Free Membership
FREE MEMBERSHIP
The club has three ways that you can get free membership for the year following the activity 
1. Marshalling/helping/attending various club events/activities in a calendar year
*You need four points or more to qualify for free membership for the next year
*You get 2 points for helping at each of: Club Road Race, Open TT, Cyclo-Cross Race and for timekeeping at the club evening time trials.
*You get 1 point for helping at each of the four club evening time trials:
2-up 10 (Apr and Aug) or 4-up 10 (Aug) or Hill Climb (Aug/Sep)
Requests for help will be made prior to each event on the Spond app and/or our facebook group. You can also check the Calendar page and contact the event organiser directly to volunteer.
*You get 1 point for attending each of the clubs Annual General Meeting, Half Yearly General Meeting and Committee Meetings.
2. Introduce a new member to the club
If you introduce someone that has not previously been a member or attended a ride, then when they have officially joined (completed the membership form and paid their subs), you will qualify for free membership in the following subscription year. The newly joining member must add your name to the membership form when they join or you should send an email to the Membership Secretary before they join in order to benefit from this.
3. Organise an open event or series on behalf of the club
Please contact the Committee Chair if you are interested in organising an event.
Road Race, Time Trial, Cyclo Cross, Reliability Ride.
All claims subject to the discretion of the Committee.
Cycling Insurance
Risk, protection and insurance
- Seacroft Wheelers does not provide any personal insurance in relation to individuals riding with the club. As an organisation, we have public liability insurance through both British Cycling and Cycling UK to cover claims against the club or its officers/representatives.
- This cover does not extend to general membership, unless acting in some official capacity on the club’s behalf. Members are strongly advised to review their own personal insurance requirements, e.g. if involved in an accident, especially one causing damage or injury to third parties.
- Relevant cover is available through organisations like British Cycling and Cycling UK, specialist cycling insurance providers, or in some cases home insurance.
British Cycling Cover
All new members and anyone that hasn’t been a member of British Cycling before should read this…..
All 1st Claim members that haven’t been a member of B.C. before get a 40% discount off “Member” and “Premium” B.C. membership for the first year because the club is affiliated to B.C.
When you are completing the form tick the “I belong to a Club/Team” and enter “Seacroft Wheelers” in the Find Main Club/Team field (it should auto complete when you start to type).
On the payment screen under the “Promotional Code” section add “NCMEM40” and click “apply” (details correct as of 2024).
If you are racing then you should consider the “Premium” membership level of cover. A race license can be added to either membership levels for £40 per year.
The main benefit of joining is Liability insurance and legal support (see conditions) for training, commuting and club rides . Read the details but essentially BC legal team will work on your behalf to resolve any incidents for you, without which you would have to make your own arrangements. We would strongly advise you to take advantage of this offer unless you have similar cover elsewhere.
There are additional benefits like 10% off purchases at Halfords for example.
Full details here.. https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/clubs/membership
Cycling UK
Cycling UK also do a similar liability and legal support, As a Cycling UK affiliated club all 1st claim members receive a discounted annual membership of £26 (regular price £48) full details here https://www.cyclinguk.org/join. (NOTE: the discounted membership excludes legal advice)
(NOTE: All the above info was correct at time of writing, check the level of cover is suitable for you at time of purchase)
Organisations/links
Organisations
Cycling UK (formerly Cyclists Touring Club)
Veterans Time Trial Association
League of Veteran Racing Cyclists
St Theresas Athletic Club, friendly local running club meeting Tuesdays and Thursdays
https://www.mummysgoneacycle.com/seacroft-wheelers/
Bike Shops
Leeds Bike Mill– recycled bikes for sale starting from £70
The Bikes College– more recycled bikes for sale
Fine Fettle Cycles Barwick-in-Elmet local bike shop
CycleSense Tadcaster local bike shop
Leisure Lake Bikes Crossgates, Leeds local bike shop
ReCycle York – repairing and selling pre loved bikes
Media
Cycle1st.com All things cycling portal
WheelHub Cycling products comparison site
Cafés
North Yorkshire CTC Café Guide
Seacroft Wheelers very own Café & Routes Guide
Weather
Metcheck Short & long term forecasts
Rainfall Today Detailed rainfall radar.
Maintenance Tips
Maintenance and Cleaning
A well maintained and clean bike will minimise your risk of mechanicals when out on a ride.
What does that mean ? Well, that the brakes and gears are adjusted correctly, brake blocks (or disk pads if you have those) and tyres checked for wear/damage, no frayed gear or brake cables, both wheels run true and no loose spokes. Tyres are inflated to within the min/max pressure (written on the sidewall of the tyre) before every ride (purchasing a Track Pump for home use is a good idea) and all nuts/bolts/quick release levers are appropriately tight (torqued to manufacturers guidelines where appropriate).
“Clean” mainly refers to the drive train (chain, front and rear mech, cassette and chain rings) and the braking surface of the wheels. A clean drive train will mean slick and efficient gear changing and reduce the chance of missed gear/dropped chain/grinding to a halt. Use a de-greaser on the drive train and don’t forget to re-apply oil/lubricant to the chain after cleaning or it will rust and not shift as smoothly.
The bike “fitting” you, is very important for comfort/efficiency and to prevent injury. This means the correct size frame is bought and the seat and handlebars are set to the correct height, with the best stem length. The seat is positioned the correct distance from the handlebars and at the best angle for you. Pedal cleats also need to be set up in the best position (if the videos in the link at the bottom of this page don’t help you adjust this yourself and you are still experiencing problems then you may want to consider paying for a professional bike fit). A decent bike shop should be able to advise and even provide a bike fit when you purchase a new bike and help you match the geometry of the frame to the type of riding you do and consider your physical proportions, flexibility and any injuries/special considerations.
Component wear
A note on the life span of bike components, most mechanical parts degrade over time and obviously the more miles you do the quicker this will happen. So why is that noteworthy ? Well, replacing them before they fail will reduce the likelihood of a “mechanical” during a ride, possibly causing delays/lifts home or even injury.
The chain will probably wear first (stretch), this can be checked with a chain wear tool (pictured). These are low cost items (sub £5) and most of them measure the % of stretch over 6 links and it is recommended that a chain is replaced between the 0.75 and 1% indicators. In percentage terms this does not sound like a lot but a worn chain will wear your cassette and chain rings quicker (and reduce shifting efficiency), so replacing your chain as soon as it gets to the 0.75% will save you money in the long run because the chain is the cheapest part of the drive train to replace and it is a very easy thing to check. (click on the “i” when you open these pictures to see their descriptions)
Worn brake blocks reduce braking efficiency and stopping distance, as the block wears you can use the barrel adjuster, found on most brake calipers to allow for this wear and move the block closer to the rim. This is a quick and easy way to improve your braking without adjusting the caliper itself.
Tyres of course also wear and this will reduce the grip/handling of the bike and increase your chance of punctures/incidents. Check these regularly (before every ride) for any debris lodged/rips/tears/cuts etc and replace before they cause you a problem.
Longer term items of wear such as the braking surface of wheels and gear and brake cables should also be monitored and replaced where appropriate. An annual bike service is a good idea to check all of these things mentioned above as well as the bearings in the wheels/headset/bottom bracket and replaced where appropriate. Wheel bearings checked regularly is another area that can save you a lot of money in the long run, worn wheel bearings can damage the hub of your wheels resulting in a costly repair or even retire the wheels permanently.
Repairing Punctures
Checking and replacing your tyres regularly will help the occurrence of punctures but it’s important that you know what to do should you puncture on a ride.
- Shift into the smallest cog on your cassette (for rear wheel punctures).
- Undo brake quick release, (see third picture in gallery above, bikes with disk brakes don’t have this) and remove inner tube valve cap and collar .
- Undo inner tube valve nipple and press to release any remaining air.
- Undo wheel quick release and remove wheel from the bike.
- Using tyre levers remove the tyre from the wheel and remove inner tube.
- Check inner tube and tyre (inside and out) for source of puncture and remove (if it’s not a pinch flat).
- Insert new inner tube, putting a little bit of air in first can help.
- Replace tyre, ideally without tyre levers to avoid pinching the inner tube but be careful not to pinch the tube if you do have to use them.
- Check that the inner tube is not pinched between tyre and wheel on both sides by pushing the tyre away from rim and make sure that you can not see any of the inner tube or when you inflate it this will puncture.
- Inflate tyre to desired PSI and check it stays inflated, tighten valve nipple and replace valve collar and valve cap.
- Put the wheel back on the bike, pushing it firmly into the frame drop outs, closing the wheel quick release and centering the wheel between the brake pads where necessary. Note- it is often easier to get the wheel in properly when the bike is upright.
- Close the brake quick release (bikes with disk brakes don’t have this).
- Take your old inner tube with you and dispose of properly.
A lot of handy videos on how to do all these things mentioned in this section can be found on the Global Cycling Network navigate to the appropriate section or use the search function (click on the magnifying glass in the top right of the page).
Feel free to ask any questions you may have on the facebook group or email 🙂
British Cycling have some handy maintenance videos here.