I know bugger all about bikes, but I know a man who does, I've asked him for his thoughts(Saturday night, so I don't expect an answer until tomorrow). In fact, I know two people who know a lot about bikes, my brother in law is a road racer who's competed in the Tour de France, but I think his suggestions might be a tad on the pricey side. He lives in London and has been run over several times, his insurance claims were so big, that he can no longer get insurance(two bikes were written off and he ended up hospitalised). Whatever bike you get, I recommend not getting run over.
I've got an old school road bike with down tube, non-indexed shifters. It must be best part of 30 years old. It's nice for a long flattish tour, but it takes some winding up from a standing start.
There are a few forums about for cycling, but there's some proper bike snobs in amongst some nice folk. What's clear is that London cyclists seem to suffer more accidents because of the lousy attitude some car drivers have. To be fair though, some of the 'helmet cam' riders seem to go out looking for confrontation, so I can imagine why some drivers will get pissed off with them. I stopped reading them because it was starting to put me off. Some days it was one confrontation after another. Some of them have more arguments with car drivers in a month than I've had in 40+ years and I'm a stroppy twat at times. I try to treat everyone with respect and approach cars in the way I'd expect to be approached if I was driving, but I do ride defensively when I feel the need to. At the end of the day, I can be as much in the right as I like, but my kneecaps won't win an argument with a tonne of car. Any advice on a decent pitch for a road bike is appreciated though.
Being semi-resident in London for many years, it's fairly obvious from the way people drive that they make a clear distinction between cycle couriers and your average cyclist(namely that they avoid one and aim for the other). My brother in law was actually once run over by a dustcart, some coppers happened to be passing and managed to nick the bloke about half a mile down the road and he was rat arsed. He was banned from driving, sacked from his job with the council and almost got put away. Though his worst injury came from hitting a pothole, he shattered his hand and had to have it wired back together, but he still cycles to work and back every day(when he went back to photograph the pothole the next morning, the council were already there filling it in, though they did still pay to replace the bike).
I'm in London every 2 weeks, I must have missed the southern 'How to drive like a twat' version of the Highway Code.
Back on topic anyway, most importantly is to get a bike that fits properly (seat tube length and top tube length) nothing worse than spending a long time in the saddle of a bike that's too big or too small! There are some cycle sizing tools on the web, stick in all your vital stats and it will calculate your correct frame size. Surprising how many people ride Ill fitting bikes!!!
I got a bike through the cycle to work scheme. £1000 bought me a specialized Cirrus comp, helmet, lights, paniers, pump, mudguards, waterproofs and helmet. I know, buy a light bike and hang weights off it. Although to be honest when I sit on it, it looks like it has two flat tyres! The cycle to work scheme wasnt too bad. I borrowed £1000 of them and paid it back at about 83 squid per month. They won't lend you the money if paying back takes you under minimum wage. The repayments are some sort of tax break, so the money you save, you don't see anyway. Plus, you are only leasing the bike. After twelve months you have the option of paying about 70 quid to lease for another year or 50 quid to cover admin costs of giving the bike back. Even for me that was a no brainer!. Anyway, after two years lease, the bike is yours. You don't actually save that much, but if you don't have a grand for a bike, its a great way to get one. If you have a spare thousand waiting to be spent on a bike, you'd probably get a better deal walking into winstanley's and dropping an envelope on the table. Ps, specialized Cirrus comp is a nice ride. I'm a lard arse and it takes me twice a week from hull to south cave via the villages without too many difficulties.
£83 over 2 years + admin min, that's over 2 grand. I don't understand the advantage, surely the little bit gained in tax relief is blown away by paying over double the worth of the bike??
I beginning to think the recession only effects non cyclists... Shocked & stunned! How much does it cost for road tax & insurance for these mean machines?!!
Oooh oooh oooh, sir, sir, I'll answer that sir in a cycling terrorist stylee. Nobody has paid road tax since 1936 when Churchill banned it. Since then, car owners have to pay a duty for the privilege of owning a car which is one of the things they need to borrow a bit of our roads. After all, the roads were originally surfaced for cyclists, not cars after much pressure from the cycling lobby, but cyclists kindly allowed cars to use our roads as well. That's why unlike bikes, horses and pedestrians, cars have no explicit right to be on the road and must always give priority to other road users. (motorways excepted) Oh, and many cyclists pay insurance to cover them against damage from incompetent car drivers thieves, and poorly maintained roads. *hangs bike clips in breast pocket of tweed jacket, puffs chest out and nods smugly"
