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Live blog: Will Norman corrects reporter who claimed London cycling in decline, Trek says its Domane+ e-bike does Tour de France speeds, Strava says 50-59s clock up most bike miles +more
Meanwhile, Chris Froome is today’s unlikely source of banter on social media as he compares his legendary jog up the Ventoux to Christmas shopping!
Wed, Dec 19, 2018 16:36
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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
HoarseMann 36 minutes ago
This has nothing to do with the type of bike - it's the type of behaviour that's the problem. Banning the sale of such bikes will not curtail the behaviour. They'll just find another type of vehicle and continue to drive dangerously as there's such a lack of enforcement. I'd sooner see them ban the bally. But really, all that's required is an improvement to roads policing.
AidanR 46 minutes ago
The EAPC Bill is welcome, but full of holes. What's to stop an overpowered but temporarily limited e-bike being sold and subsequently delimited? This is often a trivial process.
Sredlums 2 hours ago
@KiwiMike Yeah, in my over four decades of riding all over Europe I've never 'been for a ride in the countryside'. That must be it. Or, and I know this is a wild concept, you just accept that I just voiced my personal experiences and never missed a kickstand, like I wrote. Anyway, what's the big horror of laying your bike on its side for the very few occasions where there is nothing to lean your bike against?
mdavidford 2 hours ago
They may have looked, but did they see?
jackcycles 2 hours ago
Ds2025: where they are going wrong is that they are crushing the motorbike rather than the person sat on top of it. If they did the latter this issue would be solved in less than 24 hours.
Rod Marton 2 hours ago
I came this way today with the car boot sale in operation. There was a marshal at the entrance, who stopped a car turning right across the cycleway as I was approaching. So that certainly works. I think it necessary for the marshal to be there, I couldn't say if the driver would have turned if he hadn't been there but you always have to suspect the worst. Unfortunately there is no marshal at the exit, and there was certainly a car stopped across the cycleway as I was approaching it. But he pulled onto the road before I reached it, and the following car stayed off the cycleway as I went through. Ideally there should have been a marshal there too. On the whole, though, it's a really high standard piece of infrastructure. Just a pity it doesn't extend a bit further.
eburtthebike 3 hours ago
“absolute carnage” So right! Just look at the bodies piled up, blood running in the gutters and injured people limping away. It's a bit of a problem with a road, delaying some people for minutes at a time: it isn't carnage, let alone 'absolute carnage'. Anyone who exaggerates so ridiculously really shouldn't be allowed to comment in public, unless they want to demonstrate their idiocy to all and sundry.
Jakrayan 4 hours ago
I'm criticising them for not riding in secondary position, not primary. At least 60cms (2 feet) from the edge of the road as the HC explicitly recommends. Leaving aside the small minority of riders who find mounting and dismounting a bike difficult - which sounds suspiciously similar to the motorists "but, but what about disabled drivers?" when talking about LTNs - what's wrong with able bodied riders walking the few metres over that narrow, Victorian bridge? Sure, if there's clearly no-one on it I wouldn't condemn anyone for riding it slowly, but if it's not clear forcing pedestrians to stop and squeeze to the side is, frankly, a rather entitled opinion. Plus it's easy to hold a road bike a little ahead of you and hold the saddle - normally no need to hold the bars if it's straight - so you're really not taking up much more room at all. There's a railway underpass near me that links to a shared then segregated path. It's narrow, and the path approaches at an angle so you can't see if it's clear, but many riders still choose to pedal through despite the clear 'no cycling' signage. Why?? Personally I don't go that way, except on foot, preferring the surrounding roads.
bensynnock 4 hours ago
I think you're giving drivers too much credit. Many would not think twice about blocking the road if it makes their life easier, such as when turning right onto a busy road.
bensynnock 4 hours ago
They might have to, but they won't. What they will do is pull out over the cycle path while they wait for a gap in motor traffic.
6 thoughts on “Live blog: Will Norman corrects reporter who claimed London cycling in decline, Trek says its Domane+ e-bike does Tour de France speeds, Strava says 50-59s clock up most bike miles +more”
The Amsterdam moped ban is a
The Amsterdam moped ban is a good thing (obviously).
Having lived there for a year, I can attest that many exceeded the speed limit, and drove recklessly around cyclists and pedestrians.
Seeing the larger capacity mopeds using the bike lanes was a regular occurrence too, despite them being banned.
Increase in use of cycle
Increase in use of cycle lanes on Vauxhall Bridge would probably be even higher had they not stuck ruddy great concrete and armco barriers in one of the lanes!
It’s a concern how close you are to cyclists passing in the opposite direction with pedestrians encroaching on one side, and downright scary when someone goes for a questionable overtake! 5 far wider lanes for motorised traffic though!
I’m not sure “words of advice
I’m not sure “words of advice” is the best way to deal with stupid/irresponsible/careless/agressive motorists. I can do that myself, and do so on an almost daily basis….. Although I suppose you often couldn’t really call it advice as such.
Interesting to read that the
Interesting to read that the older groups are the busiest cyclists. Do the manufacturers read and believe that to be the case? Manufacturers aim their best kit at the much smaller group of pros and athletically better young riders but the older groups generally have more money to spend on their hobbies and have different technical requirements. I don’t, for one minute believe doing away with the triple chainring setup or reducing mtb’s to a single chainring is in the interests of the over 50’s.
Dingaling wrote:
You will also note that those in that age group have an above average speed too! I suspect that is more to do with the demograph of that group who actually log their rides on Strava.
Manufacturers aim their top end kit at those that want quality without too much concern over price. They also often have ranges of more affordable kit, or other manufacturers target that part of the market, so there is something for everyone.
Often it is the older generation that have more disposable income. Supply to pro riders foc is advertising and a test bed. I freely admit to liking top quality kit and am willing to pay for it. It is all down to disposable income and how one chooses to spend it. Cycling is my passion and I spend a fair chunk on it, better that than fast women, loose cars and drugs! (Yes, that was deliberate!)
As regards triple chainrings, well, you can get MTB like gear ratios with a double on a road bike these days so I don’t quite buy your argument. Again, single chainring MTBs have huge cassettes which gives low enough gears if you choose correctly. It has been done for simplicity and more reliable performance, not to get at the over 50s.
You need to remember that you are one individual and not typical of the norm. I’m over 50, ride with several different groups where I am one of the youngest, and none of the fifty or so cyclists that I know in that age bracket (or significantly above) have any issue with a double chainring (or lack of a triple). Oh, and I live at the foot of the Peak District, so hills are our playground. Pick your front and rear ratios to suit your ability/ fitness/ terrain, there are plenty available.
mtb like gearing on a road
mtb like gearing on a road double is not particularly good, for many reasons that have been covered over and over again.
I don’t want an 11-34 or 36 or 42 tooth sprocket, I like my 11/12-28 with a triple and a 24 inner means I can get up pretty much anything even with a load.
Having the stupidly big jumps on MTB like road gearing using a double or worse a single ring, is cack.