Best bike commuter accessories and apps: Transform your daily ride to work

From keeping you safe to creating the perfect route, the best cycling accessories and apps for commuters can transform a ride

09:30, Tuesday 30th April 2024

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

The right accessories can transform a cycling commute (especially when it's raining)

Commuting by bike is a quick and convenient way to get a daily dose of exercise. It can easily be factored into your day and comes with a host of other benefits for you and the environment. Even better still, it’s fairly easy to get started. All you need is a bike, which many people already have lying around.

While a bike is the bare minimum you’ll need, there are some accessories and apps that you may also want to – or in some cases, need to – invest in. That investment will be worthwhile as accessories can transform your ride in multiple ways, from making it safer to giving you a more enjoyable ride.

With that in mind, here’s our guide to the accessories and apps that will help you to unlock the full potential and benefits of commuting by bike.

Commuter accessories and apps guide contents

Jump to:

Best accessories for commuting by bike
Bike lights
Backpack or pannier bags
Mudguards
Bike locks
Maintenance tools
Track and hand pumps
Waterproof clothing
Phone mount
Best cycling apps for commuters
Strava
Komoot
Google Maps
Flare

Best accessories for commuting by bike

Accessories are important if you want to maximise the benefits of commuting

Commuting can be a learning curve, especially if you’re new to cycling, as it’s not easy to know which accessories you’re going to need. Even if you try to preempt things by planning ahead, you can be forgiven for struggling to differentiate between the essentials, nice-to-haves and luxuries – after all, you don’t want to splash cash on expensive accessories if you don’t actually need them.

The list below contains lots of useful accessories, but they won’t be necessary for everyone. It’s important to identify your specific needs as this will narrow down your accessory needs, and also specific product choices. Take a cycling jacket for example. If you’re blessed with hot weather for much of the year, something lightweight should suffice. Those who have to endure colder and wetter climes will need something more heavyweight.

Here are a few extra tips to consider when choosing accessories.

Always factor in the weather – Many people believe that weather can make or break a ride. While that is partly true, how you prepare for weather conditions is what can really define a ride. Riding in rain will be much more bearable if you’re prepared for the conditions with waterproof clothing and mudguards, and the same can be said for hot or cold-weather riding.
Take a safety-first approach – While cycling is a perfectly safe activity, it does come with some inherent risks, which is why you should take every step possible to protect yourself. If you’re ever in doubt as to whether you need an accessory for safety reasons, err on the side of caution and buy it.
Protect your bike too – Bikes are expensive, something thieves are all too aware of. That means that they’re willing to take some risks to get their hands on your bike, and that flimsy lock you bought won’t be much of a match for some heavy-duty tools. So, fork out on something high-quality. Think carefully about where you will store your bike too, as this will have a bearing on the accessories you need.
Where will you be riding? – Got a long ride? You may want to streamline some of your accessory choices and use cycling-specific clothing. On a shorter commute, you can often get away with using non-specific cycling clothing. Those who mix riding and walking may need different accessories entirely.

With those considerations out of the way, here’s a run through of the best accessories for cyclists.

Bike lights: Illuminate your commute

Bike lights will make it easier for pedestrians and motorists to spot you

As a minimum, cyclists should use a front and rear light. However, we believe in a ‘more is better’ philosophy. After all, the more lights you use, the better chance motorists will have of spotting you.

The task of illuminating ourselves has never been easier as there are now so many different lights available. This extends to pedal and bag lights for bikes, while there are lights that attach to cyclists too. Consider investing in a helmet with an in-built light too and fluorescent clothing. We can’t promise that you’ll look cool, but the hit to your street cred is a small price to pay for safety.

Backpack or pannier bags: How to carry the commuter essentials

Lunch, spare clothes, maybe even a laptop: there are lots of things you may need to carry on your commute.

While it’s tempting to stuff everything into a standard backpack, it probably isn’t going to be the best solution. For a start, it may not be waterproof, leading to soggy sandwiches at best, and a sodden laptop at worst. The straps may not be secure enough for riding a bike either, which could be dangerous if they keep dropping off your shoulders.

That’s where a cycling-specific backpack will come in handy. These will usually have straps that wrap around the chest to keep everything secure, and they’re usually more compact too. If you ride in the rain a lot, make sure you pick a waterproof option.

For larger loads, take advantage of pannier racks. These are mounting systems that allow you to attach pannier bags to your bike. Some bikes have racks already attached, while others have mounts that they can be attached to.

Before making a decision on either option, map out what you need to carry on your rides and make sure you pick something that isn’t too big or small.

Mudguards: Protect yourself and fellow commuters

Cyclists can be a fussy bunch, so it isn’t too surprising that mudguards are often viewed with contempt. After all, they’re hardly pleasing on the eye, and who wants to add an eye sore to their bikes?

People who value staying clean, that's who. They may not look great, but mudguards provide much-welcome protection from all of the dirt and grime that kicks up off the road, caking your rear end.

Arguably just as importantly, they protect any cyclists riding behind you too. If you’re still not sold, you will be after riding behind a cyclist who isn’t using mudguards.

Bike locks: Safely secure a bike after a commute

Thieves will go to great lengths to get their hands on a shiny bike, which is why you should go to great lengths to protect it.

This means using a high-quality lock. Unfortunately, a higher lock quality usually corresponds to a higher price, but that monetary sacrifice is only a fraction of the cost of replacing a stolen bicycle.

A high-quality lock will have a rating from an approved body, like Sold Secure. Each Sold Secure rating indicates what type of tool would be required to break the lock - and you may be surprised how often thieves have heavy-duty tools at hand.

If you store your bike in a public area, a lock with a higher rating is a must. Even if you have secure facilities at work, don’t presume that your bike is safe. Thieves have been known to piggyback through doors behind employees.

Check out more tips on how to securely lock a bike here

Essential maintenance tools

You don’t need to become an expert mechanic if you want to commute by bike, but it's useful to have a basic understanding of how to fix certain issues. The most obvious is a puncture, which most cyclists will fall foul of at some point.

Fixing a puncture or similar problems will require a set of tools. We’re not talking about a big tool set, but a compact, multi-functional hand tool that can easily be stored in a bag or pocket. You’d be surprised how many sticky situations these little life-savers can get you out of.

Beyond that, a basic puncture repair kit will be handy, while a spare inner tube or two is a must. Cable ties and tape can also be handy to botch a fix until you get home.

Track and hand pumps

Fixing a puncture won’t be much use if you don’t have a pump to reinflate the tyre. For this, you’ll need a small hand pump. These are compact and can be stored in a pocket or bag.

Buy a track pump to keep at home too. These are much larger, so can’t be carried, but provide greater pumping power and usually have in-built gauges so that you can measure the pressure (some hand pumps also have these). That way, you can use the little pump to top up the tyre and then the track pump when you get home to make sure that it’s inflated within the recommended pressure limits.

Read more: I can’t cycle to work, or can I?

Waterproof clothing

A ride in the rain will be miserable if you’re not prepared with waterproof clothing. This doesn’t just mean a jacket, but also waterproof trousers if possible, plus shoe covers - treading into the office with soggy feet won’t be the most pleasant start to your day.

Be wary that a waterproof moniker doesn’t necessarily mean that clothing is going to offer a high level of protection.

Phone or computer mount

If you plan to use an app (more on this below), you will need somewhere to mount your phone or computer. It will need to be positioned on the handlebars where you have clear vision and access. Again, avoid anything too cheap as it could be lightweight and the device can worm its way loose on bumpy urban roads.

Best cycling apps for commuters

It’s hard to imagine, but there was a time when our lives weren’t dominated by apps. For cycling, you only have to travel back a decade or so.

Love it or loathe it, there’s no denying that modern technology and the apps that it has spawned have helped to enhance cycling. The benefits aren’t just for hardcore cyclists, though, but also for commuters who can enhance their ride to work in multiple ways, whether it be through fitness tracking, navigation or safety features. There are lots of apps out there, but we’ve picked out a few key ones below.

Like with accessories, the best app will depend on your specific needs, but we’ve outlined which type of commuter each app is best for.

Strava: For commuters who want to track their fitness

Since its inception in 2009, Strava has grown to become one of the most popular fitness apps in the world.

It is a great way to keep a track of your fitness and workouts, as you can upload every ride where you’ll receive a breakdown of the finer details, like the relative effort of a ride, your average heart rate (if using a heart rate monitor), and how it compares to previous rides.

It is also part social network where you can share your rides with others - and there are a lot of other cyclists out there. At the current count the number stands at over 100 million. That’s a lot of people, but you can change the privacy settings on your account to alter who can see posts.

The final benefit for commuters is the route planning section, which includes the heat map feature. This overlays lines that display the most popular routes taken by cyclists in an area. It can be really useful when planning a route through unfamiliar territory, or even in helping you to steer clear of the main roads that you’re used to from driving.

Komoot: Best for planning a safe route for a cycling commute

Komoot is one of the most popular apps among cyclists for planning routes.

It allows you to select the type of riding you’ll be doing, for example road or mountain biking, and will only recommend routes that match it – so you won’t have to worry about stumbling onto rugged off-road terrain on your tarmac-ready road bike.

The routes can be converted into turn-by-turn navigation, although you’ll need to pay a small subscription fee to access this.

There is also a premium subscription service that unlocks a host of other features, including live tracking so that you can share your location with others.

Sometimes, the best solutions are the simple ones. Using Google Maps can be the easiest way to navigate on a commute. Simply load up the route on your phone and you’re good to go.

Be slightly wary that it may not deliver the best cycling routes compared to dedicated apps, and could direct you onto some busier roads, which are best avoided.

Flare: Notifies others if you have an accident during a cycling commute

Flare is a safety app that detects if you’ve had an accident while riding, or in any other scenario. It will pop up with a notification to check that you’re okay and if you don’t respond within a given time, it will notify your emergency contacts.

It’s hopefully an app that you will never need, but is no less important.

Whichever accessories you buy, you may be able to take advantage of and make savings through the Cycle to Work scheme. Find out more about the pros and cons of the Cycle to Work scheme in our complete guide.