BARGAIN HUNT - 22

Would you believe it? I go away for a weekend and the cycling retail world goes bargain crazy!


Where to start? Well, in the words of Julie Andrews the beginning is a very good place usually.


ChainReactionCycles are offering 25% off Mavic wheels - the pick of the bunch, in my eyes anyway, are the Ksyrium Elites in silver at a tyre popping £165 - that's £55 off the usual retail price. And a very nice wheel - too good for winter really. Note, this is not for a set - no, CRC aren't that crazy - this is per wheel i.e. front and back...


There's also 25% off a load of Mavic cyclo-cross wheels too, if that's your winter thing...


Moving on... Primera are offering 15% off anything and everything for one week only, excluding existing offers. Just use NL-OCT-15 as the code at checkout.


Those crazy guys over at Merlin cycles are offering VAT free bikes this weekend only - so be quick. Use the code NOVAT at checkout to get a 17% discount. Merlin obviously missed the memo putting VAT up to 20%, but hey let's not be too picky...


On top of this Merlin are also offering 10% off all Cateye computers and lights - it's the not-so-cryptic CATEYE10 as the checkout code this time.


Fancy spending £50 with Always Riding? If so, take a fiver off courtesy of the code SUB5LOYAL at checkout.


Tredz are offering 20% off Altura kit - especially useful for us cycle commuters. Ends Sunday night though, so again - be light on your feet for this one.


ProBikeKit are offering 15% off turbos - hate the things since using one for my broken hip rehab, but each to their own. After weeks of one-legged training sessions I vowed NEVER AGAIN!


And finally, cue drum-roll... PBK are also offering up to 60% - yes 60% people - off cycle clothing. Craft and Gore kit appear to have the best savings on offer, but there are lots of bargains hidden away on the site. 


I'll finish with a link to the Evans cycles competition to win a set of Exposure lights. How cool would that be? Top prize is a set of Exposure Six Pack with enough illumination to burn out your retina, plus 10 sets of the uber-cool Exposure Flash and Flare lights.


Good luck! But not too much...

A BUG'S LIFE

There are some exciting developments afoot at work as I attended the inaugral meeting of our new BUGs group earlier this week.

Nothing to do with the cult 1990s show of the same name, shown at teatime on BBC1 on Saturdays. Remember that? It starred, amongst other acting luminaries of the time, Craig McLachlan of Neighbours fame.

 

No, this is a BUG in the Bicycle User Group context and some innovative and potentially far-reaching ideas were discussed.

 

It will be exciting to be a part of the BUGs and I am intrigued to see where we take it and where it takes us.

Naturally we looked at implementing the usual BUGs activities including:

• Produce a regular newsletter.
• Set up a BUG website or intranet site.
• Organise a Doctor Bike event.
• Arrange regular lunchtime talks or presentations about cycling.
• Run a cyclists’ information service supplying free maps, leaflets and other advice.
• Organise an official ribbon cutting to mark the opening of new cycle facilities at our workplace. Invite the local media and win our organisation some valuable publicity.
• Operate a ‘bike buddy’ scheme. Novice cyclists are paired with a more experienced rider who will cycle to work with them.
• Produce a site map showing the location of cycle parking stands, showers, etc.
• Organise a cyclists’ breakfast during Bike Week.
• Provide volunteers who will help mend punctures and carry out emergency repairs for fellow members of staff.
• Conduct a quarterly ‘cycle census’ to count the number of bikes on-site and record any changes and progress.
• Get a local bike shop to set up a display of commuter bikes and equipment in the staff restaurant or a similar prominent place.

In addition to this we see our role as promoting the cause of the cyclist, and by cyclist I don't just mean the lycra-clad Sunday morning road-warriors (like me!), but also those who are new to cycling or only occassionally cycle but are looking to do more.

 

With this in mind I think it fair to assume we will, as a consequence, be campaigning for cyclists to be taken more seriously on the roads, to improve signage, to canvass local authorities for improved cycling facilities on the road and in the city and to ultimately fight for equality of rights with the motorists who use their cars to get to work.

Ambitious? Only time will tell...

 

BARGAIN HUNT - 21

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.


If not, you might be interested to know that Rutland Cycles are offering 20% off selected saddles.


And there are some peachy saddles on offer too. I ride with a Selle Italia on my winter hack and Rutland are offering 20% off the excellent Flite Gel Flow taking it down to £87.99.


At the budget end the SL XC is down from £55 to £39.99 and at the top end of the market, Rutland are listing the SLR Kit Carbonio saddle for £131.99, a drop from £165.


There are also some healthy discounts on Ritchey saddles too, with the well reviewed Pro Streem saddle down to £40.99 from £52.00 and the desirable WCS Streem reduced from £85 to £67.99.  Very tempting.


Finally, if you want to add a bit of traditional English class to your steed, you could do worse than cap a Brooks saddle on the top of it. Rutland have a flat 20% off their whole Brooks saddle range. The Brooks Standard is now only £59.99 and the top end Swallow Titanium £190, down from £240.


Not cheap by any means, but you will be buying a little piece of leather cycling history and a saddle to last.


Go on take the plunge, your bum will thank you!

BARGAIN HUNT - 20

Evans Cycles are offering 15% off all mudguards at the moment. Simply pick the set you like and use the code SOWMUD (no, me neither) at checkout to get your discount applied. Evans aren't always the most competitive, but with 15% off this brings them to the table.


With wet weather returning with a vengeance this week - today I got a real soaking in both directions commuting to work - I cannot put of my mudguards purchase for much longer.


Actually, my riding buddies are sick of me not having mudguards on the Sunday run too, so this is one upgrade that is long overdue. They make me ride at the back when the weather's really bad. Hang on, thinking about it...


So, what else? Parker International are offering 10% off Campagnolo components and clothing. Again, pick what you want, add it to your basket and applythe code  44C4B577-0F6 at checkout. Nice of Parker's to use a straightforward easy to remember code this time - no chance of typing that one in wrong...


Fancy adding some lurid colour to your winter wardrobe? Planet-X are offering Pissei Cuore Italiano Roubaix bib-tights for just £49.99. These remind me of the Mapei kit of the 80s, and if you fancy yourself as Marco Pantani then these could be for you. If hiding in the back of the bunch is more your thing however, then you might want to give these a miss!


Finally, Planet-X are also offering some eye-watering offers on seat posts right now. My favourite is the FSA SL-K carbon pin at a tempting £29.99, down from £75. Great stuff. 


Or maybe you'd like the FSA SL-240 carbon post for £19.99 - down from £70.

All in all, a great excuse to upgrade and not ride up grades...

PROVIZ IN ACTION

Following on from my post on the relaunch of the PROVIZ website, I see today that their marketing blitz continues on apace.

A Danny MacAskill inspired video is doing the rounds on YouTube and makes for an entertaining couple of minutes viewing.


The bike-tricks commute home is taken by Duncan Shaw of MacAskill's CLAN, and shows off the PROVIZ black waterproof jacket to the full.


Whilst in itself not a hi-viz jacket, a bit of battery power illuminates the jacket side panels blue so they glow in the dark. A cycle commuters delight.


Shaw is also wearing a PROVIZ lid which has LED lights fitted front and rear, so although not quite lit up like a Christmas tree, it's not too far off.


It really is very cool.

BARGAIN HUNT - 19

It's Timeout Tuesday at Cycle Surgery again today. This week they have 40% off a small selection of wheels.


Fulcrum Racing 7s are down to £111 which is a bargain for a solid winter training wheel. I have a pair of these, and although not the lightest by any means, they are robust enough to take whatever the lanes of North Norfolk can throw at them through the winter.


An alternative is a set of Charge Dish wheels, about which I confess to knowing very little, but reduced from £200 to at a penny under £120 they would appear to be another set worth investigating for winter. The reviews certainly suggest this is another solid wheelset.


There's little worse than suffering from cold extremities once the mercury dips. Riding a bike with cold hands or feet is not fun at all, so it is nice to see Rutland Cycles are offering 20% off winter gloves and overshoes.


There are some particularly good deals to be had on Seal Skinz kit which is guaranteed to keep you warm and dry regardless of how cold it gets this winter...

PROVIZ LAUNCH

PROVIZ Cycling was launched last year but it has just launched it's brand new website.


Now you can buy their light-emitting cycling clothing and accessories directly through the website.


By-the-by, they have also launched a running range, combining their light-emitting technology with colourful designs to ensure that runners can now also be bright and seen as the winter nights draw in! My better half will be pleased, as will any cyclists looking to do some cross-training through the winter.


To celebrate the new website and their latest ranges, they are offering 15% off any PROVIZ products.  Simply browse the products you would like on the website and insert the code proviz100 into the relevant box on checkout. 


Some of their products are not yet in stock but they assure me they will be very shortly and the discount code will still be valid.