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. This hand pump sprayer is usually used for
00:12stripping wallpaper, watering plants or spreading lawn chemicals. However when I tested this as a
00:19portable washer for my bike I was seriously surprised at just how well it worked. The reason
00:25why I tried this solution out is because I live in an apartment and I don't have a backyard or garden
00:30area to clean my bike but what I do have is a big car park. So I like to fill up this five litre
00:38bottle with hot water and just get cracking. You can adjust the spray pattern via the nozzle at the
00:43end here. It has a pressure relief valve in case you pump it up too much and the wand even has a
00:49nice little feature down at the trigger which means that you can continuously spray meaning that you
00:55don't have to hold down the button the entire time. I find it packs in enough power to dislodge big
01:01bits of dirt but is gentle enough to not penetrate the bearing seals. As a cheap alternative this works
01:09surprisingly well. In the same vein as its bigger brother I think that one of these smaller units
01:18is also worth considering too. I really like to fill these up with muck off and then use it as like a
01:25pseudo snow cannon. Rather than the usual pump action bottles that bike cleaning solution tends to come
01:31in being able to continuously spray product just makes that process a little bit easier and more
01:36efficient. Usually what I'll do is add some concentrate to the bottle and then fill it up with hot water.
01:42From there I'll cover the bike and then use the bigger five litre sprayer for rinsing duties. It's so
01:48simple. One product that I have been using for literally years now rather than opting for the
01:56generally more expensive cycling branded alternative is plain old isopropyl alcohol. This stuff is
02:03incredibly close to what you'll typically find in cans of disc brake cleaner. Sure when it's in the can
02:09it is pressurized which can make blasting dirt and grime away much easier but if you want to save cost
02:15and be a little bit more friendly to the environment then just buy a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. You
02:21can either use it directly on components with a cloth or instead pop it in one of those hand pump
02:26sprayers for cleaning things like your chain set or rotors. You'll find that many car mechanics do
02:31something similar when they need to degrease components in situ. You'll save yourself money and
02:37help cut down on the use of disposable cans. It is a proper win-win. Riding in the rain is not fun.
02:45And what's even less fun is heading back out after a wet ride only for your shoes to still
02:51be soaked. And this is why a boot dryer is well worth grabbing if you regularly find yourself in
02:57this predicament. Originally designed for hikers, walkers and just enjoyers of snow sports a boot
03:03dryer like this could be incredibly useful. It couldn't actually be much simpler to use. When you get back
03:09from your ride simply turn it on and then slide your shoes into place. It'll completely dry them out and
03:14make your next ride a whole lot more pleasant. An added bonus of always keeping your shoes dry
03:20is that they shouldn't get that weird mildew damp smell. But if you have particularly smelly feet
03:26then you may want to put this in the garage while you're using it because I cannot imagine
03:30that that would be a pleasant smell at all. I'm assuming I'm not the only one who has more bead
03:37ons than they know what to do with. All too often I resign one of these bad boys to the back of the
03:43cupboard when a seemingly weird black blob appears at the bottom which is seemingly impossible to clean.
03:52Well no longer does that have to be the case. Grab yourself some Milton tablets and you can
03:57effectively clean and sterilise your bottles meaning that they are kept in tip top condition.
04:03I believe that Milton tablets tend to be used for cleaning baby bottles but the same theory applies
04:08here too. So grab your bottles pop a tablet in and then add some water and let them fizz away and then
04:14do their work. When 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 clean as well.
04:26Milton tablets aren't the only baby related product which can be super useful to us cyclists.
04:32So 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 help them smell
04:44that little bit more fresh. Plus I found that a drainer like this one actually kind of brightens up my
04:49worktop. Getting a chip in your paint is really annoying. First you have the disappointment of your
04:55bike gaining a battle scar and not quite looking its best but there's also now the risk that the frame
05:01underneath could start to corrode. My plan of attack has always remained the same. If I can't obtain some
05:08touch-up paint to apply to the chip then dab on some clear nail varnish instead. It will help protect
05:15the frame material from the outside elements. Even few carbon fibre bike owners despite the fact that
05:21carbon cannot corrode it's still a good idea to apply some varnish as it provides the surrounding paint
05:26with a little bit more strength and may help preventing any further chipping or spreading of
05:31the problem. We're not far off the end of winter here in the northern hemisphere but we've still got
05:37about a month or two to go before it properly gets warm again. So if you're finding that your feet are
05:43still getting pretty cold when you're out riding and don't want to fork out for some overshoes then you
05:48could try using some tin foil on the inside of your shoes. Not only will it help block them from any
05:54wind coming through but it will also insulate them hopefully resulting in you not losing all feeling
06:00in your toes. It's a really simple trick to try if you're struggling and could help make these remaining
06:06winter rides that bit more enjoyable.