The first signs of autumn are here. Children are back at school, swallows are gathering on telephone lines – and commuter cyclists are starting to think about mudguards and lights again. If you started cycling to work in the summer you’ll need these now (not forgetting that you can save on equipment, not just bikes, by getting it through Cyclescheme). If you’re a cycle-commuting veteran, it’s time to check, refurbish and if necessary replace them.

Mudguards

What to buy

Full-length, frame-fitting mudguards offer the best protection, although not all bikes have the clearances or frame mounts required. The mudguards should match your bike’s wheel diameter and be about 10mm wider than the tyres. Look for safety-release fittings for at least the front mudguard, which will prevent you being thrown over the handlebar if a flicked-up stick or stone gets jammed between front tyre and mudguard. You don’t have to spend a lot to get decent mudguards: SKS Bluemels Basic are around £40 a pair and come in sizes to fit most bikes.

If your bike has room for mudguards but no fittings, you may be able to fit them using P-clips. Road bikes, which have close clearances, often require road-bike-specific mudguards. Mountain bikes and gravel bikes may be better off with strap-on mudguards such as a Rear Mudhugger and a Crud XL Fender. These work reasonably well on road and won’t clog or break off road.

Mudguard - rear mudhugger

What to check and fix

Adding mudflaps to frame-fitting guards will stop water being sprayed over your feet (front mudguard) and any following cyclists (rear mudguard). It’s a simple DIY job to make your own, or you can buy ready-made ones from the likes of Oxford Products and RAW.

Oxford rear mudflap

Lightweight mudguards have a limited lifespan. The most common failure points are the pop-riveted brackets that hold the mudguard stays to the underside of the guards. These break and become detached. Snapped stay fastenings or cracked mudguard material are other issues. It’s time for new mudguards when these things happen.

If the tyre has started rubbing the underside of a close-fitting mudguard and wasn’t previously, it may just be an accumulation of dirt. Remove the wheel(s), scrub clean, then check again.

Lights

What to buy

Basic lights with disposable batteries work well enough for occasional use around town but are a false economy for commuting. Better-quality rechargeable lights cost more initially but save on battery costs – financial and ecological – over the long term.

The light output you need will depend on where you ride your commuter bike:

• Urban areas only

If you only cycle under streetlights, your lights are primarily there to make sure that you’re seen by other road users rather than to light your way. Small lights that are bright, long-running and visible from a wide range of angles will suffice. The Lezyne Strip Drive Pair (£72) is a good example.

Lezyne Strip Drive Pair 

• Mixed use

For commutes that include some sections that are unlit or are lit but surfaced badly enough that you have to pick out every road defect, you need a front light with a beam. Around 500 lumens should be sufficient. Example: CatEye AMPP 500S/VIZ 150 Bike Light Set (£64.99).

CatEye AMPP 500S/VIZ 150 Bike Light Set 

• Unlit lanes

For commutes that include unlit rural roads, you need a front light with a powerful beam that will light your way for tens of metres ahead. Broadly speaking, more lumens are better, but powerful front lights benefit from a dimming function so you can instantly switch from ‘main beam’ to ‘dipped’ to avoid dazzling oncoming road users. The Exposure Strada Mk12 SB AKTiv (£375) does this automatically. Pair it with bright rear light that has constant or pulsing modes; flashing modes attract attention but it’s harder for drivers to track your position in the dark if your rear light winks out. Example: Exposure TraceR Mk3 ReAKT (£75)

Exposure Strada Mk12 SB AKTiv	Exposure TraceR Mk3 ReAKT

Battery lights aren’t the only option for commuting. Dynamo lights are an excellent, always-available lighting solution. It’s more common to buy bikes with dynamo lights already fitted, but they can be retrofitted. Decent quality front and rear dynamo lights cost from about £50 for the pair. More expensive ones may have better beam patterns or a USB outlet for keeping a handlebar-mounted phone charged when you’re not using the dynamo for lights.

A front-wheel hub dynamo is the preferred solution for powering lights nowadays. While it’s possible to buy ready-built dynamo-hub wheels, you may need to order the parts from your local bike shop and pay them to build it for you. Prices start at about £70 for an entry-level dynamo hub like Shimano’s DH-3N72. The easier DIY option is to use a bottle dynamo, also known as a sidewall dynamo. This fits to the bike’s fork or seatstay, and a little roller on top runs on the side of the tyre (or in some cases the rim). Good-quality ones are less widely available these days but you can still get them from, for example, AXA , for less than £40. They work best on tyres with a sidewall dynamo track; many commuting and touring tyres have these.

What to check and fix

Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of recharge cycles, and the battery capacity diminishes over time. Some rechargeable lights have swappable battery units. Most don’t, so when the run-time doesn’t last comfortably longer than your commute, you’ll need a new light.

Hunt out your light’s charger or USB charge cable. Check it still works. The lifespan of a USB cable is typically around a couple of years. While many modern lights connect via USB-C, some use USB-A to Micro-USB or USB-A to Mini-B, cables that you’re less likely to have spares of.

Check the light mounts are still secure. Silicone-rubber O-rings perish. Plastic mounts wear and can crack.

Clean the light lenses so that the lights are as bright as they can be. While you’re at it, clean the surfaces of your red rear reflector and amber pedal reflectors.

If your bike has dynamo lights, check they still come on when the relevant wheel spins. If they don’t, the usual cause is a loose or broken connection, requiring at most a new cable and/or connector. Unlike the filament bulbs of old, LEDs don’t break easily so the lamps themselves are long lasting.

Sidewall dynamos have a component that will need replacing periodically: the little traction wheel that runs on the tyre. It wears down and will eventually need replacing, but spares are inexpensive and are easy to fit at home.