If you want to cycle comfortable, getting your legwear right is your most vital clothing consideration.

After all, it’s your legs that are doing all of the work.

That’s the reason why I’ve written extensive guides on the best trousers for cycling.

And one brand that I’ve frequently mentioned in these guides are Ministry of Supply, who are – in my opinion – the best brand around for providing stylish and functional clothing that feels as good on the bike as it looks in the office. This post is a collaboration with the brand as we try to find out what goes into the perfect pants for biking to work.

Cycling Pants: Key Features

If you want to cycle to work without a change of clothes, your trousers need to:

• Look good
• Be light
• Be breathable
• Be stretchy
• Fit well
• Have deep pockets

Tick all of those six boxes and you’ll truly be able to cycle to work in style. But what do you actually need to look for in trousers to ensure they meet the criteria?

Let’s break it down in more detail:

1.     Hello, Good Looking

Style is pretty subjective and saying something is good-looking doesn’t mean it is. Obviously here you’ve got to use your own judgment while applying your own style preference.

For me, the ultimate test of functional yet stylish clothing is “The Pub Test”. The Pub Test is a simple one to apply: if you walk into a pub, would anyone even suspect that you are “a cyclist” or do you just look like a well-dressed person socialising?

2.     Lightweight, Breathable and Stretchy

The next major consideration that should go into your trousers for cycling should be the materials used and how they’ve been constructed.

Premium polyester is often one of the best lightweight fabrics around that also allows your body to breath. But if you’re seeing a heavier material also used in the fabric blend (like cotton), you’ll also want to see LYCRA Spandex discreetly woven into the fabric.

Ministry of Supply’s Kinetic Pant (which we reviewed here) is my most worn pair of cycling trousers for the past year as they are just so insanely flexible and comfortable – all the while maintaining a sleek straight fit. These pants are so stretchy that you can go into a full squat with no resistance – they manage this thanks to their patented “100% Primeflex warp-knit Japanese polyester”, a material that has been scientifically engineered in order to maximise stretch and breathability.

3.     Fit

Of course, style and function goes out of the window if trousers don’t fit well. And as well as the cut of the trousers themselves, a slightly elasticated waistband can go a long, long way to keeping your trousers in place.

Likewise, one of the most off-putting elements of “normal trousers” when cycling is that the waistline is all at the same height – which can cause a “rear exposure” problem as you lean forward to cycle. No-one wants to see that.

Therefore, by having a slightly waistline at the rear, this unnecessary exposure can be eradicated simply.

Ministry of Supply have gone one step further on this front by providing a stretch waistband with a drawstring – meaning that you waistline actually expands when bent over the handlebars, while providing a more typical fit when standing up.

4.     Deep Pockets

This may seem somewhat arbitrary, but having deep pockets while cycling is an absolute must.

There’s nothing worse than having shallow pockets while cycling and then dealing with the anxiety that your phone and other valuables are about to fall out at any moment as you pedal.

Therefore, deep pockets are an absolute must. And if you can get a pocket or two with a zip on it (like on the Kinetic Pant), that’s all the better.

Where to Find Biking to Work Pants

You can access all Discerning Cyclist’s best cycling pants guides, in the section below. We’ve tested dozens of bike pants over the years to help you find the perfect pants for biking to work – as we discussed in this guide.

Ministry of Supply are undoubtedly specialists in this area, with their tremendous Kinetic Pants and Velocity Dress Pants some of the very best stylish cycling to work trousers around. The Kinetic Pants, in particular, are one of my favourite ever pairs of trousers – not just “cycling trousers” and have been my most worn trousers over the past year.

Ministry of Supply Kinetic Pants

Buy Here

Ministry of Supply Velocity Dress Pants

Buy Here

READ MORE:

• Best Commuter Trousers
  • Best Cycling Chinos
• • Best Cycling Jeans
  • Best Urban Cycling Shorts
• Best Bike Trousers for Women

The post Biking to Work Pants: What to Look For (GUIDE) appeared first on Discerning Cyclist.

There’s something quintessentially British about riding a bicycle.

That idea may not be something that is perpetuated by the media, but many people in Britain enjoyed rediscovering their bikes during the lockdown.

For many of these new cyclists, it wasn’t necessarily about racing to a destination dozens of miles away. It was milling about town, meeting someone for a ride and going for picnics.

Bike Hire Across Liverpool, Manchester, Chester, Cheshire + Lancashire

And this is exactly the side of cycling that Ashleigh Otten wanted to show when she created Didsbury Bicycle Hire – a company which, as well as renting out bikes in Didsbury in the south of Manchester, also provides bike hire in Liverpool, Manchester and across the north-west on England.

But it’s not just bikes that Ashleigh is looking to share, it’s experiences. It’s about riding beautiful upright bicycles at a leisurely pace, shared with friends and loved ones while having a picnic in the likes of Tatton Park or Sefton Park while supping on champagne and savouring delights from local delicatessens.

Anyway, I had a chat with Ashleigh to learn more about her vision and what got her started on this journey.

DC: So, Ashleigh, tell me about your cycling story and your inspiration for starting your bicycle hire company.

“I started getting back into cycling about 2 years ago. I used to be cycling mad, but it was a long time ago and it took me a while to build up the confidence to get back on the saddle. But When I did though, that was it, I was hooked, and off the back of that I started Didsbury Bicycle Hire.

“We got started at the end of 2019. It’s a community-based cycling hire company, basically. We’re from Manchester, and provide services right across the North-West region.

“The main reason we started the company is to encourage people who’ve not been on their bike for a while – or even never cycled before – to give it a go again and use cycling as a form of commuting day-to-day, where they can.

“We also want to use our platform to promote other local independent businesses. That means when people are renting one of our bikes, and have booked one of our experience packages, they can go out and see the benefits of a local community-based lifestyle and the concept of shopping locally as a cyclist. So, from all the physical and mental benefits of cycling, to stopping by the local independent businesses, buying the fresh, beautiful products and catching up with the shop keepers who you come to build up friendships with over the years.”

DC: So what is Didsbury Bicycle Hire and what do you offer?

“As we also want to promote British industry, we decided on a fleet of Pashley bicycles. They are beautifully designed and provide the rider with an upright seated position. They can also be fitted with racks that enable us to equip the bikes with baskets and crates which are used to carry the picnic accessories that we offer. So people can cycle wherever they like – be it Sefton Park in Liverpool, Tatton Park in Cheshire or the South Manchester parklands- or anywhere else across the North West of England for that matter – and have a great day out, celebrating their occasion in a way that’s unique to them.

“A lot of what we’re offering with the experience packages is centred around special occasions. Whether that be a romantic bike ride, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, hen dos, baby showers, or even marriage proposals!

“In addition to the bikes, we offer picnic blankets, luggage straps, a Roberts radioand other accessories to provide that sense of occasion… and maybe even the perfect photo opportunity!

“Recently we’ve also launched a “champagne afternoon tea hamper” package, having teamed up with BisousBisous, which is an award-winning French patisserie based in the south of Manchester.

“As well as providing a range of picnics we can also create bespoke flower arrangements, which we design according to any specifications the customer may have.”

DC: What inspired you to get started?

“Going back to my own personal experience, I was dying to get a bike and start cycling again for a number of years. But because it had been so long since I’d last ridden, I just didn’t feel confident enough.

“Until two years ago I finally bit the bullet and bought myself a lovely pink Pashley Britannia.

“I was really excited when I bought it… but then it sat there in the shed for who knows how many months and I just looked at it, unable to pluck up the courage to get out there again.

“But eventually I did. And I started to remember how wonderful it is. Being outside the bubble of your car, you take so much more in. From the birds chirping in the trees, to the smell of the air in winter and the cut grass in the summer.

“Even being able to engage in conversation as you cycle past people – I realised there’s a lot to be said for cycling, and that it can contribute to that community-centred lifestyle which can really add to a person’s happiness.”

DC: I completely agree. I’ve found that commuting by bike is a great way to clear your head and that when you arrive at your destination you just feel refreshed, whereas when you do so by car, I feel more anxious and stressed.

“Exactly. It’s a form of exercise that’s actually fun. It’s not a chore.

“I just want to show how easy cycling is, especially if you’re going around the back lanes and the cycle routes around the Manchester area and beyond.

DC: I’ve actually seen that Manchester is at the forefront of investment in cycling infrastructure in the UK at the moment. Have you noticed any of that coming to fruition at all?

“Yes, I have. Around the south of Manchester, we’ve got some great cycle routes now which take you straight from where I’m from in Didsbury to Oxford Road in the centre of Manchester and it’s a direct route.

“The number of cyclists, as well, is definitely increasing.

“I think Chris Boardman’s scheme with the BEE Network is brilliant and will really help encourage more people to choose cycling as a method of transport.”

DC: You mentioned it was a long time before you started cycling again, what “brought you back”, so to speak?

“It was largely just looking back at how I enjoyed cycling when I was younger. But since I’ve been out on my bike and reflecting on it, I think cycling addresses many of the current issues we currently face. We’re dealing with a national health emergency in terms of obesity-related illnesses and loneliness, and mental health is spoken about more and more. And, the mental and physical benefits of cycling could really be key to finding a solution to all of those when coming back to the concept of ‘shopping locally as a cyclist’.

“Plus, of course, there’s the environmental issues, and cycling can help reduce emissions.

“There’s just so many great reasons to cycle. Not that we’re looking to lecture anyone by any means, because we still need cars and it’s about being realistic around that – but, if uou can and you find yourself considering cycling as an option for local journeys, then we can help give you an idea of what that’s like.”

DC: And lastly, it would be reminisce of me not to mention cycling clothes on Discerning Cyclist, so what sort of gear do you wear when pedalling?

“I actually make a point of wearing anything from a summer dress to wearing heels! I’m definitely not one of the Lycra-wearing cyclists. I like to wear normal clothes, that look nice, but also help to facilitate a comfortable journey.”

COMPETITION TIME! ?

Win a Champagne Picnic Bicycle Experience for Two (worth £264)

Didsbury Bicycle Hire is teaming up with Discerning Cyclist to give away its elite “Champagne Picnic Bicycle Experience” in the north-west of England at some point in 2021.

This wonderful experience package, worth £264, will see you and a friend cruise around a park on a pair of beautiful Pashley bicycles, while giving you the chance to stop and relax with champagne and deli delights.

This package includes:

• Two beautiful Pashley bicycles for the day
• A bottle of Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top champagne
• A picnic hamper complete with artisan sandwiches, fresh pastries, macarons and sweet treats
• A flash of Breakfast Tea
• A large bouquet of plastic free flowers to keep
• Picnic accessories for the day, including:
  • Wool picnic blankets
  • A Roberts Revival portable radio
  • Picnic basket including mixed vintage china tea set pieces and cake stand
  • Scatter cushions
  • Fold-out chairs

IMPORTANT: The bikes can be only dropped off to you at Sefton Park in Liverpool, Grosvenor Park in Chester, Tatton Park in Cheshire or The Fletcher Moss Park or Botanical Gardens in South Manchester. The package can be claimed at any point in 2021 and 2022, subject to availability.

Didsbury Bicycle Hire

If you are interested in booking a beautiful bicycle experience around north-west England, you can see Didsbury Bicycle Hire’s range of packages here, or you can get in touch with Ashleigh at contact_us@didsburybicyclehire.co.uk.

The post Champagne Rides: A Chat with Didsbury Bicycle Hire’s Ashleigh Otten [COMPETITION] appeared first on Discerning Cyclist.

This post is sponsored by coffee subscription service, Pact Coffee. As always, all opinions are entirely my own.

Get 10% off the Gran Fondo espresso with discount code: DCFONDO 

I used to hate coffee. Seriously. Even the smell of it I couldn’t stand.

The trouble was, I did find caffeine to be pretty useful – especially if I had an intensive tight deadline to meet. Something that does spring up from time-to-time when you work as a freelancer.

In the past, when I needed a caffeine power-up, I used to drink energy drinks like Red Bull.

I actually quite liked the taste of them, but I knew they were absolutely horrendous for my innards.

So, a time came in late 2018 where I decided to be a real-grown up and start drinking hot drinks.

Step 1) Make It Less Coffee-y

The biggest issue in my pursuit of coffee enjoyment is that I really can’t emphasise how much I use to dislike the smell and taste of coffee.

In order to make the stuff drinkable, therefore, I had to find a way to make coffee less like coffee.

After asking a few friends, they recommended that I started with something milkier, like a latte.

So I tried a Latte and found it pretty awful. But the taste was improved a smidge by a copious helping of sugar in there too.

My great breakthrough, though, was discovering a coffee machine in Lidl near to where I lived. Why? Because I spotted that it served “Vanilla Latte Macchiato” and I bloomin’ love all things vanilla (custard, Milkybar and white chocolate and raspberry Nuii ice cream FTW).

So, Vanilla Latte in hand (with another scoop of sugar), I pottered back to my apartment and for the first time in my life, I had enjoyed coffee!

Step 2) Stripping Back

The trouble was, a Vanilla Latte with sugar was far from good for me – which was basically the point of this caffeinated journey, after all.  It contained over 200 calories – almost double that found in Red Bull, the unhealthy drink I was trying to move away from.

So, after adjusting my palette to sugary Vanilla Lattes for a couple of weeks, project “Strip Back” commenced.

The first part of this mission involved reducing the amount of sugar I was adding to my – admittedly – already sweet Vanilla Lattes. This wasn’t too difficult and in just a few servings I was down to no added sugar.

Obviously though, a shot of vanilla syrup was not going to be sustainable for the long term and so it was then time to go to “plain old Lattes”. The removal of the vanilla took the Latte down from around 180 calories to 140, but I did have to return to sugar for a little while as I broke my tongue into this new bitter-y world.

But again, my tastes adapted. After weening myself off sugar sachets, my enjoyment for the general flavour of the Latte was increasing with every serving.

Step 3) Climbing the Coffee Ladder

With my tastes quickly adapting to the coffee flavour, I decided to push on and continue my journey. Next came the mildly healthier Cappuccino – which was a pretty easy step.  But then I took the plunge… black coffee with milk (or “café con leche”, as I was in Spain at this point).

By this stage, I was drinking coffee out of enjoyment – as well as for efficiency.

For the final step of my “coffee transformation”, I had to reach the holy grail of enjoying black coffee – no sugar, no milk, no nothing.

Surprisingly, the final step was the easiest.

Again, I weened myself of coffee with milk and after just a couple of tries, I started enjoying black coffee. Just six months after hating coffee, I was enjoying the hard stuff.

Americanos and espressos are now part of my daily routine. Indeed, I don’t just drink them, I thoroughly enjoy them.

I’m even reaching peak cyclist/coffee/hipster levels as I start to explore the different types of beans and roasts available.

My current favourite is the cycling-inspired Gran Fondo Espresso from coffee subscription service, Pact Coffee. The Gran Fondo is a punchy dark espresso with hints of raisins and dark chocolate. It’s lush.

While I’m no competitive cyclist, I do love the buzz of commuting by bike after guzzling down my morning coffee. I seem to experience the ride a lot more and certainly shave a minute or two of my ride.

The Gran Fondo was actually created in tandem with 2018 Tour de France winner, Geraint Thomas.

Like me – and doubtless most people – Geraint admitted that his early coffee experiences weren’t based on love of the flavour, “Initially it was like you first few pints of beer. You couldn’t stand the taste but you threw it down because you knew it was the right thing to do. The next thing you know, you’re hooked. Give it a few more years and you’re an our and out coffee snob.”

Ahead of his collaboration with Pact, Geraint also revealed that his love for coffee really grew when he moved to Italy and discovered “proper coffee espressos and cappuccinos”. Now he loves “dark roasts and traditional Italian-style strong tastes” – hence the inspiration for Gran Fondo.

Get 10% off the Gran Fondo espresso with discount code: DCFONDO 

Discerning Cyclist has teamed up with Pact Coffee to offer you 10% off the limited edition Gran Fondo Espresso and Filter. Simply use exclusive code “DCFONDO” at the checkout to claim your 10% discount. Offer expires 31/10/2020.

The post How This Cyclist Went from Hating All Coffee to Loving Black Coffee in 6 Months appeared first on Discerning Cyclist.

Standing at an average 5’9 (yes, average), I’ve never had problem finding stuff that fits me: whether that’s clothes, airplane seats, or bicycles – I live in a carefree world of mediocrity.

However, I’ve seen the challenges my bigger friends can face in everyday life. Have you ever tried to buy a pair of size 15 shoes? Or squeeze your knees into a seat at a football stadium when you’re 6’7?

If you’re particularly tall or heavy, finding a bicycle that fits can be a particularly big problem.

Not only can it feel like you’re riding a children’s bicycle, but regular bikes often end up shimmying and shaking when bearing a lot of weight.

That’s why Lennard Zinn and Nick Wigston are trying to help. Through Clydesdale Bicycles, they’re attempting to create the perfect XXL bicycle for tall and heavy riders. That’s right… bikes for tall people and road bikes for heavy riders.

The Best XXL Bicycle?

Lennard experienced first hand the challenges of being a big cyclist. Despite being 6’6, he was on the national cycling team in his 20s but the lightweight bikes his sponsors built for him scared him terribly due to the aforementioned “high-speed shimmy”.

He therefore took it upon himself to solve this problem and build tall bikes that didn’t shimmy at high speeds. With an educational background in physics, he was well-prepared to do this.

Lennard discovered that the problem of buying a “big” bike from most brands is that when they stretch the frame out, it becomes less stiff and causes the unwanted shimmy. So, he figured out a solution to this – without creating unsightly large bikes.

For the past 35 years, Lennard has been building high-end custom bicycles that don’t shimmy with Zinn Cycles. But after years perfecting his craft, he recognised the need for a more affordable product for large cyclists – and that’s how Clydesdale Bicycles was born in January of 2017.

Creating a Bike for Tall Men (and Women)

While Clydesdale Bicycles are suitable for anyone from 5’10 up to 7’0 and up to 450lbs, an average customer tends to resemble a basketball player: around 6’6 to 6’9 weighing in around 220-260lbs.

So, what makes Clydesdale Bikes so good for big cyclists?

Steel was the traditional material of choice for heavy cyclists, but Lennard discovered titanium is a much better option. Titanium is half the weight of steel, meaning you can build an incredibly strong bike without the extra weight of steel. It also never corrodes.

By using titanium, Lennard uses larger diameter tubing – but still making it considerably lighter than a steel bike. This means Clydesdale Bicycles are stronger and stiffer, which results in greater power transfer – without beating your body up. On top of this, the thicker titanium frames also absorbs more road buzz than their steel counterparts, resulting in a more comfortable ride.

Bikes for “Fat” People?

Yeah sure, Clydesdale Bicycles can be bikes for “fat” people, if you want to put it bluntly. But it doesn’t matter if you’re fit or not. Clydesdale just focus their attention on heavy and tall riders – i.e. the people who are simply too big for regular bikes, one way or another. Their bicycles also have wider handlebars for people with broader builds, as well as proportional cranks to help increase pedalling power and efficiency.

Clydesdale Bicycles Range

In order to get a bike that fits and is comfortable, larger cyclists have often resorted to custom bikes – which are incredibly expensive. But – while not cheap – Clydesdale Bicycles have created three bikes in five different sizes – each of which has been specifically to provide to provide large and/or heavy riders with a truly suitable ride. Sizing for the Cyclesdale Bicycles starts at “L” and runs up to “4XL”.

This post was in collaboration with Clydesdale Bicycles. Based in Colorado,  but offering worldwide shipping, Clydesdale Bicycles are on a mission to make the perfect XXL bicycle for tall and heavy riders. For more details, visit the Clydesdale Bicycles website.

The post Big Bikes for Big People: Clydesdale Bicycles is on a Mission appeared first on Discerning Cyclist.

I’ve always admired fixies. They’re just so damn cool and wonderfully simplistic, aren’t they? They can contain only what you need, making them fast and light, and incredibly easy to take care for.

So why don’t I own one? I love creature comforts: thick tyres, suspension and lights that come on as soon as I ride. I’m just nowhere near cool or minimalist enough to pull it off. I’m the guy that tries to live with a minimalist philosophy, but I inevitably buy stuff and then have to buy an extra cupboard next to my desk for miscellaneous stuff (I literally had to do that on Saturday). It’s why my bike weighs a tonne and isn’t too speedy – although it does do a job in most weather and on most terrain, which I like.

But from time-to-time, I like to see how the other half live. Those cool, actual minimalists. Riding about on their cool-ass fixies.

And one fixie that recently caught my eye was the Santafixie Raval – which was released at the start of the year from Santafixie – one of Europe’s leading online retailers for fixies from multiple brands.

READ: Best Cycling Chinos for Men and Women

There are two really eye-catching things about the Santafixie Raval – the classic, minimal fixie design and the price (in a good way, starting at £389). Santafixie CEO, Xavier Claveria, admitted the company set out a vision, and they certainly seem to have realised it, saying, “When we first thought about manufacturing out own bikes, we had a very specific thing in mind: a good-quality model at a very competitive price, so that everyone can have a beautiful, light, durable and easy-to-drive bike.”

And, along with the price, you can see from the pictures below that the Raval isn’t lacking on the beauty front either.

Santafixie Raval Specs

• Frame and fork: Aluminum 6061
• Pedals: BMX FK platform
• Handlebar: Riser, Bullhorn or Drop bar
• Stem: Aluminum 31.8mm
• Brakes: Radius Type Caliper
• Saddle: San Marco Monza
• Weight: 9.5 kgs (52cm)

What’s more the Raval weighs in at just 9.5kg and comes in a range of bright, bold colours, including red, green, yellow, black and white (although sadly no Discerning Cyclist orange).

There are two variants of the Raval available, the classic fixie gear / single speed model which uses the flip-flop system, or the two speeds models, featuring a coaster-brake.

The Santafixie Raval is available in three sizes small (52cm – suitable for those between 160-173cm), medium (55cm – for those between 174-180cm) and large (58cm – for the tall 181-194cm folks). Santafixie offer free UK delivery on the Raval.

The post Santafixie Raval – The New Fixie MADE by the Online Fixie Shop appeared first on Discerning Cyclist.