about to start riding to work any tips

4dam

Hi all about to start riding to work using the cycle2work scheme, so any help and advice on the following would be great

i will being doing the whole ride on the roads. And there is a few steep hills on the way
I have about £450 to spend in halfords on the bike. So what is the best bike to go for with the hills in mind?

And what extras should i be going for? ie lights, clothing, etc


Many thanks

4dam

biondino

A geared road bike with lights, pump, padded shorts, reflective gear, spare inner tubes, tyre levers, multi-tool. Clipless pedals (MTB style, i.e. SPDs or Crank Bros) and shoes and a helmet are also strongly advised.

Is it £450 of your own money (and therefore £800-£900 in total) or is £450 the entire sum? Bear in mind that every £ you put in is almost doubled by the scheme.

Halfords don't have a very good in-store range but can order most bikes that they don't carry, so you should have a good choice. Many of their stores have shoddy service when it comes to building and looking after the bike so keep that in mind.

always_tyred

How far do you have to go?

Agreed that a saddle pack (or other bag that you'll definitely have with you every day) and kit for replacing a tube and repairing a tube are a necessity. Mini pump attached to the bottle cage work for me.

Also a necessity is the ability to use them.

At least once a year I am late to work because I have stop to fix someone else's tube, with their equipment. Even using tyre levers can be surprisingly tricky when you are suffering from mild exposure and really, the experience of busting the new tube putting it in is not fun.

Something reflective somewhere on your lower leg (i.e. ankle, pedal). Its the signature cyclist motion and will distinguish you from runners who want to be seen on perfectly traffic free pavements for some reason.

Something day-glo (like a yellow jacket of gilet) for dull days. There is a lot of stuff on the market with reflective highlights that is black. In the daylight (which for some motorists is until about half an hour after lighting up time) those reflectives are dull grey.

For waterproofing, think warmth. Depending on how far you are going, nothing is capable of keeing you dry. The aim is to reduce the flow of water enough that your body can keep is warm at least.

So, if you are going to cycling shoes - overshoes. You can get perhaps a 30 minute stay of wet-secution if there is a lot of water on the road. Gloves; again they do some winter gloves with reflective.

Blinkies - get some bright ones for the front and back (smart and cateye seem to be good brands) but its good to have some small emergency backups stowed somewhere (like knogs, or the ones the RAC sell with bungees on them), because they sometimes get wet and stop working. And you are human so you'll forget to put batteries in them sometimes. I wouldn't bother with a constant front light (if you have a bright blinking one) unless you are going to drop near £100 on one. Traditional battery powered ones aren't enough to see by and aren't any better at being seen with than blinkies, eat batteries and are larger.

4dam

£450 is the total I have to spend on the bike. So far I have been looking at a Carrera crossfire 2 and the Boadman urban, Any feedback on these bikes is much appreciated. The total journet time is 9.5 Miles each way with two very very steep hills to go up and down. Cheers.

always_tyred

4dam wrote:

£450 is the total I have to spend on the bike. So far I have been looking at a Carrera crossfire 2 and the Boadman urban, Any feedback on these bikes is much appreciated. The total journet time is 9.5 Miles each way with two very very steep hills to go up and down. Cheers.

Assuming that the Boardman is a flat bar road bike with disc brakes, and the carrera has suspension forks, for that length of commute, I'd go for the Boardman. The carerra will probaby be more comforatble, but you'll soon want something more "sporty".

linsen

If you are going along an unlit stretch then the fenix torches are very good, under £50 and very compact. Several threads on here about them

symo

Guy at work has the flat barred boardman and loves it.

downfader

Cant offer any advice on the bike, but if those hills present a problem (and they will the first few times you go for it) then theres no love lost in walking them until you get fitter. Try a test run or two and time yourself first, then you wont be late when you ride into work.

trevtherev

HI 4Adam I started commuting over 2 years ago and love it....in fact I find I get very irritated when I have to now drive a car....what's all this stopping! I do a 5 miler in the morning and a10mile + at night with hills on both routes. I thought long and hard about the type of bike I wanted and finally went for a flatbar Genesis day 01. I'm now about to buy a "proper" road bike on the BTW scheme in early December. I use my commute as a training run espec the evening commute it helps me keep fit for half marathon running which I also enjoy and more importantly cuts down on injuries. I was always worried about changing facilities at my place of work and to be honest they are not great...but I have a safe place to park the bike, a place to hang my suits and get changed etc. I bought most of my geat at aldi sales and the weather is never a problem...I could never go back to a job where I have to use the car...once you start very soon you will be hooked....good luck!

AndyManc

Always Tyred wrote:

At least once a year I am late to work .

ONCE A YEAR , no wonder we are in economic meltdown :roll:

downfader

Funnily enough I'm only ever late if I have to take the bus :?

4dam

Cheers all, Will be going out this week to have a look at bikes,

Been looking around online for all my extras any advice on the following with where to get and what to get.

1 Lights?

2 Pump?

3 Multi tool & Tyre levers?

4 Lock?

5 Helmet?

6 Jacket?

7 Shorts/Trousers?

8 Gloves?

9 Shoes?

10 Pedals?

11 Bag?

always_tyred

AndyManc wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

At least once a year I am late to work .

ONCE A YEAR , no wonder we are in economic meltdown :roll:

No no, I have a far longer list of excuses than that. Sometimes I will employ 2 excuses for a single lateness event.