CTC or British Cycling

hardtime
hardtime Posts: 2
edited March 2012 in The hub
Any thoughts on which cycling association offers best all round menbership value ?

Comments

  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    If you race: BCF

    If you don't: CTC

    The former support the 'sport' the latter fight for access rights etc, so it depends what you want out of it.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    BCF has a better personal insurance policy for the money IMHO.
    A Flock of Birds
    + some other bikes.
  • butcher of bakersfield
    butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
    Would be interesting to hear peoples first hand experiences of the benefits in membership.
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    BCF has a better personal insurance policy for the money IMHO.

    Same innit?
    Would be interesting to hear peoples first hand experiences of the benefits in membership.

    - CTC gets you a quarterly(?) magazine
    - BCF gets you optional racing license
    - both get you 3rd party liability (although you'll actually likely have this through your home insurance)

    I've been a BCF member for about 10 years, used their insurance, which was fantastic. Dad's a CTC member, mainly to support them as an organisation.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    NO, the Base BCF one is better - has legal support etc, that the CTC doesnt
    A Flock of Birds
    + some other bikes.
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    The Bronze package has legal advice and support but nothing else. No 3rd party or personal accident insurance, have to go to silver for that.
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    I've got BC Ride membership.
    £24/year
    http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/member ... membership
    Weekly email, full of exclusive offers, news and tips
    Up to £10m third party liability insurance
    Free legal support and advice from our expert team
    Save a minimum of 12% at the British Cycling Wiggle shop
    Save 40% on CNP Professional cycling products and 25% on other CNP products
    Save 10% at Halfords stores nationwide
    Pre-sale and discounted tickets to major UK cycle events
    Save up to £23 a year on magazines including Cycling Plus, Procycling and Mountain Biking UK
    Save 40% on AA Membership
    Get a free copy of Rouleur and Privateer worth up to £10 each
    Save 10% on bike insurance - guaranteed lowest price bike insurance
    Save 10% on Cycle Rescue, an emergency roadside recovery service for cyclists
    The 2nd, 3rd and 4th points are the key ones! :lol:
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • njee20
    njee20 Posts: 9,613
    To be fair, most of those are excellent, I never remember any of those benefits though! Daft really as my license is always in my wallet!
  • Briggo
    Briggo Posts: 3,537
    I went for British cycling, because there was a 50% cashback offer with quidco, so full cover for £12 job done ;)
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 61,457
    BC looked good to me for the same reasons as Bails gave - they were also offering half price membership when I joined. Will rejoin for the 3rd party insurance cover when I restart regular commuting.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    I wouldn't give the CTC a penny tbh, no amount of good deals is worth supporting the damage they do.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Care to elaborate?
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    Their "contribution" to land access is ineffectual at best, is my main beef (if you're a rider in England, the BBT does more for you than the CTC does)

    But here's the best example I can think of... what they did over the bus-lane motorbike trial in London a few years back. CTC spat the dummy before it even started, declared it dangerous, and tried to stop it from happening. It did go ahead though, and the result was surprising- rather than having lots of bike vs moto crashes as predicted, the number of collisions for all traffic and for pedestrians fell. In particular the number of accidents involving cyclists in bus lanes dropped dramatically.

    (the conclusion drawn was that people pay more attention to traffic in bus-lanes when there might be 250kg of Bandit 1200 being ridden by a deranged dispatcher at 100mph, and so less people pulled or stepped in front of pushbikes)

    Anyway- the CTC's response despite this was to continue to oppose the scheme, and their contribution was one of the major reasons it wasn't taken forward- it legitimised Bojo's personal opposition to the scheme. The only explanation anyone's ever come up with is that the CTC sees motorbikes as competition- if you make it easier, quicker and safer to commute by scooter or motorbike then more people would choose that over pushbikes, therefore reducing cyclist numbers and therefore CTC membership.

    But whatever the reason, their position makes cyclists less safe in bus lanes in London, and that would most likely have rolled out to other cities too. And at the same time, they alienated the MAG and other road motorbike groups who should be natural allies.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • bails87
    bails87 Posts: 12,998
    Thanks, I didn't know about that. I'm with BC anyway :wink:
    MTB/CX

    "As I said last time, it won't happen again."

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