One of the indicators for when you’ve sufficiently been inducted into the cult of cycling is the moment you start thinking that lycra looks cool—because only we think that. To everyone else, we look pretty funny and awkward; and you won’t find cycling in the top 10 of any ‘sports with the coolest kits’ list unless it’s written by a cyclist.
But that’s not our problem because cycling equipment is very cool. And functional too! In this article we cite some examples of extra uses for the things we bring on rides that might not be known to beginner cyclists.
Helmet vents are perfect for parking your sunglasses
Let’s start with a fairly common one. While the primary purpose of the vents in our helmets is ventilation, many helmet manufacturers actually space the vents out to take the arms of your sunglasses so you have somewhere to park them when they’re not on your face. Of course, the best example would be helmet manufacturers who also produce sunglasses like Lazer, or sunglasses manufacturers who have gotten into the helmet game like Oakley.
The next time you’re in the market to buy a helmet it might be good to bring your pair of sunglasses to see if they’ll fit into the vents!
Socks as temporary bins
Most cycling jerseys have three pockets but most cyclists also know that there are days when three pockets don’t seem enough. While we pack our pockets before our rides begin, the most common storage problem is actually what to do with the trash from our baon. This might be a banana peel, or an empty sandwich bag, or worst of all: energy gel packaging with sticky residue that no one wants to stuff back into a jersey pocket.
A surprisingly easy solution to this problem is to tuck them into your sock! Obviously this is another reason to wear proper cyclist length socks when riding your bike!
Glove wiping surface
Have you ever had a runny nose while riding your bike? Or have had sweat running down your forehead and into your eyes? You might be surprised to know that these are pretty common issue for cyclists so much so that many cycling equipment manufacturers actually design gloves to have a soft wiping surface on the palm.
Giro, for example, actually cites this as a feature on their glove specifications: ‘highly absorbent microfiber wiping surface.’ So the next time you need to wipe your face, whether it’s snot or sweat, avoid the rougher side of the glove and find the velvety part designed for wiping.
Bottles as waterproof storage
Veteran cyclists are known to slice old water bottles in half and store their extra inner tubes and tools in them. This was particularly useful, especially for people who found saddlebags ugly and never found the need to bring two bottles of hydration on a ride.
But you don’t need to cut your bottle open to use it for storage. And leaving it intact actually gives you a waterproof container for stowing money, phone chargers, and other items that you don’t want wet and can fit in a bidon.
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Did we miss any cool extra functions for bike equipment that you use yourself? Share it with us in the comments section!
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