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At Cycle Mania Your No.1 Family Cycle Shop, it is our goal to welcome you to our store in a caring and friendly manner where you are a person and not just another name.

We are here to meet all your needs, and to do all we can to ensure your cycling experience is fun!

We supply cycles and cycling accessories. Our service, excellence and support extend beyond the point of purchase. We are here to look after every sale.

In 2000, Cycle Mania was the winner of the Cape Argus Pick & Pay Cycle Tour!

MTB Bike Ride : Every Saturday | Summer 06h00 | Winter 07h00

We do:

• Cycle Service on all brands
• Shock Service
• Wheel Building
• Bike Set Ups
• Bike Sales

Tips

Equipment
Cycling, more than many other sports, is equipment-centric. I am of the minimalist school – you don’t need a host of fancy gear to get started. Add those later.

What’s the minimum gear needed? Here’s my list:

• Helmet. Don’t ever ride without one. It can mean the difference between a bad headache and being a vegetable. Make sure it fits well (see this guide for tips on that, along with other equipment needed to get started).
• Water bottle. Get one with a cage that attaches to your bike. Regular bottles don’t fit in this cage, btw. An alternative is a hydration backpack. You really only need hydration tools once you start cycling beyond an hour, but it’s good to have just in case.
• Pump. A portable pump that you attach to the bike is necessary, in case you get a flat or a slow leak. You don’t want to be walking your bike back home. A floor pump is good to have at home, too, for easier pumping, but isn’t absolutely necessary.
• Repair kit. A simple repair kit would include a patch kit, a spare inner tube, 2 tire levers, a multi-tool for bikes, all in a small bag that attaches to the bike.

  Other stuff you could get later:

  • Gloves. I actually have a pair of these, and you could consider them essential. They absorb shock from the handles (cycling gloves are padded), but more importantly, if you crash, your palms are protected.
  • Bike computer. This attaches to the bike (no, they don’t have it in Linux or Mac flavors) and tells you how far you’ve gone, how fast you’re going, your RPMs, and all other kinds of good info. Very useful, but not absolutely necessary. I don’t have one at this point, but it’s on my to-buy list.
  • Gel-padded seat. For beginners, riding on a hard cycling seat can be very uncomfortable. This gel padding has saved me a bit of pain. Experienced riders tell me that you get used to it after awhile, and I have, to some degree.
  • Glasses. To some, these are a must. I haven’t gotten them yet, but they block bugs and other debris from hitting you in the eyes. Hasn’t been a problem for me yet, but then I don’t go that fast!
  • Shoes/pedals. The most efficient way of peddling is if you are using your up-stroke as well, not just your down-stroke (pulling the pedals up and pushing them down). To do this, of course, you either need cage pedals to put your shoes in, or the kind of pedals that lock into your cycling shoes. You’d also need special shoes for that, of course. I plan to get these some time, but haven’t gotten to it yet.
  • Lights. These are a must if you ride when it begins to get dark. I don’t do that out of safety concerns.
  • Racks. Important if you want to transport anything. There are all kinds of racks and panniers (cycling bags). Awesome for touring or commuting.

The Clothing
We’ve all seen the tight and bright clothing that the pros wear. I’m sorry to report that I’ve gone minimalist here as well — I just wear my running shorts and shirt and shoes. That’s really all you need to start off.

However, if you begin to get serious about cycling, you should consider some good clothing. Good cycling clothing is thin, so you don’t get too hot, flexible for comfort, with special material that “wicks away” sweat (basically, it doesn’t soak it up and chafe your skin like cotton does). It’s also tight, so the wind doesn’t flap your clothing all around and irritate the hell out of you. And the bright colors serve a purpose as well: they make you visible to those crazy drivers!

Cold weather: I don’t live in cold weather, but many of you do — in that case, thin cycling wear is good, but layer it on. If you get hot, you can always take off a layer.
Safety
Always be safe on the road. Do not be daring, do not insist on the right of way, do not break traffic laws (yes, you have to follow them too), and always be as visible as possible. If you know the common causes of accidents, you can look out for them:

• Opening car doors. This is a common one — someone opens their car door, right into your path, and you don’t have time to swerve. Slam! The only thing to say is to be on the lookout for any doors that are about to open, and don’t ride too close to parked cars.
• Sideswiped. If you right on the outermost edge of the road, as many cyclists do, cars will be tempted to try to pass you in the same lane. As this is a tight fit, this could result in you being hit. It’s safest to take the center of the lane, even if that doesn’t seem as safe, until you can safely move to the shoulder to let cars pass if necessary. You have just as much a right to that lane as the cars do.
• Intersections. If you are making a left turn across an intersection, be very careful. You might think that the oncoming traffic, or the cross traffic from either side, will see you, but you could be wrong. Be very sure you are seen by all drivers. Right turns can also be dangerous if the traffic going into that lane doesn’t see you — or if the driver behind you also making a right turn doesn’t see you, as he is busy looking to his left.

Hills
For beginning cyclists, hills can be a big challenge. Experienced cyclists actually have no problems with hills — they know how to shift, to brake, to pace themselves, and they have gotten stronger on hills with practice. There are two areas with hills to be concerned with:

• Uphills. Cycling uphill isn’t that hard if you shift to the right gears. It took me a little while to learn this. What I like to do is build up some speed going into a hill, shifting to a bigger front gear and getting some momentum. This will carry me a little ways up the hill. As the pedaling becomes more difficult, I gradually shift to easier gears until I’m on the smallest front gear and largest back gear. If I’m lucky, I don’t get to that point. It’s also good to learn to pace yourself — don’t pump the pedals too hard early on in a long hill, or you’ll tire out.
• Downhills. Steep downhills can be scary for us beginners because of the speed. I recommend slowing yourself down with intermittent braking. If the downhill isn’t too steep, I recommend shifting to your big front gear and smallest back gear — you can really build up some speed that will carry you when you hit the flat or the next hill.

Braking
Obviously this is a pretty important area. It’s a major safety skill that takes a little practice to learn. A few tips:

• Down hills. The temptation going down hills, to limit your speed and make sure you don’t get out of control, is to brake the whole way down. It’s recommended that you don’t do this, though — the brake pad could burn out. You want to do it in spurts.
• Front brake. Many beginners use both brakes simultaneously to brake. But more experienced cyclists (and I’m not one yet) use the front brake most of the time. If you practice using the front brake, you will lose the fear of flipping over the front wheel.
• Rear brake. This is good for certain situations, especially if it’s slippery or your front tire blows out.

ENJOY YOUR CYCLING EXPERIENCE!

 

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