bike accessories

cjcooper

just aquired a bike and im wondering what are some good deals on front and rear lights and also a half decent lock, dont want to break the bank as im going into a DMP next month, any help or pointers.

the bike is an apollo mountain bike

Coopdivi

Front and rear LED lights £7 from Wilkinson.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Bike-Accessories/Wilko-Front+Rear-LED-Light-Set/invt/0258253?htxt=PsAGyAqy%2FDSGVBgOHPBfATKVETOKIWHcwqoICuDrG%2FxTcDPfxIrYzUvEu76RzzM6wutKTeo9AOCB%0AtDs76aYYKg%3D%3D

Cable lock £10 from Wilkinson.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/Bike-Accessories/Wilko-Combination-Cable-Lock-12m-x-10mm/invt/0286533?htxt=PsAGyAqy%2FDSGVBgOHPBfATKVETOKIWHcwqoICuDrG%2FxTcDPfxIrYzUvEu76RzzM6wutKTeo9AOCB%0AtDs76aYYKg%3D%3D

Bike lock at Poundland.

http://www.poundland.co.uk/product-range/a-z/my-cycle-bike-lock/

Poundland probably do lights as well but I couldn't find any on their website.

cjcooper

thank you for the info, i will wander off to poundland this weekend and see what they have

uk-tyler

Front and rear lights, pretty good quality and not to heavy on batteries:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-Watt-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Bike-Bicycle-Rear-Light-G-/160431059646?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Cycling_Bike_Lights&hash=item255a6fb2be
I personally would not trust a lock from poundland, after all you do want the bike to still be there when you get back to it.

Lugh_Chronain

I personally hate front flashlights though your main objection is to be seen and not necessarily to see, though that is important too.

What is the review on the 5 Watt LED Flashlight Torch on eBay?

And with regards to bike locks, this is what my local bike shop told me after asking about these:

It really depends on how much your bike is worth and when/where you are locking it up. Around here, for any use, we would recommend a ‘D’ lock (with a solid shackle), as any type of cable lock can be cut reasonably easily. It is also important to secure both the wheels, either with a second lock, or an ancillary cable. Good quality ‘D’ locks are available from about £30, although if your bike is of any value it is worth spending at least £45. A rough guide would be 10percent(ish) of the bikes value. Ish. A cable for securing the front wheel is £10.

Someone previously asked this question too:

Can you define the difference between a thick chain bought from a hardware store and a strong padlock for a bike and a good or even decent bike look?

My local bike store responded by saying:

Good quality bike locks are simply stronger than standard chains, of the type that you can pick up from a hardware store. A lot of research and testing goes into bike locks, along with specialist knowledge and selection of materials. Metal used in the locks is generally heat-treated to further enhance the strength. Of course, with enough of almost any metal it would be possible to make a strong lock but the weight of such a beast would make it unusable! Also, the locking mechanism is a very important part of a bike lock, it needs to be easy to use, reliable and of course difficult to pick! ABUS, who make the majority of the locks that we sell here, use a very high tech disc-cylinder lock, with over 1,000,000 possible key variations!!

You might find this video interesting too.

Hope that this is of help to you, maybe have a look at ABUS’ website. I bought something similar to this one (other websites are available) as I wanted to make sure I could lock my bike around nearly everything. I found D locks a bit cumbersome.

uk-tyler

On the cycling forum I frequent the 5W front LED lights are rated quite highly. Not good enough for off road ring, but being seen and bimbling down dark lanes they look OK.
To a certain extent you do get what you pay for, a set of lights for £6 won't be as good as a set for £100. Same with the locks. A Poundland £1 combination lock won't take long to bypass, a decent D lock will take a lot longer.

cjcooper

thank you all, i think i may invest a little more than a pound

Lugh_Chronain

uk-tyler wrote: »

To a certain extent you do get what you pay for, a set of lights for £6 won't be as good as a set for £100. Same with the locks. A Poundland £1 combination lock won't take long to bypass, a decent D lock will take a lot longer.

Yeah true, and bearing in mind that the OPs bike averages £150.

It also depends how much the OP wants to spend on a lock for his bike though 10percent(ish) of the bikes value would still be advisable. Personally I'd still be prepared to spend decent money on a good look regardless of whether the bike was £150 or £1000.

I'm sure if you were to shop around you might even find a good lock on eBay. Try the MegaShopBot for starters.

Bike thieves are generally opportunists, any decent lock should deter them hopefully.