1. Homemade mudguard flap

50 years of mudguard flaps. The perfect size for a mudguard flap. A touch of class. On the theme of homemade improvements, it’s surprising how much a bit of super-glue and reusable plastic ties can do for your bike.

2. Make do with one bike!

24 hour record holder (541 miles) Andy Wilkinson is a true legend of long distance time-trialling. He deserves more recognition than he gets. How does he do such impressive distances? Well, for a start he only has one bike – a basic steel frame; on this one bike he does his commuting, training and racing. He says that only having one bike enables him to really get to know his bike, perfect his position and enables him to do better races. For those of us who work on the principle that the optimum number of bikes is N+1 – this is truly shocking and radical, (and we have to admit makes very good sense.)

3. Homemade energy drink.

If you want to avoid paying £1.30 for every sachet of energy drink, why not make your own. Get some maltodextrin powder, fructose powder, a touch of salt, some orange juice and you have. Alternatively, you can just use ordinary table sugar. One simple recipe for a homemade energy drink. For 1 litre of energy drink, add:

• 60-80 grams of sugar
• No added sugar cordial
• half a teaspoon of salt
• topping up with water

It’s the same with energy bars, often you can get same performance from much cheaper non-branded energy bars. You could always go down the Obree route of marmalade sandwiches. You don’t have to spend a fortune on energy bars to break the world hour record.

4. Buy the complete bike

It is amazing the equipment you can get on a £500 bike. If you spend £500 on a hybrid bike, you can get really quite good quality. if you bought the parts separately, it would cost you roughly double. Therefore, always try to buy the best bike you can and resist temptation to add expensive parts which only marginally add to performance.

4. Avoid the fashion labels

You can spend a fortune on Rapha clothing and the like. It looks good but comparatively expensive

5. Buy from non-cycling shops.

Often the cheapest place to buy cycling undergarments e.t.c is from non-cycling shops. Thermal underwear and wicking layers tends to be cheaper from clothes shops and other outlets

6. Get aerodynamics for free.

If you really want to go faster, then the secret is to make yourself more aerodynamic. At 40kmph, 90% of resistance against a bike is air resistance. If you look at some pictures of time triallists, you will see how they can reduce their frontal area. The secret to reducing frontal area is not spending £3,000 on a time trial frame, but, getting the body into most efficient tuck. Even a cheap pair of aerobars for £20, will make a huge difference to reducing wind resistance and give you a good bang for your buck. You can spend a fortune on aerodynamic aids, but many of the key improvements can be made with very little cost. Tips for aerodynamics.

7. Do you really need it?

So often I’ve bought something because it was well marketed and looks nice, but I don’t really need it. There are some accessories you need like a lock and lights. But, for some reason, I’m always gullable for the latest light, which is brighter than the last. So I have a whole shed of different lights and components.

8. Ditch low weight carbon fibre

Unless you’re racing up hills with very big prize money, having a bike 1-2kg heavier will not make a hug difference. You can end up spending an awful lot of money for very little.

9. Go down a groupset.

The main difference between Shimano Ultegra and Shimano Dura Ace is about £500. I don’t really notice the difference in quality of shifting, I do notice the difference in the price of the good.

10. Do your own repairs

Rather than taking it down bike shop, and getting someone to do it for you, you can save a fortune. Though with my experience is an amateur bike mechanic, this may prove a false economy.

Conclusion

Cycling can be a very cheap method of transport. It is only in recent years, that we have been increasingly enticed to spend more on bicycles and bike components. However, I’m the worst culprit. I just like spending money on bicycles. Many times, I don’t really need to spend the money, but what else are you going to spend it on which will give as much joy? The only thing is if you’re on a tight budget, just remember the 24 hour record holder – a relatively cheap old steel frame. At the end of the day, it’s the human engine and not the size of your wallet, which makes a cycling champion.