Editor’s Letter

The Best, and Weirdest, Time to Get a Bike

On buying a new rig this year

This is the strangest time to be making a buyer’s guide. Since the spring of 2020, I’ve heard from shops, from brands and from reps that demand for bikes has been...I believe the technical term is bonkers. And not just bikes. This past winter I was in a local bike shop and did a proverbial spit take when I saw a shipping pallet full of trainers.

“I can’t believe you have trainers,” I said to one of the staff.

“They just arrived. That’s why you’re seeing them,” was the response.

Scarcity aside, this development is great. More people are riding bikes. (If this is your first time reading Canadian Cycling Magazine, welcome!) They are coming to bikes to get fit, enjoy the outdoors and get around. I hope you new riders fall in love with cycling for life as the rest of us have. I’m also hoping that many of the positive changes municipalities across the country made in 2020 to cycling infrastructure continue to grow this year. I hope those temporary changes, such as road closures for bikes, return with the melting snow and budding leaves. Last year, my city of Toronto put up 25 km of temporary bikeways. A study from the University of Toronto, published in Transport Findings earlier this year, shows that the routes boosted access to jobs and grocery stores between 10 to 20 per cent. An increase of 20 per cent meant access to 100,000 jobs. That 25 km of bikeways punched way above its weight, especially compared with the same distance of a subway line.

While those changes were quick and successful, and should return this year, something that won’t be done with rapid success during the next few months is bike shopping. At least, the odds of you calling up your local shop and finding exactly what you want are slim. I almost feel guilty telling you that I pulled that off this past January. I found a bike for my daughter and almost did another spit take. (I didn’t. There was no spitting. We are in the midst of a pandemic after all.) I felt as if I’d won the lottery.

If you plan to get a new rig this year, I recommend you start with our guide. I believe in this buyer’s guide because it will help you plan your purchase. Also read our reviews online. Deliberate. Then uy. Don’t just buy the bike, but also hard-to-find items that you should have on hand, such as the right derailleur hanger. Then wait with as much patience as you can muster. In a way, this process is a bit old-school, from a time before we could get anything and everything we wanted right away.

I’ve followed the plan I just outlined. After much thought, I bought a cool new frame. Its arrival has been delayed, but I’m told I should have it by the time you’re reading these words. Maybe.

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“I felt as if I’d won the lottery.”

Matthew Pioro Editor

Editor Matthew Pioro matthew@cyclingmagazine.ca

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