place without overlapping or blocking the screen, and the act of docking or removing your phone literally takes two seconds, allowing you to hop on or off your two-wheeler with ease. The CYCLYK’s universal design even allows it to be used with motorbikes, scooters, mopeds, or even the odd Segway. Heck, you could even mount it on the handles of your shopping cart or baby-pram if you wanted to, but I believe that isn’t the product’s intended purpose. The silicone construction stretches to accommodate any sort of setting, while providing enough friction to hold your smartphone in place (and even at the same angle) on all sorts of terrain, allowing you to traverse through the city or even go off-roading on your mountain bike. It gives you the freedom to use your smartphone the way you see fit, transforming it into a GPS while you’re riding, or a handlebar-mounted action camera, or even run your fitness apps like STRAVA or music apps while you cycle/work out!

Fitted with bright LEDs on the inside, the BLINXI works as a head-worn tail-light and indicator, allowing you to be more visible to drivers/riders behind you. A single on/off button on the BLINXI allows you to toggle the taillight while even letting you cycle through the product’s three modes (flashing, steady, and daytime). The indicators are powered by a wireless controller that straps right to your handlebars, giving you the experience you’d have with motorbikes and their accessible indicator controllers. Fitted with incredibly powerful LED lights with visibility as high a 100 meters, the BLINXI works both at night and in the day to help you, the wearer, be visible (and predictable) as you drive down roads and make turns along your route. BLINXI’s internal battery gives it up to 24+ hours of use on a single charge while in daylight mode (or conversely 10 hours in flashing mode), and a MicroUSB port allows you to charge the accessory with any standard charger or power bank.

This sleek detachable bicycle bag holds all + incorporates a rear signal light to ensure safe and comfortable rides!

Bicycle accessories can make or break any ride. Bulky bike bags or finicky water bottles can be distracting and make the ride a lot less enjoyable, and a lot more stressful. Sometimes the aesthetic of an accessory outweighs its functionality and its unique look isn’t able to ditch the stress it causes. In designing a bike storage bag that’s as mobile as it is sleek and simple, Happy Buddha Design Studio has created Mix Bag, a multi-functional and detachable bike bag that also integrates a rear light for safe travel come night.

Many modern bikes come with a rear light, signaling to the trailing traffic behind the rider that they must share the road. Often, when bike storage bags are attached to a bike behind the rider, that rear light ends up getting covered, making for unsafe riding at night and busy streets. The Mix Bag from Happy Buddha integrates a translucent compartment area and accompanying rear signal light for their storage bag to assure riders that they’ll be seen on the road even at night.

To attach Happy Buddha to their bicycle, users simply slide the Mix Bag’s translucent plastic covering onto the rear light and both can then be connected to the bicycle. The rear light projects onto Mix Bag’s plastic top to increase its visibility and brightness for nighttime riding and packed city streets. Whenever the user’s bike is left unattended, the Mix Bag itself can easily be dislodged from its joined rear light, providing portability and an added sense of security.

Ensuring that the Mix Bag is weatherproof, the designers at Happy Buddha constructed it from waterproof nylon fabric, as well as PC and ABS plastics. Pairing its durable build and slim design with intuitive assembly and attachment, the Mix Bag does not require tools or instruction for setup. With weatherproof tailoring, a clever space-saving design, and portability made simple, the Mix Bag was designed for smooth rides.

Designer: Happy Buddha Design Studio

To install the Mix Bag, slide the storage bag onto the detachable rear light and connect both to the underside of the bike’s seat.

The Mix Bag is detachable to allow for portability when your bike is left unattended.

Coming in either black or white, the Mix Bag embraces a neutral color scheme for ultimate adaptability.

Even at night, the Mix Bag’s translucent plastic top signals to the traffic behind you that you’re sharing the road.

The Mix Bag’s compact, yet roomy build allows for accessory storage for smartphones, keys, wallets, and the likes.

Bicycle accessories that’ll make your next cycling experience safe, secure, and fun!

Bicycles are slowly becoming people’s preferred means of transportation. People are ditching the fossil fuel consuming and air pollution causing automobiles for the more eco-friendly option of bikes! Not only are bicycles a boon to the environment, but they also promote good health and ensure we get our daily dose of physical exercise done. They’re a fun way of completing leg day without actually visiting the gym! Amping up your bike with handy and innovative accessories always adds to the cycling experience. From a smart self-sufficient helmet to award-winning reflector lights, we’ve curated a collection of accessory designs that’ll make your biking journey safe, secure, and fun! Bike on!

retyre_4

“You’re used to changing your shoes and jacket to match the location or weather. Why shouldn’t you be able to do the same with your bike?” reTyre’s zippable tire-tread system gives your city bicycle the versatility to work off the road too. A simple zipping mechanism allows you to add a secondary, tougher tread on your tires, letting you go from riding on smooth asphalt to traversing through tough terrain. No matter the speed, the distance, or the condition, reTyre’s selection of treads make it the only set of wheels your bicycle needs… and in turn making your bicycle the only bicycle you’ll need too. reTyre’s special bicycle tire comes with a zipper lining and a selection of treads or skins that you can clad on your existing tire. The original tire works great on asphalt, and the wide variety of skins allow you to ride your bicycle on mud, gravel, rocks, or even snow. Working on straight roads, curved paths, and even on tough downhill trails, the tire treads give you exactly the grip you need, and the industrial-strength zipper system perseveres through rain, snow, or even rocky terrain… every single time. And when not in use, the treads easily fold up and go right into your backpack!

rearviz_1

rearviz_2

It seems rather strange that the bicycle doesn’t come equipped with the basic accessories that motorbikes do. For example a brake (tail) light, indicators, or even rearview mirrors. Even with the relatively slower speeds of bicycles, compared to motorbikes, accidents do occur and can be pretty ugly. Here’s the RearViz, an arm-mounted convex rear-view mirror that allows you to look behind you. It comes flat-packed and can open out to reveal the mirror and even adjust in 360° to point wherever you want it. The Velcro fastener means one size fits all, and the curved mirror gives you a pretty wide-angle view of what’s behind you so you don’t have to turn to look around and risk having a bad encounter. Just remember, objects in the mirror are closer than they appear!

WertelOberfell, a Germany-based designed studio, recently debuted their energy self-sufficient bicycle helmet, ESUB Tracks. The helmet is designed to keep cyclists safe and the creative team at WertelOberfell certainly checked all their corners when considering the different obstacles cyclists face on the road. Built-in smart features buzz through this helmet and they’re powered by organic photovoltaics that gives this helmet all the energy it needs to keep you safe. In order to turn the ordinary helmet into an energy self-sufficient, smart helmet, the designers turned to science. Printed organic batteries and a Nano Arduino, a microcontroller, contained in one unit at the rear of the helmet, run the whole show and all the incorporated electric components, but the helmet’s surface provides the energy. The designers achieved the futuristic look of this helmet by wrapping flat, organic, printed photovoltaics all around in order to use the outer layer of ESUB Tracks as a PV module that absorbs sunlight and turns it into energy.

Now, this isn’t really a piece about the map per se, but rather is about being able to use your map more efficiently. Say hello to the NRG Power Stem, a power-bank that’s designed with an extremely well-defined purpose. The NRG Power Stem was designed to fit right on your bicycle’s handlebars, allowing your phone to remain charged while you have it mounted on your bike. The NRG Power Stem isn’t designed like your conventional power banks, because when your phone is attached to your bicycle, it isn’t really a conventional smartphone either. The smartphone takes the role of your bicycle’s dashboard, so the NRG Power Stem makes sure that this dashboard (and navigation system) runs efficiently and effectively, allowing you to cycle and navigate for hours without needing to charge your phone separately.

Meet the FLECTR 360 WING, from the two-time Eurobike Award-winning and German Design Award-winning company. The FLECTR 360 WING is superiorly engineered adhesive reflector panels that provide 360° coverage. From wherever a car headlight may hit the bike, FLECTR 360 WING will grab the driver’s attention making the biker visible with a stunning glow. Designed to be mounted on the rims of a bicycle’s wheels FLECTR 360 WING requires no electronics, battery, or upkeep. Their unique 3D form allows them to easily wrap around any bike wheel rim, while the extended wing design offers more visibility than before, keeping bikers safe and avoiding collisions. The FLECTR 360 WING works right out of the box, catching and scattering any light that shines on it. The reflectors come in 2 high-reflection formats, and 4 standard reflection variants in different colors.

The UFO Lights are a pair of pretty standard-looking pedals, albeit with a key difference. They come with detachable lamp modules that sit flush at the end of each pedal, and you can switch them on to help other vehicles on the road see you better. The lamp units come with 300-lumen LEDs on the inside that automatically switch on when you begin riding, and turn red when you decelerate, just like a taillight would. The lights move as your pedals rotate, creating a motion pattern that makes them easily visible in the dark – allowing cars, bikes, larger vehicles, and even pedestrians to be alerted of your presence. Beams are even cast on the road below to create a 1-meter halo, giving other vehicles a buffer zone as they overtake you.

velosock_4

velosock_5

It’s a pain to store your bike outside because it might get damaged or stolen. It’s a pain to store your bike indoors because it carries all the outdoor grime and dirt inside along with it. Quite a dilemma, isn’t it? Velo Sock is like a massive sock for your bike that sits snugly over the tires and most of the body, making sure none of that dirt makes it to your freshly cleaned floor, or those rubber tires don’t leave skid marks on your pristine white wall. Made from a polyester and spandex blend (that are incredibly easy to wash), the Velo Socks can fit bikes that are anywhere between 1.6 to 2 meters long. What’s better is the fact that they come in an absolutely mesmerizing set of patterns that turn your bike into a piece of decorative art to liven up your indoors!

alpen_bike_capsule_1

alpen_bike_capsule_2

It’s true that we have garages for our cars and motorbikes, but somehow, all the bicycle got was a bicycle rack. There are objects to tether your bicycle to, but not a dedicated space to store your bicycle in, to protect it not only from theft but also from the elements. This revelation led to Eric G. Pearson creating the Alpen, a compact, secure cocoon of sorts for your bicycle. With a hood that slides open and closed quite majestically, you can easily store one bicycle within the Alpen, and given its small framework and pleasantly sleek design, the Aspen itself can be placed (and even displayed) indoors or even outdoors. Built from virtually indestructible roto-molded polyethylene and equipped with an integrated locking mechanism, the Alpen is a custom home for your bicycle, made to protect your ride from the sun, rain, sleet, rust, and obviously, theft too. The Alpen can be secured to a floor, wall, pillar, or even the back of your truck, letting you carry your bike along with its own home wherever you go.

The TorchONE hopes to alter a scary statistic around cycling. In 2019, 56,000 cyclists lost their lives worldwide, and an estimated 60-70% of them were during low-light conditions. By integrating lights right into the helmet, the TorchONE approaches this problem with a two-fold solution – Prevention and Protection. A finalist at the 2020 EuroBike Awards, the TorchONE boasts of a streamlined, aerodynamic design that weighs a mere 382 grams with large, highly visible, removable lights on the front and back. Designed to provide 360° visibility, these are the largest lights to ever be fitted onto a bike, ensuring that they’re sufficiently visible even in bad weather. Attach them when you need and the lights can run 24/7, detach them during the day and the helmet’s weight drops to an incredibly lightweight 266 grams.

velojackr_00

velojackr_01

Chances are, if you’ve ever had a bicycle breakdown, you haven’t had your tools handy to make the repair. Designed for casual and serious cyclists alike, Velojackr includes everything you need to make basic repairs and handle maintenance on the road… all squeezed into one compact case that fits any regular bicycle bottle holder! Better yet, the “tool bottle” itself transforms into a stand to protect handlebars, shifters, and handlebar-mounted tech from dirt and ground abrasion. The unit includes the case, a saddle cover, tire levers, puncture patches, and task gloves, and extra storage for other essential items. Just set it and forget it until you need to make a fix!