Originally Posted by
Maxximum
After you buy a road bike, what do you need next? Do I need a jersey? The seat isn't comfortable, how many of you bought a new seat? Did you change out tires for a different set? Did you buy a rear fender, front deflector/fender? A new bike lock? New grips? Bars? What to get next?
Originally Posted by
urbanknight
Ride it until something happens that makes you have to walk home, then buy whatever you need to keep that from happening again. Repeat until you stop having to walk home and have a bag full of tools under your seat. That seems to be how the commuters in the San Fernando Valley do it.
Just to make it clear how germane this point is: on Monday I got my first flat in eigth months of bike ownership. I was four miles from home but had a spare tube, tire levers, and a pump, so I was ridiing again in five minutes. I avoided learning the hard way because of the time spent on BF.
As for equipment, the list would go like this, from my pov:
1. lights if you ride at night -- this is a safety issue. You can read a lot about lights in Commutings and the Electronics and Lighting forums.
2. a lock if you leave your bike unattended/outside for any period of time.
3. So-called clipless pedals and shoes, which I think are a big improvement over toeclips.