Bikes Are Good for You and The Economy

By now, we all know that cycling is good for health, fitness, cutting road accidents, reducing carbon emissions, and increasing energy security (and so on, and on). But what about biking’s economic impact--its cyclonomics, if you will?


I haven't found anything like this in the UK - but here's an article from The League of American Bicyclists.

  Read more

DIY Mountain or Road Bike Servicing

LOVE IT, RIDE IT OR SHOVE IT!!

Chances are your bike has been sitting over winter and it'll need a bit of a service before you take it out for a ride. If you're not going to love it or use it and it's just going to sit there, consider selling it on or giving it away - you can even hire it out and earn yourself some income.

If you are a DIY type there are a few simple things that you can do to make sure your bike is in good working condition.

Step 1. Put air in the tyres
Your tubes will lose air over the winter. This is normal, you probably don't need a new tube unless you had a flat tyre when you stored the bike. Tire pressure recommendations are usually on the side of the tire if you are unsure, call me!

Step 2 Examine the tyres
Take a quick look to make sure your tires are not dry rotted. If your bike has only been put away for one season, your tyres are probably fine, but if they are older, you may start to see some cracking on the sidewalls of the tires. Contrary to what many people will tell you, some cracking of the rubber on the sidewall is okay. The real structure of the sidewall is in the fabric underneath if you can see frays - you need to change the tyre.

Step 3 Check the Brakes.
Start by picking up the front wheel of the bike and spinning the wheel. The wheel should turn freely without any rubbing. Now do the same with the rear. If there rubbing, start by making sure the wheel is properly attached to the bike. Often people will take the front wheel off to store or transport the bike, and if it is not put back on properly the tyre or rim may rub on the brakes. If the wheel is on properly and there is still rubbing, the brakes should be adjusted and you may want to bring it in or take it to your local mechanic.

If the wheels spin freely now all you need to do is make sure the brakes work. Squeeze the front brake and push the bike forward. The brake should prevent the bike from moving. The brake lever should still have some room to move even when the brake is fully engaged. In other words, if you have to pull the brake lever all the way to your handlebar to get the brake to work, it will need to be tightened. Repeat for the rear.

 

Step 4 Force check handle bars:
Stand over the bike and push down on the handlebars. Nothing should happen. If nothing happens, push harder until your entire weight is on the bars. If still nothing happens, you know that the bar is attached properly.

I added this step just because on the off chance that your bar slips when you are riding, it's dangerous! It is not typical that this would loosen up over the winter but better to be safe than sorry.

Step 5 Shifing
Now that you know your brakes work, you can safely ride the bike around and make sure that it is easily hitting all of the gears. Find a safe place with no traffic, and shift slowly through all your gears while pedaling. The gears should shift smoothly, and not make a lot of noise while they are in one gear. If there is a lot of rubbing or clacking when you are pedaling but not shifting, you may need to have your shifting adjusted.

Step 6 Lubrication:
A light Teflon based oil can do wonders for your bike. The simplest way to lubricate your chain is to spin the pedals backwards and let the chain oil flow onto the chain. (some people will go slower and put one drop on each link, but this is up to you) You may also want to lubricate the jockey wheels on your rear derailleur. (in layman's terms, those are the little bitty wheels that your chain runs over on the little hangy down thing in the back) Do not use chain oil on hubs, headset or other bearing assemblies.

 

Things To Remember When Cycling in the Wet!

Things to remember when riding in the wet:

• Painted lines on roads can be very slippery.
• All iron work on roads can be very slippery – drain covers etc.
• If you’re not totally sure how deep that puddle is, don’t risk just ploughing in to it.
• Remember, the politicians have decided to spend your money on keeping their friends the bankers in bonuses, so the country’s infrastructure is rotting. A lot of puddles are concealing pot-holes.
• Don’t swerve to avoid puddles or water-logged pot-holes without looking behind you. (Not that you ever should swerve blindly.)
• Your brakes don’t work as well as they might, especially not in the first instance you apply them. (Once they’ve cleared the water from the rims they often bite just as well as in the dry; be careful you don’t over-do it and they don’t then snatch.)
• Even if/when your brakes are working, the issue is more likely to be grip on the road. In the dry it’s easy to make a bike skid because you’ve such little rubber in contact with the road; in the wet it is very, very easy. When you’re skidding, you’re accelerating.
• (Tyre tread on a bike on the road is pretty irrelevant: the role of tread on car tyres is to shed water and prevent aqua-planing; you are very unlikely to ever go fast enough to aqua-plane on a bike! If anything, less tread means more grip – just like slick tyres on racing cars.)
• Motorists’ visibility may be obscured – don’t assume they’ve seen you. (Not that you ever should make that assumption.)
• For some strange reason, traffic often speeds up in wet weather. Allow for people responding to what I imagine is some primal urge to get home quickly, even though  they’re in a dry car.

And finally, remember your mantra! Take your pick. ‘I am not a sugar lump; I will not dissolve in the rain’ is pretty good. ‘Oil will make my chain better; the bearings are all sealed’ can be a comfort too.

This is shared from a great blog:  http://www.codgertation.co.uk/why-this-blog-exists/

We LOVE Action Pounds

We really proud to be supporting UK small businesses.  We've just joined The CollaborActions Network and will now accept Action Pounds alongside cash payments.

The CollaborActions Network enables small businesses like ours to turn our spare capacity into earnings, which we can spend on things we need in our business or personal life - instead of just letting them go to waste - it's a great system for conserving cash and helping each other.  www.collaboractions.co.uk

The weather's still good for cycling - we've got 2 bikes for sale at the moment, please see the OFFERS page for more details.

Sky Ride Out on Sunday 19th August

We're looking forward to this Sky Ride on Sunday 19th August.


Sky Ride Local on Sunday 19 August 2012 at 10.00 AM
The Bernwood Strong
Swan Pool & Leisure Centre, MK18 1AE

There are still places available if you fancy it - also a number of other rides taking place most weekends across the UK - Just log on to the Skyride website: http://www.goskyride.com

Another Cool Design

The Benefits of Having a Bike

On Yer Bike!!

Great to see so many people out and enjoying their bikes at the weekend.  Cycling is so good for so many reasons, not only does it keep you fit, it costs nothing in the process!

Cycling also helps the planet by keeping 1 less car of the road.

Bike week is 16th to 24th June this year - how will you get involved?

The workshop is stacked at the moment with people putting their bikes in for service - great stuff!  Keep them coming, anything I can do to get you on your bike - whether that's sourcing a bike for you or servicing the one you've already got - I'll do it!

This glorious weather is set to stay until the weekend - enjoy!

Another Happy Customer!

Just finished working on a Cannondale for a new customer.  Stripped down and cleaned drive train, front derailleur, rear derailleur chain and cassette.  Remove crank, clean and inspect, re-grease and lubricated. Taken out a minor buckle in front wheel.  Rebuilt and adjusted gear set up.

Great bike, ready now for the Spring and to be enjoyed!

14 Cool Concept Bikes

The wooden bikes featured previously are just amazing and here are some more, really cool concept bikes.

I'm currently working on my own design for a cool bike for the future - watch this space!

read more about these concept bikes...

Amazing Wooden Bike!!

A ninth-generation shipwright, Sueshiro Sano has been making exquisite wooden products since he was in elementary school. But in 2008, drawing inspiration and technique from a lifetime of shipbuilding, the woodworker produced his first bike constructed entirely of mahogany, including frame, fork, seat, seat post, handlebars/stem combination and even rims.

 Using mahogany lends flex and responsiveness in a way no metal frame can, which in turn gives riders an elevated sense of control and increases pacing possibilities. A number of Sano's prototypes have been raced professionally, excelling in both ideal and inclement weather. In the three years since starting the project, Sano has handcrafted 11 of these fully wooden bicycles, making improvements that shave the average weight of his full builds down from 11 kilograms to around eight. 

READ MORE HERE

Fritwell Cycling Event 2012

And we're off...  I have begun to plan a new cycling event for Fritwell - May 2012.

I'm aiming the event at local cycling clubs and keen individuals who would enjoy taking part on a pre-determined route - it won't be a set distance (like a sportive), but it will be a timed 3 or 4 laps around Fritwell and the surrounding villages.

Open to all ages, my aim is to create a fun day for all concerned - with a BBQ, Teas & Cakes,  some cycling related stalls.  As I say, I've just started planning this - if you would like to get involved or there's something in particular you like to see at the event - please get in touch, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Cheers!  Mark.

 

Bike Week

Great Bike Fix Event in Bicester...
As part of Bike Week, with the aim of getting people back on their bikes - this free bike surgery held at the Youth Arts Courtyard Centre - threw up it's usual load of 'clunkers' in need of some tlc.

I managed to return 2 bikes to the road and 2 were beyond hope.  Salvation came in the form of the last bike of the day, which was a lovely Cannondale R900 Road Bike which had been left outside for only a short time and had managed to seize the brakes (the cables).  After lubricating the running gear, the front brake worked fine and I'm currently sourcing the parts to repair the rear brake.

The community police officer gave us an ultra violet pen to mark the wheels and other parts with the post code and house number of the owner.  Apparently, this really helps when bikes are recovered by getting them back to their rightful owner speedily!

Bike Week

 

Britain's Biggest Bike Fix

Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix is an ambitious attempt to repair as many bikes as possible during Team Green Britain Bike Week. I am helping to inspire people to rediscover how cycling helps everyone to get fit, have fun and feel free, by including Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix in my Team Green Britain Bike Week event.

I'll be fixing Bikes at..
 
Brackley Courtyard Mews - Brackley Info Bureau - Saturday 11th June from 10am to 2pm

Bicester - Courtyard Youth Centre Saturday 26th June  - 10 til 2pm.

Bring your bike along and I will run safety checks and basic repairs. This can include fixing punctures and adjusting brakes and gears, as well as advising on potential problems and giving tips on looking after bikes.

Please note there will be no charge for running safety checks, tweaking or twiddling services. If your bike needs parts or any major work - I can give you a price and make arrangements to fix another day.

Research shows that 77% of people own a bike yet only 14% use them regularly,  so this year Team Green Britain Bike Week is encouraging people to dust down and liberate the thousands of once-loved bikes languishing in sheds around the country, by taking part in Britain’s Biggest Bike Fix.

If you own a bike, but don’t use it,  bring it along to the event, have it checked and rediscover the joy of travelling on two wheels.

See you then..  Mark

My first outing - online!

Cycling has been my passion for many years and now I've decided to make it my business.

I've just recently refurbished a Scott Elite Racing Hardtail, that had been left (for some time) in a garden.  When it came to me it had no brakes and no gears and a siezed drive-train.

I stripped it down to just the frame - cleaned and reconditioned the parts that I could save and fitted new parts where needed - all within the owners budget.

The picture illustrates the end result which is a fantastic 'as new' bike ready to attack the trails.  The owner loves his new bike and has been out on the trails of Oxfordshire, putting it through it's paces.  He's happy - therefore, I'm happy!

If you're in the market for a bike and you're not sure what you're looking for - give me a shout, I'm happy to advise.

Here's a testimonial from Ben (the owner of the bike mentioned above)

What a great job!  The bike is amazing and has already clocked up some good miles and hopefully, many more to come.  So thank you Mark, much appreciated!  It will be coming back at some point for a tune-up as some of the cables have now bedded in.  Many Thanks.  Ben Dew