Biking in London
Beej_21
Posts: 13
I'm moving to London soon for work and would probably benefit from using my bike to get to work and back to save money and continue to keep fit! Although I haven't road my bike in London before and was wondering if anyone has any tips for me as I know how busy the roads are in LDN! Any advice much appreciated! Any suggestions as well for a decent daily road commuter bike? 
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Comments
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Keep your witts about you, up the bike lights ( there's a fair bit of light inflation), and sign up to strava.
The commuter chat part of the forum is full on Londoners who commute.0 -
depends on distance/route - SW London to the city is pretty nice (along the river, plenty of other riders)
check you have somewhere secure to lock your bike
check what facilities for changing/showering (shower/disabled bathroom seems to be what people do)
perhaps looking into what cycle 'highways' you might use? You can recce it on a weekend, and if you see wide blue painted lines/green ones then you can be pretty sure they will be busy at rush hour.
How far is it? anything up to 7 miles is ok on a hybrid, more, you might want a road bike, depending on whether or not you also plan on doing loads more riding in the future or if you are super competitive and want to race everyone! If you want mudguards/panniers, etc and to carry stuff (I prefer a backpack) then you may want 'rack mounts' - the little eyelets built into the forks to support the mounts.
Daily commuter? Specialized allez, trek, giant, bianchi, fuji, cube, focus, felt or equivalent depends on what you want to spend. The above come in at 600-1k brand new, but can be had for about 400 2nd hand. Best bet is to go to a bikeshop and tell them your budget/plans and they will advise.0 -
Hi Beej,
Riding in London is pretty good. Depending on where you ride there are differing dangers.
I ride a 12 mile commute each way daily and have only had a few problems mainly from pedestrians who just step out in front of you, recovering from bruised ribs after the last "accident!
You'll pretty soon get to know the roads that you are most comfortable with, the main things are to have a positive road position, make eye contact with drivers, don't go up the inside of truck or buses EVER!!, and if riding from Aldgate to Stratford AM or PM do not trust the drivers at all, give them plenty of "respect" as they indicate randomly, stop, U-turn and are generally dodgy.
That said its a pretty good city to ride about reasonably flat the speed of traffic is low, lower than cycling, and there are some great sites to see as you roam about.
I bought a hybrid first off to commute and have "graduated" to a road bike with SPD's I learnt to ride clipless in London traffic so its not all bad.
If you give an idea of where you are riding to and from I'll try and give you a quiet route to get you used to the traffic.Turned out nice again!0 -
Firstly let me say that I ride everyday (in London) and wouldn't change that.
However, riding in London is to engage in an undeclared state of war, you against everyone else including other cyclists.
The only advice I can give is that your rights, sense of justice and indignation at others (cyclist included) flaunting the road rules and common sense at your risk are irrelevant when your dead!!!
Ride defensively0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Keep your witts about you, up the bike lights ( there's a fair bit of light inflation), and sign up to strava.
The commuter chat part of the forum is full on Londoners who commute.
What's 'strava' ?0 -
Beej_21 wrote:What's 'strava' ?
viewtopic.php?t=12800996 is the place to start.
Basically you upload your GPS times onto the website and it tells you how fast you were compared to everyone else.
Where you looking to move to.
Welcome to london too - if you are in the least bit competitive, you will love cycling here!0 -
coriordan wrote:depends on distance/route - SW London to the city is pretty nice (along the river, plenty of other riders)
check you have somewhere secure to lock your bike
check what facilities for changing/showering (shower/disabled bathroom seems to be what people do)
perhaps looking into what cycle 'highways' you might use? You can recce it on a weekend, and if you see wide blue painted lines/green ones then you can be pretty sure they will be busy at rush hour.
How far is it? anything up to 7 miles is ok on a hybrid, more, you might want a road bike, depending on whether or not you also plan on doing loads more riding in the future or if you are super competitive and want to race everyone! If you want mudguards/panniers, etc and to carry stuff (I prefer a backpack) then you may want 'rack mounts' - the little eyelets built into the forks to support the mounts.
Daily commuter? Specialized allez, trek, giant, bianchi, fuji, cube, focus, felt or equivalent depends on what you want to spend. The above come in at 600-1k brand new, but can be had for about 400 2nd hand. Best bet is to go to a bikeshop and tell them your budget/plans and they will advise.sagefly wrote:Hi Beej,
Riding in London is pretty good. Depending on where you ride there are differing dangers.
I ride a 12 mile commute each way daily and have only had a few problems mainly from pedestrians who just step out in front of you, recovering from bruised ribs after the last "accident!
You'll pretty soon get to know the roads that you are most comfortable with, the main things are to have a positive road position, make eye contact with drivers, don't go up the inside of truck or buses EVER!!, and if riding from Aldgate to Stratford AM or PM do not trust the drivers at all, give them plenty of "respect" as they indicate randomly, stop, U-turn and are generally dodgy.
That said its a pretty good city to ride about reasonably flat the speed of traffic is low, lower than cycling, and there are some great sites to see as you roam about.
I bought a hybrid first off to commute and have "graduated" to a road bike with SPD's I learnt to ride clipless in London traffic so its not all bad.
If you give an idea of where you are riding to and from I'll try and give you a quiet route to get you used to the traffic.
Both very helpful!
I'll probably be commuting around 8-12 miles each day and will probably look into getting a hybrid most definitely second hand to begin with, I'll be keeping an eye out on here! I've got a Marin b17 atm which is pretty useful. And yes I am very competitive so could probably see myself racing people on the road lol but I'm most worried about cars not giving enough room and driving dangerously...0 -
coriordan wrote:Beej_21 wrote:What's 'strava' ?
viewtopic.php?t=12800996 is the place to start.
Basically you upload your GPS times onto the website and it tells you how fast you were compared to everyone else.
Where you looking to move to.
Welcome to london too - if you are in the least bit competitive, you will love cycling here!
I've been looking around South West like Clapham/Stockwell area and a few places in east, near Whitechapel and Aldgate! I quite like Islington and around that area, maybe Angel, seems quite cool!0 -
I'd say come to Clapham. I moved from Islington to Clapham (Balham end) and the biggest difference is that everything is cramped in Islington, Clapham has quite a bit of green (and unlike Upper St isn't covered in glass on a Saturday morning).
The good thing about cycling in London is that all of the traffic is really slow so in many ways it's actually quite predictable riding for the most part. You just have to get used to being assertive enough that the amount of traffic isn't a problem (and NEVER undertake anything moving at a junction).0 -
Yep. Can second the balham end (clapham south). The roads behind the tube really are lovely and quiet, and you are right by the park.
Not a fan of clapham high street myself, but each to their own.
Clapham Junction (around Bolingbroke Grove) are lovely, perhaps good if you are mid-late 20s and looking at starting a family (aka Nappy valley!). I just moved from there (moved there at 22) to Parson's Green and it offered loads, great green space, more boutique shops, amazing connections on public transport and easy access in and out of london by road.
PG is ok, bit pricier, council tax is double, but all my friends live here now.
I'd say you'd be pressed to get a bad area, just make sure the property itself is nice and its in a nice area in the area (i.e not at a traffic lit junction/above a chippie etc...) Easy!!0 -
Beej_21 wrote:coriordan wrote:Beej_21 wrote:What's 'strava' ?
viewtopic.php?t=12800996 is the place to start.
Basically you upload your GPS times onto the website and it tells you how fast you were compared to everyone else.
Where you looking to move to.
Welcome to london too - if you are in the least bit competitive, you will love cycling here!
I've been looking around South West like Clapham/Stockwell area and a few places in east, near Whitechapel and Aldgate! I quite like Islington and around that area, maybe Angel, seems quite cool!
Where are you commuting to? I have mostly lived in SE London but spent a few years in Islington. Islington was fun, I lived on Upper Street and then moved to Essex Rd. Loads of bars etc and you really feel like you're in the thick of it. I used to walk to work back then, I worked in the City and it took about half an hour to walk, barely worth getting the bike out really!
On the negative side, places like Islington and Clapham are very expensive, rent is very high in comparison to SE London. SE London also feels a lot more spacious. The roads in the Brockley conservation area (where I now live) are quite wide, tree lined and have massive gardens (my garden is about 30-35 metres long) and Brockley is in zone 2 so easy to commute from if on public transport. What SE London doesn't have is that buzz of bars and restaurants right on your doorstep...Do not write below this line. Office use only.0
