Get on your bike

Katy Brown takes a look at the companies peddling bicycles

One hundred million bicycles are built worldwide each year with 2.4 million of them bought in the UK.(1) Domestic bicycle production has all but ceased, the majority has been shipped out to the Far East. We asked all of the companies in the report for supply chain codes of conduct for workers' rights. Working conditions are likely to be poor in the industry, since long working hours for little pay are common in factories in these parts of the world.

Cycling is one of the most environmentally friendly modes of transport there is - bicycles don’t require fossil fuels to run, and compared to cars require much lower amounts of energy and raw materials to build. Around ten million car and truck chassis and 250 million tyres are dumped annually, little of this is recycled. Worn out bicycles and parts on the other hand, of which some are recycled in many areas, need much less space for their disposal.
 

Six things you didn't known about bikes

• Bicycle use has been falling steadily since the 1970s, despite the fact that more of us than ever own bicycles.
• The energy efficiency of cycling is estimated to be the equivalent of a car doing 1600 miles on a gallon of petrol.
• In the UK, an average car produces about 3.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year
• Cycling contributes zero to green house gas emissions.
• Bikes save space - you can park ten bicycles in the space required for one car.
• At least half of all car journeys in Britain are short enough to be cycled. If they were, car mileage would be reduced by one sixth.
• The amount of steel and other materials in bicycle construction is less than 2% of that found in a small car.

Repair repair repair

Often a bicycle shop will tell you it’s not worth fixing your bike as it will cost more than the bike’s value to repair. However, this doesn’t reflect the environmental cost of producing a new bike or the disposal of the old one and the monetary cost of repair will almost certainly be less than the cost of a new bike. Of course it’s in the interest of a bike shop to persuade you to buy a new bike rather than fixing the old one but shop around as these attitudes do vary from place to place. Maintaining your old bike is always a more environmentally sustainable option than buying a new one.

Don’t buy new

If you do need to replace your old bike, or of course if you don’t have one already then buying second-hand will put less strain on the world’s resources. Check out your local second hand dealers, freecycle (www.freecycle.org) or Ebay.

But if you do

Obviously we’d recommend our Best Buys, the British hand-made bicycles of Moulton and Pashley, though unfortunately these will be out of a lot of peoples’ price range. It’s also worth considering that although heavier, fewer carbon emissions are produced in manufacturing a steel frame bike than one made from aluminium. Steel bikes are more sustainable in the long-run too as their tougher frames are more hard-wearing.

Support your independent bike shop

Most bicycles are still sold through independent bike shops, and by buying from them you support your wider local economy as they will spend money in the local area. A number of bike shops are run as co-operatives such as the Edinburgh Bike Co-op (www.edinburghbicycle.com) which now also has outlets in Manchester, Aberdeen, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne and Leeds.

Poor provision for pedal power

Increasing bicycle use does not only lie with the individual. Provision for cyclists is currently poor in the UK, cycle paths are not yet the norm and inconsiderate drivers don’t help matters. Many train companies are very bicycle friendly, while others are still not up to scratch. With climate change and health both high up on the political agenda, putting money into encouraging cycling would seem a perfect way for the government to help tackle both. Many areas have local cycling campaigns, a web search is the easiest way to find out if there’s one in your area. Otherwise there are national cycling campaigns – see the links below.

Critical Mass

A more direct way to campaign for better cycling provision has developed in the form of the Critical Mass, whereby cyclists take to the roads en masse as both a celebration of cycling and to assert cyclists’ right to the road. The rides typically take place on the last Friday of every month. To find out if there’s one in your area visit www.critical-mass.info, if there isn’t – why not set one up?

Do one thing

For this report that’s easy – if you don’t have a bike already then get one and use it instead of a car wherever possible.

Links

• Cycling England, PO Box 54810, London, SW1P 4XX, www.cyclingengland.co.uk, info@cyclingengland.co.uk
• Bike for All www.bikeforall.net
• Love Your Bike www.loveyourbike.org

References

1 Mintel database, UK Bicycle Market report 2005, accessed in August 2007