Cycle magazine October/November 2024 FULL

REILLY GRADIENT

Do-it-all titanium gravel bike

ISLA’S BIKES

Catching up with the children’s bike pioneer

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Welcome

This is the bit where I’d normally comment on the issue’s contents. But I’d like to use it instead to say farewell to cycling pioneer you may not have heard of: Geoff Apps, whom I worked with years ago on New Cyclist magazine.

Geoff passed away this summer aged 75. He was a bike designer whose influence doesn’t do justice to his ideas. He was independently developing off-road bikes at the time of the Marin County clunkers, only his were for traversing muddy British countryside.

Some of his ideas were ahead of their time. His off-road bikes had 29er and 650B wheels, lower-pressure tyres, hubbased braking (drums rather than discs) and luggage capability decades before mainstream mountain and gravel bikes.

Some of his ideas still seem out there. A high bottom bracket. A rigid fork. An upright riding position with a shorter reach and a higher handlebar. Some of those features, however, are central to the designs of another maverick, Jeff Jones. I’d recently approached Geoff about running an article about the two of them, what they did differently and why.

Geoff’s bikes weren’t overlooked because they lacked potential but marketing. He was really building bikes for himself, ploughing his own furrow, whether or not the industry took notice.

Here’s to doing things differently and following your own ideas, wherever they take you. For Geoff, that would be over loose rocks, through deep mud, across a stream and into the wilds beyond. clelandcycles.wordpress.com

DAN JOYCE Editor

FEATURES

34 Charging around the world

The first circumnavigation of the globe by electric bike

40 Power points

Everything you need to know about living with an e-bike

51 Isla’s bikes

Isla Rowntree talks bikes, business and the future

54 Unsurfaced Ireland

Gravel riding around Northern Ireland and the Republic

PRODUCTS

20 Shop window

A cross-section of new products

22 Gear up

Components, accessories and books

64 Bike test: Reilly Gradient

Titanium, do-it-all drop-bar bike

66 Bike test: Boardman URB 8.6

A 3-speed city runabout on test

69 Group test: commuter jackets

Waterproof jackets for the ride to work REGULARS

04 Freewheeling

Bits and pieces from the bike world

07 This is Cycling UK

Building the case for active travel investment with new MPs; the forthcoming Marcher Castles Way; elections for Cycling UK’s board of trustees; and more

16 You are Cycling UK

Elliot’s Place, one of our Community Cycle Clubs

18 You are Cycling UK

Cycle instructor Professor Balance

31 Letters

Your feedback on Cycle and cycling

48 Weekender

The Dartmoor Devil autumn audax ride

58 Cyclopedia

Questions answered, topics explained

73 Travellers’ tales

Cycling UK members’ ride reports

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On the cover Drone shot of Nick Sanders on Highway 10, east of Haradh, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Nick Sanders

Top to bottom: Nick Sanders, Roo Fowler, Graham Brodie, Ann Shrimpton

A SHORT TOUR AROUND THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF CYCLING

You ride

Peter Robinson Chair of Aylesbury Cycling UK

Peter, who is also the secretary of South Bucks Midweek Cycling UK member group, was this autumn presented with a Going the Extra Mile Platinum Lifetime Achievement Award for 40+ years of volunteering in cycling.

“I wanted a local group to ride with and to encourage my friend to cycle,” he said, “so I started the then Aylesbury CTC group in January 1981 from existing CTC members. Five riders set off on the first Sunday ride a month later. I have been secretary, rides secretary, ride leader and chair over the years. At times, several others have taken a leading role, too.

“The Aylesbury group has waxed and waned over the years but when I retired, I decided to make it a project to reinvigorate the group and attract new riders from outside the Cycling UK membership. With the help of others, I started a Facebook group and a website. I remember being amazed when it reached 30 members; it now has over 400, although not all ride with us.

“As the group grew, there was a need to split the rides to cater for the wide range of abilities and aspirations. There are currently three rides on Sunday mornings and a monthly pub social evening.

“I feel that my greatest achievement as a volunteer has been starting a group that is still going strong, has introduced many people to cycling and has created many friendships. I do less organising now, but I still enjoy route planning and leading rides.

“For me, cycling has always been about freedom, independence and the ability to explore new places simply, under your own steam. I enjoy sharing that with others by leading rides and occasionally holidays.”

LOCAL GROUPS

You can find your local cycling group, or learn how to set up your own, on the Cycling UK website: cyclinguk.org/localgroups. There’s lots of advice there for existing groups, too.

ESI Chunky grips

Brompton G Line

A bigger version of the Brompton is coming. The G Line has 20in (406) wheels, hydraulic disc brakes and an 8-speed Shimano Alfine hub gear. The fold – to 690×730×402mm – is the same and it weighs from 13.9kg. It’s priced from £2,399 or £3,499 for the 4-speed electric version. Review next issue. brompton.com

ESI’s silicone grips have been around for 25 years. They now come in a range of colours, diameters (the Chunky grips are 32mm) and lengths, including ones long enough for a Jones H-Bar Loop or Surly Moloko. All of them are lightweight, really comfortable and grippy in gloves or bare hands. You’ll need isopropyl alcohol to fit them. £18.99, esigrips.com

Really?!

Surly Moonlander 2.0

The latest version of Surly’s go-anywhere fat bike has 24×6.2in tyres on 100mm-wide rims. Designed for use on sand, snow and lunar-like landscapes, it also comes with a 9-speed Pinion bottom bracket gear. On the one hand, the big treads make sense: better flotation and grip. But just look at it! £4,699, surlybikes.com

Quick fixes

Replacing internal cables

Internal cables are nice for a bike’s aesthetics and will marginally improve its aerodynamics but can be a pain for maintenance. Specifically, how do you fish a new cable out of the frame? It’s easiest with a traditional J-bend spoke. This is small enough to fit into ‘exit’ apertures, the elbow at the end works like a hook and the flattened spoke head helps prevent your prey slipping free. You can get hold of inner cables, cable housing or hydraulic hoses like this.

Peter (left) receives his award from Andrew Hetherington

Classic kit

Events

The Gridiron

The Gridiron, a randonée ride through the New Forest that takes its name from the many cattle grids it crosses, returns on Sunday 13 October. Like last year the event will have two distances: the Classic 100k and the Challenge 100-mile. Entries are open until 12 October but are limited to 1,000 people in total, across both events, so you’re advised to book early to avoid disappointment; there are no entries on the day.

Entry costs £12.50 (under-18s are free), which gets you a finisher’s medal and a branded cycling cap and musette, as well as refreshments. For more details or to enter, visit gridironcc.org.

Watch this

Lots of cyclists have already enjoyed Cycling UK’s Traws Eryri route, which runs for 200km through the mountains of North Wales from Machynlleth to Conwy. If you’re thinking of riding it, there’s an introduction to it on the Cycling UK website (cyclinguk.org/traws-eryri). Guy Kesteven, who wrote the guidebook, goes into more detail at bit.ly/guykestv-trawseryri-part-one. Of the other Traws Eryri videos out there, one the better-shot ones is from MORE Keep Smiling Adventures at bit.ly/before-bikepack-traws-eryri. There’s discussion about the route, which bike to use and more.

Try this Volunteering

This autumn you can help Cycling UK develop outstanding products and services for our supporters and help change more lives through cycling. From testing digital tools to helping promote online resources such as Cyclists Welcome to assisting the British Cycle Quest validator with admin, these are interesting and useful volunteer roles you can do as and when you have the time to commit and tasks are available. For more information about these and all our other volunteer roles, see volunteer.cyclinguk.org/ opportunities and search under United Kingdom or your local postcode.

On my bike

David Millar

Former pro racer, commentator and CHPT3 brand founder

Why do you cycle?

I started as a kid because it was fun, and it felt like freedom. Then it became competitive and eventually a profession. These days it feels like I’ve gone full circle.

How far do you ride each week?

There can be huge weeks, there can be weeks when there’s nothing. I don’t set myself any targets.

Which of your bikes is your favourite?

That’s impossible to answer!

I’m fortunate to have my dream bikes for all types of cycling, and each is my favourite for those rides.

What do you always take with you?

My phone.

Who mends your punctures?

I do it myself mid ride. My local shop sorts out my bodged tubeless repairs.

It’s raining: bike, public transport or car?

If it’s just riding for the sake of it, bike. I love riding in the rain. An urban situation? My Brompton and public transport.

Lycra or normal clothes?

Normal clothes for urban riding, Lycra for road, a mix for gravel or mountain biking.

If you had £100 to spend on cycling, what would you get?

Riding fuel: gels, bars, drinks. Lots of it.

What’s your favourite cycle journey?

I’ve discovered ultra gravel. I did the Traka 360 by ‘accident’ in 2023 and loved it. It was quite an other-worldly experience.

What single thing would most improve matters for UK cyclists?

A cultural paradigm shift. In the shorter term, a cycle lane system beyond cities.

Oiling the wheels

Active travel has been promised ‘unprecedented’ investment by the new government. Sarah Mitchell met the now transport secretary earlier this year

At Cycling UK we’ve campaigned for improved funding for cycling for decades. We know that it is an investment for a future where everyone has access to clear air, safer streets and a more sustainable way of getting around. We were therefore thrilled when, in late August, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh promised “unprecedented levels of funding” for active travel. We now hope to see the government translate this declaration into a firm spending commitment in the Autumn Budget.

Back in March, several Cycling UK colleagues and I met up with Louise, then shadow secretary of state, for an e-bike ride in her Sheffield constituency. We took in some local traffic-calming measures, as well as tackling some of those serious Sheffield hills, where we were very glad of a little electrical assistance! We also had time to talk about our work and about the report we commissioned from IPPR, which makes the case for greater investment in cycling and walking infrastructure.

It serves as an important reminder of the crucial role that our campaigning, public affairs and policy work plays – and this work is set to continue throughout the autumn and beyond. We’ll be upping the pace on our political influencing with a jam-packed party conference season and events with our partners in the Walking and Cycling Alliance, bringing together ministers and officials from different government departments. I briefly met Simon Lightwood, the new local transport minister, over the summer recess, and I look forward to our upcoming meeting in Westminster.

You, our members, power our campaigning and

influencing through your membership fees and your support for the Cycle Advocacy Fund, so thank you all for making this work possible.

Stay in touch

Be in the know on all things cycling related. If you’d like to hear more about Cycling UK’s work – our projects, training, campaigns and fundraising, and how you can get involved – sign up to hear more: cyclinguk.org/subscribe

Wales

spends £19 per head per year on active travel. In England, outside London, it’s just £12

As it is Free Wills Month in October, I’m delighted to let you know that we have a new offer for all our members: we’ve partnered with Farewill to offer you a chance to write a simple will, free of charge. There is absolutely no obligation to leave a charitable gift, but it is a great opportunity to consider your own legacy to cycling.

I often think about the cycling stories we hear about from our members at Cycling UK – the solo rides, group adventures and memorable journeys that bring us our best cycling memories. These stories are always fabulous to read, and they’re what inspire us to keep pushing for a better cycling future. By leaving a legacy to Cycling UK, you’ll be inspiring future generations to write their cycling story. If you’re interested in learning more, or want to start writing your will for free, visit cyclinguk.org/giftinwills.

If you’ve ever ridden an electric cycle, you’ve probably experienced the ‘e-bike smile’. As well as being a lot of fun to ride, e-cycles help save money, cut carbon emissions from transport and boost health. We know from our own programmes and impact measurement that they really can encourage people to get on a bike instead of into a car.

Yet there are also concerns about safety due to recent battery fire incidents, which are primarily caused by defective and low-quality products. That’s why, alongside our partners in the Electric Bike Alliance, we’ve launched the E-Bike Positive campaign. We’ll be championing e-cycles as a safe, convenient and healthy way to travel, promoting the safe use of e-bikes and counteracting misinformation.

A key element of our new organisational strategy –and something you told us you wanted us to do more – is building collaborations to grow our impact. So I’m delighted we’ve been able to team up with the Bicycle Association, the Association of Cycle Traders and Bosch eBike Systems on this campaign. We really hope this can lead to more people feeling confident to use the e-bikes that will help them to enjoy a happy and safe cycling experience.

We hope to see the government translate this declaration into a firm spending commitment in the Autumn Budget

Left: Mark Harvey, iD.8 Photography

Sarah Mitchell (left) with Louise Haigh MP

60km of cycle lanes were built across Paris in the last two years to link the Olympic event spaces

Transport

POLITICAL CYCLES

Cycling UK has been building the case for active travel funding with 2024’s new Parliament. Sarah Whitebread reports

Since the general election in July, the Cycling UK Policy and Public Affairs team have been following up with the new MPs who pledged to back our ‘Freedom to move’ manifesto or who expressed support for cycling throughout the campaign.

With so many new MPs to engage, many of whom cycle or have active cycling campaign groups in their constituencies, it’s been a busy few months. The many Cycling UK members who took part in our general election campaign have given us a fantastic springboard for this work.

It’s been a promising start for the new government in Westminster, with Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh committing in an interview with the Streets Ahead podcast to “unprecedented levels of funding” for active travel. We’ve been clear this needs to ramp up to at least 10% of the total transport budget, or roughly £50 per head, over the next five years. Given the cuts by the previous government, we are starting from an incredibly low base in England but there is appetite across the country for increased investment.

We’ve had disappointing news in Scotland this autumn, with the Scottish Government cutting active and sustainable travel budgets

by £23.7m. With pressure on spending across the UK nations, our advocacy work to keep up the pressure for investment in cycling has never been more important.

Autumn is always a busy time for political engagement as it’s party conference season. By the time you read this, Cycling UK will have attended the SNP, Green, Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservative conferences. At the SNP and Labour conferences in Edinburgh and Liverpool, we are taking the opportunity to get politicians out on bikes.

With improving healthcare and public health such a pressing issue across the UK, and a central mission of the Labour government, we are particularly focused on making the case to politicians that investing in active travel is one of the cheapest and most impactful health interventions they can make.

At the Labour Party conference, our panel with Asthma and Lung UK will address these issues head on. With further ministerial engagement planned for the autumn, the Cycling UK team will continue to argue that making cycling an accessible and easy choice for more people would mean a healthier, happier and greener society – a legacy for politicians across the UK to be proud of.

UNI CYCLING MADE EASIER

Membership Know someone heading off to university? Our concessionary membership covers anyone in full-time education with £10m thirdparty liability insurance for peace of mind, and helps them to stay on budget with our great discounts and savings. For just £2.84 a month they’ll be supported for 12 months of cycling. Surprise them with a gift membership or share this link so that they can join: cyclinguk.org/membership.

Survey 7-IN-10 WANT BETTER CYCLING FACILITIES

A survey by Cycling UK that ran exclusively in the Guardian this summer found that 70% of respondents wanted to see more segregated cycle routes. While 92% of UK adults can ride a bike, fewer than half do so, with 48% of people citing road safety as the reason why they do not cycle. Even though cycling has become safer in recent years, the perception of danger remains a major barrier. For more about the survey, visit cyclinguk.org/ infrastructure-survey

Active travel enjoys widespread support

Left: Gareth Buddo, Furmoto.

Right: Getty Images

Campaigns

ROAD SAFETY WEEK

Too often, members and supporters injured on our roads tell us that they didn’t feel their voice was heard. That’s why we’ve campaigned to press the media to talk about crashes or collisions rather than accidents, and to make sure that road victims are treated as real victims. Every November, road safety charity Brake runs a weeklong road safety campaign. This year’s theme is ‘After the crash – Every road victim counts’. We’ll be supporting that campaign and Brake’s call for greater support for road victims and their families. brake.org.uk/ road-safety-week

Governance

CYCLING UK AGM

The Cycling UK AGM was held online on Friday 27 September. Thank you to all members who attended, asked questions and voted –your engagement is appreciated. Print schedules mean that we can’t show the results here but you can view them on the Cycling UK website: cyclinguk.org/ agm-2024. Look out for more information and analysis in CycleClips.

Can’t wait for Marcher Castles Way launch?

Here are 10 more off-road routes: cyclinguk.org/ article/top-ten-offroad-routes

Routes

THE MARCHER CASTLES WAY

Cycling UK’s new longdistance route, the Marcher Castles Way, is launching soon. We rode the route in early September to finalise details and get photos for the accompanying guidebook.

The Marcher Castles Way is a 300km circular loop in the Shropshire Hills, taking in ancient castles, historic bridges, wild forest tracks and some of the most spectacular views on the border between England and Wales. It climbs

Legacies

up and down almost 5,000 metres of wild and often rocky hillsides, and takes you along epic, exposed ridge-lines. While it’s challenging to ride, the route offers stunning views across Shropshire and Wales. It passes through beautifully preserved villages and explores an area of the world that feels forgotten and dreamy. The Stiperstones National Nature Reserve is a case in point, being blessed with a full array of stars in the night sky. It’s one of the few

MAKE A WILL FOR FREE

You can transform lives through cycling by leaving a gift in your will to Cycling UK. Our partnership with Farewill enables members like you to write your will for free.

“Leaving a gift to Cycling UK in my will is the best way to honour what cycling has given me,” life member Michael Millington told us. “I want to pass on that joy to generations to come.”

Ensure your wishes are acted on and create your legacy today. Scan the code (right) or visit cyclinguk.org/giftinwills

dark sky areas in the UK, so if you camp nearby you can see the Milky Way untainted by light pollution.

The route is a real off-thebeaten-track journey but it still offers a great selection of historic sites to visit. You’ll ride past Roman ruins, see halftimbered houses, visit Norman castles and explore Neolithic monuments. There are also plenty of bakeries along the way; check out the lemon drizzle cake at the Postcard Café in Clun!

The new route is a 300km loop in the Shropshire Hills

Including Cycling UK in your will helps others to enjoy cycling like you have Far left: Julie Skelton. Left: Robyn Furtado. Below: Rob Spanring

Anniversary

CYCLING UK TURNS 146

We celebrated our 146th birthday this summer.

Cycling UK was founded as the Bicycle Touring Club on 5 August 1878. Since then our organisation has evolved, but our core principles have remained the same. We continue to champion safe, accessible cycling for all, and to provide opportunities for people to get out and explore new places through our routes and groups. For more on our heritage, visit cyclinguk.org/history

Member benefits

BIKMO INSURANCE

Cycling UK has a new insurance partnership with cycling specialists Bikmo. The third-party liability insurance cover you receive as part of your membership is unaffected by this change. If you need to report a new claim or follow up on an existing one, phone Bikmo on 01244 727 100, email cyclinguk@bikmo.com or visit bikmo.com/cyclinguk

The Cycle SOS incident line for legal assistance in personal injury cases is unaffected by this change.

Watch a video of Cycling UK’s latest five-year strategy and read more about it here: cyclinguk.org/strategy

Governance

STEER CYCLING UK’S FUTURE

Our trustees play a vital role in providing overall strategic direction for Cycling UK, ensuring we achieve our aims as a charity. This summer we called on Cycling UK members to put themselves forward to join our board of trustees. We’re delighted to have had a very strong response, with seven skilled candidates up for election.

With our ambitious new five-year strategy to deliver, it’s essential that we have the right blend of skills and experience on our board. The nominations committee was very pleased with the number and quality of applications this year, so thank you to everyone who put themselves forward. We believe the seven candidates on the ballot paper all offer qualities that complement those of the existing trustees, particularly in identified priority areas.

The next part is up to you. We want you to help shape the future of Cycling UK by voting for the trustees that you think

will best represent you and help to move the organisation forwards. All members with voting rights will find a ballot paper enclosed in this issue of Cycle. Please do take a few minutes to read each candidate’s election statement and put your X marks in the relevant boxes.

As you’re reviewing the candidates, we’d ask you to bear in mind the key skills and experience that the board are particularly keen to secure: finance, accounting and audit; national-level charity management/ organisational governance and compliance; IT/digital delivery and service design; public policy and national campaigning; and brand development and public relations.

Thank you for making your voice heard and helping to democratically elect your representatives on the board of trustees. Voting is open until 9am on Tuesday 29 October and can be done online or by returning the enclosed ballot paper by post. cyclinguk.org/become-trustee

Your vote affects where Cycling UK goes next

Member benefit

SAVE 15% ON A RALEIGH E-BIKE

Have you decided that it’s time you invested in an electric bike? Good timing: they’re better than ever. Prices are often higher than conventional bikes but big savings are available: Raleigh has increased its Cycling UK member discount from 5% to 15% off RRP (on selected Raleigh e-bikes up until Christmas). The range is extensive, with folding, trekking and commuter bikes, so there’s a Raleigh e-bike for everyone. cyclinguk.org/raleigh

Member benefit

AN E-BIKE ON SUBSCRIPTION

Are you keen to go further and faster with an electric bike, without having to worry about the up-front cost of buying one?

Hurrecane eBikes has got you covered with its hasslefree e-bike subscription service. Simply pay as you go for an e-bike, with no need to worry about servicing and maintenance costs. Cycling UK members save £10 a month with Hurrecane eBikes’ pay-asyou-go subscription. cyclinguk.org/hurrecane

Cycling UK members enjoy 10% off all Ortlieb products purchased online

E-cycles and security

PROTECTING YOUR RIDE

Electric cycles are becoming ever more popular in the UK, and it’s not hard to see why. The added boost they provide helps people new to cycling to improve their health and fitness and allows current cyclists to go further, carry a heavy load or maintain a faster pace.

E-bikes come with an additional price tag so it’s especially important to have plans in place to keep them safe. After all, even the most experienced riders can hit some bad luck –from a simple pothole to an opportunist thief. Plus, not all home insurance policies will cover your bike away from home.

Whether you ride an e-bike or not, we’re excited to be partnering with cycling specialist Bikmo to offer Cycling UK members a 10%* discount on its award-winning, hassle-free cycle insurance. Bikmo’s insurance includes theft, accidental damage and personal accident options, plus emergency bike hire and returning home cover – worldwide, 365 days a year.

and excellent customer service, it is also an ethically driven company. As a 1% for the Planet member, Bikmo donates 1% of its annual revenue to good causes focused on the environment. From recycling damaged bike parts to keep waste out of landfill to supporting community cycling organisations, Bikmo shows it cares about the world in which we all cycle. If you’re buying a new bike, registering it on the UK’s national cycle database, BikeRegister, is a great first step. To add a visible deterrent to would-be thieves, we’d recommend using a security marking kit. BikeRegister offers a range of three different marking kits, and as a Cycling UK member you receive 15% off all BikeRegister products (cyclinguk.org/ bikeregister).

Next you’ll need to make sure your bike is safe while you’re out and about. That means a high-quality bike lock, ideally with the highest security rating you can afford. Hiplok offers a 20% discount to Cycling UK members on its innovative and secure range of bike locks (cyclinguk.org/hiplok).

Plus, save 25%* on Bikmo’s e-bike policies (compared to regular bicycles ones) and benefit from a 50%** saving when insuring multiple bikes, covering the whole family on the same policy (cyclinguk. org/bikmo).

We believe Bikmo is a great fit for Cycling UK and our members. In addition to offering great value

Finally, if you need to store your bikes in a garden or other outside space, a secure and weatherproof storage unit may be just what you need. Don’t forget that Cycling UK members receive a 10% discount from leading UK manufacturer Asgard Secure Steel Storage [cyclinguk.org/asgard].

*Minimum premium £3.73/mo and policy wording applies. **Discount applies to lowest-value bike(s). This promotion is provided by Bikmo Ltd, Glendale House, Sandycroft Industrial Estate, Flintshire, CH5 2QP.

Don’t let thieves steal your e-bike smile: insure your electric bike now

Community Cycle Club

ELLIOT’S PLACE

Ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, Tiia Jaakola spoke to a Cycling UK Community Cycle Club that helps people overcome mental health challenges through cycling

Elliot’s Place is a Blackpool-based project run by the Empowerment charity. It supports young men struggling with mental health, substance misuse, learning disabilities or experiences of homelessness. Their model is intentionally flexible, and based on activities that are centred on sharing experiences. The founders wanted to stay away from a formal, static service, and instead provide a safe space for people to open up and find mutual support, confidence and hope.

Asked about the project, chief executive Mike Crowther explains that young men are “more able to talk and share when they’re actually doing something practical or fun and social”. It’s also about confidence. Mike says that young men with mental health struggles often find socialising a challenge and need encouragement.

Through Cycling UK funding, Elliot’s Place has now embedded cycling into its diverse range of social activities. “It’s helped buy bikes and other equipment, as well as getting staff trained in maintenance and as ride leaders,” Mike says.

Activities facilitator Michael Shepherd adds: “The ride leader course was absolutely fantastic, teaching you how to navigate a group across junctions and things like that. It really built up my confidence in leading people on a cycle ride.”

Often, when young men meet with people from Elliot’s Place for the first time, they expect to be sat down for a formal assessment, but instead staff suggest going out on their bikes. Mike and Michael believe that visiting the seafront is a great way to improve wellbeing, with “mile after mile of fantastic cycling”, but despite the promenade’s fame, many people in Blackpool never visit due to lack of access.

If someone has trouble opening up about their struggles, they can

go for ad-hoc, one-on-one rides to blow off the cobwebs. It usually doesn’t take long to break the ice. “It’s just something about that bike ride, the fresh air, the exercise” – as well as getting to the lovely surroundings of the beach – that helps, Michael explains. Cycling, he says, “develops that personal bond, so it’s done wonders for building trust between myself and other people that use Elliot’s Place”.

For many, cycling has also become a tool for accessing other opportunities. With their renewed confidence, the men use the bikes to travel to volunteer opportunities, job interviews and social activities. Mike describes it as “amazing”, because the people invariably don’t have a car and often struggle to afford public transport.

Both Mike and Michael are personally passionate about cycling, and are also encouraging it as a way of life. It does wonders for health, wellbeing and accessibility, but they also highlight the people they work with are “the people least likely to have a bike or a positive experience of cycling”. It’s something we can all do, so socio-economic background shouldn’t be a barrier.

“It’s giving people a fresh experience,” Mike explains. “I do think we’re actually changing lifestyles for good through this project.”

Community Cycle Clubs

Community Cycle Clubs sit at the heart of Cycling UK’s work to encourage more people to cycle. They are groups of people who come together to cycle – for whatever purpose they choose. Community Cycle Clubs connect individuals to their communities and help more people lead happier and more active lives, while reducing isolation, improving health and developing skills –or just purely and simply having fun. If you want to support more people to cycle, please donate today.

cyclinguk.org/ getmorepeople cycling

Activities coordinator Michael Shepherd (left) and chief exec Mike Crowther

Above: Supporter Paul Downie of Lancashire Tea, Linzi Cason and Luke Johnson from the Empowerment charity and Cycling UK’s Laura Howarth with the project’s new bikes

Below: Laura Howarth hands over the donation that was used to buy the bikes and other cycling equipment

Cycle instructor

PROFESSOR BALANCE

Cycling UK member Donald Macdonald has taught thousands of children to ride using his alter ego, Professor Balance

Learning to ride a bike is a life skill on a par with swimming and… well, that’s it. Only swimming and riding a bike are considered the two practical skills that every child should learn. So, when I was teaching a child how to cycle back in 2014 and they started to hyperventilate, I knew there must be a better way to overcome the fears some children have of setting off on two wheels.

That’s when I created my alter-ego, Professor Balance, and with help from Cycling UK I have turned him into a very successful character who is about to teach his 2,500th child how to cycle.

I used to be a primary school teacher, then worked for Sustrans as an I Bike officer in East Dunbartonshire, outside Glasgow. My background in education taught me how to engage children with learning. I delivered Level 2 Bikeability and led rides for the whole class, linked to the curriculum. My work spanned early years, primary and secondary, using cycling as a fun way of delivering outdoor education.

Back in 2018, a local community group I was the chair of applied for Cycling UK funding to run some learn-to-cycle classes at a disused red ash football pitch. Tickets sold out quickly, and the feedback from parents was very positive. Without the funding, the Professor would have just stayed in his laboratory and not been able to share the science of how to ride a bike.

Now, please don’t think that you need to be a professor to teach someone to ride a bike. Day in and week out, children learn to cycle despite their parents’ assistance. Holding saddles and pushing kids down hills is a rite of passage for children and the source of lower back pain for parents. The Professor tends to end up working with families who are at the end of their tether. Maybe their first two children have learned no bother but child number three is another situation

altogether. Some parents have tried for months (sometimes years) to get their child riding a bike, and they turn to the Professor for his skills, hundreds of five-star reviews on Facebook and a money-back guarantee.

The Professor is unique not only with his hard-to-identify German (or is it Dutch?) accent, but by guaranteeing your money back if your child does not learn to cycle. But, as he says, “No one comes for the refund!” So those children that don’t quite get it can come back for as many free return visits as required. The Professor might give them homework such as playing on a two-wheeled scooter, which makes the return visit 99% successful.

The technique he teaches also works for adults and children with additional support needs. ASN children might need a return visit but despairing parents often have a wee tear in their eye as they see their child being able to ride a bike, just like their friends and classmates.

Part of the appeal of being dressed up to deliver classes is that parents can be quickly and humorously told to change their behaviour without being upset. Being told to “shut the geggy” for parents who insist on bombarding their child with instructions is helpful – especially when the instructions are usually wrong!

So, what is the secret for teaching a child how to ride a bike if they are not getting it? “What’s that, Professor? The class is about to start?” Well, I might get him to tell you about that some other time!

professorbalance.co.uk

Ditch the stabilisers

If you want to teach your child to ride a bike – which will involve removing stabilisers or avoiding them altogether – Cycling UK has some advice online: cyclinguk. org/article/ ditching-yourchilds-stabilisers This mostly boils down to starting off with a balance bike because balance, not pedalling, is the key cycling skill. We’ll be reviewing four balance bikes next issue. In the meantime, check out our video guide on teaching your child to ride: cyclinguk. org/guide/teachchild-ride-bike

Professor Balance balances – but what’s he forgotten? Below: No stabilisers here

SHOP WINDOW

The autumn budget may put a dint in discretionary spending. But if you have spare cash, here are some things that caught Dan Joyce’s eye lately

1 Redshift ShockStop Suspension Stem

£189.99

Redshift’s 20mm-travel suspension stem is now also available in 55mm and 70mm lengths. Both have a 6º rise and fit 1 1/8in steerers and 31.8mm bars. redshiftsports. com

2 Blue Lug Koma Light

£38

Instead of silicone straps, this 20-lumen, USB-rechargeable light (front or rear) bolts neatly to your bike’s frame/fork bosses, a rear rack, saddle rails or even a brake calliper. tokyobike.co.uk

3 Hope Evo 155mm crankset £270+

Hope began offering a short version of its MTB crankset last year. Why?

Ground clearance, lightness and better balance when standing. They take 104BCD single, 64/104BCD double or spiderless chainrings. hopetech.com

4 Genesis Tour de Fer 40 £2,199

Genesis’s tourers now have 46-30 doubles instead of 50-39-30 triples. They’re all nice bikes but some, like the Tour de Fer 40 (bottom ratio 30/34), remain over-geared. genesisbikes.co.uk

5 Muc-Off Big Bore Tubeless Valves £40/pair

Schrader valves are an easy answer to improving tubeless airflow and reducing clogging, but Muc-Off’s no-core Big Bore valves (Lite, Hybrid or Ludicrous) look interesting. muc-off.com

6 Van Rysel Cold Weather Cycling Arm Warmers £17.99

7

Autumn days are too brisk for bare arms. (See cyclinguk. org/arm-and-knee-warmerstest .) As ever, Decathlon’s Van Rysel clothing is good value – especially with your Cycling UK discount. These arm warmers come in sizes XS-XXL. decathlon.co.uk

7 Elite Struka microadjust bottle cage £22.99

Adjustable from 65-80mm in diameter, Elite’s new Struka cage will carry flasks, bigger bottles and tubular-shaped luggage as well as bidons. freewheel.co.uk

Check out our in-depth reviews of the latest bikes and gear online at: cyclinguk.org/cycling-advice

Gearup

COMPONENTS, KIT, AND MEDIA SELECTED AND REVIEWED BY BIKE JOURNALISTS AND CYCLING UK STAFF

Pros & cons

+ Keep your feet dry + Sturdy stays - Time-consuming to

Bluemels Style

Unless you add long mudflaps, most framefitting mudguards are too short to keep the spray from your feet and the faces of following riders. The SKS Longboard was one of exceptions but that’s now been discontinued. Its replacement is the Bluemels Style. “It couldn’t be longer,” says the blurb.

The Style is available in 46, 56, 65 and 75mm widths, all for ISO 622 wheels. The 75 set on test is for tyres 55-66mm wide. My Jones Plus LWB, currently serving as a town bike, has 60-622 Schwalbe Big Apples that plump up to 65.5mm on its wide rims. So that’s at the top end of

Put to the test

Is there a product you’d like us to test? Write to: Cycle, Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Rd, Guildford, GU2 9JX or editor@cyclinguk.org

Other options

GILLES BERTHOUD STAINLESS STEEL MUDGUARDS –LONG £61.99

Sturdy and smart-looking mudguards available for 650B (584) and 700C (622) wheels in 40, 50 and 60mm widths. berthoudcycles. fr, veloduo.co.uk

what can be covered effectively. As shown, the guards are 850g. Like other SKS mudguards, the Bluemels Styles are a laminate of plastic and aluminium, with flexible mudflaps and a safety system that will release the stays if anything jams. The stays themselves are much sturdier than those of most mudguards as they’re 5mm thick. Cutting them to size – at the near end, not the guard end – requires a hacksaw and a file.

You’re supplied with spacer washers and various bolt lengths to fine tune the mudguard fit, and the mount for the seatstay brace will fit either vertical or horizontal holes.

The one thing that’s missing is an extender for the fork crown bracket. In order to get the front guard at the right height above the tyre, I made do with a bracket I found in my spare parts box. It works but isn’t pretty. It’s worth noting that, although I was fitting these guards to a 29+ bike, the Jones fork is short: an axle-to-crown height of just 451mm. Most rigid 29er forks are 30-40mm taller. The front guard is indeed long: 890mm. When I mounted it behind the fork crown, as per the instructions, the mudflap scraped on kerbs and sharp bumps. Fitting it in front of the fork crown solved the problem without sacrificing dry feet but did made my height-adjustment bodge more conspicuous. The rear guard is 1,300mm long but won’t completely protect closely following riders without a longer mudflap. I don’t ride my town bike in groups so this wasn’t a problem.

PDW FULL METAL FENDERS 29 × 2.5 £130

Aluminium mudguards for 29er tyres up to 2.2in. Long polypropylene mudflaps provide good splash protection. Also available in 37, 45 and 55mm widths. ridepdw.com

Verdict

These are the fiddliest-to-fit mudguards I’ve installed but they’re sturdy, rattle free and work well with balloon tyres like Big Apples. They’re also good value compared to other long and wide mudguards. They suit tarmac roads best but are fine on non-technical dirt tracks. wasn’t a problem. compared to other on non-technical

Dan Joyce

Pros & cons + High & low beam modes + Good beam spread - Heavy

Power HB Drive STVZO 500

Beautifully made in the style of all the manufacturer’s products, Lezyne’s elaborately named Power HB Drive STVZO 500 has a squat shape due to the width required to incorporate two separate LEDs and their associated reflectors side by side in the CNC-machined aluminium housing.

This front lamp is designed to take advantage of a change to German road traffic regulations from 2020. That allowed StVZO-approved cycle lights, which must have a beam that only projects below a cutoff line to prevent dazzling oncoming road users, to have a supplementary high-beam

RAVEMEN CR1000

FRONT LIGHT £99.99

Small, light and easily mounted high-output front light with numerous operating modes. Read a review at cyclinguk.org/ ravemen-cr1000 ravemen.com

mode similar in concept to the high and low beams cast by motor vehicle headlights.

These regulations aren’t enforced in the UK but the HB Drive 500’s impressive 500-lumen output on high beam makes it an attractive proposition for commuters on unlit roads, while the cut-off low beam is an effective way to reduce the impact of a powerful cycle light on other road users.

Weighing a not insubstantial 286g, the Drive 500 attaches via a thick rubbery strap with enough anchor holes for the hook to accommodate any size handlebar. Remove the halfround bung from the strap base and it will even work with an

Verdict

This well-made, good-looking if bulky front light is an effective operator on the road even if you ignore the German road regulationcompliant high/low beam feature, which makes it possible to cast a powerful beam on unlit roads with the option to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.

BONTRAGER ION

PRO RT £119.99

Front light with 1,300-lumen maximum output and USB charging. Double-click switch means it shouldn’t come on accidentally in your bag at work. trekbikes.com

aero bar. There’s an unsightly plate screwed to the top, which can be used with the contents of a ‘Loaded’ pack (available separately) to mount the light in front of and below a stem front cap. The light must not be strapped to the handlebar upside down, which would negate the cut-off beam feature. It is supplied with a USB charging cable and a remote control button, which mounts using an O-ring and plugs into the charge port. The remote offers the same mercifully brief range of functions as the main button: press and hold for on or off and press to toggle between high and low beams. The light shines steadily in both; flashing modes are not allowed in either front or rear lights under German regulations. The remote button shines blue when the light is in high mode. Switching modes provides a real choice of beam coverage, with the high beam casting noticeably higher and further than the height-limited low. It is also a lot brighter than the low beam alone. On low beam, however, run time is increased, from the high beam’s two hours to three and a half. There’s a green/amber/red battery charge status indicator in the on/off button. A recharge takes up to six hours.

Richard Hallett

Pros & cons

+ Super stable + Five-year warranty & also repairable

- Much smaller than panniers

on rough terrain, even when loaded near their maximum weight of 3kg each and taken over foot-high drops. Their plastic frames were rock solid on the fork and the quickrelease mechanism kept the bags firmly in place.

At less than half the volume of low-rider front panniers, these Fork-Packs are aimed at bikepackers and mountain bikers – or people who just want to travel light. Since we last wrote about them in Cycle, these quick-release, waterproof bags now also come in a tasteful dark sand colour and in two sizes: 4.1L and 5.8L.

The bag frames screw onto forks that have accessory mount holes. Using adapters, they can also be fitted to straight forks

like MTB suspension forks. I tried them on a gravel bike and a mountain bike, comparing them against my normal frontend bikepacking option of a handlebar luggage roll with the same 5kg test load.

I was delighted by how much more stable the handling was with the Fork-Packs, whether on rough singletrack or tarmac.

The lower centre of gravity kept the steering more precise and planted; the bar roll had been more susceptible to a vague, swooping motion, and on my MTB caused a slight wobble at the handlebar.

Having the weight on the fork lowers meant that my mountain bike suspension fork didn’t dive under the extra weight like it sometimes does with a heavy bar roll fitted. However, it did increase the fork’s unsuspended mass, making the suspension slightly less effective.

The real surprise was that the Fork-Packs were so secure

TAILFIN CAGE PACK

£30-45 each

Drybag-style packs that are stable and waterproof. Available in 1.7L, 3L and 5L versions, they’re designed to mount to fork cages – either generic ones or Tailfin’s own. tailfin.cc

Fixing the Fork-Packs’ plastic frames to gravel forks is super easy, and they come with pressure-reducers for carbon forks. It’s more of a faff to fit the metal band adapters to a mountain bike fork – perhaps 20 minutes’ work. You’d probably want to buy a second pair of frames (£33) if you were going to use them on multiple bikes. If you have classic tapered, curved forks, or carbon forks without mounts, these bags aren’t for you.

13L £34.99

Good-value handlebar roll at the simpler end of the spectrum, if you don’t want fork-mounted luggage. Comes with an integrated harness. alpkit.com

I tested the 5.8L Fork-Packs. While they seemed small at first, there was enough room for the small down sleeping bag, medium mat and small Nordisk Telemark tent that I normally squeeze into a 60cm bar roll on a mountain bike – a load I can’t even fit in a narrower bar roll on my gravel bike. Tent poles longer than 34cm wouldn’t fit, though. Each Fork-Pack weighs, 306g, including the frame.

Sean Fishpool

Verdict

The Fork-Packs were a pleasure to use and brought a lovely balance to my bikepacking setup. Reassuringly waterproof for winter, I’ll definitely continue to use them on both my gravel bike and my mountain bike.

Books

CYCLING INSPIRATION WHEN YOU’RE STUCK INSIDE

The Beacon Bike

Details

By: Ed Peppitt

Publisher: Icon

Books

Price: £20

Print queue

Cycle doesn’t feature all books received. Reviewers pick the ones they think you need to know about from the editor’s list. Send books to: Cycle, Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Rd, Guildford, GU2 9JX

ED PEPPIT HAS written a fascinating book about his 3,500-mile ride around the coast of England and Wales to visit every lighthouse. The author has MS, and in pursuit of a childhood dream decides he will cycle between 327 lighthouses while highlighting the charity he is raising funds for, Shift MS. He orders a custom bike from Thorn Cycles as it has to fit him well and carry his equipment, which includes a special cool pannier for his daily medication.

There are lovely illustrations of many of the lighthouses, as well as detailed descriptions of each. He tries to stay off main roads and uses the National Cycle Network when he can. He stays in local accommodation, and occasionally manages to enter the lighthouses he visits. Mostly, however, he photographs them from ferry crossings and boat trips. Some amusing tales about these trips ensue.

ISBN: 9781837731688 Excerpts

Along the way Ed meets up with old friends, encounters plenty of new characters and discovers several new favourite beers. He describes his MS struggles without self pity, as he does the episode of depression he suffers from about halfway through. Fortunately, he manages to get medication delivered and overcomes this after a short while.

The book is good inspiration for those thinking they cannot do something because they have an illness. It also encourages those of us more fortunate to get on our bikes and ride.

Sara Cairns

You can read excerpts from some of the books that Cycle has reviewed at cyclinguk.org/cycle-book-excerpts

Details

By: Laura MasseyPugh

Publisher: Bannister

Publications

Price: £12.99

ISBN: 9781916823037

Backseat Rider

EVERY SADDLE SORE, accommodation dilemma and slice of pizza brings you along for the ride with Laura and Stevie as they race their tandem around the world. Laura tells their story with passion. Bumpy roads, punctures and endless days of cycling big distances are all laid bare in a page turner that shows both the human kindness and endurance you rely on when cycling. You will them on to achieve their world record, and your heart sinks as they battle to fix the tandem to reach the Brandenburg Gate in time. Will they make it? Read it to find out!

Jenny Jackson

Details

By: Goldeneye

Publisher: Goldeneye

Price: £9.99

ISBN: 9781859653050

Details

By: John Plowman

Publisher: Independently

published

Price: £9.99

ISBN: 9798854080347

Goldeneye Suffolk Cycling

REAL MAPS COME into their own when planning rides, giving you an overview impossible on a screen. This indestructible map of Suffolk is one of four (Cornwall, Cotswolds and Peak District are the others) in Goldeneye’s range that have been revised this year. The A2 size and 2 miles: 1 inch scale makes them more manageable than OS maps. They feature quiet lanes and off-road routes that are flagged as such, so you won’t end up on a bridleway on your road bike.

Ian Small

Classic Tours on a Vintage Cycle

JOHN PLOWMAN USED a 1940s’ fixie to tour the length and breadth of the British Isles in 1975. Now he’s written about it. He’s respectful of the fixed wheel on his machine but also in awe of its capability to transport him around the UK. This is definitely the kind of book which, read at the fireside in the colder, darker months, would stimulate a similar yen to explore the byways and lesser roads of our wonderful isles when the warmer weather arrives.

Chris Beeching

THE LEISURELY LOIRE

It was great to read ‘Toddling up the Loire’ in the Aug/Sep issue. We revisited a section of the route this year, cycling from Tours to Ancenis. What I want to emphasise is just how easy it is, and how well set up everything is for cyclists, with everything from bike repair shops to campsites to hotels. We took it gently, cycling 30-45km every couple of days.

The biggest challenge for UK travellers is getting to the Loire with bikes and panniers. We’ve found the easiest way has been to travel down by car with the bikes on a roof rack. We then leave the car parked at a campsite and set off on the bikes. To return to the car, we catch a train. Most of them along the Loire have good cycle carriage facilities, although some now charge €1 for a bike reservation.

Each campsite is different but many are well designed for cyclists, with benches, picnic tables and, increasingly, fridges and basic cooking facilities. Hotels also support cyclists; in Angers our bikes were stored in a dedicated lockup facility.

The Routard guide, La Loire à Vélo (online at routard.com) is invaluable. Even though it’s in French (while my name is French, I’m not) you can get by with textrecognition translation. The IGNrando’ app has a free OpenCycleMap layer, and we’ve also used the OsmAnd app. Charging phones at campsites was no problem. Alex Bienfait

Win a Passport Saddle Pack worth £69.99

The letter of the month wins a Passport Saddle Pack, courtesy of Ison Distribution. This 9.8-litre roll-top bikepacking bag has a waterproof liner to keep your kit dry and a wipe-clean tarpaulin base to shield you from mud. There are two external pockets for keys or tools, and the seatpost strap is rubberised to keep the bag stable. For more about the whole range of Passport bikepacking luggage, visit passportcycles.co.uk

Get in touch

LETTERS are edited for space, clarity and, if necessary, legality. The editor reads and automatically acknowledges all letters but publishes only a selection. Feedback for the next issue must arrive by 31 October. Please include your membership number.

WRITE TO: Letters, Cycle, Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Rd, Guildford, GU2 9JX or email editor@cyclinguk.org

OFF-ROAD GRADING

Over the last two summers I’ve ridden the local Rebellion Way and Wolf Way routes. Both are hugely enjoyable but share a big disadvantage: the very variable quality of the off-road sections. I travel with 20kg of camping kit, and when presented with overgrown and/or muddy trails I struggle. I acknowledge that this year’s weather will have exacerbated the situation on the Wolf Way.

Not all off-road cycling is the same, and not all would-be off-road cyclists can cope with everything bridleways and other rights of way have to offer us. I think we need to acknowledge that there are different preferences and abilities. Would it be possible to rate different sections of prepared routes accordingly? Or give a little more warning of sections that may be difficult?

Alan Ackroyd

ROAD CYCLING REQUEST

I have been a member for some years and enjoy reading the magazine. However, as a lifelong roadie, I’ve always noticed that the magazine is designed for the touring cyclist. This was acceptable when it was the Cyclists’ Touring Club but, as Cycling UK, shouldn’t you include some interest for the roadie? By that I mean the cyclist who enjoys short, sharp road rides of the 45-miles-plus type?

Shaun Walsh

Letter of the month

Left:

Saskia Martin

Beats a nasty cupboard

ROAD POSITIONING

The story on Hadrian’s Cycleway was a very good read but the picture on page 38 of the story was disappointing. It showed a cyclist travelling down a road while hugging the solid white line at the far left of the lane. That is exactly where a cyclist should not be.

According to the most recognised and acknowledged cycling textbook, Cyclecraft by John Franklin (2020 edition): “The primary riding position is in the centre of the leftmost moving traffic lane for the direction you wish to travel in.” He is absolutely right, of course, as most experienced cyclists know.

Meanwhile, many thanks for the continuing high quality of the magazine. Your remit has increased enormously over the past few years with the new directions for Cycling UK, yet I always find interesting stories.

Bob Zeller

LAID-BACK TOURING

I have had an ICE T, similar to the Adventure you tried (Aug/Sep 24), since 2006. I’ve modernised it over time. I now have the newer seat, which is very comfortable, and the Shimano complete system that pairs the STEPS electric motor with an Alfine 8-speed hub gear. It’s all managed with the controller on the handlebar, so one can change gear or power level (or even turn on the lamps) from the same device.

I think it is the perfect touring cycle for an 85-year-old with some balance problems. I regularly do 50km a day on it.

Tom Culver

NOT FERRY FAIR

I want to highlight the unfairness of Brittany Ferries’ pricing for travel with a cycle to France and Spain. If you are a cyclist or foot passenger, it is more expensive than bringing a car or even a motorhome!

As I write, there is a seven-day offer for drivers and motorcyclists. Plymouth to Roscoff works out at £133 return (cabins extra) for two motorcycles. For two cyclists it is £288. Brittany Ferries has a monopoly on the western routes. While Condor Ferries has fairer pricing if you want to go to Saint-Malo, Brittany Ferries has recently become the majority shareholder of Condor…

I’m voting with my feet and going to Ireland instead. Irish Ferries charges £164 in October for two cyclists, versus £410 with a car. The amazing ‘Rail & Sail’ deals with both Irish Ferries and Stena Line add rail travel to the port for very little more. Could Cycling UK put pressure on Brittany Ferries for fairer pricing?

Ben Searle

WINTER FIXED

This is my favourite club run picture. It was taken near Naunton in Gloucestershire in January 1964. I am in the foreground; my friend Pete Mercer is further back. Two of us had stayed at Cleeve Hill youth hostel, and Pete met us in the morning.

In this photo we had cycled up through Guiting Power. We then carried our bikes, walking along the compressed snow on the tops of the dry stone walls. We rode into the village of Aylworth and out the other side, then carried our bikes in the same way up to the other Stow road. Aylworth had been cut off for two weeks at this point.

It was all on fixed wheel, of course. Most derailleurs were too flimsy to cope with winter muck.

Frank Booth

Photo of the month MADE TO MESH-URE

I refer to the letter from Mike Collins in the Aug/Sep issue, ‘Helmets with mesh’. I have created a no-cost, recycled, easy, made-tomeasure option that immediately ended my issues with insects in the helmet. Any supermarket fruit mesh bag or garden shade netting can be cut to shape and fitted into the helmet. Took me five minutes. It allows complete ventilation without being stung.

Vanessa Cave

CYCLING UK FORUM

Get immediate feedback from other members at forum.cyclinguk.org. Here’s an abridged extract from a recent thread: cyclinguk.org/ security-on-ferries

SECURITY ON FERRIES

francovendee: On a cross-Channel overnight ferry, do people leave their panniers on the bike? Or struggle and take them with them?

mxg01: I always have a cabin on overnight trips so usually take all the panniers with me. I’d be going back to collect my toothbrush otherwise.

ANTONISH: I take anything of value and a change of clothes with me. Most of the [other] stuff is clothing, so an irritation if stolen but not a disaster. TBH there is probably more risk of theft if you leave your bike outside a shop or a café.

scragend: This. Also, no one (other than the crew) has access to the car decks during the crossing, so no one is going to nip down and rifle through everyone’s panniers.

Psamathe: Panniers all

left on bike and just take the bar bag (plus a few extras like toothbrush, etc). Never had any problems.

pjclinch: Another vote for leave most of the stuff on the bike but take an overnight bag for the voyage (food, PJs, electronics, documents).

plancashire: I have a lightweight cable lock from Abus, which I thread through the pannier handles, saddle frame and bike frame if I leave stuff. It just stops quick-release thefts.

LittleGreyCat: Paranoid me took all the panniers (four) and the bar bag up to the cabin with me and locked the bike to the rail it was leaning against (insurance requirement).

bohrsatom: I generally bring all my bags onto the ferry so I can spend the journey repacking them after throwing everything in before leaving home.

Great Rides

CHARGING AROUND THE WORLD

Veteran adventurer Nick Sanders has become the first person to cycle around the world on an e-bike. Here’s how his 19,000-mile journey unfolded

There are two basic mistakes you can make with any cycling adventure: not starting and not going all the way. Everything else – the planning, any trepidation, the reason for going – quickly falls into place.

Pedalling away from the familiar daily tumult, I left behind schedules, social clamour, my dear wife and the whole damn business of regular living. I escaped along bridleways that skirted fields, passing hidden castles in forests, riding on pencil-thin backroads and remote gravel tracks. I was two stone overweight, 66 years old and cycling around the world on an electric bike.

The beautiful thing about cycling is its simplicity and flexibility. Hardly any tools other than a spanner, innertubes and glue. Hardwearing tyres. A small camera. A map app on my mobile phone. And, on this journey, a spare battery for my e-bike.

EUROPEAN CYCLE PATHS AND PASSES

In an attempt to get fitter, I’d ridden 7,000km from Nordkapp to Tarifa. But age makes you leaky and built-up stamina rapidly drains away. As a young man I would literally race across each continent. Now, heaving up the Bwlch y Groes in mountainous Welsh countryside, en route to Athens, my mind was focused on the simple details in front of me, such as the tiny colonising plants pimpling through stones and dirt. The destination seemed less important; the tableaux of nature more so.

The start of any journey matters in that small things set the tempo. I was alone with the sound from my tyres,

In 1981 Nick cycled around the world in a then record time of 138 days. In 1985 he did it again – in 79 days, averaging 171 miles a day. He holds the record for cycling around the coast of Britain in 22 days. Nick was the first person to cycle to the source of the Nile and the length of South America, and he’s cycled across the Sahara and through Asia.

my own heartbeat, the sweat and ache of my body, patterns of breath, small noises from the landscape.

I rode onward across the polders of Holland, pushing through the flatlands and onto the Flanders Fields of Belgium. I cycled along canal towpaths and river banks; there were shiny fruits on trees and many flowers along the Rivers Main and Danube. I traversed old motoring passes through Switzerland, then climbed easily up the Grossglockner mountain road to emerge in a Tyrolean landscape plucked from a fairytale.

Cycling in the sunshine feeling free, the world was rich with possibility. I was riding all day, stamping on the pedals to ride a distance that could be covered in an hour or two by car. But it was equally important to phone home regularly and send notices from the deep interior of the journey. I wanted to return home as easily as I’d left. “I was surprised, as always,” wrote Jack Kerouac in his seminal beat book On the Road, “by how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt.”

I didn’t have much of a plan but an imperative in everyone’s life begins when the dead people you know outnumber the living. That is when I had decided to go.

I rode down the Alps and onto the plains of Lombardy in the dead of night, contrasting the serenity of a castle I’d seen in the dark with the thrusting din of the highway – a highway I was soon able to escape. Old railway routes have been converted to cycleways such as the Via Verde della Costa dei Trabocchi down Italy’s Adriatic Coast, where every few

NICK SANDERS

Fact File: Charging around t he wo r l d

Distance: 19,350 miles. Average daily mileage 90, highest daily mileage 186.

Route: Wales to Amsterdam, then across Europe to Athens. Amman in Jordan, across Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, to Dubai. From Mumbai north to Nepal, along the Himalayas to Kolkata. Bangkok to northern Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, then to Singapore. Perth to Sydney. New Zealand, South Island to North. Japan. Los Angeles to New York. Lisbon to Amsterdam to Wales.

Conditions: Europe mostly dry. Middle East averaged 40ºC, India and Nepal cool, high Himalayas cold. SE Asia was just right. Australia 48ºC in the Nullarbor. USA a little bit wet.

Road conditions: tarmac good everywhere, good gravel and well-used back tracks. Himalayas, very rough the higher you ascended.

Bike used: Yamaha Wabash RT.

Maps/guides: Google Maps app on phone.

Sponsors: Restrap, Squire, Quoc, Yamaha, Schwalbe.

I’m glad I had… A pair of strong cutlery forks to take off my Marathon Plus tyres.

Next time I would… Be fitter before I left. Plan my day to start and finish earlier. Get a better saddle.

Further info: If you want to ride with me on your e-bike in Wales or from London to Istanbul, contact me via my website: nicksanders.com

yards I heard the clink of food and beer. A warm breeze creased past my helmet. Greasy rain slurped into puddles.

By evening each day, as the gentle Italian sun began to set, a new port would appear: Pescara, Bari, Brindisi. Majestic cranes were sharply outlined against a pure blue sky. I crossed Greece in a similar fashion. Then things changed in a big way.

MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS

On 7 October Hamas invaded Israel. At 10am that day I made a last-minute decision to delay my flight to Tel Aviv. By 3pm the news said that the incursion – across my proposed southern route to Aqaba – had left hundreds dead. By 4pm all flights into Israel were cancelled. I decided to re-route to Amman in Jordan and start my traverse of the Middle East there.

Gentle and slow, quietly reflective, e-cycling is the antithesis of the world at large. Had I caught the original flight, I’d have been cycling through Israel, across Sderot and Beersheba, in the midst of human catastrophe. It felt like a guardian angel moment.

The one complication for my journey was that my batteries were stuck

in a customs office in a place I could no longer access. E-bike batteries can’t be transported by air without detailed paperwork and can’t be purchased in remote places. This meant cycling across the Middle East without any battery assistance.

At roughly twice the weight of a normal touring bike, my e-bike was hard to pedal without assistance, especially uphill into a headwind. But it was give up or go on. Reverting to pure cycling, I rode across Jordan and into Saudi Arabia. Until recently it wasn’t possible to cycle across Saudi Arabia during a traverse of the Middle East. Beyond Tabuk, I reached the quieter roads around Al-Ula, a market city in northwest Saudi Arabia that lies on the incense route stretching across the Levant, linking India with the Persian Gulf.

Cities across Saudi Arabia, like cities everywhere, display one face to the traveller arriving overland and a different one to everyone else. Al-Ula had its head in the mountains that drop down to desert plains. Riyadh was swish. Buryadah had tall buildings and fancy streets. There is always a city where you arrive for the first time, and another which you leave never to return.

At the roadside, near Ankli in Karnataka, India

As I cycled towards Wilfred Thesiger’s ‘Empty Quarter’, the desert revealed no outward marks, just blanks in time as well as space. Thesiger said that once one entered the desert “no man can live this life and emerge unchanged. The imprint of the desert, however faint, will have within him the yearning to return.”

Saudi Arabia, inflamed by day, was bleak and cold by night as I slept in the sand. The wind always came with sunrise, now pushing me (still battery-less) like a ship lost at sea. Saudi’s gleaming cities were very different from its villages, which seemed to me like construction sites built on sandpits next to a quarries. And they were different on a human level. Every day, when I was in a village shop checking out my groceries, a person behind me would insist on paying for whatever I needed.

Weeks passed. Then, on the hard shoulder of a motorway, I arrived in Dubai. I crated up my bicycle and flew with it to Mumbai in India, where my new batteries were waiting.

INTO THE HIMALAYA

Having collected my batteries from customs, I headed to Delhi. India has always seemed to me less like a developing nation than a highly developed one in a state of some decay. Palaces, skyscrapers and hovels rub shoulders. Riding north on hidden-away farm tracks, I passed villages of peasant farmers painstakingly

building their own homes from breeze blocks and cement.

From Delhi I cycled to Nepal, making for the Kali Gandaki Gorge. Annapurna, a 26,545ft peak, towers over the landscape and makes this valley the deepest in the world. Transecting the high mountains, a truck track cuts across the roof of Nepal to Tibet, linking trade as it has for centuries. I sat drinking tea in the Hotel Eagles Nest in the Western Himalayas while my bicycle’s battery charged. Beyond the window, deep shadows lay in a valley that was crisped with small glaciers and snow. The river was a torrent far below.

I’d entered Nepal at the western border post of Bhimdatta, and buzzed along the main highway, where there was more calm. North of Pokhara in the mountains, the road narrowed and at 12,000ft the paved surface took on the topography of a stream bed. It was cut out of a cliff face, with a 500ft sheer drop. From opposite directions, trucks bore down on each other, mirrors drawn in, drivers holding their breath. I would stand with my back to the cliff, pressing tightly into a crack, not daring to move until they’d passed.

After 10 hours of cycling through the mountains, at night in the traffic or alone in the evening rain, my tired brain played tricks. Sometimes I felt elation, then despair. I was moved, then scared. Ernest Hemingway wrote: “The first and final thing you have to do in this

Feeding the Li-ions

The fitter you are, the less power you use and the further you go. Take a spare battery. Charge every time you have a coffee and treat yourself to scones and jam. It’s twin-pin plugs mostly wherever you go. Be warned: batteries are expensive to ship but (as now proved) with a bit of paperwork it’s not too difficult. Don’t buy poor-quality batteries.

Clockwise from top left: In the mountains near Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia. Relwa Khurd bridge, India. Ban Tau Boua Pha, Laos. Mekong River, Laos. Rural bridge in Laos. Signpost between Chinchave and Umbrane in India. Hotel for the night off Highway 10, near At Tawdihiyah, Saudi Arabia

world is to last it and not be smashed by it.” That was my trigger to get going on the difficult days.

From Pokhara in Nepal I continued to Kathmandu, the fastest-growing city in Asia. Then I returned to India, crossing beautiful Bihar. After many days I reached Kolkata, where I flew to Bangkok and started my trek across South-East Asia.

ACROSS SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Small roads took me through the jungly terrain of northern Laos, where trees and high mountains met the Chinese border. Guesthouses everywhere cost £8 a night. Food was cheap and excellent: Khao jee pâté sandwiches, spread with thick pork liver pâté, stuffed with Lao sausage, sliced papaya, carrots, shallots, cucumber, cilantro and chili sauce. Laos, with her gentleness and smiles, is one of the finest countries in the world.

I ached now and my back was bent. My legs were fine but the bones in my neck hurt. I had lost a sixth of my bodyweight and was lighter than I’d been for 48 years. I rode faster while using less power, pedalling quickly across continents with plenty of time to think.

At one junction I paused at the countdown click of a set of stop lights. I wondered for a minute whether I was on this journey around the world because it was meant to be. As the lights changed, a strange sense of paranoia gave way to a grin. I rode on, heading for the border with Vietnam.

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore came and went. It’s a deepbreath feeling, taking in the fact that in just a few days you can cycle the width of a country.

Then suddenly I was in Western Australia, fettling my bike in Perth for the next leg.

At 12,000ft the road took on the topography of a stream bed. It was cut out of a cliff face, with a 500ft sheer drop

AUSTRALIA IN 48ºC HEAT

Much of Australia’s interior feels like it hasn’t had time to change. Farmers in the Bush move, as author Don Watson says, “with the stiff-backed, stiff-buttocked gait” of men on the range everywhere. They scatter the flies from their backs with their hats, only to “let the wire-screen door slap behind them on its rat-tail spring”. It was 2,400 miles to Sydney.

Towns on the Eyre Highway were façades of a few stores, reduced down to the bare minimum of what a small town needs: Australia Post, a Mechanics’ Institute; a library with free internet. I stocked up with simple provisions of water, potatoes, canned stew and bread, ready for camping every night on the edge the outback. I charged my batteries in cafés as I drank flat whites, sheltering from the midsummer desert heat that roasted me alive.

Café society plays a cohesive part in any local community, especially for travellers. In South Australia small towns are no bigger than a microdot on a map, yet bikers and motorists travel vast distances for hot drinks accompanied by a pastry in what for a stranger looks like a wilderness. Those who used to travel across this landscape, meanwhile, seemed displaced. I saw Aboriginal Australians

in the city pushing trolleys loaded with squashed cans and dirty blankets.

More days passed, then weeks. I was riding at least 90 miles each day, sometimes over 180 after entering the lush lands of Victoria. It was a marked transition. From desert heat, I was immersed in garden scents and horizons of wheat.

THE UNITED STATES – THEN HOME

Another flight, this time from Japan to the west coast of America. Soon I was cycling across Los Angeles. From space it looked like a scab but at ground level this matrix of suburbia was not untidy, and drivers passed me with courtesy.

During a battery-charging stop further on, I got chatting with one American who absently patted his hip – where there was the shape of a holster. He said: “I mean, we in the middle of the country, we have our crazy folk but we keep them hidden in the house so no one can see ’em, but out there they jus’ as gone an’ roam the streets.”

Looking away, he shook his big head. In politically polarised America, people talk in code, trying to figure out which part of the debate you’re supporting. On the road here people do talk to passing travellers, but it seems only outliers walk or cycle.

As I powered along Highway 10 out of California, I was surprised by the spring snows along the Mogollon Rim, north of Payson. Over the following weeks, I crossed the Bible Belt of southern America to the east coast, then flew to Portugal.

The last leg from Lisbon to Amsterdam was a final push in the rain. We long-distance travellers tread the world like ghosts. Another ride in the bag. A simple journey anyone can do.

At the end on Westminster Bridge, London

Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan

Entering the Nullarbor National Park, South Australia

Photography: Nick Sanders

Feature

POWER POINTS E

RIDING AN E-BIKE IS LIKE RIDING A NORMAL BIKE ONLY EASIER, BUT LIVING WITH ONE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. RICHARD PEACE EXPLAINS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

-bikes have the power to get more people cycling and to keep them riding when they otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t. So the surge in e-bike sales and usage is good news. What’s missing is a broader awareness of e-bike safety and legislation, as evidenced by the battery fires reported in the news and those delivery e-bikers buzzing along at motorcycle speeds. To help address these problems, Cycling UK has partnered with a range of organisations to promote safe, legal and responsible e-bike usage.

Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, said: “Like traditional pedal cycles, e-cycles are a great way to stay fit, save money on transport, and decrease carbon emissions and air pollution. E-cargo bikes are also perfect for individuals or businesses who need more

Richard is coauthor of the book Electric Bicycles and regularly reviews e-bikes for various cycling media

RICHARD PEACE

space to carry goods or people. However, many people in the UK have missed out on these benefits due to barriers such as cost or a lack of secure storage, and now concerns about battery fires have been added to the mix.

“We know that when purchased from a reputable manufacturer and used with the right batteries and chargers, e-cycles are very safe. To provide that assurance, along with advice on how to identify a safe e-bike, we’ve partnered with Bosch, the Bicycle Association, SHIFT Active Media, and the Association of Cycle Traders to launch the E-bike Positive campaign.”

You can read more about the campaign on page 43. If you’ve already bought an e-bike, or are considering doing so, what follows is a user’s guide.

CHARGING YOUR E-BIKE

Charging e-bike batteries safely – or rather, the failure to do so – is something that’s been in the news lately due to a number of e-bike fires. Occasionally these fires happen ‘spontaneously’. Most happen during charging.

While the headlines are alarming, statistically these fires are very rare. Some estimates say there are more than two million e-bikes in the UK. Battery fires occur at the rate of less than one a day, meaning the chances of it happening to you are statistically insignificant. Of course, you’ll still want to charge as safely as possible. If you follow a few basic battery care rules, you can rest easy that this should not happen to you.

The key thing is to get a good-quality battery manufactured to a high standard in the first place. There are a number of longstanding, successful and wellrecognised e-bike brands you can have confidence in. Conversely, avoid those brands whose agenda is to sell solely online at the lowest possible price.

If your battery pack is certified to UL 2271 this is good news: it means it has undergone rigorous safety checks. If the e-bike itself is certified to UL 2849, that’s even better. The whole bike will have been tested for electrical and fire safety, mechanical stability and the performance of e-bike components. Bosch is one of the few manufacturers certified to UL 2849.

How you charge your e-bike’s battery also has an impact.

Above and right: Indoor charging helps avoid temperature extremes, which can damage batteries

Below: Always use the correct charger and the right battery for your e-bike

Bottom: Once charged, unplug the charger. Don’t leave it and go to bed

• Avoid temperature extremes

Batteries are least stressed at room temperature. Don’t charge and store batteries in very cold conditions (sub zero) or very hot places (especially in strong summer sun and behind glass). If you ride regularly in very cold weather, it could be worth getting a battery cover. Fahrer (fahrer-berlin.de/en/products/ e-bike) makes a variety of covers from neoprene and cordura.

• Charge correctly

This shouldn’t be a problem with a smart charger but avoid over-charging. Don’t leave the charger plugged into the battery for too long once it is full. Always use the correct charger for your battery and never use one that wasn’t specifically made for it.

While the headlines are alarming, statistically battery fires are very rare… If you follow a few basic battery care rules, you can rest easy

• Avoid shocks and store correctly

Too much vibration and jolting to a battery through rough handling or careless treatment can lead to a shortened life at best and to damaged cells at worst. Try to avoid long periods of storage as this may lead to batteries self-discharging beyond the point of no return. If you do need to store one for a period of months, check what the manufacturer’s recommended discharge state is for storage.

BATTERY MATTERS

At some point your e-bike’s battery will need to be replaced, and a good-quality, reasonably sized replacement will cost several hundred pounds. However, the original battery should last three to five years – potentially more if it’s a good one that’s well looked after.

A written guarantee is always a good sign. For example, premium e-bike maker Riese & Müller warranties batteries on its e-bikes for two years, saying “we guarantee that the battery will still have a capacity of 60% after two years or 500 full charge cycles (whichever happens first)”.

Your e-bike’s battery capacity is rated in Watt-hours (Wh). If it starts to show a marked decline in range, it’s worth doing a basic home test on the battery’s capacity to make sure that it is holding charge. If not, and it’s under guarantee, you may be due a new battery. I’ve written a guide for how to do this home test, which is on my website: bit.ly/battery-capacity-RP

It’s also worth noting that some e-bikes may show the number of charge cycles on the display; Specialized and Tenways models are among those I have seen that do. It’s a helpful feature, especially if you suspect the range is dropping prematurely due to decreasing battery capacity.

E-bike batteries may be charged on or off the bike, and there are pros and cons to both approaches. Clearly, removing the battery allows you to take it elsewhere for charging. A non-removable battery can save weight, however, and it also means you have no key to lose.

Talking of losing keys: Abus locks are found on many better-quality e-bikes. If you keep a record of the key number, Abus can supply extras if you lose one. Its One Key system also means you can use the same key for removing batteries and for security locks that come with the bike. You can also order extra locks that will work with the same key.

One very useful feature of some e-bike batteries is the ability to charge devices from them on the go via a USB socket. Brompton batteries do this via a USB-A socket that will provide around 7.5 Watts of power, while the Tenways range extender allows fast USB charging of up to 40 Watts. USB charging is great for keeping GPS-enabled smartphones and navigation devices topped up while e-biking. It is difficult to waterproof such connections when they’re in use, however, so this facility is best used in dry weather.

AVOIDING RANGE ANXIETY

Given that the power density of modern e-bike batteries is the best it has ever been, there should be no reason for range anxiety. Choosing the right capacity battery in the first place is the key to e-biking as far as you need to without

carrying around extra weight in the form of too much unused battery capacity. Battery capacity is, as noted, measured in Watt-hours (Wh). Good-quality middrive systems from the likes of Bosch and Shimano typically use 500Wh or 625Wh batteries. This should be enough capacity for most daily journeys without having to stop for a recharge. However, if you ride very long daily distances, are a heavier rider, live in a particularly hilly area or haul heavy loads on a regular basis, then it might be worth going for something bigger. There are now plenty of batteries in the 750Wh-plus range.

If you buy an older, secondhand e-bike that has a premium drive system, such as Bosch or Shimano, you may be able to upgrade with a bigger battery. Not all newer batteries will fit older models so you need to check with the system manufacturer or a knowledgeable retailer.

A smaller-capacity battery doesn’t necessarily mean a shorter range. When fitted to a lightweight, efficient design, you can get a range of many tens of miles from a battery with as little as 200Wh capacity. Mahle’s rear hub-drive system and the Cytronex kit are good examples of super-efficient, lightweight systems.

Mid-range battery sizes of 300-400Wh

should mean a fairly lightweight e-bike with a pretty good range. The latest Bosch mid-drive system, the SX, is both light and powerful and comes with a 400Wh battery as standard. I was really impressed with the SX’s hill-climbing ability and range when I tried it recently on Cube’s Nuroad Hybrid C:62 SLX 400 (cyclinguk.org/cubenuroad-hybrid).

If you need occasional extra capacity, bear in mind that a handful of motor systems offer plug-and-play ‘range extender’ batteries to use as and when required. Bosch, Mahle, Specialized and Tenways all produce these.

Touring with an e-bike should pose few problems in inhabited areas but out in the wilderness it’s extra important to have plenty of battery reserves. If you have concerns, the obvious answer is to pack a spare battery if you can afford one. Riding with as light a load as possible and using as low a gear as practical to keep the pedals spinning will help get the most range from your battery, too. Note that it’s been estimated that in very cold conditions an e-bike battery may give only 70% of its range compared to warmer temperatures. Some new quicker and lighter charging technologies are here already, though not widely adopted. It’s worth looking out for GaN (Gallium Nitride) chargers that are quicker charging than traditional e-bike chargers. Speedy USB-C charging of your bike battery should now be possible with the new, faster USB-C charging protocols. We

E-bikes show the battery level remaining in different ways. It could be an icon, an LED or a percentage

Above: E-bikes are especially useful for family cycling and cargo hauling, where the motor more than compensates for the extra weight of passengers or luggage

just need e-bike battery manufacturers to build these technologies into their batteries!

E-BIKE REPAIRS

Most of the repairs I’ve had done on my own e-bikes are the same as for regular bikes – worn brakes, headset adjustment, keeping air suspension at the right pressure and so on. These should be straightforward tasks for any bike shop.

Some retailers refuse to work on e-bike electrical systems unless they sold the bike to you. On the one hand this is understandable; there are some poorly manufactured e-bikes out there, and repairing them may open up a retailer to unwanted legal liability on a poor product. But it’s not good news for e-bike owners.

If you buy a good-quality e-bike from a reputable and longstanding e-bike retailer, there should be no problem. If you buy direct from a manufacturer, things may be harder to sort out if you have a problem. While small items like a faulty display may be readily sent in the post, some firms may take more persuading to send out expensive replacement items like motors and controllers. Fitting them may be fiddly and require disassembly.

Official advice from all government and trade bodies is to replace faulty or end-oflife batteries and not have them repaired. While there is nothing wrong with expert battery repairs in theory, there are in reality no expert battery repair centres in the UK that I know of (unlike in mainland Europe).

Motor faults seem to be pretty rare. Like other electrical faults, battery problems

There are a couple of e-bike-like categories that resemble EAPCs at first glance but are in effect a category of low-speed moped

E-Bike Positive

aside, motors should be repaired by the manufacturer when under warranty. Middrive specialist the eBike Motor Centre (ebikemotorcentre.com) has a good reputation for repairing out-of-warranty motors.

For lots more information on e-bike batteries, check out Cycling UK’s online article at cyclinguk.org/guide-ecyclebatteries

PARKING AND STORING YOUR

E-BIKE E-bikes are undoubtedly targets for thieves, with premium models being top of their wish list. The best security precaution is to lock your e-bike indoors with a very strong lock. Failing that, use a similar lock for on-street parking in a busy public spot, preferably with CCTV coverage.

Some e-bikes bring an extra level of electronic security. That may be in the form of electronic locking (perhaps with an alarm in addition to locking the motor) or even remote GPS tracking of the e-bike’s location from your phone; Bosch’s latest Smart System has this feature. Retrofit GPS trackers are also available; Biketrax is one that plugs directly into a compatible mid-drive motor, where it remains hidden from view.

In August, Cycling UK joined the Bicycle Association, the Association of Cycle Traders, Bosch and SHIFT Active Media to launch the E-Bike Positive campaign. This campaign aims to address the growing hesitation of the UK public to try e-bikes due to concerns about battery fires.

To do so, the campaign has used a multipronged approach:

• Providing educational materials such as Q&As and guidance on how to identify safe e-bikes and accessories

• Creating a directory of retailers who have pledged to only sell and repair safe e-cycles, and to support customers with information

• Correcting inaccurate reports about battery fires in the media

• Encouraging the UK government to protect consumers through tougher regulations on e-bikes and batteries, and by requiring gig economy companies to provide safe fleets of e-bikes for their delivery riders

The campaign also reminds people that, like traditional cycling, using an e-bike can be transformative for individuals and communities. Cycling UK’s case studies from the Making Cycling E-asier programme illustrate the many benefits of trying an e-bike – from boosting well-being to saving money on fuel.

Above: Most e-bike maintenance jobs are the same as on a regular bike. Wheel removal is straightforward with a middrive as you don’t disconnect a power cable to the hub

Right: Any high-value bike, electric or otherwise, needs appropriate security. Heavy locks can be a drag to carry on a conventional bike but e-bikes make light of the extra weight

Smaller e-bikes are easier to store. The magic fold of the Brompton means any electric version – Brompton’s own or kit conversions – can be folded and taken into most offices, restaurants and so on for ultimate security.

Even if you decide against an e-folder, there are many reasonably light, compact models around that are much easier to lift up steps, take in lifts and store inside your house or flat compared to bigger, heavier models.

Don’t assume that cargo e-bikes can’t be stored inside even if you have limited storage space. There are compact longtail e-cargo designs with drop-down handlebars and folding pedals. Tern’s HSD and GSD models can even be stored vertically by balancing them on the rear of the pannier rack.

E-BIKES AND WATER

All e-bikes should be designed to be ridden in rain but care should be taken not to immerse any of the electrical components – especially the battery and control electronics – in running water. Riding through deep fords, for example, should be avoided if possible. Pressure washing should also be avoided as this may penetrate the seals and enclosures of the e-bike.

It’s a reasonable precaution to shelter with your e-bike in torrential rain, or if that’s not possible to ride at lower speeds so water doesn’t get forced through seals. Individual components may be IP65-rated (and thus designed to resist low pressure water jets, as well as being dust tight) but the whole system may not be.

You should, of course, aim to keep the e-bike dry when it’s parked. If it has to be stored outside, a good rain cover is the bare minimum protection. A dry shed or bike bunker is preferable.

Sea water and other salt water poses particular problems for any electrical equipment. Contact with e-bikes should be avoided at all costs. Due to its saltiness, seawater it is a very good conductor of electricity, making electrical shorts more likely.

TRANSPORTING YOUR E-BIKE

The best solution for cars is a rack with a sufficiently high weight limit. For heavier e-bikes that you can’t lift onto the roof, there is a good choice of tow-ball-mounted options. Some of these even enable you to wheel the bike on rather than lift it on, and there are models that will carry two and even three e-bikes.

The easiest option for train travel is to get a smaller, folding e-bike with

a cover as it then becomes hand luggage. Electric Bromptons ( brompton.com) and the FLIT (flit.bike) are two ultra-portable e-folders. For larger and non-folding bikes, local train services usually have ‘roll on, roll off’ space available outside of peak hours (when there may be restrictions). Intercity services often require you to book, and they frequently employ hooks for storage, which can be awkward to hang an e-bike on.

I’m not aware of any train operating companies currently prohibiting e-bikes, although e-scooters, e-hoverboards and similar are banned. There have been occasional instances of individual e-bikes being refused carriage on trains but these were rather amateurish-looking kit conversions with copious gaffer tape and cable ties.

For coach and bus travel, the best option is, again, a compact folder with a cover. (Try to cover your bike before the driver sees it if possible!) It is then classed as regular hand luggage.

into contact with, electrically

Sea water will start to severely corrode metal surfaces it comes into contact with, electrically conductive or otherwise.

Most are much bigger than this, but the features a 198Wh battery that is in fact batteries are usually only allowed

In addition, beach riding will mean sand will get into many components and will, at the very least, cause extra wear and tear.

mean sand will get into many

Airlines will generally only accept e-bike batteries up to 100Wh on flights. Most are much bigger than this, but the Cytronex conversion kit is notable as it features a 198Wh battery that is in fact two independent battery packs. It can be transported by air because it is classed as two batteries of up to 100Wh, installed in equipment. If permitted, e-bike batteries are usually only allowed in the cabin with the passenger, not in the luggage hold. Do check detailed rules with your operator before your flight. What about shipping your e-bike? Clearly this is possible

check detailed rules with your this

Above: Good-quality e-bikes will be sealed against water ingress from rain or splashes, but you should avoid pressure washers or immersion

Left: E-bikes can be booked on trains like other bikes, although vertical hooks are awkward with a heavier bike

Tern Quick Haul: an easyto-store e-cargo bike

as many new e-bikes are delivered this way. However, individuals wanting to courier an e-bike may find it more difficult compared to companies that have contracts with couriers who would otherwise refuse to ship individual e-bikes. Two companies that have experience in couriering e-bikes for individual customers are Bike Services UK ( bikeservicesuk. com) and Direct Courier Solutions (directcouriersolutions.com).

Note that sending batteries on their own is even more problematic as the rules usually dictate they must be in or with the bike. If you need to post a battery on its own, it may have to be arranged through an e-bike retailer or manufacturer rather than directly with a courier.

YOUR E-BIKE AND THE LAW

Legally speaking, e-bikes are known as EAPCs – electrically assisted pedal cycles. They must meet the following criteria in order to have the same legal standing as regular, unassisted bicycles, and to be allowed on roads, cycle paths and other places where bicycles are permitted under UK law:

• Electric assistance provided to a maximum of 25kph (15.5mph)

• Motor no more than 250 Watts (maximum continuous-rated power)

• The rider must be 14 years of age or over

• The e-bike’s pedals must be in motion for motor assistance to be provided

Throttle only machines where you don’t pedal are not classed as e-bikes, although throttle-only is legal up to 4mph for helping you to get going. A throttle is also legal if you need to turn the pedals to use its assistance. Few e-bikes feature throttles; MiRider is one example of a legal e-bike that does have a very effective throttle. In practice, if you see an EN 15194 sticker on the e-bike or in the description, it should

meet all the above criteria, as well as the more detailed stipulations contained in the EU regulations that are now, post-Brexit, enshrined in UK law.

There are a couple of e-bike-like categories that resemble EAPCs at first glance but are in effect a category of low-speed moped. Both can be ridden legally on UK roads but, crucially, they’re not treated like bicycles. Extra costs and paperwork are involved.

Wisper has pioneered a category called 250-Watt Low-Powered Mopeds. This category requires only type approval and a basic MOT test. Such bikes are useful for those with a weakened pedal action who find full throttles useful. They are still limited to 15.5mph. See wisperbikes.com/ product-category/throttle-electric-bikes

Speed pedelecs are capable of assisted pedalling up to 28mph. These require a certified motorcycle helmet, a number plate and DVLA registration, as well as insurance. The latter is difficult to find in the UK, though easy to obtain for riders in some EU countries.

For more on e-bikes and the law, visit cyclinguk. org/e-bike-regulations

For advice on joining a group ride with an e-bike, see cyclinguk. org/e-cycles-group-ride.

You’re covered

Members of Cycling UK who ride legal e-bikes (EAPCs) enjoy the same benefits as those with conventional bikes, including:

• £10m third-party insurance provided by Bikmo

• Access to the Cycling UK Incident Line

• Access to Cycling UK rides and events

• Six issues of Cycle per year

• And a wide range of discounts

For a full list of member benefits, visit cyclinguk.org/ member-benefits

E-bikes are allowed on cycle paths

Above left: You have to pedal to get an EAPC’s electric assistance Bottom: But throttles are legal

The Dartmoor Devil Weekender

Around Halloween each year, South Devon CTC organises a 100km

hilly audax. Graham Brodie is your guide to this year’s event

Devon Coast to Coast Fancy an easier ride through Devon? cyclinguk.org/ weekenderdevonC2C

GRAHAM BRODIE

Graham is a keen touring and audax cyclist who organises rides and events for South Devon CTC

This is the 31st year of the Dartmoor Devil, an audax ride that criss-crosses the hilly moorland it takes its name from. Although ‘only’ 100km, it’s a challenging ride due to the steep climbs en route and the fact that it takes place on the weekend closest to Halloween, when weather conditions can be grim.

However, the date also offers the opportunity to indulge in a bit of fancy dress, which ranges from bicycles decked with festive lights, broomsticks, dangling bats and spiders through to riders dressed as witches and ghosts.

On a couple of years the weather has been so bad that the bulk of riders have abandoned before reaching the high moor, unable to keep their bikes upright in the strong winds. During the event’s history, the weather has varied from almost spring like to wintry snow showers.

As conditions can change quickly on Dartmoor, it’s vital to carry waterproofs and spares and to be self sufficient. Mobile phones don’t work everywhere on the moor. The main control halfway around the ride always provides riders with hot soup and rolls, and there are other checkpoints along the way.

The Dartmoor Devil is a ride that many return to, with special awards available to those who complete six, 12 or 18 events. Entry to the Dartmoor Devil, which this year is on 27 October, is £11. For more details, to enter or to view photo galleries of previous events, visit dartmoordevil.co.uk

Top to bottom: Between Bowerman’s Nose and Hound Tor Rocks. Climb from Chagford to Jurston Cross. Near Ashburton

Weekend ride

THE DARTMOOR DEVIL

• Route name: The Dartmoor Devil 100km • Start/Finish: The Dolphin Hotel, Bovey Tracey • Maps: OS Explorer OL28 Dartmoor, although event entrants receive a GPX file • Distance: 105km (66 miles) • Climbing: Lots! Around 2,300m (7,700ft) with some 20% and 25% gradients • Bike type: audax bike, tourer, gravel bike, hybrid, even a hardtail MTB. Fairly sturdy tyres are recommended as punctures are common • Ride level: Regular. A good challenge if you’re used to 60-mile hilly rides • GPX file: cyclinguk.org/ weekender-dartmoordevil for the route below, which is for DIYers riding at other times. Event entrants will be sent the latest GPX

1

BOVEY TRACEY

The start and finish is at Bovey Tracey, a small town on the edge of Dartmoor. The ride sets out in two groups an hour apart, heading straight up Hind Street Hill, a 20% climb. Riders sometimes miss a gear shift or unclip a cleat here, causing minor mayhem in the first few yards.

2 Buckfast

The route passes through Buckfast, with a glimpse of its beautiful abbey, home to Benedictine monks. Among other activities they brew the infamous Buckfast Tonic Wine, which has varying interesting web reviews. It’s a long haul from Buckfast up onto the south of the moor.

3 Chagford

There are three variations of the Dartmoor Devil route. This year’s visits a favourite village – Chagford – for a cup of steaming hot soup at the Globe Inn. The town lies nestled between clumps of Dartmoor hills, with steep climbs up onto the high moor.

6

WIDECOMBE

4

PRINCETOWN

Dartmoor’s high town, home of the granite Dartmoor Prison and a whisky distillery, is always on the route. The Foxtor Café provides warmth and respite before the final slog back to Bovey Tracey. Riders sometimes arrive here quite late, having battled headwinds on the moor, but then manage to scoot back to the finish in good time.

You often pass through here twice: on the way out to Princetown and back. It’s a landscape of small woodlands, barren heathland and jagged tors. There’s a fair bit of wildlife in this fine scenery, including some rugged Highland cattle. 2 6 4 5 3 1

5 Two Bridges

This is the village celebrated in the folk song Widecombe Fair, which features Uncle Tom Cobley and all his friends. The climb out of Widecombe is a long drag but it’s the last big one of the ride. On tired legs, you’ll be going considerably slower than Chris Boardman, who shot up the climb in a mere 4m 10s on the National Hill Climb in 1990. You’re rewarded by stunning views over the moors and down to the village and church.

Interview

ISLA’S BIKES

Victoria is a journalist who has previously worked for Cycling UK

Islabikes has stopped making bikes but that isn’t the end of the company’s story – or that of its founder, Isla Rowntree. Victoria Hazael spoke to her

As a customer of Islabikes, I received an email in October 2023 letting me know they were ceasing the sale and production of bikes. I was gutted: these were our bikes of choice, our go-to brand. I have interviewed Isla Rowntree before for Cycle, so I picked up the phone to find out what was happening – and where I could get spares.

First some history. Islabikes began as a small start-up in a barn in 2005. Before then, children’s bikes were heavy bicycle-shaped objects, built to a price point using parts designed for adults. Islabikes became the brand that cyclists bought for their children and grandchildren.

This popularity forced the wider industry to raise its game. The design of children’s bikes in 2024 owes a great deal to Isla’s attention to detail and commitment to incremental design improvements.

THE PANDEMIC BIKE BOOM

From the barn in Staffordshire in 2005, Islabikes transformed into a thriving 10,000-square-foot business based in Ludlow in Shropshire. Then the pandemic hit. During this time, Isla briefly took back over the running of the business.

“I hadn’t been the managing director of the business for some years,” she said. “I’d got to the stage where actually running an operation of that size and being responsible for it was something I didn’t want to be doing, so a couple of other people had been the managing director, and that led to a management buyout at the end of 2020.”

This unfortunately coincided with a turbulent period in the bike industry. At the time of the management buyout, when the majority shareholder would no longer be Isla (she would still retain a minority stake and position on the board), there was a huge boom in bike sales. But the new setup was soon tested.

“It was the bike industry’s toilet-roll moment,” Isla said. “We sold out, the supply chain across the world couldn’t support the demand, but that prompted over ordering. That led to long lead times of two or three years, because there is a finite production capacity. Across the industry, I suppose those orders were placed because people hoped that the spike in demand would be sustained and that this was our new normal.”

INDUSTRY-WIDE ISSUES

Reflecting on this time, Isla who is clearly saddened by the situation not just at Islabikes but across the industry, said that in hindsight: “Everyone in the industry should have been dialling down our forecasts, not putting them up. The problems for the industry are probably going to take another couple of years to get through fully… We as individuals made those decisions in good faith at the time, but yes I think we are victims of our own actions.”

VICTORIA HAZAEL

Isla in Ludlow with an eJanis. Spares remain available for all Islabikes

Bowater, Dan Joyce, Isla Rowntree

A couple of years ago, Isla explained that it became clear that just continuing the same business model wasn’t an option. The company began to look at alternatives. Many brands and investors have sought to buy Islabikes over the years, so one option was to sell. Even after announcing it was ceasing production of bikes, Islabikes had offers. Isla couldn’t agree to sell.

“Call it ego. I know that if I sold to another company, bicycles would be out there with my name on them that I wouldn’t perceive to be right,” she said. “Even if I did sell the business to someone who I did think would protect the value of the brand and have the same values, who knows who would run that in the future? I am so emotionally invested in the design of the bikes that I just couldn’t bear the thought of it.”

It was a stressful time. Isla worried about the current customers, all the bikes under guarantees, their parts so specialised – what would happen to them? Then a friend gave a left-field suggestion to just stop and scale right back.

SCALING BACK

In the middle of all of this, in October 2023, Isla went on an evening bike ride wearing her helmet and cycling cap underneath, and the cap’s peak obscured a large overhanging branch. Isla collided with the tree and suffered a severe concussion. It left her exhausted, dizzy and needing regular naps to get through the day. She was forced on doctor’s orders to take it easy.

Islabikes ceased production and customers were notified. Isla became the sole shareholder again. “It wasn’t like a pre-prepared plan but I am now very comfortable with where things have ended up. Islabikes as a business entity has continued – it hasn’t gone bust, it doesn’t owe anybody anything, it is an ongoing business that has been dramatically shrunk. We’ve stopped selling bicycles; we’re still selling parts.”

After selling more than 250,000 bikes over 18 years, Islabikes is back in a small stone barn. Isla and another member of staff support customers with sourcing bike parts to mend the well-loved Islabikes that are still in circulation.

“All the bikes sold out before Christmas 2023, but all our bikes need bits, from innertubes, tyres and grips to saddles. We still have all our spares for any of the bikes we made. The parts on the bikes were so carefully and obsessively designed by me to be as good as they could be.”

Famously, Isla changed the design of handlebar grips on her bikes after a call from a surgeon who operated on many children who had been impaled in the tummy by the metal end, as most rubber grips are weak and easily damaged after the bike has been dropped a few times. Isla still hopes that all children’s bike manufacturers will do likewise and go beyond the minimum safety recommendations. She’s designed bikes for older

Islabikes as a business entity has continued… We’ve stopped selling bicycles; we’re still selling parts

Islabikes spares

If you need to buy spare parts for any Islabike purchased between 2005 and 2023, it can be a bit confusing to know what you need as the bike names are the same (e.g. Cnoc). However, the Islabikes website gives guidance on which parts fit the different models of Islabikes. It will help you to identify the model you have and show all the spare parts you can buy for them. You can also get a piece of cycle design history, Islabikes’ ground-breaking brake lever for tiny hands, for £19.99. For details or ordering, visit islabikes.co.uk

cyclists and shorter riders, too. It’s clear she still has ideas on how to improve bikes for those the industry doesn’t serve well.

LOOKING AHEAD

The new way of working, back to a slower pace of life, clearly suits Isla. She was more reflective than the previous times we have chatted. Therapy, she said, had helped her and a diagnosis of ADHD two years ago has enabled her to understand her design processes and her particular ways of working. She seems content living in beautiful Ludlow with her wife, enjoying cycling adventures together and riding around the Shropshire Hills.

Every morning Isla cycles to the barn and deals with enquiries and orders from customers, then cycles to the post office with the orders.

I wondered whether the new setup might be a new beginning for Islabikes, and asked if she planned to carry on designing bikes.

“There’s a lot of good bikes out there,” she said, “but the picky person that I am would still say that a lot of them could be better and so could the understanding of the fine details. All I am prepared to say at this stage is that I am still motivated by more children and others having access to better bikes, and I think when I have got through this initial period and have got things settled down, exploring ways to do that might be something that still interests me.”

There’s not enough space in the barn for making bikes, but Isla has a jig set up in her garage for making frames. Watch this space.

Top: Isla helps another young cyclist on the practice track at Islabikes in Ludlow, back in 2010 Bottom: After dealing with customer enquiries at the barn, Isla loads up her bike trailer and takes the orders to the post office four miles away

Great Rides

UNSURFACED IRELAND

With a week to spare, Joshua Gill planned a 350-mile circuit of the gravel tracks and smaller roads of Northern Ireland and the Republic

JOSHUA GILL

Josh is Cycling UK’s media manager and a keen bikepacker

Of the four home nations, Northern Ireland was the only one I hadn’t yet explored by bike. Expectations for my weeklong trip were high. I’d been told that the island of Ireland – I’d also be visiting the Republic – had a lot to offer. What surprised me was just how much.

The ancient and more recent history of the country lay at the edge of each road, trail and town. Signposts to stone circles, old pilgrimage routes and megalithic tombs were interspersed with memorials, monuments and plaques from the more recent history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Landscapes ranged from dramatic mountains draped in clouds to forests and farmland that filtered those that lived in the countryside towards cities like Belfast and DerryLondonderry.

Beginning the journey in Southampton, I packed my gravel bike in a cardboard box from the local Halfords and got a lift to the airport. Arriving in Belfast that evening, I opted to stay the night in the city, which gave me enough

time to set the bike up properly. The bike box had arrived a little battered but all seemed well. That was until I began cycling the next day…

BIKING AROUND BELFAST

Only an hour and eight miles into the ride, my gear cable snapped. Fortunately, I had spent that first hour cycling to different spots across Belfast, visiting places that paid tribute to pivotal points during the Troubles. Stuck in 12th gear, I pedalled into the city centre to hunt for a bike shop.

Bicycle Coffee Shop was one of the most helpful I’ve ever visited. Despite not being open, they were kind enough to let me in early and sort me out. While they worked on the bike, they shared suggestions and detours to fine tune my route. Their kindness and expertise were unmatched. Before I left they even offered to help box up my bike and drive me to the airport for free when I returned in seven days. I couldn’t have wished for a better start to my trip, and thanked them profusely for their help.

Besides the initial bad luck, the first day was blessed with sunshine, rolling hills

Top left: The misty Bingorms, seen from the R254 road

Top right: Gravel track south of Glenveagh National Park

Sketching made Josh pause and appreciate views Photos and sketches: Joshua Gill

and stunning scenery. Light bounced off emerald grass swaying gently in a light breeze, and I was reminded, as I often am, of the wonderful serendipity of cycling.

Travelling by bike is one of the greatest ways to see the spaces between destinations, which is why I’ve taken to bringing a sketchbook with me to remind myself to stop and appreciate those rarely seen places.

HARD MILES, SOFT DAYS

My route took me north out of Belfast and towards the edge of Glenariff Forest Park. By day two I had hit one of the most northerly parts of Ireland, passing the Dark Hedges avenue of beech trees made famous by the Game of Thrones TV series, before following the coast west towards the Giant’s Causeway.

Each day took me deeper into the wild. Hills turned to mountains and the weather progressively worsened. I only enjoyed dry days at the beginning and end, and in between faced some of the most challenging downpours and headwinds I’ve ever encountered on a bike.

On the third day I navigated along the northern coast, following it all the way to Magilligan Point. Cycling UK’s Northern Ireland lead, Andrew McClean, had recommended this route so I could catch the ferry over to the Republic, which would avoid having to cycle south for another 20 miles to enter Derry-Londonderry. The recommendation turned out to reveal a hidden gem.

Just before reaching Magilligan, I followed the cycle trail from Portstewart to a National Trust forest where I found Mussenden Temple. After a little bit of exploring, I climbed Dungannon Hill where I followed the ridgeway to Gortmore viewpoint. With a clear horizon there were panoramic views, letting me see all the way to the heart of Donegal, to the islands of Islay and Jura off the west coast of Scotland and over to the campsite where I was planning to stay that night,

prior to catching the ferry. Standing beside me as I gazed around was a statue of Manannán mac Lir, a figure from Irish mythology associated with the sea. The statue’s hands were parted wide, as if it were taking in the view.

On day four I took the mountain pass bridleway through Glenveagh National Park towards Lough Veagh. Clouds formed around me as I cycled through misty rain between the mountains of Bingorms and Moylenanav, bringing me to the edge of the pass. The clouds parted as I turned the corner, and for the next 20 minutes I descended on a gravel track beneath partially blue skies while the sun helped to dry out my kit. I couldn’t believe my luck.

CAMPSITE CAMARADERIE

Camping each night took me to some incredible places in the heart of Ireland’s wilderness but,

Fact file Unsurfaced Ireland

Distance: 366 miles (589km) over seven days.

Route: From the heart of Belfast, crisscrossing between Northern Ireland and the Republic to explore its wild and rugged terrain. Rolling hills, historic landmarks and some really fun off-road segments.

Conditions: Two days of sun, rain the rest of the time (May 2024).

Bike used: Focus Atlas 6.8 gravel bike.

Maps/guides: Komoot and a Garmin Edge 530.

I’m glad I had… My rain jacket! And my sketchbook.

Next time I would… Pack a little lighter, swapping the winter sleeping bag for my summer one.

My route is here: bit. ly/komoot-belfast-jgill

Clockwise from top left: Giant’s Causeway, on the north coast near Bushmills, is formed of thousands of interlocking basalt columns. Manannán mac Lir takes in the panorama from Gortmore viewpoint. Camping on the edge of Glenveagh National Park. Giant’s Causeway again – the volcanic ‘stepping stones’ march from the foot of the cliff into the sea

I might have had to push through four hours of torrential rain and headwinds, but I had seen puffins, wild deer and Irish hares

more than that, it put me on the same track as others on their own adventures. Throughout the journey, I met motorcyclists exploring the Wild Atlantic Way, hikers who meandered between national parks, dozens of American tourist groups in matching beige hats, and a small number of cyclists navigating the TransAtlanticWay.

I had expected to see far more cyclists but the route I had planned was quiet and peaceful, only touching on parts of the TransAtlanticWay. Some days I didn’t see a single other person until I arrived at camp.

At one point on the route, I stayed at a campsite where I met a lawyer from the Good Law Project who worked to secure abortion rights for women in Northern Ireland. We spoke at length over morning coffee, talking about the challenges and strategies associated with that kind of work. At another, I spent hours talking to a man from the Republic who explained the local stone

circles, Irish folklore and how it had survived in the Irish language through phrases passed down over dozens of generations.

The last days of my trip gave me time to reflect on everything I had seen and heard. Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland had offered so much. The landscape frequently took me from gravel-track wilderness to populated hubs, bustling with life and lived history.

I might have had to push through four hours of torrential rain and horrible headwinds at one point, but I had seen puffins, wild deer and Irish hares. I had explored both countries and gained some understanding of their complex pasts.

Access issues

Unlike cyclists in England and Wales, those in Northern Ireland have no automatic right to ride on bridleways, and comparatively fewer rights of way in general. While some routes allow cyclists through agreements with landowners and councils, these are rare and not guaranteed. Cyclists must rely on designated cycle paths and permissive routes, which are voluntary and can change at any time. This didn’t pose an issue for me on my bikepacking trip but might be on yours. For the latest info on where you can legally ride, check out the NI Direct website: nidirect.gov.uk

Clockwise from top left: Sketch of Glenbeagh, looking down towards Lough Beagh. Photo at the same location. The River Moyola, near Ballymaguigan and just north of the enormous Lough Neagh. Sleepy Hollows Campsite in Meenalecky, County Donegal

Giant’s Causeway

CYCLOPEDIA

Questions answered, subjects explained – Cyclopedia is your bimonthly cycling

reference guide

Q&

ALegal E-bike assurance

QA friend of mine was involved in an accident when moving into a filter lane to turn right. He was overtaken by a car driver and received injuries. The driver was fully insured. My friend's injury claim, for fractures of his right arm, is being pursued. The concern is that the police officer who took a statement advised that the e-bike my friend was riding was illegal. His bike was adapted with a crank motor kit with an accelerator that could override the standard power settings, although the maximum speed was regulated to 25km/h. The police officer admitted that this was a legal grey area but felt that the bike could be classified as a moped. I wonder what the result of an insurance claim by the cyclist would be in the event that being determined?

Mike Durham

AI am sorry to hear about your friend’s accident and injuries. He is able to present a claim to the at-fault driver whether the e-bike was illegal or legal. The claim will be dealt with by the driver’s insurance company.

I have seen insurance company representatives try to avoid paying compensation where a bike is illegal but they will have to pay if the driver was at fault. In a private e-scooter case I dealt with, I saw an

High-speed pedelecs, such as this Riese & Müller Supercharger GT Touring, are treated as mopeds in the UK

Your Experts

DR KATE BRODIE Retired GP {Health}

RICHARD HALLETT Cycle’s technical editor {Technical}

NADIA KERR Partner & serious injury solicitor, Fletchers Solicitors {Legal}

argument that the insurer would not pay for the pre-accident value of the scooter because it was being used on public land and was not part of a hire scheme (which includes insurance). I was, however, successful in recovering the full amount of the claim for injuries and losses, including the pre-accident value of the scooter.

One issue your friend should be aware of, separate from the civil claim, is whether the police might be interested in any criminal offences if the bike does not satisfy the definition of an electrically assisted pedal cycle (EAPC). To be an EAPC the bike must be fitted with pedals that are capable of propelling it, the maximum continuous rated power of the electric motor must not exceed 250W, and the electrical assistance must cut off when the vehicle reaches 15.5mph (25km/h).

If these conditions are satisfied, it means that the e-bike does not require registration, is not liable for vehicle excise duty, does not need to be insured as a motor vehicle and there is no requirement for an appropriate driving licence or approved motorcycle safety helmet.

If your friend is a Cycling UK member, note that e-cyclists are required to use a legal e-bike (EAPC) to join a Cycling UK group ride or to be covered by the third-party insurance that Cycling UK membership provides (see p46).

Nadia Kerr

Technical

Cassette tech

QWhat are the technical pros and cons of the wide-range rear cassettes that seem to be ever more prevalent? My suspicion is that the narrower chains required by larger rear cassettes are simply not strong enough to cope with the wide lateral movements across the range.

Bill Henderson

AIf, by ‘wide-range’, you mean the difference in tooth count between largest and smallest sprockets, the pros and cons are clear. You get a wider range of gear ratios but with bigger steps

between them. Increasing the number of sprockets in a rear cassette reduces the size of the steps between ratios, which generally makes it more likely the user will be able to find a comfortable gear or cadence in any given circumstance.

Packing more sprockets into much the same space on the freehub body requires a chain narrower in external width, which manufacturers have achieved by using thinner side plates. This hasn’t resulted in a weaker chain. SunRace chains, for example, are rated at 820kgf (kilogramforce) whether 10-, 11- or 12-speed. Anecdotally, narrower chains may even be less likely to break in use as they are more flexible laterally.

Breakage is more likely to occur with poor shifting technique, while there’s some suggestion that narrow chains wear more quickly, especially when used on e-bikes. Perhaps the easiest way to accidentally overload a chain is to use a very small front chainring (28t or smaller) if you are a heavy or powerful rider, especially when using long cranks.

Richard Hallett

Health

Cold feet

Q Over the past winters I have suffered from very cold feet while cycling. Two toes, one on each foot, get very sore at the ends. The

£39.99 Quechua

SH100 hiking boots are rated to -20ºC

bottom of the toe starts skinning even after many applications of creams and wintergreen rub, extra socks, different shoes and so on. In the warmer summers my feet return to normal. Why is this happening? Is it, perhaps, frostbite?

rust and can be touched up using what’s left in the tin should it get scratched.

AThe likelihood is that you have oldfashioned chilblains on your toes. Sometimes called perniosis, chilblains are itchy, swollen and painful lumps or patches on your skin. They form after exposure to cold but not freezing temperatures. They usually affect the fingers and toes but can also appear on the nose and ears.

Chilblains do not cause lasting damage. They usually heal in a few weeks. They’re not the same as frostbite, which is more serious, but the affected area might stay sensitive to cold after they heal.

Prevention involves avoiding the cold, wearing warm clothing on the extremities and avoiding damage to the circulation, which can be caused by smoking cigarettes. Treatment may include applying moisturisers, massage of the limb or dressings to the lesions. If you are suffering badly, your doctor can prescribe a mild steroid cream for the irritation or medication to improve the circulation.

Dr Kate Brodie

Technical

Tougher bike paint

QI’ve got an old singlespeed bike frame that I’ve stripped down and I want a really hard-wearing, bomb/rust-proof paint for it. I'm not too fussy about colour; I just want it to be very hard wearing as it’s just a town bike. Any good recommendations? I saw there's such a thing as container and skip paint. Wilhelm, on the Cycling UK forum

AThe easy answer is Hammerite or similar. It’s easily applied with a brush, available in a good choice of colours, and has the great advantage for your purposes of rendering the cycle highly unattractive. It can be applied over

For a more pleasing finish, you may consider getting the frame powder coated. A search online should turn up outfits local to you. A powder-coat finish is highly durable. This is less true of ‘rattle can’ spray paint, which can be done well but may end up as the worst finish you can achieve.

Richard Hallett

Technical

Bearings: caged or loose?

Q

With 1-inch threaded headset bearings, is it better to keep the cage with the ball bearings in or discard it to put in loose bearings? roger72, on the Cycling UK forum

AThe cage is for convenience: it eases assembly and stops the balls going everywhere when the bearing is taken apart. But it usually reduces the number of balls that can be installed. This, in turn, increases the pressure load on each ball’s contact point with the bearing races, making them more likely to suffer indentation or ‘brinelling’, which will make the bearing notchy and the steering unpleasant. So for longevity, use a full complement of balls.

On the other hand, caged balls may encourage servicing and thereby extend bearing life. It is possible to buy 1-inch threaded headsets with roller and even cartridge bearings, which generally perform better than either loose or caged balls.

Richard Hallett

Get in touch

EMAIL your technical, health or legal questions to editor@cyclinguk.org or write to Cyclopedia, Cycle, Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. Cycle magazine cannot answer unpublished queries. But don’t forget that Cycling UK operates a free-to-members advice line for personal injury claims, TEL: 0330 107 1789.

on. the

Clive Egginton

Bike finder

Which bike should I buy? Ask us at cyclinguk.org/bikefinder

LIGHTWEIGHT FOLDING E-BIKE

• For: Sophie Connor, aged 42, from Cardiff. • Bike needs: A folding e-bike for my commute to work, which is currently: uphill walk, train, flat walk. The walking portions take 40 minutes each way. I love my Gazelle Chamonix C7 but it’s too heavy to carry down the stairs at one of the train stops, and I find it too hard for hills as I have anaemia.

• Must have: Electric assist for the uphill parts. Folding, so I can always take it on the train and can store it in my small house. Upright riding position and step-through frame. As light as possible, ideally less than 15kg. • Must not have: Drop handlebar. • Budget: Around £2,000, but can include some Cycle to Work scheme discount.

RICHARD PEACE

The obvious choice is a Brompton Electric. Bromptons are without rival as a quick-folding ‘train and ride’ commuting tool. Brompton’s own Electric C Line Urban (£2,900, brompton. com) features the latest 4-speed derailleur gearing, a punchy front hub motor and a 300Wh battery that removes easily at the click of a button. It weighs 16.6kg but when you remove the 2.8kg battery (which has a shoulder strap for easy carrying) you have a reasonably portable 13.8kg folded package, measuring around 60×60×30cm. With Cycle to Work savings that may come within your price range. If that looks too heavy, there is the part-titanium Electric P Line Urban (15.6kg or 12.8kg without the battery) but it costs £3,695. You would have to be a higher-rate taxpayer to bring this anywhere near your price range.

There’s also a plethora of conversion kits. These void Brompton's warranty but I’ve heard of no problems caused by quality kits. The best option is the superbly made Cytronex (cytronex.com), which adds around 3.2kg – including a 1.5kg, 198Wh removable battery. Ready fitted, it’s £1,330. Added to a secondhand Superlight XL Brompton (2005-17), it produces a superb, lightweight e-folder (potentially sub-12kg with the battery removed). Alternatively, a new entry-level Brompton A Line costs £950 and weighs 11.5kg (not including the Cytronex), so that’s still pretty close to your budget.

DAN JOYCE

The Cycle to Work scheme should save you 21% on the price of an e-bike if you’re a basic rate taxpayer. That’s because you won’t pay income tax (20%) or national insurance (8%) on the cost of the bike; it’s deducted from your gross salary. The reason you won’t save 28% is that you’ll pay an ‘ownership fee’ as well, which will be 7% of the bike’s price – assuming that it cost more than £500 (it will have done), and that your Cycle to Work provider has an ‘own it later’ option (it probably will). You can run the numbers on any e-bike with an online savings calculator. Cyclescheme's is cyclescheme. co.uk/calculator. See also cyclinguk.org/cycle-work-scheme Without Cycle to Work savings, there are few folding e-bikes that are cheap enough, light enough and good enough to meet your needs. One that ticks most of your boxes is the Eovolt Morning 16in Origins (£1,799, eovolt.co.uk). At 16.5kg, it’s just over your weight limit but it folds to a train-friendly 58×75×42cm and is well under budget.

With Cycle to Work savings, however, I think the same as Richard: your best option is to stretch your budget and get a Brompton Electric C Line Urban – 4 Speed . You can’t beat Bromptons for daily train use. Assuming you save 21% via Cycle to Work, that will cost £2,291 rather than £2,900 – which is a bit cheaper than adding a £1,330 Cytronex to a Brompton C Line Urban – 2 Speed (£1,295 or £1,023 via Cycle to Work).

ELECTRIC C LINE

URBAN – 4 SPEED

£2,900 (£2,291)

Sophie Connor

CYCLOPEDIA

Knowhow

Making sense of commonly misunderstood subjects

Health

Can I do a longer cycle tour with Type 1 diabetes?

While cycle touring presents challenges for the management of Type 1 diabetes (T1D), it is no longer the blocker it once was. After 25 years with T1D and numerous weekend tours under my belt, I had always put off doing a longer tour due to concerns regarding my diabetes. But I recently cycled across Europe. What follows are my tips for T1D management and cycle touring.

Historically, T1D was managed using frequent blood tests and insulin injections via syringes. For cycle tourers, this resulted in frequent stops and having to carry copious amounts of medical equipment. Thankfully, recent changes to the availability and funding for technology to manage diabetes has now made cycle touring with T1D easier than ever.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems are devices that monitor blood glucose in real time. Now freely available on the NHS to everyone with T1D in the UK, these have made an immeasurable difference to the health and quality of life of T1 diabetics. With a little bit of tinkering with open-source software, most active diabetics now display their blood glucose on their smartwatches. Being able to check your blood glucose as easily as you can check your heart rate, without the need to stop and test, combined with more compact equipment, really opens up the possibilities to go further afield.

For those longer trips, there is still the logistical

Touring with Type 1

challenge of carrying the necessary medical equipment. An overly minimalist approach to packing can leave you in a tight spot, with not enough food or medication. The only real solutions are to coordinate deliveries along your route or to take larger panniers.

Despite the advances in technology, there is a lot to manage: balancing exercise intensity with insulin sensitivity; carbohydrate intake with energy expenditures; and having one pannier full of camping equipment and the other full of diabetes medication. Having people around you who understand the condition is invaluable.

Everyone has their own hurdles getting in the way of the epic cycle trip they’ve always dreamed of; T1D is just another challenge. With some careful planning, supportive friends and a little bit of confidence, there’s a route around it.

I’m not a medical professional so do consult your GP before undertaking your own longdistance trip with T1D. You can find more information at nhs.uk/conditions/type-1diabetes and bit.ly/jdrfuk-exercise-advice

RHYS EVANS

Rhys has been cycle touring with Type 1 diabetes for many years

Diabetes explained

● T1D is an autoimmune condition that affects about 350,000 people in the UK. It arises when the pancreas no longer produces insulin, the hormone that regulates blood glucose by pushing glucose from the bloodstream into the body’s cells where it’s used to make energy. Without insulin production, Type 1 diabetics need to constantly manage this through the regular monitoring of blood glucose levels, the injection of insulin, exercise and consumption of carbohydrates.

● If your blood glucose is too high it leads to longterm nerve and tissue damage. Too low and it results in short-term issues for brain function, which can result in seizures. Avoiding these two issues is a constant balancing act that is complicated by your body’s sensitivity to insulin being affected by many factors, such as temperature, exertion, and hormones. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, T1D is not linked to lifestyle factors. It is typically diagnosed in childhood.

Use downloadable add-ins to display blood glucose on your smartwatch or bike computer. (It's possible with all major brands)

Consider using an insulin pump. It enables easy modifications to insulin dosing, based on activity levels and insulin sensitivity

On longer tours when it’s not possible to carry enough medication, ask Warmshowers hosts en route if you can arrange deliveries to them

After prolonged higher activity levels, your basal insulin requirements are lower. Incrementally lower your basal insulin using an insulin pump

Lightweight cooling products exist for keeping medication at the correct temperature – something to consider on long tours in warm climates

Insulin pump plus continuous glucose monitoring

Glucose Alert

Left: Rhys Evans

Biketest

Reilly Gradient

Carbon fibre dominates the higher-end bicycle market but there’s still a place for titanium. Dan Joyce tests a £4,000 gravel bike from Reilly

If you’ve been to the Bespoked show lately you’ll have seen the shiny titanium road and gravel bikes of Reilly Cycleworks. Co-founder Mark Reilly was a framebuilder (he passed away in 2021) but the company's frames are made in Taiwan and China to his designs rather than TIG welded here in the UK.

They're not custom built as such; they come in off-the-peg sizes. But you can customise your bike with a range of à la carte component options and upgrades. I chose a narrower bar, shorter stem and shorter cranks, and road rather than gravel tyres. The Gradient is pitched as a do-it-all bike for road, audax, touring and commuting as well as gravel and cyclocross. For most of those categories, road tyres are better.

Frame and fork

Like other Ti bikes, the Gradient’s frame tubes are titanium alloyed with aluminium (3%) and vanadium (2.5%) – hence 3AL 2.5V. Broadly speaking this is half the weight of chromemoly steel, just as strong and similarly resilient (springy), which accounts for its reputation for comfort and its sometime nickname: ‘old man’s carbon fibre’. It’s not as fatigue resistant as steel, however, something any owner who has found a crack in their ‘bike for life’ can attest to.

So it’s reassuring that the Gradient, like other Reilly frames, comes with a lifetime warranty for the original owner. That in itself is a vote of confidence in its durability. Moreover, it is a well-made frame, with sufficiently chunky,

hydroformed tubes neatly welded together. Stronger 6AL-4V titanium is used for bits like the cowled dropouts.

The bottom bracket is threaded rather than press-fit, and the straight 44mm head tube looks better than a truncated cone while still accommodating a tapered fork steerer. Although the rear brake hose runs through the down tube, the gear cables are external. That's an unusual mix but in maintenance terms it makes sense: you seldom mess with hydraulic hoses. There are plenty of frame fittings, including for a rear rack.

The geometry numbers are more endurance road bike than extreme off-road adventure bike. It still has a taller head tube, bigger tyre clearances and longer front centres than your typical road bike – although bear in mind that this is a Large; Medium is recommended for my 177cm height. I’d fit that too but it has a 20mm shorter head tube and 11mm less toe room.

The fork is full carbon and has mounts for luggage/bottle cages and a mudguard, as well as internal routing for a dynamo cable.

Components

The Gradient takes tyres up to around 43mm wide – or 47mm if you downsize to 650B (ISO 584) wheels. By default they’ll be Panaracer GravelKing SK. I asked for fast-rolling road tyres instead. The 32mm Continental GP5000S TR tyres supplied are great. If I were buying a Gradient, however, I’d likely choose the AS version, which is tougher and comes in a 35mm width.

Dan’s own best bike is a custombuilt titanium hardtail (which cracked and was repaired)

Other options

SPA CYCLES ELAN TI MK1 105 11-SPEED HYDRAULIC £2,340

The Mk1 version of Spa’s keenly priced all-rounder has postmount brakes and is slightly cheaper than the flat-mount Mk2. Not the lightest but a tall head tube and slacker seat angle boost comfort. spacycles.co.uk

KINESIS TRIPSTER ATR FRAMESET £2,400

The latest version of Kinesis’s ‘adventure, tour, race’ bike that we reviewed in April/May 2015 now has longer front centres, more tyre room (up to 45-622 or 50-584) and tweaks to the tubing. kinesisbikes.co.uk

DAN JOYCE

The wheels are one of Reilly’s budget options. That means heavier aluminium rather than carbon rims and non-boutique hubs. But there’s nothing to complain about. They’re true, spin smoothly and, like the tyres, are tubeless ready.

There’s a range of drivetrain options from Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo, some of them electronic. Here it’s 12-speed Shimano 105 with mechanical shifting. This works as well as Shimano invariably does, and the wider-range 11-36 cassette I asked for usefully lowers the gearing.

First look A well-made titanium gravel bike with a warranty and price to match, plus a nice range of à la carte options

The flat-mount disc brakes are from the same groupset. They’re hydraulic not mechanical. Once I’d adjusted the front brake to avoid rubbing and chirruping on the rotor, these too worked flawlessly, with plenty of easily modulated power.

The ride

Whether or not a titanium frame's famed compliance is felt more in the head than the hands, backside and feet, the Gradient glides comfortably over tarmac roads thanks to its less racy riding position and excellent 32mm tyres.

I like the way it handles. This didn't surprise me. The geometry is very similar to that of my Sonder Colibri road bike (also a Large). Half a degree here, a few

Cycle’s test promise

millimetres there, an extra headset spacer… The bikes also have the same tyres and the same sized bars and cranks. I have slightly less weight on my hands on my own bike, which has a 10mm shorter stem and a seatpost with more layback. And the Reilly is a little lighter.

Overall, though, it's a very similar ride – a point I'm labouring to quash the idea that nice bikes have a magic ingredient. They don't. It's physics – geometry, components and, yes, materials. I like the Gradient best on road because it rides like my road bike!

It will go off road – and well enough with gravel tyres. But even with 43mm GravelKings, I’d favour forest fire roads and well-groomed tracks.

Anything beyond that I’d want a drop-bar 29er like the Mason InSearchOf – or just a hardtail mountain bike.

Verdict

The Reilly Gradient is at its best on some kind of road – gravel, dirt or tarmac. As a do-it-all road bike, its handling is on point and the facility to fit mudguards, plusher tyres and luggage will come in handy. There’s a weight penalty compared to a carbon equivalent and a price premium over budget titanium. But it’s well made, good looking and has an excellent warranty. If four grand doesn’t make you blink, it’s worth a closer look.

At Cycle, we are proudly independent. There’s no pressure to please advertisers as we’re funded by your membership. Our product reviews aren’t press releases; they’re written by experienced cyclists after thorough testing.

At its best on some kind of road – gravel, dirt or tarmac

Tech Spec REILLY GRADIENT

Price: £4,368.99 as tested (from £4,249; frameset £2,499).

Sizes: XXS, XS, S, M, L (tested), XL, XXL.

Weight: 8.85kg (no pedals or mudguards).

Frame & fork:

Hydroformed 3AL-2.5V titanium frame with 68mm threaded bottom bracket, 44mm head tube, 142×12mm rear dropouts and fittings for rear rack, mudguard, three bottles and top tube ‘bento box’. UDM carbon fork with tapered carbon steerer, 100×12mm axle and fittings for two cargo cages, mudguard and dynamo cable. Wheels: 32-622

Continental GP5000S TR tyres with tubes, Strada All Road Plus Disc wheelset (622×22 aluminium rims, Miche R-DX Centre Lock hubs, 24×2 spokes).

Transmission: no pedals, 165mm Shimano 105 FC-

R7100 chainset with 50-34 chainrings, Shimano SM-BBR60 bottom bracket, Shimano CN-M7100 chain, Shimano CS-HG710-12 11-36 12-speed cassette. Shimano 105 STR7120 shifters and R7100 front & rear derailleurs. 24 ratios: 26-123in.

Braking: Shimano R7120 hydraulic levers and R7170 callipers, 160/140mm front/rear rotors. Steering & seating: EVA bar tape, ‘400’×31.8mm Deda Zero 1 aluminium handlebar (38cm c-c), 80mm×6º Reilly aluminium stem, Reilly aluminium 1 1/8in/1.5in threadless headset. Reilly titanium/aluminium Airform saddle, 31.6×350mm Reilly UD carbon seatpost with titanium bolts, 34.9mm Reilly seatpost clamp. Equipment: 45mm Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders (£119.99). reillycycleworks.com

Top: Room for a mudguard or a bigger tyre. The fork crown port is for a dynamo cable

Bottom: Welding as neat as I’ve seen on a titanium bike

Price: £600.

Sizes: S, M (tested), L.

Weight: 10.5kg/23.1lb (without pedals).

Bike test

Boardman URB 8.6

Journalist Simon Withers tests a simple, understated three-speed city runabout that costs £600

Boardman’s URB 8.6 is as straightforward as it gets, from its simple three-speed hub gearing to its ultra understated looks. Talk about monochrome: the dark grey frameset, with its small reflective head badge and down tube logo (one side only), is accompanied by a black stem, bar and seatpost, and a lighter grey saddle and grips. You want some colour? Forget it!

But if you’re looking for a minimalist commuter or dayto-day runabout with rack and mudguard fittings and decent comfort, this fulfils those criteria.

That bottom gear is fine for quite gentle inclines but when things get steeper – as on my local routes – the effort required, especially if you’re carrying shopping, will be challenging. You’ll also need a 15mm spanner for rear wheel punctures, unless you patch the tube in situ.

Frame & fork:

Boardman URB X7 aluminium frame with two pairs of bottle bosses, mudguard and rack mounts. Boardman URB alloy tapered fork with mudguard mounts.

Wheels: 32-622 Vittoria Zaffiro tyres, Boardman URB 6061 alloy rims, 32 15g spokes f&r, bolt-on Shimano SG-3D55 Nexus 3-speed rear hub, unbranded quick-release front hub.

chainset with 39t chainring, 115mm VP sealed cartridge bottom bracket, KMC rust-resistant Z1 chain. Shimano Nexus SL-3S41E Revoshift shifter and 3-speed Nexus hub gear, 18t sprocket. Three ratios: 43-80in. Braking: Tektro levers, Tektro HD-R310 hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors.

Top: The 3-speed hub gear is ideal for flatter towns and cities

Bottom: Hydraulic discs give powerful, all-weather braking

The Shimano Nexus hub gearing works well, and you can change gear while stationary or pedalling, but the range is limited by having just three ratios. The top gear is roughly equivalent to 50/17 (approx 80in), the middle 50/23 (59in) and the bottom 34/21 (43in).

MARIN FAIRFAX 2 £699

As well as Clarks hydraulic brakes, this all-aluminium hybrid from Marin comes with a 2×8-speed Shimano drivetrain (Altus, Acera, Tourney). marinbikes.com

The braking is vastly better than you’ll find on any £600 road bike. Tektro’s hydraulic discs are powerful, controlled and have a very light action, and they were quiet once bedded in. Descents are tackled confidently and safely as a result

The 32mm tyres keep things comfortable, even with an aluminium frame and oversize aluminium seatpost. I particularly liked the grippy, canvascovered URB saddle, which is less padded than many budget bikes’ saddles – and all the better for it. The grips are made of the same material, though on a flat-bar bike I’d

SPECIALIZED

SIRRUS 2 £600

A lot of bike for your money, with the aluminium frame and steel fork decked out with 2×8-speed Microshift gearing and Promax hydraulic discs. specialized.com

Transmission: Alloy flat pedals, 170mm Prowheel alloy

Steering & seating: Boardman canvas grips, 600mm Boardman alloy bar and 90mm stem, 1 1/8-1-5in tapered headset. Boardman URB canvas saddle, 31.6×350mm alloy seatpost. Equipment: None. boardmanbikes.com

fit grips with bar ends such as Ergon’s GP4 or GP5 for the extra handhold.

I attached a rear rack and loaded up the Boardman with some weighty loads. It coped well, with no flex from the frame. This bike would be ideal for shortish commutes and shopping journeys, and with mudguards fitted it would make a good year-round bike, too.

You could also use it for longer leisure rides on canal towpaths and the like –wherever it’s reasonably flat. If you live in a hillier area, something like Boardman’s HYB 8.6 would be a better bet.

Verdict

Well-considered, everyday urban bike with excellent braking, good comfort and a more upright position that’s ideal for commuting and utility cycling in traffic – although the gearing means it’s not one for the hills. (Don’t forget your Cycling UK discount at Halfords, by the way.)

Grouptest Commuter jackets

A practical waterproof jacket is one of the most important items in any transport cyclist’s wardrobe.

Hannah Collingridge reviews four

HANNAH COLLINGRIDGE

Hannah is a bikepacker who wrote the Pennine Bridleway guidebook but she’s also a utility cyclist

Commuting, whatever the season, is always best in dry weather. But as that’s not always possible, here are four jackets designed to make a wet commute more pleasant while also keeping you visible to traffic. These aren’t super-lightweight racing ‘capes’ but something a little more substantial for daily wear and slower speeds. They’d also be suitable for touring.

All of the tested jackets are waterproof and breathable to an extent. Ideally rain can’t get in while sweat can get out. However, with all jackets it’s possible to sweat faster than a fabric can cope with, especially on warmer days, when you’re pedalling hard or if you just happen to sweat a lot.

Caring for these jackets is straightforward; they’re all machine washable at 30 degrees. Apart from keeping them fresh, washing will help them breathe better as dirt and grime can block pores in the fabric. Don’t use fabric conditioner, however, as it messes with a jacket’s proofing and breathability.

Most jackets have a durable water-repellent (DWR) coating to help rain run off. This gradually wears away but you can reproof a jacket by washing it with Nikwax TX Direct Wash-In Waterproofer or similar.

Cycle’s test promise

At Cycle, we are proudly independent. There’s no pressure to please advertisers as we’re funded by your membership. Our product reviews aren’t press releases; they’re written by experienced cyclists after thorough testing.

Details WHAT TO LOOK FOR

1 Rain protection

The figure in thousands of millimetres isn’t an amount of rainfall but the hydrostatic head – the water pressure it will withstand. The bigger the number, the more waterproof the fabric. At 5,000mm, the fabric should withstand persistent light rain. From 10,000mm and above, it should cope with heavy rain.

2 Breathability

Breathability is rated on the same kind of number scale (5,000, 10,000 and so on) as waterproofness. Here it refers to the grammes of water vapour that can pass through the fabric in 24 hours. A bigger number is better for breathability. Vents make a big difference, too.

3 Visibility

Bright colours help in daylight but in the dark you need plenty of reflectivity to

make you stand out in a car’s headlights. It is possible these days to get a jacket that’s not hi-viz yellow yet still reflective, if you want something more sober.

4 Fit Fit is crucial but can’t really be determined without you trying a garment on. Your reviewer is a slightly chunky, 5ft 6in middle-aged woman who usually fits a 16, so that is what size the test jackets came in. There are men’s versions of all four jackets.

5 Features

A hood helps keep rain out but it needs to fit either over or under a helmet, if worn, and ideally be adjustable so that peripheral vision is not lost. Pockets are always handy if they are in the right place. I’ve used the modern standard for pocket size: will my phone fit in?

1 Altura Nightvision Storm

£100 altura.co.uk

THIS COMES IN several colourways, with plenty of reflective detailing on the arms although not all the way across the back. While there is no hood, there is a cinch at the neck and the sleeve cuffs have Velcro for easy adjustment. There are two decent-sized hip pockets with zips, a zipped chest pocket that won’t take a phone, plus a rear pocket that will. There’s a vent across the back and some strangely short pit zips. The bottom of the jacket has a slightly dropped tail and another cinch. Fit was pretty true to size, with the arms a decent length for cycling. It feels substantial enough to last. Sizes: 8-18. Waterproofing & breathability: 10k/10k.

2 BTwin Women’s City Cycling Night Visibility Rain Jacket

£69.99 decathlon.co.uk

I FOUND THIS jacket very baggy. There is a waist cinch, but even using that it’s voluminous and it filled with wind while riding. There is a hood, with adjusters, which will fit under or over a helmet. Good-length pit zips help with ventilation, and there are two reasonably sized, zipped hip pockets. The reflective bands go round the hem, the waist and the wrists so visibility isn’t quite as good as the other jackets, but the key areas are covered. The wrists are loosely elasticated so let water creep up your arms more than the others on test. Sizes 6-16/18. Waterproofing & breathability: 15k/not quoted.

3 Endura Women’s Xtract Jacket II

£84.99 endurasport.com

SIZING WAS AN issue with this jacket – even the XXL came up snug on me. It’s an issue Endura is aware of and is tackling, and it’s worthing noting that not all Endura jackets have this fit. This is the lightest jacket on test and it folds away into a handy stuff-sack. It has reflective detailing on the wrists, neck and tail rather than masses of hi-vis. There’s a tiny pocket in the rear that won’t fit a phone. The wrists are elasticated rather than adjustable, and the neckline is also slightly stretchy; water may seep in here after a while. A vent across the shoulders helps with air circulation. Sizes XS-XXL. Waterproofing & breathability: 5k/5k.

Verdict

Overall, the Madison Stellar FiftyFity is the best jacket here for commuting. It’s well thought out, and its features are useful and will keep you warm, dry and seen. If you know you won’t be using a hood, then the Altura Nightvision Storm is well worth considering. Both of these jackets feel like they will give years of service.

More online

For more reviews of bikes, kit and components, as well as how-to guides, visit... cyclinguk.org/advice

4 Madison Stellar FiftyFifty Reflective Women’s Waterproof Jacket

£99.99 freewheel.co.uk

THIS IS A really well-designed waterproof jacket for commuting. The fit is true to size and there are cinches on the hem and hood. The hood fits over or under a helmet, and there’s a strap to hold it neatly in place when not in use. The FiftyFifty name refers to the amount of hi-vis panelling –there are big blocks of reflective material where they are likely to be caught by headlights. It’s decently waterproof in use and feels robust. There are pit zips but no back vent, along with two decent-sized pockets on the hips. It is quite a warm jacket so it’s not ideal for summer. Sizes 8-16. Waterproofing & breathability: 10k/10k.

Well made, weatherproof, super hi-vis and has a handy hood

If it fits you, then the Endura Xtract II jacket is great as a lighter-weight option, especially for faster commuters. The BTwin is the cheapest jacket here, even before your Cycling UK discount, and it does the job well enough. If you’re happy with the way it hangs, it doesn’t scream ‘cycling jacket’ as much as the others. 1 2 4 3 A durable jacket with vents, pockets and decent reflectivity Unusually loose cut but it’s good value and not too ‘bikey’

Scotland

Cycling: the best medicine

Despite a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, Martin Coopland joined his friend Graham for a tour of Galloway

In the April/May 2020 issue of Cycle, I wrote about warm winter winds in the west of Scotland as my friend Graham and I toured to Portpatrick. I enjoyed the tour but I had a feeling not everything was right. The pedals would not turn easily and my mind found fear everywhere.

Then the world paused for Covid. It wasn’t the time to be visiting my GP telling him I was worried about finding it hard to ride 100 miles. Later I abandoned a trip to the Highlands because I could not make the bicycle go. “There is something wrong with you,” my companions told me.

To the surgery. Caring staff and referrals yielded the answer: I have Parkinson’s disease. Cycling is a huge part of my life and it has been significantly impacted. Luckily, cycling is the top thing consultants recommend to help manage the condition.

My left leg is affected: it becomes tense and fights me. But I now know that, if I persist with my ride for 40 minutes, the tension fades. My shoulders become painfully tense, which I deal with by regularly shifting my hands and frequent stops for stretching – or ‘gate yoga’ as I call it.

My lack of dopamine makes me anxious, so going out to cycle, even on familiar roads, is an issue that I have to push through every

time. My cycling has become difficult yet always makes me feel better. My symptoms are reduced and the effect lasts hours.

In August 2024, Graham and I repeated our trip to Portpatrick. Summertime brought greener roads but the wind was still present. Graham did the hard shifts into the wind. I rode behind, eking out my energies, a grateful passenger. We made it to the Mull of Galloway in glorious sunshine, where I took my medicine: a spoonful of cycling.

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We’d love to hear your Travellers’ Tales! Email: editor@cyclinguk.org

Traws Eryri adventure Wales

This

year Karen Townsin and three friends rode through Snowdonia

WOW, WOW, WOW! Our fourth annual off-road adventure, this year taking us across Snowdonia, was probably our most challenging yet. With the words “this route is best suited to experienced riders” ringing in our ears, three friends and I (combined age 240 years) set off in mid July.

We divided the 200km trip from Machynlleth to Conwy into four days of riding, stopping at Dolgellau, Trawsfynydd and Betws-y-Coed. While the distance each day was not huge, we wanted to allow plenty of time for the climbs and the weather.

There was certainly some of the latter. We got completely soaked on day one but a well-placed launderette, literally opposite our B&B in Dolgellau, saved the day. To say that the route was stunning is an understatement. Mountains, waterfalls, rivers, lakes – it had it all.

Among the many highlights were: the Snowdonia Slate Trail with its eerily cool slate pyramids; the jaw-dropping glacial valley, Nant Ffrancon; the forest trails around Betws; and the friendly people we met, from the waitress in a pub in Mach giving us a Welsh lesson, to the other riders we leap-frogged on the way.

Yes, on some of the climbs we would have been grateful for a little battery assistance, but the descents more than made up for the pain. Thank you, Cycling UK, for another spectacular route. Challenging and strenuous, yes, but we did it and absolutely loved it.

Port William Lifeboat Station

Mull of Galloway Lighthouse

Penmaenpool Toll Bridge near Dolgellau

Near Trawsfynydd

Austria

Mountain highs

The sound of an e-bike motor brought the hills alive for Ann Shrimpton, who spent six days in Austria

When you think of Austrian mountains, you probably think of skiing or Maria von Trapp. But in the summer Saalbach-Hinterglemm becomes the largest biking region in Austria. Words can’t properly describe how beautiful it is here, surrounded by a 360-degree view of mountain landscapes, with snowy Alps in the distance. There is something for all cyclists, from the serious mountain bikers who go to the top of the mountain and ride down fast, to the gravel cyclists like us who just love exploring.

There are more than 400km of cycling trails in this region. You can get to the top of them using chairlifts and cable cars. You take your bike in the gondola up the mountain, which allows you freedom to explore further. There are extraordinary views from the top, stunning mountain trails and amazing descents. We rented a self-catering apartment in the small village of Hinterglemm, with a balcony overlooking the mountains. It was amazing to have our breakfast and our evening après-ride glass of wine enjoying the view and breathing in the crisp mountain air.

Due to the mountainous terrain, we rented e-bikes on this trip. They opened up

the entire region to us. Rides and climbs that would normally be out of reach for us were completely attainable. We cycled to the summit of three different mountains higher in elevation than Ben Nevis!

By using the maps of the region and finding trails on Komoot, we managed to pull together a fabulous six days of riding. These included cycling through the idyllic Glemm Valley, as well as climbing to the top of those mountain peaks.

The trails, the views, the mountains, the gondolas, the strudel, the warm hospitality of the Austrians, the mountain air and the constant desire to burst into a Julie Andrews-style rendition of ‘The hills are alive’ would bring me back again and again to this region.

To read more or view the routes, see my blog veloann.com/post/the-hills-are-alive

Touring on the cheap Europe

Pete Younger and partner Saartje rode across Europe on bikes worth £80 the pair

“I HAVE COME across Europe from Scotland to the Black Sea. Please take me and use me well.” We Google translated that message into Romanian and wrote it on notes tied to our bikes.

It was the evening of 17 May 2024. My partner, Saartje, and I had just completed our project to cycle across Europe from the North Sea to the Black Sea, following the Rhine and Danube. Our route had taken us 4,000km in 53 days of cycling through 11 countries.

In planning the project we knew that work commitments wouldn’t allow more than two or three weeks’ cycling per holiday, so it would require several instalments. But it would be too expensive and inconvenient to fly our ‘good’ touring bikes out and back for each trip. So we decided to use cheap bikes we could leave with friends across Europe between trips, and which need never make the journey home.

We bought both bikes locally – my Viking Alghero town bike for £50 and Saartje’s Merida Dakar MTB for £30. After a little sprucing up, they set off with us to the Netherlands by ferry from Newcastle. Both bikes did us proud.

That final evening in Constanta we left our newly labelled bikes outside the main station. Next morning we returned to catch a train for Bucharest and our flight home. Both bikes were gone.

I hope their new owners get as much pleasure from them as we did.

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Just off the cable car, high above SaalbachHinterglemm

Saartje and Pete at the Black Sea