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CW from far left: Dan Joyce, Brian Morrison Photography, Josie Dew
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FROM THE E DITOR GETTING ON YOUR BIKE is a given when you’re a transport cyclist. Commuting? Bike. Shopping? Bike. Dropping in on friends? Bike. Things that might stop you from cycling, you work around. When the weather’s bad, you pull on your waterproofs. When there aren’t any cycling facilities, there’s always those railings for locking up your bike, and you can get changed – if you need to – in the loo. If you (okay, it was me) fall off your bike and separate the AC joint in your shoulder, you turn your everversatile Genesis Longitude into a balloon-tyred, sit-up-and-beg roadster, so it can be ridden with no weight transferred through the injured shoulder. For could-be, would-be transport cyclists, on the other hand, the default position is not cycling. They need convincing. Traffic conditions are one of the biggest barriers; there’s a perception that cycling is risky. Making cycling safer, and feel safer, is a mixture of infrastructure, lower speed limits, law enforcement, and more; see p1314. For anyone unable to ride due to a broken-down bike, meanwhile, there’s the Big Bike Revival (p16). Employers can help too by becoming more bike-friendly. They can offer the Cycle to Work Scheme, so staff can save money on a new bike and equipment. They can provide cycle parking, lockers, showers… For employees who would cycle anyway, these things are an endorsement. For the rest, they could be the difference between getting on a bike and not.
Contents
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EVERY ISSUE
THIS ISSUE
04 B I G P I C T U R E
34 H E R E C O M E S T H E S U N
It’s Bike Week 2018 from 9-17 June
07 F R O M T H E C H I E F EXECUTIVE Paul Tuohy on everyday travel for everyone
08 C Y C L E S H O R T S The Adventure Syndicate, Ros Harper’s mountain bike, Cycle safety: making it simple, Big Bike Revival, the Women’s Festival of Cycling, and more
20 S H O P W I N D O W Previews of new products
22 G E A R Components, accessories, and books reviewed
Starting British Summertime with the Two Mills Challenge Ride
40 C Y C L I S T S W E L C O M E
Cycle-friendly employers and how to get one
46 U N P A C K I N G G A S C O N Y
Touring south-west France with a tandem that fitted into two suitcases
52 S M A L L W O N D E R S
Josie Dew on how to enjoy family cycle touring, even when you’re outnumbered
64 T H O R O U G H B R E D H Y B R I D S FOR WOMEN Genesis Skyline 20W and Pinnacle Chromium 3 Mixte compared
71 F A S T - R O L L I N G W I D E TYRES Transform your tourer or gravel bike
31 L E T T E R S Your feedback on Cycle and cycling
59 Q & A Your technical, health and legal questions answered
81 T R A V E L L E R S ’ T A L E S Cycling UK members’ ride reports
ON THE COVER Cyclists on Park Drive, just off Lister Park, Bradford. By Joolze Dymond
Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX E: cycling@cyclinguk.org W: cyclinguk.org T: 0844 736 8450* or 01483 238300
Founded in 1878
DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
Membership
Cycle promotes the work of Cycling UK. Cycle’s circulation is approx. 51,000. Cycling UK is one of the UK’s largest cycling membership organisations, with 65,000 members and affiliates Patron: Her Majesty the Queen President: Jon Snow Chief Executive: Paul Tuohy. Cyclists’ Touring Club, a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England No 25185, registered as a charity in England and Wales Charity No 1147607 and in Scotland No SC042541. Registered office: Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. CYCLE MAGAZINE: Editor: Dan Joyce e: cycle@jamespembrokemedia.co.uk Head of Design: Simon Goddard Designer: Katrina Ravn Advertising: Anna Vassallo tel: 0203 859 7100 e: anna.vassallo@ jamespembrokemedia.co.uk Publisher: James Houston. Cycle is published six times per year on behalf of Cycling UK by James Pembroke Media, 90 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BG. Tel: 01225 337777. Cycle is copyright Cycling UK, James Pembroke Media and individual contributors. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from Cycling UK and James Pembroke Media is forbidden. Views expressed in the magazine are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the policies of Cycling UK. Advertising bookings are subject to availability, the terms and conditions of James Pembroke Media, and final approval by Cycling UK. Printed by: Precision Colour Printing, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, TF7 4QQ. Tel: 01952 585585 *0844 numbers are ‘basic rate’, costing under 5p/min plus your phone company’s access charge on a BT landline. Other providers may charge more.
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Photo: James Robertson
THIS MONTH THE ADVENTURE SYNDICATE, ROS HARPER’S GIANT TRANCE, CYCLE SAFETY: MAKE IT SIMPLE, BIG BIKE REVIVAL, AND THE WOMEN’S FESTIVAL OF CYCLING
Teenage girls gaining self-esteem through adventure cycling
Local Heroes
THE ADVENTURE SYNDICATE This group of female endurance cyclists is working with schools to get teenage girls bikepacking. Victoria Hazael found out how
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EENAGE GIRLS IN THE UK don’t cycle as much as teenage boys, so the Adventure Syndicate (a Cycling UK affiliated group) encouraged eight teenage girls from Inverness to try bikepacking. The overnight expedition was such a success that they’ve got funding from the Sporting Equality Fund to expand the project to reach teenagers from five different schools across Scotland. ‘We’re doing this because we love the way adventuring by bike makes us feel,’ said Adventure Syndicate director Lee Craigie, ‘and we passionately believe we are all capable of so much more than we think we are.’ While the physical benefits of cycling are
8 C Y C L E JUN E/JULY 2018
well known, Lee said: ‘The confidence and self-esteem raising possibilities of girls travelling great distances by bike and carrying everything they need to eat, sleep, and have fun along the way, can change how they view the world and what they’re capable of achieving in it.’ At the beginning of the year, 14-year-old Emilia was part of the team of teenage girls who rode the Strathpuffer in freezing and snowy conditions under the wing of Lee Craigie and Jenny Graham. Emilia has clearly caught the adventure bug. ‘Bikepacking is a brilliant opportunity,’ she said. ‘It takes you away from the social pressures at school and
lets you forget about them. It shows you that mountain biking isn’t all about the competition, it’s about having fun too.’ Emilia’s mum, Marisa Astill-Brown, is impressed: ‘The Adventure Syndicate clearly practise what they preach. They tell everybody touched by this project that this is surely a fairer, more diverse, and healthier take on how we approach life in general. As a parent, I know I would be delighted to see my daughter’s generation touched in this way.’ The schools involved are Dingwall Academy, Inverness Royal Academy, The Bridge, Mary Russell, and Ross Hall. The Adventure Syndicate will meet regularly with the schools to inspire pupils with tales of their adventures. They’ll take groups of eight on overnight cycling adventures, as well as delivering camp-craft activities, bike skills sessions, and bike maintenance training. ‘This will change their relationship to outdoor, adventurous exercise permanently,’ Lee said, ‘resulting in improved levels of selfesteem, resilience, and confidence that will last them a lifetime.’ Drew Graham, a teacher from Dingwall Academy, said that before the project, encouraging girls to try mountain biking was hard: ‘I have been running a mountain bike club at Dingwall Academy for the past ten years. There has never been a shortage of boys keen and willing to get involved but there was, for a long time, an absence of girls. We tried to encourage female participation and had brief visits every now and then. ‘Role models are important and, after some female staff became qualified, we began to see more long-term involvement from the girls. Lee and the Adventure Syndicate have really added momentum, and we now have a core group of girls that ride regularly with the club and have started joining local bike clubs, racing, and exploring in their own time. Last week’s school ride, we had 18 pupils: nine boys and nine girls. It seems to be working.’ For more, see theadventuresyndicate.com/ our-schools-project/.
PRODUCT NEWS | SHOP WINDOW
Prudential RideLondon
Product news
SHOP WINDOW
As well the cycling, there’s an associated bike show at ExCeL from 26-28 July. See prudentialridelondon. co.uk/events/cyclingshow/
VICTORIA HAZAEL PREVIEWS A SELECTION OF NEW PRODUCTS, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON ONES FOR WOMEN
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VICTORIA HAZAEL Website editor
CAMPO UPTOWN BIKE 1 PO TOTE £70
Luggage that looks less bikey when it’s on your shoulder, this rack-top bag fastens to the carrier with four velcro straps. bryht-design.co.uk
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C7 WOMEN GORE2 GORE TEX SHAKEDRY VIZ JACKET £239.99
Splashes of colour come to the men’s and women’s lightweight waterproofs in Gore’s ninja-black Shakedry range (reviewed Feb-Mar 17). gorewear.com
3 TREK ROSCOE 8 WOMEN’S £1,000
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A plus-size hardtail for more petite riders, the Roscoe 8 is available in sizes down to 13.5in. With a 120mm air-sprung fork and a dropper post, it could be all the hardtail you need. trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB
4 WOLFTOOTH PACK PLIERS £29.99
Ideal for anyone without a vice-like grip, this handles the jobs your multitool doesn’t: tyre lever, valve core remover, valve stem locknut wrench, master-link pliers. wolftoothcomponents.com
PADDED 5 VELOVIXEN CYCLING KNICKERS
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£39
VeloVixen’s new cycling pants have a padded, microfibre chamois so you can cycle more comfortably in jeans, jeggings, a skirt, etc. Sizes XS-XL. velovixen.com
6 HUMMINGBIRD FOLDER £3,995+
At 85×55×20cm this carbon-fibre compact isn’t the smallest folder, but at 6.9kg (claimed) it’s surely one of the lightest… and most expensive. hummingbirdbike.com
7 DZR ZURICH V2 BOOT
$229
Using SPD pedals for utility cycling doesn’t require dressing like a racer. These limited edition leather and canvas SPD boots come in burgundy or blue. dzrshoes.com
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L to R: Paul Tuohy, Raluca Fiser (European Cyclists’ Federation), and Gordon Clarke (Sustrans NI Director) launch the new CycleFriendly Employer Accreditation Scheme
C Y C L E - F R I E N D LY E M P L OY E R S | F E A T U R E
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CYCLISTS WELCOME EMPLOYERS WHO ENCOURAGE THEIR STAFF TO CYCLE TO WORK REAP THE BENEFITS – AS DO THEIR EMPLOYEES. SAM JONES GOT ON A BIKE A DECADE AGO AND HASN’T LOOKED BACK
leven years ago I began my first job that required a suit. From day one, I knew I had to find an alternative to London’s rush-hour scrum on the tube – a sweaty, unpleasant journey that took half an hour door-to-door. The bus made me late. Walking took an hour. Then my flatmate suggested cycling and lent me a curiouslyshaped bike called a Brompton. On a folding bike my commute took 15 minutes. I smiled the whole way. I wanted one there and then. A folder would fit into our small flat and be harder to steal. Prices were high, but I found some information about the Cycle to Work scheme (see p44, ‘How to be cycle friendly’). A month later, I had my own Brompton.
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Opposite: Brian Morrison Photography
BIKE COMMUTING'S BENEFITS Over the next couple of years, a shower was installed at work thanks to a Transport for London fund to encourage cycling in the capital. (In reality, it was used only by me and those colleagues who came straight off long-haul flights.) We were also provided with access to secure underground parking, including bike stands. I was spoilt. When I started looking for my next job, secure cycle parking ranked almost as highly as interest in the role. My experience isn’t unique. Employers across the UK are waking up to the benefit of not just catering for employees who already cycle but encouraging newcomers to try riding to work. Cycling UK’s briefing ‘Cycle-friendly employers and cycle commuting’ (bit.ly/cyclefriendlyemployers) is a good starting point to
understand the reasons why business should do more to encourage cycling. Some of these are purely for the benefit of the business, such as happier, healthier, more productive staff, and a reduction in travel costs – all of which will affect the bottom line positively. Others reflect on how an organisation can limit its impact on the local or wider environment – by reducing congestion, for example.
PRESCRIBING CYCLING I spoke to GSK, one of the UK’s leading pharmaceutical companies. They employ 16,000 people in the UK across 18 sites, and have been pro-cycling for a couple of decades. Company policy goes beyond ‘attracting and retaining the best talent’, a statement any company might make. It addresses the practicalities of parking for such a large workforce. The company’s shift towards encouraging active travel happened in 1998, when GSK built new headquarters in Brentwood, Middlesex. Newly-introduced Government policy at the time greatly restricted parking for all new builds. This forced a rethink among
“It makes people feel better and happier, it helps them save money, and it’s usually the quickest way to get to work”
senior management, and transport swiftly moved up the priority list as the realisation hit that staff would struggle to reach the new office. ‘Senior sponsorship was key,’ says GSK’s UK Transport Development Manager, Catherine Warwick-Wilson. ‘They turned the challenge of parking allocation into an opportunity, and consequently cycling facilities were designed into our new builds.’ Cynics might suggest it was Government policy that forced GSK’s hand in encouraging alternatives to driving. That might be a fair assessment if GSK had provided secure cycle parking, lockers, changing facilities, and showers at only one site. They didn’t. There are now five sites covering West London, Surrey, and Hertfordshire, and five members of staff work to promote active travel and offer sustainable travel solutions for nearly 12,000 colleagues. GSK also offer a range of incentives for staff who choose cycling, beyond the customary Cycle to Work scheme. All payroll staff can enrol on the Bike Miles incentive, where they’ll receive £1 per day for cycling to work – money that can then be spent on cycling accessories and clothing. At GSK’s headquarters, there’s a loan fleet of 20 Bromptons, and even a cycle centre run by Recycle-A-Bike to keep the staff’s bikes running. It seems the staff appreciate what’s being done, with one member in GSK’s 2011 Cycling Benefits Survey saying: ‘As a result of the excellent support for cyclists, I now rarely drive to work. Over the last 18 months I have seen real improvements in my overall health, energy levels and resilience… and I now also enjoy cycling as a weekend pursuit. All of this
CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 1
D E TA I L S WHERE: Gascony, southwest France START/FINISH: Mont-deMarsan DISTANCE: 350km over six days PICTURES: Lynda and Patrick Walsh
GASCONY | GRE AT RIDES
Great rides
UNPACKING GASCONY
Sampling the local spirit
Lynda and Patrick Walsh travelled from the United States to SW France by ’plane and train, with their tandem in two suitcases
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ean stood on a gravelled rooftop in Lectoure and pointed to his bicycle, a rusted mixte propped against one of the stubby stone walls that were the only things preventing cars from driving onto roofs in this precipitous town. He pointed first to the bicycle and then to his paunch. ‘I bike to stay in shape,’ he said with a wink and a smoker’s smile. Jean was a metalworker, out for a joyride on a Sunday afternoon. He said on a clear day you could see to the Pyrenees from this spot on the south-west rampart of his medieval-walled hometown. When he heard we had ridden to Lectoure on a tandem from Mont-de-Marsan, he did the same thing everybody in Gascony did – said ‘Oof!’ and made an undulating hand gesture. Our elevation profile for the past three days had resembled a saw blade: two kilometres up, two kilometres down, two kilometres up… not steep slopes but not trivial either. After a long day of this, we were stretching our legs with a stroll around Lectoure when we ended up on the same rooftop as Jean. He said he wished his wife would ride with him. He recommended we stop in Saint-Puy for the melons. Then he went back to searching for the Pyrenees across a moody, late-afternoon landscape of wheat fields, vineyards, and oak copses, and we went on our way.
We were riding a 350-kilometre, six-day loop through Gascony. In Paris, we’d felt like tourists, drifting through the city on foot but not engaged with it. Here in the south-west of France, the tandem put us in touch with the countryside. We felt the temperature drop in each oak hollow, heard geese honk as they pecked and scratched in grassy fields. We learned to smell the blackberry patches before we saw them, and the rain before it fell. We started noticing the faint shell motifs etched on pillars and posts that had led pilgrims from all over Europe for a thousand years toward the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. We marvelled at the range of local machinations for warding birds off the abundant cherry crop – scarecrows, CD-ROMs, bags of eggshells, even the dangling corpses of dead birds. In Paris, we felt invisible. In Gascony, it was different. Chickens and dogs craned their sleepy necks as we pedalled by. If we stopped to route-check in front of a Romanesque church or a saffron-stuccoed house for more than five minutes, someone invariably popped out to ask us if we were all right, if we needed something to eat, if we knew the wind was due to pick up that afternoon… And when we said where we were planning to stay that night, further on down the road, then came that sympathetic ‘oof!’ and the undulating hand.
Do it yourself
GETTING TO GASCONY We flew into Paris and took trains to Mont-de-Marsan, our starting point in Gascony. Most TGV trains have compartments that accept assembled bicycles, and the spaces can be reserved online. Many of the regional RER trains carry bikes as well, though this is first-come, firstserved. Assembled tandems are not carried on any train but folding or coupled bikes in standard-size cases are treated as luggage. We had no difficulty getting hotels at the beginning and end of our tour to store our bike cases while we rode. We tipped the staff.
FAINT SHELL MOTIFS ETCHED ON PILLARS AND POSTS HAD LED PILGRIMS TOWARDS SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA FOR 1,000 YEARS CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 7
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SMALL WONDERS WITH THE RIGHT KIT AND ATTITUDE, TOURING WITH YOUNG CHILDREN CAN BE GREAT FUN – EVEN IF, LIKE CYCLING UK VICE PRESIDENT JOSIE DEW, YOU’RE OUTNUMBERED THREE TO ONE…
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TOURING WITH CHILDREN | FE ATURE
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Top: Honfleur, France (Jack’s asleep in the trailer) Bottom: North Sea coast bike path, Netherlands, 2016
here’s nothing like children to turn your life upside down. I hadn’t expected babies; at 19, a doctor told me that I wouldn’t have them. But when I was 40, I had Molly, followed by Daisy at 44 and Jack at 48. When I first became pregnant, people told me to forget cycling. You can’t look after a baby and cycle, they said. But you can: you just take baby with you and scale down distances and locations. Cycling across America or around Japan, which I’d done by myself, would be difficult with a baby. So with Molly I kept my cycling closer to home: Sussex, Dorset, Devon, the Isle of Wight. I got a Burley child trailer, which I padded liberally with pillows and blankets. Molly went in that, enjoying good protection from the sun, rain, and wind. I also had a Hamax childseat, which I used as soon as Molly’s neck muscles could hold up her head (at about eight months). This gave her a good view above the hedges and meant I could chat to her while riding along. When Daisy was born I acquired a Nihola cargo trike, with a front box cavernous enough to store an assortment of children, camping equipment, teddies, and nappies. When Daisy was one she sat in this, admiring the windmills and multitudes of cyclists as we cycled across the Netherlands. Molly rode her tag-along attached to the rear of the Nihola. Next came a Circe Helios tandem. Just after Daisy’s second birthday, I managed to cajole my husband Gary to cycle 800 miles with me along the North Sea coast from
“Since you can’t fit 14 feet of bike onto a train or a ’plane, this limits our mode of escape from England to ferries; we just ride onto the car deck”
Holland up through Germany to Denmark. Gary towed Daisy in the trailer, while fiveyear-old Molly rode the tandem with me. This was a good combination as it meant we could cover fairly long distances each day. A few months after this, Jack was born. Gary made sure he was working for the next summer’s jaunt! I wasn’t quite sure how I would cope cycling singlehandedly with a baby and two young girls, so instead I pushed them in an off-road pram along the South Downs Way, with help from my Dutch friend Anoek. Since then, I’ve done all my trips with my three offspring alone.
FOUR WHEELS, EIGHT LEGS, ONE MOTOR Cycling around the Isle of Wight was the first trip I did with three children by myself. The weight was immense! Sleeping bags, tent, tools, toys… I perfected the art of cramming. Anything that didn’t fit inside the bags, I hung from the rear rail of the trailer: buckets, spades, potty, water bottle, rubber rings, pushchair, toy digger, and the kitchen sink – a collapsible Ortlieb bowl with handles. The trouble with the Isle of Wight for cycling so heavily loaded is that it is hilly. Plus there are far too many cars in places. So we spent the entire six weeks of the next summer holidays in the Netherlands, an ideal country for cycling with children. A couple of months after this trip, I acquired a Circe Helios triplet. This meant all four of us could now travel on one bike: me at the helm, Molly in the middle, Daisy on the rear, Jack in the trailer. It’s an unwieldy 14-foot-long articulated monster but is fun to ride, and it means all three offspring are tucked in with me on the road and travelling at the same speed. To save my knees from exploding, the triplet has electric assistance. The 250W motor is designed to help propel one rider on a single bike so the assistance it gives us is minimal. I turn it on when I really need it – mostly to prevent being dragged backwards on an incline by the unearthly weight. Since you can’t fit 14 feet of bike onto a train or a plane, this limits our mode of escape from England to ferries; we simply cycle onto the car deck with the trucks. The first place we toured around by triplet was the Channel Islands (ferry from Portsmouth).
CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 5 3
EXPERT ADVICE | Q&A
Expert advice
MEET THE EXPERTS
YOUR TECHNICAL, LEGAL, AND HEALTH QUESTIONS ANSWERED. THIS ISSUE: ANGRY DRIVERS, INTERNAL CABLING, BROKEN LEG RECOVERY, AND MORE
D R M AT T B R O O K S Cycling GP {Health}
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Question of the month RICHARD HALLETT Cycle’s Technical Editor {Technical}
RICHARD GAFFNEY Principal Lawyer, Slater + Gordon Lawyers {Legal} See bit.ly/cycletooclose for more
Legal
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Q
On a snowy day this winter, I was passing a long row of parked cars when a driver overtook me with inches to spare. I was alarmed and banged on the passenger door to alert him, as he was forcing me towards the parked cars. This infuriated him: he gave chase, then jumped out of his car, fists raised, shouting about ‘damage to his property’. I phoned the police, who arrived promptly and cautioned him. One officer told him I was within my rights to bang on the car. I regret that I didn’t have a camera to record all this. But what I want to know is: 1. Could the driver claim against me for any damage to his car (not that I could see any)? 2. If he did, would the third-party insurance I have with Cycling UK cover me against this? Name and address supplied
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Whilst this sounds like an incredibly frightening experience, I am glad that it did not result in a more serious situation. From what you have mentioned, the driver of the vehicle failed to give you adequate space when overtaking. This contravenes Rule 163 of the Highway Code, which suggests that when drivers overtake cyclists, they should give them as much room as they would when overtaking a car. The police recommend that drivers provide a clearance of at least 1.5m when overtaking a cyclist. Motorists could face a fine and points if they are caught overtaking cyclists or ‘vulnerable road users’ too closely, as this could be seen as careless driving. The Government is also looking into a separate offence of so-called ‘car dooring’, when a motorist negligently opens their car
door in the path of an oncoming cyclist – with predictable results. Concerns about both these issues have been highlighted by Cycling UK in previous issues of Cycle, and are part of the charity’s campaigning efforts on behalf of members. If you did cause damage to the vehicle (which seems unlikely from your description), the driver could make a claim against you. This should be covered by your third-party insurance from Cycling UK. This policy covers you for any accidental damage or injury caused by you or your cycle anywhere in the world, except the USA and Canada. However, it must be noted that the insurance policy will not cover you if you are cycling in the course of your employment, e.g. as a courier. Further details can be found on the Cycling UK website. If you feel that the incident may lead to a claim against you under Cycling UK’s policy, make contact as soon as possible on the Accident Claims Line: 0844 736 8452. Richard Gaffney
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BIKETEST | THOROUGHBRED HYBRIDS
LIZ COLEBROOK Frame builder and occupational therapist
Bike test
THOROUGHBRED HYBRIDS Framebuilder Liz Colebrook of Beaumont Bicycle reviews two women’s hybrids: the Pinnacle Chromium 3 Mixte and the Genesis Skyline 20W
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HE TWO BIKES on test are aimed at women looking for a hybrid that cuts the mustard as a utility/ commuter bike, with scope to travel further afield with some luggage. Given this brief, the bike needs to be reasonably light, resilient, practical, and comfortable. I took them through town and out into the Shropshire hills where the terrain is hilly. It was also much rougher under tyre than usual after a harsh winter.
giving both torsional strength and generous standover clearance. The mixte was originally designed for mixed usage in terms of gender – hence the name. Nowadays it’s seen as a variation on the ‘step-through’ but still requires quite a high stepping action. The Chromium 3 has a slightly steeper seat angle than the Genesis Skyline – 73.5 degrees versus 73. I liked this climbing hills; being positioned over the pedals gives a palpable sense of power delivery. The 55mm fork offset gives good toe clearance should FRAME AND FORK you want to wear boots. When combined Both frames use a configuration with the head angle of 72 degrees and of double-butted, heat-treated 47mm tyre width, the handling SITTING aluminium tubing paired with an is light and nimble. The trail of COMFORTABLY 53mm allows you to quickly aluminium fork designed for Saddle discomfort tends a semi-integrated headset. dodge a pothole, yet the bike to be a bigger issue Genesis opt for a compact is nice and stable on descents, for women than men. frame design and tapered as is the Genesis Skyline. For more on this topic, head tube; this keeps the The Skyline’s stated trail see cyclinguk.org/ handlebar at a comfortable is 74mm, although I calculated saddlepain height whilst affording good 78mm, and the handling is standover clearance with the sloping correspondingly a little less responsive top tube. The Chromium 3 stands out at slower speeds. One could argue this with its French style ‘mixte’ frame design, enables the rider to feel more relaxed on where twin lateral stays run from the head longer stretches but then other factors need tube to the rear triangle. With no top tube, to be right, such as the rider’s relationship there will be a folding moment at play but with the handlebar. the twin ‘lats’ counter this very effectively, Both bikes feature a hard-as-nails powder-
I RAN THE CHROMIUM 3’S WIDE 650B TYRES AT 55PSI AND WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY THE MIX OF COMFORT AND SPEED 6 4 C Y C L E JUN E/JULY 2018
coat finish. What this lacks in lustre is made up for in resilience. Similar colour choices from both companies show that turquoise is evidently a current favourite for women’s cycling. The matt finish of powder-coating looks good with the current trend for matt black componentry.
COMPONENTS Although the industry owes a huge boost in sales from affordable lightweight aluminium bicycles coming onto the market in the 1980s, I’d describe the ride characteristics of aluminium as rather unforgiving and almost ‘jarring’. What’s noteworthy about the Chromium 3 is its wheel and tyre combination. The 47mm-section herringbone file tread tyre on a 650B wide rim does a great job of dissolving this ‘harshness’ – particularly important with a straight bladed fork. Recommended tyre pressure is 45-65psi. I ran the tyres at 55psi and was pleasantly surprised by the heady mix of
Above: A more backswept handlebar gives the Pinnacle a relaxed riding position that complements its wide tyres
THOROUGHBRED HYBRIDS | BIKETEST
PINNACLE CHROMIUM 3 WMS Aluminium fork has fittings for a front pannier rack
GENESIS SKYLINE 20W No front rack mounts but it’ll take a rear one, plus a kickstand
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