Chris Froome drives Strava followers crazy with 99.4 mile ride; Someone is ‘selling’ a Zwift Tron bike for £1,000,000; Close passes bigger threat than speed, says Lawless; Charge resurface as e-bike brand; G takes up bikepacking? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Aussie Grit Apparel to close down
The cycle clothing specialists – founded by former F1 driver Mark Webber – have announced their closure, citing COVID-19 as the reason. The company say they will cease web sales on 30th June and continue to provide product support through the month of July.
"I can't quite see where the non-drivers go": Boardman takes issue with £1.4 billion junction
Chris Boardman and others are unhappy with the huge spend on this one junction compared to how much is spent on cycling and walking nationwide. According to Boardman, the overhaul will save drivers 8 minutes “until it’s full up.”
That’s like £20 for every man, woman and child in the UK.
For a junction.
One junction.
— BasikalKommuter (@BKommuter) June 25, 2020
As someone else once said – building more / wider road to deal with traffic is like a fat man getting bigger trousers to deal with obesity.
— Matthew Raw (@The_Rawman) June 25, 2020
I live in Cambridge and regularly cycle in this area. There’s no need for this dvelopment, and there is a need for much else in the way or roadbuilding and repairs around here. #wasteofmoney
— Dr Samuel Furse (@SamuelFurse) June 25, 2020
Others have agreed with the opinion that allowing for increased traffic volume will just lead to more cars, and the money could be better spent elsewhere.
"People are scumbags": cyclist shows huge piles of litter collected from beach in Poole
Right, thats 5 bags of rubbish collected from the beach and Shore Rd this morning. Now to head home to start work for the day. People are scumbags. pic.twitter.com/cmkgspf68C
— Engineer Like A Girl (@LikeEngineer) June 26, 2020
Pictures emerged of thousands of people on Bournemouth beach yesterday, with the Health Secretary threatening to close beaches if social distancing isn’t adhered to. Some national news sources claimed as many as 500,000 people were on Bournemouth beach, and a huge amount of litter was also left behind. The cyclist who posted the photo above has five huge bags of litter collected from the beach and Shore Road in Poole, which will unfortunately be the tip of the iceberg.
Volt shifting all manufacturing to the UK to meet surge in demand, and avoid "potential negatives" of Brexit
After weighing up all the potential costs, the UK e-bike brand Volt have decided that the best course of action was to move all their production to the UK, and are now operating out of a 20,000 sq ft factory in Milton Keynes. They say this will create up to 30 jobs and also allow them to produce even more bikes, up to 25,000 a year – full story on eBikeTips.
Bollard 1 - 0 Car
@WorldBollard Bridlington this evening. pic.twitter.com/MGbniIDgzQ
— Johnny B (@JohnnyBizzel) June 25, 2020
Spotted by a cyclist in Bridlington. We’ve been informed that no one was injured…
Chris Froome sends OCD levels through the roof with 99.4 mile Strava upload
The four-time Tour de France champion has been uploading some monster rides to Strava recently as he gears up for his grand tour comeback… but some of his Strava followers who work in miles as opposed to kilometres have taken issue with his latest ride, because he stopped less than 0.6 miles short of a 100 miler.
Even so, the Team Ineos training jaunt took in over 13,000 feet (4,000 metres) of elevation, following on from similarly savage rides uploaded on Monday and Tuesday. We don’t think Mr Froome has anything to prove, but would once more around the block have hurt?
99.42 miles = 160 kilometres
— Guy Pinkham 💙 (@guyjohnp) June 26, 2020
If Chris Froome’s few hundred yards short of a 100 mile ride is making you anxious… well you could always just go metric!
Charge Bikes re-emerge as an e-bike brand in the US
You may be familiar with Charge as selling quirky-coloured road bikes and single-speeds like the popular Plug 1 above… however it appears they’ve done a complete U-turn, having resurfaced selling electric bikes exclusively in the US.
This is rather surprising as Charge were founded in the UK in 2004; however they’ve been under the Dorel Industries umbrella that also owns Cannondale, Schwinn and GT since 2009. This a complete departure from Charge bikes of yore, offering just three e-bikes in their new range simply called City ($1,499), Comfort ($1,499, shown above) and XC ($2,299). The popular Charge-branded tan coloured saddles are also nowhere to be seen on the new website either, although they are selling accessories from Fabric. According to Cycling Sports Group – Dorel’s UK distribution arm – there are currently no plans to bring the bikes to the UK or Europe. The new website is here if you’re US-based and fancy a browse though.
Miles or kilometres?
It’s been suggested that for those who are peeved with Chris Froome stopping his GPS at 99.4 miles that it would be a lot less stressful to work in kilometres, because this actually makes it a nice round 160km. That calls for a poll…
Bournemouth beach? It's cyclists on Box Hill that are the problem ya know
Never mind Bournemouth yesterday; take a look at all the cyclists at the top of Box Hill! Fumin’ pic.twitter.com/uiz6TYQCdd
— The Cranlinati (@cranlinati) June 26, 2020
Outrageous.
Team Ineos rider Chris Lawless says driver education more important than speed limits to improve cyclists' safety
Speaking to the BBC following the news that the Isle of Man Cycling Association have called for reduced speed limits to aid vulnerable road users, the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire winner believes that better awareness is more important:
“It is not speed limits that are the problem it is education”, Lawless said.
“Education is needed across the board so everyone is sharing the road together.”
He said that close passes pose a bigger threat and that his most dangerous moments were “not on unrestricted roads”, adding that some drivers didn’t accelerate quickly enough to pass cyclists before encountering oncoming traffic.
The Isle of Man doesn’t have a national speed limit, meaning a lot of its roads are derestricted. The Isle of Man Cycling Association said 20mph and 30mph limits on narrow rural roads needed to be introduced “as a matter of urgency” in their open letter to the Manx government.
Has Geraint Thomas took up bikepacking?
It’s a Team Ineos special today, as we’ve just been alerted to a photo posted by Geraint Thomas of a camping stove and a saucepan on top of a cliff… has the 2018 Tour de France champ gone all bikepacking-y on us? Hopefully he has adequate storage to carry around that cooking equipment, unless the Ineos training jerseys have particularly roomy back pockets…
Peter Sagan stars in 'hilarious' new video to mark his Giro d'Italia debut
It’s Sagan’s first Giro d’Italia, not ‘giro’ (which means ‘tour’ in Italian) of a museum, is the basic gist of this new promo video. Which reminded us…
A few weeks ago you might remember we reported that a one-off Specialized Venge Sagan gifted to Pope Francis was getting auctioned to raise funds for Italy’s pandemic response. Turns out after 60 bids it eventually fetched 30,000 euros (approximately £27,400) in the Charity Stars online auction… holy smokes!
Cars could be banned from Jersey's Green Lanes under new proposals
If the proposals are passed, all non-essential car travel could be banned from Jersey’s ‘green lane’ network to make them safer and more accessible to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, reports ITV. First introduced in 1993, the Green Lane network already has a 15mph speed limit for motor vehicles and drivers are actively discouraged from using the lanes, but this move could see it become a prosecutable offence with stricter enforcement.
Deputy Robert Ward said: “It is about making these green lanes accessible and safe and actually useable and really emphasise the fact that these lanes are not for driving quickly along. People will encounter cyclists and walkers and so you need to be aware of it.”
The proposition will be debated by Jersey’s States Assembly on 14 July.
Someone is 'selling' a Zwift Tron bike
Putting the asking price for his Zwift Tron Bike at £1,000,000, Paul Horsfall says it has “almost zero drag”, a full Dura-Ace groupset and generously adds that he will post it anywhere in Watopia for an extra 25 quid. Snap this bargain up before it’s too late folks…
Surrey's Road Policing Unit school driver complaining about cyclists being "in the middle of the road"
Dear Liz,
Cyclists, horse riders and mobility scooter users can use any part of the lane they are in.
A more central position in the lane will often dissuade bad drivers from poor / dangerous overtakesGood drivers plan safe over takes and have no issue with others road position
— Roads Policing Unit (RPU) – Surrey Police – UK (@SurreyRoadCops) June 26, 2020
Couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
26 June 2020, 08:53
If you manage to get one before the new year then lucky you...
Boardman Bikes release 2021 road bikes and tease at new urban and hybrid models.
Today’s release includes new SLR 8.8 Disc and SLR 8.6 road bikes, along with limited editions of the SLR 8.9
26 June 2020, 08:53
26 June 2020, 08:53
26 June 2020, 08:53
26 June 2020, 08:53
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Latest Comments
@Rendel Harris Hmm.... I stand corrected. I still think Obree had a /lot/ more talent. And Jan-Willem today clearly has dropped in levels, relative to those he's racing against.
I cycled a lot on the continent and have done fir many years. I've never been close passed, and only once had a scary overtake by an oncoming vehicle. Im close passed almost daily in the UK and dangerous overtakes are common. Some serious driver education is needed here, not to mention presumed liability legislation.
@TrainWalkWheel at least one person on here seems to have better understanding of these than I do but AFAICS the model is even less likely to lead to good outcomes than happened with eg. a certain UK bus company. The one notorious for moving into an area, putting the existing providers out of business by running more services for pence and losing money, then - having captured the market - jacking up the price and dropping services. At least in that case the intention was presumably to deliver a self-sustaining service in the end (albeit perhaps a worse, overpriced one). But AFAIK mass bike share itself has never made money directly. So one wonders what the end plan is if any one of these market-share-capture firms actually won? (Presumably that isn't important and it's all about trading / financial shenanigans in some way. I doubt they could hold the local authority to ransom for the extra cash...)
Alas it's another part of "because cars / 'change', we can't just copy a well-proven design eg. from NL" On top of this is the UK "not invented here" making it up / no expertise or standard designs AND a "we must fit cyclists in around existing road space" causing strange contorted layouts. So what happens is we get things like bi-directional cycle *lanes* (not separated cycle paths) because cheapest / easiest to patch in. So that means that pedestrians don't have a space to wait *after* crossing the cycle space and *before* they have to deal with the road. (It also puts another block in the way of cycling convenience at traffic lights - say at a T-junction - because unlike NL the lights then apply to cyclists going straight on, whereas in NL that would be an informal cycle path crossing for pedestrians with no lights applying to the cycle path part - so cyclists just keep rolling).
In 2019, Shanghai and other Chinese major cities implemented strict regulations and clean-up operations tp remove millopns of abondoned dockless bicycles that had created public nuisances and blocked pavements. One can't blame local authorities for taking actions in order to stop a messy situation triggered by unruly users.
@Jakrayan Criticising people for not riding primary is like criticising a victim of domestic abuse for cringing when their partner threatens them with their fist. People don't ride in the gutter because they want to, they do it because if they don't they know there's a better than even chance that in any given ride at least one driver will be so affronted by the ENTITLED BIKE NONCE TAKIN' UP THE WHOLE ROAD!!!11 they'll do a deliberate punishment pass that could kill you or leave you maimed for life. Getting over in the gutter isn't a great solution, but multiple uncomfortable but not life-threatening passes is better than one potentially catastrophic one. It shouldn't be a cyclist's responsibility to put their life at risk just to remind drivers to obey the rules of the road they should be doing regardless. And as for "just getting off and walking", putting aside the reality that a ridden bike takes up *less* space than one with the rider walking alongside and so I'd argue the most considerate way to use that inadequate infrastructure(presumably there are no safe alternatives within a reasonable distance or why would anyone on a bike be using it at all) would be to proceed across on the bike at walking pace and then stop and put your foot down if someone needs to get by you; plenty of people use bikes as mobility aids and so "just get off" isn't as simple as it's made out to be. A couple of years back I had the worst sprain of my life, I could barely even hobble for two weeks and had a huge honking brace on my foot, had to sleep on the sofa downstairs because climbing them was a no go. I could still ride my bike though, do my shopping, see my mates - plenty of people have impairments that aren't temporary, to them "just get off" is tantamount to saying "just stay home". Let's keep it a benjamin as the kids say: "shared responsibility" and "keeping everyone safe" are, literally, copouts. They've framed the entire campaign so they can justify only taking actions that don't piss off drivers, and don't require them to actually do any work except harassing a few cyclists as they do a lunch run to the local Greggs, because that's the level of seriousness police in this country - in an institutional sense - believe road crime deserves.
"Scott says that it ‘redefines cable routing in the mountain bike industry’. While we’re yet to see if that claim rings true" I have a Spark RC Pro (2022) with mechanically controlled components. Because we use the front brake lever on the drive (right) side in the UK I have the rear brake hose and two cable housings (dropper and shock) on the NDS entering the headset. On my current bike I use 3.0mm Jagwire housing with no problems. I can install them by just pushing them through the headset without dismantling it. The new 2027 Spark has two openings either side of the headset so it is set up for a rear brake to be on the DS (right). Maybe they are dismissing countries that have the UK's brake lever configuration.
The first link is to one of their cycling computers.
To be fair when I'm out on the roads, car or bike, I see very many instances of people cycling who could be doing better. Ignoring the delivery riders, most of whom we know aren't actually riding bicycles / Ebikes, the most common issue I see is people riding too close to the edge of the road. Yes, drivers absolutely should do better, however this type of riding does little to discourage drivers from overtaking, and they will still pass too closely leaving the rider with FA room to the left either. So educating riders as to how to ride more safely isn't a bad idea IMHO. As for that narrow bridge, if it's popular with pedestrians I don't see how getting off and walking a few yards is a massive issue. And I'm normally in SPD-SL road cleats!
Indeed. Some lanes are so narrow, and with overgrown vegetation, that the driver may not be able to see anything behind in his wing (door) mirrors, and vans usually don't have a rear window so no rear-view mirror either. Much easier in this situation to just turn around and head back to the nearest farm gate, it won't be far. After all, 'share the road' works both ways. And before someone comments to say if you drive where you can't clearly see what's behind you, that driver may have no choice - deliveries, tradespeople etc.
44 thoughts on “Chris Froome drives Strava followers crazy with 99.4 mile ride; Someone is ‘selling’ a Zwift Tron bike for £1,000,000; Close passes bigger threat than speed, says Lawless; Charge resurface as e-bike brand; G takes up bikepacking? + more on the live blog”
“I can’t quite see where the
“I can’t quite see where the non-drivers go”: Boardman takes issue with £1.4 billion junction.
Was it only yesterday Grant Shapps was telling us that unprecedented amounts were to be spent on cycling? £2bn nationwide, so only a bit more than this single junction will cost, which will encourage driving. With the rise in temperatures accelerating, it is more important than ever to reduce driving and to promote the alternatives, let alone all the other benefits a significant switch would provide.
This government and previous ones are getting it wrong, spending vast amounts on encouraging driving and comparitively little on the alternatives, despite all the rhetoric.
Yep, they just don’t get the
Yep, they just don’t get the cognitive dissonance of proclaiming that people should be walking and cycling, whilst making sure that the car is king of the road.
Is it time for the revolution yet or do we have to keep believing the twaddle of the ruling class (going for a drive to test your eyesight)?
hawkinspeter wrote:
I think it’s the second point.
Dominic Cummings holds illegal street party to ‘test his hearing’
Disclaimer – this is not real news 😉
hawkinspeter wrote:
I’m investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.
Check out Pitchfork Emporium
Check out Pitchfork Emporium https://www.reddit.com/r/pitchforkemporium/
I reckon Cummings will be
I reckon Cummings will be first up against the wall, come the Revolution…
eburtthebike wrote:
I’m investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.— hawkinspeter
Oh, you’re one of [i]those[/i] people. More of a flaming torch kind of guy, myself.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I’m investigating a bulk order of pitchforks.
— eburtthebike Oh, you’re one of [i]those[/i] people. More of a flaming torch kind of guy, myself.— hawkinspeterSplitter.
It has been 38C in Siberia,
It has been 38C in Siberia, which is jolly hot.
I remain optimistic(ish) that sooner or later we’ll start doing what we already know we have to do.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
Bury our collective heads in the sand, as usual?
Cargobike wrote:
But the sand is too hot for burying heads in.
and so the mass cave-in
and so the mass cave-in gathers pace:
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/18546017.hundreds-call-rethink-southampton-bike-lanes-revamp/
From the postbag:
for several days now I have sat idling in the heat, air conditioning running, watching perhaps one bike every two minutes go past.
My 2 mile journey now takes 30 minutes instead of 20
there is so much traffic, it must be someone’s fault, something should be done about it – hence this letter to you
David9694 wrote:
And at least two “I’m a cyclist, but……” posts.
Is selecting parts from a
Is selecting parts from a Chinese wholesaler’s catalog and bolting them together really considered ‘production’?
Regarding…. ?
Regarding…. ?
Surely you must already
Surely you must already realise that’s pretty much how all mass produced bikes are created, regardless of which country it’s done in and regardless of brand. The majority of frames are fabricated by one of a relatively small number of companies in a far east factory that ‘only’ makes frames, then the frames are shipped to another location where all the component parts are assembled onto it. All those parts have been produced in various other factories that specialise in the relevant item. Surely we should be happy that Volt have elected to carry out that final process here in the UK? Show me a bike company that creates from scratch (design, development, manufacture) ALL the parts of a bike themselves, in a single location.
I thought Volt already did a
I thought Volt already did a bunch of their manufacturing in the UK, and are moving more back..
But this has never happened,
But this has never happened, even before manufacturing moved East. Unless Campagnolo and Suntour made frames?
I don’t disagree that the
I don’t disagree that the most bike ‘manufacturers’ do that, I’m just pricking the puffed-up hubris of this particular ‘manufacturer’ with their ‘wrapped-in-a-union-jack’ press release. (And let’s face it, it’s pretty offensive with their Brexit-pandering digs at the EU.)
25,000 bikes a year from 30 employees is nothing more than a box-opening operation. Nothing to be proud of as an example of a “boon for UK manufacturing”.
There is nothing wrong and a
There is nothing wrong and a lot of things right about ” Brexit-pandering digs at the EU.” 😉
Volt are pretty crap eBikes
Volt are pretty crap eBikes anyway. The quality ones are from the EU and the components are Japanese. The batteries are either EU or Japanese.
Don’t Brompton get quite
Don’t Brompton get quite close?
The only reason people in the
The only reason people in the UK record in KMs is to make it look like they have gone further/faster.
Nope.
Nope.
Shake wrote:
You don’t know me!
Shake wrote:
Interesting stat.
I was just taking the mick, I
I was just taking the mick, I don’t care what people record in.
I like to keep it imperial to measure my height in feet so it looks like I climb more
Yep, you got us.
Yep, you got us.
The Box Hill tweet was
The Box Hill tweet was amusing but not half as entertaining as this twitter thread that appeared beneath it:
https://twitter.com/liz5davis/status/1276253642413260800
Worth sitting down with a cuppa.
Headline – “Has Geraint
Headline – “Has Geraint Thomas took up bikepacking?”
I think the word you were searching for is “taken”.
You’ve beaten me to it.
You’ve beaten me to it.
Good on you!
Great to see Jersey pushing
Great to see Jersey pushing further and further with their excellent cycling policies. It really can be and hopefully will be a decent local Cycling Mecca.
£100 return on a ferry, or if you want to fly, £40 return. (plus the bike box charges)
I have spent many hours on thier fantastic lanes, and mega hills. Love it!
Richard_pics wrote:
What’s wrong with this picture?
does that £40 return flight
does that £40 return flight include carrying the bike on the plane? Might still be cheaper to use the ferry.
That the ferry prices
That the ferry prices automatically assume you want to take a car with you for ‘free’…
mdavidford wrote:
Obviously the cost! But its a 5 hour or more journey on the ferry, and 45 mins by plane. But you do have the abnormal luggage charge on a plane, which will bump up the cost by about £80 return iirc.
Bikes are free to take on the
Bikes are free to take on the Ferry. (obvioulsy without a car)
I have had plane returns to Jersey for £18! The risk you take with taking a bike on the plane is the luggage handlers, and the extra cost for abnormal luggage.
Ah – fair enough.
Ah – fair enough.
It says something about our transport systems generally though, that when the original comment made it sound that it was more than twice as expensive to take your bike on the ferry, that seemed entirely plausible.
I did Manchester-Blackpool
I did Manchester-Blackpool and back last year. The furthest I’ve ever ridden and stopped my recording when I got home: 199.8km. D’oh! Gutted, Never really need to ride that far again.
Organon wrote:
Try doing a 200km Audax. Great fun, and much cheaper than a sportive, but be warned; they are addictive. Like everything else, suspended currently, but I’m sure they’ll be back as soon as they can. http://www.aukweb.net/
‘Surrey’s Road Policing Unit
‘Surrey’s Road Policing Unit school driver complaining about cyclists being “in the middle of the road”‘
You could rephrase this to avoid giving the impression that a driver from Surrey’s RPU school is doing the complaining.
Now come on Chris Boardman,
Now come on Chris Boardman, just one more big push, one more big investment and we’ll have “fixed the traffic.”
Volt – So where do the
Volt – So where do the components come from? Japan. The engine and Batteries? Japan. The Frame? Taiwan. Seat post and saddle? Taiwan. Tyres? Taiwan. And it’s unboxed and assembled in Milton Keynes. That’s a real ‘manufacturing resurgance’ if ever there was one.
There’s suddenly a large
There’s suddenly a large number of top end bicycles for sale, dominating the recent forum thingy, I’m sure they are all “bargains” too.
Hmmmm…