BikeHacks

Leather Shoe Laces for Handlebar/Brake Wrap

Brooks certainly offers up some great quality cycling products, but they also come at a price.  Reader Michael used leather shoe lacing from a sewing department as bar/brake wrap. In his own words . .

It is way cheaper than Brooks, but it gives a good look.

Third Hand Bike Clamp

Sometimes when repairing or fixing your bike you could really use an extra hand.  We have featured hacks involving both a toe strap and a bungee cord as a third hand.  In response to these posts reader John sent along the following third hand hack. 

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In response to "third hand" hacks I submit a quick grip clamp, not as creative as a bungee or a toe strap but very versatile.

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rimSkin Hack

I was reviewing some of the rimSkin pages after the post on January 26th and realized I missed a great hack that I thought I would include.  Glow in the dark products need light for a charge.  I remember putting some glow in the dark stickers on my ceiling as a kid and they would glow for a few minutes and then would fade. 

So if you are riding a bike with glow in the dark rim stickers, how do you ensure that the glow will continue? Attaching a light to the fork blades gives you a continuous "charge."  So cool. 

The rimskin folks seem to be including a light for this purpose in their proposal, called the BullFrog-RS.

The Masked Bicycle Bandits of Korea

I lived in Korea for a few years a long time ago and two noticeably different things (from growing up in the US) I saw upon my arrival were many people toting umbrellas in the sun and wearing surgical type face masks as they walked around. Most Americans I know consider ashen/white skin to be unappealing and pay a great deal of attention to getting a tan. Most Koreans seem to think of dark skin as the badge of someone who works on a farm and thus most shy away from exposure to the sun. As far as the face masks, they are typically worn by sick people to halt the spread of germs.

The following is a picture of some Korean cyclists posted on this Korean news page:

Photo Credit to nate.com

The Google language translation page is fun to play with and when I popped the Korean text in it spit out this:

Bike to work every time I talk to is the question, does okay in the air. Air to air dwikkongmuni jotah of a car going, but do more harm anneu concerned to build expressions.

Inappropriate for the city to make cycling in the most serious factors in cities in the world than any of the bad gonggida. The bike is not only in silk. People in the suburbs of the mountains, climbing, walking seoulhyeong chadoreu or write hijapeul. Islam in the face yeoseongman invisible man, even in Seoul, but some of you’re wearing it, and a relatively good mountain air mask, a mask is going.

Obviously some things get lost in translation but I think it is safe to say these folks are worried about air quality issues and not simply making a fashion statement. Anyone from Korea out there feel free to chime in!

Cold Weather Bike Riding Tips

I posted last week on my purchase of a base layer to help deal with cold weather riding in Boston.  I have been happy with a the heavy weight baselayer from Columbia Sportswear and have been able to ride comfortably even on cold days. 

The day I used as an example of a cold ride referenced a temperature of 12 degrees Fahrenheit with a windchill that made it fell like -3. 

Reader Kellen posted the following comment in response:

Wanna test out your new gear? Come up to Edmonton, AB. 

Today: A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of flurries early this morning. Clearing this afternoon. High minus 27.

Tonight: Clear. Wind up to 15 km/h. Low minus 32. Extreme wind chill minus 44.

Wednesday: Sunny. Wind west 20 km/h becoming light in the evening. High minus 21. Extreme wind chill minus 47."

I rode to work today, 14km (about 60min in these conditions) each way. 

With conditions like that, I figured Kellen might have some good advice to share so I emailed him and he kindly responded with his tips for cold weather riding.  The following text is 100% credited to Kellen.  If other readers have advice feel free to contact us.  Stay warm!

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I wouldn't describe Edmonton as a cyclists' city, especially in the winter, but there is definitely a small sub-culture of hearty riders that never let mother nature get in the way of their commute. Being above the 53rd parallel, our winters can at times be excruciatingly cold.  It's not unusual to have days with the temperature below -40C/F.  At this temperature, if you blink a little too slow you risk freezing your eyelashes together, and frostbite can occur on exposed skin in under 10 minutes!

While I wouldn't recommend riding in temperatures as low as -40C/F (my personal cutoff tends to be more like -25C in most cases), Here are a few tips I've compiled over the years to help those cold commutes run smoothly.  I hope this helps!

• Ignore windchill or "feels like" factors on the weather forecast:  It's the ambient temperature that determines how cold you'll be.  There is always windchill on a bicycle!  
• Start with warm/dry shoes:  Pre-heating your shoes over a heating vent or otherwise goes a long way to warm feet during the ride.  Particularly if you're using a shoe cover that will cut the wind and trap that heat in.
• Avoid cotton for any next-to-skin layers:  Cotton does not transport moisture, and will eventually saturate and lose all insulating properties.  Merino wool and polypropylene are both excellent alternatives.  
• Avoid rain jackets: In the winter, it's rare to get rain, and "waterproof" or similar material only further impedes moisture transport away from your body.
• Don't expect to be able to shift gears:  Choose your gear wisely before leaving your house, because chances are you won't get a chance to change it until you warm your bike up again indoors
• Expect your bike to break.  Always be conscious of how hard you push it up hills etc, ease off a little during the cold snaps and save yourself the hassle of a broken chain or spokes.
• Consider your body as a closed loop heat system:  If your hands are cold, you may not just need better gloves, but maybe warmer clothes on other parts of your body that may or may not be "cold".  Ie. My hands will stay warmer if I'm wearing a toque.  
• Avoid fogging: If you need protection for your eyes, wear glasses, not goggles. This will allow you to take them off immediately upon stopping (ie.at a traffic light).  Wave them around while you're waiting, and don't put them on until you're riding again.  If you keep them on, they will fog up from the heat of your body, and once they fog, they will ice, and need to be scraped before you can see through them again.
• Don't overdress:  Dressing for waiting for a bus in cold weather is not the same as dressing for a bike commute in the same temperature.  Dress so that you're just barely warm, or even too cold when you start your ride.  You will warm up as you get the blood flowing.
• Regulate with intensity: If you're cold, just pedal harder.  Long downhill?  Apply your brakes and keep pedaling.
• Don't wet yourself: Shed layers or open zippers at the first sign of overheating, before you begin to saturate your clothes in sweat.  

Good luck out there!

Avoid Frozen Bike Pump Seals

It had not happened in a while because temperatures have been quite mild, but this week I experienced brake cable freeze for the first time during a cold morning ride. I documented my issue with my Avid BB5 rear brake in a post a year ago this month.  It is time for me to once again use gravity to empty the water out of my cable housing. 

Freezing temps can pose challenges for cyclists and over at Bicycles and Icicles, Tim has an entertaining post about a frozen valve seal on his bike pump, and a handy solution as well.

If it's really cold out, and your pump is exposed to the weather, avoid a valve seal blowout by sticking the business end of your pump in your mouth and blowing into it until the rubber loosens up a bit. Tim calls this giving the pump a Lewinsky. Heh.

One Good Earbud Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone that submitted their name for the One Good Earbud giveaway.  71 people submitted comments for consideration which is a great turn out. 

The randomly selected winner is Keith who was the 50th person to submit a comment.  He blogs over at My Bimmer.  I hope Keith likes bikes in addition to BMW automobiles.  I will send the earbud off to Keith and readers can look for his review sometime down the line.

I have another product to giveaway and more might be in the works so stay tuned.  Other companies or individuals that want to get involved are always welcome to contact us. 

 

Bike Light Vision Hack

Quite frequently I find myself using products that are either missing what are seemingly simple things that would make them easier to use, or they are not as easy to use as the designer intended.  I have one light on my bike that is designed in a way that makes battery removal very difficult.  Unless I have let my fingernails go for a while, I need to break out a small knife just to get the batteries out.  It's really annoying. 

Reader Peter has posted on Bike Hack before, and now he has a follow hack, for the same product no less.  I think Knog should hire Peter as a consultant.  Take it away Peter . . .

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Some of you may remember my solution to the problem of Knog lights that turn themselves on inside your bag or pocket causing the batteries to drain.

Well, there's another problem with batteries in lights like this, namely how to put them in the right way around. In the first picture, can you see the indications of which way the batteries should be inserted?

No? Well, nor can I without a strong light and/or a magnifying glass, as they are tiny, and white-on-white. So, to avoid eye-strain (especially when it's dark enough to need lights, right?)

I've simply marked the correct orientation of the batteries with a black marker pen, as in the second picture. On a dark-coloured plastic light I would use a dab of white-out (as I believe they call it it in the US) or Tippex (as we say in the UK).

This is a really simple and obvious "hack", but I think it could save some people some frustration or annoyance.

Make Your Own Rain Shoe Covers

Plastic bottles are no stranger to bike hacks.  The most common use is probably for fenders or fender modifications  but thanks to innovative riders out there we have featured a cool iPod cover and a water bottle wind shield as well. 

Reader Ray contacted us with a link showing how to make your own rain shoe covers.  At Bike Touring Tips Ray writes:

While I don't particularly enjoy riding a bike in the rain, it is something every bicycle tourist has to be prepared to do. I always carry rain gear when I tour. In addition to a thin, yellow, non-breathable rain shell, I also carry rain pants and a shower cap to cover the holes in my helmet, should it really start coming down.

The unsolved problem for me is my shoes. I hate riding when my feet are soaked. I’ve tried neoprene booties, but they weren’t waterproof. I’ve tried waterproof socks but find that I never seem to have them on when the rain is at its heaviest. In addition, the socks do nothing to keep my shoes dry.

I’d been considering this for some time and the main problem was the part that covered the front of the shoe. It needed to keep the top of my shoes dry and to stay on while I pedaled but not be attached across the bottom of the shoe, so that I could still clip into my pedal and to prevent it from wearing out when I walked on it. In a flash, the idea of using a slit plastic, disposable water bottle as the front of the bootie came to me.

Plastic bottles solve all the above problems. When sliced on one side and cut to the right length, they not only cover the top of my cycling shoe, but they “hold” on without needing attachment across the bottom. What’s more, since these bottles are disposable, reusing them is environmentally beneficial, they are easy to find and usually free.

Ray not only used a bottle to cover the toe, but also created a gator to help keep water out of the back of the shoe.  This picture shows the final product -

Check out the full article on Bike Touring Tips for all of the details.  Thanks Ray!

If readers have other hacks to help fight the rain please feel free to contact us.

 

One Good Earbud Giveaway

Readers might remember that I did a product review on some One Good Earbud products.  I received three samples in the mail and tested two because they were different models, but the third is similar to one of the buds I tested so there is no need for me to keep it.  It is an unopened right ear wrap around model and it is ready to be filled with sound waves. 

I mentioned that I wanted to give the extra one away to a reader and asked for readers to submit ideas on how to select someone.  The most popular response was a simple random drawing of interested people.  So the way it will work is pretty simple.  Just leave a comment on this post and be sure to fill in the box that asks for your web site or email address. You can say something random if you want as well, but at a minimum I need digital information that identifies you. 

I will give readers until midnight EST (New York/Boston Time) on Friday, December 23rd to comment. I kindly ask that there be only one comment per person.  I will then pick someone at random and do a post announcing the winner the following week. 

There is one requirement to enter.  If you are the recipient you must agree to do a review post that we will publish on this site.  We would like the winner to share their honest assessment of the product after using it for a while.  Also, another company recently sent along a product we are likely going to give away so stay tuned.