Essential money-saving tips for cyclists — keep riding without breaking the bank

Lights are something that you *dont* want to scrimp on - whether you use them to see or to be seen.

HV vest ... pretty much a waste of time in daylight. The reflective strips are virtually nullified by the ambient light, so you are left with a bright coloured over-vest ... and another layer of clothing to make you hot and sweaty. Plus, if you have a backpack on, almost completely invisible.
Far better with a bright jacket or jersey.

If its night ... why restrict yourself to a couple of thin reflective bars? Proviz do reflective clothing that knock the spots off any hiviz - other sports clothing manufacturers are following their lead.

So ... if you want to be seen, don't scrimp and by the best you can afford.

Lights are something that you *dont* want to scrimp on - whether you use them to see or to be seen

It's £10 for a pair of excellent Aldi lights which perform both functions admirably. I've had the latest versions for over 2 years and bought a replacement pair for £5 on sale in Fort William Aldi this summer.

wtjs wrote:

Lights are something that you *dont* want to scrimp on - whether you use them to see or to be seen

It's £10 for a pair of excellent Aldi lights which perform both functions admirably. I've had the latest versions for over 2 years and bought a replacement pair for £5 on sale in Fort William Aldi this summer.

Them Aldi lights are very good, no question. In our hoose we have four (two front and two back) that I've had for coming up to six years, as daylight-running flashers. They cost less than half the price of very similar Knog lights (which are also good, still going after 10 years with only a couple of new rubber straps needed - which came as spares with the lights).

Some lights still have the strange notion within their design that the daylight flashing mode should be less bright than the night modes. In fact, lights need to be brighter for use in daylight (especially sunlight) for obvious reasons. Aldis and Knogs seem to have the daylight flashing as the brightest setting although the cheaper Aldis are actually a noticeable degree or two brighter than the fairly bright Knogs.

I'm not very convinced by the super-expensive lights, despite them being made in Blighted. Mid-price and even the better cheap lights (such as the Aldis) seem just as good in terms of performance and longevity. The trick is to discover which brands are still not reliable then avoid - not easy to do.

Oldfatgit wrote:

Lights are something that you *dont* want to scrimp on

...

Far better with a bright jacket or jersey.

Agree here. Standing out from your surroundings is crucial to being given space (and survival), whether it's an urban jungle with bright lights everywhere or a winding country road.

Expensive cycling clothing such as bib shorts aren't needed for shorter rides or commuting, sometimes padded undershorts work under running tights or similar.

Cheap lights are a lottery and are often either not bright enough, have poor fixings or short run times. I have found Cateye lights to be robust, reliable and relatively cheap. If you have more money to spend then Exposure are UK-made and a premium brand that many people say are worth the money.

I buy consumables like chains, brake pads, tubes and tyres online when they are on offer, though frequent cleaning & lubing improves the life of the chain, pads and rims, especially in wet weather.

Cugel wrote:

 

Best example: Zero Friction Cycling, run by an Aussie whose data can save you hundreds of pounds you might otherwise spend on wearing out poor quality components (especially chains) with even poorer quality pseudo-lubes. 24,000km from a chain rather than 3000km before you need to renew. Lubrication that doesn't eat just your chain in a couple of rides but also your cassette and chainrings in a couple more.

Nonsense!  Zero Friction stuff is very expensive, at around $60 for 2 pucks of wax that washes off in the rain, or you could use their Absolute Black lube that cost $220 for a very small bottle, there's probably gold dust in the fluid.

All I use is Dumonde Tech lube, and so far I'm at 12,000km on my first use of it on a chain.  My cassette and chainrings last around 36,000km, and usually my chainrings will last longer.  So I'm spending about $32 on chain times 2 is only $64, and the lube is only $15 and lasts a long time.  I only have to reapply the lube about every 500 miles after the first 3 applications, and it doesn't wash off in the rain.

Even when I use to use Rock n Roll lube my chains lasted that long, but I had to reapply it about every 150 miles, and it's reapplied by squirting the stuff on, which turned out to be expensive and a waste of product, though it did work well, and kept the chain very clean to the touch; but even that stuff would be a lot cheaper than Absolute Black or the wax pucks.

Wipe down your chain after every ride, relube when you hear noise, and your chain will last a long time.  I have never gotten less than 10,000km on a chain for the last 40 years of riding, and I have had a few that lasted 16,000km, all on older lubricants like Pro Link Pro Gold, Finish Line Dry, Tri Flow.  Tri Flow I used for many years, it works great but required frequent reapplying,  Finish Line Dry worked great to till it rained, and Pro Link worked great but after 150 miles you had to completely remove it and reapply because the old lube would get gummy.  So of all those I found Dumonde Tech to be the best.

I think between all the lubes on the market there isn't going to be a significant difference, it will depend on the type of lube you use and the environment it will be used in.

I copied the below from another forum user of Dumonde Tech:

Dumonde Tech is all about the plastic polymer! Most lubes on the market are good, but they want you to soak the chain in hopes that the right ingredient gets to the right spot. Dumondes plastic polymer however is attracted to heat and friction, aka it will end up where it's needed without complete saturation... Use less, save $$! Once it finds the friction it will form a plastic plating to protect you ride! Once the DT is established you essentially now have a plastic bushing protecting the pins and rollers of your chain from wear. That plating will not only do all of the things that awd505 said, but also extend the life of your drivetrain! (The plating will reestablish itself, your pins or other lube ingredients can't) My road bike has 5500 miles on the original drivetrain! No Joke Dt is performance in a bottle and the only lubes/grease that is allowed to touch my bikes! It can take some time to learn how to use the proper amount, over application can lead to dirty chain, but this is true for all lubes. my recommendations if your chain isn't looking pretty with Dumonde is wipe more, use less. 

He said it better than I could, all I know is that it works great.

froze wrote:

Cugel wrote:

 

Best example: Zero Friction Cycling, run by an Aussie whose data can save you hundreds of pounds you might otherwise spend on wearing out poor quality components (especially chains) with even poorer quality pseudo-lubes. 24,000km from a chain rather than 3000km before you need to renew. Lubrication that doesn't eat just your chain in a couple of rides but also your cassette and chainrings in a couple more.

Nonsense!  Zero Friction stuff is very expensive, at around $60 for 2 pucks of wax that washes off in the rain, or you could use their Absolute Black lube that cost $220 for a very small bottle, there's probably gold dust in the fluid.

All I use is Dumonde Tech lube, and so far I'm at 12,000km on my first use of it on a chain.  My cassette and chainrings last around 36,000km, and usually my chainrings will last longer.  So I'm spending about $32 on chain times 2 is only $64, and the lube is only $15 and lasts a long time.  I only have to reapply the lube about every 500 miles after the first 3 applications, and it doesn't wash off in the rain.

Even when I use to use Rock n Roll lube my chains lasted that long, but I had to reapply it about every 150 miles, and it's reapplied by squirting the stuff on, which turned out to be expensive and a waste of product, though it did work well, and kept the chain very clean to the touch; but even that stuff would be a lot cheaper than Absolute Black or the wax pucks.

Wipe down your chain after every ride, relube when you hear noise, and your chain will last a long time.  I have never gotten less than 10,000km on a chain for the last 40 years of riding, and I have had a few that lasted 16,000km, all on older lubricants like Pro Link Pro Gold, Finish Line Dry, Tri Flow.  Tri Flow I used for many years, it works great but required frequent reapplying,  Finish Line Dry worked great to till it rained, and Pro Link worked great but after 150 miles you had to completely remove it and reapply because the old lube would get gummy.  So of all those I found Dumonde Tech to be the best.

I think between all the lubes on the market there isn't going to be a significant difference, it will depend on the type of lube you use and the environment it will be used in.

I copied the below from another forum user of Dumonde Tech:

Dumonde Tech is all about the plastic polymer! Most lubes on the market are good, but they want you to soak the chain in hopes that the right ingredient gets to the right spot. Dumondes plastic polymer however is attracted to heat and friction, aka it will end up where it's needed without complete saturation... Use less, save $$! Once it finds the friction it will form a plastic plating to protect you ride! Once the DT is established you essentially now have a plastic bushing protecting the pins and rollers of your chain from wear. That plating will not only do all of the things that awd505 said, but also extend the life of your drivetrain! (The plating will reestablish itself, your pins or other lube ingredients can't) My road bike has 5500 miles on the original drivetrain! No Joke Dt is performance in a bottle and the only lubes/grease that is allowed to touch my bikes! It can take some time to learn how to use the proper amount, over application can lead to dirty chain, but this is true for all lubes. my recommendations if your chain isn't looking pretty with Dumonde is wipe more, use less. 

He said it better than I could, all I know is that it works great.

That sounds like fan-gush.  On the other hand, it may all be true.  But, unlike the ZFC bloke, you seem to have nothing but the anecdote of your personal experience and another very gushy anecdote from "another forum user". 

Incidentally, the ZFC bloke isn't an agent* for any of the things he tests but instead derives tables measuring results from well-designed tests measuring all sorts of conditions in which chains run. Many products do well in some conditions but not so well in others. For us consumers, its handy to know what works best in what conditions.

And what hardly works at all.

He also does a cost-per-mile table that divides the product price and quantity used by the distances done befoe a chain reaches 0.5% elongation from wear. Useful, that.

Finally, he's not afraid to criticise not just the advert-lies products that are found to be very poor performers but also the good performers whose products perform poorly in certain ways or in certain conditions. 

Why not ask the ZFC bloke to perform his tests on the stuff you mention? Perhaps it will outclass the various hot-melt waxes with added slippery stuff? 

---------------

So, for all anyone reading your post knows, you may be a shill for that stuff you gush about. Not necessarily .... but you have nothing to back up the claims you make. Show us your test regime and hard data.

Incidentally, the manufacturer blurb about the plastic polymer magic sounds .... unusual.

* The ZFC bloke does act as a testing agent for some lube manufacturers. For example, absoluteBLACK. Despite them putting an NDA on him as their testing agent, he's managed to point out that for the product they got him to test (a wax with graphene) the reulsts are "poor".  No details because of the NDA but .... not their puppet, by any means.

He also sells a few products of those he tested and found to be at the top of his tables. It's more a package of a chain, treated to take off factory grease then hot-waxed in this or that. There doesn't appear to be any great sales or profits being made from this. It looks like an enthusiast offering the inexperienced a way to try some best-product stuff.

Also, spending money on a bike is an investment in your future happiness, so it makes sense to spend as much as you can

And you wouldn't want that to be just the one bike, right?

Global Nomad wrote:

Top of the list - ride your bike - the more often you ride the less cost per mile (or your preferred measure) will be...having the bike and kit not being used is money wasted.

The best advice of the lot, in this context.

Like some others, I suspect, I have too many bikes in the shed. I have sold one no longer needed bike in the last year but could sell another two, really, with no detriment to my cycling opportunities. 

Selling is not so hard but posting can be. These days, it seems to add a significant amount to any price. Living way out west in Wales means that 99% of potential buyers would have to travel a long way to collect one if they bought it from me and wanted to avoid postal charges.

But I do feel a degree of guilt at this wastage of these bikes' riding time. They could be whizzing about pleasuring a human but instead gather dust in me shed.