Bikes

Ok, I know this is a silly question but will I look completely moronic bringing a mountain bike to Cambridge? I have quite an expensive mountain bike which I used to use lots but haven't ridden for ages. I don't see the point in selling a perfectly good bike though just to buy a new one and I don't want to buy a new one when I have one already!

However, I am well aware Cambridge is about as un-mountainy a place as you can get and I don't want to be the only person in Cambridge looking like a fool because I'm riding a mountain bike. Equally I don't want it stolen as it was quite expensive. Apologies for weird and rather vain post. Thank you.

phil.

Reply 1

The West Wing

18

InVinoVeritas

Ok, I know this is a silly question but will I look completely moronic bringing a mountain bike to Cambridge? I have quite an expensive mountain bike which I used to use lots but haven't ridden for ages. I don't see the point in selling a perfectly good bike though just to buy a new one and I don't want to buy a new one when I have one already!

However, I am well aware Cambridge is about as un-mountainy a place as you can get and I don't want to be the only person in Cambridge looking like a fool because I'm riding a mountain bike. Equally I don't want it stolen as it was quite expensive. Apologies for weird and rather vain post. Thank you.

phil.

Don't bring anything you would be extremely upset to lose. Everyone loses bikes. On my staircase of the 6-7 or so people who ride bikes, at least 2 have been stolen. You seem to care about this bike enough to not want to have it stolen.

Reply 2

IndiePixie

14

Above and old wrecks are more 'in' anyway ;-)

Reply 3

didgeridoo12uk

16

over 2500 bikes get stolen each year in cambridge. mine was stolen 3 weeks ago.
DO NOT bring a decent bike here. buy a cheap second hand one when you get here, preferably one with a nice basket (h)

Reply 4

Scipio90

If you're careful, and depending on where you keep it, it probably won't get stolen, but it is a risk.

I personally wouldn't look down on someone for riding a mountain bike simply because I have no idea what the difference between a mountain bike and a normal bike is :tongue:

Reply 5

InVinoVeritas

OP

Mine has pretty beefy suspension and other completely unnecessary things on it which looked very cool when I was 14-15 but now, not so. I'd prefer a rubbishy thing with a basket tbh, I love a bit of a stereotype me, but I know I'd get very little money for my bike and it seems a waste to sell it for something not much cheaper and nowhere near as good. It would be more of a pain in the ass for it to get stolen than anything because then I'd have to buy a new one and stuff which is far too much effort :p:

. Thanks for the advice.

phil.

Reply 6

Nuffles

19

Depends what you mean by 'good' A mountain bike with full suspension is HEAVY if it cost under 3 or 400 quid. An old steelie from the tip for a tenner is far, far lighter and more efficient to ride, less chance of being stolen, and has that retro look :biggrin:

Baskets and panniers also look cool on an old steelie, they look pretty ghey on a mountain bike where clean = cool.

Reply 7

Dawkins

Nuffles

Depends what you mean by 'good' A mountain bike with full suspension is HEAVY if it cost under 3 or 400 quid. An old steelie from the tip for a tenner is far, far lighter and more efficient to ride, less chance of being stolen, and has that retro look :biggrin:

Baskets and panniers also look cool on an old steelie, they look pretty ghey on a mountain bike where clean = cool.

I'm sorry but I would find it hard to see a guy as hetero if he rode a bike with a basket on it.

Reply 8

Tefhel

12

Dawkins

I'm sorry but I would find it hard to see a guy as hetero if he rode a bike with a basket on it.

Oh dear! Then please, all guys, don't ride a bicycle with a basket on, Dawkins will 'find it hard to see you as hetero'!

Reply 9

Craghyrax

17

Lol... don't be silly. Just bring your bike with you! And buy a very good lock for it - one of those giant rubber coated padlock things. And when you're here don't get into the habit of locking the wheel - lock the bike to something irremovable! I reckon that's how most of them get nicked.
There are so many bikes in Cambridge, I -for one - am not going to notice if one person happens to be on a new mountain bike.

Reply 10

Miam!

I agree, best bike for Cambridge = not too expensive, easy to ride city bike with a basket or saddlebags.

But no, you won't look silly, people will just think "oh, he's into mountain biking" or "oh, that's what he found for cheap at a second-hand shop" if your bike is a bit crap. And that is if they look at your bike at all, I don't think many people do.

And you can avoid getting it stolen with precaution (2 padlocks, park it in well-lit areas, etc.). I'd say that it all depends on how much you cycle: if you are going to use a lot, keep the bike you like and just make sure to lock it carefully etc. If you're only going to cycle occasionally, and you're not too fussy, just buy a random second-hand bike you wouldn't feel too bad about losing.

Reply 11

Chewwy

17

maybe i'm being stupid here, but aren't the vast majority of bikes (at least those owned by male students) in cambridge mountain bikes???

Reply 12

Nuffles

19

Chewwy

maybe i'm being stupid here, but aren't the vast majority of bikes (at least those owned by male students) in cambridge mountain bikes???

It depends, there is a MASSIVE variety in the style of bikes. The trend in cities now is for 'hybrid' bikes, mountain bike frames with road specific gearing, wheels and tyres.

I'm incredibly paranoid about my bikes being nicked, especially my jump bike, and I live in the country. There's well over a grand in my jump bike and I get very twitchy if it's not either with people I know very well, or in my garage at home.

Go to the tip and pick one up for a tenner. Twenty pounds or so into it and you'll have a great runner. Baskets and especially panniers are not in any way gay, just damn useful. I have panniers on my cruiser and I can tell you it makes it a million times easier to move stuff around.

Think of it like this; take the mountain bike with you and constantly worry about it (I would) or take a crappy one that can easily and cheaply be replaced if it gets nicked. On the other hand, people vastly over-value the worth of their bikes. Someone not into biking could think that a £200 is expensive, I could spend that on one wheel if I wanted to. Anything that cost you 300 quid plus, leave at home. Even at that sort of money I wouldn't be comfortable leaving it unattended. £30 is a much nicer number :biggrin:

Reply 13

thefish_uk

14

Craghyrax

Lol... don't be silly. Just bring your bike with you! And buy a very good lock for it - one of those giant rubber coated padlock things. And when you're here don't get into the habit of locking the wheel - lock the bike to something irremovable! I reckon that's how most of them get nicked.
There are so many bikes in Cambridge, I -for one - am not going to notice if one person happens to be on a new mountain bike.

^what she said

I think most bikes get nicked because their owners are stupid. The vast majority of bikes in Cambridge get locked either to themselves (gets picked up and thrown in the back of a van) or by the front wheel (that's why you walk through cycle parks and occasionally see the odd front wheel lying there on its own). If you lock it up decently, ie. through the back triangle of the frame* and also through the back wheel and to something solid, then assuming you've used a good lock they'd have to cause too much damage to your bike for it to be worth nicking it.

* - this is how I'm used to locking up my bike that doesn't have rear suspension... with it I'm not sure how easy it'd be!

BTW, if you happen to have quick release wheels on your bike then don't bother bringing it to Cambridge (unless you want to use two locks every time you park it up, the extra one being to lock the front wheel to the frame).

Reply 14

Craghyrax

17

Yeh, my old mountain bike (in SA) had quick release wheels - that would have been a nightmare here!

Reply 15

Alexander

12

As others have said, if you have a very good quality lock (and always use it properly!) it is unlikely that your bike will get stolen. The vast majority of thefts are due to unlocked bikes (yes, people do leave their bikes completely unlocked, I don't understand it either), very cheap locks which can be smashed open with a hammer/cut through with a small pair of bolt cutters, bikes locked to themselves, bikes locked only by the front wheel.

Dawkins

I'm sorry but I would find it hard to see a guy as hetero if he rode a bike with a basket on it.

Front baskets are a bit country vicar's wife-ish, but quite a lot of male Cambridge students do have back baskets (which is a better place to have the weight anyway).

Reply 16

FadeToBlackout

15

Nuffles

It depends, there is a MASSIVE variety in the style of bikes. The trend in cities now is for 'hybrid' bikes, mountain bike frames with road specific gearing, wheels and tyres.

Whilst this is true, the trend in Cambridge is for whatever "mountain bike plus helmet and lights" is going cheap in Halfords at the start of term. At one point, I could date a student if they were riding one to first, second, or third year, because each year groups special offer Halfords cheapy bike was different. :p:

There's two ways of seeing your bike in Cambridge- as a cheap, disposable item- ride it until it's ****ed, then get another when it gets nicked- or bring an expensive bike with lots of locks and take your time over locking it up.

Personally, I'd much rather have a racer than a mountain bike- if only because of the sheer speeeeeeeeed! :biggrin:

Reply 17

Nuffles

19

The only reason I use my 'mountain' bike is for jumping. It's pretty much a BMX with 26" wheels anyway. My other bike is a steel framed cruiser with 3 gears and hub brakes that makes you so laid back and relaxed its unbelievable. My bikes are a big part of my life and I wouldn't want to worry about them getting nicked. An expensive bike doesn't get you anywhere quicker (unless you spend over 300 or so quid and get into decent materials/components) and is just something to show your status, like a flash mobile phone. The only time I bring my jump bike to college is when I'm going to the dirt jumps at lunch or in my frees, if I needed my bike for anything else I'd bring my cruiser which is a lot less desirable. Looking for an old racing bike to do up for the pure speed bitch in me though :P

Reply 18

two22

get your bike insured and then it doesn't matter hugely if it does get stolen.

also loads of people have mountain bikes in cambridge. my advice if you're cycling lots is stick with a decent bike and keep it locked safely at night (the main time bikes get stolen)

Reply 19

Alexander

12

two22

get your bike insured and then it doesn't matter hugely if it does get stolen.

Personally I would advise against getting insurance as it seems poor value, especially on cheaper bikes. Endsleigh quoted me £30 for a year on a £100 bike, which I thought was quite expensive. On top of that, it would have been necessary to have used a lock from their approved list -- all of which were expensive top-of-the-range locks which would have rendered the bike very unlikely to get stolen anyway! Also, most insurance policies have clauses which would mean that your bike would not be insured while locked up (even in college) over the vacation.

All I did was to spend £35 on a top-quality D-lock, and I have always used it properly. That's done the job.

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