Choosing a bike - a guide for new cyclists

Somebody got in touch on twitter the other day and said "I want to get in to cycling but I don't know which bike to get there are so many choices." This is oh so very true, there are bikes for all kinds of uses and getting the perfect bike for your needs is difficult but not impossible. I think its two part process.

Part One - Work out what you are going to do with it.

It's very easy to see Mark Cavendish sprinting down the Champs Elysée leaving the peleton for dead and think I need a bike like Cav has. Unless you have realistic ambitions of making it as a pro or elite cyclist. Or you  ride with a club and regularly cover 80 miles on a Sunday, a full on race bike will be more trouble than its worth to you. NO REALLY IT WILL. A bit like buying a Ferrari for the school run and the weekly shop.

OK if a road bike isn't the solution what is?

Start by answering these questions, remember the answers you will need then in part two.

Are you going to use it to go to work?

Do you want a bike to get or stay fit?

Will you ride it on or off road?

Do you need to carry a load on it?

Do you want to look like a cyclist or a normal human whilst you are riding?

Next consider your Budget

You can buy bikes new for under 100 pounds DON'T, really DONT. If that's your budget look for second hand, more on buying second hand at the end.

If you can spend between 300 and 700 pounds you will get a quality new bike, more on exactly what in part two. If you have a budget of much more than that, this article is probably not for you.

Part two -  types of bikes, and picking a type

Mountain Bikes

For some reason many people in the UK go for a mountain bike when they buy a first bike. They have some advantages over a race bike: you sit more upright and they have flat bars rather than the drop bars of a road bike, which make you aerodynamic but are more suited to experienced riders. To be honest though you need to spend £700  to get a good hardtail mountain bike (front suspension fork) and rather more than that for a decent full suspension bike.

 For your cash you will get a bike that will be a good ride off-road and a bit of a disappointment on. With their fat knobbly tyres and relatively high weight, on the road they can be a bit slow and they are geared to climb steep hills so they have 24 or 27 or even 30 gears. You really don't need that many on the road even if you live in the Alps. I own a mountain bike at the moment.  It's the bike I wanted but couldn't afford 15 years ago when I rode mountain bikes most weekends. It is a lovely ride but it should be, it would cost you £1200 for something as good now days. Quite a lot of people that end up road cycling on a mountain bikes buy slick tyres after a bit. Why not start with something that does the job you need? If you want to get into full on mountain biking and shake your fillings downhill a mountain bike is what you need, but remember its built for dirt and stones.

 Hybrids

These are sort of the best of both worlds. You can ride them round town and they will cope with light trail riding and a bit of mud. They have bigger 700c wheels, thinner tyres and usually a less aggressive riding position and maybe 14 to 20 gears. Some have a front suspension fork and some also have a suspension seat post to soak up the bumps. Many of them will have the fittings for a rear pannier or bag rack and you can get some value in the £300 pound and up price range. If you ride round town but want to ride the rougher cycleways or go out cycling as a family on trails a hybrid might be for you.

City/Commuter Bikes 

These are what they ride on the continent, these are for people who need a bike round town and don't want to look like Bradley Wiggins at work. They often have a step through frame, so you can ride them easy in a skirt or if you are older and your hips don't work quite like they did. They often have mudguards so you don't get covered in mud, a chain guard so your trousers don't have a black slick up your leg and often hub gears and hub dynamos along with lights that need little or no maintenance.  A bike to do a job rather than one that shouts "look at my bike."If you want a bike to get around town  these are for you. A city bike is usually a bit more upright a commuter bike might be likely to go a bit quicker, the lines blur.

Urban Bikes, Single speeds and Fixies

The new kids on the block for about town cool. Urban bikes are what you get if you strip a mountain bike down remove a few of the gears and put road tyres on it. You  buy one of these to save having to strip it down yourself.

Take it one stage further and remove the gears and you get a single speed bike. these will make you fit and you will have to stand up out the saddle on hills.You get single speed mountain bike size and also one with the bigger 700c wheels. I'm forty something and I rode one to work for four years, no bother. As they have no gears there isn't much to go wrong and maintenance is super easy. As most of the weight has been removed you can get them going pretty fast too.

Take it one stage further still  and remove the freewheel and 1 or both brakes you have a fixed wheel bike a "fixie". I wouldn't start riding one of these as my first bike, in fact wait a good few years as your bike handling skills need to be pretty good before you ride what is basically a track bike on the road. They are pretty cool at the moment and there are a lot about. If fitness is part of why you want to cycle you could do worse than look at one of these three. Certainly an urban bike or a single speeder. They might not have fixings for racks or mudguards though, these are all about speed and lightness.

Retro Bikes

These are bikes that are harking back to the bikes of the 1930's and 1940's the Sit-up and beg style, some with a modern upgrades on the equipment. Bikes were style is more important than weight or ride quality. Sort of the equivalent of owning a classic car. It might be out of date but boy does it look elegant. If you often wear a hat socially or own quantities of designer woollens & hand made shoes this maybe the bike for you. Pashley still make the same bikes they have made for years in the uk, too heavy for me but they are definately a statement. Lots of manufacturers are starting to offer them in their range to hipsters and ladies who cycle to lunch.

Electric Bikes

News just in these, but I'm seeing more and more about. Not cheap but cheaper than a moped. You don't need a license and whilst they are limited to 25mph that's pretty quick on a bike. If your older or getting into shape they can work either as motor only or pedal assist or you can pedal alone when the battery goes flat. Range is 30 to 60 miles, less if its super hilly. Charge times are 4 to 6 hours. Prices start around the 600 quid mark and go over 2000 for the high end stuff. Look for Lithium polymer batteries. I think these are going to be big.

What to buy How to buy and Where to buy

So them's the main types but you only want the one bike so where do you go to get a good one?

Well in Harrogate at the budget end Halfords have lots of bikes but to be honest little bike knowledge. If you know what you want you could do worse. Avoid their Apollo budget range if you want to ride the bike more than a few times. the Carrera stuff is ok and the Boardman stuff is excellent value if more pricey. They have recently re-badged some city bikes aimed at women as Pendleton's after Victoria and its a growing range. Oh and don't let them near your bike with a spanner, you will regret it.

Specialized down on West Park in town have a good range, middle to top end on price but you get some value with specialized. Worth a look

The Edinburgh cycle co op on the edge of Leeds is definitely worth a look. They do there own ranges of revolution bikes which are good value and they carry a big range of other peoples bikes. They are happy to chat and they know their stuff, good value.

Cycle Heaven in York is a fantastic shop with a wide range of bikes its especially good for city and commuter bikes and they are really happy to have a chat and get you on something that meets your needs. Worth the trip

The Big red bike co in Harrogate are nice people who know their bikes. Good for city bikes and they carry the Pashley retro bikes which are cool and built to last. 

Buying tips

Ride it first 

Don't buy a bike you haven't ridden, ever. If it feels wrong, its wrong. Whatever the salespersons says, remember they want to sell a bike.

Last years colours

Bikes have a season and the old models start to clutter up bike shops stock lists by about November. This is a great time to buy. There is nothing wrong with these bikes, the shops just need to get rid of them so they can get new stock in. You can get discounts of 20 to 40% off list price especially if you are really tall or small as these often end up sitting around.

The cycle to work scheme

Or to give it its full title the Green Transport Plan basically you can save about a third of the cost of a bike if you "ride it to work". You don't have to use it every day or actually ever. You pay for the bike as a salary sacrifice before tax usually 1 or two years at the end of the "hire period" you make a one of payment and then the bike is yours . Ask your employer about it many will already know about it.

Get ahead get a hat and a pump and a lock

I wouldn't want helmets to be a legal requirement the data on whether or not they work is mixed and complicated but I usually wear one.  A pump is a no-brainer tyres go down over time. Buy a lock spend 5 to 10% of the bikes value on it and then someone won't wheel your bike away.

Second hand

Some shops do second hand or ask you never know who has what. Ebay is good I have got a few off there myself make sure you know what you are buying, do your research. Expect it to need a few bits and bobs but bargains in the 100 quid area are perfectly achievable  I sold a really nice single speed commuter with a fair bit of carbon fibre on it for that. If you can live with a few scratches a bike need not be expensive.

Right I hope this helpful if you need more advice email cyclehgt@gmail.com

On Revolution and Beryl in Peril

I went to the Revolution series cycle racing at the Manchester Velodrome on Saturday night, it was great. Ed Clancy was on imperious form and he looked like a different species when he was lapping the boards compared to the other riders who were all world class, It was well worth seeing. The highlight was his lone effort to chase down a breakaway in the points race. With half a lap to go he was 40 metres down and it looked impossible but he road the leader down to take the win. I would recommend you go but the series is sold out this Winter, perhaps we really are starting to warm to cycling as a nation?

As I was wandering around the edges of the track with a restless four year old, I came across a shrine to Beryl Burton. I knew of her because she has a cycleway named after her from near my house to Knaresborough. What I didn't know just how good she was she was, like a later day Victoria Pendleton but more versatile. Five times world champion and she was a mean time trialler too. all this in the days before the UK had one of the most successful sporting cycling setups the world has ever seen. She rode for Knaresborough cycle club in her later life and that why the cycleway is where it is.

Beryl's Shrine

A while back we started chasing NYCC to try and get the cycleway repaired as it in a right old mess. It is pot holed and rutted and on a road bike it not really ridable at the moment. Now Beryl never rode a mountain bike they hadn't be invented when she was in her prime, but if you want to follow her trail at the moment thats my tip. Surely the memory of one of the world's greatest cyclists with a local connection deserves better than a rutted track that looks un-loved and un-cared for?

Thats just another little reason why we need a cycle officer, we need somebody in local government who cares about these things so we can help generate the next generation of Beryl Burton's. I'm talking at a local council meeting on Thursday. I will tell them about the petition, about the support we have from local cyclists, about how they are failing to do right by sustainable transport in Harrogate at the moment and I will tell them that Beryl is in peril.

Unaccustomed as I am

On Thursday I am going to talk at the Council  area meeting at the Cairn Hotel. I will tell them about the petition and mention all your names one by one. Actually I won't as you only get three minutes, so I  had better keep it short and sweet. Anyway suffice to say I will put the arguments across and point out that we represent a large constituency of Harrogate cyclists and can we have a Cycle officer please?

Hopefully all this lobbying will lead somewhere.

DEMANDING - petitioning North Yorkshire County Council for a Cycle Officer

A while back I met somebody from the transport department at North Yorkshire County Council. She said that they didn't do more for cyclists as the demand wasn't there. A fortnight ago we started a petition to ask NYCC to employ a cycle officer.  We now have nearly 300 people signed up, more probably by the time you read this. If we can get 1605 signatures the council have to debate our suggestion rather than fob us off with platitudes as they do at the moment. The same women said anyone could sign a petition but 38 degrees have shown how effective these sort of campaigns can be.

We have had some great support from amongst others Wheel Easy, The Harrogate Cycling Group, Boneshakers, Ride Harrogate Harrogate Nova, The Big Red Bike Co and the Cappucino Cycling Club, not to mention the people that have signed up via twitter and facebook.

All these organisations have asked their members to get behind this campaign and for the first time I think we are now seeing that the women from the council was wrong. It seems that there is consderable demand for better cycling infrastructure and advocacy from local government in Harrogate and North Yorkshire. It also seems that this demand is much bigger than they claim and that we know they are dragging their heels in pushing forward a sustainable transport agenda as they say they want to.

There is still a mini mountain to climb and we need to keep the momentum up but a good start. If anyone out there knows how we can raise the profile of the campaign?  Please get in touch at cyclehgt@gmail.com we need all the help we can get.

If you haven't signed our petition and you think a cycling officer would be tax money well spent here is a link to the petition.

Lets make some noise - Cycling provision in Harrogate

The nice people At the Harrogate Cycle Group, Wheel Easy and Harrogate's very own Sustrans Rangers have put a report together of what they achieved with lobbying and consultation in 2011.

I will update you after Christmas with all that has happened in Harrogate in 2012. If like me you knew little about their work it is worth remembering this. If you use any of the cycle provision in Harrogate they are probably responsible for getting it there. Left to their own devices our local government would have almost certainly have done a lots less than what you see now and quite possibly nothing.

When I am getting into one of my splenetic rants about cycling provision and local government its worth remembering that these people had to start from scratch. They do it for free and they occasionally deal not only with our Council's officers, but hot headed, grumpy, impatient people like me.

Anyway here are the highlights and its worth having a look at the full report to get an idea of what they have been involved in.

Completed Projects 2010/2011.

• Bogs Lane cycle ramp
• The Avenue cycle ramp
• Weekly cleaning by HBC of Asda cycle path
• Improved safer crossing from Sainsbury’s to Stonefall.
• Cycle path through showground to Traveller’s Rest
• Fence repaired on Skipton Road bridge preventing illegal access
• Covered bike stand at Hornbeam Station Car Park
• Newly widened paths from Dragon Bridge to Dene Park and Bilton Lane
• New path and ramp to Woodfield Road
• Links to Schools network for Woodfield, Richard Taylor and Harrogate High Schools.
• Links to Schools network to Rossett via St. George’s roundabout with Toucan crossing installed.
• Cycle paths on The Stray with improved crossings.
• Additional cycle stands have been installed at One Arch, Prospect Crescent, Leeds Road and Oxford Street.
• Work on Follifoot underpass has been done but this has not yet solved the problem.

If you agree with me that North Yorkshire County Council should be doing this work without having to be lobbied quite so often sign our petition for a dedicated cycle officer.

Good Evening, Officer? - We need a Cycling Officer badly

Interesting chat with some local cycling advocates last night. Lots of people are putting plenty of effort into making Harrogate a more cycle friendly town and its certainly isn't just me banging the drum for this. If you do Facebook check out Ricahrd Marshalll's Ride Harrogate page he is getting some love from a more hardcore downhill community which is great to see. There is also a lot of lobbying going on in less public forum's than the internet and I don't want to undermine any of that by shining a light on it right now. Seems like this blog might be a good place to celebrate successes and to hold local government to account for its shortcomings but whilst channels are open and negotiations are ongoing we should let things progress.

Problem is as we found out over the Knaresborough Road fiasco NYCC really aren't that interested in sustainable transport compared to other County Councils. We are now pursuing a formal complaint with NYCC over how they dealt with our request for cycle lanes on the Knaresborough Road and we will keep you informed, I'm expecting the fob off once more if I'm honest. North Yorkshire County Council  it appears advocate sustainable transport in words but when it comes to actually doing anything about it, currently they prioritise the needs of cars before anyone else and seem to throw scraps as an afterthought.

Last night I asked what had let to the most success over the last ten years or so and having a Cycling Officer employed by Local Government to fight for provision for cyclists, someone who would make sure that any planning or transport developments take account of the needs of cyclists, was the single thing that had the most effect. When the last officer left her job she was not replaced and the sorry mess we have now, where bikers are fobbed off or worse not even considered (see the M &S development on the Leeds Road where NYCC admitted they they forgot to think about bikes at all in the planning process), was the result.

In a day or so we will be bothering as many people as possible  starting a petition and campaigning to get NYCC to put someone in post so that cycling gets paid a little more than the current lip service and Harrogate can really become a bike town.