If you're anything like us, tips and tricks that speed up cleaning, fixing and maintaining your bike are invaluable because they mean you get more time for riding.
There are plenty of ‘bike hacks’ out there, but quite often they involve a Dremel tool, steady hands and way more DIY confidence than we have.
So, for those who just want to get back out on their bike without using power tools, here are six of our favorite bike hacks
1. Powdered laundry detergent for your hands
After you’ve cleaned and lubed your bike, your hands are probably going to be blacker than a coal miner’s lungs. What’s worse, everything you touch will have greasy black fingerprints on. But, no matter how much you scrub, there will still be remnants of drivetrain gunk on your hands and under your fingernails.
There is a solution, and it comes in the form of powdered laundry detergent.
Grab a pinch before you head to the sink after cleaning your drivetrain and your hands will be sparkly clean.
That said, the stuff is hard on your skin, and if you live in a dry climate don’t forget to moisturise afterwards.
2. Save that valve cap
When changing a tyre, many people get rid of the plastic valve cap that comes on the fresh inner tube, but you should absolutely hang onto it because it might save you in a tight spot.
If you cut the top off, the cap can be used as a makeshift Presta to Schrader valve converter.
It’s not perfect, but in a pinch, you can use this little hack to use the air compressor at your local petrol station if you get a flat out on the road and can’t quite get your tyres topped off with your mini pump or CO2 canisters.
It's also a lot cheaper than a proper Presta to Schrader converter.
Considering their size and weight, we keep a couple with chopped tops in our saddle bags because they’re extremely easy to lose.
3. Ultimate degrease
Grease stains on clothing are another thing that seems to afflict every cyclist, especially if you’re wearing a white jersey.
The best dish soap can cut through even bike grease. Heck, the US brand Dawn (Fairy Liquid in the UK) is even the soap of choice for rescue workers cleaning up critters after oil spills.
For that white jersey you accidentally wiped your hands on after taking care of a dropped chain, use some Dawn or Fairy to pre-treat like you would with a regular stain remover, throw it in the wash and voila – good as new!
Washing up liquid also works great for degreasing drivetrains, but be wary of bearings because it will eat up any grease it comes into contact with. It does wonders on white bar tape too.
4. Dollar dollar bill y’all
A flat tyre can ruin an awesome ride in a split second. What makes it worse is when you stop to find there’s a giant gash in your tyre casing or sidewall.
As most of us don’t carry a second tyre, it’s a situation that often ends in an SOS phone call to a significant other or friend.
However, notes make great temporary tyre patches, especially the new 'plasticky' polymer notes we're seeing.
If you’re a bit cash poor at the time of your puncture, energy bar wrappers work great too, and we’ve even used a business card from a concerned passer-by.
5. Print ain’t dead (yet)
Putting your feet into shoes that are still damp after a ride in the rain is a pretty gross feeling, and some shoes just seem to take forever to dry.
To speed up the process, take your footbeds out and stuff your shoes full of crumpled up newspaper. The paper will take on quite a bit of water so don’t forget to change it after a couple of hours.
6. Furniture polish for your frame
We’ve mentioned this tip in the past, but it’s too good not to mention again.
Products such as Mr Sheen and Lemon Pledge aren’t just for bringing the luster back to your mahogany dining room furniture, they also work great on bike frames.
Not only will furniture polish give your bike a bit of sparkle, but it will limit the amount of dirt that will stick to your frame on your next ride. It's a cheaper alternative to the bike-specific products too.
We should also mention that this stuff will compromise brakes, so best to avoid aerosol versions if possible, and we even go as far as spraying it on a clean rag and rubbing the frame down rather than spraying it directly onto the frame.
Have you used any of these or are there any bike hacks we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments below.
