We’ve had 200 years to work out the finer details of the bicycle and how to ride it. Yet there are still tips and tricks out there that pop up to make us question our personal problem-solving abilities. Here are 101 of the best hacks and hints – some well-used (but still relevant), and some brand-new.

Take off your helmet and gloves when you have a technical. The few seconds it takes brings your heart rate and blood pressure down to manageable rates, and gives you time to assess the situation. Fix it right the first time, and you won’t need to fix it again; but it takes a clear mind and clear vision for that to happen. – Vincent Durandt

Use a Velcro pump strap to attach your timing chip to your fork – the QR holders rattle, and don’t work with thru-axles anyway. NB: this won’t work on steel forks (you won’t get your result!), but there aren’t many of those about.

Next time you change your tube, don’t ditch the valve cap; if you snip the top off, it can be a rough-and-ready Presta-to-Schraeder valve converter you can use in an emergency to top up your tyres at the nearest petrol station.

Stuff your shoes with newspaper after particularly sweaty rides. It will absorb the sweat, and help keep them from going manky.

When you replace a spoke, tape the nipple to the rim before you unscrew the old spoke. Because once you’ve lost it inside the rim, you can budget a few hours of ‘joy’ fishing it out…

Never lose your timing chip again (1): strap it to the handle of your race bag when it isn’t on the bike.

Ride in a group faster than you’re comfortable with – not often, but once a month or so – and you’ll teach your body (and mind) to hang in and suffer. 

Sweat ruining your vision? Watch the pros – they use a finger to spread the rivulets evenly across the lens, for adequate vision (not perfect, but good enough).

Shower with your helmet every couple of rides – no detergent needed, just a regular rinse to keep that sweaty klunk at bay. – Paul Goddard

If you can see your front wheel, it’s too late! Look 10-15m ahead of you on the trail – you will automatically do what’s necessary when you get to the obstacles.

 When you stop for coffee, put your helmet or your casquette over your GPS, so the sun doesn’t make you lie about the temperature on Strava. – Tim Brink

Take your eyewear with you when you buy your next helmet, to make sure they’ll fit in the relevant slots when you want a break from them.

Just driven home after a long, wet ride? Leave your soggy shoes on the bonnet of the car, which will generate heat for quite a while and help dry them out. – Rob Swiel

Recover well. Stop googling how many grams of protein you need to recover after a ride, it’s printed on the perfectly-sized First Choice Recovery milk cartons, our go-to post-ride elixir.

I was caught coming back from an impromptu sunset ride, and found myself riding in the dark with no lights. So I turned my phone torch on and stuffed it into my back pocket as a make-do rear light. For safety on the road ahead I had my rear light in my hand – it didn’t have enough battery power to stay on, but flashed three times whenever I pushed the button, which was sufficient to warn oncoming people up ahead. Needless to say, I have well and truly learnt my lesson! – Nick Clelland

Never put sunscreen above your eyes – use a casquette or a helmet with a peak, rather than introducing eye-watering chemicals that will drip down as you sweat. – Mike Finch

Can’t read your GPS? Hydrotac offers stick-on ‘readers’ – tiny lenses that attach to your eyewear with water, and are both removable and reusable.

Winter Warmer (1): put on some plastic gloves (like the ones they use at the bakery counter) under your standard gloves. They’ll keep your hands warm and dry for a while longer. – Vincent Durandt

Winter Warmer (2): a shower cap over your helmet is a tried-and-tested way to keep your head warm. – Vincent Durandt

As a taller rider (1.92m), getting the right bike fit is tough. Taller riders carry their height in their legs, so they need to find big frames. But then they find the reach (the distance between the end of the saddle and the handlebars) to be a little far. The secret: a zero-degree offset seatpost! Most bikes come with an 3-5% offset on their seat tubes which puts the seat further back and further away from the bars. But a zero-degree offset moves you forward on the bike, effectively reducing your top tube length. – Mike Finch

 
Keep two 500ml bottles of water in the fridge, and slam them with your recovery drink after a ride for next-day excellence.

A dab of bum cream on the contact points of your feet will help keep them extra-happy on super-long rides.

Cramps incoming? Shift into a bigger gear, pedalling a little more gently, and you’ll use your muscles slightly differently, and at a slightly different intensity. The cramps will eventually go away. – Tim Brink

On long climbs, pick an object – a rock, or a bush – a few hundred metres up the road and imagine your crankset is a winch. Pull yourself up to it, and then pick a new target. This will distract you from gravity’s grim reality.

Washing powder on dry hands is the bomb for getting rid of oil and grease – pre-rub, then use soap and water to finish the job. – Tim Brink

Keep a clean, wet cloth in your bag to wash your face and hands (and your unmentionables) after a ride to keep the bacteria at bay as your body resets. – Vincent Durandt

Anti-theft protocol (1): Clip your helmet through your front wheel, frame and something earthed at a coffee shop, to make your bike less nickable. The thief will stumble slightly, giving you the chance to see what he’s up to.

Never lose your timing chip again (2): keep it strapped to your track pump, which you (should!) take to all your races.

Anti-theft protocol (2): Always leave your bike in the easiest gear at the coffee shop. It might buy you a few metres of chase as Dastardly Thief works out how to change gear. Even better, leave the chain off completely.

Transporting bikes on the roof is stressful – we’ve all either hit something overhanging, or had a close call. Stick a dangly kids’ toy or even some Post-It notes in the middle of your field of vision for the drive to remind you they’re up there. (The bikes, not the kids.) – Tim Brink

Always use bum cream; it doesn’t take a lot of chafing to start the saddle-sore story. Dedicated potions are best, but you can also use nappy-rash creams in a pinch.

Once you’ve had your expensive bike fit, write down the details on a small paper sticker, which goes out of sight under your BB with a layer of clear lacquer over it. Never get confused again between 76.5mm and 75.6mm when the workshop guy is harassing you. –Tim Brink

Always wear a vest, even in summer. Layering keeps you cooler (or warmer, in winter) than just one sheet of fabric.

Leave a Post-It note on your steering wheel the night before the race with HELMET, SHOES, TIMING CHIP, SKEWERS written on it – you can leave anything else at home, but those are essential. – Tim Brink

 At the top of a hard climb, the first thing you want your legs to do is stop working as you crest the summit. But if you’ve been pushing hard, your legs will be full of lactic acid. So instead of just shutting down, keep pedalling over the top, spinning a lighter and lighter gear, and your legs will clear out all the excess lactate in time for the next climb. Spin out for 10-20 seconds after a climb. ADDED BONUS: your riding mates won’t understand how you suddenly gapped them. – Mike Finch 

Try your tools when you buy them. This is 10 millionty times more important with tyre plugs! Don’t make the first time you try them out when you’re on the trail and under pressure.– Vincent Durandt

Always put the thru-axle into the frame when you remove a wheel. Always. They cost a couple of grand when you leave them on your bumper, and there’s no quick solution at 5am when yours is on the garage floor.

Pack the night before – everything, including laying out your breakfast. Fuzzy morning brains are good at forgetting stuff. – Jason van’t Slot

There’s nothing quite as jarring as hitting a speed bump on your road bike at full chat. It threatens to buck you off and impale you at the same time. To smooth out the jump, pull up on the front bars just as you’re about to hit the speed bump; the little pull-up smooths out the bump. Also a good trick to learn on the mountain bike, to help get you over those little bumps and lumps. – Mike Finch

Freeze your water bottles overnight for hot summer rides – just make sure one of them is only half-full, topped up with water on the morning, or you’ll have nothing to drink for e few hours. – Paul Goddard

Sometimes road cleats get squeaky and noisy. To reduce your irritation, rub some candle wax on the contact points, and voila! Silent pedalling once again. – Mike Finch

When leaving the house pre-race, put on all your kit (helmet, shoes, gloves). Only remove them once you’re in the car, and put on shoes to drive in. – Jason van’t Slot

Load your bike with the bottles and GPS fitted, so you can’t forget them – Jason van’t Slot

Never stop pedalling.

Put a layer of insulation tape under your race sticker – the adhesive on tape is less icky, and you’ll be able to peel both off after the ride without chemical intervention.

Keep going – the sun will rise again.

Always mount a tyre with the tyre brand name aligned with the valve – that makes it easier to find the valve when you need to pump up the tyre. – Jon Minster

Wash your helmet in the pool. Quick dunk. Rub rub. It works! – Jon Minster

Chain killing your paintwork on the frame? Take an old tube and wrap it around the chain stay, secured with cable ties. Best protector around. – Jon Minster

Learn to ride with a casquette. It’s a sweat band and sun visor all in one, and it looks pro at the coffee shop. – Jon Minster

30 Days: commit to a month of simply getting on the bike, every single day. No skipping. Even if it is just half an hour. The routine will make cycling your go-to rather than a chore, and your fitness will skyrocket.

Ditch the gadgets! Spend a weekend riding with your tech hidden in your pocket, so you can smell the roses, see the sights, and take a trip back to why you started cycling. Think of it as a detox. Do it regularly.

Ride solo – you are your best company. This is where you solve the world’s problems. And solo coffees rock!

Ride in groups, especially if you don’t ride in groups very often. It will pimp your skills and force you to ride at a different pace, and it’s actually fun being with like-minded people.

Never lose your saddle height: wrap a few layers of duct tape – it’s always good to have, for emergencies – around the post just above the seat collar, and you (and your mechanic) will know exactly where
to position your saddle. – Tim Brink

Ride faster than you usually do. Sprint for a sign, see if you can catch the riders up ahead, find your limits and cross them. Wonder if you might throw up. Just occasionally, your body actually digs this stuff.

Ride slowly, often. One ride a week like a  racing snake and the rest at conversation pace will make you faster and fitter than ever. 

Duct tape can be used to remedy any number of sticky in-the-saddle situations, from patching up torn kit and silencing broken spokes to providing an emergency fix for a slashed tyre. Wrap some around your seat post or your pump, and it will always be there when you need it. – Tim Brink

Ride longer than you ever have. Set aside a day, and see what you’re capable of. Schedule coffee, lunch, a beer with the family – make them part of it. Unleash your inner Lachlan. It will change your (cycling) life.

Ride short, if that’s what you feel like doing. There’s nothing wrong with abandoning your 100km epic for a long morning at the first coffee shop on your route – your body probably needs it.

Eat before you’re hungry, drink before you’re thirsty. Small amounts, regularly.

Shower with your heart-rate monitor strap, to stop it crusting up with salt (yuck!).

Go to bed feeling peckish. You won’t starve overnight, and it’s a sign your diet is working.

Never try to make up a missed session – what’s gone is gone. Look forward, and make the next one count.

If you don’t feel like riding, there might be a reason. Go back to sleep every now and then. The kids might even make you coffee!

Don’t check WhatsApp before that pre-dawn meet-up, just in case AN Other is also feeling soft. Just be there.

Eat in training, so you can eat while racing. 0-90g of carbs an hour will send you straight to the portaloos if you haven’t trained your gut.

NO UNDERWEAR. Yes, we keep reminding y’all – cycling is a commando sport, and underwear will bunch and chafe. Cycling shorts are built to be ridden as is. 

Don’t let anyone talk you out of clipless pedals – they’re safer, and more efficient. 

Use nylon cord to make extra-length zipper pulls, especially on your winter kit. Finding small metal things when you’re wearing your gloves is a pain.

Dust down your inner tubes with baby powder before installing them; the powder makes the rubber’s surface slippery, so the tube and tyre are less likely to stick together, and reduces friction in the process. It also makes fitting the tubes easier.

Smash your intervals at the end of your ride, not the beginning: when you’re in a glycogen-depleted state, more intense efforts are likely to make your body more efficient at burning fat, and it improves mental toughness, too. So dig deepest when you least feel like it, and you’ll set new, improved limits for yourself.

Cut a ruler-length, hand-width piece of plastic, wedge it between your saddle and your saddle bag, and stop rainy-day grime ending up in unmentionable places.

Know how your bike works – get your LBS mechanic (maybe pay him for a half-hour class) to run through stop screws, adjuster barrels and more, so you can do minor adjustments at home. 

Carry a bike pump, for when the bombs bomb. If you think you’re too cool, know that multiple Cape Epic champ Christoph Sauser races with one in his back pocket.

Dishwashing liquid will remove chain-grease stains more often than not – rub it into the offending area, leave for a while, and wash as normal. 

Front and rear tyres shouldn’t be the same pressure! 45%-55% spread is best – softer up front, for comfort and control.

The Full Federer: When the temperatures soar and you’re midway through a long climb on a windless day, sweat is inevitably going to pour into your eyes from your helmet. To wipe away the sweat – and keep your eyes doing their job – wear a tennis wrist band so you can easily wipe above and around your eyes. – Mike Finch 

Race sticker permanently stuck  to your bike? No it isn’t. Rub toothpaste and a tiny bit of water into it, leave to stand for a while, and wash off with hot water and dishwashing liquid. Poof!

Bottle cages wear out – just in case you were wondering why your bidon was bouncing out all of a sudden. Either get a new cage, or use some padded tape inside the cage to pad it out and add grip.

Experiment with tyre pressure – the max number printed on the sidewall is irrelevant to what you should be riding. Too hard, and you’ll rattle and shake (and be slow). Too soft, and you’ll feel sluggish. Find a short loop, and ride laps at different pressures until you find your ideal.

Look at right now, not what’s ahead. It always gets better. – Lachlan Morton

Leave gates as you found them! Farmers hate gates being left open. More and more of us are exploring the back roads, and we want farmers to like us.

Never teach your partner to ride. Leave it to a mate, who has no emotional attachment, so that when there are difficult bits there can be no hissy fits.

Carry two tubes, and you will never puncture. Carry one, and you’ll puncture twice. Ditto for bombs.

On the climbs, stand occasionally – to break the monotony, to use different muscles, and to feel like a pro.

Zip ties can rescue us from myriad mechanical disasters – from dinged rims to broken chainring bolts. Again, Christoph Sauser races with a few in his back pocket, so there’s no reason we shouldn’t.

Chain links – always carry one for your particular chain (10/11/12-speeds are quite specific), and you will never need it. Leave it in the camper van, and watch your chain explode… just ask Lachlan (The Art of Endurance, page 60)

Wipe your bike down after every ride – even dry days are dusty and mucky, and clean bikes are fast bikes.

Over-lubing is a sin! Okay, not really. But it will make your bike a messy grit-attractor, which in turn reduces drivetrain life. Single drops per roller, rather than a hopeful spray.

Looking like your ride will be muddy? Mask off the tyres, braking surfaces, saddle and bars, then spray WD-40 or furniture polish on the frame to repel dirt. It makes your bike easier to clean later, and will stop it gaining a kilo or more in some muddy situations.

Heat-shrink your cables, to stop them rattling and keep them neat. 

Wrap new handlebar tape from the ends of the bars inwards, towards the stem, so that when riding, as your hands slide over the tops, they don’t have edges to lift. Your tape will last longer, and stay cleaner.

Dishwashing liquid mixed with a little Clean Green is the best spray cleaner; use isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle for extra-greasy stuff. – Matt Fallon, pro mechanic

Use your old inner tubes as resistance bands for your stretching workouts. We all stretch, right? 

Use your stem as a secret hidey-hole – pop off the front plate, and you have room for zip ties, a few emergency-taxi cash notes, a chain link, some duct tape. Just make sure it doesn’t rattle.

 

This article first appeared in the January/February issue of Bicycling.

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