Vigilante cyclist’s graffiti attacks on cars blocking bike lanes; Fake Ineos signing Remco reveal dupes the internet; Councillor hits back at criticism of his cycle lane comments; Snake Pass closed again + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Councillor hits back at criticism of his cycle lane comments
Let’s pick up where we left yesterday’s live blog…
We’ve been in touch with councillor Joe Hanson to seek clarification on his comments that painted cycle lanes worked “extremely well”… even though the now-installed wands between the road and the infrastructure keep getting knocked down by drivers travelling too close…
— Cycle Liverpool (@CycleLiverpool) September 29, 2022
Here we go…
“This is the first complaint I have received from any of my constituents in relation to parking on Vauxhall Road. So is it unreasonable to suggest that I should not gather evidence to present to council of this complaint?” he told us.
“Also I have evidence of the damage these wagons are doing to the cycle lanes. I have received many complaints from residents and businesses in the area about how these bike lane were introduced and their usage, and there is a genuine concern for the safety of those residents who use the bike lanes, something that I have raised with Liverpool City Council.
“We have a massive amount of heavy goods wagons heading along Commercial Road, Vauxhall Road and Stanley road, the main gateways into the dock road system which runs 24 hours a day.”
I’m going to say that nobody here is doubting the damage heavy goods vehicles are doing to the cycle lane wands, that’s pretty clear from the pictures. What a lot of people are questioning, including us in our email, is why returning to painted infrastructure would be safe for cyclists if the current cycle lane keeps getting damaged by vehicles?
Anyway, on with the rest of the day…
Fake Ineos Remco signing reveal dupes the internet
So many people have fallen for this 🤦♂️😂 https://t.co/GFKCVFmM0j
— Tim Bonville-Ginn (@TimBonvilleGinn) September 30, 2022
Please say this isn’t a foray into cycling fans replicating ‘football twitter’. Cue 13-year-old keyboard warriors with Remco as their picture spamming ‘announce Remco’, ‘ratio’ and generally being incredibly annoying…wow, I’ve never felt like this much of a grumpy old man before…(PS. if you’ve got no idea what any of that means, good, keep it that way)…
"Plumber makes it big" vibes
Strong “Plumber makes it big” vibes here. https://t.co/rlQoIpv1wP
— The Emperor of Herentals (@27inchwheel) September 30, 2022
Elsewhere in Liverpool... the Wild West Derby is back
No change up in the Wild West Derby. pic.twitter.com/jx3qlLFQne
— Bad Parking (@BadParkingLpool) September 30, 2022
We’ve covered this gem before…
Vigilante cyclist's graffiti attacks on cars blocking bike lanes
Over in France there’s a vigilante spray painting ‘educational’ messages on drivers’ vehicles when they block cycle lanes or pavements…
“Live to annoy the annoyers”…
The self-named “masked vigilante on a crusade against bad motorists” uploads videos to YouTube on the Cinquante Euros channel, and shares pictures on social media as @50_euros.
Learn French easily with cars as a blackboard !
➡️ « Cyclists, ride over the roof »#yplac pic.twitter.com/t8tWaDsXR6— 50 Euros (@50_euros) September 27, 2022
Learn French with cars as a blackboard !
OK this one is rather easy. The side reads « and pedestrians too »#yplac #LearnFrenchWithFifty pic.twitter.com/jw5P6MsTxt— 50 Euros (@50_euros) September 29, 2022
They’ve even got some of YPLAC’s stickers…
> Bike lane van driver gets ‘you park like a c***’ sticker
500 of these beauties can’t wait to cross the Channel with me 😈 #yplac pic.twitter.com/xAl9ZtDyEU
— 50 Euros (@50_euros) September 27, 2022
The SAFEST way to listen to music while cycling? Shokz Openrun unboxing
Snake Pass closed again
Snake Pass, the busy A-road connecting Manchester and Sheffield that earlier this year was the centre of a storm over cyclist access, has closed to all road users again. It has been shut all week, but we were holding off reporting it while waiting for Derbyshire County Council’s response to our enquiry about whether it would, once again, be closed to cyclists too.
> Snake Pass protest: Cyclists reclaim car-free route
From the silence, we’re guessing yes, as it was in the spring, cyclists will not be allowed to ride up. The closure from Monday 26 September for four weeks is so an investigation into the cause of a landslip can be carried out.
Back in February the road was closed to traffic after being damaged during heavy storms. Following many cyclists visiting, to make use of the car-free route, the council controversially closed it to all users.
Anyone up that way been able to ride up this week?
"Dunce of bitumen": Some more of the French cycling vigilante's work
A couple more before I grab some lunch (Google Translate informs me the above means “dunce of bitumen”)…
And this: Sunday I park like a stick (apparently) although I’m guessing manche might mean something slightly less suitable for a family-friendly blog…
FaMiLy FrIeNdLy BlOg
'Taxi driver' Twitter account locked after threatening to "run over" cyclists
Seems quite a few people have the same screenshot…
— The Department of Parks & Recreation 🦌 (@ldnparks) September 30, 2022
Snap! pic.twitter.com/zqsY4ZTHuD
— Kentish Town LTN (@KentishTownLTN) September 30, 2022
@MikeyCycling et al
Oh dear
How sad
Never mind pic.twitter.com/w8OI0hpWQ8— Stephanie Anne Calvert (@StephAcalvert) September 30, 2022
Who knows if the account actually belonged to a taxi driver or just an internet provocateur…anyway, since the tweets no longer exist, here’s what earned some disciplinary action from Twitter…
Message to cyclists:
If you cycle towards me, in my lane, I will not stop. If you do it in your own lane, close to the line/on it, I will not give you space and I will not stop.
If you get run over, you only have yourselves to blame. I have a dash cam, you will be reported.
Charming. There really are some lovely people out there…
RideLondon Classique added to Women's UCI WorldTour calendar for 2023
The UCI has announced the RideLondon Classique will be part of the Women’s WorldTour calendar next year… on the condition that the organisers stick to the requirement of live TV coverage for each stage.
> UCI downgrades RideLondon Classique due to “unacceptable lack of respect” for teams and riders
During this year’s race only the final stage was broadcast live, a breach of the UCI rules for WorldTour races.
“As the organiser has provided evidence of contractual commitments to broadcast all stages of the race live on TV in 2023, the RideLondon Classique is back on the calendar for the world’s most prestigious events in women’s cycling,” the UCI said.
Next year’s edition will take place from 26 to 28 May.
Specialized hires former Nike VP as chief marketing officer "to engage and inspire millions"
Specialized has hired a former Nike vice president in a chief marketing officer role, with the aim of “engaging and inspiring millions of new and existing riders”. David Schriber, who spent 14 years with the sports giants, was announced by Specialized’s new CEO Scott Maguire.
> Liam’s Custom Specialized S-Works Aethos — Staff Bikes
“I am confident that there is no better marketer in the world for the Specialized brand at this moment than David. He will lead us to engage and inspire millions of new and existing riders, delivering on our purpose of Pedaling the Planet Forward,” Maguire said.
“His cultural awareness and digital marketing capabilities will be an incredible combination with our deep focus on innovation.”
"None of this tucking a passive-aggressive note under the wiper"
One more for the road?
Reaction time…
“Cyclists ride over the roof”: Vigilante cyclist’s graffiti attacks on cars blocking bike lanes and pedestrian crossingshttps://t.co/4g3sZ53vt7 #cycling pic.twitter.com/xQpU53SxhT
— road.cc (@roadcc) September 30, 2022
PRSboy suggested they do vigilantism better on the continent…
“One of this tucking a passive-aggressive note under the wiper. I recall in Sicily watching a disgruntled homeowner pour the contents of a tin of gloss white paint over the windscreen of a car who’s driver had parked across a garage entrance. Even better, I watched the fall-out when the owner returned later, after the car had spent the day baking in the Sicilian sun.”
chrisonatrike commented: “Finally a correct use of ‘vigilante’!
“If you wanted to make a criminal damage charge less likely (not sure — maybe still applies?) would a non-permanent medium like lipstick work? Or is that too easy to remove with windscreen washer?”
There’s a decent thread on criminal damage, in the comments (the thread is in the comments, not the criminal damage…*goes back and adds a coma after ‘damage’*)…
hawkinspeter said: “I saw some post this morning (can’t remember where) that compared the pros and cons of letting down tyres vs spraypainting a message onto SUVs. I’m now thinking that spraypaint is the superior tactic — it doesn’t affect the functionality, so those emergency SUV journeys can still be made and is likely a lot more permanent and more annoying to the owners.”
Happy Friday!
Hey, we don’t make the rules…
I could not agree more! pic.twitter.com/sDPPK7nngR
— Cybergibbons 🚲🚲🚲 (@cybergibbons) September 26, 2022
Oh go on then, if I have to…
Have a good weekend everybody! Ryan will be back with Monday’s blog so at least you get a break from me…
30 September 2022, 08:03
30 September 2022, 08:03
30 September 2022, 08:03
30 September 2022, 08:03
30 September 2022, 08:03
30 September 2022, 08:03
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Latest Comments
Yes I do the same. Slow down and cover brakes whenever near a refuse lorry, bus, school collection / drop off areas, takeaway outlets. Presumably the worker would have received training in how to behave around traffic. It was indeed a rubbish manoeuvre.
It definitely was a dumb move from a worker, but I'm always covering the brakes anyway when passing a bin lorry - especially if I'm overtaking traffic waiting to pass while I can squeeze through. They're like school buses, there's a strong chance someone will suddenly cross the road from behind the truck. Good job by Mark anyway, I'd usually expect people to walk across the road, not run/roll!
@Mr Blackbird And the evidence that Spalding BID are a wunch of bankers is overwhelming.
@IanMK Many years ago, HSE decided that cycle helmets were not PPE. Not sure if their position has changed since then.
@Rendel Harris Thanks for digging all that up. That link is of the 'this is the answer, now put it in your own words' variety. As for Spalding BID, this is interesting: "Spalding BID Ltd is a registered company with a Board of Directors who volunteer their time to provide performance monitoring and strategic oversight of the delivery of Spalding BID Improvement Plan. Its Directors must be members of the registered company and in general appointed because they are business owners, business partners or have another vested interest in the town. It is important to note that Spalding BID Ltd is an independent company which is not owned, governed or operated by South Holland District Council." It raises £170k/year by taxing local businesses, which as you point out, they can't avoid, and they can't vote them out until 2029. "Spalding BID 5-year term of operation runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2029, after which businesses will be invited to take part in a new ballot to determine whether Spalding BID will run for a further 5-year term." I got curious about what exactly BIDs are so I googled and found some stuff, amongst which the ballot information was particularly interesting: "The Ballot Process • Postal Vote: Ballots are conducted entirely by post via the local authority's returning officer. • Dual Majority: Approval requires a simple majority of those who vote, and a majority of those votes must represent a majority of the aggregate rateable value."
I imagine the 105,000 figure is the estimate for the top of high season., not the number of full-time jobs. The trouble with this job is that you are overworked for 4 months a year and then don't always work enough to stay in the black for the other 8. So many mechanics may need another job for the rest of the year, but then they can't keep up to date with the industry. Catch 22.
@Rendel Harris hmm... wonder if this organisation has received some journalistic attention? It could just be wording but yeah that reads "we've decided x, now let's come up with 'evidence' to prove that..."
@Rendel Harris do you think they got any evidence - or was it just anecdote?
@Chris RideFar I think because the over complexity of what bikes have become over the last decade it puts off many who may of been prepared to service their own bikes in the past but are now not so confident. Disc brakes are the obvious one for me. Its no longer a simple task of swapping a brake cable and putting in new pads, there is the bleeding, cutting of hoses, fitting barbs etc, its 3 new tools just for that 1 job if your needing to replace the parts. Even bleeding alone put off many, cos if you mess it up youre left without functioning brakes. a simple cable pull is easy to see and understand. hydraulics can be poor but you dont know until you come to use it and it can just fade and become spongy mid ride. Thats before we get into internal routing, headsets, the million and 1 different BB standards etc.
@eburtthebike I'd be genuinely surprised if this didn't fall under the remit of the HSE and they hadn't done an investigation. Imagine if a forklift hit a cyclist on a large industrial site. Having said that, although the HSE are unlikely to give specific advice, the 'staff are encouraged to wear helmets' doesn't sound like the outcome of a competent risk assessment.
47 thoughts on “Vigilante cyclist’s graffiti attacks on cars blocking bike lanes; Fake Ineos signing Remco reveal dupes the internet; Councillor hits back at criticism of his cycle lane comments; Snake Pass closed again + more on the live blog”
Councillor Joe Hanson wrote:
Maybe it’s too early for me but I have no idea what they said.
Car Delenda Est wrote:
Unfortunately, I was unable to have any trouble not understanding it.
RE: Wild west Derby – I could
RE: Wild west Derby – I could cover that every day in Edinburgh and I imagine most other places can too. Paint’s meaningless when it comes to motoring – as are pavements, clearly. If “active travel should be the first choice” and if we really give a monkeys about “access” and inclusion then top of any transport agenda should be “how to ensure motor vehicles stay where they’re permitted”. I’d suggest a radical policy of “joining the dots” and “actually enforcing current laws” with a side order of “review of road law”. Maybe a “comprehensive” one?
EDIT – oh, and stop wasting money on things that are “suggestions” e.g. advisory cycle lane, exemptions for “loading” / “drop off” which mean “deploy BOLAS and park anyway” etc. If it’s important make it compulsory / mandatory.
If councillor Joe Hanson
If councillor Joe Hanson thinks that painted lanes work extremely well, he’s either never ridden a bike in the last thirty years, or he’s blind and/or stupid.
All of the above.
All of the above.
Where any politician states something is safe, someone they love must be made to use the ‘safe’ infrastructure daily for a month. In this case I assume the only contender is counsellor Hanson.
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But, but …. he’s a Lay Bah councillor. A LAYYYY Bah councillor.
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You said that yesterday and
You said that yesterday and it is just as incoherent.
I saw some post this morning
I saw some post this morning (can’t remember where) that compared the pros and cons of letting down tyres vs spraypainting a message onto SUVs. I’m now thinking that spraypaint is the superior tactic – it doesn’t affect the functionality, so those emergency SUV journeys can still be made and is likely a lot more permanent and more annoying to the owners.
hawkinspeter wrote:
Plasti Dip spray will peel off with some effort, so you could argue it’s not permanent.
RE: Vigilante cyclist’s
RE: Vigilante cyclist’s graffiti attacks on cars blocking bike lanes
Finally a correct use of “vigilante”!
If you wanted to make a criminal damage charge less likely (not sure – maybe still applies?) would a non-permanent medium like lipstick work? Or is that too easy to remove with windscreen washer?
I love the graffiti attacks..
I love the graffiti attacks… only improvement would be to paint it in nitromors.
Also, I’d probably just draw a cock and balls. Whilst tempting to draw big, that would be false advertising so lots of little ones.
I can understand the
I can understand the temptation but the risk of a criminal damage charge is a bit off-putting.
That said, if there was nobody about and no CCTV, a few stones chucked up the exhaust pipe would make a hell of a rattling noise and probably ruin the catalyser. But of course I wouldn’t suggest anything like that as it’d result in costly damage.
OldRidgeback wrote:
Or a potato.
Anyway , I’m a cyclist and proven to be invisible. How will they ever find me. ?
I have been told that a
I have been told that a potato shoved in the exhaust pipe has a devasting effect.
BIRMINGHAMisaDUMP wrote:
Nothing will happen. It just means the vehicle won’t start until the blockage is cleared.
On a related note, if this were to happen in California, on a public highway, would CHiPs have to get involved?
Given letting air out of
Given letting air out of tyres is (technically) criminal damage, doing something non permenant would qualify.
It should have significant effect on sentencing + police investigation though (as they have to consider the cost of the damage; something you can wash off for a few £ is going to be far less important than damage that requires repainting to fix…)
In the UK, the bar for action
In the UK, the bar for action being criminal damage is very low – basically you can get away with a leaflet under the wiper, but any sort of sticker that requires effort to remove is considered damage, based on case law back in the 80s IIRC. So even a fake parking ticket stuck to the windscreen is not OK, the police and council get away with it as being necessary as part of their official role. So if it needs washing off even if it leaves no mark, it’s a no-no, and of course, any twerp worth his salt will claim that the marking did cause damage.
There was a story in today’s
There was a story in today’s Bristol Post, Amanda Holden (a sleb) complaining that Tyre Extinguishers had deflated her SUVs tyres overnight.
She complained that she didn’t live in the city so why were they deflating her tyres (so why was she overnight in the city? seems that by their terms of engagement its a fair cop).
But she then went on to say that she’d been waiting seven hours for the RAC to come and sort it out.
Seven hours?? She could have walked to a shop, bought a footpump, and pumped her tyres up, in that time. Was she seriously waiting around seven hours for a man from the RAC to pump her tyres back up???
Oh dear, that’s a shame. A
Oh dear, that’s a shame. A vacuous waste of skin who has previous of course for being a bit rude about cyclists on BGT (“it’s a TV talent show m’lud”). Reported in this parish here, https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-6-june-2022-293377, the clip is somewhere on the internet I’m sure.
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Nope. She was waiting seven hours for the snapper from The Sun to turn up.#
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Sounds unlikely, it has to be
Sounds unlikely, it has to be said. I’ve stopped on a number of occasions to offer help to people with flat tyres and I’d be astonished if someone didn’t leap to Ms Holden’s rescue.
It’s difficult to say exactly
It’s difficult to say exactly where the line is when it comes to criminal damage.
Protesters have been prosecuted for “damaging” the pavement with water-soluble paint:
https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/hardman-v-cc-avon.php
More recently, a student was arrested for writing on the pavement with chalk, but the CPS eventually dropped the case:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1168813/Police-chalk-5-000-failed-case-student-civil-liberties-graffiti.html
Nope that wouldn’t work.
Nope that wouldn’t work. There’s an old case (which wasn’t old when I qualified) where some CND activists were convicted of criminal damage for drawing corpse outlines in chalk on the pavement despite the next rain shower washing the ‘damage’ away. I can however confirm that lipstick is a devil’s own job to remove from a windscreen ?
Very good, one to add to the
Very good, one to add to the saddlebag / panniers then!
Maybe plastic wrap / cling-film for variety / if you’ve more time. Yeah, not so environmentally friendly. Several wraps round a car and I bet it’s a PITA to get in to it though.
Police turn up? Just claim it’s a domestic and watch the other participant cringe. Maybe apply some of the lipstick to yourself first as a reason you had it?
Europeans know how to be
Europeans know how to be vigilantes… none of this tucking a passive-aggressive note under the wiper. I recall in Sicily watching a disgruntled homeowner pour the contents of a tin of gloss white paint over the windscreen of a car who’s driver had parked across a garage entrance. Even better, I watched the fall-out when the owner returned later, after the car had spent the day baking in the Sicilian sun.
Why Is a Neighborhood Street
Why Is a Neighborhood Street “Unsafe for Pedestrians or People Riding Bikes”? (slate.com, US)
https://slate.com/business/2022/09/houston-8-year-old-bicycle-death-unsafe-streets-chase-delarios.html
That must be the cancel
That must be the cancel culture roulereo was telling us about yesterday.
And the bedwetting city
And the bedwetting city socialist children too…
“As the organiser has
“As the organiser has provided evidence of contractual commitments to broadcast all stages of the race live on TV in 2023”
Don’t forget, they had that in place for this season as well and couldn’t afford it…?♂️
Quote:
On that taxi driver / twitter story – I’m a bit confused… I mean, isn’t their offensive post just standard operating procedure for modern urban motorists?
On the Taxi Driver twitter
On the Taxi Driver twitter threats… I actually had a psychopath drive at me yesterday heading into Reading.
Minding my own business on the 4-lane wide King’s Road, zero traffic around when I joined the road due to the lights at outside the hospital being red. I’m in the centre of the right lane as I intend to turn right where only busses and cyclists can go. Ford Focus imbecile undertakes me in my lane extremely close and as soon as his front wheel is alongside he moves all the way to the right forcing me out of the lane. There was much overlap of his wing mirror and my body, had I not been totally alert to my peripheral vision and immediately swerved he would have put me in hospital, or the morgue. There was an empty lane on my left! Obviously I caught him at the traffic lights less than 100m later, so pulled up alongside to ask why he threatened my life like that, he mumbled something with his window up, no idea what, asked him to repeat, still mumbles. He pulls away giving me the finger. Barely a minute later (he took a rat-run side street), there he was driving on the wrong side of the road towards me in the bus/cycle lane, he’s parking up as I go past. He shouts some unintelligable abuse and gives me the finger again.
What can we do about dangerous drivers like this? I know if I report it, the Police will do absolutely nothing. I’m sure he will do it again and is highly likely to kill or maim a vulnerable road user, it actually appeared to be his intention and he was totally indifferent to the assualt.
Unfortunately they will
Unfortunately they will likely only act on footage. Maybe next time get a mobile photo. Worth making a submission without it though. Just so they have a record of a pattern of behaviour. Might be worth putting his reg & car description here too if you have it.
Be a shame if a Reading resident who reads these pages spots it and lets the tyres down. **cough**
When I was a kid we lived in
When I was a kid we lived in a private road cul-de-sac (council wouldn’t adopt/surface it so residents did) that was handy for the local sunday football pitches. Next door got particularly fed up one time and glued a note to the windscreen – the bloke tried to rip it off and a tiny bit came off much to his shock. He then spent a while getting the rest off.
The Larger Cyclist wrote:
That wasn’t so much tint as an actual layer of the windscreen. I expect that would render the vehicle unroadworthy.
ChrisB200SX wrote:
tiny not tint! 🙂
How to remove illegally
How to remove illegally parked cars the easy way.
Looks like you can do it in a phone app.
https://mobile.twitter.com/justcurious1313/status/1575661610147860481
Re: Snake Pass…
Re: Snake Pass…
http://www.peaksandpuddles.com/blog/2022/09/07/snake-pass-autumn-closure-a-no-through-route-for-cycling
(P&P is a good follow for riding in that part of the country).
Stop cycling Mikey !
Stop cyling Mikey !
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/stopcyclingmikey
£5 raised so far.
“I am raising the funds to help bring a case againt mike van erp as he has ruined many people lifes and also put many at serious risk and its time this comes to a ending.”
I’m starting a crowdfunder to help people with basic English.
hirsute wrote:
That is such a dumb appeal.
As the drivers are on a public road, there’s no expectation of privacy. Also, there’s specific exceptions to data privacy laws for the purpose of law enforcement, which is clearly relevant for driving offences. As for ‘blocking the road and not allowing vehicles to move safely’, well, maybe the drivers should consider that they’re creating the danger by trying to go down restricted roads etc.
I hope that enough idiots fall for this and they raise enough money to bring a legal case which would then prove that the public (including Mike) has a right to intervene to stop dangerous drivers. (If it ever happens, I’d be happy to contribute towards Mike’s defense)
I’ve already complained to
I’ve already complained to crowdfunder. Looks like a number of others have too.
Love the ‘cyling’.
hirsute wrote:
I was considering complaining, but I’d rather they wasted their money and are made to look particularly stupid as well.
They have already covered the
They have already covered the ‘stupid’ aspect !
assuming its a genuine appeal
assuming its a genuine appeal of course… giyf
I’m happy to contribute. To
I’m happy to contribute. To your crowdfunder.
One of the companies he’s a director of is Big Chick Ltd; the mind boggles. I wonder what he was doing when Mikey caught him?
There are a lot of fb accounts with this name, but I’m pretty sure this is him, from the car and phone obsession, then I came across the video of somone arguing with local police; “bacon breath, pork machine”! https://www.facebook.com/5HA31
A complete, total, utter tosser.
A bit about eScooters
A bit about eScooters
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/02/we-may-tut-at-e-scooters-but-they-are-not-a-menace-we-should-fear
Some years ago BikeSnobNYC
Some years ago BikeSnobNYC did a number for Outside magazine on these in Portland (US):
https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/destinations/dockless-scooters-cities-pros-cons-bikesnob/
Conclusion – the end isn’t nigh. Anyway, it’s moot, they’re here and the government intends to regularise them.
Cost of living starting to
Cost of living starting to bite, inflation getting you down, worried about the state of the economy, there’s a full £500 off this little runabout.
https://www.reillycycleworks.com/products/t325-rainbow-road-caliper