Get Help after a Collision

For all the talk about the war on motorists this is definitely a time car owners and drivers need to pay. Not only is the onus on those with more power to take more responsibility the need for compensation when a car collides with a cyclist is ever more important as the value of bikes and the costs of repair increases along with the potential loss of earnings and health implications.

When you are the victim of a collision with a vehicle as a cyclist you sometimes feel there is no recourse, no one around to help with getting your valuable form of transport fixed quickly or help getting fixed yourself.

Well there is.

CAMS has been operating for a number of years and helps cyclist's who have been involved in collisions not only get their bikes fixed but also get the necessary help and compensation to get back on their bike. We've worked with CAMS on a number of occasions and can't fault their desire and passion to get you back on your bike.

CAMS will take care of everything for you from getting your bicycle fixed immediately or replaced, along with keeping in touch about your health and paying for lost earnings or private medical care. To do this CAMS claim off the drivers insurance and so long as you have a registration number of the car that caused the collision you can make a claim.

Want to know more about CAMS.

Ticket or Ride

Let’s imagine you still have to go into work, whatever the current Covid status. Many people do: care workers, cleaners, retail staff, frontline key workers of all descriptions.

If you’re on the minimum wage, the cost of that journey is a very large part of your ‘how do I make ends meet?’ calculations.

Quite often, whether you’ve found a job cleaning trams or stacking Christmas puddings in a supermarket, your accommodation won’t be just round the corner. And if you can’t afford a car (a third of South Yorkshire households are carless) you’ll have to weigh up the cost of public transport.

A monthly ticket will knock you back £54 if you restrict yourself to one bus company in Sheffield, £65 if you need to use several bus operators and the tram, or £88 if you need to cross into Rotherham, Barnsley or Doncaster.

Mechanic explaining problems to a bike commuter

We know what you’re thinking: why not use the Cycle to Work scheme? Instead of paying £54 (or more) for a boring bus journey, you could ask your employer for a really nice £800 bike, £100 worth of kit and end up paying £51 a month instead, and after a year, nothing! A no-brainer, surely?

Except, like many care workers, cleaners, and retail staff, you can’t.

That’s because you can only get the the advertised 25-39% discounts of the Cycle to Work scheme if you earn more than the minimum wage. The low paid are effectively excluded from a national scheme that allows someone on a salary of £50,000 to save £2,500 on the cost of the Pinarello road bike they’ve picked up to nip in to the office for a sales meeting.

Many low paid workers have made those calculations about bus tickets and bikes in Sheffield, and fully understand the health and environmental benefits of cycling to work, just like everyone else. But they can’t access that handy discount many of us get for ouir commuter bikes, so they usually get something cheap, which is hard to ride, and breaks down all the time. And then maybe they’ll just go back to paying 20% of their monthly income on a bus ticket.

We think it’s time for some levelling up in cycle commuting too.

CliffHanger 2015 Day 2 -

What a great weekend at Cliffhanger 2015. 

Being a small independent bike shop we really value your feedback.

If you were one of the many people who spoke to us over the weekend: first, thank you for saying hello and if you have had any subsequent questions, thoughts or ideas, please get in touch (via email, phone or comment below). We really want to hear from you.

We also produced a new brochure for the event, if you didn't pick one up or you were not at Millhouses Park this weekend, we still have a few copies in our shop at the Station or you can download a PDF version here: Love Commuting? You might if you ride.

As you might have read in our last blog post we used Cliffhanger to launch our new Commuter Bike Trial. We think, right now, really is the best time to give cycling to work a go:

This week the schools in Sheffield break-up for their summer holidays; so, generally for the next six weeks the traffic gets lighter - which is great. For your inspiration: The Tour de France is in full swing with live coverage and highlights on ITV4 and on July 22, 2015, Sheffield hosts the 2015 Elite City Center Cycling at the Sheffield Grand Prix.

Not forgetting, our handpicked range of new 2015 Marin and Tern bikes in the shop and a fleet of Hire Bikes all ready for you to try.

We are here to help, support and encourage you to get on your bike. The services we offer:

• Free Sheffield Route Planning.
• Free Cycle Fitness Advice.
• Bike Repairs / Service (old bikes made roadworthy and safe).
• One-to-One new bike specialists.
• We are now registered with all the major Tax Free Bike Schemes.
• Sheffield's Original and Independent City Centre Bike Hire Scheme: only £1 per hr. 
• A New 'Commuter Bike Trial' with cashback.

Get in touch; let us help you get fitter, travel greener and start enjoying your commute.

Love Commuting? You might if you ride.