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Live blog: "You bleedin stupid woman" - London Assembly Member abused by driver while cycling at one of city's most dangerous junctions, New Balance boss appointed USA Cycling CEO, CES cycling highlights + more

All today's news from the site and beyond...
08 January 2019, 18:02
London Assembly Member told to "get out the way you bleedin stupid woman" by driver as she cycled round one of capital's most dangerous junctions

Green Party Assembly Member Caroline Russell has tweeted about how she was abused by the driver of a Range Rover as she cycled round the Highbury Corner gyratory in North London, which is due for an overhaul under Transport for London's Safer Junctions scheme to make it less dangerous for vulnerable road users.

Her tweet has seen her receive a lot of support from other Twitter users, some of whom recounted their own experiences of being abused by motorists.

08 January 2019, 16:20
Jack Monroe goes out for a ride

The popular food writer and journalist, who last year went up in everyone's estimations even more by suing and almost bankrupting far-right sh*t stirrer Katie Hopkins for libel, has been impressing the cycling community too by going out for a spin in the countryside. Monroe is "looking into local Bikeability courses" and admitted to being nervous and skittish on the bike previously, but all went well this time around. 

08 January 2019, 16:12
Convercycle EinkÑufe
Check out the Convercycle, a cargo and a regular bike 2-in-1

The back wheel of this bike flips out to create a cargog bike, and it comes in e-bike or manual versions. Read about it over on eBikeTips. 

08 January 2019, 12:57
Rob DeMartini, who steered New Balance through “official shoes of white people” PR gaffe, appointed CEO of USA Cycling

USA Cycling has announced that Rob DeMartini, who has served as CEO of shoe brand New Balance for the past 12 years, has been appointed as their new CEO. USA Cycling's last two bosses were both former elite cyclists, and although DeMartini describes himself as a keen recreational rider according to the Denver Post, the new appointment was mostly due to his many contacts in the business world.  

DeMartini presided over a turbulent time for New Balance in 2016, when it emerged that their owner Jim Davis had personally donated $400,000 to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, and a New Balance staff member appeared to offer support for Trump's planned Trans-Pacific Partnership; however the company said the comments were blown out of proportion and only related to trade, and that New Balance "does not support Trump" or "tolerate bigotry or hate in any form”. It didn't stop democrat supporters from burning their trainers en masse and promise lifetime boycotts of the company, and the comments also impressed Neo-Nazis who dubbed New Balance "the official shoes of white people"; but two years on it appears little lasting damage has been done to their image. 

Will DeMartini make USA Cycling great again? He starts work in February 2019.  

08 January 2019, 11:32
A little too immersive?

Remember those Back to the Future and Star Wars ride simulators that were popular in 90's theme parks? Well here's that but on a spin bike. No thanks...

08 January 2019, 11:16
Some more curiosities from the CES show 2019

There's plenty of weird and wonderful cycling-related inventions on display at the world's biggest consumer technology show this week... and firmly in the weird camp is this penny farthing-inspired e-cycle named the JackRabbit. 

...also at the show is the world's first bike powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the Pragma Industries' Alpha bicycle. 

...and the rather fetching R-Pur Nano anti-pollution mask, that lights up to indicate poor air quality. 

We'll be keeping an eye out for more interesting stuff from the show this week, watch this space. 

08 January 2019, 10:16
Take a look at this self-inflating airbag gilet for cyclists, on show at CES

We're looking out for bike-related gear from the world's biggest consumer electronics show, CES, and here's something that caught our eye - a self-inflating airbag gilet.

There's a more extensive video about it here from the BBC, including an interview with one of the people behind the company that produces it, Helite..

 

08 January 2019, 10:04
This gym in China will get your legs burning - and your stomach churning

Wait for it ...

08 January 2019, 09:41
Iconic Wirral cycling cafe up for sale

The Eureka Cyclists' Cafe in Woodbank on the Wirral is something of an institution in that part of the world - after all, it's been trading for 90 years. Now the current owners, who have run it for 17 years, are looking to sell up and are seeking someone to take it on. Interested? Contact them via Facebook.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

Avatar
youngoldbloke | 5 years ago
1 like

The Jack Rabbit is very neat, but no pedals. So it's a primitive Motor Bike not an ebike in the UK legal sense? Throttle only?

Avatar
brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes

"driver of a Range Rover"...  Says it all, really.  What do you expect?

Avatar
burtthebike replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

"driver of a Range Rover"...  Says it all, really.  What do you expect?

I liked the tweets which called it a Rage Rover.

Avatar
OldRidgeback | 5 years ago
2 likes

I do like the converticycle cargo bike. It's a really neat piece of design. The rear end is a bit reminiscent of a Moulton frame with its cantilever design so I hope there isn't an issue of patent infringement.

Avatar
leqin | 5 years ago
1 like

I want a BFG9000 and a Railgun for good measure just for BMW and Audi drivers... can we make them a thing.

Avatar
peted76 | 5 years ago
5 likes

I wanna go on that spin bike with the big screen!!  

Avatar
burtthebike | 5 years ago
9 likes

I'm continually astonished and amazed at the ingenuity and general all round cleverness of so many of my fellow human beings.  The inflatable gilet has me gobsmacked with admiration at the ability of people to design pointless, useless crazy things while real problems go unsolved.

The gilet, like the helmet, won't make cycling any safer, not least because it doesn't protect the most vulnerable parts of the body, won't prevent serious injury and last but not least, risk compensation.

Please tell me it's April the first and I've suddenly woken up from a coma.

Avatar
ChrisB200SX replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
3 likes

burtthebike wrote:

I'm continually astonished and amazed at the ingenuity and general all round cleverness of so many of my fellow human beings.  The inflatable gilet has me gobsmacked with admiration at the ability of people to design pointless, useless crazy things while real problems go unsolved.

The gilet, like the helmet, won't make cycling any safer, not least because it doesn't protect the most vulnerable parts of the body, won't prevent serious injury and last but not least, risk compensation.

Please tell me it's April the first and I've suddenly woken up from a coma.

I found it hilarious. Rier demonstrates by gently dismounting onto a crashmat at less than walking speed... then the video shows a dummy faceplanting into a car and then the tarmac. Amazingly stupid design... unless you fall off your bike and into a body of water  4

Avatar
HoarseMann replied to ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
0 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

burtthebike wrote:

I'm continually astonished and amazed at the ingenuity and general all round cleverness of so many of my fellow human beings.  The inflatable gilet has me gobsmacked with admiration at the ability of people to design pointless, useless crazy things while real problems go unsolved.

The gilet, like the helmet, won't make cycling any safer, not least because it doesn't protect the most vulnerable parts of the body, won't prevent serious injury and last but not least, risk compensation.

Please tell me it's April the first and I've suddenly woken up from a coma.

I found it hilarious. Rier demonstrates by gently dismounting onto a crashmat at less than walking speed... then the video shows a dummy faceplanting into a car and then the tarmac. Amazingly stupid design... unless you fall off your bike and into a body of water  4

Sod an inflatable jacket, I want a rocket powered ejector seat to propel me to safety.

Avatar
PRSboy replied to ChrisB200SX | 5 years ago
3 likes

ChrisB200SX wrote:

I found it hilarious. Rier demonstrates by gently dismounting onto a crashmat at less than walking speed... then the video shows a dummy faceplanting into a car and then the tarmac. Amazingly stupid design... unless you fall off your bike and into a body of water  4

Indeed... the crash-test video was not especially encouraging.  

It did show just how hideous and potentially dangerous even a low speed collision like that is on a bike, just the sort that results from a driver pulling out, or turning, in front of a cyclist.

Similar videos should be included in 'driver awareness' courses.

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