While the arrival of the bears has officially ushered in the spring, I’ll need a hack
to keep them out of my trash.
But I know you aren’t here for bear hacks.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at 10 bike hacks for mountain, road, and beyond.
We’ll start with a hack for your car keys.
Nobody likes riding with a jingling pile of scrap metal in their pocket.
But on most new cars you can remove the transponder by flipping this little switch, so you can
leave all this other crap at the trailhead.
For any other key you can buy a quick release like this one.
Just pull the sleeve, and bring only the key you need on your ride.
In your shorts or jersey pocket, it’s like it isn’t even there.
A week ago we looked at multi tools that live on your bike.
And in the comments a guy named Kyle told me about this hack.
Just stretch a piece of inner tube around the back of any bottle cage.
Make sure to do it with the chalky side out for better grip.
You can then, very securely, stretch it over a multi tool.
It’s not the prettiest hack in the world, but it’s a great way to offload some crap
that would otherwise be in your pocket, and eliminate the risk of forgetting a multi tool.
Speaking of on-bike tool storage…
products like this tubeless tackle kit from genuine innovations let you plug holes in
your tire trailside with these bacon strips.
Here’s how to hide that patch kit in your handlebar.
For this hack we’ll need to cut the applicator off, and use epoxy to attach it to a bar end.
I’m modifying one of these ritchey barkeeper tire levers for style points, but any bar
end will do the trick.
You can fill ones like these with epoxy, or drill a hole like I’m doing.
Epoxy like JB weld comes in two parts that cure when mixed together.
It’s super strong, and should hold up to poking and prying.
You can store the applicator in your handlebar with the bacon strips stuck to the end.
Now for a couple of shop and garage hacks, starting with a cheap method for weighing
bikes.
I’ve mentioned this before that a $10 fish scale works great for bikes, but adding a
large rubber hook makes it even better.
The simplest way to attach it is with a small hose clamp.
These are easy to come by, but with a little creativity you can make it look more legit.
Just hang it someplace high up, and you can always measure the impact that a new part
or modification has on your bike’s weight.
For our next shop hack, I’ll show you how to store tools that have belt clips on them.
Just grab an old license plate and fasten it to the side of your work bench with the
top protruding.
If you need to, you can even add some space between the plate and the bench with two screws
near the top.
Anything with a clip will hook right on.
It’s cool looking, really functional, and spacious enough for plenty of tools.
The next time you decide to retire a toothbrush, consider putting it to work in your shop.
It’s no wonder that a brush designed for teeth is perfect for just about any nook or
cranny on a bicycle.
For those rainy days where you decide to deep clean your rig, you’ll have access to all
the tight creases and dusty corners that got missed when you washed it.
Oddly, I find cleaning my bike with a toothbrush to be relaxing—almost like meditation.
After you’re done meditating with a toothbrush, you can fill your hydration pack with the
sacred waters of—road runoff.
But my hydration pack has a water filter in it.
The sales dude at my local REI told me about this inline filter hack.
Just buy one of these at a camping store, cut your hose, and install it with the water
flow arrow towards your mouth piece.
Now everything you drink will pass through this filter.
I guess you could theoretically recycle your urine through this indefinitely, but don’t.
A piece of old inner tube can be a great buffer between a nice bike part, and a vice.
But why not put an old grip to use?
One of my patrons suggested this during a livestream, and I was struck by how obvious
it was.
(play clip) If you cut the grip down the middle, it can be easily applied to any tubular bike
part you want to clamp down, and it offers a lot more cushion than an inner tube.
This is a tool you may use every day.
If you ride rough trails with a water bottle, you may reach down to find it missing.
So once again, our self stick hook and loop comes to the rescue.
Just make a T like this, and then wrap it around the indentation in the bottle.
Now, you can secure it to the cage so it won’t fall out.
While this isn’t the best looking solution, it actually works, and isn’t so bad on dark
colored bottles.
And finally, a bike shop hack.
There’s no better way to boost morale among your mechanics than ordering them a pizza.
So why not cut it in style.
Just grab a cheap hub, fork, and rotor from the parts bin, and clean them up real good.
Put a grip on the end of the fork for style points and you have yourself the most badass
pizza cutter ever.
Bust this thing out, and you’re sure to put a smile on everyone’s face, and that’s
before they eat pizza.
Bonus points if you install a stem and bars.
So that concludes yet another 10 bike hacks.
I hope you found at least one of these hacks useful, or at the very least, entertaining.
Check my playlist for countless other hacks, and the description of this video for links
to buy epoxy, water filters, and all that stuff.
If you know of a hack I haven’t done yet and want to see it next time, you know what
to do!
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.