So maybe you’ve got into (back into…?) cycling recently; maybe you have a few mates who’ve been increasing their miles and doing some events. You’ve heard about London to Brighton and the Prudential Ride London and, in addition to wondering in a bit of secret awe at the distance to cover, are also desperate to believe that you too could achieve these rides.
With increasing popularity since 2008 and the continual success of team GB, the roads of Britain have seen an unprecedented increase in cycling, particularly road cycling. The natural extension of this has become the amature sportive ride, an opportunity for the rest of us to ride in a non-competitive but well organised event of varying distances (maybe 30, 50 or even 100 miles) on a designated route (maybe even with some closed off roads!) with rider/bike support and the opportunity to ride with other like minded cyclists.
Sportives take place pretty much all year round and in Kent/Essex/london alone there are around 120 opportunities to get involved. Registration can be a bit like getting Glastonbury tickets, with some selling out within hours!
The Bike
Most of the large bike manufacturers sell a ‘sportive model’ that looks pretty much like any other road bike from a distance. With the relative newcomer in mind, its likely to have softer geometry and a more forgiving transmission range (either a triple or compact chainset). You’ll benefit from maybe some wider tyres and slightly more upright riding position which together with a longer wheelbase promise the rider a more comfortable long range ride. Decent entry-level bikes for the purpose start at the £500/£600 price point and for this you can begin looking at perhaps the Boardman Sport, BTwin Triban or Giant Defy, or maybe a Specialized Allez.
The Rider
The whole point of the Sportive is inclusivity and to be honest most other wannabe mass participation sports can only but dream of the formula that has hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thousands of avid pedallers paying their money, getting up early and dealing with the British weather (plus some other ride related physical challenges; more of that below…) to go cycling.
And while its not Randonneuring or Audax, the Sportive will always facilitate someone completing the course in almost marathon fun-run timing…. The rider does have to have some preparation though.
Regular Sunday club rides of 30, 40, 60 miles are more than adequate to get up to pace. But many participants take to the Sportive having chosen not to belong to a cycling club. It's important just to make sure you don’t launch yourself or your bike into a long ride without the adequate preparation.
Some top tips on preparing yourself are included in our blog post ‘Top Tips to completing your first Sportive’ link and following these should put you in a good place to undertake your first organised lengthy ride. Your bike also needs to be in good shape as well and to ensure this is the case Cycle Hub has brought back its ever popular Sportive Service.
The Offer
At Cycle Hub we always like to think that we understand the everyday cyclist and are able to put together services that are exactly what you want, at a cost providing real value for money.
So, with this in mind our latest initiative is to offer you the Cycle Hub Sportive Service.
This Preparation Service takes your bike and puts it in perfect operational and performance condition to enable you to undertake your season’s rides with absolute confidence.
The Service comes in at £199.00 and for this you get all the following:
Full stripdown of your bike, removing wheels and drivetrain before the rebuild commences involving full degrease and dry lube.
Included are:
In addition, when taking out this service you will benefit from preferential pricing (typically less 20%) on any replacement components your bike requires during the service (such as chain/cassette, chainrings etc.)
And finally, having undertaken dozens (hundreds…?) of these type of rides we understand we have a couple of additional offers we hope will hit the mark:
Sponsorship
If you’re undertaking a Sprotive as a fundraiser for an official charity with a dedicated fundraising site (JustGiving etc.), Cycle Hub will happily donate 10% of your total bill to your chosen charity.
To make your booking please contact us in the usual way, phoning on 01634 799803 or by emailing us on service@cycle-hub-medway.com
*We always keep black, white, blue and red bartape in stock and often have silver/gold available. If you would like a specific colour please let us know in advance
*Gel pack includes various items including Iso Gels, Energy Gels, Recovery Supplements and vitamin tabs
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