Cyclist who “refuses to give kudos on Strava for indoor rides” sparks lively online discussion about winter training; More BBC Panorama “attacking” e-bikes reaction; Wout van Aert cheered on by butchers wins cycling pic of the year + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
SRAM patent proposes "universal brake mount" designs to eliminate disc brake rub and "improve braking performance"
"The problem is not Chiles. Don't make this about Chiles. The problem is...": More of your reaction to BBC Panorama "attacking" e-bikes
The fallout to that Panorama episode has continued into the second half of the week, Ryan shortly bringing you an update on the Bicycle Association’s response.
In the meantime, we thought we’d share some of your comments under George’s opinion piece about the episode.
the little onion: “The problem is not Chiles. Don’t make this about Chiles. The problem is the wider team of producers, programmers, staff, advisors, editors etc. that go into commissioning, creating, fact-checking, etc. these programmes.
“The fact that none of them really engaged with the fundamental problem that the majority of the cases in this programme were not about e-bikes, but about e-motorbikes. It reflects a culture whereby news and current affairs reporting on cycling is driven not just by ignorance of the basic facts, but by deep prejudice which automatically sees cycling and cyclists as a ‘problem’.”
Rome73: “I’m off to work soon to central London — on my TERN eCargo bike. Carrying all my tools and my spare clothes because it’s so cold today. And I will have a flask and biscuits in the pannier and a work stand. E-bikes are brilliant. And legal. And game-changing for some business operating in urban areas.”
Garmin Connect goes down... but it's back now
Garmin Connect was down for periods yesterday and this morning, with users unable to transfer data or upload to Strava. The Garmin status page does now suggest all its services are back online. A good excuse for me to get out on the bike at lunchtime and confirm that…
Anyone have any issues?
Councillors say "community is at breaking point" due to road closures for popular multi-day triathlon as route changes proposed — but some locals say event is a "lifeline to our village economy"
UCI to issue fines for teammates celebrating sprint finishes
Pro cycling reporter Matthew Mitchell shared a screenshot on Twitter this morning, highlighting new rules that will apply in races this year, the UCI introducing fines for: “Rider decelerating during a sprint and endangering other riders (knowingly staying within the line of other riders, celebrating in the bunch, talking on the radio or taking hands off handlebars while in the bunch).”
The maximum fine will be 500 Swiss francs and riders could also be relegated to last place in the group and/or receive a yellow card.
> Yellow cards introduced to pro cycling to clamp down on dangerous riding and driving during races
In stage races, offending riders can also receive a penalty in the points and/or mountains classification. How the rule is implemented remains to be seen. Will it just be if you celebrate a teammate’s win and endanger other riders in the process? Or will there be zero tolerance to the behaviours listed?
The wording seems to suggest you’d have to decelerate and endanger other riders, but this is the UCI we’re talking about. Who knows… I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Bicycle Association formally complains to BBC over Adrian Chiles' e-bike Panorama "misrepresentation", claiming episode "unjustifiably damaged" legal e-bike industry
40 cycle hangars to be installed across Bristol in February... cue the Facebook comments
Bristol City Council is working with the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to install 40 cycle hangars on streets across the city next month, the bike parking facilities to be rolled out in areas such as Ashley, Bedminster, Cotham and Eastville (full list of 40 locations here).
As with similar schemes in other cities, each hangar will house six bikes in a secure storage unit that takes up about the same amount of space as one parked car, and allows residents without space at their homes to rent a bike parking spot on the street.
Councillor Ed Plowden, Chair of the Transport and Connectivity Committee, said: “It’s great news that so many new cycle hangars will be on our streets soon, offering our residents a safe place to store and access their bikes. I hope this will encourage even more people to start cycling regularly, which has so many benefits for your health and wellbeing, as well as helping to reduce congestion and air pollution across the city.
Lockit-Safe will install and manage the hangars once they are in place, residents invited to apply for spaces once the units are in. It will cost £55 a year for one space in a cycle hangar, plus a £25 refundable key deposit.
Despite the funding coming from Active Travel England, not the council’s budget, some of the comments under the social media posts communicating the scheme are fairly depressingly predictable, accusing the local authority of wasting money. Example A (credit to Barry)…
Anyway, we’ll leave another comment, this one from Lucy Dallow, here too…
“Bring it on! Loads of people on my street are going to benefit from one of these in February when it’s installed. Loads of young people who are packed in expensive shared housing will have somewhere safe to lock their transport, to the centre where a lot of them work in the service industry. Six bikes instead on one car parked.”
New £100m "car-free" Brompton factory set for green light – despite bike brand's profits collapsing by over 99%
No public inquiry into major cycling infrastructure project, as North Yorkshire Council presses on with changes
Traffic regulation orders have been approved for a major £11m project to transform Harrogate town centre with new bus access, cycling infrastructure and pedestrian facilities. North Yorkshire Council has rejected calls for an inquiry into the scheme which aims to boost sustainable travel options, the Harrogate Advertiser reports.
Some local businesses have formed a campaign to oppose the plans, mainly due to a loss of parking and claims about congestion during construction. Solicitors for the group sent a letter to the council calling the plans “unfair and unlawful”.
“The proposals for Harrogate are fundamentally different from those which have previously been consulted upon,” it added. “Without proper public consultation, these proposals are being ushered in through the back door.”
The council has rejected the call for an inquiry however, explaining that the plans will “re-balance” highway priorities in Harrogate.
“The benefits of the proposals are that they will create improved infrastructure for all road users by making better use of available highway space in the interests of balancing the needs of all vehicles, including buses, pedestrians and cyclists,” the council’s assistant director for highways and transportation said.
“Currently, the highway arrangements prioritise the private motor vehicle above other users – to re-balance this priority, mitigation is also required to maintain the expeditious safe and convenient movement of these private vehicles through the network and the proposals for a bus lane, cycle lane and improved pedestrian facilities seek to achieve this re-balancing.”
"We're setting the groundwork now for major change in just the next year or two": Trek publishes sustainability report
Trek has released its sustainability report, outlining the steps it is taking to reduce emissions and, well, be more sustainable. The bicycle manufacturer said it wants to hit its 2032 goals five years early, by 2027, working “to reduce the carbon footprint of every bike we make, and meeting our absolute reduction goal means cutting emissions per bike model by about 50 per cent”.
Using aluminium from manufacturers who use less fossil fuel is cited as a major gain, reducing the carbon emissions by up to 46 per cent. Likewise, Trek outlined an ambition to “figure out how to get old bike tires into the recycling stream to close the loop and keep them out of our landfills and waterways”.
Elsewhere, the report highlighted continued work to “refine” packaging to be “ideal blend of sustainable and effective”, cutting out single-use plastics. It also noted a desire to make e-bike batteries easier to recycle.
Factor issued cease-and-desist letter from Colombian steel bike brand over "misleading and confusing" Scarab design
Butchers having a butchers at Wout van Aert is the World Sports Photography Awards cycling pic of the year
Cycling photographer Gaëtan Flamme was responsible for this cracker taken at the E3 Saxo Classic back in March of last year, capturing the moment staff from the Gaston Van De Walle butchers shop in Kluisbergen downed their cleavers to cheer on Wout van Aert as he zoomed past in a beefy gear.
It’s not the first time there has been a meating* between the butchers and Wout either, with renowned photographer Ashley Gruber also capturing the Belgian being cheered on at the same race in 2022. It seems like this location has been well and truly steaked* out as a cycling photography hotspot.
* Yes these are intentional misspellings, and yes we want your meat puns in the comments for next time.
Cyclist who "refuses to give kudos on Strava for indoor rides" sparks lively online discussion about winter training
If someone ever decides to put together a ‘How to troll cyclists for dummies’ guide, they’ll need to take note of this one. Strap yourselves in. It all began with a post from a rider on Facebook: “Is it just me who refuses to give kudos on Strava for indoor rides? Get out there in the wind, the cold and the rain and earn your kudos! It’s akin to giving kudos for a round of golf or lying on a yoga mat! Chill. I’m just having fun on FB!”
[Poor Jamie not earning any kudos from random internet man for his hour on the turbo]
That last sentence about “just having fun on Facebook” disappeared pretty quickly in the 200+ comments that have flown in since yesterday evening…
Maybe we should have just read the one asking “who cares?” and moved on with our lives, but the comments intrigued us and before long we’d scrolled through several pages, taking in the lively discussion that followed. We’re guessing the rider who made the post probably hasn’t trained indoors before, a brutal interval session on the turbo vs lying on a yoga mat? I think we all know which we’d find more physically comfortable. Also, anecdotally, I reckon I’ve done hundreds of winter rides that didn’t even reach a tenth of the intensity of a 30-minute turbo thrash.
The comments made a mix of points about just how hard indoor training can be, the fact that for many people around the world the weather (ice and snow in particular) make winter training unsafe, and that indoor cycling is still cycling and anyone doing more cycling is a good thing.
“Not riding on ice…..I’ll ride indoors and put on Strava. Broken bones…you’re not riding anywhere,” one commenter replied.
“Winter is hard for people. I say whatever motivates anyone to do something when they’d rather be on the couch deserves a kudos,” another added.
“Yep just you. I try and celebrate all wins.”
“I don’t ride (well, rarely) indoors… but let’s be real. It is nothing like playing a round of golf or doing yoga. You can get in a great workout. Watts are watts. Training stress is training stress.”
“Carbon bikes are cheating too. Everyone should ride old steel bikes or I’m not impressed.”
One final comment we’ll include attached the picture below too…”Yeah, no. I’ll be indoors until spring, kudosing everyone else who is.”
So, there. Possibly a bad joke that got a bit too much attention? Probably not worth nearly 250 (sometimes angry) comments, but hey, I lost five minutes of my life scrolling through the comments, so thought I’d drag you all down with me. You’re welcome.
9 January 2025, 09:33
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Latest Comments
Regulation isn't required for the illegal e-motorbike issues - they're already illegal to use on the roads/pavements, so it's a question of enforcement. Tougher (or at least some) traffic law enforcement is required, but the police should focus on the biggest problems which to my mind are drivers who are not paying attention or speeding etc.
I think that's a crown farthing, isn't it?
"All that's required is an to roads policing" - that's a big all... Although no doubt the "idiots just keep coming" aspect does apply: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz9lel2wz93o "Man charged after car crashes through bowling alley" - luckily they only skittled over skittles.
Almost any change to roads and streets is accompanied by a period of heightened danger, and in the UK "look out for cyclists" will need to be learned... practically. And over the time it takes for cyclists to become a regular feature. OTOH once (if...) good designs are in and frequent enough such that drivers encounter them AND the cyclists on them regularly (another big if) I don't think they should be much more difficult than a footway to deal with. These things are all over NL - don't have the collision stats but they should. (NL isn't perfect but collecting info on the safety of designs to feed back into better designs as required is part of the "sustainable safety" philosophy - if they're really a killer I think they'd be altering these.)
I'm in the happy position of agreeing with everybody here! I've never considered a bike with a stand, yet I'm impressed by the ingenuity and adaptability of this axle. I tow a Yak Bob with a Robert Axle, employing my El Cheapo Vitus gravel bike and I just have to be very careful where I stop. Hedges are generally a dead loss, and I seek walls, telegraph poles and signposts and generally lean the widest part of the Bob against it. One very awkward task is removing the two steel pins which lock the trailer arms onto the special mounting slots on the Robert axle, and when you have one out, the sodding weight in the trailer can twist the whole caboodle and bend the Bob fitting before you can get the other out and unhitch. I doubt if a stand would help with that. You can imagine that this combo is a real pain when you have to get it over the bridge at railway stations, and it nearly resulted in Merseyrail nearly parting me and the trailer on the platform from the bike on the train. It's a long story for another time. Another axle example recently featured on here, with a 12mm front axle bearing the Herculean weight limit of a monster American front rack.
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.
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.
@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?
They may have looked, but did they see?
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.
27 thoughts on “Cyclist who “refuses to give kudos on Strava for indoor rides” sparks lively online discussion about winter training; More BBC Panorama “attacking” e-bikes reaction; Wout van Aert cheered on by butchers wins cycling pic of the year + more on the live blog”
I do a lot of training on my
I do a lot of training on my turbo all year round; sadly work commitments make a proper ride outside in the elements a weekend delight. I view a turbo session as training ‘cos it’s not quite a bike ride (which probably explains why I can’t stand Zwift/Rouvy etc. ) others may quite legitimately feel differently. Of course if you’re completely bonkers and/or committed wanting to do, say 100 km a day on a turbo for ten days or so raising money for a good cause (yes I’m looking at you Mr H’) then that’s most definitely ‘kudos’ territory.
I check the general
I check the general conditions, reccy the route to check tarmac quality, elevation profile, ensure the cyclist has spent most of their time in zone 5 and then and only then will I consider hovering over the kudos buttons. Otherwise how can I decide if they are worthy of my faint praise.
I concur…..
I concur…..
I also need to see a time/date stamped image of their weight on independently calibrated scales and. a letter from their Doctor, to ensure correct w/kg is being recorded on their profile.
Strava should be “overseeing” this process regardless – IMHO.
A point about the top story
A point about the top story and giving Kudos for a round of golf – I commute 10 miles each way, 5 days a week all through Winter ( that is my Zwift) when it warms up I do roughly 2-4 Century rides a month with 2/3 club rides a week, I’m also a lifelong golfer ? I can tell you after walking 5/6 miles (who knew, thanks Strava) carrying my bag, walking up hills, into the wind, hitting 45 golf shots and 45 putts, I am more knackered doing this than a 100 mile, 7000 ft ride. So I will not have Golf belittled like that, Golfers earn their Kudos, period! Thank you
I can tell you after walking
I can tell you after walking 5/6 miles (who knew, thanks Strava) carrying my bag, walking up hills, into the wind, hitting 45 golf shots and 45 putts, I am more knackered doing this than a 100 mile, 7000 ft ride
At least one of us doesn’t believe this!
I take it you do your golfing
I take it you do your golfing on Jupiter for the increased gravity to be able to make that claim with a straight face?
Perhaps the batteries on his
Perhaps the batteries on his e-clubs and e-caddy ran out while on the course, and he had to drag an 80kg trolley with him?
I find it is better to do
I find it is better to do interval training on a turbo. It allows a consistent hard effort. Out on the road the interval can get disrupted by junctions, downhills, farm traffic etc.
Why this elitist snobbery
Why this elitist snobbery about other sports these people obviously know nothing about.
Much like cylcing Yoga and Golf cover excise ranging from barely raising a sweat to a full on workout that leaves you aching for days.
Besides – bragging that you exercised more than someone else is just bellend behaviour.
Anyone I have bothered to follow on Strava gets kudos from me regardless of activity anything else is being a judgy tosser.
Be less parochial – this way lies toxicity.
I rarely give kudos for
I rarely give kudos for indoor rides, not out of snobbery, but because Strava for me has always been about celebrating the great outdoors. I can get excited about friends riding (or running, or walking, or skating, or paddling) in Majorca, or up Winnats, or pootling around their local neighbourhood. I can check out their routes and the weather and views. I can imagine their views and the elements assaulting their senses.
I can’t do the same about someone posting a Zwift ride or lifting some weights. Sure, these are often impressive physical feats, but they lack the magic of fresh air and scenery.
You shouldn’t give kudos to
You shouldn’t give kudos to anyone for anything. Motivation should be intrinsic not extrinsic.
I’m not on Strava, don’t have
I’m not on Strava, don’t have an indoor trainer – not sure where that leaves me?
As for golf, my dad is 86 and still gets in 18 holes at least once a week. Surely that gets him some Kudos?
NickSprink wrote:
Depends on whether he’s on Strava or not.
No that makes him someone
No that makes him someone with time to spare.
“The comments made a mix of
“The comments made a mix of points about just how hard indoor training can be, the fact that for many people around the world the weather (ice and snow in particular) make winter training unsafe, and that indoor cycling is still cycling and anyone doing more cycling is a good thing.”
I don’t think the question is whether or not indoor sessions can be hard. Of course they can. Yes, there are people that won’t acknowledge that, but, well, those are just wrong.
The real issue is whether “indoor cycling is still cycling”. Dictionairy.com defines it as ‘the act or sport of riding or traveling by bicycle’. So that is riding BY bicycle.
Semantics aside, for me, indoor cycling isn’t cycling, because it takes away everything that makes cycling so awesome. Being outside, experiencing your surroundings at a pace your brain can handle, getting somewhere, feeling the wind, breathing fresh air, the physical act of balancing, steering, accelerating, being playful, respond to the underground, etc.
Indoor cycling basically reduces cycling to merely pushing the pedals.
I am not on Strava, but if I was, even though I am not dismissing the effort people put in their indoor sessions, I would find it hard to get enthused by it.
I have activityfix configured
I have activityfix configured to auto mute (so they don’t show on others feeds) my indoor rides. I don’t think anyone is ever interested in seeing an indoor ride or commutes on a strava feed.
thrawed wrote:
Is ActivityFix working for you right now? I just learned about it yesterday, and made a couple of rules. Neither is working, and when I try to test them it says my ride doesn’t exist.
Yes it’s working, I just
Yes it’s working, I just tried to test a rule like your screenshot shows and didn’t get an error.
I don’t kudos indoor rides,
I don’t kudos indoor rides, but only because I don’t particularly want them on my feed, endless Zwift squiggles and jargon titles is just a bit rubbish compared to actual maps and descriptions.
I usually keep my own indoor rides private unless I think I’ve got something interesting to say about them (I am guilty of sharing particularly satisfying power/HR graphs if I think I’ve nailed an interval session).
Re: SRAM developing new brake mounts, could they not focus their efforts on squeal free brakes for wet/cold climates? I’m doggedly still running rim brakes until such time that someone can guarantee a disc which is equally quiet under all conditions. Perhaps they just need to start selling pad and rotor sets which have already been properly burned in (I don’t mean 20 stops on the pavement outside, I mean the equivalent of 300km riding or whatever it is that means my MTB discs run silently but my CX discs are horrendous…)
I like most pictures I see on
I like most pictures I see on Strava, whatever the activities, but I never give kudos if they have done a ‘selfie’.
“Stef, an 11-year-old in
“Stef, an 11-year-old in Utrecht ??, collected over 100 Christmas trees with just his bike and a cart. ‘Otherwise, I get bored,’ he said. A small act of boredom turned into a big lesson in sustainability.”
https://www.rtvutrecht.nl/nieuws/3836614/met-fiets-en-kar-haalt-stef-11-ruim-100-kerstbomen-op-anders-verveel-ik-me
It’s a Bob trailer!
It’s a Bob trailer!
He says he wants a better (I think he means bigger) one, but he already has one of the best
War on motorists will not
War on motorists will not abate
RE: War on motorists –
RE: War on motorists – Excellent! In my neck of the woods probably needs more bollards, sadly…
‘Hero’ security guard slashed
‘Hero’ security guard slashed with angle grinder while trying to stop bike thief (Metro)
It’s rare to see a photo as
It’s rare to see a photo as good at the Van Aert/Butchers one. Well done.
“… in the interests of
“… in the interests of balancing the needs of all vehicles, including buses, pedestrians and cyclists…”
When did pedestrians and cyclists (ie PEOPLE) transform into vehicles?