With less than a week before the big fat bastard in the red tracksuit arrives, what do you get the commuting cyclist who has everything? Putting aside the fact that according to the rule of n+1 there is no such thing as a cyclist who has everything, here are a few ideas for stocking stuffers.
1. Rear-view mirror
Help keep your commuter safe in traffic: a rear-view mirror, whether on the handlebar or stuck to the helmet, improves all-round vision no end.
2. Helmet-mounted headlight
OK, so your commuting cyclist won't get much use for this before March—unless you're in the Northern Hemisphere, in which case it'll be well used by New Year's Day—regardless you will be well-remembered on the darkest of winter nights.
3. Panniers
By getting the weight of a backpack full of gear off the commuter's shoulders and down onto the bike, panniers are a gift that keeps giving and giving.
4. Clipless pedals
Go for mountain bike type shoes (your commuter will need to walk some distance at either end of the ride) and one-sided pedals that click-in on one side and have an ordinary flat platform on the other (giving the benefit of clipless pedals along with quick take-off when the lights go green).
Comments
Ah, head mounted headlights. Otherwise known as "blind, and eventually kill, oncoming cyclists" lights.
I see where eccles is coming from, but clearly I don't agree. It's human nature to look people in the face but when you've got a light pointing wherever you look, that's not polite—and certainly not safe. I've been light-blinded often enough to know how dangerous it is so I take great pains to actively divert my helmet light away from oncoming cyclists. (Come to that, I also turn it off when I'm riding behind someone because I know how dangerous and annoying it can be for the rider in front to ride into their own shadow.)
That said, there are some super bright handlebar-mounted lights that are just as dazzling—but being stuck to the handlebars, there's no way for the offending rider to divert the light beam away.
So I don't think helmet lights necessarily pose a risk to other riders but it's definitely a question of the awareness and consideration of the operator.
I find that, psychologically, being faced with someone who has helmet-mounted lights has roughly the same impact as sitting opposite an interrogation desk with a lamp in my face...
Used with care, as you suggest, they're fine and not dangerous but the same can be said about most technology...
shrug
Most technology is more-or-less neutral, isn't it? Neither inherently good nor bad, but it can be tainted by the way it's used.
For instance, it would be possible to mount an argument that bicycles themselves are dangerous to oncoming cyclists because they can be found travelling the wrong way down the street or overtaking at blind corners on bike paths. Of course that's ludicrous: the problem isn't with the bicycle, rather (to adapt a phrase) it's located between the saddle and the helmet.
I fully understand the feeling of being spotlighted (it happens to all of us who ride at night) but that's not a technological flaw. It's plain selfishness and stupidity.
....Don't know that I agree about most technology being morally neutral - I think that some tech/fields of research lend themselves to either good or evil use with more facility than not - but this discussion would seem to be out of scope here...
It's probably a matter for the individual to assess whether helmet-mounted lights are easier to use in a blinding or non-blinding fashion... :)
Undoubtedly some pure technology is morally loaded (for instance, it's hard to argue that weapons R&D is morally neutral), but generally it's the typical application of a given technology that gives it a good or bad "flavour". Which returns to the point: it's true that many people who wear helmet-mounted lights use them in a pretty inconsiderate manner but that's the usage—nothing inherent in the technology makes it as "bad" as eccles seems to suggest.
I'll never cease to be amazed at where these discussions lead—I thought this topic would resurrect the backpack-vs-panniers argument…
I hope you found some suitable goodies stuffed in your stocking this Christmas treadly.
Well, a new pair of gloves (a long overdue replacement) came my way and that was about it.