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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
Jakrayan 22 minutes ago
I'm criticising them for not riding in secondary position, not primary. At least 60cms (2 feet) from the edge of the road as the HC explicitly recommends. Leaving aside the small minority of riders who find mounting and dismounting a bike difficult - which sounds suspiciously similar to the motorists "but, but what about disabled drivers?" when talking about LTNs - what's wrong with able bodied riders walking the few metres over that narrow, Victorian bridge? Sure, if there's clearly no-one on it I wouldn't condemn anyone for riding it slowly, but if it's not clear forcing pedestrians to stop and squeeze to the side is, frankly, a rather entitled opinion. Plus it's easy to hold a road bike a little ahead of you and hold the saddle - normally no need to hold the bars if it's straight - so you're really not taking up much more room at all. There's a railway underpass near me that links to a shared then segregated path. It's narrow, and the path approaches at an angle so you can't see if it's clear, but many riders still choose to pedal through despite the clear 'no cycling' signage. Why?? Personally I don't go that way, except on foot, preferring the surrounding roads.
bensynnock 44 minutes ago
I think you're giving drivers too much credit. Many would not think twice about blocking the road if it makes their life easier, such as when turning right onto a busy road.
bensynnock 47 minutes ago
They might have to, but they won't. What they will do is pull out over the cycle path while they wait for a gap in motor traffic.
Safety 1 hour ago
"We have enough regulation." I agree with the exception being legally allowed to sell something which is virtually illegal to use. How many purchasers own a suitably large piece of private land?
Tradescant 5 hours ago
@jackcycles I'm not sure my grandchildren got that memo. Cycling should not be just for hardened road warriors.
DS2025 5 hours ago
Chrisonabike There are a number of police forces in England and Wales that are using portable testing equipment already... How effective it is another matter, I haven't looked into the results of failing (I would hope they just seize and crush the motorbike without any faff but I am sure there are appeal processes, promises not to use them on public roads etc).
KiwiMike 6 hours ago
Woah there - a precision-engineered European-made product, with unparalleled adaptability, is somehow a ‘rip off’? Compared to what - Temu? As per the article, most quality through-axles go for £50-60+, but aren’t adaptable and don’t provide any stand or trailer capability. If you want to balance your £3-4-5k suspension or carbon bike, or bikepacking setup on a budget product subject to highly focused stresses, fair play. Cycling’s a broad church.
Dnnnnnn 6 hours ago
@eburtthebike I've found Spanish drivers to be almost entirely excellent around cyclists.
neilmck 7 hours ago
I agree, the study was made after cycle paths that had been introduced in Berlin during the 70’s and 80’s caused a big increase in cycling deaths. It is an interesting study for cyclists to read in order to know what dangers exist at badly designed junctions. Here in Paris we have very few bi-directional paths. The ones I have cycled on have no building entrances or courtyards (so no cars crossing the path) and every junction is traffic lights to prevent accidents.
thrawed 7 hours ago
We have enough regulation. They're running a motorbike without insurance/registration and possibly without a licence, and the punishment for being caught with all that is pretty severe already. The problem is lack of enforcement.
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?