Scarcely used gym memberships. Diets abandoned. Bathroom scales tucked quietly away… Late January is littered with broken New Year’s Resolutions. While cycle commuters, by definition, already get regular exercise, it’s easy to become caught up in those ‘New Year, new you’ aspirations. You’ll lose 10 kilos! You’ll get fitter and ride to work in 20 minutes rather than 30!

Relax. All you need to do is keep riding to work regularly. Consistency is the key thing when it comes to exercise. And as counter-intuitive as it sounds, easy cycling can burn more calories than hard cycling – because it’s more enjoyable, so you end up riding more often. Here’s a range of no-sweat tactics to boost your commute for the year ahead.

Electrify your ride

Switch to an e-bike for some or all of your rides; there are electric versions of all common bike types. Alternatively, fit an e-bike conversion kit to a bike you already own. Cyclescheme isn’t a one-time-only deal, so you can make big savings on a new e-bike or conversion kit. Studies have shown that e-bikers enjoy comparable fitness benefits to regular cyclists. For although every mile is easier with electric assistance, e-bikers clock up more miles. They make longer journeys and they ride more often because there are fewer reasons NOT to ride. An e-bike flattens hills, calms headwinds, lightens heavy loads and offsets tiredness. Riding in the rain is nicer, too, because you can cruise along in your waterproofs instead of getting uncomfortably hot and sweaty. Journey times are more predictable because you’ll seldom be riding much slower than the assisted limit of 15.5mph.

Buy a folding bike

You can take a folding bike pretty much anywhere as luggage so you never have to leave it behind. That means cycling is always an option, opening up more opportunities to ride. If the weather is awful one morning, a conventional-bike owner might sigh and take public transport or drive. The folder owner can take the bus or train to work and then cycle home after the bad weather has passed. It’s a similar story when journeys are too far, practically, to cycle. The folder owner can still ride part way by splitting the journey – for example, by combining bike and train travel or driving to a park-and-ride. Like an e-bike, a folder eliminates reasons not to ride. You could even invest in an e-folder.

Plan an easier route

It’s human nature to follow the path of the least resistance. When we’re on foot we do it without thinking, choosing the most suitable-looking route. On a bike we’re limited by the infrastructure network and by the fact that the most convenient, most pleasant route may not be obvious. Our mental maps of urban areas tend to be skeletal, with given points  – home and work, for example – linked only by the few ways we always go. Even if you’ve lived somewhere for years, it’s worth exploring different routes to work. The more direct route may not be quickest; a longer journey with fewer traffic lights and junctions can be faster, even if your riding speed is slower. The less direct route will probably be more pleasant, too. Conversely, there may be a time-saving shortcut – even if it involves walking a short distance – that you weren’t aware of. Experiment.

Lose weight

No, not from your waistline. Just carry less on your commute. The less encumbered you are, the easier it will be to cycle up hills and to get rolling again in stop-start traffic. If you use a backpack or courier bag rather than panniers, a lighter load will be more comfortable as there’s less weight pressing down on your backside and hands. Consider what you can avoid carrying. A heavy lock might live at the workplace. Digital files can be stored in the cloud or carried on a thumb drive or phone instead of a laptop. Shedding inessential clutter is, kilo for kilo, just as effective at improving your cycling power-to-weight ratio as doing it by dieting. While a lighter bike will also make cycling easier, less luggage is the low-hanging fruit because it costs nothing.

Fit faster tyres

Changing your tyres for ones that roll more efficiently can add around 1-2mph to your riding speed for no extra effort. It depends what you’re changing from and to. The worst ones for commuting – unless you’re riding singletrack trails to work – are mountain bike tyres with big tread lugs like a tractor’s. They’re designed for grip off road and drag horribly on tarmac. Gravel bike tyres with shallower tread patterns aren’t so bad. Slick city tyres or efficient touring tyres are better still. Lightweight, supple road bike tyres designed for racing are fastest of all but they’re also fragile. With any tyre there’s a trade-off between rolling efficiency and toughness. Do you want the bombproof reliability of a Schwalbe Marathon Plus or the faster rolling (and still reasonable toughness) of, say, a Continental Contact Urban? It will depend on how and where you ride, and on how comfortable you are with occasional punctures. Whichever tyres you choose, be sure to use the right pressure.

Switch to easier gears

A wider range of gears doesn’t make a bike faster. It makes cycling easier. With higher gears, you can continue pedalling at high speeds – downhill or with the wind behind you, for example – without whirling the cranks like a washing machine on its spin cycle. With lower gears, you can climb steeper hills or pedal into headwinds without being forced to pedal so slowly that each turn of the cranks requires a feat of strength. Your bike almost certainly has high enough gears already. It may well not have low enough gears, especially if you live somewhere hilly or aren’t as fit as you’d like to be. In that case, buy and fit lower gears. You can get components, not just complete bikes, through Cyclescheme.

Change your riding position

You’re not racing to work so you don’t need to adopt the wind-cheating tuck of a racer on aero bars. But wind resistance becomes a bigger and bigger factor the faster you go or the stronger the wind. If you plan to cruise along at 10-12mph, you can largely ignore aerodynamics. If you often cycle faster, it’s worth considering how you can get more aero when you want to, either by lowering your profile (hunching down into the wind), narrowing your frontal area (bringing the hands and arms closer together) or both. Drop bars, as used on road bikes, are designed to let you tuck down. They’re a good choice for longer, faster commutes. A narrower-width drop bar will be more aero still; it’s worth considering if you commute on a gravel bike with a wide, flared drop bar. If your bike has a flat handlebar like a hybrid or a mountain bike, your arms will be splayed apart. You can narrow your stance by adding ‘inner bar ends’ or using an alternative flat-bar design with extra handholds. When you’re running late or riding into a headwind, you’ll be glad of your ability to slice through the wind better.