road.cc live blog: BBC guest likens cyclists to Nazis, big Black Friday deals and more
It’s ages since someone in the media compared cyclists to Nazis. No, hang on…
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £2.49. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
27 Comments
Read more...
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
chrisonabike 9 minutes ago
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?)
chrisonabike 22 minutes ago
@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...
chrisonabike 36 minutes ago
@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"...
Xenophon2 50 minutes ago
@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.
Steve K 56 minutes ago
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.
Chris RideFar 1 hour ago
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.
wtjs 1 hour ago
@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:
mdavidford 2 hours ago
I'd rather adopt the habit of staying the hell away altogether in the very busy Christmas shopping season.
mdavidford 2 hours ago
[Leaving aside the quibble over possession vs use] Why not 'illegal e-motorbike'? That's accurate and specific.
TimPedaller 2 hours ago
I think cyclists and e-bike riders should dismount in the pedestrian area. And everyone, perhaps, adopt the habit of walking on their left hand side of the paths or footways. Especially in the (very busy) Christmas shopping season.
27 thoughts on “road.cc live blog: BBC guest likens cyclists to Nazis, big Black Friday deals and more”
Given the evils that the
Given the evils that the Nazis actually did in WWII, it’s an insult to the victims that this troll is making such a vapid connection. He should be ashamed. But he probably doesn’t have sufficient intelligence to understand why.
George loves to cause a fuss.
George loves to cause a fuss. If it’s not commenting on a rape victim: “Is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?” it’s Nazism and cyclists. Fully discredited yet still given airtime
I try to use this word
I try to use this word sparingly, but what a fucktard.
MonkeyPuzzle wrote:
I was thinking more…
CygnusX1 wrote:
Kudos!!
Distasteful and adds more
Distasteful and adds more insult to injury after yesterday’s incident with a cyclist here in NI.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-northern-ireland-42008898
aries2580 wrote:
Truly shocking, I hope the young man is recovering.
Nolan Live is particularly
Nolan Live is particularly spiteful show. They specialize in bringing experts in to the panel & then ignoring them to give the crazies a run-out. Cannon fodder to make sure that his early morning radio show here in Norn Iron (The biggest show in the country as he likes to remind you every 9 minutes) gets lots of traffic with people ranting about what they saw the night before. Instant switch-off material. His bias makes me sick.
Time to make a complaint to
Time to make a complaint to the BBC I think.
Can’t have dickheads like this being paid out of the license fee.
Comparing cyclists to Nazis
Comparing cyclists to Nazis is somewhat ironic. Hitler hated cyclists with a vengeance and was very much a supporter of cars instead (especially VolksWagen). You can quite easily draw the parallels between Nazi philosophy and the “might is right” philosophy out on the roads.
Is that supposed to be a nazi
Is that supposed to be a nazi salute in the photo?
Just submitted a complaint to
Just submitted a complaint to the BBC about it. Absolutely disgusting that they broadcast that kind of hate speech.
hawkinspeter wrote:
I’m thinking of making a complaint to the police, it is indeed a hate crime and one that was allowed to be aired on a public funded channel, absolutely disgraceful!
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Nice idea, I’ve just filled in a hate-speech crime report.
Why was George given airtime,
Why was George given airtime, and why is he not being arrested for hatecrime?
What a horrible scumbag. He’s
What a horrible scumbag. He’s the type of person you’ll never have a reasoned argument with, it’s his way or the highway.
I always have to think when I
I always have to think when I see/hear people make comments similar to what that old grumpy looking bloke said.
Replace the word cyclist with another minority group (homosexuals, muslims, jews, etc.etc.), if it makes you sound like a right-wing psychopath – probably best not to say it.
It just seems that a lot of the general public deem it acceptable to voice what is essentially hate speech.
The silly old fool (who is I
The silly old fool (who is I suspect younger than me!) Is the very image of the old buffers that hoot at me as they pass after deeming that my failure to ride through the pot holes at the side of road, has impeeded their progress by a few seconds! A blow hard with too little brain and far too much access to the mass media is best ignored.
Getting quite militant here
Getting quite militant here of late!
@ BTBS – you posted an image of a letter from one of the schools implementing the licence plate policy in the comments Are you Road.cc’s source of the story and/or a parent/carer of one of the pupils ?
If so, Sam Jones (Campaigns & Communicaions Coordinator) at Cycling UK would like to hear from you… campaigns [at] cyclinguk [dot] org
CygnusX1 wrote:
Sadly I’m not otherwise I’d be all over it like a rash, it took only a couple of minutes dectective work to find the newsletter in the public domain and that Mr ‘do as i say otherwise you will be punished’ had taken up the headmaster’s position at beacon school from the ‘parent’ Glyn school (of which they are part of group of schools funded together) which had previously enforced the number plate/helmet rules (from at least April) where he was deputy head.
The link between the two schools and the sudden rules change whilst he has come into power is there to see.
You represent the Islamic
You represent the Islamic community, who break every known law of the land, for whom women mean nothing, for whom personal freedom means nothing, for whom pubs mean nothing, for whom religious freedom means nothing. There is an entitlement among the fanatics – and they are, they are fanatics.
OR
You represent the cycling community, who break every known law of the road, for whom red lights mean nothing, for whom pedestrian crossings mean nothing, for whom one-way streets mean nothing, for whom pedestrian ways mean nothing. There is an entitlement among the fanatics – and they are, they are fanatics.
Try posting the first quote on a BBC comments page and if it doesn’t get moderated into outer space I would be amazed AND infuriated. But what’s the difference between quote one and quote two?
If you haven’t already, you
If you haven’t already, you may like to read Peter Walker’s piece in the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/nov/17/why-are-cyclists-the-one-minority-group-the-bbc-feels-its-ok-to-demonise
ricardito wrote:
exactly the same comments, on both sides, as you’d get in a DM comments section. Only difference being that the Guardian readers all have a thesaurus, and know how to use it.
Well, they knew what Hook was
Well, they knew what Hook was like before they invited him, so some clown in the Nolan show team really neefs the kicking. George’s brain is probably too mashed to notice any more.
oldstrath wrote:
This.
And take note that the Nolan Show was actively engaging in promoting hatred against cyslists: Hook’s own statement is that he went there under the impression he was to be given airtime as part of an “anti-cycling” viewpoint. What sort of cynical, lazy stupid fucks are the showrunner, host, producer and commissioning editor?
Haters hate; if they aren’t
Haters hate; if they aren’t allowed by law to hate because of sex, religion or skin colour, they’ll just have to hate those it’s legal to hate; cyclists.
He’s just a sad old man who only knows how to hate.
I personally met Mr Hook
I personally met Mr Hook recently, sat him down and had a friendly chat.
It was friendly until I told him I was an avid cyclist and asked if he might tone down his comments as a media voice that had the effect of making it more dangerous for me to ride my bike.
He went a little red in the face but I persevered and invited him to come cycling with me and my fellow club mates so he could get a new perspective and maybe see my point of view. He took my phone number and said he would call to arrange.
I’m still waiting Mr Hook, when you have the guts, you have my number.