cycle THIS ISSUE TR ACK CHA NGES: RE VISING RIGHT S OF WAY
cycle THE MAGAZINE OF CYCLING UK
F E B R UA RY/ M A R C H 2 0 17 £3 OR FREE TO CYC L I N G U K M E M B E R S CYC L I N G U K .O R G
WEST HIGHL A ND WAY BY MTB DECENT BIKES FOR £250
TRACK CHANGES WHY RIGHTS OF WAY RULES NEED RE VISING
TOURING TIPS FOR WOMEN JOSIE DEW IN FULL FLOOD ROAD BIKE MUDGUARDS OFF-SEASON CYPRUS TOUR
Plus D E C E N T B IKE S F O R £ 2 5 0 TOU R IN G T IP S FO R W O M E N WE ST H IG H L AN D WAY B Y M T B JO SIE D E W IN FU L L F L O O D
F E B R U A R Y/ M A R C H 2 0 1 7
PAUL TUOHY
Chief Executive
SNOW FORECAST
PAUL TUOHY Chief Executive
Right: by Luke Sellers
A series of interviews with cycling’s movers and shakers by our President Jon Snow is just one of the things on Cycling UK’s busy agenda for 2017, as Paul Tuohy explains
interviews will follow. As a broadcaster who is also a regular cycle commuter, Jon will be giving all his guests a good grilling.
BIG BIKE REVIVAL RETURNS Big Bike Revival is going from strength to strength. The recent evaluation of the project saw: • 14,500 bikes revived • 42% participants were non-regular cyclists • 41% of beneficiaries came from the most deprived communities • 12 weeks after the events, 47% of nonregular cyclists were cycling more and 4,992 new purposeful trips had been made by bike (including to work, to the shops, to visit friends and family). Thanks to this evidenced-based approach, the Department for Transport is funding us again with a further grant of £1million. The cycle team there have been hugely supportive, so many thanks to them.
Jon Snow interrogates Andy Burnham MP for the first of his podcasts
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’M PENNING THIS in early January, which I have to admit I’ve been itching to get to. Why? Because 2016 was a year of change for Cycling UK, a year in which we changed our name to project the need for an organisation to champion cycling for the wonderful pursuit it is. This year, 2017, is about action – not that 2016 wasn’t. We’ve never been more active in the media than now. Our brilliant communications team (just two staff, plus one part-time) is quick to respond whenever cycling prejudices surface. We’ve been on so many radio programmes both nationally and regionally that I’ve lost count. But if we don’t stand up for cycling, who will? That’s why ‘We Are Cycling’! Our members and supporters have been fabulous in helping us promote our vision for cycling, one that is accessible to all, one that builds on our CTC heritage and history,
“As a broadcaster who is a cyclist, Jon will grill all his guests” 7 C Y C L E F EBRUARY/M ARCH 2017
and one that supports cycling and campaigns for all its many benefits – as practical transport, for improved health, and for the sheer enjoyment of it.
BROADCASTING SUCCESS This edition of Cycle is packed with examples of how our members and supporters are helping us to change the landscape for a more inclusive approach in society towards cycling. Sam Jones’s piece on off-road cycling is a case in point. The results of the survey we undertook are illuminating, with a staggering 11,000 respondents. Respected broadcaster and Cycling UK President Jon Snow is about to travel to the US, as I write this, to cover the inauguration of President Trump for Channel 4. But before that, he agreed to launch a brand new series of hard-hitting video podcast interviews on cycling for us. These interviews will be with movers and shakers who have the power to make a difference in cycling. They start with Andy Burnham MP, who stands for Mayor of Greater Manchester in May, and other
NEW IDEAS TO TRAIL As we’re in the thick of winter, some of our trustees and staff, including me, have been doing more cycling off-road. It’s fantastic to get off the road into the woods for a club run and a coffee. If only there was more access! The West Kent CTC roughstuff route I did back in October was so much fun that my friends want to do it again in February, hopefully with snow. We’re using WhatsApp to arrange our planned rides and it really helps with lastminute changes. The other week it was very foggy so the message went out to meet on mountain or cyclocross bikes for an ‘offroader’. The app means we can also take pictures and build up a diary of our rides. Even the oldies have got the hang of it! Lots more action for me both off and on the bike is what I hope for in 2017 – action such as supporting our volunteers, supporting our CTC groups, supporting people new to cycling, increasing our membership, and always standing up for cycling. Happy New Year!
PRODUCT NEWS | SHOP WINDOW
Product news
SHOP WINDOW
Show time The London Bike Show is back at ExCeL from 16-19 February, and Cycling UK members can get discounted entry. See page 78 for more.
EDITOR DAN JOYCE PREVIEWS A CROSS-SECTION OF NEW CYCLING PRODUCTS THAT ARE EITHER IN THE SHOPS OR COMING SOON
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£84.99
On the heels of Giro’s Republic and other classically-styled laceup touring shoes come these from Shimano, with synthetic leather uppers and recessed-cleat soles. shimano-lifestylegear.com
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£999+
Designed for both 650B (up to 48mm) and 700C (44mm), this rackand-guard-ready titanium bikepacking bike is available as a frame and carbon fork (£999) or as a complete bike from £1799. alpkit.com/sonder
3 TERN VEKTRON
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1SHIMANO RT4 SPD
2 SONDER CAMINO TI
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DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
£2800 APPROX
Tern’s Bosch-powered 20-inch wheel folder should be available early in 2017 for 3,300 Euros. Like any e-bike it won’t be light, but it can be rolled on its wheels when folded. ternbicycles.com
4 KINDERNAY K’AY XIV £1,400 APPROX
This 14-speed hub, due mid-2017, has a 543% range, hydraulic shifting, and a weight saving of around 300g over a Rohloff. It can be swapped between different wheels built on its ‘Swap’ hub cages. RRP is 14,990 Norwegian Krone. kindernay.com
5 ORTLIEB FRAME-PACK
£TBC
More bikepacking luggage from Ortlieb that’s waterproof and probably bombproof. The frame-pack comes in two sizes: medium (4 litres) and large (6 litres). ortlieb.com
6 FLAER REVO VIA
£250
Remember the Scottoiler, which dripped oil on your chain as you rode? It’s back (sort of), claiming to save 12 Watts compared to a conventionallylubed drivetrain… flaer.com
7SURLY 24-PACK RACK
£129.99
This porteur-style chrome-moly rack adds a 40×27cm platform to a bike that has fork crown and mid-leg eyelets (e.g. Surly ones). It’s good for 13.6kg of touring luggage or groceries. surlybikes.com
D E TA I L S WHERE: Scottish Highlands START/FINISH: Milngavie to Montrose, via Fort William DISTANCE: 290 miles PICTURES: Matthew Wright
W E S T H I G H L A N D WAY | G R E AT R I D E S
Great rides
HIGHLAND CROSSING
Local lad Keith Adams was the only hardtail rider in the group
The West Highland Way is a classic mountain bike route. Matthew Wright rode it, plus an off-road coast-to-coast, with CTC Cycling Holidays
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he West Highland Way needs little introduction for lovers of the Scottish outdoors. Its 93 miles (89 in our version) weave past a hit parade of Scottish scenery, including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, and Glen Nevis. Traditionally used by walkers, the increasing popularity of offroad touring, and the availability of capable full-suspension and fat bikes at reasonable cost, opens this sort of trip to cyclists. And because it’s possible to complete the journey in less time by bike, it makes sense to continue onwards – in our case, completing a west-to-east coast-to-coast through the heart of the Cairngorms to Montrose. It was a motley crew that gathered at the Premier Inn in Milngavie, ten miles north of Glasgow, where the route begins. (The pronunciation of ‘Milngavie’ – the ‘n’ and the ‘v’ are silent – immediately betrayed the southerners, though the ticket assistant at Glasgow station did his best not to laugh.) Most of us had ridden together on Paul Rogers’ Sarn Helen tour, off-road from the top to the bottom of Wales, two years previously, a trip that already seemed to us impressively epic. Like the reunion of Butch Cassidy’s gang,
we were now back together for Paul Rogers’ next mission. Paul Whitaker, now 75, had been the senior rider in Sarn Helen. Now sporting a grizzly grey beard, he was even more like the Ancient Mariner on a land adventure. Impeccably sure-footed downhill, he was steady but unstoppable up the other side. His veteran Santa Cruz seemed unbreakable. And despite all of this, he was always the last to leave the pub the night before.
WHAT BIKE FOR… We had three policemen on the team, so we never had any trouble staying on the straight and narrow in the hills. One of our officers, Phil Nelson, had disappointed us all by retiring the vintage Marin he’d been riding for nearly 20 years. With its rubber suspension and V-brakes, no one had expected it to last the Welsh tour. It had now had enough of being laughed at and was enjoying a much-deserved retirement in the shed. Unfortunately, Phil himself, after riding expertly on his new bike for four days, picked up a chest infection and had to join the support vehicle for the second half of the trip. Adrian, from Cardiff, was acknowledged as our fastest, most technically capable
Do it yourself
RIDE THE ROUTE We used the Harvey’s Guide to the West Highland Way; there are many others. Navigation on both sections is mostly straightforward (WHW is well signposted, and for much of C2C there was just one track over the hill), but for most of the C2C, we saw no one else, so you must be self-sufficient. Beware the stone drainage channels! We mostly used fullsuspension mountain bikes. A fat bike would also work well on this terrain, as traction was often hard to come by. There are stations in both Milngavie and Montrose, within a short ride of the start and finish. Given the logistical complexity, this is probably a one-off as a CTC Cycling Holidays tour.
THE MASS PURCHASE OF FULL-SUSPENSION BIKES WAS THE MOST NOTICEABLE CHANGE SINCE OUR WELSH TOUR CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 3 3
F O OT PAT H S A N D bridleways often look identical. This is the latter
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Feature
TR ACK CH A N G E S CYCLING UK’S SAM JONES EXPLAINS WHY THE RIGHTS OF WAY LEGISLATION IN ENGLAND AND WALES NEEDS REVISING TO GIVE OFF-ROAD CYCLISTS BETTER ACCESS
hy is Cycling UK suddenly campaigning for increased offroad access? The answer is that it’s not a new interest. We may be better known for campaigning for cycling as day-to-day travel, but we’ve also been campaigning for off-road access, both as Cycling UK now and before that as CTC, for over half a century. We secured access for cyclists to UK bridleways in 1968. More recently, we successfully campaigned for ‘presumed access’ for cyclists in Scotland with the Scottish Land Reform Act (2003). That gave Scottish cyclists a ‘right to roam’, unlike cyclists in England and Wales where there’s ‘presumed trespass’, which means private land is generally a no-go zone unless there is a sign granting permission. In England, cyclists can access a paltry 22% of the rights of way network; in Wales, it’s 21%. This isn’t good enough. We want responsible cyclists in the rest of the UK to have a fair deal off-road, just as they do in Scotland. These two off-road victories were milestones, but aren’t the only campaigns we’ve been engaged in.
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Below the radar, our local campaigning volunteers have fought small-scale battles across England and Wales to ensure the continued existence of many of the off-road networks we use and enjoy. Without them, the state of off-road access in England and Wales would be even worse than it is.
HEALTH & ECONOMIC BENEFITS There’s another reason we’re campaigning for increased off-road access now: it’s an opportune time. Our first inkling of this came in 2015, when the Welsh Government launched a public consultation on whether to follow Scotland’s lead and adopt an open access policy. With physical inactivity a major issue, the Welsh Government wanted to assess and improve the opportunities for people to be active. As a result of this consultation, Cycling UK and Open MTB jointly launched a campaign called Trails for Wales. Two of its key points were that increased access for off-road cyclists in Wales could improve physical activity levels and stimulate a largely rural economy through increased tourism. Over 4,000 people signed up in support of this campaign.
CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 3 9
D E TA I L S WHERE: East Hampshire START/FINISH: Alice Holt Forest to Portsmouth Docks DISTANCE: 55 miles approx PICTURES: Gillian Pullinger/ Alamy and Josie Dew
IN FULL FLOOD | GRE AT RIDES
Great rides
IN FULL FLOOD
Josie enjoying the sunny mud on Weaver’s Down
Last winter, when rainstorms were queuing up to hit the UK, Cycling UK Vice President Josie Dew celebrated her 50th with a soggy 50-miler
Left: Gillian Pullinger / Alamy. Others by Josie Dew
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s a Downs dweller, my original plan had been to spend a couple of days riding the 100-mile offroad route of the South Downs Way. But the day before my birthday, my two-year-old son Jack came down with a wheezy cough. As I didn’t like the idea of him waking up in the night and calling for me only to find I wasn’t there, I scaled down my idea to something I could ride in a day. The Shipwrights Way in Hampshire is a fairly new cycling, walking, and horse-riding trail on a mixture of forest tracks, country lanes, boggy bridleways, and coastal paths. It traces the route taken by timber felled in Alice Holt Forest and hauled over the South Downs to Portsmouth’s dockyard to build the Tudor navy. Its length was just right: 50 miles for 50 years. There was even a personal connection: my husband Gary (a carpenter) is spending months at the dockyard helping to restore Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. One problem was that I was born in early January, when days are short, dark and dank. And this winter was the wettest December in a century, with storms Desmond and Eva wreaking havoc. Oh well, mud, bogs and floods would add a bit of cycling excitement.
DEPARTURE DELAYED Ideally, I would have left at first light. But I had three children to deliver here and
there first. Sleepy offspring were roused and breakfasted, then school bags, dinner boxes, helmets and gloves were gathered up. I cycled the girls (Daisy, 5, and Molly, 9) to school two-and-a-half miles away, then cycled back, cleared up, made the beds, hung up the washing, and hoovered, before finally climbing with Jack into Gary’s van for him to drive us to Bentley station, the start of the Shipwrights Way. It had been raining hard all morning but en route to Bentley it became torrential. ‘Just a clearing-up shower!’ Gary said cheerily as the rain hammered off the windscreen. It was cold as well, as I discovered when I got out of the van. I donned waterproof trousers, neck-warmer, under-helmet hat, and two jackets. ‘Happy birthday, Jose!’ said Gary, shutting the van door to keep the heat in. And then I was off, bumping cautiously across the unmanned, pedestrian levelcrossing. The Shipwrights Way has about 20 stone sculptures dotted along its route, showing the history or wildlife of each area. Over the railway, I passed the first one: a stone butterfly. The butterfly conservation area I was passing through is apparently quite impressive – in summer. A lovely wooded and muddy mile later, I arrived at the Alice Holt Forest Centre. Lo and behold, there was Gary, with Jack racing around on his balance bike. I spent half an
My cycling
A HAPPY B I R T H DAY For the last 40 years, I have ridden a bike virtually every day. I was 10 when I first started to want to ride a bike all day, every day, which makes me 50. Fifty! That’s half a flipping century! Luckily, when I get on my bike, I still feel about 10. When my 50th was fast approaching, friends asked: are you going to have a party? Others said: is Gary (my husband) going to whisk you away for a romantic weekend? What I fancied most, though, was to head off alone on my bike and to have my first childfree night in ten years. I love my three sproglets more than anything, but a little time alone on your wheels now and then is a good way to restore a bit of sanity.
I KNOW A FISHER PRICE GARAGE IS NOT THE MOST SENSIBLE ADDITION TO YOUR KIT ON A RACE-AGAINST-FADING-DAYLIGHT BIKE RIDE… CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 5
FE ATURE | WOMEN ON TOUR
LAURA MOSS bikepacking in the Cairngorms
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WOMEN ON TOUR | FE ATURE
Feature
WO M E N O N TO U R ADVENTURE CYCLING DOESN’T DEPEND ON GENDER, SO WHY DO FEWER WOMEN TOUR THAN MEN? LAURA LAKER LOOKS FOR ANSWERS
omen’s interest in long-distance cycling is growing. The soldout events run by the Adventure Syndicate (theadventuresyndicate. com), ‘a collective of extraordinary cyclists who happen to be women and who aim to challenge what others think they are capable of’, are a testament to the demand for cycling inspiration and advice for women, from women. Yet women are still in a minority when it comes to adventure cycling. While women make up 40% of overseas tours and 45% of UK tours, according to data gathered by Cycle Touring Festival organiser Tim Moss, solo women make up just 18% of those tackling the longest tours of 10,000km or more. I caught up with four female cycle tourers to try to identify what barriers were preventing women travelling by bike in equal numbers to men, and to see what advice they had for overcoming those barriers. Left: courtesy of Tim and Laura Moss (thenextchallenge.org)
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DANGER! Fear of travelling alone as a woman may be anything from personal safety to bike maintenance. Having been out on the road, around the world, the women I spoke to feel the risks are often overplayed, and that much kindness exists along the way. Emily Chappell, who’s cycled around the world, was the fastest solo woman on the 2016 TransContinental race, and is a director of the Adventure Syndicate, says she hears this one a lot. Her response: ‘The world isn’t that dangerous, but people tend to focus on the dangers.’
Her approach is to break a problem, or worry, down to its constituent parts, and address each one individually. ‘Fears are often vague, like “What if something happens and it all goes wrong?” When you pick that apart, you think: what could go wrong? You know how to fix a puncture, you know how the world works; it is a very vague fear of going outside of your comfort zone.’
GO WITH GUT-FEELING Cycling UK Vice President Josie Dew, who’s cycled through dozens of countries over decades, loves cycling solo, and believes it’s safe so long as you keep your wits about you. ‘I’ve found that when travelling alone most people want to help you,’ she says. ‘If I get a bad feeling about someone – in the past it’s always been a lone man or a small group of men – or a situation or location, I always try to move on or away as fast as possible.’ Adventure Syndicate member Kate Rawles set off in December on a year-long tour from Costa Rica to Cape Horn, raising awareness of biodiversity as she goes. She says the most dangerous thing is not people but traffic, which good route choice can mitigate. ‘In my experience, 98% of people are friendly, helpful and generous. You get a very positive experience of humanity when you’re cycle touring on your own. Everyone comes and talks to you,’ she says. ‘It triggers the best in people; they want to look after you.’ According to Laura Moss, who runs the annual Cycle Touring Festival, this kindness is common when cycle touring, not just when riding solo. ‘When my partner and I were cycling around the world, of 400 nights we were invited in
CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 9
D E TA I L S WHERE: Cyprus START/FINISH: Paphos DISTANCE: 496 miles PICTURES: Getty and Howard Ashton
OFF -SE ASON CYPRUS | GRE AT RIDES
Great rides
OFF-SEASON CYPRUS There’s more to Cyprus than summer beaches. Cycling UK member Howard Ashton circled the island and then crossed the Troodos Mountains in February My cycling
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ycling has always come easier to me than walking. I was born with cerebral palsy, which impairs muscle coordination, and couldn’t walk unaided until I was eight years old. But I was riding a tricycle – my first was a bright red Gresham Flyer – from the age of three, and at nine I graduated to two wheels. As a student, I used a bike to get about. It took a while before I had the confidence and competence to embark upon anything more than short excursions. My first tours had their trials and tribulations, but also joys. I visited the Faroes, then Lapland and Nordkapp, then Newfoundland, then Turkey and Greece… I’ve now explored more than 60 countries by bike. I particularly like journeys that keep me in close company with the sea, which is why I decided to explore Cyprus one February.
Left: Getty. Others by Howard Ashton
OLIVE GROVES My idea – for I do not plan, or at least not in any detail – was to start from Paphos and make an anticlockwise circuit, visiting Cape Greco in the south east, Zafer Burnu on the tip of the island’s north-easterly ‘panhandle’, and Korucam Burnu, which sits at the end of the Kyrenia Mountains in the west. Then I’d head to Nicosia (Lefkosia) and cross the Troodos Massif on my way back to Paphos.
This last stage of the journey was the toughest. I woke to bright blue skies, but squalls of rain weren’t far away. I climbed gently through the suburbs, breaking out into the countryside at Lakatamia, where the view to the south was filled by the snow-streaked bulk of the mountains. My attention, however, was drawn to the threateningly dark sky in the west… As the rainstorm drew closer, I began to look for shelter as I rode. I spotted a massive villa, still under construction, and found an outhouse with a badly-fitting metal roof. A child’s plastic trike provided me with a seat. As the rain drummed above, I listened to my radio; the forecast was gloomy. There was temporary respite at least, the brisk wind hurrying away the clouds and letting the re-emerging sun dry the tarmac. My mood improved as I left the busy main road behind, taking a turn-off to Agrokipia and Mitsero. Rural tranquillity surrounded me. With no need to ride far that day, I made camp on the grassy margin of an olive grove.
PUSHING ONWARDS Next morning began with a long, slow climb, first pedalling, then walking – the first of many occasions when the Troodos required me to put my two flat feet on the tarmac. The height gained was soon lost as I descended to join the E906 main road and head south.
TOURING WITH CEREBRAL PA L SY My cerebral palsy is not particularly severe but does affect all four limbs, my right arm and leg especially so. My dexterity is compromised, which can lead to frustrations in the tasks associated with a cycling-camping lifestyle. My cycles (I own a number) are standard models but because my ankles do not flex enough to get my feet into toe-clips or cleats, I pedal with the arches of my feet on flat pedals. My gear levers are on the down tube, both operated (rather awkwardly) by my left hand. I can handle most repairs when out on the road. My arrival in many villages has initiated a degree of consternation when the onlookers see how I walk. Is he okay? Is he injured? Not easy to explain, but the concern quickly turns to the proclamation of ‘bravado!’ when they are assured that all is well.
AFTER AN HOUR OF STEADY GRIND, EVEN MY GRANNY GEAR WAS NOT LOW ENOUGH. ONCE AGAIN, I PUSHED MY LADEN BIKE CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 5 5
BIKETEST | BUDGET BIKES
Bike test
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?
DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
Shop carefully and it’s possible to get a capable bike for most purposes for just £250. Editor Dan Joyce goes bargain hunting
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in this market at all as the margins are too tight. So you’ll need to consider superstores and online shops that sell direct. They provided all four of the test bikes. Direct-sellers are not your only option for getting a good bike on a tight budget. Many bike shops are part of the Cycle to Work Scheme, a salary sacrifice programme that enables you to save 25% or more on the price of a new bike and spread the cost. See bit.ly/bikehub-cycletowork for more. Alternatively, there are bargains available when last year’s unsold bikes are discounted – and all year round if you’re happy to wait for the right bike to come up
The one on the right doesn’t look too bad, but that full-susser…
secondhand. Cycling UK’s forum is a good place for secondhand purchases; visit bit.ly/cyclingukforum-bikesforsale. Over the next four pages, meanwhile, are four of the least compromised, best value £250(ish) bikes I that could find.
MORE REVIEWS ON THE WEBSITE We’re adding more bike reviews online. Visit bit.ly/ cyclinguk-biketests
Photo: geogphoto / Alamy
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HEAP DOESN’T have to mean nasty. The difficulty comes when you define ‘cheap’, which means something different to occasional cyclists than it does to enthusiasts like Cycling UK members. You can get new bikes for less than £100, but I’ve ridden – and crashed – a £79.99 full-suspension mountain bike and wasn’t keen to repeat that experiment. It was simply inadequate, the proverbial Bicycle-Shaped Object (BSO). The dividing line between a BSO and an inexpensive ‘proper’ bike is blurry and hard to pin down by price. It depends partly on your expectations and demands of the bike, and partly on how simple it is. Less is generally more, because non-essentials like an ineffective suspension fork further dilute the limited budget. I wanted to find bikes for road cycling, touring, urban riding, and mountain biking that you or I might enjoy riding at a price non-enthusiasts or cyclists on a tight budget might stretch to. I settled on a limit of £250. We know from surveys that, on average, Cycling UK members spend much more than this on their best bike. Yet not everyone can or will. Moreover, Cycling UK members are often the bike experts that friends or family consult for advice. The difference between someone you know getting a good bike at £250 and a bad one at £100 (or even at £250+) might be the difference between them becoming a lifelong cyclist or a noncyclist with an abandoned bike in a shed. (All’s not lost in the latter case: the Big Bike Revival can bring them back into the fold!) If you want a new bike at £250 that isn’t mediocre, your options are relatively narrow. Most big-name cycle manufacturers are not
MUDGUARDS | GROUP TEST
Group test
MUDGUARDS
RICHARD HALLETT Technical Editor
Even for road bikes, mudguards are an off-season essential. Technical Editor Richard Hallett reviews four pairs I N S TA L L ATI O N
S TAY- F IXI N G B R ACK E T S Usually fitted to the underside, where they impede water drainage and can cause it to spill out of the side.
Full-length conventional mudguards need to be firmly attached at several points. Many road bikes lack the clearance and fittings for mudguards; if it’s only the latter, P-clips can be used instead.
R I G I D IT Y Mudguards flex due to road vibration. Flex eventually leads to fracture and can allow the guard or its fixtures to rub the tyre, making a noise if nothing else.
REAR R E F L E CTO R A red rear reflector is required between dusk and dawn, and the rear mudguard is a convenient location on a road bike. The only other option may be the seatpost.
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OU STILL see cyclists without mudguards on winter club rides (hopefully at the back!), but mudguards make a big difference to riding comfort in bad weather. There’s more: they go a long way to keeping the grit, organic matter, and pollutants suspended in standing water off the rider’s clothes, drinking bottles, and much of the bike itself. This reduces wear and tear, and even the risk of illness. Mudguards add weight and wind resistance, some rattle a bit, and some
COV E R AG E The greater the wheel circumference covered, the more protection offered. A long rear mudguard protects riding companions. A long front mudguard protects the feet better.
cyclists don’t like how they look. Overcome these objections and there’s a cornucopia of models to choose from. Some are too short to offer more than the bare minimum of coverage. Those on test here are full-length ones that cover a large part of both front and rear wheels. Choosing between them may come down to ease of fitting, looks, and even the suitability of the cycle in question for mudguard attachment. But any one of these four is a worthwhile addition to an allweather bike.
S TAY- R E L E A S E SA F E T Y C L I P S Unless the stays can snap free, flexible plastic mudguards can fold up behind the fork when jammed by an object. See cyclinguk.org/ article/technical-guide/ mudguard-safety
Your thoughts? WRITE TO US: Cycle Letters, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ EMAIL US: editor@cyclinguk.org DISCUSS ONLINE: forum.cyclinguk.org
CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 7 3
Travellers’ tales THEN
NOW
Escaping the hubbub of London on the banks of the Thames
A capital idea JANET ROGERS AND THREE MEMBERS OF THE ARUN & ADUR GROUP TOURED LONDON
K ATHMANDU TO LL ANDU DNO Keith Wileman and friends met in Wales to remember a classic CTC tour three decades earlier
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hat’s the difference between Everest and Snowdon? In height, 25,469 feet; in distance, 4,500 miles; and for some of us, 27 years. In 1989, 36 CTC members took their bikes to Nepal on a tour led by Tom Race. A week of cycling and sightseeing in the fairly flat Kathmandu valley took us to Hindu temples, Buddhist stupas, and even riverside cremations. This was followed by a day of steep climbs of about 2,600 feet to Nagarkot, where we were woken by stones thrown onto the corrugated iron roofs of the stone huts we were sleeping in so that we could see the sun rise over the Annapurnas. A few days later, we rode for 60 hot miles to Pokhara, where we left our bikes and set off on a four-day trek, enjoying the magnificent views but
Share your story Cycle wants your Travellers’ Tales. Email the editor – cyclinguk@jppublishing.co.uk – for advice on what’s required.
8 2 C Y C L E F EB RUARY/M ARCH 2017
sleeping in tents that turned out to be not particularly waterproof. Since that eventful tour, we have had a reunion every year. We meet for a weekend and spend the days cycling and the evenings remembering the good time we had and the interesting people we met. Last October, our reunion was in Llandudno, from where, on a fine day, you might see Snowdon 20 miles away, just as we saw Everest in the far distance years ago. We resisted the temptation to head into the mountainous region of Snowdonia and rode instead on the mostly flat and well-used cycle paths along the coast. One day we cycled past Conwy castle to Llanfairfechan, the other day along Colwyn Bay to Rhyl. Both days were unseasonably warm. Dinner on Saturday evening is when we all wonder who will volunteer to organise next year’s reunion. This time it was me, so next autumn will see us reliving Nepal in Hampshire.
erry’s bespoke London tour was a chance to increase my limited knowledge of the city: a Monopoly board tour of the capital, a dot-to-dot ride through the city. Every cycling club has leaders willing to take fellow members away on trips. Gerry had grown up by the River Thames and knew well the city’s streets and shortcuts. Cycling by the side of a canal in central London, the atmosphere was a world away from The Wind in the Willows: we saw a pack of wild dogs ripping a carcass to pieces! I looked away and found myself staring up at a group of white ibis, nesting in the trees. We had not realised that the Regent’s Canal passed through London Zoo. (The wild dogs were behind strong fences.) But that is the real pleasure of cycling in London: there are lots of surprises. We started in Shepperton, followed the river to Hammersmith, and cycled on to St Paul’s, north to the Barbican, back along the Regent’s Canal, then to Brentford, and finally back to Shepperton – an 11 hour day. Park Lane, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Pentonville Road, The Angel, Islington, we had passed them all, riding a total of 67 miles. We didn’t collect £200, but neither did we go to jail – although we did cycle past Wormwood Scrubs.
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