Muc-Off “bike porn” advert attracts accusations of “inappropriate” and “oversexualised” content; “Behold, the UK’s largest bike retailer”: Customers unimpressed by Halfords’ bike racks; Plapp taps out due to horrific road rash + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Pro cycling's new dominant sprinter? Tougher tests ahead but Sam Welsford and Bora-Hansgrohe showing promise in Oz
Sam Welsford. 2024 couldn’t have started much better for Bora’s flying Aussie. Home race. Three sprints. Three wins, the third of which coming today on his 28th birthday. A lead-out working like clockwork. Happy days.
Murray Bridge to Port Elliot catch all the action from the Men’s Stage 4 of the Tour Down Under. 🚴@SantosLtd #TourDownUnder
📺 Stream the race now on 7plus: https://t.co/k2Exq3FDwl pic.twitter.com/kmlYfN8H3b
— Santos Tour Down Under 🚴🚴♀️ (@tourdownunder) January 19, 2024
There has been bullishness coming out of the Bora camp all week, Welsford praising the race-dominating leadout abilities of Danny van Poppel, Ryan Mullen and Co.
“With those guys leading me out it’s almost hard not to get it right […] with Danny and Ryan in front of you, you can turn your brain off, and they’ll do the whole thing for you,” the Aussie explained.
Van Poppel also compared Welsford, in some quotes that made eye-catching headlines earlier this week, to Marcel Kittel or André Greipel… “a powerhouse”, adding that: “He’s a totally different type of sprinter to Bennett – I was waiting for a fast sprinter. Sam Bennett is a good friend of mine, but in the end it’s business and we want to win.” Ouch.
Bora, Welsford and his leadout are saying, and more importantly doing, all the right things. Will 2024 be the year he takes a step forward and becomes pro cycling’s dominant sprinter? Lorena Wiebes, Jasper Philipsen and a few others will have something to say about that, but the signs are positive, at least for some big wins, Welsford expected to head to the Giro in May (and mouth-watering potential clashes with Wout van Aert/Olav Kooij for Jumbo, Jonathan Milan, Fabio Jakobsen, Ewan and Juan Sebastián Molano), his second Grand Tour after a debut Tour de France last year that only brought one top-ten finish.
A seemingly off Caleb Ewan, Phil Bauhaus, Elia Viviani and Biniam Girmay probably isn’t the toughest competition for a dialled in and firing Bora machine either. Tougher tests ahead, but a near perfect 2024 so far.
We’re yet to decide if having four arms will help or hinder his chances…
[Zac Williams/SWpix.com]
Tour Down Under any other business: Luke Plapp abandons due to horrendous road rash
Before the stage Luke Plapp’s team put out this update…
🚨 UPDATE:
After monitoring Luke Plapp overnight, unfortunately he will not start today’s fourth stage of the Tour Down Under due to discomfort & ongoing pain from a large amount of wounds.
Rest up Luke 🤕 pic.twitter.com/Uc1Iupi5oo
— GreenEDGE Cycling (@GreenEDGEteam) January 18, 2024
Translation: It f-ing hurts and have you tried sleeping in Australia during summer missing half the skin off your back? Can feel those sheets sticking from here, Luke, rest up…
"We have been fighting so many headwinds for the last three or four years, that it's come to the point where we really can't carry on": Women's Tour owner and Tour of Britain organiser SweetSpot goes into liquidation
Yet another blow for British-based pro races as the owner of the Women’s Tour and organiser of the Tour of Britain, SweetSpot, has entered liquidation. The news reported in the Guardian by Jeremy Whittle via an interview with chief executive Hugh Roberts is that the promoter has appointed KRE corporate recovery to deal with its creditors after entering voluntary liquidation, with liabilities likely to extend significantly past £1m.
[Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com]
British Cycling had rescinded the group’s naming rights to the Tour of Britain due to a dispute over unpaid fees, claimed to be in the region of £750,000, while there has also been a suggestion of legal action from the Isle of Wight’s council following the cancellation of the final stages in 2022 due to the death of the Queen.
Chief exec Roberts also admitted the estimated £1m outstanding debt could be higher, with a creditors list including local police forces and in-race service suppliers.
[Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com]
“Liquidation started to become a possibility back in July,” Roberts said, suggesting that spiralling costs, the impact of Covid cancelling races, the Queen’s death cancelling stages, and British Cycling’s stance on the fees dispute had all contributed.
“Because we were already under a lot of pressure financially with the Tour of Britain. There was a potential title sponsor keen to be involved, with the men’s Tour and the women’s Tour, so we went ahead with the race, because that encouraged other sponsors to get involved.”
Nothing came from those negotiations, creating a “real struggle”.
“The reality of us having to decide to do what has actually happened came into focus,” he said. “It’s the end of an era. It’s 20 years of hard work that have come to this. We have been fighting so many headwinds for the last three or four years, that it’s come to the point where we really can’t carry on in the current climate and the current business environment that we find ourselves in.
“The conditions that were set for us to extract ourselves from the position with British Cycling were too onerous. British Cycling wanted to still receive the full licence fee that they felt they were due in 2022. Despite the Queen dying in the middle of the race and all our other partners showing a little bit of financial sympathy to us they were insisting that the fee they felt they were owed should be paid in full.
“That, along with Covid, with not having a race from September 2019 to September 2021, the debt taken on board to keep the whole thing afloat. Local council bankruptcies, belt-tightening all over the place – that does not augur well for events that rely on government support.
“British Cycling say they have a plan [for the men’s Tour of Britain] but I don’t know what it is. There was no room to negotiate. We were not even given the grounds to appeal.”
British Cycling said it is “making every possible effort to ensure that the Tour of Britain and a UCI Women’s World Tour stage race take place in 2024 and beyond, and will be in a position to provide further details in the coming weeks”.
"Ethical bike thief" re-steals nicked hire bikes and returns them to docking stations
An undercover vigilante, dubbed ‘Batman’, is re-stealing stolen bike share bicycles and returning them to docking stations in Toronto, blogTo reports.
The “ethical bike thief” is fed up with spotting stolen hire bikes all over the city, key signs being the lights not flashing, a “chewed up” appearance, and it being stashed in a strange place, such as one he spotted in some bushes, swooping in and returning it to a docking station.
“I can’t save them all because they’re either in use or locked up,” the ethical bike thief said. “Like anything, once you keep an eye out for it, you’ll start to notice them.”
Thoughts?
Altrincham's the place to be...
road.cc reader Bob got in touch to share the good news from Altrincham… “Proper Sheffield bike racks, near the front door, protected from cars.” No wonder the Sunday Times awarded it best place to live 2022…
There’s hope…
"Behold, the UK's largest bike retailer... you really are spoiling us": Customers unimpressed by 'wheel-bender' bike racks at major Halfords store
Behold, the UKs largest bike retailer
You really are spoiling us pic.twitter.com/USBKneVOn8
— Bike Rogers (@bike_rogers) January 18, 2024
For the uninitiated, this type of bike rack is commonly dubbed the ‘wheel-bender’ because… well… I’m sure you can work that part out. No support for the frame, hard to lock to, potentially the easiest rack to be removed? I’m willing to die on the ‘just give us nice, practical, well-fitted Sheffield Stands’ hill.
Unsurprisingly the introduction of a ‘wheel-bender’ does not go down well…
But outside a branch of the UK’s largest cycling retailer? You’d be forgiven for expecting something a little bit more inspiring.
That wouldn’t be @Halfords_uk in Norwich by any chance? pic.twitter.com/A3UP6suG9L
— TallBikeGuy (@theTallBikeGuy) January 18, 2024
And no, apparently it’s not even a leftover relic from past decades that has never been upgraded and everyone’s forgotten about it, but a relatively recent addition…
I can see your wheels scream in pain!
— Bike Rogers (@bike_rogers) January 18, 2024
One wheel torture device replaced by another. As Bike Rogers explained in another post “it strikes of doing the bare minimum”. Anyway, not Halfords’ only live blog appearance in recent times, click here for another cracker…
Or, if you’re craving your next dodgy bike rack fix…
> Worst bike racks — from the useless to utterly unusable places to park your bicycle
Seven out of ten people say they never ride a bike, as safer roads – not more cycle lanes – viewed as key to encouraging cycling, new national travel study finds
"They just don't make them like Mick Ives anymore": Tributes pour in for British cycling legend who dies aged 84
Near Miss of the Day 887: Bus company launches investigation after driver hits cyclist’s handlebars during overtake
Muc-Off "bike porn" advert attracts accusations of "inappropriate" and "oversexualised" content
Muc-Off’s advert for the Scrubber Gloves, the bike cleaning products brand’s aptly named gloves for scrubbing bikes clean using your hands, has got lots of attention in the last week, attracting double the likes of any other post on its Instagram this year. Titled ‘Hands On Cleaning’ the vid shows a gloved-up user, wearing a jumper with the word ‘filth’ on it, making a series of suggestive cleaning motions to rid a grime-covered bike of its dirt…
It has attracted criticism from some, with accusations of “oversexualising” content and it being “widely inappropriate, uninclusive and unnecessary”.
One comment on the video said: “Tell us your marketing team is all men without telling us your marketing team is all men… seriously?”
Another commenter added: “Way to go making cycling inclusive. You can do better than this @mucoff there are lots of ways to be funny without making 50 per cent of your audience feel grossed out and unsafe.”
“Here we go again with with the heteronormative, masculine, and sexualised narrative that rips apart any notion of cycling being a space for everyone,” a third wrote.
“It’s 2024, surely you could come up with a marketing plan that was more inclusive to anyone other than basic men who like to over sexualise everything. Yes it may get the likes and engagement but is this really the target audience that you want your brand to only attract, because it definitely repulses a lot of other audiences who also need to clean their bikes,” another suggested.
We’ve contacted Muc-Off to see if the brand has any reflections on the advert one week on, but hadn’t heard back at the time of publication.
Of course, with 9,000 likes, not everyone who commented on the video agreed with the critics, some expressing support for the “bike porn” concept and one comment even suggesting the ad had “sold me on them”.
Lancashire-based e-bike manufacturer Static Bikes also got in on the action, saying its bikes are “wet and ready”.
Away from the “bike porn” comments, a couple of people were innocently more concerned by the lack of pre-wash to remove grit and dirt from the frame… “all that dirt just sanding the paint down” and another… “imagine just wet sanding your carbon frame”…
Whatever you or I make of the clip, someone at Muc-Off clearly sees the funny side, as we’ve been reliably informed it’s over two years old and has been posted to Muc-Off’s Instagram account at least once before.
In April, we also featured Muc-Off’s effort in our April Fool’s round-up. No guesses for working out what the bike lube-selling company went for…
> Muc-Off’s new lube… for when the bike’s tucked up safely in the shed
19 January 2024, 09:11
19 January 2024, 09:11
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Latest Comments
Hey, but their wool blend cycling adjacent t-shirts are/were fantastic.
@Surreyrider Still the boss. Ride one, you'll see why
@Smoggysteve "Most would happily ride on the roads and be treated with respect by drivers". But people aren't - and as far as I can see they won't be. Not until there is a lot less driving and it's slower around cyclists, and far more people driving have "skin in the game" eg. they sometimes cycle and their friends and family do also. That's what leads to the model - which is perhaps most advanced in NL - where cycling, walking and driving are all seen as separate normal transport modes. Their needs, vulnerabilities and any dangers to others are considered. And *that* leads to "mix / share when possible, separate when necessary". But "possible" is "where your 10-year old would be safe to cycle unsupervised" - so very few motor vehicles, going slow! And AFAICS everybody - even "existing cyclists" - is happy with the result. (I dunno about a few pro cyclists - but don't they tend to have training camps in different counties anyway?)
@quiff as an Edinburgh resident I can confidently say he's speaking without moving his lips in one sense: - while as I noted in a separate comment there *is* now some real separated cycle infra, all the examples i can think of have *at least as much space* for pedestrians. The rest of the "cycle infra" is essentially similar to the situation in the rest of the UK: eg. bus lanes*, cycle lanes and shared use paths (eg. "build" infra by sticking up a sign). Edinburgh is one of the places with a moderately extensive network of former railways which have been converted to "shared use" paths (completely motor traffic few). However though shared they are not narrow by UK standards. And this is all effectively a "free extra" for all non- motorised users, not like the "sign a cycle path" where pedestrians do lose space. I think this all comes from the "popular understanding" of cycling in which ultimately cyclists are the "other". They don't fit "motor vehicle" or "pedestrian" (including wheelchairs on the very rare occasions people think about that). Thus "cyclists are cheating" in multiple ways! They shouldn't get their own space as "there aren't enough" of them. And "they can just use the road / path". But being able to *choose* "on the road" or "on the footway" (shared use path) is clearly unfair - nobody else gets to do that! BUT of course even if they did pick just one of road OR pedestrian space it's still not fair anyway because they're "too slow" for the road (don't pay "road tax" etc...) and "far too fast" for pedestrians... * Though some existing cyclists may appreciate them when there are few buses, buses and bikes are a very poor mix for several reasons.
Whilst a shame for any employees, their bib shorts had the worst chamois pad I’d ever encountered, utter waste of my money. Even though they were Strava challenge discount purchases, still a waste of money.
Thanks, just going to have to suck it up. Got next week off and will take the easy, if expensive option...
@ktache Just go for the TNT Sports only package, £30.99 for a month. Alternatively have you considered experimenting with a VPN for a few pounds, allowing you to sign up for a free stream abroad, e.g. SBS Australia which streams the Tour live? If I didn't have a kind mate's login that's what I'd do!
So, it's now the month of July and I'm going to have to pay to watch the TdF, for one month only. On a tablet unfortunately, as I didn't manage to get a laptop to rig up to the TV, grrr. Just wondering, what package will I have to fork out for? Not wanting to pay for the wrong one...
Not that it sounds like a dealbreaker given the other faults you've identified, but that cable isn't really a "proprietary" cable, four pin magnetic cables like that are quite common on bone-conducting headphones and other devices (my inexpensive smartwatch uses one) and they can be had for £4.99 on UK Amazon.
49 thoughts on “Muc-Off “bike porn” advert attracts accusations of “inappropriate” and “oversexualised” content; “Behold, the UK’s largest bike retailer”: Customers unimpressed by Halfords’ bike racks; Plapp taps out due to horrific road rash + more on the live blog”
This is actually a good news
This is actually a good news story. A very visible reminder NEVER EVER to take your bike to Haulfrauds!
I take my bicycle into
I take my bicycle into Halfords when I wish to buy bicycle stuff from them. I think they don’t charge for click and collect above a certain price, unlike Evans. Their £1 reflective slap bands are excellent and do not seem to have been a victim of rish!’s runaway inflation.
I’m not much of a lad for the
I’m not much of a lad for the old conspiracy theories, but when a retailer dependent on selling bikes (often presumably replacements for stolen ones) and doing bike repairs offers the type of bike storage that is most likely to get your bike stolen or damaged…
My nearest Halfords doesn’t
My nearest Halfords doesn’t even have a bike rack of any sort. I sent Halfords a message on Facebook a couple of years ago and I got a standard “we’ll look into it” reply, but nothing further.
TBF seeing that Halfords is
TBF seeing that Halfords is usually in an out of town warehouse type place, they will be a tennant, and probably have little say about things like that, are dependent on what the landlord does/allows.
On the other hand if I’m in a Halfords looking at bike stuff it is an emergency situation, and if I have a bike with me it will be my brompton, which I will take into the shop anyway.
NickSprink wrote:
taken my road bike when needed several times, but I’m sure I’ve also managed to lock my bike outside as well. (not to a wheel bender).
At Halfords I just take the
At Halfords I just take the bike in; it’s a bike shop.
But they should be leading with accessible parking.
Wow, that ascent of Ventoux
Wow, that ascent of Ventoux looks absolutely breathtaking!
PRSboy wrote:
In the sense that you are gasping for breath?
Probably, but hopefully the
Probably, but hopefully the astonishing views and peace would have compensated! Bet it was quite fresh up top too…
The decent might be a tad
The descent might be a tad sketchy
Poor Luke Plapp. For road
Poor Luke Plapp. For road rash that bad I’d recommend Viagra. It won’t take the pain away but will stop the sheets sticking to you.
Seriously though just shows how tough the pros are.
Don’t wish to blow one’s own
Don’t wish to blow one’s own trumpet but I will.
I stacked it on a downhill on the Isle of Wight one visit. Broke my bike frame, spent half the day in A&E, road rash all down one side (it bloody hurts peeling off the remains of the clothing).
Hired a bike the next day to finish our tour of the island. It was surprising how I was able to get back into the groove even with my kit sticking to my bandages.
Seriously though just shows
Seriously though just shows how tough the pros are
They are! I squirm even now thinking about the heroic Dutch rider some years ago, who carried on with the Tour after being bounced onto barbed wire by a team/ press car
Johnny Hoogerland. He says he
Johnny Hoogerland. Who hates the fact that people only remember him for the barbed wire episode.
Tough – or stupid? A lot of
Tough – or stupid? A lot of the time it’s the latter…..The sport is stuck in a time warp in regards to injuries……
It would be interesting for
It would be interesting for road.cc to approach Halfords for comment – is it that they (Halfords) are a bit rubbish, or is it down the shopping centre freeholder?
My money would probably be on, “It’s a decision left to the individual manager”
Since it’s a capital
Since it’s a capital installation, I doubt it.
We have fewer nobs than Altrincham, but ours are fine:
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.1243834,-1.259089,3a,37.3y,27.33h,91.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sZ5LZN_pFU1Mv13SWdGlp5A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
One of the Edinburgh ones has
One of the Edinburgh Halfords has this solid and enteraining one. Albeit it might be nice to have a few more spaces. OTOH this store one is next to a motor artery.
They’re crap…
They’re crap…
Well they’re not Sheffield
Well they’re not Sheffield stands but when “crap” includes wheelbenders, toast racks and more generally ones that you can’t fit your bike in or that the bike can be stolen from by undoing a couple of bolts I’ll take these any day! Note – right next to the front door…
Just make sure you don’t
Just make sure you don’t accidentally secure your bike to the “fork” of the rack!
(or the “handlebars” but they look to be high enough that you wouldn’t do so accidentally.)
“Hammersmith Bridge: Cost of
“Hammersmith Bridge: Cost of repairs more than doubles”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68024233
Tell us that motorists don’t pay their fair share of the damage caused by vehicle use, without telling us.
“But cyclists don’t pay road tax!”
mitsky wrote:
It’d be great if they gave up trying to find the money and just kept the bridge for walkers and cyclists etc.
100%
100%
Let me get this right. The
Let me get this right. The primary organiser of Pro racing in this country goes bankrupt because British Cycling – the Shell teat sucking Pro racing licence monopoly holder – demands license fees to stage races?
How does demanding license fees for races improve racing in this country.
Its a common principle for
Its a common principle for organisations to sell the rights of events for other promoters to put them on. The fee from the sale of the rights is then used as income and recycled back into the purpose of the selling organisation.
In this instance, BC sell the rights to generate income to service the sport and its members. If Sweetspot were not paying the fee they were effectively denying money to BC members. So chasing for the unpaid rights fee puts money in the kitty for the benefit of racing in the UK.
Yep, BC were just chasing the
Yep, BC were just chasing the fees Sweetspot had agreed to pay them when they signed their most recent 10 year deal to deliver the race, in 2019.
Id assume with the company liquidated they simply didn’t have the money to pay, it was fairly obvious theyd been running on fumes for a while, so BC ends up roughly 750k out of pocket.
Which actually probably then impacts their ability to step in to organise the races inspite of their statement.
And we’re back chasing sponsors who don’t seem to exist for cycling in the UK anymore.
750k of revenue. But not
750k of revenue. But not with any corresponding costs. Wouldnt it have been better to come up with a payment plan, rather than pennies on the pound at best from a liquidation.
From what is in the press,
From what is in the press, there are plenty of others owed money by Sweetspot plus there is potential legal action from the Isle of Wight. So, setting up a payment plan with a company that has debts all over the place is never wise. It is likely that lots of other organisations will go unpaid too.
only BC can truly answer that
only BC can truly answer that. Taking away the ToB contract ultimately triggered the liquidation, even if it took time to work through, as it took Sweetspots only source of revenue generation away.
More fallout from the Queen
More fallout from the Queen carking it. I lost a few hundred quid from the stage being cancelled and missed a truly iconic memory that’s never likely to happen now
I waited for the sun to be
I waited for the sun to be up for a bit before venturing out. -1.7 according to the garmin. I have renamed my altura winter gloves to autumn gloves as my fingers were too cold. I did try 2 pairs of gloves, but the best I could achieve with various combos was fingers could only be straight !
I did a 12 mile commute
I did a 12 mile commute yesterday wearing Galibier Barrier Winter gloves, and was just starting to feel slightly chilly in the fingers towards the end.
Temperature was -7 deg C
That’s the one I was looking
That’s the one I was looking at on wednesday but out of stock until next week when it warms up !
But thanks for the info; I have just ordered a pair !
I wore three pairs of gloves
I wore three pairs of gloves for my -6 C commute yesterday morning. It worked!
I’m trying the galibier
I’m trying the galibier gloves soon – double digits temps by the time they arrive !
They take some breaking in,
They take some breaking in, but once you’ve got them … they’re grrreeeaaat.
[I had discomfort on the heels of my thumbs that nearly made me give up with them … but I’m glad I stuck with them.
If you’re interested, the feet were kept nice and toasty by Maddisons Waterproof socks and cheap winter boots [that you can’t get hold of for love nor money]
I raided the cupboard where
I raided the cupboard where our ski gear is kept before going out on my commuting ride to the office yesterday. A pair of ski gloves made a big difference with the temperature somewhere around -8 to -4 °C depending who you believe. I used them again today, though it was slightly less chilly.
Can’t you push your bike
Can’t you push your bike around Britain’s biggest bike retailer like you can Decathlon?
I do.
I do.
I did laugh at the Muc-Off ad
I did laugh at the Muc-Off ad – guess that makes me part of the problem…
Muc-off add:
Muc-off add:
Shame the guy didn’t stop every now and then and whisper – in an ASMR kinda way – Muc-Off*
* taking the piss out of the ASMR Bentley online videos of a woman in a very short dress tapping, rubbing and caressing various parts of the car, stopping on to whisper [almost inaudible and husky] … Bentley.
Their April Fools last year
Their April Fools last year was funny as f*ck. They missed a trick this time.
Gloucester the place where
Gloucester the place where the best drivers are
Alternatively challenging Lancs police for the topspot
(Isn’t bungle_52 from there ?)
Yes I am. I made my first Op
Yes I am. I made my first Op Snap report just under a year ago. After the first confirmation email saying that they would definitely get back to me I contacted them having heard nothing. The reply was that this was a mistake and they would not give routine feedback. They did however tell me that a warning letter had been sent as a result of my first report.
I have heard nothing since despite around 20 reports. They say not to put videos on social media and keep the files for a year. I assume that I can publish the video after this time so I’ll send in some in when the year is up.
You will remember that I used to get immediate feedback for all my previous reports although it wasn’t always encouraging.
PS thanks for sending this in
PS thanks for sending this in. I knew they had failed to meet the dedline for publishing the information but I hadn’t seen that it’s finally out.
Found it on twitterx
Found it on twitterx (reposted by Mark Hodson).
Essex was in contrast
in Dec 2023, 47 from cyclists Outcomes for cyclist reports – Notice of intended prosecution 35 (74%) – No further action 9 (19%) – Advice letter 1 (2%) – Other 2 (4%) 44 reports by cyclists were for close passes
The Muc Off advert is really
The Muc Off advert is really naff and cringe. But those gloves look like a really good cleaning aid.