Road Bike Essentials. The Needs List Got Longer.

What should every road ride start with?

A flat kit and a pump or CO2, a multi-tool, lights front and rear, and a rear radar. The first three are how you get yourself home. The last two are about the drivers sharing the road with you, and in our book they belong on the needs list, not the wants list.

We filmed this video in November 2020. The plan was to cover the road essentials you need, a few you might want, and some technology that could save your life. In October 2026 we rewrote the page around it with the gear that has replaced what we showed back then.

The checklist

1. A flat kit you have practiced withCarry a tube or plugs, levers, and a boot for a cut sidewall like the Park Tool emergency tire boots. For air, bring a mini pump or CO2, all under pumps and inflators. Our flat protocols post covers the steps.
2. A multi-toolPick one small enough for a saddle bag that has every size your bike uses. See multi-tools and saddle bags.
3. Lights, day and nightRun a front and rear light on every ride. We laid out the research in our bike lights post, and the gear is in lights and radar.
4. A rear radarThis is the technology the video was talking about, and the next section covers it.
5. A bike computerIt handles navigation and ride data, and it is the screen your radar alerts show up on. The current picks are below.
6. GlassesThe video description lists two 100% models, the S2 and the Speedcraft. We carry the 100% S2 in the same photochromic lens, plus the rest of our sunglasses.
7. Chamois creamIt is not glamorous, but you will be glad you used it on a long day. Chamois Butt'r is on the shelf.

The radar you cannot see working

You are on a quiet road when a car passes close enough to feel the air move, and you never heard it coming even though the road looked empty when you checked.

A rear radar watches the road behind you so you do not have to keep turning around. Garmin says the Varia RearVue 820 detects vehicles more than 190 yards away and sends visual and audible alerts to a compatible Edge computer or the Varia phone app. It also shows whether a vehicle is a higher threat, based on its speed and path, and whether it is small, medium or large.

Our take: a radar is just as useful when nothing is wrong. No alert means no car is closing on you, and that quiet is information you never had before. The radar does not make cars go around you, but it tells you when to hold your line and when to look.

Shoulder checks still count when you run a radar.The radar just tells you when to make one.

We carry three radars as of October 2026: the RearVue 820, the Garmin Varia RCT715 with a camera, and the Wahoo TRACKR Radar. We compared them in Garmin or Wahoo radar and RearVue 820 vs RCT715.

The rest of the 2020 essentials series

1. Gravel bike essentials, for remote roads far from help.
2. Mountain biking essentials, for the trail kit that saves your bacon.
3. Indoor cycling, for picking a trainer, accessories and an app.

Every radar and light we carry is on one page, and we ship nationwide. Questions about which radar pairs with your bike computer? Ask us.

Shop lights and radar

Turn the radar on before you roll out of the driveway.