Trek specials: Belt drive ‘crosser prototype gets a run out + Big Apple Madone

Too much time on my hands obvs!

@OnYerBike "illegal e-moto" should do it for the non-pedal variants and "illegal e-moped" if you want to get particular about those DIY conversions with pedals.

Seems like there's way too much "tech" here (braking distribution?) ... ... but of course the target market seems to be folks who are looking to replace part of "car" and certainly aren't fussed about getting into bike mechanics, so perhaps the more of this the better? Anyway, slightly surprised this is (apparently) popular in what is AFAICS a pretty crowded market; Cube probably setting the pace * with their "little big longtail" bikes, which many others seem to have borrowed from. * I'd bet that this isn't a new idea but they seem to have very good designs, albeit heavy on the tech themselves (ABS was it?)

@mark1212123 Or even "what are our transport needs, what do we think we'll need in the future, what other important properties may impact that" etc. The latter might be not paying millions to keep repairing public infra, resilience (eg. less reliance on products from "difficult" regions, less impermeable surfaces which cause rapid run-off), local "places" and businesses, public safety, health... And on that perhaps encouraging people (and especially children) to get out more for both physical and mental health, which would suggest we need places where people find it feels safe and pleasant for young and old to be moving outside, where you can hear others speak, where you're not breathing in particulates or stopping and waiting for a minute every time you go to the other side of the street... Motor vehicles are space inefficient and also take over spaces - hence the urban "geometry problem". FWIW while it's hard to imagine in the UK that conversation has happened elsewhere. In places like eg. Amsterdam ("Amsterdam makes space" - a plan removing thousands of on-street parking spaces and narrowing roads - which people have voted for!), Utrecht (removing the inner ring road etc), perhaps Paris...

@mark1212123 Well, yes, in that there are more people now than say 1990, and (I think) more of them drive... ...but also it just so happens that some road users are more equal than others, allotted a couple of living-rooms' worth of space. Plus as private motor vehicles get bigger and people are not all piling in one mini anymore they're getting even more space. And also those "small roads" were often "streets" not long back. We've kept the "through-access" available even though they weren't designed for it and they can't easily be expanded for that. And/or the "smallness" of the road is because there are actually three or four lanes of motor vehicles - one or two are all the parked cars we can't "see" when we think "narrow street"...

@Rian_constant : I have the exact same issue with a totally different light: the Lupine SL Grano. Has a cutoff to avoid blinding oncoming traffic and also throws out a carpet of light. It’s ok 80% of the time but my commute takes me through a couple of pitch dark stretches where it’s simply not enough, certainly not riding at road speeds around 30-33 kmph average. It’s great in every other respect but that’s simply something that needs fixing. I’m willing to pay but want to be certain that it works and I’ve seen too many long exposure beam shots that appear to show unrealistic levels of illumination.

Mark's a great bloke. He and I have done similar football related cycling challenges (mine around Crystal Palace) and we met when he cycled to Palace a few years ago. I'm gutted for him.

I'd call it more of a pick-up truck than an SUV, but I expect they want to market it more to people who are trying to replace their SUV rather than a pickup. I own a longtail e-cargo bike that I'm very happy with and would never want a front loader. It's going to be tricky to make the rear suspension work well and not compromise other aspects. Not something that I would trust to a kickstarter project.

@Peterjbdk Even the Government’s Road Safety Strategy says that – Vision Zero... The January 2026 Road Safety Strategy says lots of things- almost none of the important ones are even taken seriously by the government itself, which is why they're 'consulting' on them for long enough that the document is sunk without trace in a sea of digital dust. The police will sabotage anything they don't like, which includes anything to the benefit of cycling and cyclists- how much more evident that they won't lift a finger can it be when Essex and Kent police collude to refuse to even look at close-passing videos when there has been no collision NO MATTER HOW CLOSE. This is 'get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do': Vision Zero?! Sod That for a Lark is the police vision. Pretty much the whole 'strategy' is complete fiction, with no expectation that anything will change if drivers wouldn't like it. As for the 'consultations' on whether driving without MOT or insurance, or with illegal/ fake plates are genuinely a bad thing deserving more than joke punishment...?! Lancashire Police were informed regularly, with photos, for over a year that HN21 VXB was without MOT or VED. I've put many of the photos on here. The police refused to respond after PC Mike Duff of Garstang Neighbourhood Policing Team told me back in January 26 not to tell him about such 'alleged offences' because he didn't have time to look into them. It was only when I sent the Bent Coppers this without comment, taken at the driver's house, that they got worried and suddenly something changed:

I'd rather adopt the habit of staying the hell away altogether in the very busy Christmas shopping season.