Ok, so you’re cycling already and you didn’t know you had to buy all these cycling accessories and gadgets. Next thing you know, your local bike shop tells you that parts need to be replaced and the job will cost you a fortune.
There are ways to save money so you can carry on cycling without breaking the bank.
Sales
Let’s start off with the obvious one. There are bound to be sales on, whether that’s in a bricks and mortar shop or an online retailer. Catch the end of season sales or warehouse clearouts. Some brands do sample sales at pop up shops too. Think twice before passing on signing up to newsletters next time; you might miss the sales or the sizes of clothing you want.
Second hand bike
You might need a new bike. Why not shop for a second hand one instead? You should have some knowledge about bikes to avoid disappointments or surprises and if you don’t, take someone with you who does.
This may sound counter intuitive at first but buying another bike could save you money. If you’re a recreational cyclist who cycle a lot and commutes by bike, think about buying yourself a second hand bike as your run around town bike or a dedicated bike for the winter. It will bear the brunt of the wear and tear so replacing parts will be cheaper than on your ‘better’ bike to save you money in the long run.
Upcycle
You might be tempted to buy all sorts of cycling accessories but there are many ways to upcycle old bike parts to save you from spending more money. Wheel spokes are the most versatile of the lot, you can bend them to shapes like hooks for hanging your cycling gears to dry, letters/ words/ shapes to go into a handmade card to your cycling friends or file them into picks to pick out bits stuck in your tyres. Old inner tubes can be used to rewrap tool handles or used as elastic cord to fasten loads on your pannier. You can make all sorts of homeware too like wheel shaped clocks, bike chain photo frame and small key rings.
Maintenance skills
I can’t say it often enough: “regularly maintain and clean your bike”. Your bike will work better for longer with regular TLC. Some maintenance jobs tend to be reserved for bike shops but you can do a lot yourself at home! Check out our must haves for home mechanics blog to get your tool box set up.
Meet like minded people
Last but not least, like minded people should be able to point you in the right direction for any of the above points. Sometimes they might be using something you thought you wanted but their honest review will help you avoid a huge disappointment. There’s always something spare they want to sell cheaply or a tool you want to borrow to use just once.
Leave a Reply