Today’s the day when we can announce the winner of our competition we ran in conjunction with Evan’s Cycles to give away £500 worth of Evan’s Cycles vouchers. Just to recap, we asked you guys to send us any cycling related questions you had.
We then put these questions to Nick Coley (he’s the guy in the picture to the left), who’s an Evan’s Cycles employee and all round cycling enthusiast. He picked 10 of the best questions to answer in this blog post, and has picked the person who answered the best question to be the winner of the vouchers. We received lots of really good cycling questions so firstly, we’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who took part in the competition. Nick had a difficult task choosing the top ten questions, let alone picking one to be a winner. Congratulations to the following whose questions made it to the top 10, and a really big congratulations to our winner – we won’t spoil it for you though – scroll to the bottom of the post to find out who the winner is.
Douglas Millard
As a total beginner; what information will I need before going into my local bike shop and what questions should I be asking the sales person.
Nick
You will need to have an idea of how much you want to spend in total, including the bike and also accessories. You need to know what you intend to use it for. What sort of bike are you after or at least what type or riding you will be doing. Also how often you intend to use it and any other information such as, where will you be keeping it, will you need to have a child seat on it. These are all questions the sales person will probably ask you.
Gail Burns
What mountain bike would you recommend for a female who’s new to mountain biking? An entry level bike, as I can’t afford to spend much – I just discovered my bike has been stolen from my bike shed! So, this is my opportunity to try another brand!
Nick
It depends on exactly how much you want to spend. Work out your budget and then you can narrow it down to a few models. Then when you have a shortlist of 2/3 bikes the best thing you can do is test ride them. The range of women’s specific mountain bikes is much bigger now and although they all have similar differences to male bikes they are all different.
Dave Haughton
I am about to retire and want to go back to cycling after many years break. It will probably be mainly green roads and cycle tracks. I fancy a bike with full suspension to ease the strain on my old bones! However, these seem to be aimed at the more extreme end of the market. What would be the pros and cons of such a choice?
Nick
Full suspension mountain bikes cover a wide range of price brackets and riding styles. I know plenty of people who buy a full suspension bike for comfort. Improved designs and reducing prices mean that full suspension bikes are available to everyone. While it will be more comfortable for you even on roads and cycle tracks you need to bear in mind that they will be a bit more expensive compared to a ridged equivalent specked bike, in the long run they will require more maintenance and can sometimes be a bit heavier. The best thing you can do is test ride a few different bikes and compare them.
Adrian Hamlin
How often should you service your bike?
Nick
This does depend on how often you use your bike and also how well you look after it. If you keep your bike clean and make sure the chain is clean and lubricated, tyres pumped up and brake pads correctly adjusted the time between services will lengthen. If you are using your bike 5 days a week to commute say 5 miles each way, expect to have your bike serviced every 3 or 4 months.
Jan
When I try to climb a steep ascent on my bike the front wheel lifts off the floor, what am I doing wrong?
Nick
When climbing steep trails you need to get your balance right. Too much on the seat and the front wheel lifts, out of the saddle and the rear wheel spins. What you need to do is get the balance between the two right, weight forward but enough on the rear wheel to make it grip. By sitting on the tip of the saddle and bringing your upper body forward over the front wheel you tend to get the balance right but it does depend on the climb. It’s all down to trial and error and will come with experience.
Esther Chambers
Have you got any tips to stop me from getting so saddle sore?
Nick
First of a good quality pair of lycra shorts. They are all different so if you aren’t getting on with a pair of shorts maybe it’s time to try another brand. Then it’s a good idea to use some form of chamois cream. Traditional chamois creams were intended to help soften the chamois in cycling shorts. Now though they act as a lubricant to prevent saddle sores and irritation from sweat. They are designed to be used with the synthetic inserts found in cycling shorts. This will help reduce friction on the longer rides. Or like they do in SA use Udder cream! As weird as it sounds milking cream for cows does work!
James Wood
How do non-puncture tyres work?
Nick
Well I don’t think any tyre is completely puncture proof, just puncture resistant to a more or less extent. These puncture resistant tyres work by having a reinforced strip in the tyre to resist anything coming through the tyre. Some use Kevlar, some use a gel and some use a harder form or rubber. Some of the reinforcement strips also cover all the way down the side of the tyre
Ben White
Do red bike bits really make you ride faster?
Nick
As a rule of thumb red is 3 seconds faster than any other colour.
Mike Carroll
I have used the Cycle to Work scheme and make the journey to work on a regular basis which is approximately 5 miles and can make the journey on cycle pathways and road depending on conditions and time of year. This is probably the same for many commuters using this scheme and I believe we would all like to know: What’s the best way to optimise getting fit and improving your cycling stamina using this relatively short journey?
Nick
The best thing you can do on a short ride is to do some more intense sprints, use sign posts to sprint for, traffic lights to sprint away from and mix it up a little. Any little rises or hills, use them to sprint up. But also remember to have some slower relaxed rides in so your body can recover.
And the winner is…
Nick I don’t think anyone would be able to dispute the massive increase in popularity of cycling over the last 10 years especially with the introduction of schemes like cycles for work, with ever increasing amounts of cycle paths appearing all over the country. With this increase of cyclist using the paths and roads of Britain and as a cycle commuter yourself do you have any suggestions for how cyclist’s can improve their relationship with motorists, especially as that relationship is often so fraught due to driver or cyclist impatience, in an increasing volume of traffic using the same space?
Nick
I think we all need to remember that we all use the roads and need to be respectful of each other. Some cyclists don’t do themselves any favours, jumping red lights and riding 3 or 4 abreast on a road, and car drivers don’t really care as they aren’t the ones who are going to get hurt. If a car stops for you, say thanks like you would if you were driving. If you hear a car coming behind you and your 3 abreast then warn then other cyclists in you group and move over. If someone behind you can’t seem to get past then maybe pull over so they can pass. I do think sometimes drivers misjudge the speed some people ride at and also the space needed to pass, and riding in the countryside is completely different to central London. Neither are going to go away so we need to be courteous of each other.
Well done Richard, your voucher will be winging it’s way to you shortly! Don’t forget to check out our bike reviews before you decide on which bike to go for.
