Bike
MTB
10 simple MTB hacks to make your life easier
Quick hints and tips that will make your life that much easier on and off the bike.
Put these lesser known bike hacks into action so you can use all of your energy on the bike! We've included everything from hacks on keeping your wheels turning on the trails, to tips on filming with your GoPro, to things you didn't even know you could do with your bike.
1. Zip-Tie winter tyre
Zip-ties can be used to fix almost anything. Use them to fix your chain. Use them to fix a bike light. Use them to fix your broken marriage. Whatever. Zip-ties can fix them all.
One slightly more obscure use for zip-ties is to stick a bunch of the things around each of your wheels. Next, cut the zip-ties to size, and hey presto, you’ve got winter tyres. You’ll flow a little smoother over snow in the same way those normally-only-seen-in-Christmas-films snow chains work on car wheels. The only downside is the fidgety half hour in the cold loosening and cutting the zip-ties off afterwards.
2. Use your bike pedal as a bottle opener
There are numerous ways to open a bottle on your bicycle or using bike gear. You can use the handlebars, the chainring, a bike pump – you can even use the back wheel if you don’t really care about the wellbeing of either your spokes or your fingertips.
By far the best way to open a beer on your bicycle though is by using the pedals (especially if you’re riding flats). You should be able to stick the bottle cap of the beer in one of the slits from the centre of the pedal, then just apply pressure and pop the bottle cap off like you're using a bottle opener. Job done. Works every time.
3. Clean a GoPro case in the dishwasher
GoPro hacks count as mountain biking hacks, right? Right.
As you all know, GoPro cases are the closest thing there is on planet Earth to indestructible. If someone does eventually end up setting off a nuclear bomb, the safest place to be is probably a human-sized GoPro case. The strength of the case also makes it incredibly easy to clean too. Simply open it up so the water can get in and stick it in the dishwasher with the rest of your dirty dishes. It’ll come out sparkling and ready to go.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, then just do what you normally do with the rest of your dirty dishes. Leave it in a pile next to the sink and hope your flatmate will cave and do it out of spite.
4. Double toothbrush chain cleaner
A toothbrush can be put to good use when taped together with another, bristles touching like they’re locked in a romantic embrace, and then used to clean the dirt and grease off the chain on your bike. The chain will fit between the bristles like a carwash, and you’ll be able to clean both sides of the chain at once. Warning: your dentist might say this is a waste of a toothbrush.
5. Wash your bike in the shower
Is this a hack? The answer is yes. And the answer is yes because cleaning a mountain bike after a hard day in the mud is an absolute ordeal if you don’t have easy access to a decent hose, and this makes it so much easier. Bring your muddy bike with you into the shower. It’s okay. You don’t have to do it while you're naked. Just take the bike in there with you.
6. Hydration pack in the fridge
People seem to be in the habit of just filling up their Camelbak or hydration pack a minute or two before they go out on a ride. It’s the last thing most people do. You’d put a water bottle in the Fridge though. So why not put the Camelbak in there as well? Fresh, cool water from the word go. And slightly cold shoulders. This is less of a hack and more just common sense.
7. Stick your GoPro upside down in the chest mount
Getting steady footage from a GoPro, footage which doesn’t look like it’s been taken from the inside of a magic 8-ball being frantically shaken, is surprisingly hard to do. Even if you’ve got a chest mount, if you attach the GoPro as you’d expect you should, the camera will likely end up being shaken into facing downwards as you go over roots and rocks, and you’ll end up a video of your crotch which probably doesn’t make for the best viewing.
Follow the leader
© Aaron Chase
One way to solve this — on a chest mount at least — is to attach the GoPro upside down, and push it down, away from you in the mount, as far as it’ll go. It’ll look at first like the GoPro will just be filming your face (still better than crotch), but when you’re in your riding position, particularly when you’re off the saddle and going downhill, the camera will be perfectly facing forward, and it can’t jump around nearly as much because it’s already as far down as it can go. Take the footage, put it the right way up in some video editor or other, and celebrate by telling your friends you’ve finally managed to take a bicycle video not of your crotch.
8. Use your handlebars as a wallet
Carrying money on rides is annoying. Sure, you can stick your wallet in your backpack if you’ve got a backpack with you, but what if you don’t? Coins are tough to carry, and it’s a bit risky putting notes in a riding jersey, but you also don’t want to go penny-less into the wild either. What if you end up 50km from home, disaster strikes, and you have to walk to the nearest town without a wallet to try and sort things out?
Take off the cap of one of your handlebars, stick a five pound or ten pound note into the handlebars, then put the cap back on and off you go. You’re barely adding any weight to the ride and you’ve now got an easy security fund. If your bike gets nicked and you have to prove it's yours, you know where to tell them to look, too...
9. Use a banknote (or something similar) to fix a slashed tire
Following on nicely from the previous point, there are few things worse than getting a huge slash in your tyre halfway through a ride. Not many people carry a replacement tyre with them. Not many people get unlucky enough to need one – at least not regularly. What you can do if the worst happens though is take that banknote out your handlebars, the plastic banknotes used in the UK now are much better for this, and use the note to temporarily patch the tyre back up.
If the slash isn’t too savage, then this should work at least for a little while. You can also use a crisp or energy bar wrapper, but all of these options can of course be a little bit sketchy and shouldn’t be trusted for too long.
10. Polish your furniture and your bike in one fell swoop
Last but not least is a trick that will leave your prized possession, the beloved bike in your life, sparkling like the day you first met.
First, find some furniture polish. If you don’t have any then get some. Then begin by cleaning your furniture. It’s about time. Your living room is looking better already. Next, spray the stuff on an old cloth to clean your bike frame with as well, being careful to avoid the brakes and any sensitive areas. If you’re particularly protective of your paint coat, whilst unproven, this is maybe not for you either. It’ll get your ride looking extra shiny though, and on top of that, it means that next time you ride, not as much dirt will get stuck to the frame due to the extra layer of armour on top.
