With the holiday season already here, why not do some shopping for that special cyclist in your life (or simply treat yourself). Here are a few of my all-time favorite bike accessories. Some are more recumbent specific, while others are appropriate for just about any bike.

Safety

Loud Mini Horn by LoudBicycle

If you ride in traffic, ringing bells and using your voice just doesn’t cut it. I absolutely love this thing. It uses micro-USB charging and a universal go-pro mount (so you can mount it just about anywhere you have the space). They offer button extension cords, which are really handy for long recumbent bikes. And most importantly, this thing is LOUD (125 db) and sounds JUST like a car horn. I kid you not. Nothing is more satisfying than beeping an inattentive driver with this. At $169, the Loud Mini is certainly not cheap, but it’s the best horn out there as far as I’m concerned and worth every cent the instant you have to use it.

Quad Amber and Red lights by Dinnotte Lighting

Dinnotte Lighting is a well regarded company run by Rob Skaff up in Hampton NH. Rob’s been manufacturing high performance LED lights for over a decade with the idea that bike lights need to be as bright as car lights to be effective. I like the unique, compact design of their Quad line of lights, and their latest models provide convenient USB-C charging. Their amber lights are more visible to motorists than typical white lights during the day time. Get the Quad Amber headlight + Quad Red taillight package for $349. These are lights meant to last a lifetime, and Dinnotte offers reasonable battery replacement or trade-in services.

Ultralight Mirror by D+D Oberlauda

This mirror is made in Germany and can be hard to find here at times. It often goes by different names (usually the Ortlieb Ultralight Mirror or the D+D Oberlauda UltraLight Mirror). It’s designed for touring and commuting or just about any situation in which there’s a need for greater visibility. Hands down it is the best mirror out there. It’s extremely light (2 oz), provides a really wide field of view, and it’s easy to adjust on the fly. The way it mounts is quite versatile which makes it a great mirror for recumbent bikes where you sometimes have to get creative with your mirror placement. I’ve gone through many mirrors over the years and consistently come back to this one. It is reasonably priced, and currently $24 at ModernBike.

Cargo

Fastback Carbon Slim Seatback bag by T-Cycle

For the recumbent rider, sometimes you need a compact bag to hang over the back of your hard shell seat just to carry some essentials. I use this bag to hold my phone, keys, wallet, and a few other small things on my commuting recumbent. It’s a very simple bag with a convenient Velcro attachment system, and its slim profile allows it to fit over the back of even the most reclined hard shell seats. T-cycle has these for $90.

Tech

AirTag Bike Mount by Project4AGZE

If you’re an iPhone user, do yourself a favor and pick up an Apple AirTag or two. To mount one to your bike, I recommend a mount by Marshall of Project4AGZE on Etsy. There are tons of mounts out there, but his are good quality, handmade in USA, and durability tested by Marshall himself over thousands of miles and races. These mounts fit behind the water bottle cage, and are so slim that they’d likely go unnoticed by a bike thief. You can pick one up for $8.99.

Fashion

Helmet Visors by DaBrim

In case you’re not drawing enough attention riding your whacky recumbent bicycle, add one of these helmet visors by DaBrim. If it’s not apparent in the picture, they are huge and look absolutely ridiculous. That being said, yes I have a bright yellow one. I don’t wear it often, except on those long sunny summer rides. These things do an amazing job keeping the sun out of your face, especially on a recumbent where you’re not hunched over looking down at the road. Available for $34-$45. Strangely there are no pictures of me wearing one that I could share…