road.cc live blog: abominable bus driving and more
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Thu, Dec 07, 2017 12:40
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Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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Latest Comments
Gm_Crop 2 hours ago
I'll counter that by saying the Bryton 750se I have drives me nuts at times. Inconsistantly picks up on routes created on Komoot and the app re-syncs every few seconds when trying to set up the device and sends me back to the home screen. The most infuriating one is that I turned live track on. Once. It now won't turn off and repeatedly flags up the live track is starting, and then disconnecting every few seconds whilst riding. I haven't timed it but it wouldn't suprise me if 10-20% of the time the the screen is covered with an error message. That's been about 6 weeks now. Other than that it's great :/
IanGlasgow 2 hours ago
RE: Police launch road safety operation... by clamping down on cyclists using footbridge Meanwhile in Glasgow, Police Scotland are riding their motorbikes over the pedestrian and cyclists only bridge. https://x.com/FietserGlasgow/status/2065106152917012523?s=20
Rendel Harris 4 hours ago
@Paul J Van Schip certainly seems a bit of a dick, but he's a European and multiple World Champion on the track, pretty sure you don't get there without having some talent in your legs.
Bill H 4 hours ago
Poor Vincent cannot get over the simple fact that given the choice people prefer dedicated cycling spaces, rather than pretending to be cars like vehicular cyclists.
pbunyon 4 hours ago
What is the point of the fancy air sensor if it can't account for changing weather conditions?? If all you care about is a delayed approximation of aerodynamic watts in steady conditions, you don't need any special sensors for that. Just your speed on a decently flat course is enough to approximate rolling resistance and drivetrain losses. And the rest must be aero. If you assume a less aero body position at the same watts, your speed will drop while rolling resistance also drops, which means approximated aero watts goes up. And that's enough to demonstrate what you've shown in your testing protocol ("I sat upright and the number went up a little while later").
chrisonabike 4 hours ago
Your correction is accurate - it's almost always been "the (lack of) thought that (doesn't) count". "Massive" - less than a billion a year spent on active travel (trying to catch up / building a network across the entire country) Not massive - 6 billion every year (2026-2030) spent on road *maintenance* of existing "already built, goes everywhere, very convenient" road network for inactive travel Ultimately the reason "cycle infra" is *needed* is those unbelievably colossal amounts spent every year (and for more than a century now) on making mass motoring not just viable but apparently the "best choice" for most journeys. As the Dutch and others have shown, the majority of people *are* prepared to cycle and even mix with very light, slow local motor traffic *if* cycling is also made safe and convenient for the whole of their journey (including secure parking at both ends). (The history of the financial drivers of the current situation are a complex topic but note that while people complain about "crumbling roads" and underfunded motor infra - with some reason - by us continuing the fuel duty escalator freeze (for example) we're actually helping motorists pay *even less* for that activity / subsidising more of the cost of driving than ever.)
belugabob 4 hours ago
yes, but people will still object - which was my point.
Astralstroll 7 hours ago
So ' Priority of Road Users' and 1.5 metre clearance at 30mph has been been reduced to 'sharing'? NCN route 2 here in South Hams is an absolute scream with white vans, tractors and total idiots who refuse,or are totally incapable,to reverse on high Devon banked lanes ...means you have to get off and pedal back to a passing place....could be at that all day...so I don't bother...
Mr Anderson 8 hours ago
@MaxiMinimalist Agreed. The big problem I see now is today's parents grew up being driven to their schools, and therefore, see private motor vehicles as the only viable form of transport. The vast majority of UK infant and primary schools have a catchment area that is within easy walking distance from home to school. Yet, the traffic caused by pupils being driven to/from school is astonishing. Banishing the "School Run" should be a priority for all schools.
MaxiMinimalist 8 hours ago
When I was a kid (that was during the previous millenium when phones were connected to a plug in the wall), I rode my bicycle to school, music academy, sport grounds, parties even during the winter. The government didn't have to spend, correct that, didn't have to think of spending massive amounts of money to build cycling specific infrastructures. Over the past 3 or 4 decades, cars have grown bigger, taller, safer (for their drivers) and faster. Meanwhile, motorists have become abusive, aggressive, hypersensitive to people moving on two wheels, aka cyclists. Spending billions upon billions on new infrastructure won't address the crux of the matter. Sadly.
19 thoughts on “road.cc live blog: abominable bus driving and more”
I’d love to know what (if
I’d love to know what (if anything!) was going through that bus driver’s mind as they approached a red light with a bike stopped in front of them… Glad the rider wasn’t injured
brooksby wrote:
I would imagine it was complete surprise – to find one of these damned cyclists not jumping a red light – after all don’t they all jump red lights all of the time!
That Fuji bike isnt ‘totalled
That Fuji bike isnt ‘totalled’.
totalled means completely written off. In the picture, the frame is completely fine as are the forks, the front wheel, BB, Cranks/crank set and shifters.
All she would need is a new rear wheel, cassette, rear derailleur, new chain and the bikes ready to go again as soon as you’ve tubed and tyre’d up.
I estimate the damage is going to cost at least £200-300 to repair but the bike is in no way a complete write off. It just needs nursing back to health.
However… If TFL want to pay for a new bike then thats also very a very welcome outcome.
RoubaixCube wrote:
Bloody hell! You’ve got good eyesight.
don simon wrote:
Just zoom in, the frame doesnt look bent up or mangled at all.
Another thing to consider is the angle of the impact. The bus almost hit it dead on and not from an angle. The bike looks at an angle in the picture is because the bus pushed it there when it came to a stop. There wouldnt of been barely ANY stress to the frame or rear triangle as the pressure was on the back wheel and the backwheel obviously collapsed from it. The frame didnt hit the ground or get dragged under the busses wheels either so its not crushed.
Bike is still fully salvagable and serviceable once its been repaired. Unless the bike has been in several other potentially serious accidents/collisions before that we dont know about. Im saying is the frame still looks pretty much good to go from the picture.
—
You all dont need to agree, but this is just my own opinion based on my observation.
RoubaixCube wrote:
The main issue in all your observations is that you aren’t liable when it all goes wrong. Presume a shop (which will have to fill out a warranty form for TFL’s insurance) says the frame is fine and then something does go wrong, the shop is fully liable.
Also, given most shops don’t have a scanner to confirm the frames integrity it is a write off
RoubaixCube]
And yet you seemed so sure in your first post. I’m just glad that you’re not a bike mechanic.
don simon wrote:
I still am pretty sure actually. I think the bike is OK apart from the mangled wheel
RoubaixCube wrote:
My arse.
I would say that the cassette, rear derailleur & chain will have a better chance of being ok than the frame.
Biggest surprise for me is that the seat looks ok, if that had been my bike I think I’d have made a mess of it…
RoubaixCube wrote:
If the cost of repair is greater than the value of the item then it’s a write off.
*I don’t know the value of this bike though
Oh yes, no stresses will have
Oh yes, no stresses will have been passed through to the rear triangle (at minimum) at all.
1961BikiE wrote:
I was rear ended by a car which turned into a hit and run, the rear wheel, a 36 spoke Open pro/Dura Ace was completely pringled so the forces were pretty significant. Bike frame has being going strong with no alignment issues, or any other physical signs or out of place feelings in the 6 years since. Massive carbon seatstays IMO were the saving grace, that and the effect the tyre and wheel itself has at taking out some of the forces. People in the twatter thread were saying it would be on the axle/dropouts but actually it’d be a lot on the spokes/tyre/rim as they deform. You’d be surprised how much can be put on a well built wheel, I croggied a friend whilst fully loaded on a 32 hole OP/Ultegra, total all up weight on the bike was 190kg, not even a murmour.
It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if the frame was useable but for most they simply wouldn’t trust it even if it was and rightly so.
Why the polic were not called is anyone’s guess as a criminal offence has being committed.
Rear hub could have easily
Rear hub could have easily knocked rear triangles out of true.
Is it relevant that the
Is it relevant that the Twitterer’s freind (the cyclist) is a doctor?
simonmb wrote:
Absolutely. It means that if DM picks up the story, it can lead on heroic member of our beloved Nhs surviving terror attacks by (insert derogatory label based on bus driver’s origins here). Or bloody cyclist holding up traffic gets just desserts. Either works at Fail Towers.
Looks like the wheel’s been
Looks like the wheel’s been twisted enough for it to be touching the seat stays and the rear mech looks like it’s touching the ground.
I’d want a new frame, rear wheel, rear mech, chain, brake disk and reflector at the very least.
And a P45 for the driver!
LastBoyScout wrote:
It’ll buff out.
Exactly the same happened to
Exactly the same happened to me at London Bridge, with less damage. Bus driver just looked at me and shrugged. Amazing.
drosco wrote:
Did TFL or the bus company pay for the damages?