Another year, another batch of bike stuff that makes life better.
Where did the year go? In a blur of life and work and family and a bit of bike riding, that’s where. In what is a familiar refrain over the past couple of years, my riding has been down (by how much I’m not sure – probably not much, as a lot of my rides are on bikes without devices and I’ve stopped uploading to Strava on the ones that aren’t). But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have a lot of thoughts and feelings about bikes and the places, both physical and mental, that they can take you. So yeah: each year these lists keep coming around, and each year they find new ways to surprise me.
Most of the products I’ve featured from previous years – here and at CyclingTips – are still in rotation, so that’s reassuring. This year, I’ve chosen a collection of things that have sparked joy or connection, or sometimes both. None of them are performance-oriented, but that’s OK, because neither am I.
Until this sneaks up on me again next year, here’s what kept me rolling in 2025.
A dynamo light setup
Life is a series of phases, and that seems particularly the case for parenthood. It has an intensity to it that often feels all-encompassing – a gravitational force bending all other aspects of life around it like a bowling ball on a sheet. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but it would be disingenuous to suggest that it hasn’t played a big role in my relationship with bikes. Lunch rides have been replaced with short rides for transport, while social weekend rides have been replaced with night rides, sometimes with friends but often solo.
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