“Blatant terrorism to injure and deter bike users”: Cyclists report “ninja spike landmines” strewn by “anti-bike psychos” across cycle lane, with one suffering hearing loss in shocking new low

We have come across scores of traps and vandalism acts targeting cyclists in recent years, but this one marks another new low, as cyclists were left terrorised after caltrops, a spiked weapon going back to the Roman era, was brought back in fashion by “anti-bike psychos” who strew them across a popular bike lane in Edinburgh, resulting in many people getting punctures and in a shocking case, one cyclist even suffering hearing loss.

Caltrops are ancient weapons made up of four or more nails or spikes, arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base. The ones reported in Edinburgh, however, look modern with defined, sharp edges and can puncture or even blow out tyres, with the potential to cause serious harm to cyclists going at speed.

Their existence on Leith Walk — a rather “infamous” bike lane due to its “moronic” zig-zag layout and a “ridiculous” lamppost in the middle — was first reported when a cyclist came across a couple of them on Saturday night, near McDonald Road Library. They posted a picture holding it on Reddit, writing: “I just trod on one of these outside the library on Leith Walk in the bike lane. One went right through my shoe and found another one nearby. Anyone seen these before?”

Soon, the post was flooded with replies from other cyclists who shared accounts of encountering similar “ninja spikes”. One person posted another image of a spike, writing: “That’s awful, that’s what ruined my partner’s tyre at 7:15pm today between McDonald Road and Pilrig Street crossing of Leith Walk.”

> ‘Moronic’: Edinburgh Council to make changes to bizarre zig-zag cycle lane after social media backlash

Caltrop found on Leith Walk, Edinburgh (u/ScoTTaiko on Reddit)

Alan, a local resident, said that he picked up and dropped off “loads of caltrops scattered on the bike paths on Leith Walk” to Police Scotland at Gayfield Station.

“I went out this morning to look in the same spot myself and found a fair few laying around. I phoned the police but they didn’t attend after 20 minutes so I was forced to pick them up and walk them to the station myself,” he said, adding that the police told him that they’d open an investigation and the council would come to sweep the path.

Police Scotland confirmed to road.cc that “enquiries are ongoing”. Edinburgh Council have also been approached for a comment.

In another shocking scenario, one person said that they had to go to the hospital after suffering hearing loss after their partner’s bike got a puncture from a caltrop.

They wrote: “After getting my partner’s puncture, I patched it and inflated it to the required pressure, which instantly exploded as I didn’t realise that this caltrop went so far that it punctured both sides of the inner tube. The bang was so loud that my ear still hiss 10 hours later with the left one not catching well with high frequencies.

“As a Sound Designer, I was obviously concerned. So I waited three hours on 111 to finally get a 5am appointment at a hospital 45min bike away.

“Call me fool, but I did ride there… and halfway through, this time MY bike got punctured by one of the regular exploded boozes lying on the cycle path.”

Caltrop stuck in tyre (u/ScoTTaiko on Reddit)

They added: “My partner, who was just picking up confidence to ride (rather than taking a car or public transport), might not keep that up, only because she doesn’t feel safe for her bike and herself…

“There are solutions, some of them are open the dialogue to your councillors about your concerns or proposals to make the roads safer for everyone. I do also believe that legal actions regarding criminal acts need to be taken care of more often/seriously, as the inactions are costing way more to the general public and institutions than direct actions.”

> New cycling route sabotaged with wooden stake and nails, as "hazard" protesting new access granted to cyclists raises safety fears

The original poster, who goes by the username spitfireskirt, updated that they submitted the report to the police today, but “the police didn’t give a s***, told me to tell the council” instead.

Another user replied to this saying: “That’s so frustrating. I’ve only just realised it was caltrops rather than nails. Caltrops are manufactured solely to burst tyres, so I’m really surprised the police aren’t taking it seriously.”

Spitfireskirt added that they did their “best to convey that, but they [police] weren’t interested”.

Caltrop from Leith Walk, Edinburgh (u/spitfireskirt on Reddit)

Meanwhile, another post made on Reddit today mentioned a person throwing drawing pins all over the road at Stockbridge, “presumably trying to give cyclists a puncture.”

Another person said: “I had a puncture a couple of weeks ago on the bike lane in Leith Walk and found multiple drawing pins in the tyre this is definitely one obsessed person and should be reported to the police.”

> "Why would someone do this?": Police investigate as boy's neck cut after cycling into wire hung across path next to school

Cyclists have been left horrified by these developments, some expressing disgust at people indulging in these activities and others disappointed in the police for their disinterest and lack of action.

One person wrote: “This is almost certainly coming from anti-bike psychos. Traps and vandalism designed to injure, maim, and deter bike users have been a thing for yonks but it appears to be picking up alongside other vandalism like in LTNs.”

Another added: “The most basic intention is to inconvenience bike users, damage their bikes, and scare them/others from cycling in the area. If they’re big enough psychos then they could be hoping to injure one.”

A user also mentioned how this is hurting disabled people, saying: “I use the bike lane there with my wheelchair because it’s nice and even, relatively free of pedestrians and I can get up to a good fun speed for once... I went along there yesterday morning even. It hadn't even occurred to me that saboteurs might be back at it again.”

And another person wrote: “This is going to sound daft, but when people were putting neck height wires across paths in Oxfordshire a few years ago the police did nothing…Until a horse rider got hurt and all hell got let loose.

“The police are far more interested when Tarquin or Harriet hurt their pony than they are if cyclists or walkers get hurt. Honestly see if you can get some local horse club interested and I bet something happens.”

This is unfortunately not the first time we have reported such acts. Just last week, a brand-new cycling route in Guernsey was sabotaged with a wooden stake and nails in an “act of protest”, as a group of mountain bikers, whose decade-long campaign to open up the cliff paths to cyclists was recently successful, saw their first ride halted by the “trip hazards”.

> "Be vigilant, there's an idiot kicking about again": Cyclists warned as latest wire trap "clearly intended to do harm" found on trail

“We were going around under the 10mph speed limit, so it would have been more of a danger if we hadn’t,” Guernsey Mountain Biking Association’s Secretary said. “It wasn't something that had just fallen over. There were no other stakes like it around there and it looked like it had been taken from one of the nearby fields and placed there. Luckily, the place where it was has a good stopping distance, but if it had been on a corner it would have been much more dangerous.

“What concerned us most is that we had a 12-year-old with us, it's not just us that were put at risk.”

Last month, cyclists in Sheffield were warned to “be vigilant” after a dog walker reported finding “a length of wire-filled electric fencing mesh” strung tight and at head height near a popular beauty spot, the homemade trap “clearly intended to do harm”.

And in February, a wire was strung up across a path in Bicester to harm cyclists, and the victim of that act was an 11-year-old boy, who was left “very shaken up” after suffering cuts to his neck when he rode into the trap next to his school while cycling home.

*WARNING: Reader discretion advised, graphic images*

Perhaps the most shocking out of all these incidents was one from the Rhondda Valley in December 2021 which left a cyclist needing 17 stitches in their neck after riding into a barbed wire trap on a trail near Gelli.

Tony Roberts “had to unwrap the wire from around his neck”, the trap having been “hidden in a tree line so it couldn't have been seen”. The 39-year-old was treated by specialist doctors who initially wondered if he would need surgery but fortunately managed to treat the injury with stitches instead, his partner commenting that she was just “so glad I'm not planning a funeral right now”.