The Ultimate Techie Cycling List

We’ve spent hours and months researching, trying, returning, and purchasing gear. What we recommend is what has really worked for us and enjoyed using. We have not come across a tailored list with products links and reason to buy them, so we decided to create one. Here it goes:

1. Universal Travel Adapter. Instead of traveling with all your chargers and converters, take this one only. Even if you are traveling minimalist you will carry some devices that are powered by USB. In our case: phones, watch, iPad, Kindle, power bank, speaker, head lamps, tent lamp, drone, and bike front and rear lamps. You can charge 4 USB devices at a time and still plug a power hungry item on top -like an iron or hair dryer-. We really like the fact that it doesn’t warm up, fast charges our devices, and is relatively compact. We didn’t like that is bulky -if you need to charge only one device- and cumbersome to connect on tight areas. Totally worth the purchase and the weight and volume usage on our panniers.

• 2. Phone mount. We’ve tried multiple types of mounts over the years spending up to $100, however this universal mount is less than a fifth of that price and works perfect. In comparison to others, this you can keep using when you update your phone. It has silicon belt grips on the corners as an optional holder for super extreme rides. We only had to use them on a few occasions because the side holders worked well enough. On those extreme occasions the phone did not fall but slipped a bit off the center, having the side holders squeezing the upper volume and lock button for a while which triggers the SOS alarm for iPhones. Once the belts are in all is good.

3. Power bank. Your phone will likely be your lamp, camera, map, internet browser, activity recorder, music player… and maybe a phone. It is likely that you won’t finish the day with some juice on its battery if you use it for all that. This power bank charges a couple of phones simultaneously through USB and the qi wireless capability. A few things to note: it comes with a USB C – USB A (regular USB) cable needed to charge the device, its nicely advertised as solar but you won’t charge it 100% that way, so better assume that its only for emergencies; Qi is nice but if someone happened to shift the phone slightly from its place, you wont wake up with a fully charged phone; lastly its not the lightest on the market but is super sturdy.

• 4. Bluetooth Speaker. Surely you already have a similar bluetooth speaker, we also have a few. But we choose to take this one because the good quality of sound vs size and weight. The strap in the back loops perfectly around the bike frame (down tube). We both were able to listen music perfectly on our tandem while cycling upwind. One charge lasted about two days of riding around 4-5 hours. We liked the clear treble and bass -considering the size-, the sturdiness, water resistance capability, and large battery capacity. It comes with a USB micro – USB A (regular USB) cable needed to charge the device. We did not like the mechanical responsiveness of the buttons, they are not that intuitive to operate if you are not looking at them. This was not really a big deal since we normally control the music through an iPhone and Apple Watch.

5. Bike headlamp. We know, 1,100 lumens is crazy to point at someone’s eyes! But using this headlamp responsibly -it has 3 power levels- will change your late afternoon or night ride completely. Even if you don’t plan to ride in the dark probably at some point you will find yourself on that saddle after sunset. At its highest power this lamp gives you about the brightness of your car high beams but covering a much larger area. Like similar lamps, its heavy and it will get hot, the metal ribs work as heat dissipators so try not to hold it from there after long usage. We also have an older 350 lumens model -same shape and size, double the money at the purchase time- and we’ve been using for 8 years with no issues. We recommend placing the lamp on its mount only when using it, otherwise the mount channels will wear off. It comes with a USB micro – USB A (regular USB) cable needed to charge the device.

• 6. Smart Bike Tail Light. A most have in your gadgets list. This tail light turns On on its own when you start moving, will go brighter when its darker, and brightest when you are breaking. It has a super wide field of view, the battery lasts about 20 hours. Every 5 days or so we saw the light at a lower intensity and it was time to charge it. It comes with a USB micro – USB A (regular USB) cable needed to charge the device. We honestly can’t find anything inconvenient on this thing, we strongly recommend it.

7. Headlamp. Having a lamp fixed to the bike is indispensable, but sometimes while riding you need to look to the sides or back. That’s what this lamp is for. Is super light and easy to carry everywhere. We loved the motion sensor where you quickly raise your hand and will switch off / on as needed. We purchased and returned 4 similar headlamps, and this one was the winner.

• 8. Tent lamp. If you are doing camping this lamp is super helpful. Is rechargeable, water resistant, has a magnet, and 3 intensity levels. -It also has a SOS function, but haven’t come across anyone who has used that on this or any other device.- Our favorite function is the power bank with a USB-A output. Needless to say its bulky so don’t buy this unless you are camping.

9. 19-tool multitool. Needless to say why you need this and for sure you already have one. We like that this multitool is lightweight, rather compact, very complete, and good quality. We do not like that on many occasions the chain / spoke tool is often obstructing and adds another degree of movement so we simply unscrewed it and stored it with the spare chainlink. The tool often looses its tightness on its holding mechanism but can easily be screwed again.

• 10. 8-tool multitool. Yes, a second set. My wife kept this one on her back pocket and I kept the 19-tool above. She quickly loved it and became her own tool for adjusting her saddle, tightening racks, and -of course- assembling and disassembling the bike. Its slimness and stainless steel shine makes it look fancy but is very affordable for what it does. This tool is super light, compact, and tough. In comparison to the 19-tool above this one has a system that wont allow to get its holding mechanism loose.

11. Pump with gauge. This is not your home floor pump but its the closest thing. This pump is comfortable to use cause it has a T-handle to push down with your hand, a fold down footpath to keep it on the floor, and a flexible hose with a gauge. It has both Presta/Schrader heads. Great volume and weight. There are lighter ones but not as comfortable to use and without gauge. You’ll need some muscles or patience, but if you tour-cycle you have both. After 7 years of usage an inner seal broke, other than that we have no complains.

This is all for now, keep checking our page for other products list and traveling stories. Feel free to contact us for any advice by leaving a reply below.