Accessorize only as necessary. While some dealers will be more than happy to sell the world along with your new bicycle, make sure you pick up only the essentials with your bicycle. You can always come back and pick up more stuff later. Picking up the right accessories can make all the difference between a more comfortable ride or numb hands or a painful butt :)
Essential items – buy this with your new bicycle
- helmet (no helmet, no ride – standard rule on most rides). What others think about wearing a helmet
- lock
- tail lights / head lights (if you plan to ride the bike in the night)
- spare tube
- puncture kit
- pollution mask – if you ride in the cities
- air pump
- basic tools – allen keys, screw drivers
- chain lube
Less Essential items – buy it a little later
- mini pump – for your rides
- gloves
- fenders
- Bottle cage – to hold a bottle of water
- cycling attire – shorts, jerseys, glasses
- CycloComputer (or Bicycling Computer, trip meter, Odometer)
- Hydration units – Bottles, Camelbaks
- saddle bag
- tire levers – get some solid ones
- bell
- side stand
Other stuff
Have someone coming back from the US and can lug some cycle accessories for you
- chain lubes (dry and wet) – white lightning
- puncture resistant lining – Mr Tuffy
- some basic tools – Park tools
- mini pump – get a small one with Guage and one that works on both Presta and Schrader values – Topeak
- bike fenders – topeak
- cyclocomputer – cat eye
- Hydration pac – camelbak
- lock – Kryptonite
a series on roadcycler.com – you-just-bought-a-bike-now-what: part 1, part 2, part 3
What should I be aware about when I am looking to pick up a pair of riding glasses ?
Make sure your glasses are either ploycarbonate or plutonite (if your budget is hefty and you want to look seriously cool too because only a handful of brands use Plutonite, chiefly Oakley). Basically ensure they are shatter proof because you don’t want little bits of plastic or glass flying into your eyes from cheap — or stylish — glassses in an accident. Unfortunately, polycarbonate material does not produce good photochromatic lenses. Finally, if you are into things like chromatic aberration, Trivex is the material to die for. No kidding.