[Redjen]

Hi
Am looking to become a member for the long term and was wondering which of these organisations would be best. Does anybody have any recommendations or are they both ok?
Thanks in advance.

Topic

[Redjen]

I went for CTC in the end
I went for CTC in the end thanks for the advice all :H

[andyp]

BC*F*? What is it, the 1980s
BC*F*? What is it, the 1980s again?

[matthewn5]

I’ve got both, CTC for the
I’ve got both, CTC for the insurance and social rides, and BC to support British racing cyclists. Oh, and BC gives you 12% off a well-known online bike shop.

[JonD]

With ctc membership you get
With ctc membership you get 3rd party insurance cover, tho some categories of bc membership do likewise. But check the small print – I *think* the bc cover excludes member-on-member incidents. I’ve actually got ctc membership plus the cheapest bc membership – the ctc has traditionally done the campaigning stuff, with bc now getting involved tho very late to the party. My bc membership is just to get early notice/priority on events – eg Revolution series. Ctc membership also gets you a discount at some shops (inc Cotswold), dunno about bc. Also includes ctc mag. If you want to get involved in ctc local groups you’ll still have to find ’em yerself, I’d kinda expected to get some sort of local mailings having joined (like my IET membership), but that’s not how it works.
Another alternative for insurance cover is LCC membership.

[Moonraker Mike]

It’s worth joining one of
It’s worth joining one of them, as they both promote cycling, and regularly appear in the press / on the radio as advocates of cycling. Worth a few quid a year as far as I’m concerned. I’m a CTC member as I used to ride with them.

[Redjen]

That’s extremely useful, just
That’s extremely useful, just what I needed to know. Thanks very much 🙂

[OnTheRopes]

Depends what you want from
Depends what you want from either one.
If you have any racing aspirations at all, then BCF. They also have good insurance and free legal aid if you are involved in an accident.

CTC if you are more into touring. They have regional sections which are quite social and have regular rides. Not sure about their insurance but probably worth checking out as I would bet they are as good as BCF.

CTC rides tend to be quite steady and social.

If you join BCF (actually they have dropped the F and its just BC now) then this does not have any club type of rides etc and you will still need to join a cycling club if you want to ride with a club etc. Many of these clubs are BC affiliated anyway.

Of course you don’t have to join either unless you are going to race and you can join a local cycling club without ever being a member.

[Author]

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