For me a really fundamental part of riding is to master changing gears on your road bike. It took me a few years to really feel comfortable with all those gears on my bike, but over time I learnt about them and it really transformed my riding. And I, like so many other new riders used to ride in a ‘big’ gear when I first started riding a road bike. It seems that when we start out we expect it to be hard to turn over the pedals so we tend to use a gear that challenges our legs. What
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There’s a myriad of options for carrying your bike in or on your car. I actually carry my own precious road bike inside my car because I drive a hatchback, and can fold the rear seats down, and slide it in, but if you’ve got more than one bike to carry, or don’t have a car with plenty of space, you’ll need to look at some other plan. Here’s Women Who Cycle’s tips on the various options in the marketplace: Inside your car If you own a van, station wagon, hatchback or SUV you’ll probably have the option to safely
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Dressing for road cycling in cool weather is all about the layers. I’m lucky enough to live in the lovely city of Sydney, where our weather is fairly temperate all year round, but it does get a little cool in the middle of winter. That means I’m a big fan of layers for colder temperatures, and I vary my layers depending on just how cold it gets. In the past I had a tendency to overdress, but I’ve been making a concerted effort to get it right this autumn and winter, and so far so good. A good rule to
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Like many road cyclists, I ride early in the morning to avoid traffic, and to leave the rest of my day free to work or play, so I use lights for a road bike to see and be seen. This means that for several months during the year I leave home in the dark. One thing that constantly amazes me is that I see other cyclists riding around with inadequate or even no lights on their bikes. They are also often decked out in dark clothing on dark bikes. I’m not sure if they are trying to be really ‘cool’
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I often get asked by parents who want to know how to encourage your kids to ride a bike. I was alarmed to read a few statistics in a great media release from We Ride Australia (formerly the Cycling Promotion Fund). There’s been a 42 per cent decline in active travel to school from 1971 to 2013. Sales of kid’s bikes has dropped to a ten year low, dropping about 22 per cent over a ten year period. So how do you get your kids to get off their devices and ride a bike. Here’s a few tips….. There are
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Like everyone else at this time of year I’ve got a few friends and family who are difficult to buy for, so I write an annual Christmas Gift Guide for female roadies to help others. I often include items I already own or would like to own. Here’s my picks for 2017: Socks Socks this year have become very colourful and interesting so there’s no excuse for finding a great pair of socks to match every woman’s favourite kit. I really like these ones from Defeet. Caps Cycling caps are great for wearing under your helmet in winter to keep
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Cycling Australia made an interesting announcement last week, allowing the use of road bike disc brakes for most road bike racing within Australia, effective immediately. It was interesting because the international body, the UCI is still dragging the chain on the same issue, despite some of the big name riders like Marcel Kittel in the recent Tour de France winning several stages on a disc brake-equipped bike. Apparently disc brakes have been allowed in the US club scene since 2015. So I suspect that from January 2018 the UCI will allow them too, but we’ll have to wait and see.
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Before I worked in the bike industry, I was of the view that if you wanted to buy a road bike then your focus should be on the gearing of the bike, but I now know that the frame is the most important part of the bicycle. The frame provides strength and rigidity and largely determines the handling. The gearing which definitely matters, plays a secondary role. Just like many road bike buyers, when I bought my current carbon-framed bike I used the level of gearing on the bike as the key determinate. I first decided whether I wanted an
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All riders should be ready for minor emergencies and mishaps and here’s what I carry on my road bike at all times. Even if you’re not super confident about changing your own flat tyre you should carry an inner tube and the equipment to change and inflate your tyre, because road riders are a friendly group and someone will always offer to help you. So here’s the list of items that I always carry on my road bike: Spare inner tube There are many different tube sizes, several different value types and lengths so make sure you buy the right
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I’m lucky enough to live in the beautiful city of Sydney, which has a temperate climate so I can ride my bike outdoors all year round, but I still need to dress to ride my road bike in cooler weather. But even in Autumn (also known as Fall to many of you) and Spring, mornings can be a little cool so I wear a number of warmer clothing items to keep me comfortable on the bike. The most important thing I’ve learnt about riding in cooler weather is you need to wear layers, so you can peel them off (and
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