
You live and learn. But have you really learned? Often, roadies and mountain bikers find themselves compromised because they failed to learn from their mistakes and go into a new year making the same mistakes. Here are six common mistakes that you should avoid making in 2025
Failing to set goals
Did you just roll into the new year with no goals? You don’t have set goals this early, but then your year will lack focus and you’ll likely not challenge yourself. Why not decide on three things you want to achieve from a cycling perspective next year, write them down as goals and then set about achieving them. They could range from learning how to ride steep switchback climbs, to clocking a sub-4 hour 100km road race, to completing your first mountain bike stage race; losing weight or making new friends through riding bikes. Take control. Set goals and start your new year with purpose!
Not joining a club
Let’s face it. Riding on your own isn’t safe. Not in South Africa. Besides there being safety in numbers, where visibility is increased on the road and vulnerability is decreased on the trail, a club offers the opportunity to plan structured, regular rides, which help you maintain consistency. And we all know that consistent riding is the key to good base conditioning and performance improvement. Lynnwood Cycling Club is an established safe-riding club that provides weekly opportunities for group rides to suit your fitness level. Be sure to renew your membership before the end of January, or encourage your friends and family members to invest in a LCC membership.
Not giving your bike TLC
Because wear on your bicycle parts is very gradual, it’s usually hard to notice when it’s time to have your bike serviced and certain consumable parts replaced. This generally leads to noises like creaks and squeaks and poor gear-shifting performance. Try get into the habit of booking your bike in for a minor service every three months (if you ride regularly) and every six months if you ride occasionally. You may have to have new bearings fitted or even a new chain, but it’s cheaper than having a whole bunch of spares and components to replace if you just leave things to keep on wearing.
It’s easy to book your bike in for a service at Lynnwood Cyclery. Click here and follow the prompts.
Neglecting your tyres
As with moving parts, tyre wear is usually gradual. It depends how often you ride and the surfaces you ride on, but try and be mindful of your tyres. Check them every time you wash your bike yourself and budget to buy at least one new pair a year so that it’s not a surprise purchase. And replace them before they become too worn so that you have uninterrupted peace of mind all year through. Lynnwood Cyclery stocks a wide range of road, gravel and mountain bike tyres. Check out the range here.
Not optimising your nutrition
Many a cyclist has misjudged – or even neglected his/her nutrition and has a dramatic story to tell. Change that in 2025. Riding bicycles consumes energy. If you ride steadily for about 90 minutes, you should have enough stored energy to complete the ride. As soon as you go longer than 90 minutes, you need to supplement your energy with a high-quality carb drink. If you ride long distances or often, or both, you will also need some recovery supplementation to replenish the carbs, proteins and phosphates that your use/lose when riding. Lynnwood Cyclery stocks a range of cycling-specific nutrition supplements. Check it out here (click on the NUTRITION tab).
Not expanding your riding experience
Whether it’s trying mountain biking, or adding some gravel riding, or just riding a wider range of different mountain bike trails parks, it can be most rewarding to move out of your regular riding routine. Trying a different cycling discipline helps you expand your skill set and opens up a range of new goals to aim for. Riding different trails parks encourages you to become a better allround mountain biker as you adjust to different surfaces, gradients and features. You also become more in tune with your bike as you put it through different kinds of challenges.