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Live blog: Will Norman corrects reporter who claimed London cycling in decline, Trek says its Domane+ e-bike does Tour de France speeds, Strava says 50-59s clock up most bike miles +more
Meanwhile, Chris Froome is today’s unlikely source of banter on social media as he compares his legendary jog up the Ventoux to Christmas shopping!
Wed, Dec 19, 2018 16:36
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Jack is group editor across road.cc, off.road.cc and ebiketips, overseeing all three sites in the F-At Digital group to make sure everything’s up to scratch. He’s been writing about cycling and multisport for over a decade, arriving at road.cc via 220 Triathlon Magazine in 2017. He worked across all areas of road.cc including tech, news and video, and also contributed to ebiketips before being named editor of road.cc in 2021 (much to his surprise). Jack has been hooked on cycling since his student days, and currently has a Trek 1.2 for winter riding, a beloved Bickerton folding bike for getting around town, and an extra beloved custom Ridley Helium SLX for fantasising about going fast in his stable. Jack has never won a bike race, but does have a master’s degree in print journalism, and two Guinness World Records for pogo sticking (it’s a long story).
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Latest Comments
mattw 39 minutes ago
As a Councillor, Edward needs to be paying some attention to all that parking obstructing visibility and manoeuvres at the junction, and sorting out those radii.
mattw 48 minutes ago
Ed Hill was chucked out by Reform in 2025, though TBF to him it was about how to run it rather than ideology I think. He is now reportedly closer to Advance UK, which is distinctly more extreme than Reform. I'd call this Alan Amos style attention seeking.
Simon14 1 hour ago
Emily, thank you for such an insightful piece. I’m a man, but I enjoy watching the women’s races, possibly more than the men’s. The racing is so much closer, we rarely know who’s going to win. You painted a wonderful picture of how a true champion is able to ‘rise above’ setbacks and distractions, and focus their energy on the task in hand. ‘All’s fair in live and war -and sport, but always good to hear riders expressing their admiration for their competitors
Rendel Harris 2 hours ago
@Nigel Garage ...and then everyone applauded my courtesy and I waved courteously to all the people who were courteously throwing flowers and cheering and courteously waving flags that said "Nigel is the best!"
ktache 3 hours ago
The picture from street view clearly shows give way lines from the roads to the green painted cycle/pedestrian lane. The road user should give way (or must...) to the user of the green lane. This would of course apply to any cyclist on the roadway.
chrisonabike 3 hours ago
If I recall there is a cave or two along the route - perhaps they were sheltering from the heat in one of those having taken it for a Golf bunker?
belugabob 4 hours ago
“So if there’s a cyclist travelling down the cycle path at the moment, from this position I can’t see them because my blind spots are too big on the left hand side of the vehicle”, claims Hill. Well, there's your problem, right there...🙄
Homebaker 5 hours ago
First impression from the headline that he's likely a twit. Then the detail he was expelled from Reform makes you suspect that failing even their low bar requirements he really is. Then he clearly explains his vehicle is unsafe for the highway because he can't see to give way when turning. Any collision he now has should have that video run out explaining he drove a vehicle he knew to be unsafe. Advice for motorists; instead of thinking that pedestrians and cyclists are low risk 100kg objects, imagine them as a 300 Tonne trains that will crush you and your vehicle if you cross into their paths. You'd give way to the train, so you equally can to the others.
jackcycles 5 hours ago
I've had a brief look on Facebook, and Ed Hill (who now appears to be affiliated with Advance UK) seems to have taken some useful road safety improvements under his remit, including an initiative to help local pedestrians on unpaved roads, where the wider council won't help due to planning failures. Regarding the cycle path, I think this is linked to a wider misunderstanding about giving way at junctions and I'm afraid I cannot agree with Mr Hill's conclusion. Regardless of the suitability of the cycle path, vehicles should give way at the junction to both pedestrians crossing and cyclists. It seems to be a poorly understood rule among motorists where some believe they have priority at junctions like this, where they certainly do not. I once had a similar issue myself, while leisurely walking to Waitrose to buy some lunchtime fripperies. A driver beeped their horn as I crossed the junction, despite me having priority, and was shocked and apologetic when I explained I had priority. A polite conversation later, the driver departed, educated and updated on the rules of the road.
Benthic 6 hours ago
"A cycle lane that traverses the entrance to a side road in Exeter should be changed so that “cyclists give way to vehicles”, according to an independent county councillor" Newsflash: Bicycles are vehicles. Now what?
6 thoughts on “Live blog: Will Norman corrects reporter who claimed London cycling in decline, Trek says its Domane+ e-bike does Tour de France speeds, Strava says 50-59s clock up most bike miles +more”
The Amsterdam moped ban is a
The Amsterdam moped ban is a good thing (obviously).
Having lived there for a year, I can attest that many exceeded the speed limit, and drove recklessly around cyclists and pedestrians.
Seeing the larger capacity mopeds using the bike lanes was a regular occurrence too, despite them being banned.
Increase in use of cycle
Increase in use of cycle lanes on Vauxhall Bridge would probably be even higher had they not stuck ruddy great concrete and armco barriers in one of the lanes!
It’s a concern how close you are to cyclists passing in the opposite direction with pedestrians encroaching on one side, and downright scary when someone goes for a questionable overtake! 5 far wider lanes for motorised traffic though!
I’m not sure “words of advice
I’m not sure “words of advice” is the best way to deal with stupid/irresponsible/careless/agressive motorists. I can do that myself, and do so on an almost daily basis….. Although I suppose you often couldn’t really call it advice as such.
Interesting to read that the
Interesting to read that the older groups are the busiest cyclists. Do the manufacturers read and believe that to be the case? Manufacturers aim their best kit at the much smaller group of pros and athletically better young riders but the older groups generally have more money to spend on their hobbies and have different technical requirements. I don’t, for one minute believe doing away with the triple chainring setup or reducing mtb’s to a single chainring is in the interests of the over 50’s.
Dingaling wrote:
You will also note that those in that age group have an above average speed too! I suspect that is more to do with the demograph of that group who actually log their rides on Strava.
Manufacturers aim their top end kit at those that want quality without too much concern over price. They also often have ranges of more affordable kit, or other manufacturers target that part of the market, so there is something for everyone.
Often it is the older generation that have more disposable income. Supply to pro riders foc is advertising and a test bed. I freely admit to liking top quality kit and am willing to pay for it. It is all down to disposable income and how one chooses to spend it. Cycling is my passion and I spend a fair chunk on it, better that than fast women, loose cars and drugs! (Yes, that was deliberate!)
As regards triple chainrings, well, you can get MTB like gear ratios with a double on a road bike these days so I don’t quite buy your argument. Again, single chainring MTBs have huge cassettes which gives low enough gears if you choose correctly. It has been done for simplicity and more reliable performance, not to get at the over 50s.
You need to remember that you are one individual and not typical of the norm. I’m over 50, ride with several different groups where I am one of the youngest, and none of the fifty or so cyclists that I know in that age bracket (or significantly above) have any issue with a double chainring (or lack of a triple). Oh, and I live at the foot of the Peak District, so hills are our playground. Pick your front and rear ratios to suit your ability/ fitness/ terrain, there are plenty available.
mtb like gearing on a road
mtb like gearing on a road double is not particularly good, for many reasons that have been covered over and over again.
I don’t want an 11-34 or 36 or 42 tooth sprocket, I like my 11/12-28 with a triple and a 24 inner means I can get up pretty much anything even with a load.
Having the stupidly big jumps on MTB like road gearing using a double or worse a single ring, is cack.