Cyclists are glassed off | Auckland News | Local News in Auckland

Cyclists are a tough breed in Auckland, sadly their bikes aren't always up to the challenges. Jolene Williams reports.

Every cyclist knows the feeling: miles from home, the dreaded rumbling from below the saddle. I pull off the road to inspect my fourth flat tyre in three weeks. Cycling in Auckland is proving expensive.

Nigel Priest, owner of FullCycle Bikes Greenlane, sympathises. Auckland's roads are littered with broken glass, he says, and cyclists are paying the cost.

"I ride along Tamaki Drive every morning and I guarantee there'll be two or three riders changing tyres on the side of the road," he says.

Commuter cyclists and those with thin racing tyres are most susceptible to punctures from broken glass. They can go through a tube a week, that's $10 each time.

North Harbour Cycling Club president Graeme Wilson says smashed windscreen glass is often pushed to the side of the road, making some roads and cycle lanes "unrideable". Roads are in a worse state after roadside recycling collections and weekend festivities.

Kelvin McAnulty, president of Manukau City Veterans Cycle Club, points out it's not just the financial cost. "It's dangerous for cyclists as they have to ride in the centre of the lane to avoid it, thereby getting in the way of motorists."

Auckland City Council trucks sweep roads every day in the central business district, but  suburban roads are swept once every 13 weeks. The council receives on average five complaints a week  about roadside glass.

Cycle mechanic David Franich agrees Auckland roads are filthy. He cycled 15km a day while living in Christchurch  with only one puncture in 10 months.

Dirt, tar and debris on our roads damage bikes further. "The roads are so dirty that if you've just lubed up your chain, you get oil deposits off the road and it gunges up your chain. It wears the linkages and increases your chain wear," he says.

Auckland cyclists have to maintain their bikes better than most. "Most of the road bikes that we see in here are just filthy. People are frustrated with cleaning them so much they just give up."

Cycle Action Auckland chairman Mark Bracey says glass litter is one of many factors that put people off cycling in Auckland.