Single-speed bike brand says it could lose 30% of business due to post-Brexit tariffs; Susannah Constantine considers cycling six months after apologising for “joke” about killing cyclists; Sidis on the catwalk; Racing the tide + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Susannah Constantine considers cycling six months after apologising for "joke" about killing cyclists...but only because she's about to lose her licence for repeat speeding offences
“I’m about to lose my licence I think, so I might have to take up a bicycle.”
Susannah Constantine reveals she might be banned from driving after totting up too many speeding offences.@snhconstantine | @TheJeremyVine | #JeremyVine pic.twitter.com/sG25LvICv2
— Jeremy Vine On 5 (@JeremyVineOn5) January 29, 2021
Susannah Constantine is close to coming full circle six months on from apologising for a “joke” about killing cyclists. The former TV stylist told Jeremy Vine that she’s about to lose her driving licence after getting two speeding fines in one journey…”‘I’m about to lose my licence I think so I might have to take up a bicycle,” she explained on Jeremy Vine on 5. “I have too many speeding fines and what’s known as a totter – I keep getting points on my licence. I got two in one journey when I was going down to Cornwall on the A3O3 and I was only 2mph over on one stretch and 4mph over on another.”
In July, Susannah found herself in hot water over comments she made about cyclists during an episode of her My Wardrobe Malfunction podcast. She said: “Oh I hate cycling. I won’t cycle. No, I fucking hate cyclists. My husband is a cyclist and if I see him on the road on his bicycle, I’m going to run him over. And the day when I know I’m about to die, I’m going to get in my car, aged 90, and I’m going to drive into cyclists wearing Lycra, kill the lot of them and go and die in jail.”
There was little sympathy on social media for Susannah likely losing her licence…
Perhaps she needs to learn to drive properly. It’s not hard to follow the rules, especially with your speed as there’s plenty of signs to remind you of the maximum you should be driving
— Susie (@YarlanZey) January 29, 2021
Best of the action from a day at the Belgian seaside
😛@mathieuvdpoel 🇳🇱 retains the title.
The rainbow 🌈 bands are his for another year!#Ostend2021 pic.twitter.com/99QcF5TOXL— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 31, 2021
It lived up to the hype, if slightly dampened by an inopportune puncture for Wout van Aert. The course in Oostede certainly gave the TV cameras some great shots…It was Mathieu van der Poel’s day with the 26-year-old winning his fourth cyclo-cross rainbow jersey and third in a row.
🇧🇪 @WoutvanAert v 🇳🇱 @mathieuvdpoel v 🌊The North Sea#Ostend2021 pic.twitter.com/PABbvjib8v
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 31, 2021
Sidis on the catwalk
Well, this is…interesting. It appears to be a triathlon-ready outfit including, I’ve been reliably informed, a pair of goggles from the Aqua Sphere x Michael Phelps Xceed range. The running shorts over the suit jacket and what looks like a clown shirt underneath are nice touches. However, the star of the show is undoubtedly the Sidis…Unfortunately it doesn’t look like they went all the way and added cleats too. Then again negotiating the catwalk in cleats is probably too much to ask. One member of the road.cc news team speculated it could be part of the Robin Lynch x Rapha collection…
Watford Junction Station's bicycle rack removed due to thefts
Watford Borough Council has removed a bicycle rack at Watford Junction Station following a series of thefts. The council says the decision was made to reduce the number of bikes being stolen. The Watford Observer reports that cyclists have instead been asked to use a secure custom-built facility near one of the platforms that is monitored by CCTV.
On their Facebook page, the council explained the decision: “Due to a number of bike thefts, the bike rack to the left of Watford Junction station entrance is being taken out of action. Cyclists are being asked to use the secure custom-built bike facility at the side of platform 6. This undercover facility has 300 spaces and is monitored by CCTV which feeds into the station’s control room.”
Philippe Gilbert sets sights on Milan-San Remo
Ready 4 More! #strive4five pic.twitter.com/aZzipAqHMp
— PHILIPPE GILBERT (@PhilippeGilbert) January 31, 2021
Phil Gil has made his goal for 2021 pretty clear with this video posted on his Twitter yesterday. The five-time Monument winner is a Milan-San Remo short of completing the set and becoming only the fourth man in cycling history to win all five of the sport’s most prestigious one-day races. If Gilbert can add the illusive San Remo win to his palmarès then he’ll join an elite club alongside fellow Belgians: Eddy Merckx, Rik Van Looy and Roger De Vlaeminck.
When he’s not training to win San Remo, Gilbert offers personalised video messages to fans on celebrity messaging website Cameo for £37.50. You can check out the other famous cycling Cameoers here…
Positive data from cycling infrastructure in Enfield
A beautiful example of how coordinated actions works and that it’s doable in a short space of time.
People will choose active travel when, and only when, they have joined up safe space to do it 👏👏 https://t.co/ct60yLD5iE
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) February 1, 2021
Tom Pidcock is officially an Ineos Grenadier
𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 a Grenadier.
Let’s go, @Tompid 🤝 pic.twitter.com/KdGzVBBpIN
— INEOS Grenadiers (@INEOSGrenadiers) February 1, 2021
With the cyclo-cross season finished Tom Pidcock is officially an Ineos Grenadier. The team shared the first pictures of the 21-year-old in their kit on social media this morning. Pidcock has already trained with the team at their winter camp in Gran Canaria, but can now turn his full attention to racing on the road. The last of his cyclo-cross commitments, the World Championships in Oostende, finished in disappointment for the rider from Leeds who finished just outside the medals in fourth having been badly held up on the opening lap.
Pidcock’s calendar for his opening professional road season is varied and includes the opening weekend of the cobbled classics in Belgium, a couple of Ardennes classics and the Vuelta a España.
"It was a bit sad": How did Mathieu van der Poel celebrate his fourth cyclo-cross world title? With a pizza and a bottle of wine
Mathieu van der Poel wasn’t in as jubilant a mood as you might expect for someone who had just won their fourth cyclo-cross rainbow jersey. He told Belgian outlet Sporza that he found yesterday’s win a bit sad without the normal party atmosphere. “There was a strange vibe without fans,” Van der Poel said. “Everyone just went home. That was a bit sad. The euphoria was different than usual. You can’t do anything with your team or with your friends. It was very strange. How did I celebrate? A bottle of wine and a pizza with my girlfriend.”
Having won his third consecutive world title in the discipline, Van der Poel admitted that cross is becoming less important to him and that it is the rivalry with Wout van Aert that keeps him motivated more than the sport itself. The 26-year-old also suggested he may leave the Tour de France after the second rest day in order to properly prepare for the Olympics.
Take a closer look at the bike that Van der Poel powered to victory in Oostende…
"Hopefully she will become a voice to convince other women to take up travel by bicycle": Your thoughts on the Susannah story
Quella Bicycles set to lose up to 30% of business due to tariffs on sales to the EU, according to its co-founder
Single-speed bike brand Quella predicts it will lose up to 30 per cent of its business due to tariffs on sales to the EU. The Gloucester-based bike company’s co-founder, Mike Mellor, told Punchline the 14% post-Brexit tariff applied to bikes that fall outside the ‘sale origin rule’ and anti-dumping tariffs up to 45% will seriously impact their business. As Quella’s bikes use frames and components that are built in China and Taiwan, the company will have to pay the ‘sale of origin’ tariff as only bikes that are at least 55% made and produced inside the UK and EU can move between UK and EU tariff-free.
“Our tariff-free Brexit is blatantly not a tariff-free Brexit,” Mellor told Punchline. “We sell bicycles into Europe, it’s about 30 per cent of our turnover. There is duty on almost every single sale that is going through. Our bicycles are designed in the UK but the majority of the componentry and all the frames are made in the Far East, in Taiwan and China.
“We pay duty when the goods land in the UK. In the past we’ve popped those bikes to a courier and they arrive in Europe a couple of days later. Now, the bikes are arriving up to seven days later and we are getting charged another set of duty — 14 per cent if they’re just applying the goods not manufactured in the country of origin tariff. And up to 45 per cent if they apply anti-dumping as if the goods have been imported from China, when we’ve already paid the duty.
“It’s not what we were promised. About 30 per cent of our sales for 2021 were budgeted for the EU. We just cannot sell to wholesalers at the current rates. It’s just not sustainable. We will lose between 0 and 30 per cent of our business.”
Ten days ago Ribble announced they would refund the 14 per cent tariff for its EU customers who ordered between 1st-17th January. The announcement came after a would-be Ribble customer in Germany contacted road.cc and warned about “surprises” at checkout for EU residents ordering from the UK.
Note left on lamppost thanking scooter driver for helping daughter who fell off bike
1/2
What a nice message on my high street in #Chiswick — a mum thanking “Mr Scooter Driver” for helping her daughter when she came off her bike, “and thank God we were on the protected cycle path away from large vehicles.” pic.twitter.com/sRmsmsPWY0— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) February 1, 2021
This is a nice touch spotted on Cycleway 9 in Chiswick this afternoon by Jeremy Vine. The parent of a girl who fell off her bike while using the newly-opened segregated cycle lane wrote to “Mr Scooter Driver” who helped following the fall. The note also says: “thank God we were on the protected cycle path away from large vehicles.”
A bit of a puddle
Would you go for it? We’ll be asking the road.cc staffer who was faced with this earlier today how they got on…
1 February 2021, 09:05
1 February 2021, 09:05
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Latest Comments
And this Ladies and Gentlemen is how councils up and down the land waste your money. The contracts will have been costed and awarded. Penalties will now be owed by the council to its contractors for cancelling the start of works at short notice - likely funded out of the original active travel budget.
@Rendel Harris Not everything that is publicly (co-)funded is a public good and even fewer of those are indispensable. Just because it was partly funded from the public purse does not mean it's meant to be free - and especially if there are other benefits for the public. If we assume otherwise, there should be no obligation to pay for bus rides. And let's not fool ourselves - if the ceremony was free, the organisers would simply charge the local govt even more for the event overall. Of these two imperfect options I'd rather shift at least part of he burden on the rich spectators willing to pay for the tickets.
@tomlew The Tour is very much more than just a private event, it has taken nearly £100M in public money to come to the Uk. If it was self funding like a rock concert, fine, charge what you want, but having taken such a vast sum of money from the public and expecting their goodwill in terms of putting up with road closures etc said public have every right to be disgruntled at the attempt to sting them for even more to see part of an event that they’ve already paid for. As the article notes, other Grand Depart presentations have been free, why shouldn’t this one be? Your statement “it’s easy to spend other people’s money” would appear most apposite for ASO, with the addendum “then expect them to give you even more whilst you trouser the enormous profits.”
Road.cc staff all ride like Pogačar? Sounds dubious to me.
@Rome73 I assume You don't have video evidence. As it would be worth submitting to the DVSA to let them know that driver's eyesight is poor enough to have their licence revoked.
@Rendel Harris If only you'd read my previous comment more carefully... I clearly justified my position by appealing to the concept of a public good. The TdF isn't one, so why are you demanding to decide how the investor should spend their money? That is exactly the middle ground you're talking about — leaving control in the hands of the owners when the goods in question are not indispensable, while retaining control over essential ones. BTW, monopoly? I imagine there are hundreds of other public events in most UK towns. Are you going to hire an army of public officers and introduce price regulation for rock concerts as well?
@tomlew Yes, there's absolutely no middle ground between disgracefully exploitative overcharging and giving things away for free, is there? Just sit back and accept whatever private companies want to charge once they have achieved a monopoly of something and be happy, marvellous. Don't complain or ask for fair pricing because that would be "spending someone else's money". It's worked so well with water and power and fuel and rent, hasn't it?
@Rendel Harris So where's my new bike? I feel I deserve it, so I guess you owe me one now. It's always so easy to spend somebody else's money, isn't it?
@tomlew Ah, good old "market forces", the excuse for price gouging everywhere. Just because you can get away with charging stupid prices doesn't mean you should or that it's right to do so.
I bought mine more than 4 years ago and have used it many times, flying all over Europe - exclusively with BA. The baggage handlers have given them a good thumping. We've had the frame itself dented significantly and pierced (one assumes - and Ed from Buxumbox confirms - this is hard to do on the shell cage!) The sides are dented, as expected, and were pierced on one occasion. We witnessed a baggage handler at Tenerife airport lift and throw our boxes onto the conveyor belt single handed. It bounced off the edge of the belt at least once. One of the boxes also started to behave like a shopping trolley so I have replaced the front wheels (now a new design) and I was told that this is due to the box being dropped onto them. The bikes have - up to now - always survived this handling. Does anyone have any tips on how to dissuade a single baggage handler do this? Do you overestimate the weight so that they might be inclined to get two baggage handler to move them? They are certainly great for quick disassembly and re-assembly, albeit a pain to get a taxi for. A Mercedes Vito with the rear seats down or removed, a Renault Scenic likewise. Two (with two small cases) also fit inside a Dacia Jogger with the rear seats down - perhaps we should have a database...?
65 thoughts on “Single-speed bike brand says it could lose 30% of business due to post-Brexit tariffs; Susannah Constantine considers cycling six months after apologising for “joke” about killing cyclists; Sidis on the catwalk; Racing the tide + more on the live blog”
As the old saying goes:
As the old saying goes:
Karmas a bitch!!
” I was only 2mph over on one
” I was only 2mph over on one stretch and 4mph over on another”, eh no. You were over the camera activation threshold by 2mph and 4mph. So you would have been over the speed limit by around 10% + the 2 and 4mph.
I went on a Speed Awareness
I went on a Speed Awareness course about 15 years ago ( I was young and stupid) and it was amazing how many people in the room were only 1-2mph over the limit. The ridiculously prolonged arguing with the instructors meant we took much longer to complete the course. I’ve never gone over a speed limit since, amongst other things, I just didn’t want to be associated with people like that.
PixelPusher wrote:
Most people caught speeding say that they were only a couple of miles-an-hour over the limit; self-delusion is very powerful.
I also went on a Speed
I also went on a Speed Awareness course a number of years ago and when I let it slip that I was a cyclist a couple of people started spouting the usual “bloody cyclists, always jumping red lights and riding like idiots.” It was my pleasure to remind them that every one of us was a motorist who had broken the law. You could see the confusion as they tried to compute this as they didn’t see themselves as lawbreakers, just unlucky to have got caught.
With such arrogant behavour
With such arrogant behavour and simply refusing to accept they are in the wrong. The course staff should just send them away and hit them with the original fine they would have got if they hadnt attended the course in the first place.
Smoggysteve wrote:
The instructors did mention that the reason they were in the room was because they must’ve been doing at least 10%+2mph (35mph in a 30) over the limit, to which they all moaned and said they “definitely weren’t”.Unfortunately, when stupid takes a position, they don’t change it (or they wouldn’t be stupid ?). I vowed to mend my ways in a car, ride my bike a lot more and never to share a room with people of this type.
When my wife went on a speed
When my wife went on a speed aware course, also around 15yrs ago, I think she said everyone had been caught doing 34 or 35mph. They allow 10% for error (both camera and speedometer) but if you’re 20% over they don’t offer the course and go straight to points.
IanMK wrote:
Mrs Hawkinspeter got caught doing 33mph in a 30 zone, but she was furious as it was about 4am in the morning (we were on the way to the airport) and the roads were completely empty. She reported that the course was quite interesting and that she learnt something despite herself.
Thats a good point. What you
Thats a good point. What you witnessed during that speed awareness course was victims arguing with intransigence. Trying to argue with such people is like trying to chop down an oak tree by bashing it repeatedly with your penis. Your only gonna have a hurty willy.
I however regularly drove above the speed limit, and was lucky only to ever have had 1 fine. I like to think that this was because I maintained a low speed through built up areas and places where a Darwin Award is more likely. On more open roads I just ignore the speed limit and drive based on being able to stop within the distance I can see to be clear. I can often see it to be clear for miles so I go like fuck. These days I have the mindset that the act of driving itself is punishment. I really really hate it and avoid it as much as humanely possible. You might be interested to know it’s been many months and counting since I last drove.
Stick to pedalling as it’s much less stressful. Speed limits or not.
Titanus wrote:
A win all round then, by the sounds of it.
That’s exactly what I was
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I don’t know what zone she was in but she could have been doing 35mph or 37mph in a 30mph zone.
I don’t think there are any
I don’t think there are any 30mph zones on the A303. So she was probably in a 60mph zone at least possibly a section of dual and 70mph.
Cam77 wrote:
+ whatever arbitrary amount I feel entitled to leave out, and cos you didn’t see the NIP that can be anything I choose…
I believe the activation
I believe the activation threshold is 10%+2 over the stated limit so she was going another 2 or 4 above that, in addition to which, car speedos routinely over-read by 2 or 3 mph as another safety measure so if she tripped a camera in a 30 mph zone she must have been doing at least 35 mph and her speedo would have read 38mph. Anyone who manages not to notice that deserves a ban!
Can we now look forward to a future edition of “What Not to Wear While Cycling”?
I think car speedos are
I think car speedos are usually 10% over – mine is, compared to phone GPS. So in a 60 section she’d have been doing a true 68+, and the speedo would have read about 75+.
Like other posters, I have little sympathy – if you don’t want the points, drive within the limit. Phone apps can beep at you when you speed; use them if you already have points.
TheBillder wrote:
Fuck me! Why would such inaccuracy by considered acceptable? Do they do that with calories and ingredients on food packaging? Or medicines? Speedos should be as accurate as possible, and thats not 10% off.
You can get them calibrated,
You can get them calibrated, but why would you, by your own admission, you ignore posted speed limits. Or is it that the lawbreaking rebel that you believe yourself to be be might not have been so rebellious…
TheBillder wrote:
The tolerance limit is -0% to +10%. So it can overread by up to 10% but not underread. Google maps on Android is your friend with this as it shows a very accurate GPS speed as well as the limit
Poor little Susannah.
Poor little Susannah. Prevented from driving how the f*ck she likes cos the law…….
I wish Susannah well on her
I wish Susannah well on her discovery in seeing the world on a bicycle she will discover the joy and the problems in behaviour from some people who drive (perhaps like her former self) and the limited infrastructure. Hopefully she will become a voice to convince other women to take up travel by bicycle.
Or she’ll become a selfish
Or she’ll become a selfish entitled cyclist, just as she was a selfish entitled motorist…
brooksby wrote:
I’ll settle for that…..
Well, a reformed sinner is
Well, a reformed sinner is always welcome. Perhaps we should be the bigger people here, and offer her help in taking up cycling by offering advice on the bike and clothing and routes? Must be some local cyclists who could use the opportunity to show that cyclists are a friendly bunch, willing to help and turn the other cheek even for this level of insult. Show her that we’re really human beings just like her and the rest of the ridiculous, biased cycle haters.
Mind you, if her husband hasn’t convinced her, maybe it’s a lost cause, but hey, let’s try anyway.
I’m kind of hoping that her
I’m kind of hoping that her husband runs her over.
Whilst laughing in an hysterical manner…
ktache wrote:
Quote:
Translation: “I don’t see that I did anything wrong”.
Sriracha wrote:
People that persistently ‘speed’ don’t only do ‘2 to 4mph’ over the limit, and it’s unlikely anything of that magnitude would have resulted in a fine, unless in either a 20mph or 30mph or accident black spot zone.
So my guess is – she is talking bullshit on those speeds, or she’s been pinged by a set of average speed cameras on a number of occasions along the road.
Hopefully no shops will sell her any bikes, knowing of her previous comments…imagine that…
The _Kaner wrote:
Know what you mean; kind of agree. But really, I hope she has such a positive experience of customer service from people who match the right bike to her needs, and from people who help her to cycle safely and make the most of cycling, that she becomes an unashamed advocate of cycling.
That’s all I ask of her. And if not, she can go back out of my life after taking 5 minutes of my precious lunctime reading.
The _Kaner wrote:
More likely
“Do you know who I am?”
“Umm….no”
For how long does someone
For how long does someone need to drive above a speed limit before 1 speeding offence becomes 2? There’s an average speed system in Scotland thats literally nearly 100 miles long. It is the longest speed trap in Britain.
Yep on the A9. Considering
Yep on the A9. Considering how obvious it is, you will be very stupid to get caught.
I avoid problems, by driving at or below the speed limit. It is not hard.
If she is incapable of
If she is incapable of following speed limits despite several fines, maybe she shouldn’t be taking part in transport at all. You can just picture her being a totally irresponsible cyclist as well judging by her character. Stick to the bus or taxis
MaxBulla wrote:
I say good luck to her trying to speed on a bicycle.
Totally irresponsible cyclists are more likely to take a tumble and learn that sometimes braking early reduces your exposure to tarmac.
Karens such as this one
Karens such as this one likely can’t handle the lack of control being driven by someone else.
No mention of when Susannah
No mention of when Susannah Constantine committed the offences? I wouldn’t have thought driving to Cornwall was anything to draw attention to with the lockdown going on.
Given that as of this time
Given that as of this time last year she had a 127 acre pad in West Sussex thats a very good question.
Though tbf (if I must) the offenses may not have occurred during lockdown.
She was banging on her
She was banging on her alcoholism on Woman’s Hour this morning. Bloody well hope she doesn’t drink and drive.
Riverbib wrote:
Two hopes there. And Bob’s dead…
Quote:
Does that mean he’s planning to deepfake his face onto footage of the actual winner?
I don’t condone dangerous
I don’t condone dangerous driving but speed limits are the bane of my existence. To some this may sound contradictory, but that’s only because many drivers are very crap, and speed does indeed exacerbate crapness. The key to safety is appropriate use of excess speed.
2 speeding offenses in one journey? This suggests too many speed limits, or at least too many limits that are overly slow. Unfortunately the law doesn’t make allowances for higher speeds on empty motorways which makes it an ass in my view. Why can’t Britain, like Germany have a road or two without these frustrating limits? Any why is it 70 miles per hour tops? The one and only true speed limit is more like 186,000 miles, not per hour or even per minute, but per second! Even at that speed it takes a while to get anywhere beyond our own bunch of planets. But even for moving around on our own little world, an entire hour to do just 70 miles is pathetic.
Many will argue against my view on speed. But many of these arguments will come either from people on Strava, or those who don’t have a problem with Strava which is all about how fast one can go, albeit on a push bike but the principle is the same. Speed limits are one of many reasons I no longer ride a motorcycle anymore. Whats the point in paying through the roof to maintain and operate a vehicle on public roads only to be patronised and frustrated by pedantic beurocracy.
If you can hit lightspeed on
If you can hit lightspeed on your bike (or your car, for that matter) then fair play to you; but I think you’ll find manoeuvering around the urban environment quite difficult…
At even 90% of lightspeed the
At even 90% of lightspeed the car, driver, air, and everything within a few kilometers would turn into exotic new forms of very hot matter and radiation within the first centimeter of travel. Much more expensive and inconvenient than a speeding ticket!
andystow wrote:
Relevant XKCD: https://what-if.xkcd.com/1/
At least if you do manage to
At least if you do manage to get up to 186,000 miles per second, it won’t feel like you’re spending any time travelling at all due to the time dilation.
Time will pass for you still,
Time will pass for you still, it will just pass slower for everyone else. So if you take a 10-minute journey, your wrist watch will show 10 minutes has passed. But when you get to your destination, the receptionist’s clock will show the same time that you left, because no time has passed for everyone else.
Admittedly you’d be travelling a few thousand times around the world in that time so it might be a moot point…
OnYerBike wrote:
I would have thought the opposite – time would pass quicker for everyone else and be effectively stopped for yourself. It’s a moot point though as if you have any mass at all (being a weight weenie won’t save you) then you’d have infinite energy – you’d collapse into a black hole before you’d get to the speed of light.
(I recall reading somewhere that we know that neutrinos have some mass as they can change flavour, and if they were massless, they wouldn’t be able to change as they wouldn’t ‘experience’ any movement in time)
Edit: Found a suitable link: https://phys.org/news/2014-05-does-light-experience-time.html
Also saw a paradox about neutrinos – if you can move faster than a neutrino (which theoretically can move at any speed slower than light), you would change it into an antineutrino (which would make it a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majorana_fermion)
Titanus wrote:
Please tell me when excess speed is appropriate….
No this suggests that she broke the law at least twice in one journey…..
Aaaah now I see! You’re trolling us – you are Socrapicyclist AICM £5. Nice one dude, you had me going then, Chapeau!
Ditto my previous….. nice one
I took them to mean excess
I took them to mean excess speed compared with the speed limit rather than excess speed for the situation.
If every drove at the speed for the situation, we wouldn’t need speed limits and I think some of the ‘why isn’t it 30’ is down to different limits in different counties.
Where I live, there are not many 40s and I am surprised that in other places the limit can be 40 where I am used to an equivalent being a 30, hence there is a bit of arbitrariness that people use for leverage.
Titanus wrote:
…
The key to safety is appropriate use of excess speed.— TitanusExcess speed is, by definition, dangerous. It cannot be a key to safety.
If speed limits are the bane of your existence then perhaps ask why you’re going everywhere in such a hurry that you feel you need to repeatedly break the law.
Perhaps a stint with the police or fire service might change your perspective. 70 mph is enough to do all kinds of damage – to your car, yourself, roadside buildings and so on. Just check the regularly updated Car crashes into Building thread to see how many dickheads can’t even keep their cars on the road in town and city centres. Those incidents wouldn’t happen if drivers respect the speed limit and drive to the conditions. Like you, each one of them thinks they are a “better than average” driver.
Meanwhile I’ll happily vote for more pedantic beaurocracy if it means selfish fuckers in cars and vans have to slow down and show a little consideration for other road users (and buildings).
Simon E wrote:
I know it sounds contradictory, but what I mean is that sometimes drivin fast isn’t necessarily dangerous. A bit of a blast on an empty road isn’t much to be worried about. I always used to ride about 90 or so on motorways unless foul weather or too much traffic. I never died even once. Treavelling at higher speeds and whether it’s appropriate comes down to common sense and good judgement.
For me, tailgating is a substaintial issue. On a motorcycle if need to brake hard and the car behind can’t stop in time, he gets a dent in his bonnet, I get a wheel chair. So it is something that gets me particularly irate. This issue isn’t enforced nearly to the extent of speeding. Surely those yellow speed cams on motorways can be set up to measure distances and speeds between cars and issue fines based on the results.
Titanus wrote:
No, it suggests an irresponsible tonker incapable of controlling themselves or their vehicle within the parameters decreed by law.
Re Export Tariffs tbf to
Re Export Tariffs tbf to Brexiteers they never once said Project Fear would fail, and so far it is looking a resounding success!
“negotiating the catwalk in cleats is probably too much to ask.”
Have you seen the shoes women wear on the catwalk?
The one question they didn’t
The one question they didn’t ask. Did he vote for Brexit? He speaks about “it wasn’t what we were promised”…So it’s just coming home to roost if he did. I have no sympathy if that is the case.
Also, I suspect they are getting anti-dumping because of the price point of their bikes, it’s cheap “fashion” bike, as he said himself. He could easily have that frame built and welded, to scale in the UK and wouldn’t cost the £500 a frame he quotes, but I bet it costs him less than £50 a frame in Asia…
I don’t know if you noticed
I don’t know if you noticed Thatcher killed off most of our industry 40 years ago. We are a nation of middle-men, buy cheap, sell high. Somehow the twats who lead us haven’t quite understood that.
Legin wrote:
I know many frame builders in the UK and even more who would be capable of putting a frame together. If he wanted, he could shop around a lot of places in the UK to get components made in the UK and have a full UK frame aswell, but he’s after the budget end of the market, so must buy cheap instead of quality.
I must say I’m finding it
I must say I’m finding it hard to feel any sympathy. Looks one step removed from a gas tubing BSO. Maybe he should try adding some value?
Unions and management did far
Unions and management did far more damage to manufacturing long before Thatcher. Dock workers and car workers fucked their businesses years before Thatcher came to power.
Dingaling wrote:
Yeah, they all ruined their own industries because they knew they could just walk away and get a job in the city the next day. As we’re seeing very clearly now, the key workers aren’t the share sellers or finance wizards, it’s doctors, nurses, delivery staff and dock workers.
Was that before or after the
Was that before or after the owners and shareholders had failled to invest in modernising their businesses? Was that before or after the owners and shareholders had nicked all the cash? Was that before or after our basket case economy joined the EU. Unions only abused their power where there was poor management, poor management only got appointed where it suited the owners of the business to appoint them.
I don’t think we care about
I don’t think we care about what a haggard hard drinking opinionated fashion deadbeat thinks or does, except that it would clearly be a good outcome for society if she is kept off the road for as long as possible.
How much ‘design’ goes into a
How much ‘design’ goes into a fixie?
Fixies fall into two categories mostly. One is the artisan frame sort with high-end components for hipsters who watch Mash videos. The other is for the student hipster on a budget and isn’t going to spend £100 on a bottom bracket but thinks fixies are cool. A year later his spokes will have rusted and his bearings crumbled and the bike will probably be abandoned in city centre after uni finishes.
Would you go for it? We’ll be
Would you go for it? We’ll be asking the road.cc staffer who was faced with this earlier today how they got on…
Yes! I think you’d get through that flood, especially with the excellent mid-calf waterproof socks!
she might be banned from
she might be banned from driving after totting up too many speeding offences
Deadbeats like this live to publicise themselves, so the whole story may be a con. However, I reflect that court cases are now running at least 18 months to 2 years behind, so don’t the shyster lawyers employed by such people just advise them to decline the police offer of some reduced punishment and tough it out in the hope the courts collapse under the weight, or there’s a massive amnesty to clear the backlog? The police would certainly love that.