Road cycling is rife with needing lots of equipment however, that needed shouldn't be as expensive as the cycling industry will have you believe. There are plenty of alternative products which aren't necessarily for cyclists which actually work really well and provide great value at the same time. In this video Sam Gupta finds 6 different products that you should consider using in your road cycling life.
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00:00Here are seven relatively inexpensive everyday products that are actually brilliant for cyclists
00:06and of course I've linked them all down below.
00:09This hand pump sprayer is usually used for stripping wallpaper, watering plants or spreading
00:15lawn chemicals.
00:17However, when I tested this as a portable washer for my bike, I was seriously surprised
00:22at just how well it worked.
00:25The reason why I tried this solution out is because I live in an apartment and I don't
00:29have a backyard or garden area to clean my bike, but what I do have is a big car park.
00:36So I like to fill up this five litre bottle with hot water and just get cracking.
00:41You can adjust the spray pattern via the nozzle at the end here, it has a pressure relief
00:45valve in case you pump it up too much and the wand even has a nice little feature down
00:50at the trigger which means that you can continuously spray, meaning that you don't have to hold
00:55down the button the entire time.
00:58I find it packs in enough power to dislodge big bits of dirt, but is gentle enough to
01:04not penetrate the bearing seals.
01:06As a cheap alternative, this works surprisingly well.
01:11In the same vein as its bigger brother, I think that one of these smaller units is also
01:19worth considering too.
01:21I really like to fill these up with muck off and then use it as like a pseudo snow cannon.
01:27Other than the usual pump action bottles that bike cleaning solution tends to come
01:30in, being able to continuously spray product just makes that process a little bit easier
01:36and more efficient.
01:38Usually what I'll do is add some concentrate to the bottle and then fill it up with hot
01:41water.
01:42From there, I'll cover the bike and then use the bigger five litre sprayer for rinsing
01:47duties.
01:48It's so simple.
01:50One product that I have been using for literally years now, rather than opting for the generally
01:56more expensive cycling branded alternative, is plain old isopropyl alcohol.
02:02This stuff is incredibly close to what you'll typically find in cans of disc brake cleaner.
02:07Sure, when it's in the can, it is pressurized, which can make blasting dirt and grime away
02:12much easier.
02:14But if you want to save costs and be a little bit more friendly to the environment, then
02:18just buy a bottle of isopropyl alcohol.
02:21You can either use it directly on components with a cloth or instead pop it in one of those
02:26hand pump sprayers for cleaning things like your chainset or rotors.
02:30You'll find that many car mechanics do something similar when they need to degrease components
02:34in situ.
02:35You'll save yourself money and help cut down on the use of disposable cans.
02:40It is a proper win-win.
02:44Riding in the rain is not fun.
02:46What's even less fun is heading back out after a wet ride only for your shoes to still be
02:52soaked.
02:53This is why a boot dryer is well worth grabbing if you regularly find yourself in this predicament.
02:59Originally designed for hikers, walkers and just enjoyers of snow sports, a boot dryer
03:04like this could be incredibly useful.
03:06It couldn't actually be much simpler to use.
03:09When you get back from your ride, simply turn it on and then slide your shoes into place.
03:13It'll completely dry them out and make your next ride a whole lot more pleasant.
03:18An added bonus of always keeping your shoes dry is that they shouldn't get that weird
03:22mildew damp smell.
03:24But if you have particularly smelly feet, then you may want to put this in the garage
03:28while you're using it because I cannot imagine that that would be a pleasant smell at all.
03:34I'm assuming I'm not the only one who has more bidons than they know what to do with.
03:40All too often I resign one of these bad boys to the back of the cupboard when a seemingly
03:44weird black blob appears at the bottom, which is seemingly impossible to clean.
03:51Well, no longer does that have to be the case.
03:55Grab yourself some Milton tablets and you can effectively clean and sterilize your bottles,
03:59meaning that they are kept in tip top condition.
04:02I believe that Milton tablets tend to be used for cleaning baby bottles, but the same theory
04:08applies here too.
04:09So grab your bottles, pop a tablet in and then add some water and let them fizz away
04:14and then do their work.
04:16When it comes to emptying them out, I like to put the lid back on and then squeeze that
04:20Milton solution back through the mouthpiece so that you can give that part a really good
04:25clean as well.
04:26Milton tablets aren't the only baby related product which can be super useful to us cyclists.
04:33So once you've cleaned your bottles, using a bottle drainer like this one can be a really
04:38good way to help them dry faster and also get some more ventilation on the inside to
04:43help them smell that little bit more fresh.
04:46Plus I found that a drainer like this one actually kind of brightens up my worktop.
04:51Getting a chip in your paint is really annoying.
04:54First you have the disappointment of your bike gaining a battle scar and not quite looking
04:58its best, but there's also now the risk that the frame underneath could start to corrode.
05:04My plan of attack has always remained the same.
05:07If I can't obtain some touch up paint to apply to the chip, then dab on some clear
05:12nail varnish instead.
05:14It will help protect the frame material from the outside elements.
05:18Even for you carbon fibre bike owners, despite the fact that carbon cannot corrode, it's
05:22still a good idea to apply some varnish as it provides the surrounding paint with a little
05:27bit more strength and may help preventing any further chipping or spreading of the problem.
05:33We're not far off the end of winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, but we've still
05:37got about a month or two to go before it properly gets warm again.
05:41So, if you're finding that your feet are still getting pretty cold when you're out
05:45riding and don't want to fork out for some overshoes, then you could try using some tinfoil
05:50on the inside of your shoes.
05:53Not only will it help block them from any wind coming through, but it will also insulate
05:56them, hopefully resulting in you not losing all feeling in your toes.
06:01It's a really simple trick to try if you're struggling and could help make these remaining
06:06winter rides that bit more enjoyable.