For all the relative simplicity of a bicycle, and the decision to ride one instead of taking public transportation, there’s a lot of gear you need to make a bike really effective for commuting or errands. Drivers need to see you at night, so there are lights to buy and mount. You’ll never get all your groceries in your backpack, so you need to find a good bike bag for that. Wet roads will coat you in grime when you inevitably ride through bad weather, so you should consider fenders. And you need to be wearing a helmet, period. We consulted fellow WIRED bike enthusiasts Adrienne So, Michael Calore, Parker Hall, and Matt Jancer to pull together our favorite bags, bells, and other bike accessories.
Wait—did you forget to get a bike? Be sure to check out our Best Electric Bikes guide and find out what, exactly, makes an ebike an ebike.
Updated December 2020: We’ve added nine new items and removed the Abus Bordo 6000/90 folding lock and REI Co-Op Junction Biking Shorts.
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