Cycling Thread - pleasure peddlers to serious cyclists sign in here!

[Thistledew]

Hi All

I thought I would start a cycling thread. It would be great if we could make it all inclusive, so whether you currently just enjoy bike rides but are interested in taking it further, or already train seriously, please post what you are up to and what your aims are. By sharing knowledge and experiences, hopefully we can spur each other on.

If you want to, please post a quick biog of how long you have been cycling, how much you currently cycle, and what your goals are.

And for those who wish to engage in a bit of bike porn, please feel free to post what sort of bike you ride!

Happy peddling!

Does the aldi stuff sell out quickly?

Thanks piffpaffpoff

Most of their special stuff does sell out fast, Viva - their ski stuff went in less than half a day last time, so I'd get there as soon as you can once it's in.

I think it depends, if you live somewhere with a lot of cyclists and only one Aldi then yes. If, like me, there are a few Aldis in the vicinity then it's less likely. I would certainly try to get there on the day it goes on sale if you definitely want to get a particular thing.

Don't get the lights, I did last year and they broke within about a week. Total waste of money.

Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely look at the tricross and yes, paniers seem like a really good idea - I get so warm under my rucksack and it makes me want to take my high-vis jacket off which I would rather keep on for safety's sake.

I can do the cycle to work scheme which looks great even though I'm not a higher tax payer. Thanks again!

Sorry, me again. Should I be looking at "women's bikes" or does it really not matter? I'm short in the leg and long in the body for a woman and this has always made me wonder if it really matters? I'm too chicken to ask in a bike shop!

I don't think it matters as long as you find a bike that fits and feels comfy/ not a stretch.

I ride unisex men's bikes as I'm short legged/long bodied. That said, if I had started on a woman's bike I may have stuck with that. As Viva says, go for one that fits and is comfortable. Maybe acquaint yourself with size charts before you go to the bike shop - I ride a 51cm (am 5'4 and a bit) and had a local store try to flog me a 55cm frame the other day, insisting that it was the right size even though I couldn't get my feet down to the floor when standing over the top tube!

Thanks again! Time to hit a few shops and try some out for size I think. I'm 5'5 so I think I'll start looking for 51cm and see how I get on.

I can barely get my feet to the floor on my 49cm frame. I can, but I'm squishing my floo.

The Dawes which I think was a 43cm or maybe a 45cm frame I could stand over it better. However the reach to the handlebars was a much worse stretch. I figured that how comfy it was when riding was more important than stand height so ought the bigger Tricross rather than the Dawes.

HappySeven I am 5ft3 with short legs. I got a 26.5 inch frame Carrera. I got it from Halfords because I got it through the cycle to work scheme which I thought you could only do at halfords. We are lucky though as the bloke in our local halfords is very knowledgable about bikes. It's not a female specific bike but I find it fine. They did have board man female bikes but not much difference bar the colours. If pink is your thing then you could look at a female one.

I really need to get a clip less system over winter and some glasses. Some padded legging would be nice for any winter riding I get in. Although living in lancashire if does seem to be raining/windy for 10 months of the year. DH wants us to look for some organised rides for next year. Do I just google or is there a site that lists them?

Happy, I tend to ride men's bikes too and change the saddle and position to make it more comfortable. I'm (nearly) 5ft 6, but nearly as long on the inside leg as my 6ft dh so a different shape to you.
I ride with a fairly flat back on a roadie but that's probably always the way I've ridden as I've always had a men's bike! On both a roadie and an MTB I will have a smaller size than dh and a long seat post. This actually brings the top tube low again. Bizarrely on our run abouts we both have the same size (special offer, 2 for the price of 1), in fact I just used his now and it's just about half a cm too high. Ok, off topic!

I always wear padding of some sort, even just to commute in to town (25mins). I have some lovely Scott inners that came with board style shorts and can fit under jeans etc. If winter riding I'll wear Ron Hills over cycling shorts or 3/4 lengths. And winter full finger gloves. And neoprene shoe covers. And a buff!

Frilly Milly, have you checked out the GoRide site?

Sorry, not GoRide, that's the youngsters thing. This: www.britishcycling.org.uk/getinvolved instead!

Frilly- look out for British Cycling's "Social cycling" groups, "Sky ride local" or ( Ladies only) "Breeze Rides". CTC also promot group rides, in some area they include shorter distance stuff to ease people in as well as the classic CTC long ride with cake stop.

Are any of you Ladies Breeze Ride Leaders?

Hi,

What a lovely thread! I've recently started cycling to work and keep thinking I should get round to insurance (I know, I know, I really should have done it first off ). Can anyone advise me about bike specific insurace eg. Evans? Are they any good? Are they necessary, or is it enough to be covered under home insurance? Ta.

Hi Lawrence,

It depemds how much your bike is worth and how much cover is provided on your home insurance - think mine covers a bike up to £500. However I think as my bike is worth £800 it isn't covered at all, so they wouldn't give me £500 and I have to make up the rest...it just isn't covered. I suppose because a more expensive bike is more likely to be stolen so its a higher risk. So check the small print.

Also with insurance policies check what lock they require you to have - normally a gold lock. Though if your bike gets pinched and the lock is gone I don't know how the insurance company expect you to prove you had a gold standard lock decuring the bike??????

Quick update on Aldi cycling stuff - its on sale next Thursday. Lots of winter clothes, lights, tools and stuff. Plus - tri-suits!!!! Bit random for autumn I thought but there you go, if you need a cheap tri-suit get yourself down to Aldi next week!

I start work at 8:30, round the corner from an aldi so will be there at 8am to hopefully get some winter cycling wear!

I may have to take the kids on a pre-school trip down to our nearest one!

Hi Lawrence,
Mine are on my household insurance. With the policy I've got, If they are stolen from home they are covered. If they are stolen away from home then, provided they were locked/ secured appropriately, they are covered up to £1k unless it is a named bike with a value that I pay an additional premium for. (and yes, if bike is worth over £1k you get nothing, I'd always assumed £1k towards cost of bike.) I had a good chat with the insurers as unfortunately I had to test the policy two years ago. The insurers were really helpful, but it was surprising once we started adding extras on (different tyres, kids seat and trailer fittings etc) how much the bike was worth! All sorted in the end though as the police found the bikes (and convicted the offenders). The insurers paid for us to have the bikes serviced instead to make sure they hadn't been damaged. Thankyou Priveleged!
I now have a 4 point locking garage door and we've cemented ground anchors in our garage floor to lock the bikes to.
I have had bikes stolen 3 times in my life :( once every 8 or 9 years or so. Twice from my own garage!

The bike marking thing we had done at the weekend adds a code to the bottom of the frame visible under UV light, which is noted along with all your details and the frame number and then put on an online database accessible by all police forces. It's really worth contacting your local station to get it done as it adds an extra layer of security, and means you can find your frame number when you need it just by logging on to the database!

I use my house insurance too. It covers up to 2k per bike. I did ring them up to ask about it the other day and they didn't mention no payout if worth more than 2k. I am worried now as my full sus mountain bike is worth significantly more than that new. I am hoping it won't get nicked as insurance will not allow me to pay extra to cover it.

I've taken a photo of my frame number and saved it on the PC.