Making your bicycle unique and stand out from the crowd is one of the main things that adds to your riding experience. Here are some ways you can customise your bike and make it your own.
Colours
If you’ve just bought a new bike from a shop, the chances are that you haven’t been left with much choice when it comes to making it look the way you want. It’s probably a dull colour all over, with perhaps a couple of different shades of black or grey that will make your bike look exactly the same as any other bike you see on the road. If you’re looking for a great way to show a bit of individuality then you should definitely look into altering the colour patterns over the bike to make it stand out from the crowd of black, greys and other dull coloured bikes!
Look into different paints, tapes and replaceable parts such as spokes, handlebars and grips to really create a unique and individually customised look for your bike. The best part is that paints and tapes are reasonably inexpensive and can completely change the look of your bike for the better at the cost of only a few quid, meaning you don’t have to splash out on expensive factory-painted frames when you can do it yourself for much cheaper! Even if it’s just a bit of handlebar tape, you should definitely look into changing your bike’s appearance up with a splash of colour to freshen it up.
Decals
Decals often get a bad rap. Yes they’re loud and in your face, but what’s wrong with that? They make you stand out from the rest that’s for sure! Decals, similarly to paints and tape, are also relatively cheap with a good pack of stickers setting you back around £15, which definitely isn’t bad for a brand new look to your bike. As well as this, the sheer amount of different styles and designs allow for complete customisation options that show off your artistic streak too, with so many different varieties meaning you’re bound to find something you like.
It must be pointed out though that if you own a particularly expensive, top of the range bike with very expensive paint, you might not want to go around slapping stickers onto it as they could potentially damage the paint job. The joys of decals and customisation in general is the freedom to change your style at any point, and if you decided you didn’t like the look of your particular design, there’s always a chance that removing the stickers might damage the paintwork, so keep that in mind when adding decals!
Custom Seats
When it comes to comfort, the seat, in my opinion, is the place to start! The comfier your seat, the more likely you are to enjoy your rides and less strain you’re going to put your body under. Standard bike seats that come with your bike might not always be the comfiest, as usually that’s where corners might be cut by the manufacturer in place of a more streamlined frame or wheel quality. While you might be able to go a little bit faster, your comfort might have sacrificed in its place.
If that is the case then having to look into getting a third-party seat might be a blessing in disguise in regards to the customisation options! As opposed to making do with an uncomfortable, boring black seat, you now have all the freedom in the world to find a different colour or stitching style to match your individuality for your new bike. If you are finding your ride to be uncomfortable then I’d certainly recommend evaluating whether or not your seat could be the cause of the discomfort, and then make a decision if you want to replace it with a better one. Comfort definitely should not be an area to ignore, and if you can pair it with your style then perfect!
Chains
The chain customisation options these days are far more interesting than they used to be, that’s for sure! Gone are the days of bog standard silver metal chains, with more colourful styles and designs becoming more and more popular. Customising your chains may not seem a particularly important or vital task, but if you’re wanting to make your bike more ‘you’ then customising certain aspects of your bike to a certain colour scheme is a great way to make your bike more unique and chains are just another part to customise!
You can even get chains with different colour links too, to take your customising to an even further level! There are an infinite amount of designs that you can use on your bike to get it looking exactly the way you want as you fine tune the colours of your mechanisms to your desire.
Pedals
Similarly to chains, pedals can now come in a myriad of colours and designs that leave you with all the customising you could ever need! If you’re looking to add an individual spin to your bike then there’s no reason to not look into getting a colourful new set of pedals to catch the eye of everyone else. Just like with seats, it’s likely that your new bike has either black or dark coloured pedals that match the rest of your bike. A simplistic but particularly effective way to stand out from everyone else would be to simply swap out the standard pedals for a bright coloured set that gives a great contrasting look with the darkness of the frame.
If you’re not heavily into the customisation aspect but are looking to spruce up your bike a little bit more from the standard look, then pedals are definitely one of the best avenues to go down. They’re understated but can make a big difference to the general appearance of your bike without completely changing any colours or paintwork.
If you find yourself getting bored of your standard, dull looking bike, then there’s really no excuse not to do anything about it anymore! The sheer amount of customisation options allow for you to create a totally unique and individual looking bike that is no doubt going to stand out from the crowd of dull bikes that all look the same. One of the best parts about it is that most customisation options remain relatively cheap too, with the likes of decals and paints giving a great D.I.Y option that can completely change the appearance of your bike exactly to your liking. If you’re going for a unique look to your bike, you should definitely try giving these customisation options a go and start coming up with your own designs.
