Crankbrothers’ Trail Speed Lace Seal promises to solve waterproof shoes’ biggest problem

That clip certainly beats mine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-WYxz0J6Hw

@qwerty360 also: how things seem to pan out as cycling becomes "mainstream transport" in countries * is that the cycling goes where the roads do (or did) - so it naturally is often by/through *places*. It likely feels the same as eg. going places you'd walk to. Plus the best places are aware of "social safety" and engineer this in at all levels, from route choice to eg. lighting and underpass / bridge design details. In developing countries (UK, hopefully...) infra is often repurposed railways / canals. So tends to be indirect, not necessarily overlooked by eg. houses. Indeed it may be out-of-the-way and in cuttings / surrounded by trees and "with no way out". Alternatively it's "quiet streets / rural roads" (same often applies) or otherwise put "where we can". * At "whole country" level I think we're mostly still taking about NL. Not got much recent euro-cycling experience though. But certainly more cities and urban places across Europe are going that direction.

@qwerty360 depends - what are the numbers / what are the risks eg. do lots of people use the example canal path in the evenings / at night? How much of what kind of crime *has* occurred on that canal path? Also: if we're economising (always) - how much of a "key route" is the path vs. being more a "nice to have" (more recreational)? Dunno about Box Hill but I would suggest that canal paths tend to be in the latter category, especially for cyclists. But ... they *might* be more of a route within urban locations I guess. It's a good point about the deterrent *perception* vs. measurable effect of passing traffic. But of course if people perceive something as unsafe most simply won't use it, rightly or wrongly. Hence a route that has minimal or no motor traffic might be a massive benefit to "ordinary people cycling" (or using their mobility scooter...). (If not just a narrow, possibly muddy, path along a canal side).

I'm not seeing much essence of Colnago in this bike. I think I'll stick to my Master Piu.

I suspect there are a LOT of paths with comparable risk factors re crime to the Bristol Bath railway path (BBRP). CCTV is a cost/benefit trade off. A comparable argument IMHO would be should we install CCTV on paths around Box Hill, or Leith hill in surrey; Or along various bits of canal towpath - clearly this isn't practical compared to other methods. Security comes from people passing through; There may be a valid argument that some of these paths should have occasional police patrols. I suspect there are a lot of roads that aren't actually any better overseen, so aren't any safer re crime risks (note that drivers are actually really bad at discouraging crime - the evidence is they don't notice crime on pavements etc because it doesn't impact them, so passing motor traffic has no effect on crime rates); The deterrent on roads is passing pedestrians and/or cyclists, which is the same deterrent as on the BBRP. But there are chunks just far enough out that at night they don't have much traffic so crime isn't deterred.

@bikeman01 I agree the article is a bit garbled, but having checked various sources: Adults (>=16) must wear a helmet at all times on interurban roads. Previous exemptions for long climbs or extreme heat no longer apply. Within urban areas, helmets are still not mandatory for adults. Children (<16) must wear a helmet on any type of road (urban or interurban), which has not changed. Breaches carry a €200 fine (paid for by parents/guardians in the case of children).

@eburtthebike "...having done my job using a backfiets ..." Does that mean "cargo rucksack"?

@Didsbury iron bike? That's got to be a valuable as it's heavy... (Also a regular schlepper of "lots of shopping" plus have moved house - well, flat - by bike back in the day... Cars / vans have become the mobile office / portakabin in most people's minds though. )

@Bill H I admire an optimist, but that doesn't seem to apply in Scotland or Lancs (we're told). "Tough on crime reporting, tough on the causes of crime reporting". If it's enough of a PITA to report it - or people learn that does nothing - soon you don't even need to fob off or otherwise ignore reports. That's a win for your stats!

@chrisonabike Well, at first glance I thought it was Sir Kevin Sinfield in the picture. Now in the TdF v ordinary cyclist claim, he might have a little bit of a chance.