Welcome to today’s edition of the road.cc Live News Blog with Simon MacMichael leading the news team chaingang…
And that’s it for today, the Live blog will be back tomorrow with all the news from the site and beyond, but as ever, mainly beyond.
Live blog: Britain’s favourite bike colour revealed (no, not that one either), Super veiny pro legs alert, New Wilier Cento, New Ubyk, Hackney transformation + snow and more
All the news from the site and beyond this black Tuesday
Tue, Jan 22, 2019 15:52
SUMMARY
22 January 2019, 15:52
Latest graphene news
Well, not really. But since all the tyre and frame talk is about graphene these days we thought we’d share this gem from Viz…
22 January 2019, 15:52
Yesterday we were mainly talking about… Decathlon's new Van Rysel road bike range
Looking cool, and looking an awful lot like the BTwin Ultra 900 recently crowned as road.cc’s 2018/19 Bike of the Year and Road bike of the Year – basically because the first Van Rysel is a renamed Ultra. One big talking point was the lack of disc brakes – they’ll have ’em in 2020 but that was a bit late for some of you. Read the full story here
22 January 2019, 15:52
…and 5 Cool things
Our weekly quintet of interesting items that have landed in the road.cc office for review is always worth a gander – you can get the full lowdown on this week’s list here
22 January 2019, 15:52
Britain's* favourite bike colour? Yes, it's black
On Friday we asked you what your favourite bike colour is and your answer came back loud and clear. It’s still black.
And it all looked so different on Friday, blue was in the lead for most of the day – we’d even dug out a really nice pic of a Mason just in case and had hopes that the result would confound expectations and the old bike industry cliche that Brits like black bikes best, but over the weekend your affinity for black bikes asserted itself and black romped home a clear winner**. Nobody’s ever totally explained why it is that British cyclists in particular seem to like black bikes but it is a KNOWN THING, for many years it was something of a running joke at Eurobike with bike brands including a black version of their high volume carbon bikes ‘especially for you Brits’ the marketing guy would say with a sigh .
It has to be said the preference for black has always been more of a road bike phenomenon than an off-road one, which perhaps relates to one of the two big reasons cited as to why British road cyclists like black bikes – you never have to worry about a bike/kit colour clash with a black bike – not such an issue if you and your mountain bike are going to be the same shade of mud five minutes in to the ride.
The other reason Brits are thought to favour black bikes? They look more expensive… yeah, maybe. Obviously the real reason is cos black bikes look cool.
Those results in full:
Black – 23 %
Red – 16%
White – 7%
Blue/Celeste (if you think Celeste is blue) – 12%
Green/Celeste (if you think Celeste is green) – 10%
Silver/grey – 5%
Another colour. Or all the colours – 27%
*Those British (and other) people who vote in road.cc Friday afternoon polls
**(okay Another colour got one per cent more but that doesn’t really count).
22 January 2019, 15:52
…and here's a nice blue bike cos we'd already dug the picture out
22 January 2019, 15:52
Back on his bike
An Edinburgh veteran whose passion for cycling was halted by his sight loss has jumped back on the saddle for the first time in 20 yearshttps://t.co/XYerHrbthm
— Edinburgh News (@edinburghpaper) January 21, 2019
An 84-year-old former elite cyclist who was forced to quit riding due to his poor eyesight is now back in the saddle thanks to a collaboration between the Linburn Centre and Cycling UK’s tandem cycling club VIE Velo. VIE Velo was set up for those with visual impairments to get on their bikes again, and Edinburgh News report that it’s given Bryce Campbell a new lease of life. Full story here.
22 January 2019, 15:52
Credit unknown...
22 January 2019, 15:52
We come from the land of the ice and snow...
…well this morning we do anyway – in fact a road.cc staffer who will remain anonymous took a tumble on some black ice this morning, before admitting defeat and deciding to work from home! You’ll find our top tips for avoiding similar peril in our bumper Cycling Survival guide to riding through ice and snow.
22 January 2019, 15:52
At this time of year, riding it is out of the question...
22 January 2019, 15:52
Cyclists and their weird legs continued... Enric Mas nicolau of Deceuninck–Quick-Step
Trabajando duro para intentar tener las mismas piernas que el año pasado / Working hard to try having the same legs as last year (Foto Sigfrid Eggers) pic.twitter.com/BF8T078iU6
— Enric Mas Nicolau (@EnricMasNicolau) January 21, 2019
With pro riders getting the hard yards in before grand tour season starts, training intensity will be nearing its highest and kg’s will be starting to drop off after the festive break… and for athletes whose sole aim in life other than cycling is to weigh as little as possible, that also seems to mean horribly veiny legs. In the past couple of years we’ve seen eye-popping pin pics from the likes of Chris Froome (below) and Polish rider Pawel Poljanski, who was the inspiration behind our must-read ‘Why are pro cyclists’ legs so veiny?’ feature from 2017. Who do you think has the weirdest?
Our man @chrisfroome is looking absolutely ripped ahead of #LBL on Sunday! (Photo: @michellecound) #VaVaFroome pic.twitter.com/UGePCkvwKU
— Team Sky (@TeamSky) April 23, 2014
22 January 2019, 15:52
Peak Bikes buys former Ubyk stores
Peak Bikes has confirmed that it has taken over the website and shops of Oxford-based Ubyk, which went into liquidation last month.
In a statement reported on businessinsider.com, the Chesterfield-based retailer confirmed rumours on the Singletrack forum, reported on in our live blog before Christmas, that it was looking to snap up the business.
The statement said: “Peak Bikes has purchased the Ubyk website and we are working to put our own stamp on that as we rebrand it; we hope to have that live very soon.
“The addition of two new sites, one in Oxford and one in Brighton, will allow us to continue our drive forward in the cycle industry. The same can be said for the Ubyk websites.
“Our team are great and are working hard to make this new venture work for both us and you as the customer and we all share the same passion for two wheels.”
22 January 2019, 15:52
What a transformation!
Huge improvements for people cycling on CS2 in Stratford over the past year pic.twitter.com/5m9jd6qaj4
— Hackney Cyclist (@Hackneycyclist) January 21, 2019
This part of the CS2 route in Stratford is now safer than ever for cyclists, with the bus stop removed to keep the lane segregated.
22 January 2019, 15:52
More mailing list madness courtesy of Planet X
This time, they’ve forgotten to put the price up on their EC-130E aero bike with full Ultegra groupset…
22 January 2019, 15:52
Wilier show off Cento10NDR in swish new colourway
Wilier’s polished copper Ramato finish is now available on their Cento10NDR road endurance bike. For those that don’t know Ramato is to Wilier what Celeste is to Bianchi – it’s their signature colour developed in the 1940s which graced all Wilier’s racing bikes including the one ridden to victory in the 1948 Giro by Fiorenzo Magni. Unlike Bianchi though the nature of the colour – or to be more exact the process used to apply it meant that Wilier only ever used Ramato on their top end bikes – and indeed for a number of years when aluminium and then carbon replaced steel they didn’t use it at all. They had to come up with a whole new painting process to replicate the finish on carbon.
As Ramato coloured bikes go, the Cento10NDR is unique (though possibly not for long) in also having accents of the colour on the stem and bars too. You can find out more here on the Wilier website.
22 January 2019, 15:52
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ...
… it still won’t deter people from riding their bikes in the Netherlands.
First flurries. Respect to all the natives who continue #cycling in this #snow #sneeuw#Netherlands pic.twitter.com/ZDyq1f0q2a
— anna holligan (@annaholligan) January 22, 2019
22 January 2019, 15:52
Let's end the day with a nice grey bike…
Here’s one of our fave’s from Mason. Well it looks grey to us… in a certain light
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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
jaymack 8 minutes ago
This awful case is the nastiest end of the wedge started in 'jest' by the likes of Matthew Parris. I wonder whether he's proud of the part he's played in normalising violence against the vulnerable?
Pub bike 25 minutes ago
@mctrials23 Something that drives the price up is that the frame is specified for full through the frame routing only which means you have to use electric shifting and appropriate bars and stem. Hence the "cheapest" model is supplied with 105 Di2 and costs £3,700. If the frame had braze-ons for external cable routing you could likely build a bike that cost quite a bit less but it definitely wouldn't have the clean look of this one.
kil0ran 49 minutes ago
Rob Hatch's commentary of that moment is just superb. I was watching it on headphones at work on my lunch break and ended up crying with laughter. Sean being Sean just adds to the fun. Truly iconic moment of that era, up there with Froome "Running up that Hill"
mctrials23 49 minutes ago
@Pub bike Yeah, I was surprised by the price until I saw the frameset price. Thats pretty standard for a boutique aluminium frame made to a high standard. Campy is just expensive stuff.
mctrials23 59 minutes ago
@Rendel Harris Of course it won't. The only reason there isn't the usual anti cycling raving is because of just how shocking and callous this person was. The sort of person who shocks society with their violence and disregard for their fellow man that is so alien to them that it disgusts them. This won't move 99% of people opinion a centimetre. Its so far removed from the norm that it won't even be associated with the usual "motorists vs cyclist". People are usually on the side of the motorist because they can empathise or sympathise. In this case there is none of that so it won't register in their view of cyclists.
kil0ran 1 hour ago
I posed the question on Reddit regarding life driving bans and got a surprising level of agreements (and most disagreements were around practicality rather than opposition to the concept). It seems to me that each driving ban should have a suspended sentence component meaning that drivers caught ignoring the ban risk some form of incarceration. Get rid of the points system and go straight to bans on a sliding scale. Something along the lines of; 1st offence - 3 month driving ban - ankle monitor curfew for breach 2nd offence - 1 year driving ban - open prison (Cat D) for the remaining length on the ban for breach 3rd offence - 5 year driving ban - incarceration in a Cat C prison for breach 4th offence - 10 year driving ban - incarceration in a Cat B prison for breach 5th offence - Life ban - incarceration for life if breached. An offence is anything which would get points under the old system. Any conviction for careless driving is treated as a 1 year ban Any conviction for dangerous driving is a life ban In all cases vehicles used to commit the offence are seized for the duration of the ban regardless of ownership by the offender. For longer bans the vehicle is disposed of at auction and the proceeds are plowed into local road safety campaigns Sound extreme? I'd draw your attention to the regulations regarding firearms certificates. Drivers kill far more people each year than people committing firearms offences (whether the weapons are legally held or otherwise)
qwerty360 2 hours ago
@kil0ran I'm sorry, but clearly you haven't read everything about this case. The bloke easily needed jailing for 25 years. It was indisputable intentional brutal murder (Followed by significant threats against the cousin in the car who was the main witness for prosecution). That doesn't stop the separate discussion on WTF he still had access to a car (or van) given his driving record (fixing this might have removed the ability to commit said murder, but he was a violent thug regardless). I would argue that we need to allow for banning owning/keeping a car; Banned and 'inherit' one = required to turn it over immediately (say within 72 hours) to appropriate authority (solicitor, Office of Public Guardian, Car Auction?) Keeper/owner then has significant legal risk of getting banned if they let a banned individual use the car. Also need significant modernisation of transfer of ownership - insist it is done digitally (if you can't do it online, you HAVE to do it at a DVLA office or post office) at the time, with the checks done as part of it. Don't do the change of ownership; then you retain owner/keeper liabilities in full.
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@Jimmy Ray Will Unfortunately affray and ABH both have a presumption in favour of bail under the Bail Act 1976 whereby defendants will usually be bailed unless they are a proven flight risk or are likely to attempt to interfere with witnesses or the accuser. Additionally bail is almost always granted if it is regarded by the presiding authority as being likely that the defendant will not receive a custodial sentence at trial. So it's hard to say without knowing the exact details of the affray and ABH charges he was facing, if they were relatively minor, e.g. pushing and shoving someone in a pub argument, it's likely that he would not get immediate custody, most likely a suspended sentence, so that may be the reason for his being bailed. I think, although I'm not sure, his previous driving record wouldn't be a factor that would be considered when looking at bail for non-driving offences.
wtjs 2 hours ago
@kil0ran We test vehicles every year at a cost of (from memory) £65 so let’s bring in a 3-year or 5-year re-test window for the drivers... Not in Lancashire we don't- MOT and VED are optional in the land of Bent Coppers. This isn't from 7.8.26, when I last filmed WU67 BLF, but from the J France Facebook pages. So if the police arrange to not enforce MOT, what do you think they'll do about this projected tidal wave of non-retested drivers? The police are actively working against road safety- and against cyclists.
HLaB 3 hours ago
I think the headline should be something like 'should' , because the final sentence is unfortunately spot on. I'll give it a few hours before I read irrational hatred of cyclists (or anything else for that matter which can be singled out) :-(
20 thoughts on “Live blog: Britain’s favourite bike colour revealed (no, not that one either), Super veiny pro legs alert, New Wilier Cento, New Ubyk, Hackney transformation + snow and more”
Of course Celeste is blue.
Of course Celeste is blue. Who thinks it’s green? They’re wrong, of course. Probably about most things in life. Celeste, as in celestial, as in the sky, as in blue. You don’t say a colour is sky-green, do you?
Celeste is green and that
Celeste is green and that mason bike looks grey! 🙂
StoopidUserName wrote:
Not sure I agree with you about celeste, but the Mason definitely looks grey.
RobD wrote:
Not sure I agree with you about celeste, but the Mason definitely looks grey.— StoopidUserName
It is belly-button-fluff blue.
Organon wrote:
Just been reading about Bianchi’s and their famous green frame colour is, you guessed it:
Celeste.
But I suppose it depends on the lighting and our eyes, and colour is pretty subjective anyway.
Looks blue to me. My
Looks blue to me. My favourite colout bike frame ever was my old Cotic Soul which was described as ‘Custard’.
It is grey. Mason call it
It is grey. Mason call it Element Grey.
You have to remember that this is road.cc where quality cycling journalism goes to die. Their motto is ‘Click Bait And Ads’.
See 59 wrote:
How the hell do you think we’d be able to give you a free product without any advertising ya melt??
See 59 wrote:
My personal motto is: if you don’t like it, don’t waste your time and mine reading it. i’m happy to delete your account.
dave atkinson wrote:
It is grey. Mason call it Element Grey.
You have to remember that this is road.cc where quality cycling journalism goes to die. Their motto is ‘Click Bait And Ads’.
— dave atkinson My personal motto is: if you don’t like it, don’t waste your time and mine reading it. i’m happy to delete your account.— See 59
.
That’s not a blue bike. This
That’s not a blue bike. This is a blue bike.
Miller wrote:
seen that on WW – in fact I think you and I are in the middle of a chat about H0 ergolevers there
Nick T wrote:
OMG, forum worlds leaking into each other, noooooo….
Miller wrote:
I thought everyone knew that
I thought everyone knew that red bikes are faster?!
Having said that, I’ve just bought a black frame – but the bar tape will be red!
Black is slimming.
Black is slimming.
(also, black isn’t a colour – it’s a result of the absence of colour).
#nerd
The colour thing feels all a
The colour thing feels all a bit Henry Ford Model T, both my bikes are black because there was no other colour options available,so of course black sells more,that’s often all we can get…I prefer navy with orange highlights fwiw
Mason Definition looks rather
Mason Definition looks rather tasty in all their colour range – Blue Grey Black. Im lucky to have visited their HQ and viewed them up close. Decided that their ‘Shutter Black’ is the new Black and rode one away with a big smile and empty wallet! Great bike Stunning Colour Brilliant Co.
For an Instagram post those
For a Twitter post those “weird cyclist legs” may elicit but a shrug if indeed that is why the rider decided to show them off in the first place. Firstly, those are scrawny emaciated legs. Second, some of those veins are beset with abnormalities that form when veins get knotted together (can’t recall the medical term). Third, they’ve cranked up the clarity effect in their photo editor of choice to artificially enhance the leg texture. 1 and 2 are worthy of respect, but the third giveaway leaves no doubt about the humblebraggery on display, which will no doubt excite only the handful of ultra lean masochists living in a bubble of power to weight ratio obsession.
There’s no mystery about
There’s no mystery about Bianchi’s Celeste (although its origin is a mystery – could be the colour of the sky over Milan, or maybe whatever military surplus paints were available at the time or some other nice narrative). Since the stuff has to be made, it has a specification and is a type of turquoise (a blue-green colour).
Easy way to tell is just to look at Bianchi’s website, which is riddled with the stuff. The hex RGB value is #8bddd1, which indicates a blue-green colour with a touch more green than blue.