Cycle Magazine Taster August / September 2016

cycle THIS ISSUE THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY BIK E RENOVATION

cycle THE MAGAZINE OF CYCLING UK

AU G U S T/S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 £3 OR FREE TO CYC L I N G U K M E M B E R S CYC L I N G U K .O R G

£13 0 0 TOURING BIK E S JOSIE DEW: CYCLE CAMPING WITH KIDS

WEEKEND ADVENTURE TRAVELLING LIGHT ALONG THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY

BIG BIKE REVIVAL ISLABIKES CREIG 26 PRO LACE-UP CYCLING SHOES

Plus JOSIE DEW : CYCLECAM PING WITH KIDS A U G U S T/ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6

B IKE RENOVATION – BA CK FROM THE SHED £ 1 3 00 TOURERS FROM CI NELLI & LIGHT BLUE LACE-UP CYCLING SHOES ON TEST

A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 6 | CYCLE

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Clockwise from far left: Diva Creative, Josie Dew, Dan Joyce

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FROM THE E DITOR DIVERSITY: THAT’S another of the great things about cycletouring. You can do it how you like, on what you like, with the kit you prefer, and call it whatever you want – touring, bikepacking, adventure riding, or anything else.

One consequence of this is more interesting bikes.

With racing, the tight rules and regulations and the single objective – to win – create convergent evolution. The bikes for any competitive discipline end up broadly the same. It can make some stands at bike shows rather dull. This bike is orange.

That one has a frame that’s 1% lighter. This one has a head angle half a degree slacker…

So it was refreshing to walk around both York Rally and the Cycle Touring Festival (where Technical Editor Richard Hallett and I were speakers) and look at the wider variety of bikes that visitors had turned up on. I saw a bells-and-whistles belt-drive German tourer parked near to a spartan road bike whose sole concession to touring was a Carradice saddlebag support.

Both riders would rightly claim to be tourers.

Touring cyclists – and their bikes – don’t fit homogenous stereotypes. They’re not sitting in one pigeon-hole, easily counted.

Bike owners and marketing departments might not even use the word touring. But in 25 years as a cycling journalist, I’ve never seen the industry take such an interest in getting away by bike.

Contents

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EVERY ISSUE

THIS ISSUE

04 B I G P I C T U R E

32 A L L W I G H T I N T H E E N D

Cycling Moo Kay lands on Box Hill

07 F R O M T H E C H I E F EXECUTIVE Paul Tuohy: a revival of fortunes

08 C Y C L E S H O R T S

Cycling UK’s take on news & events

14 S H O P W I N D O W

A cross-section of new products

16 G E A R

Josie Dew goes cycle-camping with three small children

40 B A C K T O I T S B E S T

Restoring and respraying an old bike

46 C H A L K I T U P

Riding the South Downs Way

52 G R E A T R E S T O R A T I O N S The Big Bike Revival is back

Components and books reviewed

24 M Y C Y C L I N G

Anthony Johnson of Nottingham BikeWorks

64 C O N T E M P O R A R Y TOURERS Cinelli HoBootleg and Light Blue Darwin Twin Peak

27 L E T T E R S

70 I S L A B I K E S C R E I G P R O

30 M Y B I K E

73 L A C E - U P C Y C L I N G SHOES

Your feedback on Cycle and cycling A separable Hase Pino e-bike

59 Q & A

Your questions answered

Top quality children’s hardtail

Traditional leather shoes for touring and more

76 Y O U R M E M B E R S H I P Cycling UK member benefits

81 T R A V E L L E R S ’ T A L E S

Cycling UK members’ ride reports

83 C T C C Y C L I N G H O L I D AY S Let us take you there

ON THE COVER Harting Down on the South Downs Way. Photographed by Seb Rogers

Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX E: cycling@cyclinguk.org W: cyclinguk.org T: 0844 736 8450* or 01483 238300

Founded in 1878

DAN JOYCE Cycle editor

Membership

Cycle promotes the work of Cycling UK. Cycle’s circulation is approx. 51,000. Cycling UK is one of the UK’s largest cycling membership organisations, with 67,000 members and affiliates Patron: Her Majesty the Queen President: Jon Snow Cycling UK Council Chair: David Cox Chief Executive: Paul Tuohy. Cyclists’ Touring Club, a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England No 25185, registered as a charity in England and Wales Charity No 1147607 and in Scotland No SC042541.

Registered office: Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. CYCLE MAGAZINE: Editor: Dan Joyce e: cyclinguk@jppublishing. co.uk Designers: Simon Goddard, Mary Harris Advertising: Anna Vassallo tel: 0203 859 7100 e: annav@jppublishing.co.uk Creative Director: James Houston Publisher: James Pembroke. Cycle is published six times per year on behalf of Cycling UK

by James Pembroke Publishing, 90 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BG. Tel: 01225 337777. Cycle is copyright Cycling UK, James Pembroke Publishing and individual contributors. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from Cycling UK and James Pembroke Publishing is forbidden. Views expressed in the magazine are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the policies of Cycling UK. Advertising bookings are subject to availability, the terms and conditions of James Pembroke Publishing, and final approval by Cycling UK. Printed by: Precision Colour Printing, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, TF7 4QQ. Tel: 01952 585585 *0844 numbers are ‘basic rate’, costing under 5p/min plus your phone company’s access charge on a BT landline.

Other providers may charge more.

PRODUCT NEWS | SHOP WINDOW

Product news

SHOP WINDOW

The Cycle Show Returns to the NEC in Birmingham from 23-25 September. Visit Cycling UK on stand L61. More details on p76 and at cycleshow.co.uk

EDITOR DAN JOYCE PREVIEWS A SELECTION OF NEW CYCLING PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN THE SHOPS OR COMING SOON

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DAN JOYCE Cycle editor

1 BLUBEL

Connects to your pocketed smartphone via Bluetooth to give turn-by-turn illuminated signals on the bell. At least, it will if it meets its Kickstarter goal… blubel.co

2 STEPS EBULLITT

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The Bullitt we reviewed (Dec 14/Jan 15) is now available with Shimano STEPS electric assistance, making bicycle cargo-hauling practical for all. From €4,261. larryvsharry.com

3 BASTION CYCLES

Those carbon tubes aren’t bonded into any old titanium lugs: they’re 3D-printed titanium lugs.

Each lug can be unique, enabling custom frame design. bastion-cycles.com

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4 SILCA TUBELESS VALVES

Most tubeless tyre valves are meant for mountain bike rims and are too short even for 30mm road rims. These Silca ones come in 44, 60, 80 and 100mm lengths. silca.cc

5 SHAND DROVE

I saw this drop-bar off-road tourer at Bespoked. Modular dropouts allow almost any gearing option – even a belt drive. Frame from £980, custom fitting an extra £150. shandcycles.com

6 SRAM XX1 EAGLE

12-speed has landed – in the form of a single-chainring groupset that costs almost £1,200 and comes with a 10-50t (!) cassette.

Where will it end? sram.com

7 UPSO BAGS

Made by Carradice from toughas-nails recycled lorry tarpaulin, Upso bags come in a wide variety of designs. Pictured is a Ferrybridge bag for a Brompton (£80). upsobags.co.uk

My cycling

ANTHONY JOHNSON Anthony Johnson volunteers for Nottingham BikeWorks, a cycle workshop involved with the Big Bike Revival

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’ve been a member since the 1970s.

I changed to life membership when I retired as a promise to myself that I would cycle for as long as I could.

I’ve always toured on my bike and, now I’m retired, I have time to cycle even more. As I’ve grown older (I’m 63), it’s the other activities of Cycling UK that have become more important to me – and these directly mirror some of the work we do at Nottingham BikeWorks.

Nottingham BikeWorks started in October 2014 as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company. Tom Barber was the creative force behind it and is the Executive Director. I’ve known Tom for years, and when I retired from my job as a head teacher, Tom asked me if I wanted to volunteer. He knew my long-term interest in all things cycling.

There is another Anthony, who is employed as chief mechanic. (He is ‘Anthony the younger’; I am ‘Anthony the wise’.) All three of us are Cycling UK members. There are upwards of 20 volunteers who give differing levels of time and expertise to Nottingham BikeWorks. We have a sales area, a professional workshop, and eight work stations for trainees of all levels. We plan to offer City and Guilds accredited workshop training courses.

Our aim is to support people using bikes

2 4 C Y C L E AUG UST/SEPTEM BER 2016

“OUR AIM IS TO SUPPORT PEOPLE USING BIKES AS EVERYDAY TRANSPORT” as everyday transport. Tom wanted to use cycling to engage disadvantaged and marginalised groups – those on low incomes, out of work, refugees, and those struggling within mainstream education.

Nottingham BikeWorks uses the appeal of ‘tinkering with bikes’: learning how to mend them, improve them, and consequently to enjoy the thrill of riding them.

We repair and refurbish donated cycles to sell to students, commuters, and those new to cycling who can’t afford a new one. We also repair customers’ bikes. These two activities give us our main income source and help subsidise our other work. For example, we have just finished an extended project with ten young local refugees, giving them each a donor bike, helping them strip, respray, and rebuild the bike, and checking it over before they take ownership of the bike.

For the Big Bike Revival last year, we

A recent project involved refurbishing bikes with refugees

delivered Dr Bike repair sessions to five secondary schools and organised four public events. People brought along their tired and broken bikes and we restored over 300 to roadworthy condition. We also had other attractions like our smoothie-making bike and our collection of crazy bikes. But, most importantly, we talked to people, putting over our love of cycling and letting them know what support was available for cyclists in the Nottingham area.

We are getting involved with the Big Bike Revival again this year. We plan to provide a Dr Bike service to commuters at five local businesses in the hope we can develop longer term relationships with them, and in turn, use these businesses to provide funding to support Dr Bike sessions for local communities. We are laying on two of our own events to promote cycling, where we hope to sell very cheaply some renovated children’s bikes and offer cut-price servicing.

We will also be at the Nottingham Riverside Festival in August, offering bike repairs.

Nottingham BikeWorks is based in an old lace factory. It’s just around the corner from where the original Raleigh factory was sited.

This January, we had the Grand Opening of our Raleigh Community Workshop, where cycling historian Tony Hadland gave a talk.

We found out that our building may well have been used for Raleigh assembly in the late nineteenth century. The present incarnation of Raleigh Cycles, based out in Eastwood, has given us great assistance in purchasing quality tools for the workshop.

For more on Nottingham BikeWorks, visit nottinghambikeworks.org.uk. For more on the Big Bike Revival, turn to page 52.

My bike

The Sunstar bottom bracket motor provides assistance for up to 80km per charge

OUR ELECTRIC, S&S PINO TANDEM Age, disability, and train regulations don’t stop Peter and Angela Mynors from touring through Europe

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e ride a Hase Pino tandem because the front seat is recumbent. While I’ve been riding bikes since childhood, Angela only began cycling aged 57; she has scoliosis and cannot ride a conventional bike. Initially, we rode a Periscop tandem, Marec Hase’s protype for the Pino. It had a recumbent front seat and a Pedersen saddle at the back. The Pino has a conventional rear seat and is more comfortable on long rides.

For the last 20 years, we have spent our main holiday each year cycling down one of the many European river cycle routes or

Share your story If you’ve got an interesting bike that’s been chosen or customised to suit you, email cyclinguk@ jppublishing.co.uk

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along a coastal route. Especially in the Alps, these provide wonderful cycling at a leisurely pace, as river valleys are generally slightly downhill and accommodation is plentiful. We recently completed a ride from the Atlantic coast to Budapest in stages, along Eurovelo 6. At the end of each stage, we returned home by train, going back the following year to pick up where we left off. Coastal rides have included trips to Greece, Croatia, New England and in 2016, part of Eurovelo 1 along the Atlantic coast of France.

A big challenge was how to take the Pino on long-distance trains. Eurostar do not accept tandems. In 2005, I asked Marec to build a Pino with S&S couplings so that it could be broken into two parts not exceeding 90×120cm and could therefore fit the luggage racks of a TGV or Eurostar. Ours is now the only S&S Pino in Europe; there is one other in the USA. Soon after our steel S&S Pino was built, a new aluminium version was introduced with a frame specifically designed to make it splittable without special couplings. All new Pinos are now built this way.

Although cycle paths along rivers provide easy riding, there are times when the only

hotel is in a hilltop town set back from the river, either to avoid floods or for defensive reasons. Now that Angela can only walk very short distances, this posed a problem. So as a combined 150th birthday present to ourselves, we bought a pedelec attachment.

We chose a crank motor rather than a hub motor to avoid affecting the steering or preventing the continued use of our Rohloff gears; we only intended to use the motor on steep hills, in traffic and against strong headwinds. The Electric Transport Shop had recently fitted a Sunstar kit to another Pino, so we decided to use this experience and ask them to fit ours. The installation on a Pino is not straightforward because the left side chainwheel incorporates a freewheel for the front rider.

Excluding VAT, the kit cost £1191, including two 264 Watt hour 24v batteries, the fitting £188 and the Pino-specific parts £91. A single battery will last about 80km against a headwind on the flat or 40km in hilly country. At the touch of a button, I can now choose whether Angela has the legs of a 30, 45, 60 or 76-year-old! Changing gear under load takes a little practice, but when the motor is turned off, the Pino rides just as it did before the electrics were added.

The attachment, including one battery, has added about 6kg, roughly 3% of the total laden touring weight including us and our luggage. A new Pino STEPS pedelec including all the above features, with a splittable aluminium frame, costs around €7300 plus delivery and VAT. Tech Specs MODEL: Hase Pino tandem (2006) FRAME & FORK: Steel, S&S couplings WHEELS: 20in front, 26in rear with Rigida Andra 30 rim and Marathon Plus tyres GEARING: Rohloff 14-speed hub, range 16-85in BRAKES: Magura Julie hydraulic discs plus ratchet parking brake SEATING: Recumbent front, Brooks Conquest with coiled springs rear ACCESSORIES: S&S Couplings. Sunstar ibike SO3+ pedelec (250w max output) from electricbikesales.co.uk

D E TA I L S WHERE: Isle of Wight START/FINISH: Ryde DISTANCE: 125 miles in a week PICTURES: © Barry Maytum (Alamy) and Josie Dew

ALL WIGHT IN THE END | GRE AT RIDES

Great rides

ALL WIGHT IN THE END

Josie Dew is VicePresident of Cycling UK and an author – visit josiedew.com

With Europe out of reach, Josie Dew and her three young children took a ferry across the Solent to go cycle-camping

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ast summer’s cycling holiday didn’t quite go as planned. It almost didn’t go at all. A few days before we were due to cycle onto a ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland, this time with three young offspring in tow, five-year-old Daisy became very unwell with appendicitis. Cue an urgent visit to A&E, a meeting soon after with the GP, then a four-day stay in hospital on an intravenous drip. Towards the end of the summer holidays, however, Daisy was given a medical check-up and got the go-ahead for a not-too-vigorous cycling holiday. I chose the Isle of Wight.

It was close to home and involved an exciting ferry ride, which made it feel like we were going somewhere faintly exotic.

And it was close to Southampton General Hospital, which is where Daisy would go if her appendix flared up again. The plan was to go cycling and camping for two weeks, leaving on Jack’s second birthday. But then the summer monsoon arrived. We waited a week for the sun to come out, only it was August in England so it didn’t.

With a week left before school began, I rallied my merry mob of young cyclists:

Molly, Daisy and Jack. (Husband Gary couldn’t come as he was busy with bits of wood – he’s a carpenter.) It was a Sunday and Molly’s 9th birthday. The Met Office weather chart had severe weather warnings plastered all over it. Oh dear. But what’s a bit of wet when you’ve got a sturdy coat and a child’s buoyancy aid strapped to the rear rail of the trailer? And it wasn’t raining when we left home. All that was to come, said the Met Office. The rain was set to become torrential by seven that evening, with a risk of localised flooding. Well, that’s all right, I thought. If we arrive at our campsite by mid-afternoon and pitch up on high ground, we should be fine. So tally ho! And off we headed for Portsmouth.

TICKETS TO RYDE South West Trains no longer have a usefulsized guard’s van – a good old slam-door van that could comfortably house an elephant – so it’s impossible to travel with a tandem and a trailer. Instead, Gary had to give us a lift to Portsmouth in the campervan. We set off late. I had meant to leave home in the morning, but when it comes to children (especially three of them)

Do it yourself

F A M I LY CYCLING Anything out of the ordinary is an adventure for children. Just a week of cycling and camping on the Isle of Wight felt like a month of high exploration and excitement for them as so much happens in a day.

In the tent, Molly and Daisy liked their books, colouring pads and pens, while Jack played happily with a few small toy cars, bits of Lego and a tractor book. As long as we stopped for playgrounds, beaches, crazy golf, animal sanctuaries, play parks, theme parks (Blackgang Chine) and multiple lollies and ice creams, all offspring were happy.

SOUTH WEST TRAINS NO LONGER HAVE A USEFUL GUARD’S VAN, SO IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO TRAVEL WITH A TANDEM AND TRAILER CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 3 3

Feature

BACK TO ITS BEST RENOVATING AN OLD BIKE CAN BE HUGELY REWARDING, WHETHER IT'S A SIMPLE RESPRAY OR A FULL REBUILD. TECHNICAL EDITOR RICHARD HALLETT EXPLAINS

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nless thrown into a canal or wrecked beyond repair, old bikes don’t die: they simply sit at the back of the garage, acquiring a patina of rust, oil and dirt to go with their perished tyres, and waiting to be rescued. And these days, there are plenty of rescuers around.

Finding and re-commisioning an old bike can be a cheap way to get out cycling (see page 52 for details about the Big Bike Revival). For some, however, it can be about returning what was once a highly desirable machine to something approaching its

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R EN OVAT I O N | F E AT U R E

“As a rough guide, a respray will cost from £150 upwards from one of the various specialists"

GOOD AS NEW

Photos on this page by Paul Gibson, ellisbriggscycles.co.uk

Both frames on this page were resprayed

by Ellis Briggs Cycles – ellisbriggscycles.co.uk

former glory, which may mean anything from a careful restoration for use in the burgeoning vintage cycling scene to a comprehensive upgrade that hangs modern components on an old but still very much rideable frameset.

It might even mean extensive repair. The classic scene is buoyant, and genuinely interesting framesets from the golden age of British lightweight frame building fairly rare, so it can be both emotionally and financially rewarding to bring back to life a frame that might look fit to be consigned to the bin.

Cost first: any serious renovation is likely

to require a respray. If it involves a repair, such as tube replacement or the addition of brazed-on parts, then a paint job will be almost obligatory, and the best work will be done by a specialist who has the required knowledge, equipment and skills. A quick search online for 'cycle respray' will find a dozen cycle specialists on the first page.

Narrow down your choices by discussing services with fellow Cycling UK members.

Search for 'respray' on forum.cyclinguk.org or start a new thread.

It is possible to remove paint using stripper, a wire brush and hard work, but 'media blasting' by someone experienced in

dealing with thin-walled cycle tubes will do a faster, cleaner and more thorough job. As a rough guide, a respray will cost from £150 upwards from one of the various operations offering the service. It is worth getting a firm figure before taking the plunge, as more complicated work such as plating or polishing will add to the cost.

The cost of a repair, alteration or addition will, inevitably, depend on what is involved.

A competent frame builder will be able to repair almost any damage, from replacing a bottom bracket shell to filling a minor dent, or make alterations such as spreading the rear triangle to take a wider hub, and will charge accordingly. This is an area where it is best to get a quote before starting.

Once you have a rough idea of the expense, you can make plans – or abandon them. Given that replacing a mashed rear triangle might cost upwards of £400, including paint, a frame will need to be of either monetary or emotional value to warrant a professional repair. (If a hack bike is all that's required, the DIY option is fine.)

WHAT'S THE DAMAGE? Time to assess the patient. Perhaps, like the frame pictured on page 43 with a cracked down tube, it is a British frameset from a well-known maker. This one is a Claud Butler Avant Coureur Spécial. Unlike a ‘curly’ Hetchins, which might fetch over £750, ‘proper’ – pre-1957 – Claud Butlers

CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 1

D E TA I L S WHERE: Southern England START/FINISH: Eastbourne to Winchester (or vice-versa) DISTANCE: 100-miles, plus diversions off the trail MAIN PHOTO: © Malcolm McHugh / Alamy

S O U T H D O W N S WAY | G R E AT R I D E S

Great rides

CHALK IT UP

Tony looking cheerful at the start… before the first big climb out of Eastbourne

The 100-mile South Downs Way is an ideal mini-adventure with mountain bikes and backpacks, as Tony Upfold discovered

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With its stunning scenery, sweeping views and breathtaking sense of space and freedom, the South Downs Way offers a deceptively vast rural wilderness in an over-crowded corner of England. Modern civilisation seems a world away as you traverse this ancient, chalky landscape – but real life is rarely more than a mile or two distant. No arguments about it, the South Downs Way has all the inspirational ingredients for a magical walk.

Which is a bit embarrassing when you’re supposed to be cycling it and have to push your bike up the very first hill…

Tackling the 100-mile trail from east to west involves a grassy, gruelling 1-in-4 ascent out of Eastbourne at the very start, which proved too much for four members of our six-man party. Panted cries of ‘Where are my crampons’ and ‘Shouldn’t we be roped up?’ jokingly hid the concern that perhaps this was going to be tougher than a few people had thought. And there were plenty more hills where that one came from.

Five of the group – Ray Partridge, Matt Wooldridge, Jonathan Howkins, Dean Adams and myself – rode from John o’Groats to Land’s End two years ago and had chosen the South Downs Way as our cycling challenge for 2016. Making up the six was Colin MacQuillin, a regular off-road rider whose climbing abilities quickly earned the nickname ‘Mountain Goat’.

Ahead of us lay three days of seriously undulating pedalling from the white cliffs of the Sussex coast to Winchester, the ancient capital of England, with 3,810 metres (12,400ft) of climbing along tracks of chalk, flint, grass, gravel and occasionally concrete and tarmac. For every lung-busting ascent there was an adrenalin-pumping swoop downhill, and there was compensation for those aching muscles as we travelled through a beautiful landscape of rolling chalk downs, dry valleys, meandering rivers, steep scarp slopes, picture-postcard villages, ancient woodland, flint-built thatched cottages, classic country pubs, vast fields… and endless sheep.

IRON, BRONZE AND STONE The South Downs Way is steeped in history.

Littered with tumuli and hill forts from the Iron and Bronze Ages, this ancient track has been called a ‘Neolithic motorway’ – appropriate as Dean’s suspension-free 1992 Marin Muirwood had technology appearing to date from that era.

This superbly-signed National Trail is one of the country’s most popular off-road endurance routes, having become the first long-distance bridleway to be designated in Britain in 1972. We broke the journey down into three daily segments of 39, 36 and 25 miles, and swiftly felt old and inadequate on learning that Josh Ibbett, of the TORQ Performance MTB Team, cycled the 200

Do it yourself

SOUTH D O W N S WAY Eastbourne and Winchester at either end of the route are easily accessible by train and road. There are numerous towns and villages with pub and B&B accommodation a mile or two off the trail, as well as campsites. We cycled from home in Farnham, Surrey, to North Camp and travelled by train to Brighton (via Gatwick).

We then cycled 23 miles from Brighton to Eastbourne via Beachy Head to reach our starting point. The 100-mile trail is steeply undulating and tough for the occasional off-road rider like me, with 3,810 metres of climbing. A mountain bike is a must, with at least front suspension and preferably rear as well.

THE SOUTH DOWNS WAY IS STEEPED IN HISTORY, LITTERED WITH TUMULI AND HILL FORTS FROM THE IRON AND BRONZE AGES CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 4 7

Feature

GRE AT RE STOR ATIONS THE BIG BIKE REVIVAL IS BACK. CYCLING UK'S DAVID MURRAY EXPLAINS HOW AND WHY IT WORKS

5 2 C Y C L E AUG US T/SEPTEM BER 2016

Illustration by Diva Creative. Photos by Joolze Dymond

BBR | FE ATURE

Cycling UK staff at the Big Bike Revival 2016 launch at Cera Cycloan in Stockport

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hat was the first bike you had when you were a child? Mine was a blue and white Raleigh Max. I remember it clearly because it was a passport to fun and freedom. As any cyclist knows, cycling is just as liberating and as enjoyable as an adult. Yet for many people, cycling exists only as a memory.

They probably have a bike but no longer use it; it's gathering rust in a shed or garage. Step forward Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival.

The Big Bike Revival is a project designed to bring bicycles back into use in their thousands. By joining forces with bike recycling centres across the country, we are offering bike health checks, cycle maintenance knowhow, and riding advice to encourage people to return to cycling.

A large proportion of Brits – 42% – have bikes. But we're not making use of them.

According to our research from this same programme last year, 63% of bike owners hadn’t ridden their bikes in the past 12 months. This, combined with the propensity

“63% of bike owners hadn't ridden their bikes in the past year"

to use the car for short trips that could be made by bike, is the nub of the problem that the Big Bike Revival is addressing.

Last year’s efforts proved that the concept works: over 50,000 people took part and 24,000 bikes were brought back into use!

So we're running it again.

TWO-WHEELED SOLUTIONS The Big Bike Revival is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) in England and Transport Scotland in (you’ve guessed it) Scotland. It aims to reach into communities challenged by multiple deprivation, where access to a bike gives greater employment opportunities, transport savings and low-cost exercise.

Around 46% of project participants last year came from such areas.

DfT’s Transport Minister Robert Goodwill MP said: 'I’m confident that local authorities or local enterprise partnerships can see how this sort of project is really working on the ground. They too may want to join in, particularly in some of our more deprived communities, where having access to a bicycle makes a great deal of sense.'

Goodwill continued: 'We are serious about getting people on their bikes – cycling is great for our health and means less congested cities and less pollution. There is no better time to bring out that bike gathering dust in the shed. The Big Bike Revival will help you sort out the punctures and minor mechanical problems that we

G E T I N VO LV E D To find a Big Bike Revival event, visit bigbikerevival.org.uk. We've also brought together a directory of bike recycling centres, who operate all year round and are armed with bike mechanics ready to check over and fix up any set of wheels you bring through their door. Visit cyclinguk.org/recycling-centres.

This year, we are recruiting ride leaders and Member Groups to put on a series of Big Bike Revival rides during the October school half-term holidays. We would love to hear from you if you are interested in putting on a beginner-friendly led ride in your area. Email our communications team at publicity@cyclinguk.org.

CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 5 3

BIKETEST | CONTEMPORARY TOURERS

Bike test

DAN JOYCE Cycle editor

CONTEMPORARY TOURERS Editor Dan Joyce reviews two new tourers: the Cinelli HoBootleg and the Light Blue Darwin Twin Peak

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HE BIKE industry is taking a growing interest in adventure cycling, and not just the kind where bivvy bags are strapped to gravel bikes. New touring bikes are appearing. The Light Blue Darwin – available in various configurations – is new for 2016, while Cinelli’s HoBootleg (an awkward contraction of ‘hobo’ and ‘Bootleg’, Cinelli’s urban and trekking range) is one I’ve seen at shows for a year or two.

Both have been sprinkled with some of that magic bikepacking marketing dust. The HoBootleg is ‘the bike that didn’t exist’ and ‘a fine blend of cyclocross and touring machine’.

The Darwin’s name implies it’s an evolutionary product, and the Twin Peak model tested is the bikepacking-ist of the lot, with a flared drop bar and no mudguards or racks. It also has the lowest bottom gear in the Darwin range, which is why I picked it.

FRAME AND FORK The Cinelli HoBootleg has a sturdy Columbus Cromor chrome-moly steel frame with the fittings you want for touring. Its cyclocross heritage is evident in the cables that run along the top tube. They make it more comfortable if you shoulder the bike but less comfortable if you rest your backside on the top tube.

Cyclocross heritage also shows up in the frame geometry. Not in the chainstays, which are long enough for panniers. But it shows in the seat angle, which is on the steep side for long days in saddle (although it didn’t bother me). And it shows in the front centres measurement (bottom bracket to front hub), which is too short. I repeatedly caught my toes on the mudguard. I’m just tall enough to ride the Large HoBootleg, given a shorter stem. That would win 10-15mm of toe room, which might be just enough… unless I wore my winter SPD boots? To get the same toe clearance as the Darwin, I’d need the XL HoBootleg, a bike that’s simply too big for me.

Front-end length aside, it’s a decent frame.

The steering limiter at the head tube is a nice touch, preventing the wheel from turning through more than 90 degrees. So even with heavy front panniers, it won’t flop round when you park the bike. It’s good to see a couple of spare spokes included. They’re fitted to the drive-side chainstay, which makes removal fiddlier but will prevent a derailed chain gouging the stay. There’s clearance for tyres up to about 38mm with mudguards; the HoBootleg has both. If you removed the guards, there’s not much room for anything bigger between the chainstays but a 50mm tyre might fit the fork.

BAR-END SHIFTERS ARE NOT QUITE AS QUICK TO SHIFT, BUT FOR TOURING, SPEED OF SHIFTING IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN HAVING THE RIGHT GEARS TO SHIFT INTO 6 4 C Y C L E AUG US T/SEPTEM BER 2016

The Darwin is also chrome-moly steel: Reynolds 725. Narrower gauge tubes mean less metal and thus less frame weight than the burlier HoBootleg. With lighter wheels too (on which, more later), it saves well over a kilo compared to the Cinelli, even factoring in the latter’s racks and mudguards. That difference is moot if you’ll ride with heavy panniers but is worth considering if you’ll travel light, especially off-road with frame bags.

The Darwin’s seat angle is also, arguably, steeper than it need be. Otherwise, the frame geometry is well thought out. It has the same saddle-to-handlebar-centre distance as the HoBootleg, but achieves it with a significantly longer top tube that opens up the front centres distance; a shorter stem and a taller head tube keep the handlebar in reach. If the rear triangle looks tight in the photo, it’s because the wheel is as far forward as it will go in the adjustable dropouts.

Above: Toe overlap is more troublesome on a bike like the HoBootleg, which will often be used for slow-speed meandering, than it is for a fast-riding road bike

CONTEMPORARY TOURERS | BIKETEST

CINELLI HOBOOTLEG Cyclocross frame influences undermine some shrewd spec choices

LIGHT BLUE DARWIN TWIN PEAK A versatile frame fitted with Sram Apex levers and a 2×10 mountain bike drivetrain

CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E

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Gorge-ous challenge photos by Joolze Dymond

Travellers’ tales

CHANNEL HOPPING Geoff Searle and his wife enjoyed a Petit Tour de Manche, despite mixed weather

T

he ferries dictated the shape of our brief tour of Brittany and Normandy. Our first stop, after a barrel-rolling catamaran journey from Poole to Guernsey, was St Peter Port, where we had a swift drink.

Then we were off to St Malo, where we overdosed on shellfish.

Next morning, shepherded by our new SatNav, we followed the signposted route to Cancale. We caught glimpses of Mont St-Michel occasionally. The weather closed in, turning from drizzle to monsoon, and emptying us damply into a roadhouse at Beauvoir. When the torrent subsided, we picked up Veloroute 40, which runs along minor roads and disused railways. It goes all the way to

Paris, but we stopped overnight at Ducey.

We were going to travel north via St Lô, but the look on the receptionist’s face when I suggested we might cycle across through the bocage – which makes Cornwall look like Norfolk – made us reconsider. We followed V40 further east before tracking north at Mortain.

The Tour de France was passing nearby so we met many French roadies. At Vire, we struck west to Percy.

Day two had been wet, cool and long, and at the end of it my wife had tendonitis in her ankle. We had 80 miles to ride on day three, but she did not complain, even when forced to pedal with one leg or pressing with her heel on the pedal. Happily the weather turned in our favour. We unfolded our free Manche tourism veloroute maps to plot an easy course to connect to the off-road cycle route from Coutances to La Haye du Puits – where there is only one hotel. It’s clean, cheap, and beyond parody.

The final day was a short but testing run through undulating countryside before a long glide down to Cherbourg.

After a late lunch of moules frites, we caught the ferry back to Blighty.

All finishers received a certificate at the end of the challenge

A gorge-ous challenge TONY UPFOLD TAGGED ALONG ON AN ANNUAL RIDE FOR BEGINNERS IN BRISTOL t’s not that long, doesn’t rise that high, and apart from a short 16% section, isn’t even that steep. But Cheddar Gorge is one of the UK’s iconic cycle climbs. There seemed no better excuse to tackle the 2.5-mile, 500ft ascent than by signing up for the Get Gorgeous Cycle Challenge on 2 July.

Organised by Cycle Bristol CTC, the event aims to help adults to rediscover the joys of cycling. Get Gorge-ous is all about 50s. It’s a 50-mile ride, there were nearly 50 taking part and the majority were aged over 50 – and female. They had been building up towards the big day since February.

I rode with the third of four groups.

The pace was leisurely, the stories inspirational. There was Francoise, who dedicated the ride to her late sister.

There was 26-year-old Rachel, who sold her car in January to commute to work by bike because it’s healthier and greener. Alongside Rachel was her mum’s best friend Sue, a tandem rider who wanted to do more solo cycling.

The sense of achievement on their faces at the top of Cheddar Gorge meant far more to me than ticking off another climb on my own bucket list.

And the best thing of all? They’ve been bitten by the bicycling bug!

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A converted mill in Ducey provided a lovely overnight stop CYCL I N G U K . OR G CYCL E 8 1