Riding on a clean and fine course does not make us tired. Similarly, a balanced, well-designed fixed gear bike does not require us to get exhausted, no matter how long you are paddling. Although manufacturers put a lot of effort into making their products comfortable enough for the users, you need to know which fixed gear accessories are required.
But, finding these can be tricky as the market is filled with fixed bike accessories and there is only a handful of them that you need. Plus, some bike does need some upgrading, and other does not. SO, how do you determine which accessories will make your ride more comfortable and which is just a showoff? No worries, I will tell you how.
Today, I feel glad to share my exciting experiences with you as a serious fixed gear bike lover and how I made my ride the most comfortable experience ever. There are some certainly fixed gear accessories that I have used to get such good result and comfortable, and if you try using these, you will get the same results as well. So, without further ado, let’s move on to our main article;
Fixed Gear Accessories Tips
Why You Need the Accessories?
There are multiple reasons to opt for bike accessories. For me, it was never only about having comfort. I also got easy usage, durability, safety, and added performance by using the accessories. So, you might want to use accessories because;
- Safety: Safety comes first whenever you are on the roads. You should always make sure that your ride is safe and secure or you might end up in a hospital. I learned this in the hard way when I was admitted to the hospital for a broken elbow. Accessories can increase the safety level.
- Comfort: Back to the base of this blog, comfort! You can never have too much comfort when you are using your fixed gear. You need adequate stamina to keep the paddle moving, so it is only wise to make your ride more comfortable. You can ensure this by using the fixed gear accessories.
- Convenience: Some accessories come with unique features such as glow in the night, resist scratch, easy locks the bike. These make your bike riding a whole lot convenient. You will feel like you are more in control when you use the accessories.
- Performance: Finally, the accessories can boost up the performance of your bike. The fixed gear bikes do not usually come with a lot of speed. So, you have to look for better accessories to make up for all the lacking that you might have on your bike.
How to Determine the Required Accessories?
Well, if you are like me, you would probably think twice before buying anything. This is an outstanding practice. I mean, why buy something when you can easily be better off without it, RIGHT? The same goes for fixed gear accessories as well. Sometimes, you do not need the accessories at all. You have to get your bike fixed in the right way. Let’s look at the ways to determine if you need some accessories or not;
- Bike’s Smoothness: You need to take your bike out for a ride and simply focus on the smoothness. You will have to concentrate if any parts of the bike are getting jammed or not. If not then you should not worry about accessories.
- Bike’s Speed: If you are satisfied with the speed that your bike gives you then you should not worry about changing the parts. I once changed my parts to gain more speed, but it somehow made it even worse. I never got the old feel from the bike back again.
- Added functionality On the Bike: If you purchase your bike from a high-end brand then usually they give you a lot of additional functionality with it at the start. If this is the case, then you probably will not need any accessories at the beginning.
- Adjustment Available: Some bikes have a lot of flexibility and adjustment options. If your bike can be adjusted according to your desired requirements, then there is no point of buying additional accessories.
Sources to Collect Accessories
You should also over check the source of the accessories before rushing into buying them. Sure, there are a lot of online sources that sell high-end accessories. But, you need to look out for the validity and the credibility of every source. Personally, I only collect my gears and gadget from three sources;
- com: Amazon is undoubtedly one of the most trusted sources to collect your materials from. You will find all the details about the fixed gear accessories from Amazon, plus you will also get added offers from time to time. This is one of my most favorite platforms to pick up bike accessories.
- Manufacturer’s Showroom: It is always a good idea to pick up the product straight from the manufacturer’s showroom. Not only you will know about the originality of the products, but you will also be able to get the accessories at a lower price.
- Direct Selling Agents: Direct selling agents can also be a good source to collect the accessories. You have to make sure that it has solid grounds and is favored by the other buyers.
Top Fixed Gear Accessories
Now, it is time for us to look into the market and see the best-fixed gear accessories currently holding the top spot. I am going to point out the different types of accessories that will make your rides more enjoyable. I have put the focus on different types of accessories from each genre in hopes that you will get a broad idea of what you need.
- Number Lock Security Chain: A number lock security chain can change the way you secure your bike. You do not have to keep a key or worry about the key to open the lock. You can set your personalized digits to open the lock. There is both bendable and non-bendable version of this lock available out there.
- Foldable Track Pump: As time went by, the manufacturers started to see the need to provide a more compact sized pump. That is why so many version of the foldable pump is out there on the market right now. You can extend the pump when you want to use it and shrink it back afterward.
- Double Layered Safety Helmet: Safety should be one of the main concerns when you are out there biking in your fixie. So, you can obviously try out for the double layered safety helmet.This helmet will allow you withstand even the roughest type of accident, saving your skull from any serious damages.
- LED Controllable Lights: LED light is one of the most used accessories on the market right now. They come in different sized and color patterns. You can even get a multicolored LED light for your bike and control the light ray with your control panel. This is an extremely useful feature that you can add to your bike if you often ride in the night.
- Adjustable Pedal Locks: If you are like me then you obviously know how annoying it gets when your feet keep slipping away from the pedal. This can be stopped if you simply use a pedal lock. There are some pedal locks that can even be adjusted according to the tightening that you are looking for. Those might cost you a bit much, but I would still recommend you buy those.
- Adjustable Hip Locks: You can also try out different types of hip locks if you want more comfort and flexibility. Like pedal locks, these also come with adjustable features so you can be in control of the fittings by yourself.
- Coated Chains: You can try out the different types of coated chains if you want to. Some chains give you more smoothness than others. Currently, the stainless steel chain with double bearing is a hot cake in the market. So, if you want to speed up your rides, you can try these out.
Sometimes, all we need is a little extra to enjoy more from life. This is particularly true for fixed gear accessories as they do make your experience a lot better than it was before. But, you should only get the accessories if you feel that there is any lacking in your biking experience.
Plus, do not rush into buying good-looking accessories. Looks can be deceiving. Do well-informed research about the accessory and compare the other brands if you can. This will lead you to a better purchasing decision, and you can end up with better accessories. Make sure to watch out for fake products as well as there are a lot of knock-off products. BTW, never forget to ride safe and care about your close ones. Until then, have a good time with your bike. Take Care.
