Buying a bike
Last year I debated about getting a new bicycle after 10 years of not owning a bike, but after doing some cycling in Amsterdam while away on sabbatical, I finally bought a bike last summer and it’s been my favourite purchase I’ve made in a while.
Why I cycle
There are few reasons I’ve started cycling again. The first is just that I just really enjoy cycling. I had a mountain bike growing up but at some point, I ended up leaving my bike out in the rain for too long and it ended up rusting away. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve owned a bike, so I thought now would be a great time to get back into cycling.
There’s something freeing about being able to get around quicker than walking while also (usually) being able to skip the massive traffic jams. Cycling more often also means I’m less reliant on needing to drive a car for short trips. It seems a bit inefficient driving a 4 seater car when I’m usually only driving short trips by myself most of the time.
I also work in central London, and driving to work isn’t really an option (there’s a £25 congestion charge plus parking is hard to find and expensive). The quickest way to my workplace is via the central line, which quickly feels hellish in the summer given there’s no air conditioning in the carriages.
I found that while a journey via train takes somewhere around 50 minutes, I checked how long it would take me to cycle to work and found that it would only take an extra 10 minutes compared to commuting by train and my workplace offers secure bike parking. I ended up trialing commuting to work via bike once last summer and found myself enjoying the journey a lot more than sitting on a hot tube carriage. Given the length of the journey (11 miles), I found myself cycling to work about 1-2 times a week.
For me this has been great because it means I’ve been able to save a little bit of money by cycling instead of taking the tube, exploring more of my local neighbourhoods (making note of nice spots to check out later) and alternative routes to work, all while also getting a good workout in the process. I’m now at the stage where every time I do get the tube to work, I wonder why I didn’t just cycle instead.
There have of course been challenges when it comes to cycling. The main problem is how unviable cycling an hour in the cold in the winter is. For that reason, I ended up taking a break from cycling during the colder months and picked it back up this year when the weather finally started to get a bit warmer. Traffic in more central parts of London can also be a bit challenging. I’ve witnessed several near crashes between other cyclists and cars so I tend to avoid cars when and where possible by taking cycling routes through parks and quiet streets.
In addition to cycling to work, I’ve also been taking longer cycling trips over the weekend to explore other parts of the city, learn new routes and get better at cycling longer distances. I went from being able to cycle 25-30 miles (with breaks of course) to now being able to cycle 45 miles in one trip! Eventually, I’ll work my way up to doing a 60-mile trip so I can attempt to cycle from London to Brighton and then work my way up to being able to do a multi-day cycling trip from London to Amsterdam one day.
My bike
The bike I ended up getting is the Carrera Crossfire 2. Originally I was considering getting it under my workplace’s cycle2work scheme (cyclescheme) from Halfords but it turned out Halfords wasn’t a supported retailer for the cycle scheme (which also lead to me discovering that there was way more than one cycle2work scheme in the UK 😅).
In the end, I found the same bike on Facebook Marketplace and managed to get a used one (yet still in great condition) for just £150.
It needed some repairs, some of which I had taken care of at a bike shop while others I ended up taking as a chance to learn how to do my own bike repairs (I managed to replace my first tyre all by myself recently!).
Initially, I was planning on only using this bike for commuting but I ended up enjoying cycling so much that I started cycling more often on the weekends.
What’s next?
Originally I was planning on converting this bike into an e-bike using an electric bike conversion kit, as my cycling commute to work was a bit longer than most cycling commutes other colleagues have (20 mins vs my 1 hour journey) and because there are some tough hills I need tackle on my cycle commute.
In the end, I decided against it in favour of having a bike I could commute to work on and also use for leisure on the weekends. I am however considering getting an electric bike to use in addition to this bike. I’m still looking into a few options for that but I’m hoping I’ll have picked something before the end of the summer this year.
Tips for getting into cycling
If you’re considering getting a bike here are a few things to consider: * Get a helmet! Even if your journey is a short one, wear a helmet to be safe * Check Facebook Marketplace or Gumtree for a used bike first. It’s cheaper and if you end up deciding not to commit to cycling, the upfront costs are a lot lower (and you can sell the bike onwards) * If you are considering getting a new bike check if you can buy it via your workplace cycle2work scheme. You can end up saving some money this way compared to buying it new outside of a cycle2work scheme. * Get a D-lock with at least a Sold Secure Gold rating (and if you plan on cycling a lot and parking your bike consider getting 2 locks for your bike) * If you’re planning on cycling to work, check if your workplace offers secure cycling parking