You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of Sugru. From what I’ve seen they don’t market themselves particularly well and they clearly haven’t defined mountain bikers as any of their target audience, although you’ll find out here why they should!
Sugru is a mouldable glue that can be stuck to anything and used to toughen things up by hardening up into a really durable rubber. This means that it can do all sorts of things such as preventing rubbing, providing grip and fixing things that are broken… sound like something you could use on a mountain bike? Yeah, you’re right. It is! Currently I’ve used Sugru for five different applications on my bike, but I’m sure there are many more that you could think of.
Here are five of my favorite uses for Sugru on a mountain bike:
1) Chainstay protection
I’ve found that the wrap around fabric protection just doesn’t cut the mustard when it comes to reducing noise and stopping your paint chipping off. Sugru is a hell of a lot better! It stays in place, cuts down noise massively and can add a lovely bit of color to your bike, although it may not be all that pretty. What’s more, it’s very robust so you don’t have to worry about replacing it frequently. The above example has been on my bike for over two years without needing to be replaced – as you can see I really should have added some more to the bottom of the chainstay as well.
2) Prevent cable rub
There’s loads of things out there to do this and Sugru is one of them. Grab a little bit, stick it where the cable rubs and ‘hey presto’ no more cable rub!
3) Extra grip on your brake or shifter levers
If you’re a wet we rider like me then you’ll know how much of a pain it can be to have a slippery lever when you need it most. You can either use small tabs of Sugru to create a dimpled effect or add an indentation to provide sure fingered shifting and braking in all weather. One of my favorite additions was putting a tab on the end of my Shimano Zee brake levers to give you that anti-slip, full moto feel.
4) Repair your worn clothes
Are the toe or sole of your trusty fiveten freeriders coming apart? Chuck some Sugru on it and not only will it be fixed, it’ll also be waterproof in that area… I have contemplated covering the whole shoe but I think that would be a bit too much… still I’m sure somebody out there will give it a go!
5) Give your bike lights extra protection
Bike lights aren’t cheap but they also don’t tend to be all that durable, one big crash and your £60+ lights will be about as useful as a candel for trying to find your way down the trail. Adding a rim of Sugru around your lights can help protect them from impact when you crash, saving the lens and letting you ride another. Similarly, you can also use it to provide a more secure base to mount your lights to!
Seriously, this stuff is so handy! Does anyone else use it? Let us know your favorite use in the comments below:
