Serious About Cycling? Get On Your Bike To Cmw
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday July 4, 2000
You don't buy a suit that won't fit or shoes that are too small, but many serious cycling enthusiasts buy a bike that isn't right for them.
Martin Wyles, proprietor of CMW Cycle Specialist at Albion Park Rail, specialises in custom-made frames to suit a rider's needs.
``Elite athletes know their sport but don't know their mechanics," Mr Wyles said. ``They buy the nearest thing to the right bike because they don't have a choice to do anything else. And a lack of education among bicycle shop owners stops the rider from being fitted out closer to the correct size.
``I custom-make the frames to your body size whereas if you walk into a shop you have to take what the manufacturer considers is a standard size for the general populace."
Mr Wyles runs a specialised business and has a range of clients from elite athletes to social riders.
``I've just designed a bike for a lady who weighs over 20 stone and needs a bike built around her physical demands," he said.
``The bike we came up with has three wheels, two at the front. It's poorly designed from a bicycle point of view but very well designed from her point of view. We make bicycle frames of any description - mountain bikes, track bikes, road bikes, BMX and now a few disabled bikes."
Mr Wyles likened his service to a tailor making the right suit for a businessman.
``We spend too much time reading glossy magazines and just take in all the hype," he said.
He has some simple advice for those looking to buy a bike to meet their needs.
``Measure yourself and know what size bike is right for you. If you have unusually long arms then handlebars need to be changed," he said. ``A lot of technical things are important such as the length of the crank. In a bike shop 90 per cent of the bikes all have a 170mm crank. But a 170mm crank is made for a five-foot-seven (1.7m) person. If you are five-foot (1.52m) tall you should have 165 (crank), if you're six foot (1.83m) tall you should have 175, but because of mass production there is no move to do that.
``Consequently you get a bike which will do the job for a general purpose person but is sub-standard if you were going to race it or do any kind of performance activity."
Mr Wyles said for the cycling enthusiast the cost of a custom-made bike was comparable to buying one from a retailer.
``A bike from a bike shop costing $2000 would be around the $2200 mark through me. I order specific parts, so the bike itself isn't really the same bike as from a normal shop, it's a bike to suit a particular person."
Most of Mr Wyles' customers are performance/serious enthusiast riders. He also offers what he calls an ``NRMA service for bikes".
``For a $35 fee I'll look at your bike and give it an assessment. I've actually stopped a few people from buying a bike which was really bad for them," he said.
© 2000 Illawarra Mercury
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