another budget tip for cheap as chips gloves is to use a dead starfish, just cut it open and scoop out all the innards. once your hand is inserted you will have a top value waterproof glove and the tentacle suck pads give great grip. if your after a pair of gloves then just repeat the above step with another starfish (just make sure its the opposite hand to the first one)

padded cycling tights can be very expensive but with a little lateral thinking you can make your own for a fraction of the price.

ingredients

1 pair of ladies tights (black)

1 crust from a thick sliced loaf (dont used seeded batch loaves)

2 teaspoons of marmite.

basically coat the crust with the marmite and place marmite side down into the crotch region of the tights, the stickiness of the marmite should hold the crust in place.

there you have it ,a pair of bargain cycling tights with the added bonus of an edible crotch should you ever find yourself stranded.

^^ or if you ride scary enough trials, no marmite necessary.

^^^ although the edible crotch loses its appeal.

Are you trying to be ironic, pasty-face ?

Seal Skins - I remember seeing Bear Grills on Born Survivor wandering round Ireland. He found a dead seal and with his trusty knife turned him into a base layer for his torso.

I'm not sure however it was machine washable at when it was finished with but certainly waterproof in a downpour

pastey boy,

beware yeast infections

CYCLISTS: Avoid getting a sore behind by simply placing a naan bread over your saddle. This will comfort your ride and when you return home, hey presto! A warm snack.

Easy to scoff but actually this makes a lot of sense and similar to the vapour barrier technique used for high altitude climbing / polar regions. Wear an impermaeble barrier over a thin inner sock ( a plastic bage will do) and then the insulating layer on top. Warmth of body keeps up temp even though wet. As long as you take the inner sock off and take care to dry / powder feet it will keep primary insulation much drier and warmer. Bit like a wetsuit.Before anyone asks yes I have used this at altitude and will often use a freezer bag over my sock when riding if its very wet and cold.cheap as chips (compare to castelli waterproof oversocks for example) works a treat.

This is a good idea for a column to counter some of the overpriced tat that the mags usually fawn over.

Some suggestions for future posts:

Going to poundworld (other similar stores are available) and assembling a selection of bike cleaning parahenalia at a fraction of the cost of a bespoke set.

The art of looking after and repairing stuff before it falls apart

The art of buying stuff that can be repaired and maintained.

Close quarters fighting technique to employ when trying to reach the bike stuff on an Aldi / Lidl bike specials day.

Aluminium cooking foil over your toes also works, I am told, although I have never tried it myself. Remember not to put your feet in the oven when you get home.

This is a good idea for a column, keep it up. We can't all afford the latest carbon fibre pants or whatever.

For Autumn, Spring. If it gets chilly on a ride and youve forgotten a windproof, a couple of sheets of newspaper under your jersey works a treat - seriously.

Isn't there something extremely expensive that can be bought from assos or rapha that will do the same job for a fraction of the thriftiness?

This is a great idea. Most of us out here find a no or low cost way to save money. If you see a guy riding out on Baseline with duct tape covering the vents on his North Waves or stuffing a plastic bag in his jersey on the way down Flagstaff , that will be me.

BTW, I seen a Tour Rider take a sandwich wrapper to use as a wind stop under his jersey during the TDF, so even the guys who get the primo stuff free, still do stuff on the cheap.

Good idea for a series, keep m coming. If there one thing I love its cheap stuff that works. Why such high temperature you use this at though? I have a pair of slightly more costly overshoes but I don't put them on unless its freezing or raining.

Hi all,

In reference to the temperatures I've mentioned in the article: I intentionally did not want to mislead anyone as to how much this might help. For road shoes with really excellent ventilation, for example, it doesn't take much of a dip in temperature and wind chill to make short work of your toes. In all honesty, I used this method down to about 40°F but I can't say that everyone would be as comfortable as I was - it was tolerable but only just.

As always, your experience may vary but try it out and see for yourself how much of a difference it makes for your own feet. The beauty is that the experiment won't really cost you much, if anything at all depending on what you've got laying around.

Nice to see this, Budget Bike Tech, for the monetary disadvantaged amongst us, although I see that not every one is taking it seriously "sniff" for myself I shall stick with the well tried and tested, old pair of socks over the shoes therebye keeping shoes clean as well as feet warm, and there is a third benefit, for those who cannot afford the more expensive shoe brands, nobody will know what shoes one is wearing :)

Speaking of seal skins, I cant go past a good pair of sealskinz gloves to keep me toasty. Funnily enough I cannot tolerate cold hands but never worried about cold feet even at around 0-5 degrees. Might try this to see what I have been missing.

So you can afford the bontrager shoes but you're too much of a tighta**e to get some $30 shoecovers? And instead will spend 10 minutes every morning trying to bodgy-up some crappy system to keep your toes warm?

Seriously? Is it April1?

So you can afford the bontrager shoes but you're too much of a tighta**e to get some $30 shoecovers? And instead will spend 10 minutes every morning trying to bodgy-up some crappy system to keep your toes warm?

Seriously? Is it April1?

^^ You're forgetting that the person in this photo is only demonstrating the technique and as the owner of "Bontrager" bike shoes probably doesnt need to implement it. I however don't own any shoes and and think tips like these however outlandish might actually save me £30 forprice of being a little less lazy.

Hi all,

The purpose of this particular tip is twofold: one is to save money for sure but the other is to present a reasonable alternative to conventional booties.

Admittedly, booties can be had relatively inexpensively so depending on the model you compare it to, this doesn't save a huge amount of cash. But that being said, there are still advantages to moving the protective barrier to the inside of the shoe, namely that you still have full access to the buckles and straps for on-the-fly adjustments, the tread blocks aren't obscured, and frankly, this setup is easier and faster to deal with than many shoe cover designs.

In my opinion, the fact that it's also extremely cheap is merely a very nice bonus.

As a serious alternative, try clingfilm over your socks.Wiggo recommended it last year if I remember rightly. Tried it a couple of times and it really does work.

I own 4 pair of top end sidis, hi $$ booties, sidetrax etc. . and have used similar lo tech for years as well

Bodgy Stodgy

Of course this is no substitute for booties, it's not aero :-). But you can use this AND booties if its really cold.

BTW angryasian you get bonus points for being the only BR writer who takes interactivity seriously and is not stuck in the paper age.

Worth a try.Neal Stoeckel

Quick update: as already mentioned, the temperature listed in the article was pretty conservative. Just returned from a ride with average temps barely above freezing and I could still feel my toes after a three-mile descent with a top speed of 45mph and average speed of over 30mph. Not bad for a little sheet of Tyvek, I'd say.

And what about Cycling glasses. Go to your local builders merchants or RS components and see if you can spot the difference between the Bolle Safety Glasses and Bolle Cycling glasses, except the safety ones cost £7 and don't come in a fancy box!

pastey_boy

Posted Fri 10 Feb, 11:27 am GMT Flag as inappropriate

another budget tip for cheap as chips gloves is to use a dead starfish, just cut it open and scoop out all the innards. once your hand is inserted you will have a top value waterproof glove and the tentacle suck pads give great grip. if your after a pair of gloves then just repeat the above step with another starfish (just make sure its the opposite hand to the first one)

Love it, nearly fell off my chair laughing! Brightened up my lunch break no end. Cheers pastey_boy