Evening ‘all. Presuming everything goes well i’m lucky enough to be off to Sheffield for university this year, of course the thing i’m most looking forward to is the Peak district 😆

Although I have some concerns:

1 – I’m currently riding a nippy xc bike 26″ ss rigid. Its fine for norfolk, thetford, sketchy coastal paths but I’m well aware I’ll have the crap kicked outta me on the peaks – however this raises a conundrum: full sus or hardtail, ss or gears?

2 – If i use some of my student loan ( 😈 ) to get a bike, is there anywhere safe to put it? All the horror stories of people having their bikes stolen scare me – mind that is what gets reported.

3 – If there are any sheffield students out there: is there a place to lock/clean your bikes or can you bring them in? (Obv. if theres no where to give them a clean the extra maintenance of a full sus would be impossible)

Tahh in advance! 🙂

Depends an awful lot on where you are going to live; my lad is there at the mo, and I’ve told him that unless he can sleep with a bike next to him, there is little point.

Student land in any big city is bike theft central, unless you can take it into your room when at ‘home’ and lock it up with many many locks when at Uni.

Sheffield is by and large a safe city (in fact in the annual crime survey the govt does its the safest city in the country apparently) but there are thieving little barstewards around like anywhere.

TBH I wouldn’t use a nice shiny MTB to commute to uni on. Get a nice MTB, keep that in your room at halls (assuming that’s where you’ll be staying) and locked to something solid. Then spend £50-100 on a commuting ride.

Cheers

Danny B

ah my mistake, I should have said – i’ll be living in student accomodation the first year, flat the second where ofc it’ll be by my bed! I’m not going to be commuting on it, only regular riding duties around the peaks when it will be underneath me (oerr missus) and nowhere else 😆

Personal choice for riding in the peaks really. I’ve riden all over the peaks for many years on a fully rigid canti braked steel feamed marin (back in the day) then a racey 80mm hard tail, more recently (and slower in places) a CX bike. But probably had the most fun (and comfort) on an anthem x with 120 forks.

If you’re good enough then it’s all rideable on what ever you have.

The younger locals seem to favour long travel hard tails, the older ones 5 inch travel full sussers.

as ian says it’s horses for courses. growing up round here i started on fully rigid and went to 40mm of suspension stem to 35 mm of manitou forks. i now ride a five inch front and rear and an eight inch front and rear both of which are superb. if i had a spine that wasn’t made from glass i’d have a long travel hardtail too!
as for the student side, you dont say whether its sheffield uni or hallam that you’ll be at or which campus.
i was at hallam in the city centre for four years and cycled there most of the time locking up outside under the cameras. left my bike dirty and simple and never had any problems. a lad on a similar course locked his blinged up bike near the engineering unit with a for sale sign on stating the asking price, funnily enough it didn’t stay there long!
check with halls as some of them don’t have access rights for bikes. if you can afford it a decathlon special for commuting and find some gears for your xc thing? you’ll learn loads, in uni, in the pubs and on the trails. enjoy.

You need two bikes, a beater & a belter.

Check recycle bikes for cheap ones, I think they even do discounts for first year students.

The younger locals seem to favour long travel hard tails, the older ones 5 inch travel full sussers.

Maybe I need to buy a hardtail, then? To take a few years off my age?

Sheffield’s a great city, but I’d only have a decent bike at Uni if I could lock it up where I live.

When I was at Sheffield Uni I kept my bikes in my room in the Hall of Residence & in the houses and flats I lived in after that. No way I’d ever leave them in a public lock up.

I reckon long travel hard tail is the way to go though. Maximum fun for the least maintenance and cost. More money and time for booze and girls that way too 😉

I kept my bike under my bed in the first year, wheels off it went under easily, just make friends with someone who owns a hosepipe to keep it clean.

Most houses in Crookes (where 90% of 2nd/3rd/4th years lice) have basements so just move into one that hasn’t been converted to another bedroom.

1.There’s a new bike clean and service station in the sheffield uni halls complex. Check the ‘Bike hut’ facebook site for details.
2. If you’ve got a u-lock you won’t have a problem parking it in town or on campus,just don’t leave it overnight.
3. You’ll need gears for the Peaks. Rest of your requirements depend on your ability.
4. Sheffield is a cycle friendly city, enjoy!

4. Sheffield is a cycle friendly city, enjoy!

There are an awful lot of hills for a “cycle friendly city”! But yeah it’s pretty good, a lot of people ride bikes / climb / are generally active. Oh, and for student life – get a bike bag. That way, you can whip the wheels off your mtb, slide it into the bag* and chuck it under the bed whilst keeping your bedroom /halls nice and clean.

* My DHB bag is massive – it takes my (medium) FS bike with just the wheels off – I.e. the bars can stay attached. Not all bike bags are big enough for this.

I suppose we’re talking at cross purposes if you think too many hills makes for a less cycle friendly city. Deal with it,sister!
As for those with bikes under the bed,are you sure you’re students?! Try Manchester – you’ll have your bikes in bed with you (unfortunate for a student).

I suppose we’re talking at cross purposes if you think too many hills makes for a less cycle friendly city. Deal with it,sister!

It depends what image your mind conjures up when you think of the phrase “Cycle Friendly City”. For most people, instant thoughts might include:

Amsterdam
Boris Johnson
Leafy parks with bike lanes running through them
The prime minister in a suit trying to look ‘eco’ by riding into downing st
Fixies / Pashley bikes with baskets / panniers

Tellingly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fixie in Sheffield. I love it, and it’s (IMO) the best city in the UK for keen cyclists, but perhaps not the more casual commuter who is intimidated by big(ish) hills on a commute.

I’m hoping to go to Sheffield next year too!
I hope there are some decent trails within cycling distance from the Uni.
I’m hoping to keep my bike in my room with me 🙂

Aside from all the riding in the peak district you can see parkwood springs from the main uni campus.

@Superficial. I ride a fixie around town – just plot the route to avoid the worst of the hills (and going down some of them is worse than going up!).

I do see the occasional fellow fixed rider as well – seen maybe 10 or so. Certainly gets you fit and yes I do ride with a brake!

Cheers

Danny B

06aw, you’re kidding aren’t you? From Sheffield uni (main campus and student union) trails start within a mile and a half, if you’re at Hallam then you need an extra half mile. From the roundabout on ecclesall road (hunters bar) you can ride through parks and trails and get to the peak district without any road work, other than crossing a couple!
If wharncliffe is your thing then you can cycle there from uni in half an hour or so dependent upon bike and fitness!

I ride fixed round Sheffield as do a few of my mates

Thanks all for the advice! I’ll be going to sheffield uni and staying at ranmoor (hopefully) so closest I can be to the trails! Its good to know about the bike hut, as well as the tips for a bike bag- good solution ! I’m reckoning a long travel belt driven hard tail is the way forward here 🙂

06awjudd- awesome! i’ll mail you, it’d be good to have someone else to.get horribly lost with 😆

I have seen just about every bike riding round sheffield in the last few weeks -fixies, singlespeed, sturmey archer 3 speeds and even a unicycle! So im not sure where superficial has been hiding.

When I moved here in 97 to come to uni the place definitely wasn’t so cycle friendly. There were barely any bike racks in town. There were plenty at uni though but you had to be careful how you locked it and I once had to cycle down to freecycle that used to be on west street to buy an new saddle after one lecture as it had been knicked.

The first bike I had was a piece of junk – and that got knicked as I had used a regular cable lock. Luckily I found the bike again in cash converters and got it back. But I do lock my nicer bikes up around their now – but just use proper locks.

If your based around the hospitals at all they have locked bike sheds – I guess these are accessible by the medical and dental students as well as the staff. Im not sure if they have improved security around the main campus at all.

I would still say get a cheaper bike to commute to uni – once your legs get used to the hills you’ll be able to get everyehere you need to a lot quicker and saves the ridiculous bus fares. Plus the fact if you did end up in crookes you could probably lay in till 8.50 and still have time to get to a 9 o clock lecture in plenty of time! (Maybe tricky to shower in that time but you’ll be a student so it wont matter)

Bolehills bmx track in Crookes. Lived right opposite when I was a student

Cheaper than a bike bag, nip down TJ Hughes and get two cheap quilt covers to put the bike inside

More money for beer that way.

Other side of the peaks but i honestly couldn’t count how many of our lot have cotic bfe’s – some geared some ss. All i ever need to clean my bike were a few rags to wipe stantions and chain down. Would get a full strip and clean once a year usually.

Whatever you do just assume that if you leave any bike locked up somewhere it will at some stage get nicked. That way you won’t leave your main bike locked anywhere and anything you do leave locked up, well if it goes it was just a cheap ratter you did t care for.

Have a look at car boots, charity shops, the local tip for something old and cheap to get around on.

My big tip for halls is befriend the cleaner with chocolates and cups of tea and she will prob not say anything but an old bike bag is a good idea then they can’t say boo to you. Join the MTB club too and if they do say anything just argue its the same as having a football in your room.

daughters bike nicked from in the residences secure store area proper bike locks with cctv …….. police useless and ineffective, so recommend a bike you are prepered to have stolen cheap simple and geared

06aw, you’re kidding aren’t you? From Sheffield uni (main campus and student union) trails start within a mile and a half, if you’re at Hallam then you need an extra half mile. From the roundabout on ecclesall road (hunters bar) you can ride through parks and trails and get to the peak district without any road work, other than crossing a couple!

Sick!!!
I knew the Peaks were close, but I didn’t realize there were trails on the doorstep! Feeling very pleased I went for Sheff over Southampton now 🙂

Yeah, some of the best riding around Sheffield is basically within city limits before you get into the peaks proper. Rivelin valley in particular is sweet.

When I was at uni I was quite lucky in that all my rooms were big enough for me to keep the bike in. I took the wheels of and put it in the bike bag then threw a towel or my lab coat over that just to make it less obvious. Second year, in a bigger house, it just sat in a corner of the room.

Can be a pain sometimes coming back from a ride and having to clean the whole thing or piles of festering clothing hanging round waiting to be taken to the launderette but you’ll soon get into a routine and work it out for your particular requirements.

I used to clean my bike in the kitchen. Initially my housemates objected but then they realised that when I swept up all the mud, I also swept up all the spilt food and general litter too!

Never ever commute on your decent bike. Get a £50 secondhand piece of junk or even just a £99 supermarket special to leave outside/commute on etc.

As to what bike to ride… I rarely use my MTB now, actually prefer the CX for a lot of whats round here (other side of the Peak to you). Rest of the time I’m on a 10yr old Cove Stiffee. But hey, that’s just me and I’m weird. 😉