Top Tips for Cycling
Pedal Power-Top tips to help you pick the right bike and ride safely
Cycling is a great fun exercise that your whole family can enjoy. Cycling builds muscle, improves stamina, balance and co-ordination and is a great mood lifter. If you want to keep fit and have fun you must choose the right bike and the correct safety equipment. Follow these tips…
A road bike is sleek and designed to go fast on our roads. Aerodynamics are paramount and everything is sized down to save weight. Close together gears make it easy to fine tune your speed while your position is streamlined. And high pressure skinny tyres finish the look. You can expect to pay a minimum of £450 for a decent bike.
Mountain bikes are toughies that are designed to go off road, get covered in mud and withstand a pasting. For that reason they have heavy-duty frames, good breaks, lots of gears and chunky, knobbly tyres. It’s expected that obstacles may get in the way so the riding position is more upright than the road bike. You’ll have to pay from £300.
Frame/sizing: The two most common materials bike manufacturers use are steel and alloy (aluminium). Traditionally bikes are made from steel as this offers more ‘spring’.
Steel frames, if looked after, will last a lifetime. Aluminium frames, on the other hand, only have a five year guarantee. The robots which make bikes prefer aluminium as it is more malleable so you will find the mass produced bike will be made from aluminium. Steel frames require a highly skilled human.
As a general rule of thumb for a road bike, if you stand flat-footed on the ground you should have a one inch clearance between you and the top tube of the frame-for mountain bikes the clearance will be three inches. Looking at the seat tube it should not be too short, non-existent or too long.
You must be able to comfortably reach and use your breaks. Children’s bikes are often fitted with adult breaks which can be too big for small hands, so be careful.
Helmet: Try, try and try again until one fits properly. You can the sizing pads, generally supplied, to fine tune the size. Try to avoid buying a helmet that is sized s/m/l. It is vital that the polystyrene shell is as close a fit as possible to allow it to absorb any impact.
Your chin strap should be as close to your neck as possible but still allowing you to open your mouth. Your helmet mustn’t slip. Air vents help in the warmer weather. Look for a manufacturer that offers replacement insurance. Expect to pay from £30.
Saddle: Solid leather saddles, over time, mould themselves to your contours and prove to be very comfortable-you’ll have to pay from £35. In more recent times ‘gel’ saddles have proved very popular. These saddles house the gel and move with you-they will cost from £30. You will notice saddles with holes that claim to reduce localised pressure and saddles with raised pelvic seats designed to reduce pressure at the two points where your pelvic bone protrudes. These features are worth considering.
Some dealers will allow you to try a sample saddle before you buy which, if offered, is a very good idea.
Lastly, a wider saddle sits you in a position you can’t move away from, whereas a narrow saddle allows you to move and does not interfere with your pedalling.
Safety: Just because you can see the traffic does not mean it can see you, particularly from behind. Riding alongside the kerb can make you invisible in the dusk.
There is a legal requirement, as with all road going vehicles, for lights to be fitted and displayed during the hours of darkness. Lights should be switched on before the light begins to fade, as well as on wet or overcast days. For daytime you can buy fantastic little lights that fix to your helmet for about £5 which are great during the winter months. Commuter lights will cost between £15 and £40 and the more serious stuff between £60 and £100.
Pedals: You are able to produce more pedal power if your feet are clipped to your pedals. Your shoes will have special cleats to fit. The shoes release from the clip with a simple flick of the foot. Expect to pay from £80 for the package.
·Carol Westmorland is a champion cyclist who tries to ride every day for at least two hours. She holds the 2004 National 12-hour Championship with 243.19 miles and the 2006 National 24-hour Championship with 445.41 miles. Her personal best for 10 miles is 23 minutes and 18 seconds. Her best racing terrain is hilly.