This is Cycling UK

Bikes and the seaside go together like – well, a bucket and spade. Both are about simplicity, about enjoying nature. About stripping away the stress of everyday life and concentrating on the basics. Cake or icecream? Sunbathe or paddle? Tea or something stronger? Ride to the nature reserve or the waterfront bar? (These aren’t necessarily either-or questions.) Britain didn’t invent the beach holiday but made it available to the masses in the late-1800s heyday of the seaside resort, thanks to railways and paid holidays. Cheap air travel from the 1970s made sunny foreign beaches more tempting, but for obvious reasons the pendulum has swung back towards home lately. British resorts are in vogue again. Wikipedia lists 211 to choose from, so which ones suit us best? Many offer memorable two- or three-wheel experiences. In Wales, almost direct from Barmouth’s beach, a remarkable mile-long, bikes-only wooden bridge runs across the estuary mouth, then turns into a delightful rail-trail to Dolgellau – ideal for a family ride. As is the Camel Trail, another old riverside rail line, heading out from Cornish fishrestaurant hub Padstow to Wadebridge.

A FIRST, NOT LAST, RESORT

Sometimes you can link resorts by bike. From Scarborough, often said to be Britain’s first ever seaside resort, you can ride the car-free, 20-mile Cinder Track to one-off harbour gem Whitby. The northern half has wonderful coastal views, though on the bumpy southern half you’ll be watching the surface in front of you. The Way of the Roses, a three- or four-day trans Pennine adventure from Morecambe in Lancashire to Bridlington in Yorkshire, is bookended by smooth, friendly promenades: begin and end your ride with an icecream and a paddle. Wonderful beaches can come in unexpected places. The 185-mile Hebridean Way, down Scotland’s island chain, passes unearthly landscapes with gorgeous-coloured sands that could have come out of the Caribbean... except for the temperature. No resorts here – this is definitely ‘away from it all’ – but the Hebrides are proving very popular just now with tourers looking for an ‘exotic foreign ride’ without the need for a passport or fears of quarantine. Promenade rides can surprise, too. The car-free seafront path at Cleethorpes boasts a Greenwich Meridian, Britain’s smallest pub (the Signal Box), and its biggest fish and chip shop (on the pier). The cycle route at the top of the Wirral peninsula, opposite Liverpool, gives you ten miles of unbroken, relaxed traffic-free seaside cycling from Hoylake to the terminal for the ferry ’cross the Mersey in Birkenhead. Work in some rail-trails to complete the loop to the south, and you can make it an (almost) all car-free circuit – or go and explore Liverpool instead. But what we’re looking for here is the Complete Cyclist’s Seaside Break. That means good relaxing beaches with all the traditional trappings for when it’s a bit too cold to be swimming: donkey rides, amusements, piers and proms, cheap and cheerful food and drink, amiably gaudy lights. It means lots of accommodation options with a limited budget no problem. A good cyclable car-free prom, suitable for kids and occasional riders, with plenty of toilets. Some more ambitious route options inland for the keen day-riders. Easy, bike-friendly rail access – and bike hire options. Fun for all the cycling family. So here’s our pick of Britain’s best cycling resorts, which give all that and more, in spades. Buckets and spades, in fact...

Opposite: Brighton This photo: Llandudno beach, looking west

Do it yourself All aboard!

The railways helped create the seaside resort and remain an option for getting there with your bike. Good planning helps. Jem and Louise Clines have great tips for solving the ‘train+bikes+kids = holiday’ equation on their blog ecofamilytravel. co.uk/10-tips-takingbicycles-train-kids/. Strings of resorts along a rail line, as on the North Wales and East Kent coasts, offer super train/bike flexibility. But Beeching’s axe was bad news for resorts like Hornsea or Ilfracombe, which lost their lines and now require a car – or long ride – to reach. Best for seafront rides

PRESTATYN TO COLWYN BAY

The North Wales Coast west from Prestatyn to elegant, likeable Llandudno is one long chain of resorts – and you can cycle all 20 miles of it on a glorious car-free seaside promenade, Britain’s longest car-free seaside ride. (Almost all, anyway: there’s a mile of quiet road just outside Llandudno; and, until autumn 2022, halfway along are two mile-long roadworks diversions along paths or quiet roads.) A café, ice-cream or toilet is never more than a few hundred yards away, the views change constantly, and there’s a handy cycle-workshop-hire-café at the Hub in Rhyl, right on the harbour. There are rail stations along the

Feature

N PLUS ZERO DAN JOYCE N+0=4 for Dan. It would take a very special bike to get that down to one

NOT IN STOCK? NOT AFFORDABLE? NOT NECESSARY? MAYBE IT’S TIME TO FORGET THAT NEW BIKE AND MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT WE’VE GOT. DAN JOYCE ELABORATES

Mend and make do: Real Yellow Jersey winner Caitlin Barlett teaches cycle maintenance

Scratching that new bike itch is more difficult these days. There are a few reasons why it might be time to abandon N+1, cycling forums’ favourite formula for “the correct number of bikes to own”, in which N equals the number of bikes you currently own.

Chief among them is supply. In brief: there was a pandemic bike boom; factories making essential components shut their doors; and there was, and is, a global shipping crisis… which was compounded by a logjam in the Suez Canal. So bike shops are emptier and due dates for new models and parts keep getting pushed back. “That’s the story of the day for everyone at the moment,” the marketing manager at one big bike company told me last July, after confessing that he wouldn’t be able to supply a test bike I’d been chasing for a year. “I had a nightmare getting parts for the UK Olympians riding our bikes. [It’s now] November for chains alone!” The second reason is rising prices. Think the prices seem high for the bikes reviewed in Cycle? They are! The Bicycle Association recently published a report, ‘Growth Beyond the Boom: Key Drivers of the UK Cycling Market in 2021’. One of its findings was that the average price of (non-electric) bikes sold in the UK had risen by 36% since 2019. Partly that’s customers buying the more readily available expensive models. Partly it’s business costs such as shipping: the price of a container from the Far East to Europe was $1,250 in September 2020, before the shortage hit, and then $22,000 in November 2021 (source: Cycling Industry News). That’s an increase of over $20,000! Given that a container holds about 250 bikes, it’s $80 or so on top of the price of every bike.

In the UK, Brexit hasn’t helped pricing or, in some cases, availability. Sterling fell significantly against the Euro and, crucially, the US dollar after the Leave vote in 2016, making imports such as bikes more expensive. On top of that, there are now import duties on items from Europe. The Guardian has a good summary (bit.ly/cycle-brexitguardian), and there’s a long-running thread of Cycling UK members’ experiences on the forum (cyclinguk. org/post-brexit-buying). The third reason to ditch the N+1 formula is simply to avoid buying something we don’t need, a consumerism issue the climate crisis has thrown into sharp relief. Bikes are a drop in the rising ocean compared to cars or fast fashion but there’s still a real cost in resources. The most environmentally friendly bike is the one you already own. Which brings us back to N+0. Or, to put it another way: mending and making do.

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

Disc-braked road bike

For: Alan Sheldon, aged 75, from Bedford Bike needs: I’ve been using a basic hybrid for exercise during lockdowns. I’d now like a road bike to allow me to increase my mileage and fun. Must have: A good range of gears to allow my old legs to cope with hills, disc brakes, and enough space for my 6ft 2in frame. Must not have: It does not have to be super-lightweight or have aggressive geometry. Budget: up to £1,250

Alan Sheldon

Liz Colebrook

Congratulations on getting back in the saddle! My recommendation is the Boardman ADV 8.9 in XL (£1,100, boardmanbikes.com). It tips the scales at around 10.3kg with a triple-butted aluminium frame, carbon fork, and ‘adventure’ wheelset. With the £150 remaining, I’d add lightweight mudguards and potentially upgrade the pedals and saddle.

The frame geometry will suit your departure from a flat bar without too much extra forward lean. Tubeless-ready Schwalbe 700×38 G-One tyres are ideal for our weather-weary roads, and should make for a compliant ride even off road. We can lose some flexibility in our spines over time, so I suggest the shop ‘flips’ your handlebar stem to raise the front end a little. I’d also suggest a gel pad set under the handlebar tape to absorb road shock (e.g. Fizik Bar Gel, £17.99).

The 46cm handlebar is the ‘short and shallow’ style where the distance to the drops and reach forward are both reduced. There’s a flare to the bar as well, so your hands are a little wider on the drops; the added stability is reassuring on descents. When riding on the brake hoods, Shimano’s hydraulic set-up makes braking less effort, and the integrated ‘paddle’ style gear shifters are also very light action. So they suit older hands.

This leads nicely to your request for lower gearing: the range is super wide (24-118"), thanks to a 2×10 transmission with an appropriate-length (175mm) 48-32 crankset and an 11-36 cassette. Altogether, this mix should deliver plenty of enjoyment per mile.

BOARDMAN ADV 8.9

£1,100 Dan Joyce

Most disc-brake road bikes have the ‘aggressive’ geometry you don’t want, with a steep seat angle that tips you forward onto a handlebar that’s low down due to the combination of a short head tube and a carbon fork. They also have relatively high gears. You need a bike whose largest rear sprocket is smaller than the smallest chainring (i.e. under 27").

Gravel bikes can make better general purpose road bikes than road bikes. The Boardman ADV 8.9 that Liz describes is one we both picked, having written our initial responses independently. I’d swap the tyres – perhaps for 700×35C Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass (£80 each!) – and, like Liz, fit mudguards.

Alternatively, some ‘endurance’ road bikes could be suitable. They tend to have taller head tubes and slightly shallower frame angles. The Sonder Colibri on p60 (£999, alpkit.com) is a good example; you’d want the XL size in this. To lower the gearing, fit a SunRace MX3 11-40 cassette (£79.99), a Wolf Tooth Roadlink (£23), and some extra chain links.

The Spa Cycles Aubisque (currently £1,150, spacycles.co.uk) ticks all your boxes with no modifications required. Being steel it is heavier, but you say that doesn’t bother you. See cyclinguk. org/cycle-magazine/bike-test-four-season-road-bikes for our review. The Aubisque comes with a triple or double chainset. Either can be bought with smaller chainrings, such as a 46-3424 triple or a 42-26 double, which I think you’d appreciate. You’d likely want the 60cm model (out of stock) but might fit the 57cm.

SPA CYCLES AUBISQUE

£1,150

MEMBERSHIP MEMBERSHIPFROM JUST FROM JUST £3.88 A £3.88 A MONTH!* MONTH!*

RICHARD PEACE

Richard is a cycling journalist and author. His books include Electric Bicycles and The Ultimate C2C Guide

Biketest Hub-geared roadsters

For short-distance daily transport, it’s hard to beat a roadster for get-on-and-go convenience. Richard Peace reviews models from Gazelle and Trek

The term roadster is often used interchangeably with city bike, Dutch bike, or even opafiets and omafiets (grandfather bike and grandmother bike in Dutch). Whichever term you choose, certain design traits are universal: practicality, low maintenance, comfort, and durability.

This tends to make them a few kilograms heavier and a bit slower than bikes that cycling enthusiasts favour. That’s not important. What matters is that you can hop on them in whatever clothes you’re wearing and know they will be reliable and easy to use for everyday tasks such as shopping and commuting.

The Gazelle Esprit T3 is a genuine Dutch roadster, made in the Netherlands by a company that specialises in such bikes. The vast majority of its non-electric models feature hub dynamos and/ or hub gears, two classic roadster features.

Trek is an American company better known for its road and mountain bikes. Despite this, the Loft 7i EQ Step-Over has broadly similar equipment to the Gazelle Esprit T3, with dynamo-powered lights, hub gearing, a chainguard, mudguards, and a rear rack. The main spec difference is Trek’s choice of rim brakes over the Gazelle’s roller brakes.

Frame and fork

Both bikes have an aluminium frame and a steel fork, although they look quite different. The Gazelle’s funky modern look with varied tube profiles contrasts to the traditional round tubing on the Trek, which is in keeping with its retro feel.

As you would expect from highquality manufacturers, welds are neat and strong and the matt black paintwork on both bikes is silkily smooth. Much of the Gazelle’s cabling is

Underneath the modern styling it’s a traditional Dutch roadster: heavy, comfortable, and practical

The Gazelle is super stable – a great attribute in traffic when you have one hand off the handlebar to signal

internally routed, as is the dynamo wiring within the front fork and main frame. The head tube is specially shaped to accommodate a frame-integrated front LED. It looks stylish and gives the lamp some protection too. The front LED can be relocated to sit on the front of an optional, metal basket-style front rack (load rating 5kg, £54.95), which uses the light housing on the frame for mounting. A front basket is a practical choice for a city bike, as you can just drop your shoulder bag in it and pedal off.

By contrast, the Trek’s cables run externally, though on this black frame they are barely visible. While frame integrated cables are neater, some might prefer external cables for easier maintenance. You could fit a low-rider rack to the Trek as the fork has extra eyelets at the dropouts, although there aren’t any halfway up the fork legs so you’ll need to clamp the rack there.

I tested medium-sized versions of both bikes. The Gazelle sits you in a more upright position, although the

step-over height of the frame is also higher. If you’re much shorter than male average, you might struggle to get either of these diamond frame bikes to fit you. The Trek only comes in medium (50.4cm) and large (55.4cm) sizes. The Gazelle comes in small (49cm), medium (54cm) and large (59cm) sizes. There are stepthrough versions of both Top: The front lamp housing bikes, which do have on the head tube can also be smaller frame options. used to mount a basket-style front rack Additionally, all Loft Bottom: Despite the models feature what chaincase, hub gear, and roller Trek calls ‘Flat Foot brake, rear wheel removal is relatively straightforward Technology’: the seat tube is behind the bottom bracket, so its effective angle is significantly shallower than the geometry figures suggest. In effect, it brings the saddle a bit closer to the ground whilst maintaining the same distance to the pedals.

Components

Disc brakes are relatively common at this price point, so it’s perhaps surprising that neither bike has them. The Gazelle has roller brakes, in keeping with its low-maintenance-

Tech Spec

GAZELLE ESPRIT T3

Price: £599

Sizes: Small (49cm), medium (54cm, tested), large (59cm)

Weight: 18.9kg/41.7lb

Frame & fork: Aluminium frame with rear facing dropouts and fittings for roller brake, rear rack, mudguard, and front lamp/rack. Steel fork with fittings for roller brake and mudguard.

Wheels: 42-622 Continental Ride City tyres, Ryde Dutch rims with 36H 2-cross spoking (13g rear, 14g front), Shimano Nexus 3 rear hub, Shimano dyno hub.

Transmission: Plastic platform pedals, 38T chainset, square tape bottom bracket, KMC Z410 RB chain, 18T sprocket. Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub with twistgrip shifter. 3 ratios, 43-80in.

Braking: Shimano roller brakes front and rear (BR-C3000F and BR-IM31)

Steering & seating: Widek Aerowing grips, Comfort curved aluminium bars, Gazelle Nero quill stem, threaded headset. Selle Royal saddle, 27.2mm aluminium seatpost.

Equipment: Alloy rear rack (front rack optional extra), enclosed plastic chainguard, plastic mudguards, AXA Solid Plus wheel lock with optional cable extra, front and rear LED lights powered by Shimano 2.4W front hub dynamo. gazellebikes.com

Dimensions in millimetres and degrees 588 560

719

55 867 71˚ 515 54

643 445 130