Rumour mill: Goodgear bike hire

There's some potentially good news on the horizon for cycling in the CDB, with rumours that GoodGear rental bikes are apparently interested in setting up in Christchurch.

The company use an innovative system whereby the lock combination is retrieved by making a call from your mobile phone. You lock the bike back up when your finished, make another call from your mobile, and are charged according to the time you had the bike. The initial plan is to introduce 100 bikes in October 2008, and the company already have operations in Auckland, Hamilton, Roturua, Tauranga and Mt. Maunganui.

Although the bikes will probably be aimed at tourists, this may not be a bad thing as the council often seem to place a high priority on tourist facilities, and a good uptake may cause the council to think a little harder about cycling access in the CBD. Keep an eye on a street corner near you.

Of course, if you can't wait for these bikes to arrive, there's already a great hire option available from City Cycle Hire, who can deliver one or more bikes to your door anywhere in Christchurch. We've used them, and think they're great!

Waste of money?

Picked up this interesting story from The Nelson Mail on the radar.

An Atawhai resident watched in disbelief as a Nelson City Council staff member left her home on a bicycle after carrying out a resource consent inspection.

To summarise, this resident was disgusted that a council representative rode a bike to their property to carry out an inspection.

According to Google maps, the trip is a distance of 5.3km, and would take around 8 minutes in a car. At 15km/h, the trip would have taken around 20 minutes by bike.

The council has two fleet bicycles and encourages sustainable practices where possible but these had to be balanced with efficiency and cycling to out-of-town jobs wasn't appropriate, Mr Johnson said.

The fact this made the news (although I guess even hot spots like Nelson get slow news days) shows that there's a long way to go in NZ for cycling to be accepted as a normal form of transport.

We'd like to send a message of support to the councilor, and hope they keep on using the most efficient means of transport available to them.

Buyers guide part 1

Thinking of getting a bike? Looking around Christchurch bikes shops can be quite daunting. Cycling retail in New Zealand is driven by enthusiasts, and most of the bikes on offer are super lightweight road racing bikes or mountain bikes.

What if your looking for a bike to get to work and back, maybe to the shops and the library, a cruise to the coffee shop? Well, the options are pretty thin on the ground in Christchurch. But if you know where to look, there are some great practical bikes available.

Here's some general buying advice, and in a future post we'll look at some of the specific models that are available.

What to look for

To see what features make for a really practical bike, it's worth looking towards the cycling hotbed countries, like Japan, Holland and Denmark. In these countries, the masses of ordinary people riding has meant a standard set of features has become ubiquitous. These help make jumping on your bike as easy and practical as walking.

Bear in mind that many bike shops make most of their money from accessories. If you will be looking to add some of the accessories below to your bike after purchase make sure you take this into account. What looks like a cheaper bike may turn out more expensive than a fully kitted out model when you add up the price of all the accessories.

Load carrying - Probably the number one thing to do to make your ride more comfortable is to let the bike take the strain. A rack and panniers on the rear of the bike will carry the weight of your groceries without killing your back. A basket on the front is perfect for easy access to those odd bits and bobs.

Mudguards - mudguards are generally not present on road racing bikes to cut down on weight, and on mountain bikes because they get clogged with mud and / or damaged. Formula 1 cars don't have a roof or mudflaps, but chances are your car does. Make sure your potential purchase has mudguards, if not budget for a quality set and get your bike shop to fit them on purchase. A muddy wet streak up your back on the way to the dairy after a rain shower is not a good look!

Lights - there are quite a few lighting options available. We recommend a dynamo system, where a generator is attached either to the edge of the tyre on built into the wheel hub. Modern systems are generally very bright, efficient, and usually feature a standby where the lights continue to shine for a time when you stop moving. The advantage of a dynamo system is you never have to think about whether your batteries are charged, the lights are permanently attached to your bike and always ready to go.

Cheap LED lights, particularly the rear light, are effective in getting you seen, but the front lights are not usually powerful enough to light up the road so won't be effective if you need to ride through dark areas. For that you'll either need a more expensive battery light or a dynamo system.

Chainguard - somewhere down the line, someone (probably a trouser manufacturer) decided that chainguards weren't cool. Do yourself a favour, move away from the spandex tights and cycle shorts, get a chainguard and wear your regular legwear of choice.

Lock - once you've found your dream bike, don't lose it. Make sure you carry a lock at all times. The most practical kind is a ring lock. These locks are ubiquitous in countries with a strong cycling culture, but almost unheard of in New Zealand. They are permanently attached to the bike, and the key is stuck in the lock when you are riding. When the lock is engaged, the rear wheel is locked in place and you can remove the key. The same as the dynamo, this system is always there, there's no danger of you leaving it at home. It's perfect for when you are popping into a shop as it takes a couple of seconds to lock the bike and is enough to deter any opportunist thief from running off with your pride and joy. If your leaving the bike for longer you can carry an extension cable to attach the bike to a bike rack or railing.

If you can't procure a wheel lock, make sure you have a sturdy lock permanently attached to your bike and you always carry the key.

In part 2, we'll look at some of the best practical bikes on sale in New Zealand.

Feeling the crunch

There seems to be a noticeable increase in the number of cars appearing for private sale by the roadside, as petrol prices keep hitting record levels almost daily, with the government even trying to intervene in the situation. The picture above was snapped this morning, and shows a change of tack in sales technique.

Unfortunately, the recent oil price rises have coincided with the onset of the southern hemisphere winter, so it seems unlikely we'll see a cycling boom similar to the one currently happening in the US and elsewhere. If the current price hikes continue to the end of the year, maybe we will.

From little acorns ...

The purpose of this blog will be to document the rise and fall of everyday cycling in Christchurch. We'll be on the lookout for ordinary folks, doing ordinary things on ordinary bikes, and doing it with style. The potential is there for a huge boom in cycling in Christchurch. We've got good weather, flat terrain and wide streets. We don't have good cycling infrastructure, cycle aware drivers or masses of bikes on the streets. But with the price of oil hitting record heights daily, the stage is set for a massive cycling boom. We'll be reporting from the field on whether or not that boom is booming. Watch this space ...