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Live blog: Trump trade war with China to cause US bike prices to soar, dinosaurs on bikes, Paris-Roubaix winner Mat Hayman to retire + more
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Tue, Sep 18, 2018 08:10
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
wtjs 13 hours ago
@FionaJJ These officers deployed next-level stupidity, and it must be difficult for the police to find people this dim. It doesn't even need rolling-roads or whatever, just a reputable bike computer on a quickly changed mount for the difficult cases where a proper EAPC has been modded, although you would need to look hard in Lancashire to find a police officer who knows how to make a pedal cycle go. Most illegal electric motorbikes are immediately obvious, not least because the crim is wearing a face mask. I saw an obvious one tonight coming out of Garstang Sainsbury's, not pedalling but without a face mask because everybody knows that the police only come into the town to hide away in the police station 200 yards away.
bikeman01 14 hours ago
Gustav Gullholm.. that's not a good look mate
mdavidford 16 hours ago
@Chris RideFar I think what you meant to say was "REMOVE this and put it on PODCAST CC".
jaymack 18 hours ago
As Mary Whitehouse never said - one doesn't have to read the article if one doesn't want to read about an off-road bicycle.
Rendel Harris 18 hours ago
@FionaJJ In London they're allowed to stop on single and double yellows to deliver packages or empty pillar boxes; in practice they take this as carte blanche to park wherever and whenever they want, such as this chap on the Brixton Road who pulled into the bus/cycle/motorcycle lane without indicating, as I approached at 20mph, to park on a red route, response to a remonstrance, "I suppose you never get post delivered do ya?"
FionaJJ 19 hours ago
@Rendel Harris We have a pavement parking ban, but around here at least, royal mail vans are already exempt, subject to certain caveats, such as allowing at least 1.5m, and only being stopped to do their work.
FionaJJ 19 hours ago
It was already embarrassing for the police that they made such a mess of their attempt to determine whether a bike was legal or not, but I had assumed it was a group of well intentioned, but under-trained officers acting on their own initiative, having spotted something they thought looked not quite right. I'm now discovering this was a planned activity, something sufficiently organised to have been given a name - Operation FRISLEN, designed specifically to identify and remove illegal e-bikes and scooters. It's apparent that the officers were sent out without adequate training, never mind the kind of equipment that should be used for this sort of work. I'm not saying they always need specialist equipment to spot all illegal bikes, but at least if they'd been given a demonstration with that equipment, they'd have realised why their approach was not going to end well.
Geoff Ingram 21 hours ago
Have put drop bars on a 2001 B1 mtb, a 2007 stumpy hardtail and a 2010 stumpy full suss. In all cases fairly basic conversións leaving gearing and wheels broadly the same and concentrating on correct positioning of bars and fit. Oddly, with all 3 I was happy with the result when recently done, but after a few months found that the extra speed on easy trails was more than offset by the lack of ability (probably mine) on tougher routes and finally preferred flat bar with slammed and inverted stem as best overall compromise. Good fun playing around, though.
mark1a 21 hours ago
The photos in this review look they are for a different bag?
mattw 22 hours ago
This is a strange reactionary knee jerk overall. But what is this "are essentially motorbikes in disguise" waffle? "One letter claimed that high-powered electric ‘e-bikes’ were “essentially motorbikes” in disguise, with many being used without lights, helmets, or any hi-vis clothing." Surely, they simply ARE motorbikes?
15 thoughts on “Live blog: Trump trade war with China to cause US bike prices to soar, dinosaurs on bikes, Paris-Roubaix winner Mat Hayman to retire + more”
This year’s Red Bull Hard
This year’s Red Bull Hard Line – off the scale mental IMHO.
Regarding the mamil Tweet.
Regarding the mamil Tweet. Yes the guy was seems like a total dick (although she’s doesn’t actually explain what happened apart from she was attacked – an extremely strong word to use btw) but going onto twitter and using a word like ‘MAMIL’ – a word with very negative connotations…as she very well knows. That’s not acceptable either. I saw the thread last night and it’s not acceptable to define an entire sub group of people by one persons actions.
I’ve seen it too many times on twitter/FB and so on. It’s not right. Who cares what the guy was wearing/riding? If he’s a dick he’s a dick. 99% of the dicks on my route are wearing normal clothes and riding non racing bikes, but I dont rant and rave about ‘ALL’ ‘utility cyclists’ being bad…it’s just that my route is heavily dominated by that ‘type’ of cyclist, and most are absolutely fine as with all groups.
MAMIL #everdaysexism no?
MAMIL #everdaysexism no?
typical over reaction, just ignore him or tell him to fuck off.
Oh and as for being ‘attacked’, being told ‘you’re cheating is not being attacked!
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Definitely #everydaysexism though, and very much a dick!
StoopidUserName wrote:
Actually no, her version of someone saying something to do with her being a female and overtaking him is without merit and I personally think it’s made up cobblers, he saying it was cheating, yes, I can beleive that but that’s not sexism at all.
I think her story is full of holes frankly, she’s already an overeacting drama queen when she’s said she’s been attacked when she wasn’t so why should I beleive everything she’s said?
Is MAMIL really that negative
Is MAMIL really that negative? It’s pretty much a literal description of a lot of leisure cyclists… I’ve never perceived it negatively, and I’m not insulted by it. I am middle aged. I am a man. I am (when cycling) in Lycra.
vonhelmet wrote:
MAMIL is a little bit negative – it’s got some connotations of men past their prime dressing up in lycra to try and recapture their youth. However, I think what might be opbjectionable in this use of the word/acronym is the negative generalisation in the tweet “Fragile MAMIL egos”, that suggests all middle-aged male cyclists are dicks like the one in this incident.
henryb wrote:
It’s all about context. I’m happy to take the pee out of myself and fellow middle aged peeps in lycra…but in this context, it’s being used not lightheartedly but in a derogatory way (whether she meant that or not, probably didn’t even think about it).
I stopped following a lot of the mainstream cycle campaigners on twitter after a couple years as I saw too much of this sort of thing. All cyclists are equal…except some are more equal than others. There are ‘people on bikes’ (a popular term used to normalise people riding bikes) and there are scum – that’s people wearing lycra on ‘racing type’ bikes. Doesn’t matter how practical it is for a long commute, you dont fit in to the accepted norm thus can be demonised as a problem.
That’s my take, many are not like that of course, but I dont like the hypocrisy of people who moan about all the daily mail style cyclist bashing then do the same thing to a sub group themselves. It’s not something to get too worked up about, but still.
Just ride your bike and be happy! 🙂
vonhelmet wrote:
I’m technically a MAMIL too so it’s likely not negative when we say it. However it’s often used in a derogatory way and in her case it was very definitely intended to be derogatory.
vonhelmet wrote:
Yes. Nearly always connected with ‘negative’ behaviour.
Groups blocking the road
Weaving in and out of traffic
Only one speed – maximum
Not obeying the road laws
Wiggins wannabes (until they catch up with the current batch of winners).
No one else get a label for what they wear in the way cyclists do.
i know guys can be d!cks but
i know guys can be d!cks but i honestly can’t picture in my mind how that confrontation went down.
I do know that it is compulsary to lightheartedly say “ho, ho that’s cheating” or similar to an e-bike rider if you chat to them at the lights.
Or maybe i’m just thinking it through from my privileged male position and i’m part of the problem.
#everydaysenseofhumourbypass
#everydaysenseofhumourbypass ?
If I’m riding in London,
If I’m riding in London, which I often do with the dog in the basket, a lot of the issues I have with other cyclists (especially close overtakes/undertakes at speed) are with what one might term MAMILs … middle aged, male, in Lycra …
To coin another acronym, though, I do find certain McBobs to be in a world of their own and not give the proverbial about anyone else on a bike, almost inadvertently sent one into the Regent’s Canal a few months ago when he zoomed past me on my left on the towpath when there simply wasn’t space to do that (actually hit my arm as he passed me, I was riding about 3 feet from towpath edge).
‘McBobs’ … ?
Oh, Male commuting bankers on Bromptons.
Emma McInnes, if that is your
Emma McInnes, if that is your real name: you are Serena Williams and I claim my £5.
As all we have is a totally
As all we have is a totally one sided tweet, we can’t tell how tongue in cheek the ‘cheating’ comment is. Perhaps he overtook her by natural means, then she put on the after burners to overtake back then blocked him off. Who knows?