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
00:14are completely strewn in potholes, muck and salt. Now here at Cycling Weekly we cannot promise to
00:22make your winter rides as fun and enjoyable as they are during the summer but we have come up
00:27with a few ingenious little hacks and hints that can help get your bike ready and hopefully alleviate
00:34a little bit of the pain. Now these go a little bit beyond the usual recommendations for how to
00:39get your 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.
00:48One of the things that I found really really useful to have during the winter is extra visibility.
00:58Obviously we're going to be riding when it's a little bit dark so anything that makes you stand
01:02out a bit more for car drivers or other traffic is in my book a really really important thing. So I've
01:09picked up some really really cool little stickers. These only cost a couple of pounds but they are
01:15ideal for sticking all over your frame and whatever components you have. The good thing is if you've
01:21got a nice looking bike these are just plain little black stickers. However when a bright light shines on
01:27them they reflect back in bright silver so it just picks you out during those winter rides. So you can
01:34put these wherever you want on the bike and make sure that you stay safe.
01:38One of the things that can often happen when you're riding during the winter especially in the rain is
01:48your hands get pretty slippery. So you operate in the shifters and sometimes the brakes can be a
01:53little bit sketchy. One of the things I found works really really well in this case is a little bit of
01:58grip tape. Now this is actually really really simple to find online only costs a couple of pounds and it
02:05comes in a role that's long enough for you to be able to share it with all of your friends.
02:10It's sticky backed and you can cut it to shape to fit wherever you want it so where you want to
02:16have that little extra grip. It's the same stuff as you find on a skateboard so it is quite rough so
02:20be aware of that when it comes to your gloves but for me personally I would much prefer to have
02:26that safer shift in the braking than worry about wearing my gloves out.
02:29We 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.
03:01Some people double wrap their bars during the winter which makes it a lot bigger but also very
03:06very comfortable or you can get some little gel pads. Now again these are a simple thing to find,
03:13lots of bike shops sell these and they don't cost a huge amount and they basically go underneath your
03:20bar tape so you get parts to go over the top and parts to go on the drops. Little squidgy bits here
03:26and they're reusable that's the other good thing here so you don't have to worry about changing these
03:31over all the time so if you change your bar tape you can just change this. If your bar tape is in good
03:36condition you should be able to unwind it and then apply these underneath and then put your bar tape back
03:43on again. But if not as I said it could be a good time to get yourself some nice squishy or grippy bar
03:49tape to 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
04:04sometimes it'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
04:17a bit more durable and a bit more resistant to rusting, often ones with stainless steel in them.
04:23Now they can be quite expensive but because they're more durable and more resistant to rusting they're
04:29often worth their weight. Now Konex do a really good one, this is the 11SX, 11 speed chain and this
04:36has got stainless steel links in it so it should last a long time even when there's lots of salt
04:42on the road. Obviously we still are going to tell you to clean your bike as much as possible because
04:47it is going to work much better through the winter. But now is your time to get yourself a new chain.
04:54Another 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
05:12brake pads. What was the last thing you thought about this for example? Now if you've got rim brakes or
05:17disc brakes you can find brake compounds that are better for use during the wet and the mucky
05:24conditions of winter. If you've got rim brakes you can get brake pads such as these SwissDoc BXP
05:31that are designed for use during the wet and mucky winter months so they have a compound that lasts
05:38longer but it also provides much more reliable braking power during wet weather use. You can buy them
05:46either as full kits or as the brake pads themselves as a pack of four and that would be certainly
05:51something you might want to consider. If you've got disc brakes here we're talking about sintered brake
05:58pads. Now you can often check which brake pads you have by taking out the brake pads from your brake
06:04and looking at first of all the back of it. A lot of them have it either printed or stamped whether it's a
06:09resin pad, an organic pad or if it's a sintered pad. But a sintered pad is designed to last longer and also
06:18be more reliable in wet weather. So it's made up of not only the standards of resin but lots of metallic
06:24particles which are designed to provide that extra braking power. So if you don't have sintered brake pads
06:30on your bike it's a good thing to try to fit. Okay so this one is a given but mudguards. I know they're
06:43boring but they are a really really good idea if you are going to go riding outside in the wet. Especially
06:51if you're riding with your friends they will all appreciate it. Now if your bike has got eyelets for
06:57mudguards then you must fit a good proper set of mudguards. There's nothing quite like it. These
07:04provide the best coverage. However if your bike doesn't have those then there are still options.
07:11You can get some really cool very small and discreet mudguards like these ones here and these are
07:18designed to fit most bikes without those mudguard mounts. They don't obviously provide the same amount
07:25of protection but they will keep your bum dry or keep a little bit of spray off your face when you're
07:31out in those wet conditions. Dirt doesn't like clean bikes. There I said it. Having a clean bike is a good
07:43starting point during the winter for keeping everything running properly but there's one extra level of
07:49cleanliness you can go to to keep your bike extra clean through the winter and that is to apply some
07:57polish to it. Now we're not talking about spraying it everywhere because that would be crazy but applying
08:03some silicone 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 either
08:18apply it directly to the frame or you can apply it to a rag and then wipe it on but the best thing is
08:24because 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 so
08:34you can get tape that will fit onto your bike which will then protect it first of all from dirt but also
08:41from any knocks as well. So that could be another option another little extra tip to keep your bike
08:49working perfectly through the winter.
08:55And 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 but
09:10if 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.
09:34Well I hope you find these little hacks and hints useful and that they should make your winter riding a
09:39little bit more enjoyable. Now if you've got any different tips or hacks that you use to make your
09:46winter riding a little bit more bearable please put it in the comments section below and don't forget
09:51to like and subscribe to keep up with our latest releases. But until the next one we'll see you soon.
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