My favorite hookup is get 2 of the cheap 5 led headlights, and that gives you a ton of light. Also if one breaks you have a backup. I also carry 2 blinkies for the same reason. I put one on solid and one on blink. (The blinking makes it hard for motorists to tell how far away you are).

Get the books at half price. Much better deal. And you can get almost all of it online. Sheldon brown’s website is awesome.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

I have the back panniers from performance and have been happy with them. They lasted me about 3000 miles (which was almost a year) They still worked, but I wanted to replace them and my brother needed some so I gave him my old ones.

You can use the edge of a rag to get between the cogs. Just stretch the rag between your hands, put the edge between two cogs. You should be able to make the gears turn by using a shoe-shine type motion so that you can get all sides, then move on to the next cog. The Planet Bike headlights are small and bright and not too expensive. I’m very happy with mine.

I rode hard one windy, sunny day and sunburned the inside of my lower lip.
I needed a new “overflow face,” so I trained my face to expose teeth only in a grin when exerting.
When your default face is a smile, it *does* change things. People smile back (and then I realize I’m riding hard and, therefore, grinning ).

Try it…

But I think the best accessory you can carry around commuting is, as cheesy as it is to say, a smile. I’ve gotten a few folks to ride for transportation at least some of the time just by showing them how much frikkin fun it is:^)

My rack holds stuff, and my fenders keep me dry. But it’s the attitude that really helps keep a person riding, especially when the weather is nasty.

You’ve got $90, right?

My otehr thought was tires – sweetskins perhaps?
(and I have this problem wiht breaking bike computers … but when I get around to getting them working again or replacing them, I realize how much I do miss them. )

Siouxgeonz is correct that I didn’t actually say “commute” and I didn’t mean to mislead Noah.

Mainly my riding is 5 miles at lunch every day down a bike/walk path and then 15-20 miles on Saturday or Sunday.

I fibbed a bit about saying I don’t have much on accessories. But reading everyone else’s blogs it doesn’t FEEL like I have much.

What I own:
Trek 2.0 Navigator with the 1.95 tires
Seat bag
Wedge bag
Profile bag
Helmet
Back rack with 3 bunge nets (just because I couldn’t decide what one to buy)
Neon reflective vest
Tail light blinkie
Some skinny 1.0 tires that I put on it for a few months in the Fall
1 bottle of lube (unused)
Repair kit with wrenches and levers
Padded shorts

Things I would have thought about getting:

MTB shoes and pedals – That’s a big purchase so I have been putting it off. I really like the shoes that look like normal shoes and I want some pedals that I can use without the shoes.

Better cold headgear – Been doing some more riding in the cold and I’m just using a typical skull cap and scarf. Really thinking about something like a balaclava.

Front light – I’ve already rode a few times in the dark. Sometimes with no light. (I know… very dangerous.) And other times with a flashlight duct taped to the handlebars. I bought a $5 strap-to-forehead light from Big Lots that I was going to try attached to the bike. Some of those bike lights are just scary expensive. I really don’t wanna drop alot on one of those until I start biking more in the dark.

Maintenance tools/cleaning supplies – I don’t know how to do much maintenace on the bike. But I’d like to. Right now I have cables that need adjusted on both the brakes and derailers. I’d also like to get some stuff for cleaning the bike. I’ve looked all over Wal-mart for little wire brushes to get in betweent the cogs and have found nothing. But for now my main tool might just be old toothbrushes.

Frame pump – I have an old used compressor at home so airing up at home isn’t an issue. But I’d like to have something to use while out on the ride if a tire is getting soft. I tried the CO2 cartridges that came with my repair kit and wasn’t too crasy about them.

Clothes – I had a couple short sleeved shell shirts and a pair of padded bike shorts (which I have only worn once). But this past weekend I hit Wal-mart and bought a couple long sleeved ones as well as some tights and warm up bottoms. I think those should do me through the cold. Long longs and ratty pants weren’t cutting it. I’m still not into the Lycra and probably never will be. But I found out that cotton t-shirts suck in the summer.

Bike – yeah… I’d really like a 2nd bike. I hear everyone talk about having multiple bikes. But for now I cannot afford another and don’t actually know what I would want if I could.

Books – Would like to get some books on basic bike maintenance as well as some touring/camping books. Although there is enought stuff out on the web that I can really get by without buying any books. But books are so nice to look at now and then.

What I’d really like to get into this year is bike camping. Interesting in getting a front rack and some panniers. And whatever else goes along with that.

Oddly enough I have no desire for a cyclometer. Although I’ve always been curious as to what speed I max out on some of those big hills.

And I will confess that I rarely wear my helmet and have been known to take the iPod along on solo rides.

Thanks for all the suggestions and input everyone!

Steven
Southern Indiana (the hilly part)