HARO BIKES

Its the holiday season at Mike's Bikes - Jenny is just back from a week in the Lake District checking out the bike shops (no more two hour lunch breaks here ), I'm just back from a week in the Scottish Borders waiting for a gap in the rain to do some riding (it didn't happen ) and Santa's little helper is full of festive cheer building bikes in the workshop, wistfully dreaming of a post Christmas vacation and magnanimously joining in the holiday banter over the occasional coffee and mince pie.

Operations at Mike's Bikes compared favourably to retailers in the Lakes and the only change initiated here as a result of Jenny's information gathering visits has been an improved lighting display that rationalises all our bright stuff in one area. From stocking fillers in the form of multi coloured Knog Frogs starting at £7.99 through a comprehensive range of RSP and Sigma offerings up to the Light and Motion Seca at £324.99 we can ensure your winter riding is illuminated regardless of your budget. The top satisfied customer tip this year is the RSP Asteri 3 at £69.99, a 3 watt front light featuring an internal rechargeable battery - we have regular rave reviews for this light from cyclists who reckon it competes with units retailing at twice the price.

Doing a comparison between Highlands and Borders provisions for cycling proved interesting. A quick web search for cycling routes in the Borders showed that Scottish Borders Council understands the value of attracting cyclists to their region with a comprehensive selection of leaflets available for download providing detailed maps and descriptions for cycling routes around Borders towns. Cycling Scotland, the official cycling site of Scotland's national tourism organisation, provides information for cyclists in both regions but I was really impressed that local government in the Borders has taken the initiative to build on the reputation of the 7stanes mountain biking network to entice further tourist money into the region. Is it too much to hope for that someone from Highland Region develops a similar project here?

In addition to the range of bikes and accessories on display at Mike's Bikes we have a selection of Christmas Specials in the store, fully built by our own Christmas Elf, ready to ride on Christmas Day and discounted by the Chief Elf. These bikes are one-offs in stock now but cannot be replaced before Christmas - a deposit will secure them - we can store them until Christmas Eve for deserving children, if you can arrange for a sleigh to pick them up ready for the big day.

The chat at the Cairngorm Cycling Club AGM in the Skiing Doo last night centred on Britain's most expensive and Britain's cheapest bikes. So lets start with Asda and their much publicised campaign to introduce Britain's cheapest bike. Sadly, I missed the television advert that they used to herald the arrival of the British Eagle complete with the revolutionary reverse front forks. Unlike Mark Brown, director of the Association of Cycle Traders, who noticed that the front forks of the men's bike in the advert faced the wrong way. This would mean the bicycle would not steer correctly and would not work properly, according to the cycling experts 

I'm grateful to Helen Pidd of The Guardian who reviewed the British Eagle after a ride in London - it means I'll never need to be seen on one!

“Very quickly I wished that British Eagle had concentrated on getting three gears right rather than making 18 substandard ones,” she said. “Every time I went over a speed bump I changed gear; even on the flat there was always an irritating clicking sound which spoiled every ride. On the scale of annoyance, it was rather like being at the cinema and having someone kick the back of your seat all the way though the film.”

She found numerous faults with the bike, including a rear wheel that was out of true, a front wheel ‘that wasn’t round’ and a rear derailleur that hooked onto the axle, rather than bolted straight to the frame, “making it almost impossible to adjust the gears properly.”

Meanwhile Tesco decided to concentrate on the other end of the market by paying Universal Cycles almost a million pounds for six Muddy Fox bicycles - that makes the Asda deal look like a bargain!

The main business of the AGM left the issue of whether "Chairman" should be replaced with a non gender specific title unresolved, as Ian Kenneth (aka Bianchi Man) was appointed to the club's top spot. There is no truth in the rumour that Ian has already taken delivery of swatches of celeste coloured cloth to be considered for a new club top as part of a plan to revamp the CCC image. And what will Pete think about being appointed Secretary/Treasurer? Well, there's always a price to pay for a Spanish cycling trip