bike life hacks

16 Bike Life Hacks That Every Cyclist Should Know

6 mins read

Biking is one of the simplest hobbies or workouts that many of us love to practice to maintain our bodies healthy and fit. Most of us are “beginners” when it comes to biking, however, this article is going to guide and assist you with clever bike life hacks along your journey.

With this bike life hacks, you will definitely be more prepared and will confront fewer obstacles as a result of this. Hopefully, information will be useful to you during your journey.

1. Always Remember to Carry Cash

Carrying cash with you when you go biking is vital; it might actually save your life. When you suddenly run out of energy and you need to immediately purchase any food or drink, you may go to the local store and get them right away.

Then, if it is one of your unfortunate days and you accidentally break your tire, you could approach a mechanic and get your bike repaired immediately. Therefore, you could solve these types of problems directly and may proceed with riding your bike.

2. Bring a Waist Bag to Hold Your Essentials

We definitely have our own necessities that we must bring with us wherever we go. However, if we merely place it in the pocket of our jersey while pedaling, it becomes quite unsafe and uncomfortable.

As a result, it is preferable for us to have a small handy waist bag that can be simply worn and carried everywhere. We can store our food, cash, and a little first-aid kit there as well. This will make things much more comfortable for you since you can wear a t-shirt and yet have your hands free from your belongings.

3. Try Freezing Your Water The Night Before

Drinking cold beverages while biking or after biking might feel like nirvana. However, if we bring cold water from the refrigerator, it is no longer cold after approximately 15 to 30 minutes, which is really upsetting.

The solution to this problem is to freeze only half of the bottle that was filled with water the night before. Don’t forget to fill your water bottle to the brim with room temperature water in the morning. This will keep your water cool, and you will be able to enjoy it.

4. Don’t Forget to Clean Your Skewer Regularly

If you use your bike regularly or even rarely, your bike could somehow make a squeaky annoying sound. Usually, this creaking sound is caused by the bike’s skewer or thru axle.

Therefore, you could start by detaching them from your bike. Simply clean them and lubricate all of the screws. After you are done, put them back and that squeaky sound will no longer be there.

5. Try Lifting Your Handlebar

Even with gloves on, long rides can cause severe pain in our hands and wrists. It usually feels like there’s a lot of stress and strain on your hands, yet the ride must go on. As a solution, you may try elevating your handlebars. This might be your issue, so try elevating your handlebar a little and you should notice a difference by then.

6. Use Latex Gloves When You Are Fixing Your Bike

When you’re repairing your bike, it might seem like a shipwreck. So, let’s get to the point of these latex gloves. These latex gloves, it appears, will make your hands a lot less filthy when you’re mending your flats.

7. Understanding and Knowing The Path

You may not be familiar with the routes if you are new to biking. There’s a possibility you’ll lose track of the way that you should take, and no one wants to be lost. As a result, the simple answer to your dilemma here is to tape the profile or cue sheet to the stem of your bike.

Therefore, you don’t have to worry about forgetting the route and getting lost since you already have that little note that you stick on your bike’s stem.

8. Replacing Dial For Free

Do you know that if your cycling shoes have a BOA retention system and it fails, they would fix them for free right away? The BOA closure system is an ingenious and one-of-a-kind device for putting on and removing your protective shoes or boots.

Lace is fully replaced by stainless steel wires coupled to a spinning knob. This knob’s function is to tighten, loosen, and snap your laces into place. Remember that they will always physically fix your dial or even replace it for free.

9. Try Using Larger/Bigger Tires on Bumpy Roads

Rough and bumpy roads may be quite bothersome and can completely derail our bicycling spirits. Actually, there is a tactic we may employ to handle those rough and uneven roads.

As a result, rather than employing tiny and thick tires, we must use larger and thinner ones. The bigger ones, but with less pressure. This will assist us in avoiding those bumps when bicycling on the tough routes.

Read Also: 11 Sports That Make You Taller in No Time

10. Forget to Bring Your Bike’s Lock

Forgetting to bring anything is already a common occurrence for all of us. It is very normal for people to forget; yet, it may be extremely annoying at times. It’s possible that you forgot to carry your bike’s lock with you when you set out on your ride.

However, there is still one item you could utilize, and that is your helmet strap. When you need to make a brief stop in a store or a coffee shop, use your helmet strap to attach your bike to the nearest rack or any object.

11. Carry Wet Tissue Wipes and Put Them Inside Your Saddle Bag

When there is an emergency and you need to repair your bike right away, your body will be filthy and you will have dirt all over your face. So, keeping wet tissue wipes on hand will spare you from appearing like a huge mess in front of your neighbors, friends, and strangers.

This will assist you in cleaning your face and body and removing any undesirable filth. Furthermore, damp tissue wipes will make your body and face feel fresh, clean, and odor-free.

12. Always Keep a Tiny Pump and a Saddle Bag for Each Bike

If you have a collection of bikes, or simply more than one, you must have a saddle bag and a little pump for each of them. This will keep you from becoming stranded due to a flat tire. You could forget to take your pump from the other bike you rode yesterday.

Thus, the ideal answer for your dilemma here is to always keep a saddle bag and a little pump for each of your bikes. You’re always good to go with this bike life hacks.

13. Always Put Your Food in a Secure Box

When you use your bike as a daily vehicle to get to school or work, it is essential to keep your meals or snacks in a robust safe box. Assume you want to eat some cookies to boost your energy on your way to work or even back home.

However, because you didn’t pack them carefully, they’ve already turned into crumbs when you try to take them out and consume them. As a result, no matter what food you bring, placing it within a locked box is far superior.

14. To not Over-Torqueing Your Bike

This is one of the simplest and easiest bike life hacks, yet no one is aware of its existence. Most of us tend to worry about over-torqueing our bike’s carbon components. As a result, this is how it should be done.

When torqueing the carbon pieces of your bike, keep in mind that you should only use your wrist. Never use your entire arm since it will instantly destroy and smash your costly handlebars.

15. Remember to Never Apply Anything above Your Eyes

This bike life hacks could be applied to any form of physical activity. To protect our skin from the sun, most of us apply sunscreen all over our faces and bodies. Sunscreen is a must-have item whenever you are going outside.

However, if you are bicycling or exercising and your sweat and sunscreen combination falls into your eyes, you will scream as if a tiger is chasing after you. You’ll also wish you’d known this tip from the beginning.

Therefore, instead of applying sunscreen to your entire face, wear a cap and sunglasses. This will assist to protect the upper part of your face. Furthermore, wearing a hat and sunglasses will give adequate shade and prevent your skin tone from altering much. Lastly, you could still apply the sunscreen to your face that is below your eyes.

16. Adjusting Your Saddle Height

Having or getting the perfect saddle height could be really hard to achieve. People spend days, months, and sometimes years attempting to achieve the perfect height.

Most of us tend to forget to mark it down first before packing our bikes. When this happens, you probably want to scream as loud as you possibly can. As a result, to save yourself from all that struggle, always remember to mark your perfect saddle height with a sticker or even with a simple tape.

Just simply mark the line. This will assist you in determining the best location and height when you reassemble everything.