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Present for new employee- $200 limit

Old 08-27-20, 09:08 AM
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mlau
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Present for new employee- $200 limit

Dear BikeForumites,

I have a new employee who is just getting into bike commuting. Pre-COVID, we would usually spend about $200 on a new employee welcome lunch for the office. During COVID, that's not too wise...so I was thinking of getting him a present as a "welcome package".

Would you mind giving me tips?

Currently, he's humping 2 backpacks full of his uniform and other stuff over to the office. He has a beat up front light, and is using a keychain light as his rear light. He has no tools. no rack, no panniers, no bell. He is very proud of his $125 Craigslist Shogun special from the 70's.

Would appreciate suggestions for stuff that will be practical, and provide years of utility.
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Old 08-27-20, 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by mlau
Would you mind giving me tips?

Currently, he's humping 2 backpacks full of his uniform and other stuff over to the office. He has a beat up front light, and is using a keychain light as his rear light. He has no tools. no rack, no panniers, no bell. He is very proud of his $125 Craigslist Shogun special from the 70's.

Would appreciate suggestions for stuff that will be practical, and provide years of utility.
I think you already identified very useful items (lights, rack, bell and a few hand tools/tube patch kit) this individual could use to get reliably and safely to/from work, and could probably buy all of it for under $200 if you avoid the up-selling suggestions from "enthusiasts" and LBS spokesman obsessed with brand names, "upgrading" and N+1 tendencies. Buy the items on line or from discount stores. If $200 is the top limit you could avoid pricey bicycling specific panniers and get baskets or plastic boxes to carry the backpack(s) and a few suitable bungee cords and zip ties to attach to a rack.
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Old 08-27-20, 10:21 AM
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Based on my commuting history, things to ensure that the bike would make it to the destination were priority... so bike patch kit/spare tubes, pump/CO2 would be first choice... followed by the ability to carry stuff. Backpacks can serve for a long time. The next big issue is safety... is the commute at night, or will the change in DST cause night riding... so lighting can quickly become critical.

How about a helmet? A key item that also illustrates that the company cares. Unfortunately these tend to be rather personal, so a gift certificate to a bike shop might be a good idea... could be a good idea anyway, as the cyclist can set their own priorities as they see fit.
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Old 08-27-20, 04:18 PM
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A gift certificate from a local bike shop?
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Old 08-27-20, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by mlau
I have a new employee who is just getting into bike commuting ... humping 2 backpacks full of his uniform and other stuff over to the office ... no tools. no rack, no panniers, no bell.
A '70s Shogun ... as in the BMX bike? Hm.


A gift certificate to a local shop (as suggested above) might be nice. Would allow him to select his own choices.

A rack and trunk bag/panniers might suit. ToPeak makes a reasonable rear rack, along with a trunk bag that expands to panniers. (Their MTX compatible stuff.) Would be sub-$200. Assuming it'd fit on his bike and easily transfer to another more-contemporary bike.

A good bike headlight and couple of taillights. For safety and visibility.
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Old 08-27-20, 07:01 PM
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Everything Clyde1820 just said would have been on my list. Bicycle accessories can be a very personal choice, so although I agree 100% with the Topeak rack and pannier (MTX) suggestion, I think a gift certificate might be the best choice. If you really want to "set him up," try to get one from a reputable local bike shop (not Amazon or an online dealer) so that he can establish a ($200) relationship with that shop and have them in his back pocket when something goes wrong with his bike. He may already have a favorite bike shop. Maybe sneak in the question?
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Old 08-28-20, 08:25 AM
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I'm glad for your employee that you have a budget for a welcome. At my job it has long seemed like they throw blowout retirement parties but act resentfully about having to find a cube and laptop for new hires.

You should not constrain your thinking to bike stuff. When I started my first career job I really needed a bed and a couch and a TV...
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Old 08-28-20, 02:50 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions!

I have an ace in the hole...his mom, who I'll be running these ideas past.
Her main concern for "her little Matt" (who is 6 feet tall) is getting hit by a car.

He's a pretty good guy, just a bit green right now.
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Old 08-29-20, 05:59 AM
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I like the ideas of lights for starters.
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Old 08-29-20, 02:06 PM
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One other thing that might be helpful is a bike basket, like a Wald 137 you can get off Amazon for $25.00. Should fit on just about anything and keep at least one backpack off his back.
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Old 08-29-20, 05:14 PM
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I agree with the gift certificate, though the only problem with one to the LBS is that their stock may be limited (or take forever to order in), especially right now, and thus limit his choices. (And so it might also be good to make sure it's the sort of gift certificate he doesn't have to use all in one go, so that way if he needs to he can buy what he can now and wait for something he wants to come back in stock later, rather than having to buy a bunch of crap he may not actually need because it's either that or lose part of the certificate. And, if possible, to choose an LBS that may have a bigger stock online than in-store.)
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Old 08-31-20, 11:04 AM
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Perhaps an Amazon gift certificate.
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Old 09-04-20, 12:34 PM
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I ended up just getting him a $200 gift certificate at a local bike shop that he's used.
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