Ladies Bicycle Accessories To Add Style To Comfort
by Nic in Bicycle Accessories
Once you’ve gone out and bought yourself a ladies bicycle, it is time to add some of those personal touches that make it yours and yours alone. The kind of accessories you decide on will be upto you and depends both on your personality and on the type of bicycle you opted for. So a couple of Wald folding bike baskets attached to the rear of a road racing bike might look decidedly odd; but attach them to a ladies hybrid bicycle however – like the Schwinn Crest Urban – and they’d fit right in.
First though, let’s think Safety. The main add-ons you will need are of course your lights and reflectors. Many bicycles are sold with a front and rear reflector already attached; often there will be a strip reflector on each wheel also. These obviously reflect the light coming from vehicles around you, but they will not light your way, so get some proper battery operated bike lights. Cateye lights are very high quality products which I have used for years, but there are many others on the market – just make sure you keep them clean and always carry spare batteries just in case! The main thing is to make sure your are seen by car drivers, and they’ll be able to avoid you.
If visibility ends up not being enough, and you wind up in a crash, your next must-have accessory is your bike helmet. There are some nice brightly colored ones available as well as the usual black or grey. It’s best to go for white and light colors because they can help with keeping you visible at night, but the key thing is always, always to wear it when you go riding. Broken bones are no fun at all, but head injuries are a whole different ball game.
Okay, that’s the serious accessories done. What else is available for those finishing touches to your bike? (I’ll cover cycling accessories for you in a later post.)
There are probably two distinct types of cyclist (this applies to men as well as women): the die hard cycling fanatic, who dons proper cycling jerseys and skintight shorts, cycling gloves and uses a bike computer, and is always pushing to beat the stopwatch. Then there’s the other type, who uses a bike to get to work, or keep fit while going out to the grocery store, or just likes plain and simple riding for the fun of it. The kinds of bicycle accessories for these women may be functional but always have to be stylish too, whether it is a new more comfortable saddle – especially if you found a man’s bike that was otherwise just right for you. Or a basket for all your stuff. Or even a pretty bell to warn people you are coming through – Electra have some cool looking bike bells!
Ladies cruiser bicycles tend to be ideal for the second type of cycle personality, as they are very comfortable to ride, and many already have a rear rack for your belongings. There are folding baskets which come in pairs and attach to the rear rack, each basket on either side of the back wheel. Remember though, if you are riding at night, to think about where your lights and reflectors are. Can they still be seen clearly, or are the baskets covering them up – take care about that!
Many ladies hybrid bicycles are not so instantly great for things like baskets, as they start to look more like racing bikes, but that just means you have greater scope to make changes and accessorize!
But of course, it is one thing to buy a ladies bicycle and want to mould it so that it is personalized; but you might prefer to shop around for a perfect bike that doesn’t need anything, other than lights and a pretty bell – and blow the rest of the budget on cycling accessories you get to wear yourself! Think cycling glasses, or a cycling cap (only wear it when you not riding on the roads though!) or a bag for your things when you go cycling. Yep, maybe that’s more fun than getting those chrome bike fenders, huh?
