Round-ups
Round Up: Saddles
19.02.2012
By Cyclescheme
Discomfort isn't a normal part of cycling. If you're not sitting comfortably, it's time to change something: your saddle.
Round Up: Singlespeeds
15.02.2012
By Cyclescheme
The singlespeed bicycle is the most popular in the world, mostly because it's cheaper to have one gear. Yet in the last decade, the singlespeed has enjoyed a renaissance in the cities of Western countries. Cyclists who can readily afford machines with multiple gears are riding minimalist street bikes instead. Why?
Round Up: Cycling shoes
25.01.2012
By Cyclescheme
On the right bike and right commute, normal street shoes are ideal. They enable you to switch instantly from cycling to walking or vice versa. If you want to ride further or faster, however, dedicated cycling shoes have plenty to recommend them.
Round Up: Commuter-ready road bikes
17.01.2012
By Cyclescheme
If you want to get to work in a hurry, you can’t beat a road bike. Speed and efficiency on tarmac is what these sporty machines are all about. But unless you want to arrive with a stripe of dirty water up your back, you’ll want a bike that’s not just quick but practical.
Round Up: Winter tyres
12.12.2011
By Cyclescheme
Murphy’s law says that you get more punctures in winter. And when you do get one, it’s a pain to replace an innertube at the roadside with cold, stiff hands. So it’s worth investing in tougher tyres for the ride to work. Most ‘winter’ tyres are fine year round for commuting.
Round Up: Do-it-all hybrids
06.12.2011
By Cyclescheme
If you just want ‘a bike’, you probably want a hybrid. It’s the jack-of-all-trades machine, with features borrowed from road, mountain, touring and town bikes. In the Venn diagram of overlapping bike varieties, the do-it-all hybrid sits at the centre.
Round Up: Winter Warmers
28.11.2011
By Cyclescheme
Cycling generates a lot of heat, often too much. If you wrap up like you’re going for a winter walk, you’ll be sweating buckets a mile down the road. It’s better to be not quite warm enough when you set off, so that you’re comfortable once your ‘cycling engine’ is in gear. For your extremities, however, the opposite applies: you need more protection than you would on foot, or your fingers, ears and toes will burn with cold.
Round Up: Compact folding bikes
15.11.2011
By Cyclescheme
If you live too far from work to cycle, or you just don’t fancy riding all the way in winter, you can still get your cycling fix (and save time and money!) by using public transport or private car and then pedalling the last few miles. That’s easiest with a bike that folds quickly and compactly.
Round Up: Wet weather gear
24.10.2011
By Cyclescheme
Even in the wettest areas of the UK, it rains on only one day in two. The odds of that rain falling heavily while you’re commuting are low. You’ll usually just encounter wet roads and showers. Because of this, the most important equipment for keeping dry isn’t clothing but mudguards. Full-length mudguards stop the water that’s lying on the road spraying all over you.
Round Up: Cyclo-cross Bikes
20.10.2011
By Cyclescheme
Autumn is the start of the season for cyclo-cross, the oldest form of off-road cycle racing. Competitors pedal around fields and parks, often shouldering their bikes to run up steep banks or hop over obstacles. You’re probably thinking: that doesn’t sound much like my ride to work. Yet there’s a reason that sales of ’cross bikes are soaring and it can be summed up in one word: versatility.
