Has anyone noticed the latest Diet Coke advert with the Welsh singing strumpet Duffy ‘borrowing’ a single speed bicycle to nip to the shop for a can of pop before her gig? Now, am I just getting excited about seeing a girl on a bike (I would have been more excited if she was riding fixed) or are advertising honcho’s seeing single speed bikes as the coolest thing to travel about on? Does this mean we are heading towards a large mainstream trend? I hope not because after every fad comes the back lash. Here is an example of how advertisers forget that cyclists are a community, a very diverse community and that their message can back fire.
ORANGE BIKES TAKE MANHATTAN from Kalim Armstrong on Vimeo.
- Opinion
Duffy pedaling (one) gear.

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@Mr Blackbird Hats off to George Hall My hat's not coming off- despite this touch of cycleway-washing, Hall still bears the Mark of Cain, until he repudiates his party altogether
Perhaps an article showing a) what is available in the uk as cargo bikes and) comments from real life scenarios from those already using bikes or cargo bikes as one gentleman has done in the comments. Perhaps road.cc could follow up with this. Even the MP said not every business should use cargo bikes but suggested a more nuanced approach suitable for certain trades or companies....
@mdavidford Clearly the end of the sentence got deleted by mistake and it's meant to finish "...devices in their pockets."
@Terry Hutt I don't support mandatory helmets either, but I always think that's a daft analogy (I realise you're not quoting it approvingly): if people shooting in the streets was a regular problem, I'd campaign against it vociferously and expect the authorities to do something about it, but I'd still wear body armour unless and until the problem was sorted out. It's perfectly reasonable for people to question the efficacy of cycle helmets, but the claim that wearing one is somehow to be accepting dangerous driving and poor infrastructure is silly.
“People who are wearing body armour get used to being shot at, when it’s the getting shot at that’s the problem.” People who are wearing body armour get used to being shot at because they survive. People not wearing it die the first time they are shot. So they don't really have much chance to get used to being shot at, do they? But seriously if you don't want to wear a helmet and you're an adult, no-one should have the right to make you wear one.
@lawrence18uk Occasionally I see tradies travelling with some tools on the train, compact tool bags, rucksacks and wheelie luggage, often carrying long spirit levels separately, but on a couple of occasions collapsible ladders.
Finally some proper Gravel for the UCI World Championships! …no dates in the article. Racing starts today 10/11 Oct. Watch it free on SBS. … Go well Matt…
@Aluminium can - as an alternative to vans, yes cargo bikes (plenty in Cambridge), and I've been wondering whether supplies could be delivered from retailers - using delivery robots. and it's possible I suppose that ladders could fall in the same category - you could, instead of just hiring a bicycle, hire a ladder and it would arrive of its own accord.
... and we still had apostrophe rationing.
@Rendel Harris There was a bit in the bicycle hating Guardian, a nice little read, part of his justification was to acclimatise to the heat and humidity, which if he was in a better car might have been worth it. Good luck to him, chapeau.