Whether you ride competitively or just for enjoyment, we all seem to love gadgets on our bicycles. Some items offer extra convenience and some a bike rider should not be without. Here are our top 5 bicycling gadgets.

The extra items you put on your bicycle will depend on how you ride your bike. Are you a hard-core rider, going on trails for hours at a time? Or do you just ride for an hour here and there at a leisurely pace?

1. Bike rack

If you want to explore different locations, you’ll need some way to get your bike there besides riding it. Your bike rack needs to be able to carry more than one bike especially if you ride with family. For competitors, you can bring a spare bike for practice or in case of problems. What you are looking for is one that secures the bikes without too much wiggling of the wheels or handlebars. If you choose a rack that sits on top of your car remember the increased height when going under overpasses or through tunnels.

2. Bike computer

Some may think this is excessive, but it really is a handy tool to have if you want to track how far you have ridden. A bike computer can keep track of speed, mileage, elapsed time of the trip, and clock time, among other things. Some computers are more sophisticated than others and track more things.

3. Water Bottle

This comes as a standard on many bicycles today, but if you don’t have one, you need to add it. The first time you take a long drink after a hard ride, you’ll be happy you added it.

4. Pedal Clips

Clips are very useful for keeping your feel from slipping off the pedals. It may seem that this makes it more difficult to stop, especially to a new bike rider, because you have to take your feet out of the clips before putting them down. But in reality, pedal clips make it easier on your feet.

5. Bicycle Panniers

These are bicycle bags that attach to the bike. They are much better than carrying stuff in a backpack because they leave the rider free to concentrate on the ride instead of worrying about the bag shifting and making the rider unbalanced. You can put all kinds of handy things in them such as your phone, a first aid kit, a tool kit for unforeseen repairs, food, and a jacket (you never know when a storm will come up suddenly). Having all this gear on the bike itself allows the rider to just enjoy the ride.

Dan Goulski knows the importance of biking gadgets, such as the cycling water bottle. That’s why he created a site all about it, called http://www.cyclingwaterbottle.org.

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Tags: bicycle, bicycling, biking, cycling, exercise, mountain bike, mountain biking, outdoors, sports

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