6 Top Tips For City Cycling

Most of us will need to ride in cities at some point in our lives. But it doesn't have to be scary, simply follow our 6 city cycling tips and you'll soon love riding around town.

In association with Schindlehauer Bikes, Brooks, PedalEd and Cycliq.

It can be quite daunting riding around cities and towns for the first time, there is a lot of close traffic, pedestrians, and road furniture that could cause you problems. But if you follow our top tips for urban cycling, you'll soon find that riding around cities can actually be really fun too!

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Music: Epidemic Sound
Like Water (Instrumental Version) - Paisley Pink

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Leave us a comment below!

[gcn]

Do you ride in cities as well as out in the countryside? What would be your top urban cycling tip?

[slimelord]

I can't stop watching at 3:00 😂😂😂 who let Lloyd teach Emma how to bunny hop?

[JMcLeodKC]

Great video.... It's nice to have content that steps away from the hardcore stuff. I have been commuting for a little over 9 years and the best advice I can give is to have durable gear and at least two spare inner tubes.

[johng]

Great Tips - I personally noticed that my front and rear lights are great for safety during the day, drivers usually do a double take when they see the flashing front light. As mentioned by another below, properly aim your lights. Being seen hurts less then being hit.

[benstanden]

Having spent 2 years commuting in and around Bristol, I found that learning the safest/easiest route was the best bit of knowledge.

This doesn't necessarily mean using the smallest/quietest roads, I found the larger a-roads were safer as there are far fewer hazards (cars parked, doors flinging open, pedestrians, even other cyclists!) and also much more space for vehicles to overtake. It also meant I could quite easily average 18-19 mph on my commute across Bristol!

Riding confidently, safely and defensively makes a big difference. I also found that being able to match (or better) the traffic speed made me less vulnerable as I could stay with the traffic - it's also really great training as you get to do traffic light sprint intervals - but it is also the most difficult and tiring training.

On top of that, a half decent set lights, flashing, front and rear makes drivers notice you more. Steady, dim lights are of no use in a city where there are lights all around.

[John-ygrt]

I love riding in Manhattan... just really gotta pay attention. Never wear headphones when riding in the city, a big part of knowing whats behind you is by listening.

[KingsleyWeb]

Side reflectors on your tyres or wheels are essential but often overlooked

[griffin_cycling]

Ride assertively (not aggresively) - Use road position to communicate with drivers, move out when it is unsafe for them to pass, and create opportunities for them to pass when you feel it is safe for them to do so. Generally find that most drivers are just nervous, not nasty, around cyclists; communication with clear body language and bike positioning can really reassure drivers and allows you to take control of dangerous situations.

[antonomaseapophasis]

White Paint! White paint and water = Cyclist Down
Long busses and trucks! Getting caught inside the turning radius of a long vehicle is deadly, at the very least scary.
Doors! You have to scan way ahead to spot someone in a car who is about to open a wall in front of your face.
Pedestrians! People who are not cyclists are not very aware of bikes and feel free to step into the road if they don’t sense motor vehicles about.

[brunocyclist]

Positioning is very important. When there's no bike lane, it's often better to 'occupy' a lane. Motorists might be a little irritated, but by forcing their respect you avoid 'near-squashes' between passing and parked cars or curb. This way I have way less near death experiences than my more passively riding wife.

[eunghoonkim]

Puncture resistance tyres are going to save your life a lot in the city.

[AndrewBlucher]

Riding the same route at the same time improves your safety. You get to know what the traffic does at each point, and the drivers get used to seeing you. Provided you ride sensibly and use your manners, of course. But also be assertive. When it's safer to take the whole lane, do it.

[ianacklam]

Being a Deliveroo Rider, so always in and around cities - the number one piece of advice I would give (other than the ones the guys already did) is - don't assume pedestrians can see or hear you, or that they will pay attention even if they do - always slow down just in case

[robertdenby]

Finally...and v.important for city cycling I think you need to mention the door and a half recommendation for when bikes are overtaking parked cars.

[bmwm]

I have been using mirror for about 3 years. I would not ride one without it. It did take me about 2-3 weeks to get used to it so don't expect to get use to it in a short time. I use expensive, top of the line mirror now and it is much better then small mirror i used to use.

[tommccafferty]

I rarely ride in big cities, as I live in the suburb, about 35 miles from the nearest big city, Austin, Texas. I do ride around my local city center quite often, but most of my riding occurs on country roads that are adjacent to my town. And Thanks to Simon for overriding Dan on my hack of attaching blinky lights to the heels of my cycling shoes on the last GCN Show.

[beeble]

Not at all convinced by your advice to use bike paths to avoid junctions. In most British cities they actually reverse priority so that cyclists going straight on have to give way to traffic coming out of. Every. Single. Side street. Whereas, cycling in the road, you have priority over the side streets so you can cycle straight across because you’re going straight on. Some of the more sensible attempts at bike paths require people coming out of the side streets to give way to the bike path, too, but there are so many twonks who ignore that that cyclists still have to be prepared to give way at every single side street, which is basically the same thing.

But the rest of your advice is spot-on.

[raphaelcarrand]

Honnestly, it's so fun and refreshing to see you on those everyday bikes. Just love it !

[noahyue]

I would love to see some more videos regarding single speed bikes regarding material, styles, types, etc.

[awatson]

On the traffic lights issue, Paris has a system with signs at a lot of traffic lights that basically turn the red lights in to "give way" signs for cyclists. Especially for right hand turns, but some in all directions as well. Seems to work pretty nicely!