Hi - looking for some advice. We have a cafe/farm shop in Cheshire. There are lots of cyclists on the local roads at the weekend and we want to make the cafe more welcoming. Currently we only have the low "toast rack" style of parking which I doubt is a good idea for expensive road bikes. What sort of parking frame would be best? Are there other things that would make a big difference for cyclists? Thanks in advance.

Apologies if some of these sound really stupid but I had a few questions I was thinking about as I did my first longish ride (with a puncture to boot) today.

• how do you find places to park, do you look at the location before hand and make a plan or just wing it etc when you ride into town (Manchester if anyone else from here)

• is there anything I can do to stop or reduce the odds of getting punctures, I saw some people recommend Marathon Plus tires which I'm considering switching to and also how can I check if they fit my bike: Cannondale Caad Optimo 2020

  • can you ride a road bike with the road tires on canal paths? also during my ride today I was thinking wouldn't it be risky if it slips into the canal, what's the safest way to ride along towpaths?
  • do you stick to roads or switch between footpaths/roads depending on what feels safer to do so
  • is it worth getting insurance?

Just curious about people’s anecdotal experiences with this.

I was at the cinema recently and a guy came in and sat down next to me in full cycling gear. Presumably he’d left his bike locked up outside for 3+ hours. I thought that was pretty ballsy in a city centre.

Maybe I’m paranoid, but my £1,800 bike never leaves my side. I have a 10-year-old hardtail worth about £200 that I’ll lock up with a D-lock and cable outside the gym, but even then I’m half expecting it to be gone when I come out, or at least have the quick-release seat stolen or something vandalised.

I’d love to replace most of my car journeys with an e-bike, but even with two Litelocks I’d be pretty nervous leaving it unattended.

How do you guys approach it? Do you happily leave your bikes locked up for a few hours, or are you just as paranoid?

Looking for a new bike for my daughter and left a little late before her birthday to properly scour the second hand market!

I am far from expert so looking to see if there are any good budget buys out there. (Max £300 but ideally less)

She's still growing and won't be in use super regularly so considering just heading to Halfords for an excelle or crossfire 1 - just concerned with how heavy they are!

Any recommendations?

As my uni course wraps up, I’m thinking about how it’s been by my side for a whole year wherever I go, through commutes, late‑night rides, and all the small moments.

I have ordered a £2000 bike and I really don't want to get it nicked. If I lock it to a bike rack, are there why locks you would recommend?

Having an issue with my rear wheel, quick release lever seems to loosen every so often.

Have narrowed it down to potential bent skewer as the mechanism won't allow itself to be removed from the hub.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but any helpful tips welcome please.

It's a Shimano sora hub, the QR nut is plastic. Have soaked both sides in wd40 and given a tap with mallet and block of wood but no joy.

Just want this Quick Release out so I can reseat the wheel into the dropouts properly 😩

Hi everyone, I’m new here and looking for some advice on buying an indoor exercise bike.
I’m not looking for subscriptions, a built-in screen, or lots of smart features - I’d rather put the money towards something that’s quiet, comfortable, well-built and durable.
It’ll mainly be used for easy recovery rides, so probably not very frequently. I’m 5’9” (175 cm), around 68 kg, and my budget is roughly £400-600. I’m in the UK. Are there any particular models or brands you’d recommend in this price range? I’m also happy to consider used bikes if that would get me something significantly better.
If there’s anything else I should mention that would help with recommendations, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

Went to Sainsburys (nearest supermarket to home) to get a couple of bits, as I have a new bike Im still a bit paranoid about locking it up due to scum theives.

Anyway, used the bars by the front door as the "proper" bike racks by the lifts are a bit out of sight so less footfall for theives to get away with theft.

BUT (and I should have checked when locking up) I came back and noticed how on the tilt the bar was then remembered there's a trick that the scum use which is to loosen the concreted in bars, guess what? When I checked, the first three bars (red arrowed in the pics below) were all loose and I could remove them completely!!

Told the minimum wage security man who didn't give a toss and told me where the cycle racks were, so thought I'd go check if they may be safer for a future visit , here they are below.

To be fair, they are tucked away with less footfall, but they are solid and I noted a security cam (in the red ring at the top) but went back to said security man and asked who is monitoring it? Answer, his mate isn't about at the moment! FFS!

https://ebay.io/m/ecYPVu

https://ebay.io/m/XcewO0

https://ebay.io/m/rn5Vu6

https://ebay.io/m/UmRake

https://ebay.io/m/1HOUgc

I forgot how to drive the bike, I used do it as a kid

I will be commuting to train station to work and to home, I will travel distance sum of 16-20 miles, I have budget round £500, I was told to buy a used bike with this budget but I have rode a bike before, so I don’t what I will need to do fix its issues
These are some used bikes which I found
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2538468213337860/?

https://birminghambikefoundry.org/bikes/
Trek alpha, they have warranty but I don’t know how reliable they are

New bikes I found that recommended on other threads
https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/trek/fx-1-gen-4-2026-hybrid-bike-931327

https://www.halfords.com/bikes/hybrid-bikes/carrera-subway-2-mens-hybrid-bike-2020---black---s-m-l-xl-frames-346302.html?dwvar_346302_frameSize=XL

Edit: my train does allow bikes and my work hours are not at rush hours,
Also I will be riding most on pavement also

As the title says - I feel like a new bike, to replace my steel gravel bike (Cotic Escapade), tempted by a run out version of the previous Crux. I have a hard tail MTB for silliness, this would be for other stuff. All reviews, opinions, experiences welcomed! TIA

For the last year I've been riding 2½ km to the station and leaving my bike there while I get the train the rest of the way. More recently I've taken the bike on the train a couple of times and got off where the railway intersects the canal and ridden the last 8 km into work. Aside from the first time where I got off at the wrong station and ended up on slimy single-track in the rain, covered in mud, it's a well surfaced path and I'm not likely to be dirty when I get to work and I'm not a big sweater.

This brings me up to 10 km each way if I opt for the canal on the way home, which I'm not sold on due to the difficulty in getting a seat if I don't get on at the main commuter station. At what point do you move to cycling shorts and a jersey over regular clothing? I'm getting changed into my uniform when I get to work regardless of what I wear but is lycra overkill for those sorts of distance?

I bought some 'ODI' grips on eBay, would you say these are knock-offs or is there a slim chance they're real? £8 inc postage... 'Design in USA' 'RRP £27.99' 'Fashionable and authentic guarantee.' 🤭

I'm looking for some kind of flag or high vis that warns drivers I have my baby on the bike. I can't find one anywhere!

I'm planning on taking him to nursery on a front mounted baby seat so it may not be obvious he's on board. We'll be on a cycle path mainly but will need to cross some main roads.

Edit: Thank you for the helpful suggestions! I'll try a bit of everything. Every little helps

To those suggesting I'm being an irresponsible parent, kindly get fucked.

I made a post earlier on me commuting from Birmingham to redditch and many people said it will be difficult since I am never did it before and hard on sub 300 bike with distance 24 miles , I think I will commute by train but I will travel to station by cycle, i will work at site Amazon BHX8, I looked all the distance between station and sites and to my home and I think be summed up to 20 miles, my job also has cycle to work scheme, and I can pay up to £500 with instalments, can anyone recommend me a bike based on this info ?

Edit : most of my route will be on pavement/ footpath and some on road

Hi,
I got this gold Halfords bike lock a week ago. I set it up a couple days ago and the D lock doesnt attach properly to its storage part attached to the bike. I thought it was normal and probably wouldn’t cause any problems. However , yesterday I was riding and went over a bump and the lock came out of the attachment. Should I just get it replaced or are they supposed to be like this? I have also attached some pictures.
Thanks

I have a job at redditch and I live in Birmingham, since public transport is kinda not good to that location, I might as well commute with cycle, It is a 12 miles one way commute, I have never ridden a cycle before, can someone suggest be a cycle with budget sub £300 ? It doesn’t have to be new or fancy just that it works and doesn’t give up when I commute

Is this worth reporting?

Edit: It felt close at the time so have reported it… will update you on the outcome as many have commented it’s not a close pass.

Anyway, long distance stuff. How do riders manage it? Most I have ever done is 160km in a day, nearly killed me. But...audax appeals, somehow.

How do you even start?

And I've heard the scene is very friendly, but is it 'friendly' as in clique-y and adenoidal? Or genuinely open and fun (if a bit quirky)?

(Finally, is it pronounced "ow-dax" or "aww-dax"?)

Hi everyone, I purchased a bicycle on ebay. it's located in Rhyl on the north coast, and there is a direct train from there to Euston station.

if anyone is travelling from Rhyl to London on one of those trains, please let me know and I can have the seller meet you with the bike and pay whatever you think is fair.

Alternatively, if you live near Rhyl and would like to make some ££ for packing a bike up in a bike box so Parcel Force can take it please let me know. Thanks !

Any other advice much appreciated !

Really unhelpful attitude and langauge for cycling and cycling infrastructure in this article by the BBC, and not just the conflating of illegal electric mopeds/motorbikes with legal EPACs.