1 Introduction

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This week, laziness suddenly struck again, and I didn't want to use my brain at all. But writing one article a week is a rule I set for myself. If I stop posting now just because of laziness, it feels like a bad deal.

So I simply changed my approach—since my brain doesn't want to work, I'll write something that doesn't require much thinking. I'll just write about the cycling accessories I've been using all this time: on one hand, it's a way to organize and record my own experience; on the other hand, it's also a chance to reflect—just how much have I wasted on this path of “gear upgrades.”

Also, a quick note: the accessories mentioned or screenshotted in the article are only a part of them. When checking my purchase history on Taobao and JD, I found that there are still many duplicate or phased-out accessories that I didn't list. If I also count what I wear, such as the helmets, gloves, riding glasses, riding jerseys, riding pants, face masks, and sun protection sleeves that I bought several sets of without realizing it—the picture is so beautiful I almost dare not look.

The conclusion? Who hasn't been young and naive?

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When it comes to sports, some people are passionate, while others keep their distance. Those who like it will find their own rhythm and fun in different ways of exercising; while those who don't like it feel that it is a form of self-torturing torment.

As for me personally, I belong to the type of “too lazy to move, but don't want to stay completely still.” Compared to the out-of-breath exhaustion of running, riding is an exercise method I can accept (to be precise, “I don't hate it that much”~). It's not as tiring as running, nor does it require strong willpower like strength training; as long as the posture is correct, the burden on the knees is not heavy. What's even better is that you can enjoy the scenery, feel the breeze, and daydream while riding, and occasionally encounter small surprises (like a beautiful female rider in riding pants?). Of course, the premise of all this is that you are riding on a greenway—if you go to the city's main roads, you will mostly be greeted by exhaust fumes and dust.

Counting them up, I have already bought three bicycles:

• The first one (Year 2012) It was a Dahon 26-inch folding bike bought offline on a whim. I have long forgotten the specific model, only remembering it was “heavy as hell.” The reason for replacing it was that I made a wall mount in my bedroom, but because the bike was too heavy, I couldn't lift it up~.
• The second one (Year 2020) It was the so-called “German EROADE” bought on Taobao:
  
  
  
  Looking back now, it was really a dark history—switching from a Dahon folding bike to a no-brand folding bike seemed like an upgrade, but was actually a step backward. After all, I was too much of a novice back then;
• The third one (Year 2022) This was my true entry-level bike: Giant XTC SLR 3, commonly known among fellow riders as the “Third Princess”:
  
  
  
  After buying a new bike, you naturally get a “modification addiction.” Just like people who just bought a car always want to add various car accessories, after buying a new bicycle, fellow riders inevitably fall into the vortex of “buy, buy, buy”: the lights need to be brighter, the saddle needs to be more comfortable, the bottle cage needs to be handier... Each item seems inexpensive, costing only tens of yuan, but it really adds up. Especially for someone like me who “buys first and regrets later,” if it's not handy to use, I buy it again. Over and over, the wasted money could have bought another half of a bike.

For example, the pile of accessories from the era of that so-called “German EROADE”:

That was just the tip of the iceberg—later, I replaced them round after round, and thinking about it now still makes my wallet hurt.

It wasn't until I switched to the Giant “Third Princess” that I finally figured things out. Relying on my experience of “paying tuition” the first two times, I finally stopped buying blindly this time. Instead, I optimized step by step, slowly building a configuration that I found handy and comfortable. So I thought, why not write down these experiences as a reference for newcomers.

Of course, as the old saying goes—“One man's meat is another man's poison.” Everyone's riding habits, body shapes, and usage scenarios are different, and what I think is good may not suit everyone. Let this article be my personal summary of pitfalls and experience sharing. It would be great if it can help fellow netizens avoid some detours.

Of course, I personally have another major principle, which is aesthetics based on ”personal aesthetics.” Many previous accessories were not actually unusable, but once installed, they felt a bit low-end and didn't suit my temperament, so I replaced them. There was no choice; just looking at the seller's pictures online indeed cannot reveal the actual visual effect.

Below, let me first post a few pictures of my Third Princess in its complete form from different angles:

2 Accessories Introduction

1 Overview

Actually, strictly speaking,no riding accessory is “absolutely necessary to install”. Look at the shared bikes on the roadside, they have almost nothing, yet don't countless people still ride them every day to commute and buy groceries?

However, shared bikes are mostly for short-distance commuting, and when you start doingmedium-to-long-distance riding (often dozens or even hundreds of kilometers)时, those small accessories that originally seemed “insignificant” can often determine whether the experience is good or bad. For example, a handy bottle cage, a shock-absorbing saddle, or an angle-adjustable bike computer mount—these things are unremarkable when viewed individually, but when combined together, they can greatly improve the practicality and comfort of the entire bike.

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There are also some cycling-related gear (worn on the body), from helmets, cycling jerseys and pants, gloves to sunglasses, where just the sheer number of brands can make your head spin. However, these wearable items are more related to personal aesthetics and physical feelings. I usually just buy whichever looks good to me, and I don't know much about them myself, so the cycling accessories mentioned in this article do not include this category.

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In this chapter, I mainly want to talk aboutthose accessories installed on the bicycle—they are more “mechanical”, more “objective”, and have higher playability. Based on my own experience, these on-bike accessories can be roughly divided into three categories:

• Comfort category: making the ride smoother and more fitting to the body, such as saddles, pedals, grips, etc.;
• Safety category: improving visibility and handling safety, such as horns, rearview mirrors, lights, reflectors, etc.;
• Expansion category: making cycling smarter or more fun, such as mounts, bike computers, Bluetooth speakers, dash cams, etc.

Next, I will talk about the combination of accessories currently on my bike from these three categories—which ones are truly useful, and which ones are the “pitfalls” I discarded, which might help newcomers save some wasted money.

Note: Specific brands or models will appear in the accessories mentioned below, but those are just examples I have personally used and do not represent recommendations. Everyone's riding habits, body shape, and budget are different, and brand choices can be completely replaced based on personal circumstances. The focus is on the ideas and matching logic, not on “buying the same model.”

2 Comfort Category

2.1 Saddle

The stock saddle that came with my "Third Princess" is a sporty one, looking like this:

It's actually quite cool, and not impossible to make do with, but considering that long-distance riding should prioritize comfort, I tried replacing it with this first:

The actual effect is as follows:

However, after being caught up by fellow riders on the greenway several times to ask about the comfort of my ”sofa saddle,” I realized it did look a bit silly. In the end, I gritted my teeth and switched to a VELO thickened soft saddle (antibacterial):

And I have been using it ever since, and the experience has been very satisfying:

Note: People who are just starting to ride haven't developed an ”iron butt” yet, so they will have requirements for the saddle. However, once you ride for a long time and get used to it, it gradually doesn't matter as much.

2.2 Pedals

For mid-to-high-end bicycles, it is customary not to include pedals. However, offline physical stores often give away a pair of plastic ”test-ride pedals,” similar to this:

You can still ride with them, but since they are labeled ”test-ride,” the quality is definitely not well-guaranteed (they cost just a few yuan a pair on Taobao). It is recommended to replace them with proper pedals. At that time, I directly replaced them at an offline physical store with Giant's ”GPRO-1 Triple Bearing”:

However, personally, I feel there's no need to care too much about pedals; as long as they are from a reputable brand and the quality is fine, that's enough.

2.3 Grips

There's not much to say about grips. I think as long as they have a shock-absorbing effect and are comfortable, it's fine. Personally, I prefer having bar ends (like bullhorns) that can be used as rest bars:

3 Safety Category

3.1 Horn

Of course, horns (or bells) are a matter of opinion; many riders believe that ”shouting” is more reliable. For me, if it were just a simple horn (or bell), I might not be willing to use it, as I have used wired electric horns before:

You have to strap both the horn and the button to the handlebar, with wires connecting them, which looks very cheap. And if it's just a regular manual strike bell, the sound isn't very loud, and indeed, it might not be as effective as just ”shouting” yourself.

However, I later saw this split-type structure:

The horn part on the right can be strapped to the seatpost under the saddle, while the control part on the left can be fixed to the handlebar. This way, it looks much cleaner. At the same time, in addition to the bell function, it also provides arming (vibration alarm), disarming, and manual alarm functions. It instantly feels high-end, doesn't it?

3.2 Rearview Mirror

To be honest,whether rearview mirrors are a necessityis something that has always divided opinion in the cycling community.

Some people resolutely refuse to use them for simple reasons: first, they affect the overall appearance of the bike, especially the sleek lines of road bikes, where installing a rearview mirror always feels “out of place”; second, poor-quality mirrors shake easily and produce blurry images, which can actually distract attention.

But the other camp believes that:safety is the most important thing in cycling, especially when riding in cities or on national highways. Being able to see vehicles coming from behind at any time is more important than looking good. After all, even looking back just once could cause you to lose balance or miss what's ahead due to your line of sight shifting. With a suitable rearview mirror, even a quick glance out of the corner of your eye can provide a bit more peace of mind.

Over the past few years, I have also tried several different types of rearview mirrors: some installed on thehandlebar endsand adjustable; some installed onhelmets or glassesDifferent designs have their own pros and cons: there are significant differences in field of view, vibration stability, and aesthetics.

In the end, my personal conclusion is: if you mainly ride on greenways or river embankments where traffic is light and the environment is safe, you can actually do without them; but if you commute in the city often and occasionally ride on main roads,A proper rearview mirror indeed makes you feel a bit more relaxed.。

Because getting onto the greenway from my home requires riding 5 kilometers on public roads with heavy traffic, I indeed need to constantly watch for vehicles coming from behind, so I've tried various methods, such as:

However, they were either impractical or just too ugly, so in the end, I chose a handlebar rearview mirror as a compromise:

The advantage is that it can be adjusted, doesn't affect the overall aesthetics too much, and most importantly, doesn't take up precious space on the handlebar:

3.3 Lighting

Actually, lighting is a bit hard to say. First, it's only needed for night riding, and second, there are too many options. For example, I once bought this kind of headlight:

Later, because it took up too much space on the handlebar, was too heavy, and the power bank function was useless for short-distance rides, I eventually gave it up. After that, I switched to this kind:

After using it for a while, I felt that the night light function was useless during the day, it took up too much handlebar space as a horn, and the charging function was unnecessary for short trips, so I gave that up too. In the end, I chose this cycling flashlight setup:

The advantage is that when you don't need it, you can easily remove it and take it home to use as a regular flashlight, and when you do need it, you can mount it directly under the handlebar extension bracket. The result is as follows:

The taillight (for warning purposes) can be mounted on the helmet or on the bike. If it's on the bike, depending on whether you have a saddle bag, it can be mounted on the seatpost or on the saddle bag, and so on. There are just too many options, but in the end, I chose this one:

Because this one has a clip on the back, so it can either be tied to the seatpost with a zip tie or clipped directly onto the back of the saddle bag:

However, whether it's a headlight or a taillight, I suggest choosing options that are easy to detach, as you can remove them to reduce weight when they aren't needed.

3.4 Positioning

This point is purely a matter of personal preference. I wanted to add a tracking feature to my "Third Princess" bike, so I bought an Apple AirTag. Since it needs to be mounted on the bike, I bought a mounting bracket:

Generally, there are a few positions to choose from, such as behind the bottle cage or under the saddle. I put mine behind the bottle cage:

This is really up to your own needs. If you're worried about your bike being stolen, you can get one. However, for a real thief, it won't take much time to remove it once they find it. So it's mostly for self-consolation; keeping the bike within your sight is the best anti-theft method.

4 Extensibility Category

4.1 Overview

This part involves many accessories, such as bike computers, phone mounts, Bluetooth speakers, etc. There are many choices, and everyone's needs and preferences may differ, so the final combinations will definitely be highly diverse. I'm just sharing the solution I currently use and consider the most reasonable after going through a lot of trial and error.

4.2 Phone Mount

A phone mount is probably the first cycling accessory you'll come across. I've tried many types before, including:

I also used a top tube bag with a built-in phone case:

But in terms of user experience, none of them were good. Either they looked ugly, took up handlebar space, and lacked shock absorption (the first two types of mounts), or they were inconvenient to use (the top tube bag)—the touch responsiveness was really hard to describe.

Later, I discovered this quick-release phone mount, whose base is directly fixed to the fork steerer tube:

And you only need to put your phone into the matching phone case to easily secure it to the base:

When you want to take it off, you just need to give it a twist:

My experience using it has been excellent—it's the best phone mounting solution I've ever used. The only drawback is that the matching phone case only supports iPhones~~.

4.3 Bike Computer Mount

For the bike computer mount, I chose a handlebar extension bracket (search keyword: multi-functional bike computer mount). There are many options online:

However, please note that some extension brackets only allow the bike computer to be mounted facing upwards. If you also want to mount a headlight or action camera underneath, you need to buy an extension bracket that supports under-mounting.

Another thing to note is that some extension brackets clamp directly onto the handlebar, which takes up valuable handlebar space. It's best to get the kind that mounts with screws directly from the center-front of the handlebar stem:

4.4 On-bike Bluetooth Speaker

How can you go on a long-distance ride without music? A music lover like me definitely needs a good bike-mounted Bluetooth speaker. This is the first one I bought:

To be fair, the sound quality is decent, but unfortunately, the battery life was too short for my usage. If I remember correctly, it ran out of power in less than 4 hours of continuous high-volume playback, which forced me to keep it plugged into a power bank to power it~.

Later, out of frustration, I switched to this one:

This one is amazing. It has a 7800mAh battery capacity, easily lasting over 8 hours of continuous playback. The sound quality is great, it supports playing lossless audio from a TF card, functions as a power bank, and even has FM radio. When riding on greenways, quite a few fellow cyclists have caught up to ask me what brand it is~~.

As for drawbacks, it does have one: it weighs a whopping 590g! So now I only use it for long-distance rides over 100 km. For daily short rides under 50 km, I switched to this:

It weighs only 318g, which is much lighter.

4.5 Bluetooth Remote Control

There's one very inconvenient thing about listening to music while riding: adjusting the volume, skipping tracks, and answering calls. Although Siri can handle it, it often fails at high speeds due to wind noise. Operating the phone with one hand is a safety hazard, so this time I bit the bullet and got a Bluetooth remote:

The final effect is as follows:

4.6 Bottle Cage

A bottle cage is usually thrown in for free when you buy a bike, but they generally don't look very good. If you're interested, you can replace it with a style you like, such as the one I'm using now:

However, if you want to install more than one bottle cage, it depends on whether your bike frame has pre-drilled mounting holes. For example, my "Third Princess" has mounting holes on both the seat tube and the down tube, so I can directly install two:

If there are no extra mounting holes on the frame, you'll have to get creative. For example, I tried a handlebar bottle cage clamp on my previous off-brand bike:

Or a quick-release bottle cage:

In short, you just have to try all feasible options and eventually choose the one that best fits your bike model.

4.7 Bike Bag

As for bike bags, I think they are highly necessary for carrying wet wipes, gauze, iodophor cotton swabs, a portable pump, repair tools, etc. I once had the handlebar clamp come loose halfway through a ride. If I hadn't had repair tools with me, I would have had to push my bike to the road and call a cargo van service~.

However, bike bags can be mounted in many positions, and different bike models have different options. For example, I've tried this kind of top tube bag:

And this kind of top tube bag:

As well as the top tube bag mentioned earlier:

And this kind of under-top-tube frame bag:

And this kind of handlebar bag:

And this kind of bicycle rack bag:

And this kind of top tube saddlebag:

As well as this kind of top tube saddlebag:

But for my "Three Princesses", they all had various issues: they either got in the way, were impractical, or looked ugly. In the end, after going in circles, I went back to this saddle bag:

Personally, I feel that only the saddle bag has the best compatibility. Of course, despite its high compatibility, there is still the issue of whether it fits the saddle, because I actually bought another saddle bag before:

But it just couldn't be installed under the Velo saddle I'm using now. This kind of ”looks fine online, but issues only appear during actual installation” is also a major reason why I wasted so much money buying accessories. After all, I can't just return it because I made a mistake in buying it~.

4.8 Mudguards

Fenders are really a matter of personal preference. I've bought quite a few as well, for example:

And this kind of quick-release rack-type fender:

But why don't I install them now? The reason is simply that I don't need them normally (I definitely don't go out when it rains), and if I do encounter rain (it starts raining halfway), how much can this fender actually block? Besides, if you're already soaked, do you really care about a little mud? Crucially, when it's not raining, these fenders really ruin the bike's aesthetics~, making it look very tacky.

The only scenario where I think fenders are actually useful is commuting, but those commuting bikes usually come with very tightly wrapped fenders, for example:

They are not something our manually installed, half-baked fenders can compare to.

4.9 Stem Riser

I installed a stem riser on my second bike, the so-called ”German EROADE”:

However, I don't really recommend using a stem riser: generally speaking, only beginners need it because they are not yet used to the correct riding posture and want to “straighten” their backs. Whether it's a mountain bike or a road bike, as long as you gradually adapt to the correct posture, you basically won't feel the need for this accessory anymore.

Of course, if you mainly commute or ride leisurely, prioritizing comfort over speed, it's not unusable, but you just need to understand the trade-offs it brings.

4.10 Multi-functional Extension Mount

This is generally used as an extension solution when there isn't enough space on the handlebar to install accessories:

However, this no longer fits my current aesthetic standards. Moreover, by installing many accessories on other parts of the frame as mentioned earlier, the traditional need to install accessories on the handlebar has been resolved. Therefore, I don't recommend this either; you can keep it as a backup plan of last resort.

4.11 Summary

The choice of accessories varies from person to person and is highly diverse, but I think one point is quite important: handlebar space is truly precious. If you have a choice, try not to install accessories directly on the handlebar, and keep the handlebar as clean as possible. One reason is that too many accessories look really ugly, and the second is that this leaves room for accessories that absolutely must be installed on the handlebar. Let me show you a close-up of the front of my bike right now:

It looks very clean (in my opinion, if I don't strap on the speaker, it's basically spotless~). Otherwise, if too many accessories are installed on the handlebar, my bike speaker wouldn't be able to be mounted on it~.

Note: Actually, the two aero bar extensions are no longer needed now. Previously, I felt there was an issue with my posture, as my hands often went numb after riding for a long time, which is why I bought this pair of aero bars. However, it seems there is no problem now, and I can find an opportunity to remove them.

3 Final Words: Safety Always Comes First

Actually, cycling accessories and such, if you say they are important, they are important, and if you say they are not important, they are not. The most critical thing is still to get out and ride first, rather than ending up buying a bunch of gear but never riding.

However, do not go to the other extreme either: chasing speed. For ordinary cyclists whose goal is fitness, safety first is always the most important. Haven't you seen that accidents caused by cycling happen from time to time on the greenways around the city? Light cases result in injuries, while severe ones result in loss of life. Do not be misled by those videos online. Once an accident occurs (whether you hit someone else or crash yourself), your whole life could be ruined.

When I first bought the "Third Princess" (Dahon 3A), I also pedaled like crazy. I could reach an average speed of 24 km/h over a 50 km distance, and I even chased a group of road bikes and kept up with them for 30 minutes (actually, the burden on my heart was very heavy, with my heart rate reaching 180), so I can very much understand that sense of urgency when you see your average speed dropping bit by bit just by slowing down a little.

But, since crashing a few times, I have behaved myself, especially that one time the year before last:

It didn't fully heal for 3 months, and the key point is that it caused my cycling to be interrupted for 1 year (by the time I recovered, the season was no longer suitable for riding, and when the season became suitable, I didn't feel like moving anymore). You should know that restarting after every interruption is a very grueling thing.

So now my slogan is: As long as I ride slowly enough, there are no safety issues~.