Is cycle sport encouraging uptake of cycling?

Still pretty big. :)

make trips on a bike and she said she doesn't ride on roads (too dangerous)

If being an athlete was my job, I certainly would avoid dangerous stuff like that too.

Did you not see the case where rachel atherton tried out road cycling for training purposes and totally wrecked herself and smashed her bike to pieces?

...dangerous stuff like that...

In my opinion cycle sport has ruined the leasurely persuit of cycling. The reasons being sport has placed pressures on cycle manufacture which have totally ruined the bicycle. For example: Ultra thin tyres reduce rolling resistance and increase speed, but mean no end of punctures and terrible road holding in the rain and frost. Ultra light wheels and frames may make a bike go faster but also make it more fragile. Go back just a few decades and most bicycles were heavy but very durable and were built to last for years. Now you are luckly to find a bike that will last two or three years due to them being so light and flimsy and full of complicated easy to break parts. Give me an old fashioned workhorse bike anyday like this one:

Perhaps surprisingly I do have some sympathy for Goldsword’s view, but I don’t accept that cyclesport is responsible for his difficulties. It’s only too easy to find heavy bikes with sluggish rims and tyres: this is true today and probably has always been so. What’s more I don’t foresee a time coming when all cycling will be done on machines suitable for the job in hand, whether it’s sport or shopping.

The problem is more to do with poor communication, which results in the general public failing to realise that some knowledge is necessary before a bike becomes really useful to its owner. The bike trade cannot be said to have done a brilliant job here, but any businessman is likely to encourage his customer to spend, and since lightweights are expensive this may be relevant to Goldsword’s complaint.

‘Now you’re lucky to find a bike that will last two or three years’

How long a machine of any type lasts generally depends on the determination of its owner to keep it going, and on the availability of spare parts. Here I think cyclists are soon going to run into bad problems because of rapid change in bike design. From a period beginning in the first decade of the twentieth century, and continuing maybe even into the nineties we had widespread standardisation of parts, and so it was relatively easy to keep on repairing an old bike. More recently there have been many changes, naturally justified in the name of improvement, but which may be seen as change for the sake of change (aka built in obsolescence). I think there are some people in the trade who believe they have a financial interest in not being able to repair old machines.

 Going back to the thread, close examination of the bikes in my photos will show them to be a great deal older than the two to three years mentioned; I’m pretty sure all four bikes are still in use.

Goldsword, and any other enthusiasts for rod brakes and westwood rims may find the ‘1911 Century Competition’ thread worth a look.

Nice post and pics clubman. Like the formation, looks pretty sociable.

Thanks.

Your BMX anecdote is entertaining too, but not altogether unexpected. When a cycling discipline includes the word 'moto' in its title it's impossible not to sense a desire to move from carbohydrates to hydrocarbons as a fuel source.

Wiggle annual survey 2012, question 1: "Which activity do you consider to be your primary sport?"

'Messing about' wasn't one of the available answers.

I kept writing tranSPORT in the "Other (state)" fields. I probably won't get a £10 off a £50 order voucher.

Also had a look at the howies website earlier, and 'sport' was all over that as well.

Utility cyclist to racer... Does have precedent, e.g. Svein Tuft.

February 8, 2009

Tuft, above, is now a member of the Garmin-Slipstream team. At 18, he spent $40 on a thrift-shop bike and built a trailer to haul supplies and his 80-pound dog, Bear, and rode into the Canadian wilderness.

Came second in the ITT at world champs 2008.

Staying with the 'utility cyclist to racer' theme...

Tim Mansel reports from Ruhengeri in the mountainous north-west of Rwanda on the cyclists who have become the nation's heroes.

Nice^
Recieving as I'm sure.many of.you did a certificate from B.C celebrating.1 million participants I would say that the answer to the original post is-yes.

Well it's putting me right off.

Nearly.

In my opinion cycle sport has ruined the leasurely persuit of cycling. The reasons being sport has placed pressures on cycle manufacture which have totally ruined the bicycle. For example: Ultra thin tyres reduce rolling resistance and increase speed, but mean no end of punctures and terrible road holding in the rain and frost. Ultra light wheels and frames may make a bike go faster but also make it more fragile. Go back just a few decades and most bicycles were heavy but very durable and were built to last for years. Now you are luckly to find a bike that will last two or three years due to them being so light and flimsy and full of complicated easy to break parts. Give me an old fashioned workhorse bike anyday like this one:

I'm going to have to strenuously disagree with this post. It's absolute mince.

I've got this road bike that I bought almost ten years ago. It still works fine. Admittedly there have been some replaced components, but these are the ones that you would expect to replace, particularly given that my maintenance of the bike leaves a lot to be desired. A better maintenance schedule would have ensured less frequent replacement. I also tend to replace with some of the cheaper components. The bike is nothing special, it's a cheap aluminium framed OTP, designed as an entry level to racing bike so is clearly driven by the sport side of the industry. How then has the bike lasted three times what Goldsword predicts and still goes strong? Maybe I don't ride it much? Hardly. I use this bike for Audax riding, getting out for far longer distances than typical racing riders all through the year, even in snow and ice, on gritted roads. This bike might be an exception, but as there are hundreds of others like me I'm inclined to think not.

Of course if you wanted an even more robust bike then it really isn't that difficult to get one at all. The OTP audax and touring bikes are arguably even better in quality and by no means are the driven by the sporting industry. Perhaps not every shop sells them, but I think it's safe to say it's fairly easy to lay your hands on one, even at short notice. You could safely expect a Thorn or a Ribble or a Dawes or any other brand to last you well over a decade and possibly the rest of your cycling life. However, if you aren't convinced about an OTP, then any of the many customer frame builders across the country will build you a frame of the highest quality and you can still load it with carefully handcrafted components of your choice. Time things right and you could probably be in the saddle within two week of ordering.

As for tyres, my road bike will happily take a 28 and probably a 30, although I've never tried and as for punctures, I'm cursing my commute but I haven't had one since February and I'm still riding the same tyres. These were some cheap skinny, lightweight replacements for some others that had worn out. I know for a fact that you can buy better and in a variety of sizes, even from places like Halfords.

It requires absolutely no luck at all to buy a decent, durable bike with some reliable tyres. You might have to look a little further than the window of your LBS, but you don't need to be lucky.

Bump for some road races!

Should we admire winners?

http://www.basijcssc.ir/sites/default/files/Values%20in%20Sport.pdf

Been thinking that having TdF on ITV1, the masses TV channel, and seeing the crowds in Yorkshire , many of whom mustve cycled to their vantage points must have some effect in getting people cycling though probably not as much as more congestion charging and an increase in fuel prices

Sky dancer time to turn the screw on the politicians, Cameron especially and ask the questions about driving uptake of cycling in this country, no just as a sporting activity but also an everyday one. Politicians are happy to get the photo opportunity with the Tour de France coming to town but where's the political support to make cycling essential to the uk.

You're right about the need for proper leadership corny. Backed up with money, lots of it. And the need to keep make the choice to drive harder... which is almost impossible politically. Carrots without sticks won't get people out of their cars.

The current Minister responsible Goodwin has little to offer compared with Norman Baker his predecessor who genuinely did good things

Time to get the lcc and ctc on the case and strike while the iron is hot, whilst the country is still basking in the reflected glory of the tour coming through and the approximately five million odd people who came out to watch...
The amount of people on bikes in Yorkshire was a sight to behold and if we want the feeling to last longer than a weekend pressure needs to be applied, before the next news story rolls around...

Anyone watching? They're riding thru Saffron Walden , streets are thronged with crowds.

I am not a competitive cyclist, not since my teens anyway. But I do enjoy watching racing and especially enjoyed watching the peloton sweep up and down roads in this country that I have ridden many times over the years. But this news dampened my enjoyment quite a bit...http://cyclelondoncity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/6million-cycling-safety-budget-pinched.html