Stylin' Bike Gear

Ok, I am officially obsessed with bike stuff. Sigh, yet another expensive interest! The new bike reveal will happen soon - I now have not one, but two lovely vintage bikes (well, one is one its way)!

Anyway, I've also been reading bike blogs a lot and especially love Lovely Bicycle. Her aesthetic sense is quite similar to mine and she does a great job in making practical (commuter and city) cycling seem very accessible to the average peson.

I have decided I absolutely need to have a great saddle bag and/or a handlebar bag for my bike. The only problem is, that the handle bags generally require a front rack or decaleur (bag support) to support them (which I don't have). Panniers will also be tricky on one of my rides because of the type of back rack it has - the sides are a bit too wide for most pannier hooks. Here are my picks:

The Boxy Rando Bag (for the handlebars) from Acorn Bags

The equally lovely Medium/Large Saddlebag, also from Acorn

Medium Saddlebag by Minnehaha Bag Co.

And the Velo Orange Campagne Handlebar Bag

I'd also love a better (read: more stylish) helmet. I definitely don't trust my bike riding skills not to wear one at all. I have a pretty standard bike helmet - no need to post one because you all know what it will look like. However, there are now much nicer options out there:

The Yakkay Paris is at the tippy top of my list, but it's just a bit out of my price range (about $175 CAD plus shipping. Ouch!)

The Bern Watts which is really neat - you can replace the liners with a summer or winter one (around the $100 mark, though it seems a bit hard to find one in my city).

...and for something a bit more fun, the Nutcase in Modern Dots.

Do you have style concessions when you ride a bike or are you as stylish when you ride as when you walk?