Bryan's Bicycle Page - Last updated 29/9/2005

This page is dedicated to the humble pedal cycle.

As an engineer, I love its efficiency, simplicity and functionality. It is the most efficient form or transport known to man.

As an environmentalist, I appreciate its minimal impact upon the planet, its quiet progress, and the lack of any harmful emissions.

As an individual I enjoy riding the bicycle, my daily ride to work is amongst the best aspects of my life. The bike's silent approach enables me to see wildlife that would be denied the motorist. Riding a bike throughout the year, you learn to appreciate the seasons, the changing quality of the light, the crisp cold in winter, the warmth of the summer sun. There is a thrill to be had riding alone along an unlit forest path at night, with the silvery beam of your headlight picking out the trees ahead. I love the independence that the bicycle gives me, I go where I want, when I want to. Rather than travel like an automaton within a tin box, I take responsibility for my own propulsion, waving goodbye to gridlock, and getting fitter in the progress.

We can't continue to wastefully burn fossil fuels that have taken centuries to create, and pollute the atmosphere with a combination of greenhouse and other gases. It is now too dangerous in many areas to allow children to walk or cycle to school because of the density of traffic - much of which is engaged in travelling to school or work! Statistics show that children are at a far greater risk from a road accident that the perceived danger of a deliberate attack. The evidence is mounting that a number of respiratory diseases are linked to pollution, with childhood asthma on the increase.

What we need is a non polluting, sustainable, non threatening method of transport that we can continue to use without harming the planet. Enter the bicycle.

You can browse through this site or refer to the Index

If you live in NE England you may wish to join the Washington Cycle Campaign Group

Legal and other stuff

I have picked up ideas for this site from reading, talking to other cyclists, and by a lot of cycling. Information transfer has been as if by osmosis, I don't remember where most of it has come from. I apologise to anyone who feels that I have stolen their ideas without crediting the source - if this has occurred it was un-intentional! If you feel aggrieved please get in touch and I will add a reference or delete the item if appropriate.

I must also stress that the information given on this site is provided in good faith, but that I cannot be held responsible for accidents or misfortunes occurring because of someone following the advice contained therein. You ride at your own risk!

Cycling To Work or School

This page is intended for new cyclists, or those who have not ridden for a while. I would like to persuade you to consider commuting by bike. Some people are in situations where this is either impossible or extremely difficult, and I feel sorry for them; they should ride at weekends. Many could commute by cycle, but don't, they are the people I am trying to convert.

Some facts about cycle commuting: -

1)You get there feeling good - warm as toast in winter, and, if you wear shorts and short sleeves, with a nice tan in the summer.
2) You will be fitter and, statistically, should live longer - by as much as five years.
3) The most difficult thing about cycle commuting is doing it the first time, after that you will want to continue.
4) Distance is important, I would not want to commute more than about 10 miles each way, but some hardy souls do more. Less than a mile and you might as well walk! I do just over six miles each way and that is just great. The quality of the terrain is also important, 6 miles of mud, with a few hills thrown in, must equate to 10 miles, or more, of flat tarmac.
5) You must sort out a safe place to keep the bike. Ideally it should be indoors, or in a secure compound. I would not want to leave my bike chained to a lamppost.
6) Try not to mix it with the cars, you can get an adrenaline rush racing them through the rush hour, but one day your number may be up. Try to find a quiet route, ideally using a cycle path.
7) If cycling enables you to sell your car you will save a lot of money.
8) If you currently travel by public transport, the bike is vastly superior. No queues, no waiting - you travel when you want to, no standing in crowded vehicles, no breathing other people's germs, door to door travel etc. etc. You will also save money.
9) Rain is not a problem if you buy some decent waterproofs. I actually enjoy cycling through the rain.
10) Black Ice is a problem.
11) You need to buy a decent bike .
12) You need to have some suitable clothes
13) Virtually anyone can ride a bike, but here are some tips to help you on your way.
14) You will need to buy some tools.
15) Cycling etiquette.
16) Cycling in traffic
17) After a week's work your bike will need a clean!
18) Want to consider Cycle Touring?
19) Cycle Campaigning Page
20) Cycling Links.

What Should You Look For In a Bike

You have to know what it is you want from a bike. Most people buy a mountain bike (MTB) because they are available, are reasonably priced and everyone else seems to have one, myself included. There are other types of bike however, and you should consider the alternatives.

A Commuting Bike

If you want to commute to work and use tarmac or good quality paths, the ideal bike will not have knobbly MTB tyres, but it will come with mudguards, lights, preferably dynamo powered, and a rack for panniers. If you live in a hilly area you will need a good range of gears. If you have the misfortune to commute along a poorly maintained muddy track that disappears under water for periods of the year as I do, you will be forced to use a MTB. The photo belowshows the Coast to Coast (C2C) route as it passes through Sunderland in April 2000 - my commuting route.

MTB knobbly tyres are great in the mud, they grip and you don't fall off. On tarmac they are awful, they make a racket and slow you down. Try counting the number of Tour de France riders who use knobbly tyres. There are compromise tyres available. These have a central raised rim that the bike normally rests upon, but knobbles to either side of it. The theory is that, when you get to mud the tyre sinks in and the knobbles begin to grip. The tyre shown in the photograph is a Specialized Crossroad EX, which I have found to be quiet on tarmac, grippy enough, reasonably durable, and not too expensive. You can buy road tyres for MTBs, they are called "slicks" and there is not a knobble to be seen; they would be a better choice for commuting on tarmac. Some bikes, typically the so called hybrids come with sensible commuting tyres.

Most new bikes do not have mudguards, they appear to be intended for occasional summer use. Mudguards are not sexy, they cost money and don't sell bikes. If you intend to buy a bike without them ensure that they can be fitted. If you want to cycle in the wet, or after it has rained, and don't want to get soaked, you need mudguards. Some people fit small deflector plates rather than mudguards, but they are not very effective, get proper full length guards. I can recommend the products of SKS, their guards incorporate an emergency release device that will detach if you pick up a piece of wood - better than landing on your head! See the photo above.

Unless you prefer your feet wet and your chain covered in crud, you had better buy a mud flap for the front mudguard. Most bicycle mud flaps are hopelessly inadequate, although SKS now make a half decent built one into their front guard. (My SKS mud flap cracked after about a year's use and folded up under the mudguard when placed under stress). If you want a serviceable mud flap that will not blow into your tyre in a strong wind and that will deflect crud away from your chainwheels in all conditions, buy one intended for a motorcycle. Mr Honda supplied that which is currently installed on my MTB, it cost all of £1.50. If you object to advertising the manufacturer, you can always fit it back to front, or spray over with paint. Some people make flaps from washing up liquid containers, pond liner, or damp proof course material, but they are so cheap to buy it's hardly worth the effort.

If you use paths that are shared with pedestrians, you need a bell. In my view it should be a legal requirement that all bikes be supplied with one. In practice your new bike will probably not have one and you will have to buy it separately.

The first rule of cycling is that you carry nothing other than your clothes. The bike carries any luggage. For commuting you need a method of taking things to and fro. You might work at home and have to carry books or possibly a lap-top, you might want to carry a change of clothes, overalls, or your lunch. You will certainly need to carry a puncture repair outfit, a spare inner tube and some tools. For serious portage you need a rear carrier on which you can safely hang panniers. For more modest requirements the old fashioned saddle bag has a lot to commend it, strapped to the rear of the saddle, it does not affect the handling of the bike, and does not require a carrier. You can take all you want for a day ride in a saddlebag. A lot of people use a bar bag, mounted on the handlebars. This is a great accessory for touring, when it will carry a map, your camera and valuables, but it is less useful for commuting, having a very limited capacity and an adverse affect on the steering.

One day you will suffer a puncture. You therefore need an inflator to blow up the tyre after you have mended it. Most MTBs do not have provision for carrying a proper inflator. You can buy small telescopic inflators that fasten to the water bottle cage fixing, but they are pathetic in comparison to a full length inflator. They are better than nothing however, and will pump up your tyre sufficiently to get you home. Make sure that the inflator you buy has a metal body, I have had a plastic bodied telescopic inflator fall apart in my hands!

If you intend to be a committed cycle commuter you will need lights. This important subject deserves a section to itself!

The choice of saddle is a personal thing. For long distance riding I prefer a leather saddle, which is much cooler than the plastic coated padded types. For commuting, a plastic saddle is probably preferable, as you don't have to worry about it getting wet.

What about the type of bike? You can commute on virtually any type of bike, MTB, racer, tourer, folder etc., etc. The trick is to do it! I would look for a package that provides the bits of equipment I have referred to above, as the bike manufacturers can buy the kit at a fraction of what you pay in a shop. This appears to rule out MTBs, which tend to come naked, but if you want an MTB for an odd spot of weekend mountaineering, there is no reason why it could not be set up for commuting. Most of the large builders provide a hybrid in their range, and it is this beast that they will hang all of the necessary kit onto. Few UK bikes have dynamos however, you will probably have to buy one separately. Try to persuade your bike shop to throw one in with the deal, you might get some financial advantage that way.

Types of Bike

Ok, let's do a quick run down on bike types.

1) Mountain Bike (MTB)

Started as a fun bike in the States. Now the number one seller world-wide. Typically equipped with a good range of derailleur gears, strong 26 in wheels with wide tyres, efficient brakes and very little else. MTBs have forced the pace in bike development, all bikes now have better brakes and gears due to the efforts put into MTBs.

Increasingly MTBs are to be found equipped with suspension. At its best this greatly improves the handling and comfort for the rider, and is virtually essential for the crazy sport of downhill racing. At its worst, as fitted to economy models, it adds cost, weight, and complexity and absorbs the energy of the rider. Not to be considered unless you are buying a real quality machine.

In my jaundiced opinion, most MTBs are bought because there is nothing else available, few ever see the side of a mountain. The MTB is not necessarily the best choice for many people, but it may be the only type of bike that your local shop has in stock. Equipped with the necessary accessories, the MTB can be used for commuting.

A word of warning. According to Chris Juden of the CTC, the most recent MTBs are being supplied without the necessary fixing eyes for mudguards and a carrier. It may be possible to bodge something where this is the case, but I would not think of owning a commuting bike that could not be equipped with these vital accessories. Look out for threaded fittings near to the axle cut outs, both front and rear, and high up on the seat stays.

My old commuting bike for use in winter mud. Note the front hub dynamo which powers both a front halogen light mounted above the mudguard and an LED rear light. In addition the bike is equipped with a battery LED rear light. The bike is also equipped with full length wide mudguards providing plenty of clearance, and a front mud flap intended for motorcycle use. A double acting mini inflator, a bell, and rear carrier complete the customisation of this standard MTB. The bike currently has derailleur gears, which I would like to replace with a hub unit at some stage.

2) Racer

Dropped handlebars, light weight and slim 700 mm diameter wheels and tyres. The true racer is, like the MTB, normally sold bare. It is a speed machine, thrilling to ride on smooth tarmac, responsive and fast. It is intended for racing, and, given exceptional circumstances, could be used to commute to work but....

3) Tourer

To the un-initiated it looks like a racer, with 700 mm wheels and dropped bars. This bike will be more strongly built, and heavier than the racer. It will normally come with some accessories, e.g. mudguards, multiple water bottle attachment points, rear carrier, fittings to take a front carrier, and an inflator. It may have a dynamo but this is unlikely if it is British. The geometry of the tourer frame is such that it is less responsive, but more comfortable, than the racer. The tyres will be wider than those on the racer, but not as wide as those on an MTB. A good tourer will cost a lot of money, but could carry you round the world in reasonable comfort. There has been a recent move towards fitting tourers with 26 in MTB wheels, enabling wider tyres to be fitted, and increasing the strength of the wheels a bit. It is also possible to buy tourers fitted with flat MTB style handlebars, thus allowing the fitment of MTB twist grip gear changers and MTB brakes. You can use a tourer both on and off road, provided that you treat it sensibly.

Many designs of tourer, mine included, are based upon Reynold's 531 Super Tourist (ST) frameset. This makes for a strong and light bike, but older models are a tad twitchy when heavily loaded, with low speed shimmy a problem. Some years ago the 531 ST set was redesigned with a larger diameter top tube that counteracts this problem. The 531ST frameset, combined with 700 mm wheels, makes for a comfortable ride. On a section of my commute I share a bridle path with a riding school, and the horses do a great deal of damage to the surface. Along this stretch it is noticeable that the tourer is a good deal smoother to ride than the MTB, which has both a stiffer frame and wheels. It's a pity that the route gets so muddy, because in those conditions the narrow tyres do not grip and the MTB, in the fashion of a tractor, comes into its own.

The tourer makes a good, if expensive, commuting bike. You can buy a tourer for around £400, but most cost more, typically in the £700 range, while some cost in excess of £1000. In the year of our Lord 2001 Dawes were supplying a good range of tourers, including the classic Dawes Galaxy with the smaller, but genuinely British, companies Orbit and Thorn also providing good off the peg tourers. The Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative offers an entry level tourer at a very reasonable price.

It is possibly worth while digressing at this point to consider the pros and cons of dropped bars. The dropped bar is the traditional choice of the racing and touring fraternity. It provides at least three different positions for the hands allowing some re-distribution of the rider's weight during a long run. Down on the drops, the rider adopts a streamlined, if slightly uncomfortable, position ideal for high speed work, or battling against a head wind. Hands resting on the brake hoods is the normal riding position, with the brake levers immediately to hand and a more relaxed position than using the drops. With the wind in the rear, or if your back starts to hurt, you can put your hands onto the flat top part of the bars, thus sitting more upright. For long distance work, the dropped bars take some beating.

Flat MTB bars are generally a bit wider than drops, giving better control over rough surfaces. The clever twist grip gear controls are available only on flat bars, while the latest low profile cantilever, and other ingenious types of brake, need long travel brake handles that only flat bars seem to accommodate. Many riders buy bar ends or short lengths of bar that stick up at right angles at the ends of the flat bars. They are claimed to be useful when hill climbing, but don't assist when riding into a head wind.

I use both types of handlebar. I like the flat bars when conditions are very bad and I need good control, but I prefer the drops most of the time.

As you get on a bit, bending over the bars becomes progressively less comfortable, causing an aching neck and back - I have recently lifted my bars so that they are level with the top of the saddle. This means that my riding position is slightly less aerodynamic, but I can now cycle all day without any distress.

My touring bike, a bit long in the tooth now, but still going strong. The sealed wheel hubs by Mavic have never been touched in over 10 years of use. Note the generous curve at the bottom of the front forks, making the bike comfortable to ride and easy to steer, even when loaded. You might also spot the bottle dynamo and halogen lamp mounted on a dynashoe. Note also the deep section Alesa wheel rims. I would use this bike for commuting in preference to the MTB if I had a more civilised route to work!

This is the sort of terrain that a tourer is capable of dealing with, provided that you are reasonably careful and it is not too muddy! Dave Sharpe of Wearside CTC climbs the old drover's road called Clennell Street which crosses the border between England and Scotland.

4) The Hybrid

The hybrid takes some of the characteristics of the MTB, and some of those of the tourer and blends them together. Most hybrids tend to use 700 mm wheels, but with slightly wider tyres than those normally fitted to tourers. A good range of derailleur gears is to be expected.

Many, but not all, hybrids come with a sensible range of accessories. They are intended for a combination of road and light off road usage, fine for ex railway tracks, but not much use for downhill racing. Hybrids generally provide a more upright riding position than the MTB, but probably use similar handlebars. Some have quite exotic handlebars, trying to accommodate some of the advantages of both flat and dropped bars.

The hybrid is probably a good choice as a commuting bike, particularly if your chosen model comes festooned with appropriate accessories at a reasonable price.

My wife's hybrid bike, a much loved lightweight Raleigh Gemini built from Reynolds 531 tubing. Note the dog thinking of making a bid for freedom!

5) Utility or City Bike

The utility bike is a sensible machine intended to carry you back and forwards to work or the shops with a minimum of inconvenience or fuss. You should be able to ride a utility bike dressed in your normal clothing, without the risk of getting your trousers or skirt caught in some part of the mechanism. The bike is probably fitted with a hub gear, a stand, an integral lock, a carrier, a dynamo, full mudguards, a chain guard and a skirt guard. It will weigh heavy and not be suitable for competing in Le Tour, or climbing more than a moderate hill. The riding position is very upright, giving you a clear view ahead. The bike might be fitted with steel wheels which do nothing to improve the responsiveness of ride, but, unlike alloy rims, could last a lifetime. The utility bike is almost extinct in the UK, but not quite, while it is still flourishing across the sea in much of northern Europe.

A modern, unisex, utility bike with hub gears, hub brakes, stand, dynamo and carrier. The mudguards are too short for my liking while that rigid plastic case looks a bit on the heavy side.

A more traditional machine, this time fitted with rim brakes. You can just about make out the skirt guard, dynamo and stand. It is fitted with hub gears. Both of these bikes were seen in Aix en Provence, a trendy university and spa town in south east France, not noted for its flatness!

If you live in a flatish place, it could be the ideal machine for you, but you might have to take the ferry to Amsterdam to buy it. You might have seen MTBs marketed under the Giant label in the UK. This company is a major player in the Dutch market and their NL catalogue contains several mouth wateringly good bikes, e.g. a fully equipped city bike with an aluminium frame, suspension, and 7 speed hub gears. Alternatively consult the British Manufacturer Pashley Cycles' web site or take a look at Cycle Heaven in York, who import very nice Dutch city bikes by Gazelle. There is a review of a Gazelle roadster in the December 2001 issue of the CTC magazine.

If you know of anyone who imports the Giant range of city and touring bikes (not MTBs) please let me know.

6) Folding Bike

If your journey to work involves using the train, or you need to take the bike into the workplace for security reasons, you might want to consider a folding bike. As the name suggests, the bike folds up to enable it to be conveniently carried. It will be a bit heavier and more costly than a non folding bike of the same quality, but it can go where the others cannot.

Many train operating companies will allow you to bring a folder onto their trains, while they will not allow conventional bikes. Trains and bikes can combine wonderfully, I commuted to work that way for a number of years in the days when every train had a good big luggage van and all bikes travelled free.

A folder can travel in the boot of a car. You might be able to drive to the outskirts of the town or city in which you work and then cycle the last few miles. This could save parking fees, and avoid you having to struggle through the worst of the city centre traffic. It might mean a faster journey!

Most folders have small (16-20 ins) wheels, and need some form of suspension to make them comfortable as a result. They are not really intended for off road work, but will handle most paths with care. I would not want to ride round the world on a folding bike, but there are people who have done just that. There is a large range of folders available from crude gas pipe jobs up to state of the art precision machines, you pay your money and .....

We acquired a second hand Brompton bike with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub. It is great fun to ride. It is comfortable and has, safe, predictable, handling, while the incredibly long seat post means that either of us can ride it. However for use in hilly Co. Durham the gearing was a bit high for our liking. We therefore had our local bike shop (LBS) fit a larger rear sprocket and a smaller chainwheel and that has improved matters somewhat. The hub gear does minimise potential problems with oily chains and derailleur systems in car boots or crowded trains. Despite the high gearing, we were so impressed by this bike that we have recently bought a second Brompton. Incidentally you can extend the height of the seat by fitting a sprung saddle, fitting a Brooks sprung saddle to one of our Bromptons really transformed the comfort and fit of the bike. The saddle that comes with the bike is a very wide sit up and beg thing, not very good for anything more than low speed trundling.

The Brompton must be very nearly the ideal urban bicycle; the ability to carry it on public transport; the ease and speed of folding; and the pleasure of riding this machine, makes it perfectly suited to usage about town. It is possible to buy a Brompton with a reliable dynamo lighting system, an excellent water proof front mounting roll top bag, and six gears. In the North East of England there is an extensive light rail system, the Metro. Only folding bikes may be carried on the Metro, and the combination of the Brompton and Metro gives car free access throughout the greater part of Tyne and Wear.

Of the different types available some fold very small and do so very quickly, e.g. the Brompton, while others might offer a better riding position, a larger range of gears, or be lighter etc. The CTC conducted a review of folding bikes which was reported in their magazine for February/March 2001. For more information on folding bikes consult the pages of the Folding Society.

Bike Friday is an up-market folder, imported from the USA, with a three speed hub gear and a seven speed block giving 21 gears in total.

7) Recumbents

On most bikes you adopt an almost vertical riding position, head above feet, although racers seem to spend most of their time with their backsides above their heads. Recumbents allow you to adopt a much more relaxed position, sitting or almost lying prone, with your feet out in front. This position is claimed to be more comfortable than that adopted on a conventional bike, and it certainly looks it. People with back trouble might consider a recumbent. Another advantage of the recumbent is that the exposed frontal area of the rider is reduced, thus lowering the wind resistance of the bike. Rumour has it that, many years ago, a recumbent rider took all of the honours at a major bike race, when the authorities decided to outlaw that configuration for racing. Certainly it is the case that if you look at the record books, recumbents hold the prime spots for speed.

You can buy a recumbent off the peg, but there is not a lot of choice and the machines that are available are quite expensive in the UK. Many, but not all, recumbents place the rider low down, and there is the concern that the recumbent might not be quite as visible in traffic as a normal bike. Climbing very steep hills might also be a problem, with a conventional bike you can stand on the pedals if you have to, that is not an option with a recumbent. If you ride off road, the recumbent might not be easy to manoeuvre through the various stupid barriers that are encountered, while there may be problems on trains and with car roof racks. When it rains I fear that the recumbent rider might not shed water as readily as a conventional cyclist. I would like to see more recumbents, but perhaps the environment is not quite right for them as yet.

There are those people who are completely sold on using a 'bent; if you need some persuasion see Sue Widemark's site

There is a bewildering array of recumbents available, but I guess that there are three main categories. There are trikes, and long and short wheelbase bikes. The longer wheelbase bikes are typically touring machines, while the short wheelbase bikes are more likely to be used for racing. I would certainly like to be able to use a trike when there is ice about! I have included a photograph of a recumbent trike below. This machine has 81 gears, a 21 speed derailleur set-up and a three speed hub unit. The owner told me that it was a bit heavier than a conventional bike and slower up hill, but it flew on the flat and downhill it was really magic!

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Recumbent racing is great fun, go see it if you get the opportunity, they really do fly, while there is a dazzling array of different types!

People do commute to work on a recumbent, I guess it depends upon the circumstances.

8) Special Bikes

There are bikes made for two people (tandems) or exceptionally for three. Tandems allow blind or partially sighted people to enjoy cycling, while they are great for contented couples to ride. (I suspect that a tandem would do little to calm a stormy relationship!) You can buy special child cranks that fit to the the rear seat tube of a tandem. If you have difficulty in balancing, but would still like to ride, then an adult tricycle might be the answer. You can buy single wheel child bikes that attach to the rear of an adult bike - safer than an individual children's bike for road use and a good deal faster.

A special form of recumbent bike is the Human Powered Vehicle or HPV. HPVs are designed for racing or speed trials (racing against the clock), and hold all of the records for maximum speed. A typical HPV is clad in a streamline casing, fine to keep the rain off, but a tad warm in most circumstances. Some of the ideas on streamlining have cascaded down to more conventional recumbents, and you can buy partial fairings that add a bit of weight, but lower the wind resistance of your machine. Interest in HPVs and HPV racing is an international phenomenon, but in the UK those interested should contact the British HPV club

Shown below is a photograph of Nick Green’s latest creation. Nick is currently the competition secretary of the British HPV club.

9) Junk Bikes

Junk bikes are bought new from supermarkets and similar places at prices around £100. They come in a variety of forms, but they share a common feature, they are all junk.

As with most things, you get what you pay for with cycles, and you need to spend substantially more than £100 to buy reasonable quality. If your budget is limited, buy second-hand. If you buy from your local bike shop, they will be there when you need to buy spares and accessories, and will provide a repair service if necessary. Take them a junk bike to fix and they might refuse. I have tried to adjust assemblies on junk bikes and have had very limited success, the brakes and gears won't stay in adjustment, the parts bend under load, the chain disappears between the chain rings, a pedal falls off etc. A junk bike might put you off cycling for good.

At the other extreme you don't need to pay serious money for a decent pair of wheels. A £2500 all aluminium full suspension MTB, is not required for commuting. Expect to pay between £250-350 for an entry level bike of reasonable quality. If you insist on buying a new budget machine, rather than a second hand quality bike, look for the bottom of the range offerings of the big, long established, companies. My sons have had Raleigh children's bikes and, after doing good service, they have been passed on for others to enjoy.

10) What bikes would I recommend?

Things are moving rapidly in the world of bicycles, with long established names changing hands or disappearing from the scene, while new players emerge to take their places. Unfortunately I am not in a position to give advice on particular bikes or manufacturers. For what it's worth, if I were to buy a replacement bike tomorrow (December 2002), I would consider the following companies: -

Touring Bikes - Dawes, Giant, Orbit, Thorn, Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op (could possibly end up with a Dawes Galaxy, a tad boring but it's a proven formula and good value.)
City Bikes - Gazelle, Giant, Pashley, Orbit, Dawes (Trip to Amsterdam called for maybe, look at Giant's NL web site, better range than UK, or take a look at Cycle Heaven in York).
Fully equipped hybrids - Dawes, Giant, Orbit, Trek.
Folder - For urban use, the Brompton. Not cheap, but well engineered and they do hold their value - check prices on Ebay.
MTBs - Don't know. I use my MTB for muddy commuting rather than mountain climbing, but I do a lot of miles. My MTB is a Univega with a chrome moly alloy frame without suspension. The frame has served me well, but most of the components have worn out and been changed since I bought it in 1997. I would be inclined to look for disc or hub brakes in order to prevent rim wear, I would avoid suspension (heavy and complex), look for carrier and mudguard eyes, and would prefer a 7 speed hub gear and hub dynamo - You're right it probably doesn't exist!

One recently introduced bike that almost meets my commuter specification is the Orbit Orion City - 7. (Photo reproduced courtesy of Orbit Cycles).

This has an aluminium touring geometry frame, flat bars, Sachs 7 speed hub gears, Shimano hub dynamo, carrier, mudguards, cut down chain guard etc. For street use it looks to be very tasty, but for extremely muddy conditions the 700 mm wheels and thinnish tyres would not be my first choice, while, like most bikes, it is fitted with conventional rim eating brakes. It's not the cheapest pair of wheels around either, at £695, but for city cycling the specification is hard to fault and, assuming that the 7 speed hub works reliably for a number of years, it could work out cheaper in the long term than a derailleur fitted bike with a lower initial price. The pre-production version of this bike got an enthusiastic review in the CTC mag. for February/March 2003.

I have just (September 2005) bought a Ridgeback Nemesis bike. This MTB style bike has an 8 speed Shimano rear hub, Shimano hub brakes and I have had it fitted with a Shimano hub dynamo. Further customisation includes a decent bell, rear carrier, mudguards and mudflap, inflator, better pedals and much better tyres. This is my new commute through mud bike. Hopefully it will require considerably less maintenance than my previous derailleur equipped machine with cantilever brakes. Total cost to date around £580. The only drawback discovered so far is that the lowest gear is a bit high for my liking, so a new larger rear sprocket may well be purchased, while a chaincase would be a useful further addition.

11) Custom Made Bikes

There are many small companies that will build a made to measure bike. These machines are normally quite a bit more expensive than the mass produced item, but you get to specify exactly what you want and the finished bike should be a perfect fit. Allow me to include a plug for our local and rather excellent frame builder, Dave Yates. Dave, and many other bespoke builders, will, in addition to building new bikes, repair or modify or your frame (e.g. braze on a dynamo bracket), make new bits, or revitalise your steed with a brilliant re-spray.

Where Does the Money Go?

What do you get when you pay more? The frame is the heart of the bike. More expensive bikes use stronger frame materials, e.g. alloy rather than carbon steel. This leads to lighter, more springy frames which are fun to ride.

Wheels are also critical. Bottom of the range bikes use steel rimmed wheels, which are heavy and have a lot of inertia, making it more difficult to accelerate the bike. In the wet, the brake blocks slip on chromium plated steel rims. Better bikes have aluminium alloy wheels, but there are many different grades of aluminium alloy. The cross section of a cheap aluminium rim is like a shallow letter U, while the best wheels have deep box section rims made from hard alloy and use eyelets to reinforce the spoke holes. Cheap aluminium wheels are worse than steel wheels, they might be light, but they go out of true too easily and buckle if overloaded. Good makes include Mavic (illustrated), Alesa, and Sun Rhyno.

Good quality chain wheels are made from hard aluminium alloy, and are replaceable. Cheap ones are made from pressed steel and are riveted together. Better quality derailleur mechanisms will be built up from polished aluminium castings, while the cheapest use pressed steel and/or plastic. Top of the range mechanisms have bushed pivots which last longer

Generally speaking the more you pay the less (weight) you get, but there is balance to be struck between lightness, function, and durability. A three speed hub gear, with its wide chain and near perfect alignment between chainwheel and cog, should give a much longer service life than the very best 27 speed set up.

Conventional wisdom has it that you should buy the best frame that you can afford, and compromise on the other bits. They can be upgraded over time.

Frame Tubing

For many years steel was the material that all bicycle frames were constructed from. There are two principal methods of manufacturing tubing. The simplest and cheapest, lending itself to volume production, rolls sheet steel into a tube and welds along the join, so forming a welded seam. The alternative method extrudes a solid cylinder of steel over a mandrel and between dies thus forming a seamless tube. Seamless tubing is stronger and is used in all but the cheapest of bicycles.

The British company Reynolds introduced the concept of butted frame tubes. Rather than use tubing that is the same thickness throughout its length, butted tubes are thicker at one end (single butted) or both ends (double butted). Butted tubes put more material where the loads are higher, so the remainder of the tube can be thinner and lighter. The very best bikes are made with butted tubing throughout, coming down the scale are those with a double butted main triangle only, while lower in the market place are bikes built with non butted or plain gauge tubes.

Cheaper bikes tend to use so called "hi-tensile" steel, normally a medium carbon steel.

Up market bikes are made from better quality alloy steels which typically contain a small proportion of molybdenum and either manganese or chromium. Manganese/molybdenum steels are suitable for low temperature fabrication methods, e.g. brazing and silver soldering, while chromium molybdenum steel can be TIG welded. Alloy steels typically have twice the strength of carbon steels, so bicycles made from them are a good deal lighter.

There are several companies manufacturing high quality bicycle tubing, but being British I will concentrate on the products of the UK based company, Reynolds. Their manganese moly steels are classified 531, 753 and 853 while their chrome moly steels are 500, 525 and 725. Reynolds 500 is only available as plain gauge tubing. For many years classic racing and touring frames were made from Reynolds double butted 531, and this material is still available today. 753 is a stronger steel that is being phased out to be replaced with 853, but both of these steels require greater care by the frame builder than 531.

The traditional method of bicycle construction uses steel tubing that is brazed (using a soft metal based upon brass) or silver soldered into cast steel pipe fittings, called "lugs"; which determine the geometry of the frame. If such a bike suffers an accident it is generally possible to melt the braze, and replace the damaged tube or tubes. This method of construction enables quality frames to be hand built with a minimum of expensive manufacturing hardware. Because the joining process is carried out at a relatively low temperature, the properties of the steel tubes are hardly affected. This means that thin tubes can be safely used leading to a very light but strong frame. There is a variation on this process, where two tubes are joined without a lug, by the use of a fillet of brazing material. This is necessary if suitable lugs are not available for the required geometry. This process requires higher steel temperatures within the attachment zone, so is not quite as good as lugged construction.

More recently lugless all welded frames have become very popular. This method is suited to volume production and requires excellent process control to avoid significantly weakening the tubing . It is probable that thicker walled tubes are required in the vicinity of the welds to compensate for the reduction in the strength of the steel due to welding. Some people prefer the cleaner lines of a lugless frame.

Aluminium alloy has also become very popular as a frame material. While steel is a good deal stronger that aluminium alloy, it is also a good deal more dense, so you can afford to use a greater volume of aluminium and still end up with a lighter bike. Aluminium frames are of necessity more chunky than steel frames, and the resulting bike is probably stiffer than an equivalent steel frame. I guess that this means that fractionally more of your pedalling energy is usefully transferred into forward motion, but that the bike might not be quite as comfortable. Aluminium alloy has the advantage that it is very resistant to corrosion. Most aluminium framed bikes use steel forks.

On the debit side, aluminium is notoriously difficult to weld - it does not change colour when molten - so you may find it difficult, or even impossible, to have an aluminium bike frame repaired. I mention below the hugely superior fatigue properties of steel over aluminium, this is another factor to put into the pot when choosing a frame material. More than one major manufacturer has had to issue public safety warnings over the possibility of failure of some of their aluminium frames - do an Internet search on bicycle frame failure!

Increasingly, however, off the peg bikes are being manufactured with aluminium alloy frames. Steel is being relegated to bottom of the range bikes, or for expensive niche applications, for example the best quality touring bikes. Only time will tell as to whether this move to aluminium alloy has been a step in the right direction!

The most exotic racing bikes use carbon fibre or titanium frames, but these are currently far too expensive for commuters to consider!

Buying Second Hand

You can save yourself a considerable amount by buying second hand, but there are pitfalls. You have to weigh the possible cost of replacement components against the saving on a new bike. It is true to say that you can buy a fully equipped new bicycle for considerably less than the retail price of the individual components. Consider the following: -

Bicycles have, unfortunately in my view, become part of the consumer/fashion culture. The designers of components regularly update their ranges and the new bits may or may not be compatible with past efforts. Most do not continue to manufacture the older designs, making the obtaining of spares difficult. I think in particular of derailleur gear components, but there are also problems with some types of brake. Finally, the UK industry moved some time ago from 27" wheels to the continental 700 mm standard, and 27 inch tyres and tubes are now hard to find.

Bicycle parts wear out, to an old meany such as myself, they wear out far too rapidly. In the days of steel wheel rims, they would last a lifetime. Today's alloy rims do not last so long. Rim brakes wear away the wheel rims with the result that the rims need to be replaced periodically. The problem here is that it is very difficult to tell when the rims need to be replaced, the metal thickness cannot be judged with the tyre in position, and even with the tyre removed it is tricky to measure. If you get new rims, measure the overall width across the rim and monitor that distance with time. Contemplate the consequences of travelling down a hill at 40 mph when your front rim disintegrates - it pays to be safe and that means replacing rims before they become excessively worn.

While cycling with the Wearside CTC group a companion told me how he had been sent flying over his bars when his front rim has failed and caught in the brakes, fortunately he was only doing about 10 mph at the time and he suffered no serious injury. On reaching home I took a good hard look at my MTB front rim, the picture below shows what I saw, complete failure of the rim. Perhaps that conversation saved my life (thanks Alan I owe you a pint!).

It is really very hard to give advice here, perhaps a change should be made every 5,000-10,000 miles, but the distance will vary depending upon the design of your rims, the type of brake blocks used, the nature of the terrain through which you cycle, and your weight and riding style etc. Good quality rims cost between £12 and £30 a shot, then then there is the business of rebuilding the wheel - preferably with new spokes. Grotty machine built wheels with cheapo rims and hubs can be had complete for about £20, but don't expect much heavy service from them. A few rim manufacturers are now building wear indicators into some of their products, e.g. Alesa and Vuelta.. Buy a bike with hub or disc brakes and the problem goes away!

Another set of parts that wear are the derailleur gear components. As the chain wears it becomes longer, and that worn profile is transferred to the sprockets. Eventually the chain begins to jump over the teeth and you have to buy new bits. You will find that a new chain will not run on worn sprockets. The order of wear is normally chain, followed by block, followed by chainwheels. One strategy, that is often suggested, is to keep three chains and regularly change them, thus dividing the wear rate by a factor of three. Eventually you have to replace the whole assembly. Buying second hand you should inspect the sprockets carefully for signs of wear (in bad cases the teeth become hooked) while a badly worn chain will lift off the chainwheel exposing daylight beneath.

Unless the bike is nearly new, or you are sure that the owner has hardly used it, you should legislate for new transmission components - and they can be expensive. Find this a problem - then buy a bike with hub gears! The better crank sets have replaceable chain rings however, e.g. Stronglight, TA and some Shimano. Our ageing tandem was in need of a re-fit, but I was able to renovate the transmission by replacing the middle chainwheel only (£13), in addition to buying a new chain (£4), and a block (£16). The photo shows the Stronglight crankset, with a steel inner wheel, the shiny new middle ring, and the relatively unworn original outer ring.

You will probably have heard of the concept of fatigue failure, when a metal part becomes tired and snaps. Steel is a remarkable material in that it possesses what is referred to as an endurance limit, a limiting stress that may be applied to the material an infinite number of times without causing failure. In contrast, aluminium alloy does not have an endurance limit. In theory, if you apply enough stress cycles to it, it will eventually fail, even through the individual applications of stress are of a very low magnitude.

What are the consequences for aluminium bicycle components? Well let's get this into perspective, aeroplanes are made from aluminium alloy and they don't fall out of the sky all that often, but they are subject to regular rigorous inspections. In truth I don't know, the Stronglight cranks on my tourer have done many thousands of miles without any sign of distress, but I would be a tad wary of buying a second hand aluminium bicycle frame. It is perhaps significant that the owner's manual for the Brompton folding bike (steel frame) advises that certain critical aluminium components be replaced at regular intervals, "The hinge clamp plates, handlebar and chainset should be replaced every 5,000 miles..."

Finally look out for obvious signs of damage, particularly to the frame, but also inspect the wheels. Spin each wheel and observe the distance between the rim and brake blocks, if it varies by more than a few millimetres the wheel will need to be trued. If there are kinks in a rim it will need to be replaced. Check for frayed brake and gear cables and haggle if found!

As an alternative, why not look for last season's bargains. If you are prepared to buy last year's model you will often get a substantial discount on the new price. I have seen a £350 bike offered for sale at £250, a genuine reduction. The newest cycling kit is not always the best, don't be fooled by fashion.

Gears

In the early days of cycling, there were no gears, the pedals were attached to the wheel directly. To obtain a higher 'gear' you had to use a larger diameter wheel - hence the penny farthing or "ordinary" bicycle. Now the penny farthing was quite a dangerous machine, going downhill and applying the brakes or hitting an obstacle, there was a very real chance of the rider being thrown forwards over the large wheel, and landing on his head. The expression "Taking a pearler" relates to that particular experience. It did not take too long for the chain drive to come along, and the "safety bicycle" was introduced, remarkably like the machines we ride today. I tell this tale because even now the gearing of bikes is measured as an equivalent penny farthing wheel diameter. Thus we refer to the gearing as an equivalent wheel diameter in inches.

Consider a bike whose largest chain ring (adjacent to the pedals) has 52 teeth, and the smallest cog on the rear has 13. For every turn of the pedals, the rear wheel will rotate 52/13 = 4 times. If that wheel has a diameter of 26 inches, the equivalent penny farthing wheel diameter is 52/13x26 = 104 ins, quite a high gear. Similarly, if the smallest chain wheel has 42 teeth and the largest cog at the rear of the bike has 48 teeth, then assuming a wheel dia.. of 26 ins, the effective gear is 42/48x26 = 22.75 ins. In the case of this bike the "range" of the gearing will be 22.75 to 104 ins., i.e. from the lowest to the highest gear.

The number of gears depends upon the number of chain wheels and cogs, you simply multiply the two numbers together, e.g. three chain wheels and seven cogs gives 21 gears. While this is the theoretical number of gears that are available, in practice you are not able to use all of them because the chain would cross at too great an angle between the chain wheel and cogs. This would occur, for example, when it was on the largest chain wheel and the largest cog. If you try to select such a gear, it is highly probable that the chain would make an unpleasant sound, indicating that all was not well.

While it is nice to have lots of gears, it is the range that is most important, and you can have the same overall range with far fewer gears. More gears are generally achieved by increasing the number of cogs at the rear, making the cog assembly ("block" or "cassette") wider. Increasing the number of gears in this way normally has two consequences. One, the chain is thinner in order to accommodate the number of cogs, and two, the rear wheel is highly asymmetrical or dished, again to accommodate the wide block. Both of these things are bad news, thin chains do not last as long as wide chains, while dished wheels are not as strong as they could be.

In the discussion to date I have assumed that the bike has been fitted with derailleur gears, as the vast majority of adult bikes are so equipped. Derailleur gears are popular because they provide a large number of ratios and a good range at a reasonable price and relatively low weight. They are the first choice of racing cyclists and touring enthusiasts. They do not like being neglected however, the exposed mechanism is subject to the environment, the chain and wheels get dirty and they wear rapidly if not cleaned. I clean the chain on my commuting bike every week, but despite this attention it consumes several chains and a new block every year. Cleaning a chain and block is a dirty, and in the winter, cold job. The photo below shows the wear on a chain jockey wheel after about two year's use commuting to work, probably around 5000 miles. Can you spot the new one?

Derailleur gears are fitted to run of the mill bikes because they are cheap and people expect to see them, part of the fashion accessory culture. They are not the best solution however.

There is an alternative, and that is the epicyclic or hub gear. When I was a lad, most utility bikes were fitted with Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub gears in their rear wheels. The hub gear has the advantage that all of its moving parts are in a sealed hub, away from the elements, while the good wide chain can easily be protected by a chain case - as it does not have to traverse a large number of cogs. This results in a virtually maintenance free set up, where the various elements can be expected to last for many years. A further advantage of hub gears is that you can change gear with the bike stationary, no more being caught in top gear at the traffic lights! You can now buy 3, 5, 7, 8 and 14 speed hub gears and I would suggest that this is by far the most sensible solution for a utility or commuting bike. Buy a commuting bike in Holland, and chances are it will be fitted with a hub gear. Hub gears are more expensive and a bit heavier than derailleur gears, and they do not provide as much range or as many gears, but they last and last and you don't have to waste your time looking after them.

The 14 speed hub gear is made by Rohloff, and while it is no doubt an excellent bit of kit, it is also very expensive. Sachs, now SRAM, and Shimano battle it out with their simpler but more economically priced units, while we wait to see what will happen with Sturmey Archer now that that company's products are produced by Sun-Race.

I shall try to be as objective as possible, here are the some of the pros and cons of hub and derailleur gears.

Derailleur Gears

Large range, large number of gears, high transmission efficiency (when properly adjusted, clean, and used without excessive chain angle!), light weight. Ideally situated for providing that trademark oily geartooth mark on your legs or best pair of trousers. Need love and attention, with frequent cleaning - perfect for racing cyclists, keen tourists and rich people who can afford to employ a personal bicycle valet!

Hub gears

Available with 3, 5, 7, 8 or 14 gears . Totally enclosed mechanism. Uses a wider chain that can be protected from the elements within a chaincase. Assuming correct setup, the chain always works in perfect alignment. A bit heavier, more expensive, but much longer lasting, and possibly slightly less efficient than derailleur kit kept in good nick. Less convenient if you get a puncture because the wheel is more difficult to remove. Not as wide a range as with derailleur gears. The best solution if you cycle in a place without steep hills, and can't afford the time to mess around with your bike every weekend. Great for city commuting wearing normal clothes.

Stop Press

Recent research has challenged the accepted wisdom that derailleur systems are always more efficient than hub gears. Figures published by a couple of guys active in the field of Human Powered Vehicle design and construction, Chester Kyle and Frank Berto, suggest that the average efficiency of a 3 speed hub is higher than that of a premium quality derailleur mechanism. They measured an average efficiency of about 94.5 % for a 3 speed SRAM hub, 93.5% for the Sturmey Archer 3 speed product, compared to 93% for the Shimano Ultegra 27 speed derailleur. The seven speed SRAM hub was slightly less efficient at around 91.5%. These are average figures, taken over the range of ratios and for a variety of loads. They found that, not surprisingly, the efficiency of the derailleur mechanism is highly dependent upon the chain position. I guess that at certain chain positions the derailleur wins, while the efficiency of the hub gears will vary with ratios, but the moral of the story is that there is not much in it either way!

Blocks and Cassettes

The bunch of sprockets on your back wheel can be either a "block" or a "cassette". Older bikes have a block while newer machines normally use a cassette. The block comprises the freewheel incorporating a ratchet mechanism, as well as the sprocket cluster. Blocks normally screw onto the rear hub assembly. Cassettes comprise only the sprockets, the freewheel remaining on the hub when the cassette is removed. The cassette is normally a slide fit over splines on the freewheel unit, held in place by a special nut. Except for the cheapest kit, most blocks and some cassettes allow the user to dismantle the sprocket cluster so that an individual sprocket can be replaced.

In order to remove a block or cassette you need a chain wrench, basically a metal bar with two pieces of chain attached. The chain engages with the sprockets and allows you to unscrew the fastening without the wheel revolving. You also need a special spanner to unscrew the cassette fixing ring. Neither of these tools is very expensive, and they are worth buying if you intend to do your own maintenance.

Gear Shifters

Before leaving the subject of gears, let me relate my experiences of using various types of gear shifters. The simplest, and most reliable, are those that depend upon a friction drive and are mounted on the down tube. These have the shortest and least convoluted travel for the cable and the minimum number of moving parts. I have fond memories of a pair of Suntour Powershifters, which performed faultlessly over a period of ten years - after which I sold the bike. They are also the ergonomically least satisfactory, requiring the user to reach away from the handlebars and then have to think about the adjustment. Indexing systems that click into the required gear appeared quite a few years ago. These shifters have a spring détente and move by a fixed amount corresponding to the perfect shift. This is great when the shifter and derailleur are new, but not so clever when they start to wear. With friction shifters you automatically compensate for wear as you shift, but index shifters don't allow much leeway.

Perhaps the most convenient type of shifter is the twist grip, there is no need to move your hand away from its position on the bar in order to change gear. Sadly, in my experience, these shifters contain mainly plastic parts, which wear rapidly leading to imprecise shifts, and eventually hardly any shift at all! Fortunately twist grip shifters are relatively cheap so replacement is not a major issue. I use my commuting bike every working day, and in that circumstance current twist grip shifter technology is not a practical proposition, but for casual weekend use I guess that they would be fine. My commuter MTB now has Shimano lever action shifters mounted on the underside of the bars, not cheap nor quite as convenient as the twist grip, but very effective. The only problem I have with them is that the seven speed switcher tends to eat gear cables (an exaggeration, but it is noticeably greedier in this respect than my other bikes). I guess that the cable is routed round a tight radius within the mechanism, and the cables fail in fatigue due to excessive bending.

For road bikes there are, in addition to down tube shifters, bar end shifters and, the ultimate in convenience, combined brake levers and gear shifters. I have down tube shifters on my tourer and bar end shifters on the tandem. These shifters offer friction drive for the front changer and index with friction override on the rear. Both types work reliably enough, and there is not a lot to choose between them in terms of convenience. If I was intent on a serious expedition, i.e. beyond the lands of bike shops, I would want simplicity and reliability and would go for the down tube shifters. I would accept indexing, but only if there was a friction override to get me home.

If you suffer a snapped gear cable (you should really carry a spare), try to select a mid range sprocket and clamp the free end of the cable using a convenient bolt, e.g. the carrier attachment.

Lighting

Only an idiot would contemplate riding a bicycle along a public highway at night without lights. Not only is this against the law, but it is extremely dangerous. You have got to get some lights if you want to commute throughout the year. Unfortunately most bicycles sold in the UK are without lights and without a suitable means of attaching them. The situation is very different in mainland Europe, but you will be feeling that the record is stuck in its groove if I continue with that theme.

While I stress the importance of lights, reflectors are also important. Good designs of bicycle light tend to incorporate a generously sized reflector.

Personally I don't like battery lights as they contravene my views on sustainable transport, and tend to be un-available when you most want them. I make an exception for LED rear lights however. They consume only a tiny amount of power (50 or more hours use is fairly typical) and remain on when you stop. There is now at least one LED rear light design that satisfies the British Standard for bike lights. I strongly recommend the purchase of an LED rear light. They are a bit heavier, but LED lamps that use AA size batteries (rather than the smaller AAA size) will generally be cheaper to run. One thing, LED lights tend to be either on or off, you don't get much warning that the batteries are going flat. One day you have satisfactory light and the next nothing! I keep some spare batteries at work, as well as at home.

I use a dynamo, and have tried bottle, bottom bracket, and hub dynamos. Bicycle generators produce alternating current and should therefore be called alternators, but the term universally used is dynamo. Hub dynamos are the most expensive, but they are the best. My commute to work is quite severe, with muddy conditions. In that situation the bottom bracket type is useless, and the bottle type almost useless, they both slip and you lose the light when you most want it. In contrast, the hub dynamo works. Further, the hub dynamo does its work silently, while you get a whine from bottle dynamos, or at least all that I have tried.

Finally, many bottle dynamos have an appetite for tyre side walls. I used to say on this site that I had never had to discard a tyre because of this, but I spoke too soon, this winter one of my Panaracer Paselas had to be replaced because of an incorrectly set up bottle dynamo. Speaking of tyres, if you do use a bottle dynamo, be sure to buy tyres that incorporate a dynamo track, a serrated band around the tyre wall that improves the drive capacity of the system.

If you travel along more civilised ways, i.e. tarmac, then a bottle should be OK. The bottle type has the advantage over the hub that it can be completely disengaged so that it does not consume any of your energy when not required. Some hub dynamos exert a very small resisting torque even when switched off. There have been recent developments in dynamo technology, with more efficient types coming onto the market, but you have to pay a lot of pennies for the latest creations. I guess that the decision on dynamo type will depend upon your circumstances. If you don't regularly ride at night, and just want a reliable light for those few occasions that you are caught out after dark, then a cheap bottle dynamo should do the job. For fast 24 hour audax riding (crazy but some people like it) a lightweight, high efficiency, bottle might be the answer. For daily commuting in all types of weather the hub dynamo is king.

Once upon a time bikes came with front lamp/bottle dynamo mounting points as standard, but now most bikes sold in the UK do not make provision for fitting a dynamo. If you intend to use a bottle dynamo it is essential that it is firmly fixed in place, as it is placed perilously close to the wheel and a failure in its fitment could result in a serious accident. One safe solution is to use a Dynashoe. This elegant piece of stainless steel kit hails from Germany and uses the brake pivot bolt as a firm fixing, supplemented by a plastic tie around the fork. The right hand photo shows a Dynashoe in place on our tandem, the latest versions come with two plastic ties, for even greater security.

The particular version of the Dynashoe shown includes a bracket for the front lamp, you can buy a Dynashoe with or without the lamp bracket. For road use this lamp placement is acceptable, but for off-road it is better to place the lamp above the mudguard away from muddy spray. However if you use a bar bag it might then get in the way! If you buy a bracket to fit the light above the mudguard, be sure to specify the type of brakes that you use, cantilever, side pull etc., as there are different brackets to suite each type.

Fork mounted lights suffer due to the fact that the beam can impinge upon the dynamo, wheel and mudguard. The over the mudguard location is better in that respect. A good place for a lamp is on the handlebars, but mine are too crowded with more important bits, e.g. brakes; a bell; gear shifters; not to mention somewhere to get a hold of!

Let me explain a little abou