Essential Do-It-Yourself Winter Bike Tips

Cycling Weekly

The bad weather can take its toll on your bicycle but these winter bike hacks can keep you riding all winter long.

Transcript

00:00Riding your bike through autumn and winter can be a pretty miserable affair especially if like

00:08us you live in the UK when it can be cold, rainy and you're often riding on roads that are

00:14completely strewn in potholes, muck and salt. Now here at Cycling Weekly we cannot promise to make

00:22your winter rides as fun and enjoyable as they are during the summer but we have come up with a

00:27few ingenious little hacks and hints that can help get your bike ready and hopefully alleviate a

00:34little bit of the pain. Now these go a little bit beyond the usual recommendations for how to get

00:39your bike ready for winter. To be honest we've already made those videos so if you look in the

00:43description below you'll see links to those videos there so let's just dive straight in.

00:52One of the things that I found really really useful to have during the winter

00:56is extra visibility. Obviously we're going to be riding when it's a little bit dark so anything

01:01that makes you stand out a bit more for car drivers or other traffic is in my book a really really

01:07important thing. So I've picked up some really really cool little stickers. These only cost a

01:13couple of pounds but they are ideal for sticking all over your frame and whatever components you have.

01:20The good thing is if you've got a nice looking bike these are just plain little black stickers.

01:24However, when a bright light shines on them they reflect back in bright silver so it just picks

01:31you out during those winter rides. So you can put these wherever you want on the bike and make sure

01:37that you stay safe. One of the things that can often happen when you're riding during the winter,

01:46especially in the rain, is your hands get pretty slippery. So operating the shifters and sometimes the

01:52brakes can be a little bit sketchy. One of the things I found works really really well in this

01:57case is a little bit of grip tape. Now this is actually really really simple to find online,

02:04only costs a couple of pounds and it comes in a roll that's long enough for you to be able to share

02:08it with all of your friends. It's sticky backed and you can cut it to shape to fit wherever you want

02:14it so where you want to have that little extra grip. It's the same stuff as you find on a skateboard so

02:19it is quite rough so be aware of that when it comes to your gloves but for me personally I would much

02:25prefer to have that safer shift in the braking than worry about wearing my gloves out.

02:34We often talk about going for longer steadier rides during the winter and one of the things that

02:38becomes paramount for all of us is a bit of extra comfort. Now your bar tape goes a long way to make

02:44you comfortable when you're on a longer ride. So now is the time to first of all take a check,

02:50have a little look at your bar tape and see if it's worn. If it is, it's time to change it and what

02:56I'd recommend you do is to change it for something with a bit more grip or a bit more cushioning. Some

03:01people double wrap their bars during the winter which makes it a lot bigger but also very very comfortable

03:07or you can get some little gel pads. Now again these are a simple thing to find. Lots of bike

03:14shops sell these and they don't cost a huge amount and they basically go underneath your bar tape so you

03:21get parts to go over the top and parts to go on the drops. Little squidgy bits here and they're reusable

03:27that's the other good thing here so you don't have to worry about changing these over all the time.

03:32So if you change your bar tape you can just change this. If your bar tape is in good condition you

03:36should be able to unwind it and then apply these underneath and then put your bar tape back on

03:43again but if not as I said it could be a good time to get yourself some nice squishy or grippy bar tape

03:50to keep you safe during the winter. One of my pet hates during the winter is getting a rusty chain.

03:59Now obviously we can all try and alleviate that by keeping our bikes as clean as possible but sometimes

04:05it's just not possible. If you've been out for a ride in the evening it's cold and it's wet

04:10all you really want to do is get in and get warm. So what you can do is you can find chains that are a

04:17bit more durable and a bit more resistant to rusting. Often ones with stainless steel in them. Now they can be

04:24quite expensive but because they're more durable and more resistant to rusting they're often worth

04:30their weight. Now Konex do a really good one. This is the 11SX 11 speed chain and this has got stainless steel

04:37links in it so it should last a long time even when there's lots of salt on the road. Obviously we still

04:44are going to tell you to clean your bike as much as possible because it is going to work much better

04:49through the winter. But now is your time to get yourself a new chain.

04:59Another safety tip is to do with your brakes. So here we're not just talking about making sure that

05:05your brake pads are clean and that they are in good working order but the actual compounds of those brake

05:13pads. What was the last thing you thought about this for example? Now if you've got rim brakes or disc brakes

05:19you can find brake compounds that are better for use during the wet and the mucky conditions of winter.

05:26If you've got rim brakes you can get brake pads such as the SwissDoc BXP that are designed for use during

05:34the wet and mucky winter months. So they have a compound that lasts longer but it also provides much more

05:41reliable braking power during wet weather use. You can buy them either as full kits or as the brake pads

05:48themselves as a pack of four and that would be certainly something you might want to consider.

05:53If you've got disc brakes here we're talking about sintered brake pads. Now you can often check which

06:00brake pads you have by taking out the brake pads from your brake and looking at first of all the back of

06:06it. A lot of them have it either printed or stamped whether it's a resin pad, an organic pad or if

06:12it's a sintered pad. But a sintered pad is designed to last longer and also be more reliable in wet weather.

06:19So it's made up of not only the standards of resin but lots of metallic particles which are designed to

06:26provide that extra braking power. So if you don't have sintered brake pads on your bike it's a good thing to try to fit.

06:38Okay so this one is a given but mudguards. I know they're boring but they are a really really good

06:46idea if you are going to go riding outside in the wet. Especially if you're riding with your friends

06:52they will all appreciate it. Now if your bike has got eyelets for mudguards then you must fit a good

07:01proper set of mudguards. There's nothing quite like it. These provide the best coverage. However if your

07:07bike doesn't have those then there are still options. You can get some really cool very small and discreet mudguards

07:15like these ones here. And these are designed to fit most bikes without those mudguard mounts.

07:22They don't obviously provide the same amount of protection but they will keep your bum dry or keep

07:29a little bit of spray off your face when you're out in those wet conditions.

07:38Dirt doesn't like clean bikes. There I said it. Having a clean bike is a good starting point during the

07:44winter for keeping everything running properly. But there's one extra level of cleanliness you can

07:50go to to keep your bike extra clean through the winter. And that is to apply some polish to it.

07:58Now we're not talking about spraying it everywhere because that would be crazy. But applying some

08:03silicone polish to the frame and the forks will give mud and mug less chance to grip onto that frame.

08:12Keeping your bike cleaner and it means then it's going to be easier to clean at all times. You can

08:18either apply it directly to the frame or you can apply it to a rag and then wipe it on. But the best

08:23thing is because it's nice and slippery then that dirt just doesn't stand a chance to stay onto your bike.

08:29If you don't want to use silicone spray one thing you can do is you can get some invisible protection.

08:34So you can get tape that will fit onto your bike which will then protect it first of all from dirt but

08:41also from any knocks as well. So that could be another option, another little extra tip to keep your bike

08:48working perfectly through the winter.

08:54And my last tip today is one that we've been banging on quite a lot and that is going tubeless.

09:03Yes, I know we keep talking about it. I know there's people out there that don't really like the idea.

09:09But if you've ever stood on the side of the road with a puncture when your hands don't work everything's

09:15covered in muck and it's raining it's a miserable feeling. So anything that should prevent that from

09:22happening is going to make sure that you're going to enjoy your ride a little bit more during the winter.

09:29So if you can try tubeless. Well I hope you find these little hacks and hints useful and that they

09:37should make your winter riding a little bit more enjoyable. Now if you've got any different tips or

09:44hacks that you use to make your winter riding a little bit more bearable please put it in the

09:48comments section below and don't forget to like and subscribe to keep up with our latest releases.

09:54But until the next one, we'll see you soon.

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