“Brightest, smartest and most connected… for how long?”: Cyclists complain of “crazily priced” Garmin computer with shorter battery life; Driver faces prosecution after not giving way to cyclist on bike lane; MS Paint cycling kit? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Gears not working as they should? Here are 10 things to check to get them working crisper than Gary Lineker
Say goodbye to your skipping gears, ticking chains and annoying rubbing noises as we diagnose and fix some of the most common issues with your road bike or gravel bike’s gears.
“That should attract points and a fine. But it won’t, because this is car-loving Britain”: Driver faces prosecution after failing to give way to cyclist on a bike lane
One of Jeremy Vine’s favourite things to capture on his 360-degree camera, and perhaps one of the things cyclists have to be the most cautious about when riding in the town, is seemingly unaware motorists turning across you on the bike lane — despite the Highway Code specifically asking them not to do so.
And I’m not sure how many readers of this live blog will agree with me, but it’s especially infuriating when you’re following another cyclist, and the driver stops and gives way to them, but decides to completely ignore you and go on their way as usual.
That’s exactly what happened to one cyclist in London, who shared a video of the incident, writing: “There’s a certain type of drive who (presumably) sees a cyclist go by in the bike lane and then thinks, “well it’s entirely impossible that any other cyclists come along so I can just pull across without looking”… All whilst indicating too late and failing to look or give way.”
There’s a certain type of drive who (presumably) sees a cyclist go by in the bike lane and then thinks
“well it’s entirely impossible that any other cyclists come along so I can just pull across without looking”
All whilst indicating too late and failing to look or give way. pic.twitter.com/jorCXokS75
— AZB (@azb2019) June 24, 2024
It’s sometimes really baffling to see the number of people defend such driving and instead pin the blame of the cyclist for trying to be too brave and righteous and put themselves at risk, when we are simply cycling and trying to follow the rules, hoping that others do too (following the rules part… okay, hoping others cycle too).
“What sort of cyclist knowingly puts themselves in danger in the smug knowledge that an inquest will posthumously find they were ‘right’?” wrote one Twitter user, while ignoring to highlight which part of the Highway Code were they referring to in claiming that the cyclist was “in the wrong” here.
However, a lot of cyclists were critical of the driver too. “That should attract points and a fine. But it won’t, because this is car-loving Britain,” wrote Lee Jones, to which the cyclist replied saying that the driver is being prosecuted.
They have the object permanence of a 3month old baby
— AZB (@azb2019) June 24, 2024
MS Paint kit? Cofidis launch new Tour de France and Vuelta a España jersey (thankfully, it’s not blue)
As we inch ever closer to the Florence Grand Départ (how are you all containing your emotions because I, for one, can’t wait to spend whole days glued to the tele with the Tour and Euros on), pro cycling continues to gift us with new kits for the Grand Tour.
Zoom sur un design auquel il faudra vous habituer ces prochaines semaines 👀😄🚴🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/qByDArLrrI
— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 26, 2024
After yesterday’s horrific disaster of Alpecin-Deceuninck’s grey double denim, I feel the bar for a special jersey for quite low, and thankfully, Cofidis hasn’t lowered it with a perfectly fine, decent, passable kit — that looks like the rough draft of a fresh graphic design school graduate.
Okay, I’m being a little too harsh there. For what it’s worth, the jersey isn’t blue — unlike Visma-Lease a Bike’s “Renaissance” jersey, along with half the rest of the peloton.
At least the launch video’s alright…
Nouveau design et nouveau maillot @MobelSport pour @LeTour et @lavuelta !
Direction Florence dès samedi ! pic.twitter.com/9tWfTO3301— Team Cofidis (@TeamCOFIDIS) June 26, 2024
It’s time for another hot or not, road.cc pre-Tour de France edition.
UCI warns cheaters “it is impossible to slip through the net” as new inspection tool set to be used at Tour de France to combat motor doping
The UCI has warned any rider attempting to race with a hidden motor in their bike during the Tour de France that it is “impossible to slip through the net”, as cycling’s governing body announced that a new unspecified inspection tool will be used during the race to combat any potential technological fraud in the peloton.
In a statement released this morning, the UCI has said that, before each of the 21 stages of the Tour, which gets underway this Saturday in Florence, checks will be carried out using a magnetic tablet on every bike being used at the start of that day’s stage, in a bid to detect any hint of a concealed motor.
NOOO! Leaked jersey shows Bora-Hansgrohe's sponsorship with Red Bull bring another — yes, ANOTHER blue jersey to the peloton
After suffering through Red Bull’s dominance in Formula 1 and going through their liveries — which have basically stayed the same for the last 15 years — it looks like I’ll have to bear with the team’s boring design choices, if not their dominance in cycling as well now.
After initial drawings of the jersey did the rounds on the internet, now an image of the jersey on a mannequin has leaked, and the Austrian energy drink company looks like it’s ready to announce its entrance to the pro cycling world with a bland, lifeless dark blue jersey to take over Bora-Hansgrohe’s beautiful emerald/neon greens.
Será assim o uniforme da Bora Red Bull?
Pobrinho.#TDF2024 #ciclismonaespn pic.twitter.com/GULkkjcKCd
— O País Do Ciclismo (@opaisdociclismo) June 26, 2024
Please, please, I cannot bear the sight of more blue kits in the peloton!
"I have never felt so good on the bike": Tadej Pogačar issues ominous statement for his rivals before Tour de France, says his "shape is even better than what he expected"
Is it mind games, or is Pogi just really that good?
One would argue that the cyclist who’s enthralled the world in the past four years, proving his immense range of skillsets and the sheer brilliance on bike, and has already had a magnificent so far this year, winning the Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Volta a Catalunya, and Giro d’Italia in a dominating manner, wouldn’t really need any mind games against his rivals — and that perhaps is an even scarier situation for them.
> Was Tadej Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia victory boring? And does it matter?
Speaking on his team website, the 25-year-old Slovenian said: “I’m really looking forward to the start of the Tour, I think it’s going to be a special start for me because I won the Giro, and the Tour starts in Italy, so I think it’s going to be amazing! It’s looked like I’ve made a step forward since the Giro, and my shape is even better than what I expected.
“I’ve done some good training, and I’ve tested my legs a little bit and to be honest, I have never felt so good on the bike. I’m really looking forward to seeing if I have improved in the race situations from the Giro, but I feel good so I cannot complain!”
Comparing his performance this year to last time around, when he suffered a wrist fracture at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and was beaten comprehensively in the Grand Boucle by Jonas Vingegaard, he said: “Last year was totally different because of the injury. No one prepares like that for the Tour if they’re not injured and so many things around me didn’t go well after the crash in Liege.
“I saw who was there to help me and who wasn’t. There was some disappointment and negative energy around, and it all built up to the Tour de France – I wasn’t 100% confident. There was going to be a moment where it all built up and I was going to crack and it was probably the ITT at Combloux, after that time trial I completely shut down, there was no coming back.
“Also, after the Tour I had the world championships, nothing went right for me, and I had a tough moment. Luckily, I could recover and finish the season well. This year I also did the Giro, so it is again a different preparation from previous Tour de France races – more or less you need to train and recover, push on the big training days and recover on the easy days.”
Incidentally, the tables have turned this time around, with Vingegaard suffering a serious and very unfortunate injury at the horror crash at the Itzulia Basque Tour, where two of Pogačar’s chief rivals, Primož Roglič, runner-up in 2020, and Remco Evenepoel, making his debut at the Tour de France, were also injured.
With Pogačar sounding so confident about his skills, is there anyone you think can beat him right now? Or do we stop overthinking, sit back, and relish the greatness for the next three weeks? As always, feel free to share your feelings in the comments
UK’s cycling infrastructure “seriously lagging behind” bike-friendly European cities, according to new safe cycling ranking
The UK “continues to lag seriously behind its European counterparts” when it comes to safe, connected cycling infrastructure, a new global ranking of bike-friendly cities has revealed.
According to US-based advocacy group People for Bikes’ City Ratings(link is external), a data analysis tool ranking cities and towns across the world on how amenable they are to cycling, Cambridge tops the chart as the UK’s most bike-friendly city, but only sits 11th overall when compared to the rest of Europe, while 16 of England’s 20 highest-rated boroughs are in London.
"We are finally getting there": Jeremy Vine's latest London video is a testament to everything that's great about cycling
Everything in this video is great. Kids cycling about, girl enjoying music on her bike, man in a suit riding to work on a hire bike. All in complete safety because a city chose to invest in segregated cycle lanes. We are finally getting there. https://t.co/UkIpiaF7Pi
— Jon (@Jontafkasi) June 25, 2024
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's officially launches its very dark blue kit, along with SL9 in a Red Bull livery
To add to my, and hopefully, your misery, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has live streamed its kit-unveiling, with Primož Roglič riding the SL9 in a Red Bull livery in front of an airplane, for some reason. The team is currently updating its website to show off pictures of its brand-new, very dark blue, very dull jersey…
There’s my hopes of the leaked kit pictures being fake getting crushed in real-time. But maybe it’s my fault for even holding out any hope that the kit will be anything other than dark blue given that Red Bull is becoming the team’s title sponsor…
Watch out Primoz, don’t crash! 😂#TDF2024 🇫🇷pic.twitter.com/BOgpgzSceQ
— Domestique (@Domestique___) June 26, 2024
I’m at least glad to see that my disdain is shared by other cycling fans.
Could it be any more boring and unrecognizable? Such a shame, Red Bull could’ve given us a splash of yellow like the F1 cars, or silver/blue like the cans, but no, just basic dark blue like every other team
— Arnaud_vds (@Nebrisbeef) June 26, 2024
Near Miss of the Day 911: Campervan tourist narrowly squeezes past cyclists, forcing oncoming driver to brake heavily – but escapes punishment after returning to Italy
road.cc reader Stephen was cycling the Hebridean Way, a spectacular 190-odd mile route through Scotland’s Outer Hebrides and a magnet for touring cyclists over the past decade, earlier this month when he and another cyclist were close passed on their return leg through Skye by a fellow tourist and campervan driver, in a highly dangerous manoeuvre that forced an oncoming driver to almost come to a halt to avoid a collision.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's new look, in pictures feat. replacement for Checo Perez
New team name, new kit, new Twitter handle, erm… new replacement for Sergio Perez in Formula 1?
Now we know who will replace Checo 😂 pic.twitter.com/INGPIIsMS9
— Un grenoblois (@PGrenoblois) June 26, 2024
Yes, I know he just secured a two-year contract extension, but hey, with Helmut Marko at the helm, you never know! Imagine Roglič racing against Max Verstappen — I mean, Primož in the driver seat and Max on the saddle, of course.
Dan Lloyd to no longer feature on The Breakaway or Eurosport’s cycling commentary
You might have heard, but GCN, after first being bought by Warner Brothers in November, has recently been sold back to its founders. And just last week, it was announced that Eurosport’s Premium subscription service will close down the day after the Tour de France ends, with subscribers told to instead sign up for Discovery+ and HBO Max – and pay a significantly larger sum to watch live cycling.
Amidst all this chaos, what many cycling fans referred to as cycling going back to the “dark ages”, former British pro cyclist as well as commentator and presenter for GCN/Eurosport Daniel Lloyd will no longer be on The Breakaway show or Eurosport’s cycling commentary.
Sharing the news, Lloyd wrote: “GCN’s journey with Eurosport and live racing is something I’ll never forget – we achieved a hell of a lot in a very short time. I think we made some really positive changes for cycling, and I will always be very proud of that. However, it’s been a tough 8 months or so for GCN – the shuttering of GCN+, and now the website, has meant we’ve lost a lot of very talented, hard working colleagues who are incredibly passionate about the sport.
The show must go on, though. GCN is still full of amazing people, and more importantly, supported by an incredible community of cyclists. I firmly believe that the next part of our journey will be more exciting than ever – I want to be part of, and instrumental in that next adventure, the next chapter.
Unfortunately, that means I will no longer be on The Breakaway or Eurosport’s cycling commentary. It’s a part of my job that I will dearly miss, but more than that, I will miss the fantastic group of people (on screen/mic and off) who I had the privilege of working with there for the last few years. I really couldn’t have asked for a better team to spend three weeks at a time with.
Thanks to all of you who have been so kind in your messages of support for GCN these last few months – it’s really meant the world to everyone at the company.”
As some of you will have read/seen, we recently regained financial and editorial control of PSN (PlaySportsNetwork) from Warner Bros Discovery, which means some changes for me.
I could never have imagined when I joined GCN at its inception in 2012 that we’d go from a small… pic.twitter.com/a2DvucFSMy
— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) June 25, 2024
“Brightest, smartest and most connected… for how long?”: Cyclists complain of “crazily priced” new Garmin bike computer with shorter battery life and no solar option
“They wonder why the cycling industry is on its a***?”
These words don’t belong to your live blogger but a Facebook commenter — and to be fair, the truth is the cycling industry hasn’t been on a purple patch lately (by lately, I mean the last 2-3 years), to put it kindly. And cyclists, like many consumers in this capitalist society, are getting frustrated with the state of things, and looks like the latest brand to bear the brunt of that ire has been Garmin.
If you missed it, the Swiss-American company which makes fitness and sports equipments such as smart watches and cycling computers, released its latest, upgraded version of the latter yesterday: Garmin Edge 1050, its top of the line device that succeeds the Edge 1040, and is the company’s first new cycling computer since the Edge 540 and Edge 840 were unveiled together more than a year ago.
And to start off the list of complaints road.cc has already seen about the product which was launched just a day ago, is the price. It costs £649.99 — a price point at which you buy entire bikes (my Decathlon RC500, which I absolutely love, costs the same amount).
The list only begins there, more things that seem to be bugging cyclists is the lack of a solar option and shorter battery life — to compensate for the brighter screen, needing a new mount, and Garmin Pay — which allows you to make digital payments with your cycling computer — is unsupported by many UK banks.
Here are some words from road.cc readers:
muppetkeeper: “Careful of this one, GPlama on YouTube points out that the half turn mount has moved, and this unit is most likely not to fit on your existing mounts… FFS, idiots. How many of us have K-Edge or integrated mounts. I bought a1040 today, now just about affordable.”
Secret_squirrel: “What are Garmin up to? Didnt the 1030 go on for years before the 1040 was released? Personally I prefer a slightly crapper screen and almost double the battery life.
They must feel threatened by the Karoo?
I’d pay for a 1040.5 at about £399-£450. Might keep a lookout for discounted 1040’s…”
ravenbait: “Garmin pay is almost completely unsupported by banks in the UK, so I wouldn’t worry too much about getting used to paying with your computer.”
60kg lean keen climbing machine: “£600 pounds for a bike computer, I would not have any cash left to buy much coffee and cake if i spent that amount on a bike head unit. I have spent less than that on a whole bike, and it works and does the job that any bike should do just fine. My current computer is Bryton 420 (£80 – £100) That does every thing I want for over 6 times less. Yes if you got the cash then “fill your boots!!” but realy are we just being marketed ever more functions, tinkering at the edges, and then paying top money for only a little more?”
However, it wasn’t all bad blood…
Jetman’s Dad: “Garmin Pay supports Starling, I haven’t paid with anything other than my Forerunner for the last year or so and it has worked flawlessly. The only place I was unable to use it was a small car park in Cornwall that also refused to accept a contactless payment from my Co-op visa debit card.
I’ll give you that support across UK banks is poor, but it is not a “shit function thats almost entirely of zero use”.”
mark1a: “For every halo bike or top of the range accessory, there are many alternative options below it. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything, or indeed post a comment telling the class that you don’t need it. Yes you can spend north of £12k on a bike, but equally there are many models below £1k.
One could also argue that the top end products contribute to the functionality of mainstream stuff with trickle-down technology. Do you think that mechanical 105 would be as good as it is now without the Dura-Ace of 10 years ago? Do you think Garmin Edge 130 (currently £140) would be as good as it is without the likes of 1030, 1040, 1050 sales funding the development?”
Over at Facebook, things were a lot less meticulous, and a lot more snappish, here’s a choice of comments…
“Seriously over hyped & priced. Will not pay so much for minor improvements”
“So it’s easier to remove your Garmin from your bike mount to pay at the cafe than the phone you have in your back pocket… Genius”
“Has the battery life improved ? Brightest / Smartest / Most connected … for how long?”
“I see more and more competition in this market. So, do these benefits outweigh the negative aspects like limited battery life?”
“If you can ride fast then you would not need more than 5hrs of battery life…”
*cue to Remco Evenepoel getting dropped in the Alps and then waiting for his team car to get a change of Garmin…
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63 Comments
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Latest Comments
Don't know about you but when I've been hit by a motor vehicle I've fallen off my bike, and wearing a helmet intended to protect me if I fall off has mitigated my injuries.
They do exist, but they're expensive and they look something like this:- https://www.freepik.com/free-ai-image/war-zone-with-tank_67396907.htm
What a marvelously apposite name for someone taking on helmet-related cases.
700, 1000 and 1400 lumen flash modes. How to annoy the feck out of the International Space Station. The steady beams have only been increased to 650, 950 and 1350 lumens, respectively. Maybe increased run time would have been better.
"This is invaluable in so many unthinkable ways." I can think of several ways in which insurance might be useful. How do you know "so many of the ways" are 'invaluable'? -- if you can't think them, you can't count them.
Been using a Decathlon screw mount alloy one for many years. Cheap, secure and bomb proof. Just make sure you use a silicone jacket on your phone 'cos it may crack the glass - especially the rear. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/cycling-smartphone-mount-metal/325682/c1c227m8587962
Why has this site swallowed my line breaks? Where has the 'Preview' box gone, and the Edit button? Has it been enshittified?
Parts of this article are baffling. >a bike that runs a 32” wheel up front paired with a 29” hoop at the rear Why doesn't it have two wheels? What use is a hoop on a bicycle? >it makes the ride of the 120mm Big Bird ridiculously smooth You know that's only 12cm, don't you? (4.7in.) Rather tiny for a bike... Perhaps that is the measurement of a component you failed to mention.
I'm not sure that really counts as the pro peloton, does it? https://banbridgecc.co.uk/2025/05/20/banbridge-cc-25-ras-tailteann-team-sponsor-specsavers/
Having seen the strava AI comments I would dispute that it is clever, I suppose other AIs could be better.
63 thoughts on ““Brightest, smartest and most connected… for how long?”: Cyclists complain of “crazily priced” Garmin computer with shorter battery life; Driver faces prosecution after not giving way to cyclist on bike lane; MS Paint cycling kit? + more on the live blog”
Garmin wanted something to
Garmin wanted something to more closely compete with what Hammerhead offer. I don’t see a problem with that. I’ve always assumed Karoo’s have bigger batteries to support their more phone-like hardware.
Does anyone know the hard data on the battery sizes in the 1040 vs 1050? Milliamp hours? I wouldn’t be surprised to find that not only does the 1050 have a shorter battery life, but also has a bigger battery too. That’s great if you’re just doing sportives and club rides. I like to go bikepacking so not only does the battery life matter to me, but also how much mAh per hour it drains. I assume the 1040 Solar I’ve had for almost a year wins quite handily on that front.
Battery size of 1030 is
Battery size of 1030 is 1900maH and 1040 is 1800mah. I’d guess somewhere similar.
Its worth noting that the official specs of the 1050 put it at roughly the same battery life as the 1030+. (20-24hrs with everything on).
Thats good enough for everyone except the Audax’ers and beats the Karoo 3 15hrs comfortably.
Karoo 3 is £200 cheaper though…
Facebook user wrote:
Right…so on a 150 mile day I’ll be sorted as long as I can average 30 mph plus. Some people don’t half talk some drivel!
Exactly. I upgraded to a 530
Exactly. I upgraded to a 530 about 2 years ago after my old 130’s battery was draining faster meaning that when I attempted my first 100 mile (in a hilly area, I might add) I got 90 miles in, just over 6 hours and my I had used all 100% of what I had. I had a shortcut home so only did 95 on the day. But there ain’t no way I can do 100 miles in 5 hours, let alone 150.
Yeah. Not everybody is
Yeah. Not everybody is interested in going fast, but the industry/ media seem to think they do with all these performance products.
Thank goodness for people like Jack Thurston, or Russ from Path Less Pedalled, etc
Or Grant Petersen
Or Grant Petersen
The comment could just be
The comment could just be someone’s dry sense of humour.
NotNigel wrote:
True, although in my experience of Facebook commenters on cycling matters gobshites who want to parade their alleged superiority to other cyclists by boasting of their speed, fitness, stamina et cetera tend to outweigh those with a dry sense of humour by about twenty to one…
A fast, fit endurance cyclist
A fast, fit endurance cyclist with a dry sense of humour, I saw one of those in a mirror (about 40 years ago).
The next logical step is
The next logical step is Garmin brings out a cycling focused Android phone. With a built-in mounting system compatible with their head-unit battery bank. I wonder if this unit is actually running on Android already?
I think it’s a good addition to the line up and will suit some peoples needs.
Was doing 31 in a 30 single
Was doing 31 in a 30 single carriageway earlier to be overtaken by a driver doing 44 with no clear line of sight.
Would they do that to another driver? Complete car brain.
In Northern ireland they
In Northern ireland they would – it’s routine.
If the RB Bora Hansgrohe
If the RB Bora Hansgrohe really *had* to go dark blue, they could have at least done the blue and white/silver quartered background
“They have the object
“They have the object permanence of a 3month old baby”
Quote:
Blognitive dissonance!
Nothing new there! Just
Nothing new there! Just depends what things you compare!
Lots of divergent views of the same situations:
I think that most of the UK is just starting to seriously realise that mass motoring has some down sides. So as populations grow we’re having issues with capacity and congestion / road maintenance / pollution – including noise pollution / how can we provide the new infra for cars 2.0 – electric / too much surface being impermeable etc.) So councils are perhaps starting to look at ways of having fewer journeys driven.
I’m not sure how many consider that cycling could be a serious part of helping things? Of those where they do I suspect many are still in the “encouraging cycling” phase – perhaps running some campaigns (training for 0.01% of the population, 50 pounds off some bikes purchased with this scheme). Or painting some intermittent thin lanes. Wishful thinking.
A very few places are – perhaps – getting to the point where they are grappling with the notion of what to do with all these cyclists that have appeared? But I think this is often “pedestrians are concerned! How to we slow them down / police them?”
I’m hoping they’ll see that (like with motorists) perhaps the way is carrot and stick – but you get more return on the carrot!
* The UK’s got better traffic death stats than many places. We’re still among the best in Europe (countries there are mostly at the top). We’re even better than NL, never mind further afield.
** They say that they’re concerned about safety but as noted this is one of the safest places in the world to travel. Hence I think that “just doesn’t feel safe” and “actually – it’s *change* – and there aren’t other people doing it / it’s not social.” Plus we’ve just made driving more convenient (and sometimes cycling less so deliberately).
chrisonabike wrote:
Yes. But puns!
mdavidford wrote:
It was noted! “Pun: A form of wit, to which wise men stoop and fools aspire.” – Ambrose Bierce – who after writing that stooped to many.
Fortunately, I’m not wise, or
Fortunately, I’m not wise, or with all that stooping, these days I’d never get back up again.
“That should attract points
“That should attract points and a fine. But it won’t, because this is car-loving Britain,” wrote Lee Jones, to which the cyclist replied saying that the driver is being prosecuted
Some may say this is just a jaundiced view from a Lancashire resident, but I don’t believe there will be a real, genuine prosecution of this offence. It’s possible there will be talk of one, or one of those police con-artist letters where they say there are a number of possible outcomes “which could include…” followed by a list with the word ‘prosecution’ in it
Whilst the clip from JV does
Whilst the clip from JV does look good, I wonder if a cyclist should be that close to someone in front without having their hands on the handlebars to access the brakes.
If something happened that required them to stop in an emergency, the short distance would not give them enough time to react.
At no point can we see their
At no point can we see their hands or indeed the bars, what makes you think that they are riding no hands? If it’s the whistle, there are a number of electronic bells available that have a whistling sound as one of the options, it’s most likely one of those.
There may be some confusion
There may be some confusion as to which cyclist I am referring to: the one that is singing/conducting an orchestra.
Apologies, the other video –
Apologies, the other video – the left hook one – also mentions JV so I thought you were referring to that one, I hadn’t seen the other. Thoroughly agree with you, using the cycle lanes in London every day in a way I think it’s great that people feel secure enough to ride no hands but a lot of them aren’t actually very good at it and don’t seem to realise that an unexpected bump, pothole or even gust of wind could bring them and the cyclists around them crashing down.
Wrong news item!
Wrong news item!
I never learned to ride
I never learned to ride without holding at least one hand on the handlebars.
(Never learned to mount – or dismount – the bike while the bike was moving, either…)
Riding no-hands – despite
Riding no-hands – despite most of my bikes being fairly similar (don’t tell my wife I admitted that) some are much easier than others. I had a Specialized Allez that I couldn’t, but a similar geometry Canyon which I could ride for miles in the right conditions. The cargo bike is a work in progress and I don’t think I’m brave enough to try the Brompton.
quiff wrote:
I can go a long way on most of my bikes with no hands on the bar, some easier than others, but usually only a few seconds on the Brompton.
There are some complex
There are some complex factors invoked with bike stability apparently. Mine all feel quite different, but I can ride all hands-free *except* the one with the longest wheelbase. But… that is the recumbent and so it’s maybe having much less “inverted pendulum” ability to shift the centre of mass by moving my upper body?
chrisonabike wrote:
FYI, the difference is mostly headset torque and bearing preload. With too much, or too little, the rider cannot control the fork with their body position — the fork either won’t respond, or flops around uselessly.
Torque the headset correctly, and every bike should be easily hands-free (of course, there’s still a baseline of required rider skill).
I would have thought
I would have thought wheelbase and steering angle probably contribute a bit, no?
Well, where you can move your
Well, where you can move your body position more that’s maybe useful. Less helpful when you have limited ability to move your body and/or the centre of mass is lower in relation to the wheels – per my recumbent. I can sit up a bit but that changes all the dynamics and I find that immediately precipitates an off (if I don’t catch the bars).
Haven’t practiced much though. If I was minded to I think I’d put the time into learning how to wheelie on it as almost every small child I pass demands that.
Or maybe I should learn to play it?
With small-wheel bikes I wonder if these seem more difficult because you have to make corrections with your body faster because said small wheels have less stability, or simply because bike geometry differences?
My 2010 Orbea Orca I could
My 2010 Orbea Orca I could even ride no-hands on the rollers, though I wouldn’t dare try with my titanium Enigma which had exactly the same geometry (custom frame). I’ve also found since I stopped doing strength conditioning and core work that I’m not as stable or confident either, so there’s definitely elements of bike and rider involved.
quiff wrote:
Wheelies next then (old vid but still looks like camera trickery to me)!
Not cycling related but…
Not cycling related but…
“A woman who killed two eight-year-old girls when her car crashed into a school in south-west London will not face criminal charges, the Metropolitan Police has said.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4448xx4keo
The usual incorrect and contradictory “… car hit…” language used.
mitsky wrote:
Epileptic seizure apparently
Indeed.
Indeed.
And it was the first time, so no pre-existing medical diagnosis for it.
mitsky wrote:
Which could happen to anybody, so one would think that would be a good advertisement for banning cars that are so huge, heavy and reinforced that when such a thing happens they can smash through walls and into school yards.
I remember looking up the
I remember looking up the location at the time and being shocked that (whatever the circumstances) they could have gained enough speed to plough through the fence https://maps.app.goo.gl/Gx1DvpuzZe6XQCwp9
EDIT – I’m getting some very poorly-timed Land Rover ads now.
First *reported* incidence.
First *reported* incidence.
It’s not unknown for drivers to have medical conditions that would be an automatic licence-looser to not report them.
I seem to remember a certain bin man in Glasgow, just before Christmas 2014 killing 6 people and injuring 15 others … pre-existing condition – he just didn’t tell anyone as he knew he’d loose his HGV
But…epilepsy can come on at
But…epilepsy can come on at any age, from a variety of triggers, and everyone has a first seizure; as I said above, sometimes unfortunately it’s at the wheel of a car. It’s highly unlikely that someone would experience seizures and not seek treatment from their GP and the CPS will have checked if they have, even if they didn’t disclose to the DVLA. I am inclined to give the driver the benefit of the doubt on this one; we know the CPS can be lax and occasionally baffling in their approach to motoring offences, particularly when cyclists are involved, but when the case involves such tragic deaths of two little girls (RIP) I’m pretty sure they would have explored every avenue and would not have come to this decision unless it really seemed the only possible and fair one.
The cps chose based on the
The cps chose based on the probability of securing a conviction with a jury, it’s that simple.
However the driver should now be subject to the standard epilepsy medical criteria for holding a driving licence that the DVLA imposes. Basically they’re banned from driving until they can prove via their doctor & the DVLA agree with them, they’re medically fit & safe to drive.
You’d like to think that would be something mentioned, not just as a reminder to the public at large, but also that there were consequences for the driver, even if the CPS deemed there were no criminal charges to be brought.
No.
No.
I find that very very hard to believe. The CPS should be forced to articulate the details of how they came to their decision. How much medical evidence was considered. How many second opinions were sought, and whether the decision was made on any contary evidence of not reaching reasonable doubt, or whether there was a genuine and ongoing medical condition.
Now that the CPS have decided
Now that the CPS have decided not to prosecute they will pass their findings to the coroner for the inquest and the details will come out then. It’s not really that surprising, there are over 600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK and to every one of them their first seizure will have been unexpected and sometimes it will happen when they are at the wheel of a car, sadly. I did always think some form of medical episode was the most likely explanation if the driver’s drink and drugs tests came back negative and there was no indication of any mental disorder which made her take the action deliberately.
It is extremely saddening
It is extremely saddening that so many people have been suffered so badly because of this driver and vehicle yet there is no prospect of any justice. Something really needs to change.
If there really is nothing that the driver can be prosecuted for, and if thousands of people are driving with undiagnosed medical conditions then it shows that safety equipment in vehicles is extremely lacking. If this were an aircraft incident there would be slew of changes to regulations following an investigation.
A few suggestions for what is needed then:
– monitoring of the driver’s vital signs and some kind of dead mans handle that can bring a vehicle to a halt if the driver behaves eratically
– brakes applied if there is any contact with another object in front or behind the vehicle
– black box recorder for post collision analysis
– speed limiters according to applicable limit (sadly a very remote prospect)
I would heartily agree with
I would heartily agree with all of these suggestions, particularly the last one, and also add radar detection of surrounding objects (I believe many cars already have this in terms of parking sensors?) so that emergency braking is applied if it seems the vehicle is going to hit something. In this case, if the driver had a seizure and jammed her foot on the accelerator a system that recognised that she was driving straight at a fence should have cut in and would very likely have saved the girls’ lives. Surprised a car of that luxury level doesn’t have such a thing already.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Car makers are too busy adding things like telemetry that make it easy to spy on you inside your car than actually making the care safer.
Read a cars’ EULA lately? Nobody in their right mind would allow any of that but since people have been conditioned to accept stuff without asking, more and more outrageous demands are being placed on us.
Pub bike wrote:
From early July all new vehicles sold must be fitted with a speed limiter. This should flash a warning or intervene by slowing the vehicle down. This can be overridden but resets everytime the vehicle is turned on. It could go against the driver in an insurance claim though. A lot of high end vehicles already have this tech though from what I’ve heard many motorists disable it every time they get in the vehicle.
Also all second hand vehicles being sold from a dealership need to be retrofitted with a limiter though I’m not sure what age those vehicles need to be.
Pub bike wrote:
A slight increase in impact sensitivity that triggers the airbags, plus auto brake and engine cut-out for, say 2 mins? That’d stop hit and run drivers in the same fix.
My idea always used to be that airbags should be part pepper spray so you can’t drive off if you’ve been in an accident, but this works better
the driver of the vehicle,
the driver of the vehicle, expressed her “deepest sorrow” and said she had “no recollection of what took place”
This all looks like an advert to defence lawyers of a handy and ‘acceptable’ omni-dodge- obviously only to be deployed in extreme circumstances where you might suffer a real penalty (you can get off KSI’ing a cyclist without risking a year’s ban for epilepsy just by saying you didn’t see him). I first came across such a dodge for getting a motorist off almost anything, when Lancashire Constabulary came up with ‘it was only a momentary loss of concentration’ to forgive someone for hitting me when driving down the wrong side of the road into Sainsbury’s. This dodge can, if you try only a little, be applied to almost any motoring offence, just like claiming to have suffered a fit can always be applied because you don’t need any witnesses and are enough of a toff to pay both for shyster lawyers to get the story straight for you and for the monster vehicle which smashed through barriers to kill the victims in the first place
I hope that the driver has
I hope that the driver has now surrendered her driving licence and/or has been banned from driving but there doesn’t seem to be any indication of either having taken place.
Although if a driver has been seizure free for 12 months (5 years for bus coach or lorry) they can get their licence back in any case.
https://www.epilepsy.org.uk/living/driving/driving-rules-for-epilepsy
As it has been accepted as
As it has been accepted as the reason for the incident by the CPS the DVLA will definitely have been notified and her licence will be automatically suspended for six months and only reinstated when it’s agreed by medical experts that the likelihood of recurrence is low. Far too low a bar, in my opinion, but there we are.
Of course how anyone could even contemplate getting back behind the wheel having killed two little girls with a vehicle, even when legally permitted to drive again, is beyond comprehension, but unfortunately people do.
Pub bike wrote:
I dont drive so i dont know what the law is but if this is the case then killing by car and claiming i did not see them or i had a seizure is going to get abused now. Lawyers have a duty to get their clients off even if they are guilty. As it is now SMIDNSY is a valid “excuse” when drivers kill people and in most cases there is next to no punishment.
I have come to the conclusion over the last year that i need to be more aggressive on the road and not be so passive. This means not riding on the left side in the gutter almost, to give cars the means to pass. All this does, where i live, is invite aggressive and punishing passes for acts that i had nothing to do with. So now i am on the right side of the left tire imprint. I dont care any more. If i get smacked by a car in that position it wont be my fault. My kids will get rich. But i am not moving over unless there is a long line behind me and they can only pass when it is safe for them. I have zero sympathy for car drivers now since most of them display zero regards for my safety. 1 in 20 or more passes me safely. The rest cant wait to get past me even if it means it is a dangerous pass. And this was before i started taking primary.
Specialized SL how many?
Specialized SL how many?
Maybe time for the UCI to do
Maybe time for the UCI to do something useful and introduce kit rules like football’s, so that when Red Dull turn up in a kit that clashes with half the peleton they have to change into something else. And if they don’t have anything suitable they have to borrow it from the local amateur squad.
UK’s cycling infrastructure
UK’s cycling infrastructure “seriously lagging behind” bike-friendly European cities..
I do so love the English understatement.
“UK’s cycling infrastructure”
“UK’s cycling infrastructure”…
Oh, I dunno, I’d call that a serious [i]over[/i]statement!
Since a scion of the Red Bull
Since a scion of the Red Bull family mowed down and killed a policeman in central Bangkok a few years ago whilst allegedly driving his Ferrari at over 100mph in what is supposed to be a 31mph (50kph) area and escaped justice by simply failing to turn up to any of his court hearings, then fled the country (again, allegedly there may have been some brown envelopes involved), I have studiously boycotted all Red Bull products – not difficult to be fair. Since then the offending person has posted several times on social media making it easy to work out where he is, yet an Interpol Red notice has not been asked for, presumably due to payoffs from a certain family that shall remain nameless here (libel laws in Thailand are extremely strict – you can end up in jail for defamation even if what you say is provable).
Sadly this means that I will struggle to support Roglic in the upcoming Tour, or any of his teammates in a breakaway. Though I wouldn’t stand at the side of the road and boo them of course.
Jakrayan wrote:
Feel that way about the teams sponsored by uae and bahrain.
Ref Garmins, I’m interested
Ref Garmins, I’m interested to know – of those that own one only (not alternative brands) which one they actually use. Up until a few months ago I was still happily using an edge 520 and it had been totally sufficient for my needs until the battery started to die a bit quick. Not bad considering it’s about 8 years old.
I bought a used 530 on eBay that is next to brand new, hardly used. I have no doubt that will do me fine for another 5-6 years min.
I know there are more functions etc on the 800 range and the 1000 range but so many riders actually go for them ? Do many people really care or just buy it cos it’s more techy bling if they can afford it?
Still using an 800 from 2013.
Still using an 800 from 2013. I only tend to use it when I need navigation, and the battery life is still just about ok for a 200km audax (though I do top it up at lunchtime to be sure). I track all of my rides, but do that on an entry level Garmin watch now, so most of the time I don’t use the head unit. I haven’t even troubled the full capabilities of the 800, so the x50 series is well beyond my needs.
Got an 820 had for about 6 or
Got an 820 had for about 6 or 7 years, battery is beginning to fade. Might get an 830 when this finally goes. Not interested in spending more than 300 quid on them.
The only people I see with these latest, ones are pros, paid to use them, or influencers doing reviews who get them for free. Everyone else goes, I’ll make do thanks Garmin
Got a 520 around 9 years ago,
Got a 520 around 9 years ago, which was then replaced with the 820 as I wanted turn by turn directions as opposed to breadcrumb trail. That got replaced with a 1030 as I needed all day battery when I did a 5 day trip to Portugal to ride the length of the N2. Then followed a 1030 Plus for the increased battery life and faster processor. Next came the 1040 Solar at launch in 2022, which has been superb in terms of features & functions (only criticisms have been a couple of flaky updates and the screen contrast is compromised by the solar panel), and the 1050 arrives in the next couple of days, as while the battery run time has now gone down, I’ll compomise that for the responsiveness and brightness of the new display.
None of these ended up stuck in a drawer, they’ve all been flipped to family & friends as upgrades.