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u/WhoIWasLetYouDown

r/beginnerrunning r/bikecommuting r/londoncycling
▲ 20 r/bikecommuting

Purchased wrong bike a month ago, where to go from here?

Around a month ago I purchased a new single speed bike (https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/single-speed-city-bike-500-carbon-grey/306292/c383m8749510) for commuting to the office (~12km each way).

So far this has gone smoothly, I've been happy with the commute and the bike. I've not used public transport once in the past month, and have cycled pretty much everywhere. Unfortunately, I was ignorant when buying the bike and just went for the cheapest option available to validate that I'd actually enjoy/stick with bike commuting. With the weather turning in London and rain on the horizon I am seriously regretting my choice of bike. It does not appear to be possible to mount a rear pannier rack, and it seems people have also had issues mounting mudguards.

Right now my options appear to be:

  1. Buy a massive waterproof backpack

  2. Buy a new bike (currently thinking this https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/long-distance-step-through-city-bike-500/305054/c193m8601841)

  3. Fit a sketchy saddle mounted rear rack to the frame because the seat is at its lowest point and hope it doesn't fall off.

For context, on a daily basis I am bringing at minimum, a laptop, a change of clothes, shoes, a book, a couple of bits of hardware for work (nothing too heavy but a little bulky), and a bike lock. This list is notably missing tools/spare inner tube because I just don't have the space at present.

So yeah, I feel a bit lost at this point and I'm not sure which option to go for. I'm leaning towards just getting a new bike, but it feels a bit wasteful to buy another so soon after getting my first.

Edit: I ended up just buying a second bike (similar to the one linked, but a bit cheaper). I'd probably have ended up buying a new bike at some point anyway so easier to just bite the bullet now. Thank you everyone for your input!

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u/WhoIWasLetYouDown — 2 days ago
▲ 4 r/beginnerrunning

182 HR average at conversational pace

Hi Reddit,

Yesterday I joined a run club and did my second 5k. I’ve been running for a couple of weeks on a treadmill and this was my first time running outside. Up until this point I always assumed I was running a little too fast hence the high heart rate, but yesterday I was able to hold a conversation for more or less the entire run, and only really dropped to short sentences for the final 10% or so.

So my question is… given this was a demonstrably conversational pace, am I fine to keep this pace? Overall I felt fine for the run, my legs are good, and I feel good the next day (even went to the gym this morning).

For some added context, I’m 29, 5’9, 71kg, and have done weightlifting relatively consistently for the last 18 months or so (with a short break the last 3 months). I have a sedentary job so my baseline level of fitness is understandably low.

Thanks for any advice!

u/WhoIWasLetYouDown — 20 days ago
▲ 3 r/londoncycling

Beginner cyclist - looking for routes from Wandsworth to Paddington

Hi there,

I'd like to begin cycling to work, but I'm not a very confident cyclist. Almost everybody I know who has cycled in London has had some form of collision with a car/van/another cyclist, and I'm keen to avoid this.

I've been trying to find the "safest" route from Wandsworth to Paddington. My current thinking is to cycle along the Thames path to Battersea park, cross at Chelsea bridge, and go north along Sloane street to Hyde Park. Honestly at this point just getting to Hyde park would be good enough for me...

Anyway, most of this route seems to have some level of cycling infrastructure, with the exception of Sloane Sq -> Hyde park. I was wondering if anyone was aware of a slightly safer route I could take, even if it means going a little bit further. The closest I could find was continuing along the north of the Thames until Parliament Square, and going past Buckingham Palace, which appears to have some cycling infrastructure, but may be quite busy for a newbie, and perhaps the Sloane Sq -> Hyde park leg is safe enough without cycling infrastructure.

FYI I've been using this safe cycle map as a reference, so may have missed something. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/embed?mid=1XlpvN9R-Wg7qZHyezO8y-eVlftr4e0WX&hl=en&ehbc=2E312F&ll=51.4888618796551%2C-0.14485704818250733&z=16

Tanks for any advice!

u/WhoIWasLetYouDown — 1 month ago