Welcome to your midweek live blog, with Simon MacMichael, Jack Sexty and the rest of the team.
Live blog: “Inches from death” – a very fast close pass, New Garmin watches come with hefty price tag, Dockless bike share “a joke” says transport expert, Bikes – New Cervelo P5 TT bike now with disc brakes, Snowdon Ti commuter full bike + more
All today’s news from the site and beyond…
Wed, Mar 13, 2019 19:59
SUMMARY
13 March 2019, 19:59
Dangerous driving in 20mph zones all too common according to Bristol cyclist
The footage was captured in St Augustine’s Parade in the city, after a taxi driver had performed a dangerous overtake on the cyclist who said he was already travelling 20mph. Avon and Somerset Police say they are reviewing the footage.
13 March 2019, 19:59
Building of Cardiff's first separate cycleway on Senghennydd Road to begin on 18th March
The first separated cycleway will start to be built on Senghennydd Road on March 18th.
This will be the first phase of five proposed separated cycleways in Cardiff, as part of the Council’s commitment to improving cycling infrastructure.
Read more here: https://t.co/agfY83IXgt pic.twitter.com/vuSTGg2L5z— Cardiff Council (@cardiffcouncil) March 12, 2019
As part of the council’s “commitment to improving cycling infrastructure”, the Welsh capital will follow London by phasing in segregated cycleways, starting next week on Senghennydd Road. This is the first of five proposed routes, and if approved there could eventually be 13km of cycle routes in the city. The routes would be:
St Andrew’s Crescent through to Heath High Level
Dumfries Place to Broadway in Splott
Cardiff Bay to Smart Way
Sophia Gardens through to Llandaff Village
City Centre through to Ely Bridge
Each route will undergo a public consultation and feedback will be assessed and considered as part of the detailed design work prior to the route being built, say Cardiff Council. More details on their website here.
13 March 2019, 19:59
Check out Toms Skujiņš Trek Emonda from Strade Bianche
Low weight and wide gear range were the order of the day for Toms Skujiņš at last weekend’s Strade Bianche.
The team's technical director @TrekTeamMatt talks about the bike ridden by @Tomashuuns in #StradeBianche.
(Our apologies for the noise in the audio – it's a little windy in Italy!)
– 6,8kg
– 28mm tires (width)
– @SRAMroad 12 speed (50×37/28×10)
– @Bontrager XXX carbon aero HB pic.twitter.com/wUGsMjwSgU— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) March 11, 2019
At the opening classics weekend, the Latvian Trek-Segafredo rider was using a Trek Emonda with a 1x version of SRAM’s brand new Red eTap AXS groupset. But at Strade Bianche last weekend he instead opted for a rather more conventional 2x setup, though the SRAM groupset is anything but conventional.
The 12-speed groupset he raced comprised a 50/37t chainset coupled to a 10-28t cassette. We don’t know the reason for his decision to switch but we’re guessing it’s likely down to the sheer amount of climbing and very steep climbs that make the Strade Bianche course as tough as it is beautiful.
He was on Trek’s Emonda, opting for low weight over the aerodynamics of the Madone, to give him every advantage on the climbs. He was rolling on 28mm tyres, wider than the 25mm he would regularly run and providing a bit more cushioning and traction on the loose dusty surface of the iconic white roads.
Claimed weight for the bike was bang on the UCI’s 6.8kg weight limit. There was a nod to aero with the Bontrager XXX Carbon Aero handlebar.
13 March 2019, 19:59
Snowdon Paradox flat bar titanium road bike now available in complete build
British titanium flat bar specialist Snowdon is now offering its Paradox as a complete bike, costing from £3,999 with either Shimano Ultegra or SRAM Force groupsets. Alternatively, you can still buy a frameset for £1,999.
There’s a small running change to the frame since we tested it, tyre clearance has been increased, up to 32mm on the road bike and 40mm on the gravel bike, or 50mm if used with 650b wheels.
It’s also now offering a women’s bike but like the latest trend with big bike brands, the geometry is identical to the men’s bike and it’s the key touch points that are changed. The company says it has gotten a lot of interest from women looking for an “elite bike but do not want drop handebars”.
You can read our review of the Paradox here.
More info at www.snowdonbike.com
13 March 2019, 19:59
All in a day's work for Ed on his 34th birthday
34 today!
6am dope test, cleaned some bikes, flew to Derbados and loved their track league!
Thanks for the messages!
Cycling has had a recent reminder that getting old is a privilege denied to many. Enjoy the ride x @VitusProCycling @JLTGroup @derby_arena @simon_reavill pic.twitter.com/TjYuIHRJEU— Ed Clancy (@Ed_Clancy) March 13, 2019
Nice to see Mr. Clancy is adopting the ‘Derbados’ moniker for the cycling metropolis that is Derby, first coined by Dan Bingham and his all-conquering Huub Wattbike track team we believe. Also, check the top reply to Ed’s post!
13 March 2019, 19:59
The Bristol Post did a car vs bike vs bus vs train thing, with predictably predictable results
Gutted! Mike on the bike wins #bristolliverace pic.twitter.com/r2i8vK5KcT
— Emma Flanagan (@EmmaJFlanagan) March 12, 2019
What happens when you pitch a bloke on a folding bike against a car, a bus and a train in one of the most congested commutes in Europe? The bike wins, of course. These results will surprise no one, but at least it serves to show a wider audience just how inefficient private cars are in city centres (of course, the car lost). Read the story with live updates from yesterday’s highly predictable race on the Bristol Live website here.
13 March 2019, 19:59
New Cervelo P5 TT bike with disc brakes
Somebody has got a brand new disc-equipped time trial bike. Yup, it’s a brand new Cervelo P5 and yes it has disc brakes. Looks fast don’t it?
Lined up and ready to go at today's TTT at #TirrenoAdriatico.
15:45 (local) start time. pic.twitter.com/BdvjLGFycq
— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) March 13, 2019
13 March 2019, 19:59
How much?? Garmin launch new MARQ collection GPS watches, and they ain't cheap
There are five watches in the new collection, with the £1,399 MARQ Athlete being the most suitable for cycling – the ClimbPro ascent planner gives you real-time information on your current and upcoming climbs, including gradient, distance and elevation gain. If you fancy a break from cycling, there are also 41,000 pre-loaded golf courses within its mapping software. Belive it or not the Athlete is the ‘cheapest’ in the range – the MARQ Driver, aimed at motor racers, is a whopping £2,249.
If you or any friends with bank accounts in Bermuda want to buy one you can pre-order now on Garmin’s website.
13 March 2019, 19:59
Some invstment advice from Michal Kwiatkowski after taking lead at Paris-Nice
3 seconds here, 2 seconds there… Call it Kwiato’s small savings plan Still a long way to make it really Nice.@ParisNice @TeamSky
@GettyImages pic.twitter.com/D3l51KkXbb— Michał Kwiatkowski (@kwiato) March 13, 2019
13 March 2019, 19:59
"Inches from death"
This is the fastest close pass we’ve seen to date – with the cyclist who filmed posting it to YouTube under the heading “inches from death.”
In the description to the video, Farnborough Cyclist said: “Having 2 tons on metal flash past you at 80mph with about 70cm to spare is a frightening experience – hence the expletive.”
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to eBikeTips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
chrisonabike 21 seconds ago
Hope Barcelona keep the transport improvements (they've been making for a while) coming! Better streets, more infra to help active travel where necessary. And while it's a major investment (though can be lower operating cost than busses) maybe more trams where they can. That may be more effective in making places active travel friendly and replacing taxis than mass public bike hire. They've a good start with 6 lines already.
chrisonabike 8 minutes ago
I think this is a positive story. They're not getting rid of public hire bikes - they're expanding their in-house one. They're merely kicking out cowboys who've shown they've a lack of interest in the game they claim to be playing. It seems logical that companies whose business model is to extract (venture capital) money by invading public space are even less likely to make the efforts to keep things in order than a local "in house" scheme. (After all the "bikes and riding" part of these schemes always *costs* money, they don't generate it.) So not surprising their experience shows those firms are not particularly motivated to follow the rules - especially when scrapping for "market share". It's nice the European Cyclists’ Federation is thinking about tourists also (i hesitate to say "follow the money...") - as they note, where it's safe to cycle locals will largely get their own bikes. Tourists aren't going to stop coming because lack of public bike share - I think this is mostly a "nice to have" ("hey - why don't we go on one of those bikes there? ").
chrisonabike 32 minutes ago
Harm minimization - at least they're not driving...
Gm_Crop 9 hours ago
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
IanGlasgow 9 hours ago
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
Rendel Harris 10 hours ago
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Bill H 10 hours ago
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
pbunyon 11 hours ago
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
chrisonabike 11 hours ago
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
belugabob 11 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
17 thoughts on “Live blog: “Inches from death” – a very fast close pass, New Garmin watches come with hefty price tag, Dockless bike share “a joke” says transport expert, Bikes – New Cervelo P5 TT bike now with disc brakes, Snowdon Ti commuter full bike + more”
Another reason IMHO for my
Another reason IMHO for my son to go to Cardiff Uni
On the Bristol episode – that
On the Bristol episode – that junction there – splitting off to either go up Park Street or along toward At Bristol (sorry – “We the Curious”
) – is terrible whether you’re on a bike or in a car. People seem to lose all ability to look ahead and decide where they need to be, to go where they want to go.
(Also – to me, looked like the taxi just undertook/cut-off the cyclist).
brooksby wrote:
I ride through the centre daily and see all sorts usually cars trying to beat the lights from the bus turning to Baldwin Street junction which is only possible if they do an F1 style launch and speed. I can’t beat the lights on my bike so don’t really bother accelerating but still you get cars passing me which I then pass and filter to the front.
Redvee wrote:
I don’t go through there that often, but I go for the tactic of trying to put myself well in front of the buses/taxis/cars. However, that does entail going “slightly early” at the lights. If all goes well, I get to the next queue of traffic before anyone’s caught up with me (more of a sign of how congested it is rather than me being quick).
That close pass looks like
That close pass looks like the A324 road to Pirbright? I’ve riden it regularly and haven’t had too many issues. As it’s quiet when I use it there’s plenty of room (as in this case!!) but speeding is always evident. That seemed deliberate to me? Hopefully Hants Police can take action??
Bigmck64 wrote:
Hampshire Constabulary take action! Don’t make me laugh. they are probably preparing a public order offence charge for the cyclist because he swore.
I have just checked out
I have just checked out Farnborough Cyclist’s YouTube channel, a lot of terrifying driving. The area in and around Farnborough can be very nasty.
With all due respect to the
With all due respect to the Cardiff cycling infra, going by that mock up the lanes are 4 foot wide, why do they think that’s acceptable? The road is still wide AND straight, why not make the cycle lanes wide and straight and put the dog leg in on the road for the motors and make them narrow to slow them down?
Also, the Paradox has gone to disc only, so despite the photo of a rim brake bike on the website including the scrolling photos, you can’t have one. What’s annoying is that making out 32mm width for a disc brake road bike as being an improvement is a bit weak, ti rim brake bikes like the Sabbath September and many more could already do that with caliper brakes, the original Paradox accepted 30mm tyres under a short drop caliper as it was, is that 2mm extra tyre clearance on a road bike going to make a difference, why not make it 35mm considering the only frame option is disc?
And whilst we’re at it, restricting your ‘gravel’ bike to 40mm also seems a bit shortsighted, oh right, you can have 50mm IF you stump for another set of wheels, given there are plenty of wide 700C/29er type tyres to choose from why oh why leave it so that the only way you can go decently wide is to be forced to buy 650b and the narrow range of tyres on offer!!
So, up the weight of the frame/forks for a 2mm tyre width increase .. and all for the princely sum of £2k!
Read the original review, Mike Stead said (in 2017) of the rim braked variant “Out in the North Hampshire Downs I equalled a five-year-standing personal best time on my go-to twisty singletrack road descent – 59 seconds at 54kph, besting times I’ve set on £5k disc-braked drop-bar carbon rocketsleds”
Seems to me that improving the road variant to disc brakes only is about narrowing down what the seller has to build, so why the 80 day wait for a build when you won’t build what some people want??
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Jesus wept – not again. There is a large range of 650b tyres (and wheels) available. One of reasons for going to 650b is exactly that – there is also the matter of helping to reduce height and geometry variations as the tyre sizes increase. You could also put space in for more than 40mm on a 700c/29er but that would also typically raise the bottom of the head tube due to the higher fork crown, perhaps that is not something that they want in the design. That said, 40mm is not too bad and given how pesimistic almost every manufacturer is about tyre clearance (as you yourself have mentioned on a number of occasions) you’d expect to fit a chunk wider than that. If you don’t want to have extra wheelsets for different situations, which is understandable although arguably desireable, then see what will fit, use what does or don’t buy this.
fukawitribe wrote:
Jesus wept – not again. There is a large range of 650b tyres (and wheels) available. One of reasons for going to 650b is exactly that – there is also the matter of helping to reduce height and geometry variations as the tyre sizes increase. You could also put space in for more than 40mm on a 700c/29er but that would also typically raise the bottom of the head tube due to the higher fork crown, perhaps that is not something that they want in the design. That said, 40mm is not too bad and given how pesimistic almost every manufacturer is about tyre clearance (as you yourself have mentioned on a number of occasions) you’d expect to fit a chunk wider than that. If you don’t want to have extra wheelsets for different situations, which is understandable although arguably desireable, then see what will fit, use what does or don’t buy this.— BehindTheBikesheds
There is less range of 650b than there is of 700C/622, by multiple factors.
This is from Wiggle, one of the biggest retailers in the country, note the number of 650b tyres compared to 700C and 29ers tyres.
Forcing riders to have to have 650b wheels so that they can get the width they want when plenty of sporty robust disc frames and plenty of rim braked frames in the past could already do that with 700C/622 is just bullshit and more marketing crap.
Why not design the frame properly and use a fork that will accept a 50mm tyre with the 622 sizing for which there is a massive choice of tyres and negates the need to have two wheel sizes for the one bike! Specialized amongst others managed to do that with their rim braked ‘gravel’ bikes in the mid to late 00s without any problem whatsoever (carbon forks/seat stays+alu chainstays that accepted 55mm tyres) so why can’t a good frame builder who offers 80 days for your build time do it with Ti and carbon forks??
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Yeah – so firstly they can’t even categorise their tyres probably and you’ve missed out some of the options; actually search for 650b /27.5″ tyres and you get significantly more – 59 for 650b and 194 for 27.5″, duplicates not culled – and this is from a more road oriented shop. Secondly, yes there is more choice of 700/29″ tyres, i’ve never pretended there wasn’t, it was simply in reply to you saying that the range is narrow. It’s not, even from Wiggle. Seriously, go and actually look what’s available in the market.
Why not design the frame properly and use a fork that will accept a 50mm tyre with the 622 sizing for which there is a massive choice of tyres and negates the need to have two wheel sizes for the one bike! Specialized amongst others managed to do that with their rim braked ‘gravel’ bikes in the mid to late 00s without any problem whatsoever (carbon forks/seat stays+alu chainstays that accepted 55mm tyres) so why can’t a good frame builder who offers 80 days for your build time do it with Ti and carbon forks??— BehindTheBikesheds
No-one is forcing anyone to do anything – that bike is another choice and a decent one at that for what it was marketed for – gravel. In that area the 700c tyre widths should be more than adequate, have a look at the tyre sizes used in e.g. the Dirty Kanza – most folk are in the 35-42mm range for 700c which should be fine here given how gnarly that is. If you want to go further off-piste and want to use larger tyres having chosen this bike, then you could by getting another wheelset – or you could choose another bike which allows more options, which I agree would be nice to have more range of. There are potential advantages to that wheelset if you wanted to buy it, especially at the lower pressures you’d presumably be running, but it would cost you – it’s a choice. Having that extra choice is a nice-to-have, if you’re serious about going on and off-road in differing enough conditions that you need radically differing tyre sizes, you’re probably not going to using 700c wheels for all those situations – if you’re not that serious then what is so seriously limiting in real, honest, practical terms with this ? It’s all choice.
fukawitribe wrote:
No-one is forcing anyone to do anything – that bike is another choice and a decent one at that for what it was marketed for – gravel. In that area the 700c tyre widths should be more than adequate, have a look at the tyre sizes used in e.g. the Dirty Kanza – most folk are in the 35-42mm range for 700c which should be fine here given how gnarly that is. If you want to go further off-piste and want to use larger tyres having chosen this bike, then you could by getting another wheelset – or you could choose another bike which allows more options, which I agree would be nice to have more range of. There are potential advantages to that wheelset if you wanted to buy it, especially at the lower pressures you’d presumably be running, but it would cost you – it’s a choice. Having that extra choice is a nice-to-have, if you’re serious about going on and off-road in differing enough conditions that you need radically differing tyre sizes, you’re probably not going to using 700c wheels for all those situations – if you’re not that serious then what is so seriously limiting in real, honest, practical terms with this ? It’s all choice.— BehindTheBikesheds
Step away. BTBS is an opinionated keyboard warrior who goes on about being forced into things, but if he stepped back he’d realise that what he’s constantly arguing would force others to the narrow constraints defined by his own exacting standards/prejudices/opinions/mind-set.
And I’ll now leave him to bite, only as I’m not likely to look back at this page again, I’ll probably never see the resulting rant … shame!
…and no, you can’t mention
[snip]
The Bristol incident really
The Bristol incident really does exemplify the sense of entitlement of the worthless pile of shit that is the British driver, doesn’t it? Not only does he act like a twat, and not only does he endanger another person’s life for no reason, but he is so sure, so absolutely certain that there will never be any consequences to himself, that he feels entitled to stop and lecture the cyclist.
If that had been me, I’d have got off the bike and walked calmly past him to place myself in front of him. Had he made the mistake of putting a hand on me, then there would have been some consequences.
As for the ‘inches from death’, well what can I say? No driver, no matter how fast he drives, can outrun a bullet.
Allegedly.
Legs_Eleven_Worcester wrote:
With his arm out of the window like that, had he touched me I rather fear that the consequential fall onto his arm would not have done his elbow any favours at all.
ChrisB200SX wrote:
A Kryptonite D-lock to the bridge of his nose would have been detrimental to his wellbeing, too.
Not that I would ever suggest such a course of action.
Besides.. everyone knows that a paving stone is the way to go, natch.
Love the look of the new
Love the look of the new Garmin watches – but at £1400 for the cheapest model I’ll just have to dream!