Learn Hardcore Czech: Jednou bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole. - One day I would like to ride a bike often in the summer.

Jednou bych chtěl… = One day I’d like to… / Someday I’d like to…
It expresses a vague, non-specific future, like English “sometime in the future”.

It can mean “once / one time” in other contexts:

Jednou jsem tam byl. = I was there once.

So the meaning depends on context. With bych chtěl (a wish about the future), jednou is almost always “one day / someday”.

Why is it bych chtěl and not just chci?

Chci is the normal present tense: „I want“.

Bych chtěl is a conditional form and is much softer and more polite, similar to:

„I would like“ rather than „I want“.

So:

Jednou bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole.
= One day I’d like to ride a bike often in summer. (polite, wishful, hypothetical)

If you said:

Jednou chci v létě jezdit často na kole.

it would sound more strong / determined: One day I want to ride… (sounds like a firm decision, not a gentle wish).

Why is it bych chtěl and not chtěl bych? Which word order is correct?

Both bych chtěl and chtěl bych are grammatically correct, but:

The neutral, most natural order is usually chtěl bych.
Bych chtěl is also used, especially in speech, but the standard textbook form is „chtěl bych“.

So you’ll most often see:

Jednou bych chtěl…
Jednou chtěl bych… is possible but feels less neutral.
Já bych chtěl… is very common too (explicit já).

In your sentence, Jednou bych chtěl… is fully acceptable and quite common in everyday language, but if you are producing Czech, it’s safe to learn and use „chtěl bych“ as your default pattern:

Chtěl bych jednou v létě často jezdit na kole.

Why is there no já? Shouldn’t it be Já bych chtěl…?

Czech is a “pro-drop” language: subject pronouns are often omitted, because the verb ending and context already show the person.

(Já) bych chtěl… = I would like…
The form bych chtěl already implies I, so já is usually unnecessary.

You add já only for emphasis or contrast:

Já bych chtěl jezdit na kole, ale on nechce.
I would like to ride a bike, but he doesn’t.

Why is chtěl in a past-tense form if we are talking about the future?

In Czech, the conditional of most verbs is formed with:

past participle (the -l form) + conditional particle (bych, bys, by, bychom, byste)

So:

chtěl jsem = I wanted (past)
chtěl bych = I would like (conditional)

The form chtěl here is not really past anymore; it’s part of the conditional structure:

já bych chtěl
ty bys chtěl / chtěla
on by chtěl, ona by chtěla etc.

So don’t think of chtěl itself as “past” here; think of chtěl bych as a unit meaning “I would like”.

What is the difference between jezdit and jet? Why is it jezdit here?

Czech has special motion verbs with two main patterns:

“One direction / one trip” verbs – e.g. jet, jít, letět
“Repeated / habitual / multi-directional” verbs – e.g. jezdit, chodit, létat

Jet na kole = to go by bike (one particular trip, in one direction)
Jezdit na kole = to ride a bike regularly, repeatedly, habitually

In your sentence:

Jednou bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole.

The speaker talks about a habit in summers (riding often), not about one specific ride, so jezdit (the repeated/habitual verb) is the correct choice.

Why is it na kole and not something like s kolem or kolem?

The basic Czech expression for “by bike / on a bike” is:

jezdit na kole

Literally: to ride on a bike.

Here:

na = “on”
kole = the locative singular of kolo (bike, wheel)

So na kole means “on the bike”, and by extension, “by bike”.

You do not say:

jezdit s kolem – that means “to go with a bike (accompanying it / pushing it)”.
jezdit kolem – means “to ride around [something]”.

So na kole is the standard idiomatic way to say “to cycle / to ride a bike”.

What case is kole in na kole, and why?

Kole is in the locative case.

The pattern is:

na
- locative = usually “on, at” (location)

Examples:

na stole = on the table
na univerzitě = at the university
na kole = on a bike

There is also na + accusative (for movement onto something), but with jezdit na kole it’s fixed as locative and is just an idiomatic way of saying “to ride a bike”.

Can I move často or v létě to different positions? For example:
Jednou bych chtěl často v létě jezdit na kole.

Yes, Czech word order is fairly flexible, and you can move často and v létě. All of these are grammatically possible:

Jednou bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole.
Jednou bych chtěl často jezdit v létě na kole.
Jednou bych chtěl v létě často jezdit na kole.

The usual neutral feel is something like:

Jednou bych chtěl v létě často jezdit na kole.
(time phrase v létě after the verb, then často, then the infinitive phrase)

Moving the adverbs changes the rhythm and slight emphasis, but not the basic meaning. For a learner, the original sentence’s word order is perfectly natural and safe.

How do jednou and v létě work together? Is it “one summer” or any summer?

In Jednou bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole:

jednou = someday in the future (in general),
v létě = during (the) summer (in general, not one specific summer).

So the meaning is roughly:

Someday in my life, I’d like it that in (the) summer I ride a bike often.

It doesn’t mean “one particular summer”; it’s more like a future life situation where, in summers, you regularly ride a bike. Context could make it about one particular future summer, but by default it’s general.

Why is it v létě and not v léto?

Léto (summer) has different forms depending on the case:

Nominative: léto (summer – subject)
Accusative: léto (I like summer)
Locative: v létě, o létě (in summer, about summer)

After v meaning “in (time)”, Czech uses the locative case, so you need the locative form:

v létě = in (the) summer
v zimě = in winter
na jaře = in spring
na podzim = in autumn / in the fall

So v léto is incorrect; v létě is the proper locative form.

If a woman is speaking, does the form chtěl change?

Yes. The -l participle agrees with the gender of the subject.

Man: Já bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole.
Woman: Já bych chtěla v létě jezdit často na kole.

Spoken Czech often drops já:

Man: Bych chtěl v létě jezdit často na kole.
Woman: Bych chtěla v létě jezdit často na kole.

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.

Is there a shorter or more casual way to say the same idea?

Some common, natural alternatives:

Jednou bych chtěl v létě často jezdit na kole. – original
Chtěl bych jednou v létě často jezdit na kole. – same meaning, slightly different word order
Jednou bych chtěl v létě hodně jezdit na kole. – hodně = a lot
Jednou chci v létě často jezdit na kole. – more determined (One day I want…)
Jednou bych chtěl v létě hodně jezdit na kolečkách / na bruslích. – if you switch to inline skates, etc.

The original sentence is already very natural and sounds like normal spoken Czech.