7 Inexpensive Everyday Products That Are Brilliant for Cyclists

Introduction

Bike-specific products are convenient, but they often carry a premium for a label and a colour scheme. Plenty of ordinary household items do the same jobs just as well, and most of them cost a fraction of the price. The seven picks below are not marketed to cyclists at all, which is exactly why they are worth knowing about.

Some of them replace cleaning products you would otherwise buy in pressurised cans, others solve drying and storage problems that are especially annoying in a flat with no garden, and a couple are simple cold-weather tricks. None of them require special tools, a workshop or any change to the way you already look after your bike.

What These Everyday Products Have in Common

Every item on this list is inexpensive, widely available and easy to store. They also solve problems cyclists run into constantly: dirty drivetrains, shoes that never dry, bottles that stay damp at the bottom, chipped paint and cold toes.

Because none of them are sold as cycling gear, they are usually available in larger sizes, generic versions or multi-packs, which tends to mean better value for money. A second theme is that they are all low-commitment. You can try one, see whether it fits your routine and move on if it does not.

A Pump Sprayer as a Portable Bike Wash

A garden hand pump sprayer is normally sold for stripping wallpaper, watering plants or spreading lawn chemicals. Used as a portable bike washer it works far better than its price suggests. Fill the bottle with hot water, pump it up and you have a pressurised spray wherever you happen to park, which is a real advantage if you live in an apartment without a garden or an outdoor tap.

The nozzle at the end adjusts the spray pattern, there is a pressure relief valve in case you pump it up too much, and the trigger has a small lock so you can spray continuously without holding the button down the whole time. The output is strong enough to dislodge the big clods of dirt but gentle enough that it will not penetrate bearing seals.

Smaller units of the same design are worth having alongside the large one. Fill one with a bike cleaning solution mixed with hot water, cover the bike with it, then rinse with the bigger sprayer. Being able to spray continuously makes the job quicker and more even than the pump-action bottles that cleaning solution usually comes in.

Isopropyl Alcohol Instead of Aerosol Cleaners

Cans of aerosol degreaser and brake cleaner are handy because they are pressurised, which makes blasting grime off a drivetrain easier. A plain bottle of isopropyl alcohol does something very similar for a fraction of the cost, and without the disposable cans.

Use it directly on components with a cloth, or decant it into a small hand pump sprayer for jobs such as cleaning a chainset or rotors. Mechanics use much the same approach when they need to degrease parts in place. It is a straightforward way to spend less and throw away less at the same time.

A Boot Dryer That Ends Damp Shoes

Riding in the rain is unpleasant. Pulling on still-soaked shoes the next day is worse, and that is the problem a boot dryer solves. Originally designed for hikers, walkers and anyone who spends time in the snow, it could hardly be simpler: turn it on, slide your shoes over the posts and let it work.

Keeping shoes dry also stops them developing that odd damp, musty smell. If your feet are particularly fragrant, running the dryer in a garage or outbuilding keeps the worst of it out of the house.

A dryer like this earns its place over a wet winter, especially if you ride most days and only own one pair of shoes.

Milton Tablets for Cleaner Bottles

Bottles that sit at the back of the cupboard for months often develop a stubborn black spot at the bottom that seems impossible to shift. Milton tablets, normally sold for sterilising baby bottles, clean and sterilise cycling bottles in exactly the same way.

Drop a tablet into the bottle, add water and let it fizz away and do its work. When you empty it out, put the lid back on and squeeze the solution back through the mouthpiece so that part gets a proper clean as well. It is a small routine, but it keeps bottles in good condition and ready to use.

A Bottle Drainer for Faster Drying

Once bottles are clean, drying them properly matters almost as much as washing them. A bottle drainer holds them upside down so the water runs out and air can circulate inside, which helps them dry faster and smell fresher.

Many drainers are also tidy enough to leave out on the worktop, which is a small bonus in a kitchen that doubles as a bike workshop. If you have more bottles than you know what to do with, a drainer finally gives them a home between rides instead of losing them at the back of a cupboard.

It is one of those items you barely notice until you own one, and then you wonder how you stored bottles before.

Clear Nail Varnish for Paint Chips

A chip in your paintwork is annoying twice over. The bike picks up a battle scar and stops looking its best, and the exposed frame underneath becomes more vulnerable to the weather. If you cannot get hold of touch-up paint in the right colour, a dab of clear nail varnish does the protective job instead.

It seals the exposed area against the elements and grit. On a carbon frame the material itself will not corrode, but the varnish still gives the surrounding paint a little more strength and may help stop the chip from spreading further.

Aluminium Foil for Cold Feet

Cold feet can ruin an otherwise good winter ride, and overshoes are not the only answer. A layer of aluminium foil inside your shoes blocks wind coming through the vents and adds insulation, which helps you keep feeling in your toes on long, cold rides.

It is a simple trick to try before spending money on dedicated winter kit, and just as easy to remove once the weather warms up again.

Buying Advice

None of these products need to be bought together, so start with the problem that bothers you most. If cleaning products are eating into your budget, the pump sprayer and the isopropyl alcohol will save the most over a season of regular riding. If wet shoes are what you dread, a boot dryer makes the biggest difference to everyday riding.

For bottles, the tablets and the drainer work well as a pair: one cleans and sterilises, the other dries and stores. The nail varnish and the foil are the cheapest items here and the easiest to try, so they are a sensible first step if you are unsure whether a trick will suit you.

Because these are general household products rather than cycling-specific ones, they are often sold in larger sizes or generic versions, so it is worth checking what you already have at home before buying anything.

Conclusion

The appeal of these seven products is that they cost very little and solve problems that come up on almost every ride. A pump sprayer turns any car park into a wash bay, isopropyl alcohol replaces aerosol cleaners, a boot dryer keeps shoes ready for the next ride, tablets and a drainer keep bottles fresh, and nail varnish and foil protect paintwork and toes for next to nothing.

None of them are glamorous, and none of them will make you faster. What they will do is make the unglamorous parts of riding, the cleaning, drying and protecting, cheaper and considerably less irritating.