Bike Accessories bought on Aliexpress - Part 2 - Bags, Accessories & Lights

This is the second part of my series about bike equipment, that I bought on Aliexpress. See part1 for some introduction of my motivation and general experience buying there.

If you have any (good or bad) experience buying bike stuff or product recommendations, feel free to write me an email or shoot on Twitter!

Bags

Seat post bag - water resistant and material feels robust. The price is a complete joke and no-brainer.

Food pouches: At first I ordered this model, but I only received a wrong item (some kind of massage roller). Then, I opened a dispute and received a full refund by Aliexpress. So, my tip: make a short video when unboxing a package which you can use as proof if you receive the wrong item. Afterwards, I ordered 2 food pouches (Size L) by B-Soul for a grand total price of 6 EUR. The product is good, I can easily reach the food now for longer trips and don’t have to fill my jersey pockets to the rim. It also has a insolation, so if you take some warm food (take-away) it can stay warm for a short time. Also, you can put your phone or power bank inside to charge the GPS for longer trips. The only down side I see, is the material for the straps is a little flimsy and will probably wore out soon.

I’ve also ordered a handlebar bag for long term planning, If I want to make an overnighter or similar in the future. But unfortunately that is a little to large for my Canyon Grail, which has (XS size) too less clearance between handlebar and tire. It looks very robust and water proof, but ATM just lays around.

I also received the big saddle bag from Aliexpress (in Germany we colloquially call those “Arschrakete” - “butt rocket”) , but haven’t had a trip with it yet. It feels sturdy and stable enough. It’s not stable if totally empty, but AFAIK that’s the same for most of those kind of bags. Looking forward doing a Orbit360 marathon gravel trip with it later this year.

Because of the small clearance, I ordered a smaller front bag, which I’ve already used during a small day trip. Not very big, and not perfect, as you can only fill it from the side. So I use it to put the tools inside. I bought the black model, but would probably buy the gray one, which seems to have much better pockets that can be front loaded.

Accessories

This 2-pieces fiber carbon holder. Very light and stiff, a little too stiff, some bottles are a little too hard to pull out. But I like the design and the price was ok.

Dual mount Wahoo + GoPro adapter underneath. Perfect for attaching a Action Cam or a suitable light (see next section).

Mirror - this is the only total fail I’ve ever ordered. This mirror is completely useless. If you need a mirror like this, buy the original Beam Corky, which is surprisingly good if all you need is to get a grasp of the traffic behind you.

Bike glasses - I bought this glasses (Also available for a markup on Amazon), which is Photochromatic - means, depending on the sun light, it changes the sun glass intensity/darkness (in limits, don’t expect to go it to pitch black). It also has a Rx clip - so if you need glasses to see things, you can bring these clip to your optician and save a couple of bucks. As a former glass wearer (after LASIK operation), I only needed a functional sun glass, and those are perfect for about 800km now. I don’t need a pitch black sunglass, just a decent UV filter, for the price of 1/10 of a brand sunglass. The only disadvantage compared to a Brand Glass I had before, is there is no good air circulation. So if you stay and sweat if will fog (But there is also a model with Anti-fog, maybe need to try that some time).

Lights

Lights is a difficult topic, because here in Germany you are not allowed to mount uncertified lights. That means ALL imported lights are not allowed to use in the traffic. But AFAIK you can use it in forest etc. (IANAL)

I have bought this light, because I liked the design, it has a GoPro mount and can be mounted upside-down. And - Killer feature! - it has a wired “Remote”. I attached the remote near my thumb in the hoods position, so I can easily switch the brightness at any time (entering/leaving dark areas, protect the eyes of oncoming bike traffic). I would buy it again, but probably would buy the bigger 800lm variant now, because the 500 is not too useful in dark areas as a sole light.

For the “forest in the dark” kind of situations I use this light. It is very bright on the highest level. Just note that there is no battery (18650) included, which must be bought separately (10-12 EUR).

The rear light which I normally use, I have bought directly from a Taiwan supplier on a Bike Faire in 2019. That Bike Light (BikeSpark) is not available world wide, only on Amazon.com. I like this light, because it is: bright, has a very good battery life and has auto off as well as “brake light” functionality. This is why I’ve looked for a similar light from the “Aliexpress Brand™” Rockbros. This light is okish, stylish, but a little heavy and not as bright as the BikeSpark.

More?

That is it for now! Currently I have enough bike stuff (My wife would probably tell you already far too much 🤷‍♂️😀). If you have any experience with a bike product or product recommendations, feel free to write me an email or shoot on Twitter!