AU T U M N 2020
STREETSPACE PLAN LATEST
CYCLING & CLIMATE CRISIS GEAR CHANGE REPORT BIKE-FRIENDLY BUSINESS E-BIKES EXPLAINED 21 BIKE FIX TIPS
MAGAZINE OF
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News | Features | Travel & Rides | How To | Bikes & Reviews FEATURE > 14
HOW TO 48
GUIDES CHAIN CHECK & CASSETTE SWAP
How is the Streetspace Plan shaping London’s response to the crisis?
John Kitchiner is the editor of London Cyclist and confirmed bikeaholic
We continue our series of basic workshop skills with a look at chains and cassettes. These two components (along with brake pads) are usually the quickest to wear and need most frequent replacement, especially after extended periods of riding in poor weather. Chain checking takes only a few minutes, while cassette swaps are a five-minute job once you know how...
1: TOOLS FOR THE JOBS As these are both straightforward bike maintenance jobs, the tools required are equally basic (and cheap). To check the chain, all you need is a dedicated chain checker tool (or ruler).
To remove/swap the chain, you need a rivet extactor (also just known as a ‘chain tool’) or master link pliers. And for the cassette, you’ll need a chain whip and the appropriate lockring tool.
2: CHAIN CHECK — ROUGH GUIDE The quickest way to check as shown. A new chain will is by hand. Shift gears so hardly move from the ring. the chain is on the biggest However, if you can pull chainring at the front and the chain 5mm from the ring the smallest cassette cog at (so the chainring’s teeth are the rear, then pull the chain visible), it’s worn and will at the front of the chainring likely need changing soon.
FEATURE > 21
Building back better: how one crisis has shown us it’s possible to tackle much bigger threat
‘change point’ for newer 11 or 12-speed chains). Using a metric ruler, 10 links of an unworn chain will measure 25.4cm (centre to centre). If it measures 25.6cm or more, it’s time for a change.
lubes, cleaners, repair kits & CO2 available from: East Side Cycles, E2 8QR //
Edwardes Camberwell, SE5 0HG // The Hackney Peddler, N16 8AA // & all good shops
RIDE 51
48 WELDTITE
3: CHAIN CHECK — GOOD As step 2 isn’t foolproof and and see how far the other can lead to false readings, end drops in towards the it’s best to use a proper tool. chain. If it’s not worn the Our Cyclo one has markings tool will sit above the link (as to detect 1% and 0.75% wear. pictured). If it drops in a small Simply put the curved amount it’s ok, but check part around one chain roller again in a few weeks.
4: CHAIN CHECK — BAD If your chain checker tool drops in to sit flush along the chain, it’s worn and time for a new one. A 0.75% reading is the suggested replacement point for 10-speed chains and lower. (0.5% is the
A CALDER
Author Jack Thurston guides us on a familyfriendly loop selected from Lost Lanes North
W
CAPER by Daniel Defoe as “the Andes of England”. Here the route leaves the tarmac for a superb traffic-free gravel section around a series of reservoirs before slowly descending on quiet country lanes back to the Calder Valley for a return on the riverside cyclepath. The route is family- friendly, on towpaths, gravel tracks and cycleways, though the climb from Littleborough to Blackstone Edge is on an A-road with a cycle lane. ■ Signed copies of Lost Lanes North (£16.99) are available from the author at lostlanes.co.uk/shop.
A CALDER CAPER
3 4 1 HEBDEN BRIDGE
TODMORDEN 7.5km
2 LITTLEBOROUGH COW’S MOUTH GADDING’S DAM 22km 25.5km 16km
HEBDEN BRIDGE
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LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 51
GREEN GE R CLEANERS & LUBES In the second part of our new series on environmentally-friendly products, we look at the latest bike cleaning fluids and chain lubricants
C
YCLING MAY be one of the greenest forms of transport and recreation, but not all of the associated products are very environmentallyfriendly. So we’re trying to point you in the direction of products that are a little kinder to the planet. Clearly not all ‘green’ bike fluids are created equal and details of ingredients are often pretty vague; eg some ‘biodegradable’ products contain PTFE (which isn’t biodegradable). As we can’t lab test all such products, it pays to read as much small print as possible to make the best choices.
#1 FINISH LINE
TEXT: John Kitchiner
One of the first companies to develop a dedicated bicycle chain lube (in the late 80s), Finish Line now offers dozens of products — though only a handful can be considered ‘green’. The Super Bike Wash is non-toxic and biodegradable, while the EcoTech 2 Degreaser features biodegradable, soy-extracted solvents which break down grime in double-quick time. ■ Super Bike Wash £9.99; EcoTech 2 Degreaser £10.99; freewheel.co.uk
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#2 MUC OFF
From its early mtb roots, Muc Off has grown to be a real British success story, with a similarly growing eco commitment. The Nano Tech Cleaner is biodegradable, free from acids, CFCs and solvents and can be used on any surface. The Drivetrain Cleaner and lubes are also biodegradable, the latter products coming with a pipette-style nozzle for easy, waste-free application onto ready-scrubbed chains. ■ Nano Tech Bike Cleaner £10.99; Bio Drivetrain Cleaner £19.99; Dry Lube £8.99; Wet Lube £8.99; muc-off.com
#3 FENWICKS
Working differently from typical degreasers, this Foaming Cleaner is biodegradable and doesn’t use solvents or acids to be effective; we found using a sponge to work it in achieved best results. Though intended for all conditions, we found the lube gave better ‘dry’ weather performance. ■ Foaming Chain Cleaner £4.99; Chain Lube £7.99; fenwicksbike.com
#4 GREEN OIL
Based in Brixton, Green Oil has been pioneering truly green products since 2007 — not only the fluids, but its packaging and bottles are recycled too. You get 300ml of the Green Clean concentrate in the bottle and add the water yourself at home, while Agent Apple will have an immersed chain sparkling in about 5-10 minutes.
INTERVIEW > 32
FACT FILE START/FINISH: Hebden Bridge DISTANCE: 38km (24 miles) TOTAL ASCENT: 471m TERRAIN: canal towpath, roads, country lanes and a short section of good gravel track. Ideal for a hybrid, touring or cyclocross bike. BIKE SHOPS: Blazing Saddles Hebden Bridge, HX7 8UQ (01422 844435). Also Hebden Bridge Visitor Centre, HX7 8AD (01422 843831) has a number of e-bikes for hire at reasonable rates. RAILWAY STATION: Hebden Bridge MAP: you can find an online map and gradient profile at lostlanes.co.uk/ a-calder-caper/
■ Green Clean Bike Cleaner £9.99; Agent Apple Degreaser £14.99; Dry Chain Wax £14.99; green-oil.net
#5 MORGAN BLUE
Hugely popular with professional cycling teams, the bio lube is based on vegetable oils, while the cleaner pulls double duty and works equally well on chains and derailleurs. ■ Bio Bike Oil £7.95; Bio Bike Cleaner £11.95; windwave.co.uk
#6 PURE
The relatively new Pure range uses natural, sustainable ingredients; its lubes specifically are said to be 100% free from petroleum-based solvents. The 200ml Wash Concentrate makes 1-litre of cleaner — or half that mix can be used in a long-lasting 500ml aluminium ‘refill’ bottle launched just as we went to press. ■ Refill Bottle £6; Bike Degreaser £7.50; Bike Wash Concentrate £7; Wet Lube £5.50; weldtite.co.uk
#6 SQUIRT
Another smaller name, Squirt has been around 15 years and makes a handful of biodegradable products, including these lubes which contain waxes and water in emulsion form. While not that relevant in the UK, we have used the low temps version while winter fatbiking in the Alps to good effect. ■ Chain Lube £11.99; Low Temperature Chain Lube £12.99; extrauk.co.uk
Photos: Jack Thurston
ITH STONE buildings and cobbled streets wedged into the steep-sided Upper Calder Valley, the former mill town of Hebden Bridge is the arty, techsavvy, LGBTQ+ friendly, hipster capital of the South Pennines. It’s a perfect base for exploring the hill country on the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire, which sees none of the summer crowds that flock to the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. This route is 38km (24 miles) and mostly flat and traffic-free with just one big climb to Blackstone Edge, a wild and windswept spot described
TOP TIPS, 26
We speak to one London councillor who’s leading the charge for cycling in her borough
It’s not enough to be right: you also have to be believed... a more emotional, fuzzy thing ASHOK SINHA, OPINION, PAGE 9
E-BIKES EXPLAINED, 42
FEATURE >37
Ways that workplaces can help encourage and enable more staff to commute by bike
It’s early days, but a community approach is really paying off EILIDH MURRAY, OPINION, PAGE 11 LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 3
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CONTENTS | AUTUMN 2020
Image: Andy Donohoe Location: Baylis Road, Lambeth
EDITORIAL
It’s all about safer streets S
EGREGATED CYCLE lanes and floating bus stops. Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and modal filters. Pop-up parklets and Dutch roundabouts. There’s more unwieldy nomenclature in the urban cycling world than average episodes of The Office and W1A combined. And don’t get me started on the acronyms. So let me simplify it for you — they’re all about creating safer, healthier streets, or enabling safer cycling. The good news is that there’s lots of the above springing up both across London and the country right now — our cover image showcases the recently-completed tracks along Baylis Road in Lambeth. The bad news, however, is that the backlash to these (mostly) trial schemes has been increasingly vocal, with even cycle-friendly Islington seeing large demos on Upper Street. So we’re going to need to intensify the pressure on decision-makers, while also helping allay residents’ concerns. Unsurprisingly then we’ve got features on the Streetspace Plan, cycling and the climate crisis, and how to get more people cycling at your workplace. Plus there’s top tips for new and existing riders alike, an introductory guide to e-bikes, another super exclusive bike test, and more ‘green gear’. Happy pedalling! John Kitchiner Editor
LONDON CYCLIST Unit 201 Metropolitan Wharf, 70 Wapping Wall, London E1W 3SS n 020 7234 9310 n lcc.org.uk
EDITORIAL
Editor: John Kitchiner (londoncyclist@lcc.org.uk) Design: Anita Razak Contributors: Fran Graham, Simon Munk, Tom Bogdanowicz, Rob Eves, Ashok Sinha, Carlton Reid, Richard Peace, Jack Thurston
ADVERTISING
Allie Gill (allie.gill@lcc.org.uk)
SOCIAL MEDIA
TWITTER: @london_cycling FACEBOOK: @LondonCyclingCampaign INSTAGRAM: @london_cycling Editorial, copyright, membership LCC is not aligned with any political party. All views expressed in London Cyclist are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, nor do they necessarily reflect LCC policy. All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the written permission of the editor. Editorial content is independent of advertising. All LCC membership offers and discounts are presented entirely at the discretion of the provider. London Cyclist is published by LCC. OUR AIMS: lcc.org.uk/strategy MEMBERSHIP: lcc.org.uk/membership TO DONATE: lcc.org.uk/donate LCC is a charitable limited company, reg no 1766411; charity no 1115789
LCC MEMBERS’ LEGAL HELPLINE Osbornes Solicitors is the official legal partner of LCC, providing members with exclusive access to a legal helpline. If you’re involved in a collision or have a cycling-related legal issue, phone the Cycling Team at Osbornes for advice on 020 7681 8672.
London Cyclist is printed by Buxton Press on FSC carbon-balanced paper from responsible sources.
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Autumn 2020
JOHNSON TAKES LCC’S ‘GO DUTCH’ APPROACH NATIONAL Headlines include more money for cycling than ever before, mini-Holland schemes and safer lorry standards
Photo: Simon Still
I
N JULY, the government announced measures and reports that clearly mark a ‘Gear Change’ (the name of the key report) in its thinking on cycling, walking and active travel. While the new approach doesn’t deal with the £27 billion still planned for road-building, it does mean more money for cycling than ever before, as well as a more directive approach to England’s councils. And it sees PM Boris Johnson and his advisor Andrew Gilligan taking measures they developed in London — following LCC campaigning in 2012 — to a nationwide level. Announcements included: n £2 billion for walking and cycling in England. More than ever before, including building “thousands of miles” of protected Cycleways. n Tough new cycle design guidance which will be mandatory for any scheme the DfT funds — and whose quality criteria directly echo LCC’s consultation responses. The DfT are being clear that schemes that don’t “meaningfully” reallocate roadspace away from cars towards walking and cycling won’t get funding.
n 12 mini-Holland schemes outside London (three are already in London, due to LCC campaigning), and one zero emissions city centre. Plus direct mandates for councils to do both Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (as championed by LCC) and School Streets. n Direct Vision lorry standards pioneered by LCC to roll out nationally. n Plus lots more: key clarifications in the Highway Code, including priority at junctions (a longtime LCC campaign); more powers for councils to fine motorists; more cycle parking; support for e-bikes; cycle training, etc. At the launch, the Prime Minister said he would “kick off the most radical change to our cities since the arrival of mass motoring.” LCC’s CEO Ashok Sinha has laid down five tests on government commitment: slash transport emissions for climate (and implement our Climate Safe Streets report); fund active travel to £27 billion, instead of driving; give city mayors more powers; prioritise the poorest and most vulnerable; seeing ministers and officials cycling round Whitehall instead of driving.
Gear change: will the UK finally ‘go Dutch’?
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NEWS
LCC 2020 AGM AND BOARD ELECTION THE LCC Board has decided that this year’s AGM should be virtual due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic (ie conducted by videoconference rather than a physical gathering). We are currently assessing the practicalities of this and how to manage a virtual event in accordance with our constitution. Full details will be sent to members and posted on the LCC website in early September. The Board election will occur as normal this year. At the time of writing, a call for nominations is imminent, and full details on how to stand and vote will be emailed to members in early September and posted on the website. We will also be looking at running the 2020 Campaigners’ Conference online in the autumn, following on from the success of last summer’s one. We will be providing details on this shortly, so please check online and see emails for updates.
THE FACTS:
Cycling numbers during the Covid-19 crisis
LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS, BIKELASH & NEW LCC GUIDE
8.9 million
Number of people cycling per week in England, April-May 2020
16% People in England cycling in week before lockdown easing
120% Increase in journeys by bike in Scotland during first month of lockdown
28
%
YOY increase in cyclists in France compared to May 2019
(Sources: Sport England, Transport Scotland)
LONDON HAS seen a wave of cycle tracks and Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) schemes pop up in boroughs in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Many, particularly the LTNs, have been done as trials, with consultation happening alongside the implementation, not before it. Opposition to some of these schemes has been fierce, with LTNs particularly facing ‘bikelash’ — criticism usually centring on motor traffic (largely temporarily) being displaced onto main roads and into other nearby neighbourhoods. There has also been concern about residents not being ‘properly’ consulted. Such implementation can be a trial by fire for residents, officers and councillors alike, and invariably voices emerge who feel they haven’t been told about schemes in advance. Not having noticed a leaflet or poster can tip some into outright hostility to changes happening on their streets apparently out of the blue. Similarly, LTNs have not been done in most London boroughs for decades and are complex, so unplanned-for effects are being seen in a few areas. However, trials are also positive and incredibly useful — an opportunity for residents to experience the reality of a scheme in a way no top-down plan can match. And trials can be amended or added to during the period the traffic order is in place (usually 18 months); schemes can be put in, left to settle, monitored and further improved on while they’re live. LCC has recently launched a guide to engaging with and consulting residents, in tandem with Urban Movement. This is aimed at officers (and councillors) delivering complex and controversial plans to hopefully help them face less opposition. The guide covers trials specifically, as did LCC’s webinar on the subject. n Both guides are available here: https://tinyurl.com/HowToTalkToPeople LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 7
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OPINION
A major LCC win Zero-carbon, cycling cities may be a step closer, says Ashok Sinha, if the government sticks to its plans
P
EOPLE OF my age will remember Sheik Yamani. He led OPEC when it held the West over a barrel during the 1970s oil crisis, and was nearly executed by Carlos the Jackal. Less sensationally, he also issued the now famous aperçu that “the stone age did not end for lack of stone”. By that he, of course, meant that the world’s economies will turn away from oil not because it is running out, but because other options become more attractive. The same is true for cars and cycles. London’s over-dependence on private motor cars and evolution into a city where cycling and shared mobility is the norm for personal transport, will not occur because we run out of cars, but because the public buys into the alternatives. Or to put it another way, campaigners all too often mistakenly act as if being right is enough — just say the same thing enough times and finally you will get through. It’s not enough to be right: you also have to be believed, and what makes people believe is a much more emotional and fuzzy thing. Even then, it’s sometimes down to chance — an alignment of the factors that make a previously unbelievable (or unpalatable) idea, believable (or palatable).
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In my last column I stated that there is now a public and business appetite to “build back better”. No return to the crippling congestion, air pollution, carbon emissions and inactivity that preceded the Covid-19 crisis. Since then the sizeable ‘bikelash’ has made me wonder if people’s belief in something radically better is really solid, or whether they will be satisfied by incrementalism — a slew of extra protected cycle tracks, a few dozen Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and endless words on the importance to the nation of making cycling safe. Am I wearing rose-tinted spectacles?
Reasons for optimism I still believe, for three main reasons. First, the pandemic’s toll on life, health, society and our economy will sadly endure. Humanity has only ever eliminated one disease: smallpox. So public transport may not return to the status quo ante for many years, making it imperative that cycling
“A city where cycling is the norm will not occur because we run out of cars...”
Ashok Sinha Chief Executive of London Cycling Campaign
is safe and accessible to all. Second, the government has announced an unprecedented set of measures to support active travel in England. Yes, as PM Johnson himself acknowledges, this is just the start of the start. But his advisor, Andrew Gilligan has taken the same drive, understanding of what truly makes cycling safe, and willingness to reallocate roadspace that he showed as London’s cycling tsar, to the top of government. Third, the government has finally accepted that the nation’s obesity epidemic will not be reversed by asking the industry to reform itself, and that interventions such as cycling on prescription are needed. I wish it had been the climate emergency that had focussed people’s minds, and many years ago at that. But if this is what it takes to create zero-carbon, cycling cities over the course of the coming decade (as LCC advocates in our Climate Safe Streets report), then that’s fine by me. It’s also a big success for LCC. It was LCC that persuaded Johnson, when Mayor of London, to ditch the blue paint and ‘go Dutch’, and now he’s aiming to do the same for the whole of England. We can be pleased that what we won back in 2012 is now extending across the whole country.
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OPINION
Eilidh Murray The benefits of community action are reaping rewards in north London explains Eilidh Murray
B
ACK IN October 2019, who’d have known what a massive benefit it would be to get community groups working together. This is, of course, Covid-19 related. You can’t get away from it. Last autumn, I was thinking about the various groups in Islington who were working towards the same goals as Cycle Islington. Like the local Living Streets team, Islington Fossil Free, and the new kid on the block gaining huge support, Islington Clean Air Parents. And many other people and groups working in the separate but aligned environmental/green space. I knew that there would be benefits in us all working together with our local council to make vital differences to our borough and so started to put out some feelers. People were enthusiastic, we got cracking and in January we held our first public meeting in the Town Hall. A physical meeting, remember them? There was a buzz in the air and the 40-plus people were inspired by working towards a sustainable Islington (inspiringsustainableislington.org). We organised a meeting with the leader of the council and lead for transport/enironment at the end of February and started to
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organise some workshops in April to get people working on concrete actions. And then came lockdown. Wham. Everything stopped. But there were still things which could be done; we didn’t need to abandon the idea, or dampen the enthusiasm to promote together the values we held dear. We started to reorganise our second event, which had morphed into a digital one, co-hosted by London National City Park and showcasing green groups.
Joining forces locally About the same time, we all became familiar with the term ‘social distancing’ and there was talk about urgently implementing Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) much earlier than the planned date of 2025. This was getting very close to Cycle Islington’s heart; we had been campaigning for LTNs for years and they were one of our five ‘asks’ at the local elections in 2018. We had been making zero headway until a global pandemic arrived. We combined forces to support
“Within about 10 days we had a consolidated list and groups started to build momentum”
Eilidh Murray is an LCC Trustee and active member of Cycle Islington
the rollout of LTNs. Cycle Islington already had a list of volunteers in almost all our borough wards and we combined that with volunteers from the other groups. Within about 10 days we had a consolidated list and each group started to build its own momentum, particularly the areas where the first phase of LTNs was to be rolled out. A Cycle Islington committee member, Chris Kenyon, was already working with Islington Clean Air Parents on a series of Zoom mapping meetings to explain the LTN concept. A leaflet was produced outlining what an LTN would mean for residents, children, emergency services, shops, pedestrians and, of course, cyclists. Microsites were created, posts shared, surveys sent out, leafleting teams hit the streets, and news stories were taken up by the local press. It’s early days, but the community approach is really paying off and, without doubt, none of the groups could have done so much, so quickly, on their own. And it’s only just the start. So thinking back, how lucky was our timing? We were already gearing up to work together, but no-one could have imagined how far we would come by July 2020. A big thanks to everyone involved this far — and if you want to get involved, come on in...
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OPINION
A real watershed? Backed by the PM, could the bold new promises for cycling and walking finally be realised, asks Carlton Reid
T
O BORROW a phrase, I was in the room where it happened. The room being a windowless basement lit by fluorescent tubes, but also the effervescent anticipation of eager cycle advocates waiting to see if their dreams were about to come true. Year: 1996. Venue: down in the bowels of Great Minster House, HQ for the Department for Transport. Occasion: the launch of the UK government’s National Cycling Strategy (NCS). Host: transport minister Steven Norris, a former car dealer self-described as a convert to cycling’s cause, although not himself a cyclist. Norris, notoriously known to colleagues as ‘shagger’ because of his five mistresses, said the NCS was a “major breakthrough in transport thinking”. The goal was to double cycle use by 2002 and double it again by 2012. Laudable aims, and aims those in the room heartily agreed with, myself included. The following year Tony Blair won an election landslide and — among many other things associated with this Cool Britannia period of British politics — the NCS was adopted wholesale by the incoming New Labour government. Inexplicably, John ‘Two Jags’ Prescott became transport
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secretary. In a gesture of collegiate goodwill, he appointed Norris as chairman of the NCS board, charging him with continuing what he had started. That board later evolved into Cycling England, but, as we all know, Norris and the successor organisation failed to double bicycle use. Why? The NCS had no cash, the board supposed to be delivering it had no teeth, and there was no buy-in from the top, from Blair.
Radical change ahead Fast forward to July 2020. The Conservative government now has a cycling (and walking) policy with cash, teeth, and buy-in from the Prime Minister. In language that would have sucked the air out of the Department for Transport’s basement during the NCS launch in 1996, Boris Johnson said he wants to “kick off the most radical change to our cities since the arrival of mass motoring” and is promising to build “thousands of miles of protected
One word in a key sentence stands out for me. That word is “enable”.
Carlton Reid is a book author and leading transport journalist
cycle routes in towns and cities”, with an initial budget of £2 billion. There will also be mandatory hard-hitting standards for cycle scheme designs, genuine reallocation of roadspace from cars to cycles, cycling will be prescribed on the NHS, and Bikeability cycle training will become available for all adults and children. Heady stuff and all part of an ambitious programme led by Number 10 transport adviser Andrew Gilligan who — after LCC had already persuaded Johnson to ‘go Dutch’ when he was the Mayor of London — pushed to scrap painted Cycle Superhighways and protect them with kerbs instead. As revealed above, I’ve been around the block a few times, and I know not always to trust politicians making promises, but — finally — could this be the watershed? The moment when everything changes? Gilligan’s impressive new policies are contained in a 52-page document with thousands of words and hundreds of sentences. One word in a key sentence stands out for me. That word is “enable,” and the sentence is: “We will enable people to cycle and protect them when they cycle.” The keyword in 1996 was “encourage.” Encouragement didn’t work, enabling just might.
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Photos: Crispin Hughes
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CAMPAIGN
LONDON in
LOCKDOWN How has London responded to the transport challenges it faces during this crisis? Simon Munk assesses the Mayor’s Streetspace Plan
E
ARLIER THIS summer, the Mayor and his Walking & Cycling Commissioner, Will Norman, announced a ‘Streetspace Plan’ for London, during the Covid-19 crisis and beyond. In his opening salvo, Norman promised the plan would be “unparalleled in a city London’s size” and said early modelling predicted there could be a “more than tenfold increase in kilometres cycled” and a fivefold increase for walking. Big words, particularly when you consider the spectacular headstart other cities have made on active travel during the pandemic. One where public transport capacity will be very low for the foreseeable future as social distancing rules remain in place. And, of course, in a crisis that foreshadows a far deeper and more pressing global crisis — that of climate. Paris, for example, under Mayor Anne Hidalgo, has announced a plan for 650km of cycle tracks to be constructed using temporary materials during the crisis. And by June had managed 50km of those already. As a result, she was re-elected with half of the overall vote at the end of June — a landslide victory and ringing endorsement for her planned acceleration of schemes to develop ‘15-minute neighbourhoods’ across the capital, and break reliance on the private car.
Compared to Paris and other global cities taking bold action during the emergency, progress in London has seemed rather sluggish — partly, it would appear, due to the fragmented nature of London’s transport system, with streets divided between boroughs and TfL/ mayoral control. But also partly, it would appear, due to funding delays and reductions — highlighting again the issue of a decade-long slashing of budgets due to austerity and more recent cuts as the crisis came — and indeed due to London’s approach to stakeholder consensus, with some voices wielding huge power and significance during discussions with City Hall and boroughs, and thus slowing progress. So far, the Mayor and his commissioner have promised much, but only really just started delivering. But what are they set to deliver and is it enough?
Neighbourhoods and routes At the time of writing, TfL and the Mayor were most of the way through disbursing the first round of funds to boroughs, with more than £22m having gone so far from a pot of about £50m, with the rest still to either go to boroughs or to be used for TfL walking and cycling schemes. At this point, but bearing in mind there was still a fortnight to go for funding, boroughs had received about £4.5m for Low LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 15
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Traffic Neighbourhood schemes, £2m for School Streets, £3.6m for town centres and pavement widening, and £13.9m for cycle tracks. Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) are an approach LCC has championed for some time now and our campaigning for them alongside main road cycle tracks as the two key forms of infrastructure is paying off. Not only was this approach — of removing rat-running through residential areas — listed as the top priority in DfT guidance for England and London for the first round of funding, the Mayor and his commissioner have also been pushing the approach as key alongside pavement widening on shopping streets and temporary cycle routes.
Furious with the five So far, the big funding winners in London are Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Hounslow, Islington, Kingston, Lambeth, Southwark and
Planters used as filters: appearing all over the city, here in Walworth
Waltham Forest, with more than £1m each. This seems to be a mix of boroughs that had either half-finished schemes or shovel-ready ones, and those that are clearly demonstrating real will to deliver on walking and cycling, or both. We also understand (it’s not totally confirmed) that for the first round funding it appears 28 of the 33 boroughs in London have received their full £100k allocation from the DfT. It would appear, according to the All Party Parliamentary Walking & Cycling Group, that Bexley, Bromley, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, and Westminster only got half their allocation. Again, this is all ‘at time of writing’ — and an incomplete and unclear picture. That said, the DfT and TfL are being abundantly clear about one thing — and the Mayor and government are for once in near total agreement on this — that the level of ambition and boldness, and indeed progress on walking and cycling and car restriction has to be far higher, bolder, faster than it’s ever been before. They all demanded far bolder bids for the second round of funding this summer. And those boroughs that have missed out this time have done so because of lack of political gumption, or weak bids in other words.
Schemes collapsing As well as the five boroughs that apparently were only funded for half of their DfT allocation, a sixth — Wandsworth — was initially listed. This appears to have been a mistake, but at 16
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CAMPAIGN
the same time as the funding was announced, Wandsworth became the second London borough to kill off a planned LTN scheme on the basis of resident pushback before the scheme even went in. This was a scheme that appears to have been funded by TfL. Similarly, Kensington & Chelsea has also killed off its first ever LTN scheme almost before it was even announced, in the face of resident concerns. However, many campaigners are suspicious that the design of the scheme, leaked by the cabinet lead on social media early, was set up to fail. One key route through the area was left open as a rat-run, despite local residents and campaigners involved in early discussions having warned of the issue during early engagement. Malice or incompetence? Too early to say. Alongside these missteps, Westminster, who has been funded very little by TfL thus far, as well as only receiving half marks from the DfT, kicked off their approach to cycling by painting in new, unprotected cycle lanes on several streets — including sections in the door zone!
The usual suspects On top of this, we’re hearing from our TfL and City Hall contacts that further boroughs that have had higher funding allocations are being watched like hawks. TfL teams are determined that boroughs move fast and be bold. Against this, though, as motor traffic returns, the voices rising against schemes are returning. As multiple schemes go in, we’re hearing the usual suspects getting louder and louder — freight and haulage organisations, taxi drivers and their representatives, and resident drivers who are raising concerns about their convenience and access. And for those councils lacking political will and therefore experience of delivery often too, those voices are already proving enough to slow or stop schemes.
The bold and brave That said, many boroughs are accelerating plans, producing bold schemes and building them despite pushback.
Busy in Brixton: with a new LTN in the Railton Road area
Stars of the show at the moment are Lambeth, which has cracked on with both permanent and temporary cycle track schemes, but also delivered two LTNs already. And the City, which has published an accelerated and truly bold version of its existing Transport Strategy and is right now closing and making one-way loads of streets in the Square Mile to create cycle tracks and low-traffic streets to walk and cycle on. All in stark contrast to its other central London neighbours to the west. Hot on the heels of the City and Lambeth are Hackney, which has put in filters, signed off LTNs and done some cycle tracks too; Waltham Forest, with two cycle track schemes in construction right now and more schemes on the way; Hammersmith & Fulham, which has put temporary cycle tracks along King Street and around the Hammersmith Broadway gyratory (albeit with some initial teething troubles on design details); Lewisham which is cracking on with LTNs; and Richmond which has taken out swathes of parking on Richmond Road to put in tracks and been vocal in calling for the Royal Parks to reopen Richmond Park to cycling (which the organisation has now started to allow). But plenty of other boroughs have put in bold bids and have great schemes funded and are starting to move forward on them. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 17
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Why we need schemes now In the midst of a crisis, it has been great to see such progress — and it’s vital we see more. As lockdown eases, and offices and workplaces reopen increasingly, Londoners will be moving around our city again more frequently. But with public transport purposefully running at a reduced capacity for social distancing reasons, and secondary school pupils effectively off the buses (their free travel has been removed), then many people will be making simple choices every day: car or cycle. If we can’t provide safe routes and fast, London’s congestion, pollution, road danger, climate emissions could easily rise to levels we’ve not seen for decades. And as London Assembly member Caroline Russell has pointed out, while the schemes and funding are coming thick and fast, the overall picture is one of heavy cuts to councils on transport compared to what was expected this year. Temporary materials and cheap approaches are in part being deployed not just because of the need to move fast and trial stuff, but because there’s no more budget to do high-quality materials and schemes. All of this is also against the backdrop of a gigantic hole in TfL budgets as well as council budgets. We won’t likely know until October what the long-term funding situation is for TfL and the boroughs from government, but it’s likely it’ll be a heavy rewrite of previous approaches. This could, on the plus side, mean smart road-user charging firmly on the agenda to plug the deficit, but it could also see huge cuts across the board in London.
What the future holds Whatever happens next, in an uncertain and fast-developing situation, two things are crystal clear. There is an urgent need not just to deliver bold and rapid change now during this pandemic, to stop the cars all coming back in greater numbers than ever. It’s also shown us what an emergency response looks like — and we need to maintain pace, accelerate it, to avoid the worst of the climate crisis too. We’ll likely need to work hard to make
Floating bus stops: feature on many of the new protected cycle tracks
all of these schemes permanent. We’ll need to add to them more holistically — cycle training, behaviour change promotion, travel planning and bike buddies, (secure) cycle parking at home, at work, outside shops, at an unprecedented scale, ‘consolidate’ deliveries and shift them to e-cargo bikes, and much more — many of the recommendations of our Climate Safe Streets look increasingly like something for right now, not four years’ time. To do all that, it’s already apparent that most of our boroughs and TfL are having to do a lot of learning on their feet. LCC has long pressed for more on-street trials of schemes rather than the endless rounds of modelling and simulation tweaking that TfL currently undertakes, delaying schemes by years in some cases and adding to their cost hugely. Now, we’re seeing what happens when you try stuff out in situ. Some of it works immediately, some of it needs tweaking, some of it is only suitable for a period of time. Officers at TfL and the boroughs are learning fast, and these trials are really demonstrating rapid action is possible. We may not yet have caught up with Paris — but as this magazine goes to press we are seeing an impressive and long-overdue shift in London for cycling and walking.
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BUILDING BACK BETTER
If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us one thing, argues Fran Graham, it’s that change can happen. Now the climate crisis needs to be treated with the same urgency
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HERE IS a well observed phenomenon when it comes to behavior change. Points of transition — like becoming a parent, moving house, new jobs — are key times when people are likely to change their behavior. Change in one area of our lives inspires change in others. Right now, the country is going through a collective transition out of lockdown, and many people are asking what type of world we want to see as workplaces, schools and high streets start to open up.
Because, let’s be clear, we were facing a huge number of challenges before the Covid crisis hit. Illegal levels of air pollution, costly congestion, inactive and unhealthy lifestyles and an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions. It makes sense that only 9% of Britons want everything to return to exactly how it was before lockdown: who’d honestly wish for dirty air, long commutes and dangerous roads? Covid-19 has exacerbated and added to these challenges. Lockdown has left the country facing a recession on an unprecedented scale. Without a vaccine or antiviral to protect us
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Photo: Crispin Hughes
against this aggressive respiratory disease, the return to days of crowded indoor spaces, from concert venues to the tube, are a long way off. The good news is that we have a huge opportunity to create change on a level never before seen — and we’re ready for it. Whether it’s enjoying the cleaner air, the quieter streets and, for some, the time gained from the lack of a commute, many are seeing the chance for change. Now is the time for our political leaders to build a recovery that takes us towards cleaner air, low carbon, healthier and happier lives.
Positive path forward Many councils and authorities have already taken positive first steps down this path. As reported on page 14, emergency cycling and walking measures are going in across London. This is vital to help the many thousands who have discovered cycling over lockdown to continue to pedal their trips, taking pressure off public transport and supporting London’s long term goals of becoming a ‘cycling city’. As the emergency response beds in, we need to look at the longer term future. In previous editions of London Cyclist we’ve covered the warning from the world’s leading climate scientists that we need to drastically reduce our carbon emissions before 2030 if we are to avoid locking 22
Build it and they will come: the cycle counter on CS3 was nearing a million in early summer
in catastrophic climate change. So we need to make sure that our decisions about how the city and nation recover from the Covid crisis do not support projects and behaviors that make it impossible for us to meet this target. In fact, we have an opportunity to prioritise and push forward policies that will give us the best chance of adverting the climate emergency.
A green and fair recovery But what does that look like? For years now, environmentalists have talked about the need for a Green New Deal. Modelled after Roosevelt’s ‘New Deal’ — which helped to stimulate the economy and provide jobs to pave a way out of America’s Great Depression — a Green New Deal would direct policy, investment and regulations to work for the industries and projects that would seek to cut carbon emissions and support a sustainable future. Alongside that, a Green New Deal would seek to provide fair and secure jobs for workers, including training and opportunities for those currently employed by high-emission industries, ensuring they are not left behind. This idea was looked to when it became clear that the UK would need a package of support from the government and other authorities to mitigate the worst impacts of the virus on the
CLIMATE CAMPAIGN
economy. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the government’s independent advisers, has called on ministers to “seize the opportunity to turn the Covid-19 crisis into a defining moment in the fight against climate change”. It’s an option that has proved popular with UK citizen assemblies, with 79% agreeing that any Covid economic recovery measures should help achieve decarbonisation. It also reflects polling by Ipsos that shows that 66% of Britons believe that the climate emergency is just as serious a crisis as Covid-19. The CCC recommendations include habitat restoration, energy efficiency improvements to homes and other buildings, and (of most relevance to us here at LCC) that the government needs to invest in “infrastructure to make it easy for people to walk, cycle, and work remotely”. The CCC had correctly identified what we’ve been focusing on for a while now — that in order to meet climate targets, we are going to need to enable many more people to walk and cycle, and reduce our reliance on motor vehicles. At the time of writing, the government was yet to allocate the level of funding needed to match the recommendations from the CCC — especially when it comes to walking and cycling. In May, the Department of Transport announced a welcome £2 billion for emergency walking and cycling measures, but this was an early release of the £5 billion the government had already pledged in the budget for walking, cycling and buses. Since then, there has been no new money for active travel, while the government stands by its plan to spend £27 billion for roads — exactly the kind of investment that will lock in more carbon emissions for decades to come. And it’s miles away from matching Boris Johnson’s pledge that the UK would ‘build back greener’.
Zero carbon transport and freight: another key change needed to create Climate Safe Streets
also exacerbates inequality and injustice. With around half of Londoners having access to a car, it’s often those that don’t have access to cars who disproportionately deal with the worst impacts of car use. In areas with poor public transport links and zero safe cycling routes, it also means that you lose out from not having access to a car — commuting, shopping and dayto-day life are made trickier. This prioritisation of the car has also left us vulnerable to respiratory diseases like Covid-19, with the cumulative damage from decades of exposure to high levels of air pollution increasing the harm and predisposition to such viruses. The lack of a comprehensive cycling network of protected tracks and quiet streets also meant that when London’s public transport system wasn’t able to carry its usual numbers, it severely reduced people’s transport options. Those with cars opted to drive more, and those without were left with no choice but to risk getting on tubes, buses and trains at the height of the pandemic. By creating streets that are easy and enjoyable to walk and cycle on, we can help to future-proof our city and build a fairer transport system. One of the large positives we’ve seen in the response to this pandemic is that through the campaigning work of LCC, the solutions to these issues were already to hand. It’s why councils and the Mayor were able to so swiftly identify and implement the Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Reallocating and reorganising the nation’s roads Photo: pedalme
The problem with continuing to plan for the car as the default mode of travel is not just the well observed damage from air pollution, carbon emissions and road danger, but that it LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 23
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and physically protected cycle tracks — decades of work by active travel activists meant they knew they would work. Looking towards the next Mayoral election and towards 2030, we also know there are a whole bunch of other areas where change is needed to transform London’s roads into Climate Safe Streets. Without movement in all these areas, there will still be blocks and progress towards a fair, resilient, low-carbon future will be slow. In all, there are eight areas we identified in our Climate Safe Streets report (lcc.org.uk/ ClimateSafeStreets): 1 PROPER CYCLE NETWORK: The growing emergency network needs to be made permanent, with the speed at which it’s been delivered translated across to all cycling and walking programmes until we have a comprehensive, high-quality network across the whole of London. 2 ACCESS TO SHARED MOBILITY OPTIONS: Dockless bikes, e-scooters and electric cars need to be promoted and supported to give people access to sustainable and active travel options, and enable people to move away from car ownership. 3 INTRODUCTION OF SMART ROAD USER CHARGING (SRUC): The evolution of schemes like the Congestion Charge and ULEZ, SRUC fairly reflects the economic and environmental cost of the most damaging and least efficient motor vehicle trips, and generates revenue to support the shift to sustainable modes. 4 MANY MORE LOW TRAFFIC NEIGHBOURHOODS: Over lockdown, many Londoners experienced the outcome of LTNs — quiet streets where people felt comfortable cycling. Alongside the cycle network, LTNs provide access for essential motor vehicles while reducing through traffic, creating pleasant and calm streets. 5 EXPAND ZERO EMISSION BUSES: Buses are the heavy lifters of our transport system, far more efficient users of space on the road network than single occupancy car trips (which make up nearly 60% of all car journeys). We need to see a shift towards zero-emission buses servicing a 24
More LTNs: needed to create safe streets free from rat-running traffic
smarter, more flexible network, able to respond to real time demands and improving efficiency. 6 TRANSITION TO LOW-CARBON FREIGHT: This will be essential, especially in light of the explosion of online shopping during lockdown, which sees no sign of switching straight back to the high street. 7 SUPPORT LOW-CARBON VEHICLE SHIFT: We know that a straight switch from the internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicles won’t solve the climate, pollution or road danger problems, but we do need to make sure that the few vehicles that are on our roads in 2030 are low/zero carbon ones. 8 ENABLE CAR-FREE PLANNING: The current planning system still puts cars as the default mode of travel. This needs urgent reform, so that access to sustainable and active modes of travel are factored into new developments and planning decisions.
Climate Safe Streets are fair and resilient streets We had already seen the need for Climate Safe Streets before the Covid crisis hit. But as we look towards the recovery and future after this global shock, Climate Safe Streets are as necessary and urgent as ever. Keep up to date with LCC’s new climate campaign by signing up to our mailing list here: lcc.org.uk/climate
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TOP TIPS FOR ALL CYCLISTS
With so many new and returning cyclists hitting the streets, Tom Bogdanowicz collates some key pointers from mechanics and ride leaders. They’re good refreshers for experienced riders too.
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HE BLEAKNESS of the pandemic has been relieved by the smiling faces of so many children and adults out on bicycles — many for the first time. Among the bikes they’re riding we’ve spotted dozens of what must be cellar, attic or shed discoveries. So we wanted to share some tips on repair, restoration, routes and riding. We recruited a few expert mechanics and ride instructors to guide new and existing riders. And don’t forget that, on the workshop front, there are thousands of videos to help you with repairs these days too.
THE BASICS
#1
PHOTOGRAPHY: John Kitchiner
So many bike problems result from lack of cleaning, so start by giving your bike a serious scrub. You can use the ‘two bucket, two brush’ method – bike cleaner and water for most of the bike, then degreaser with a dishwashing brush for the chain. Finally rinse with clean water. If you must use a high-pressure spray, DO NOT point it directly at any bearings (wheel hubs, bottom bracket, headset).
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THE TIPSTERS Francis Stagakis and Martin Bachanek run Cycle Doctors on Holloway Road. They were mechanics at Cycle Surgery in Holloway before it closed, then took on the business themselves and have established a good reputation locally
#2
Do the ‘M check’ (see last issue of London Cyclist), plus tighten all the nuts, bolts and quick releases. Francis emphasises it needs to be ALL of them: wheels, brakes, headset, handlebars, brake levers, cranks, pedals, saddle, seatpost, mudguards, rack, etc. Loose nuts and bolts, whether it’s a wheel or brake bolt, can lead to a serious collision. Don’t ride a bike unless you are sure all the bolts are properly tightened.
#4
Lube the chain using a dedicated chain lube (there are different ones available for normal/dry conditions and wet conditions). Put a drop on every single link. Spin the chain backwards to drip the lube onto the chain, then wipe the excess off with a clean cloth. Leaving excess lube on a chain really attracts dirt and creates an abrasive paste that damages it. Also check lubrication after riding in the rain – little and often is the best habit to get into.
#3
Check that the frame and forks are ‘true’ (not bent) and have no cracks. Forks should have a smooth forward arc or be straight – a backward bent fork is a no-no. Bumps in the frame, or cracks in the paintwork, can all indicate earlier collisions and may require assessment by a shop or frame-builder. Small scuffs and scratches (pictured) are nothing to worry about. If in doubt about trueness, pop along to your local shop or ask an experienced mechanic friend.
#5
Inflate tyres to the correct pressure. A track pump (see page 60) is a good investment and enables you to inflate to the exact pressure shown on the sidewall of the tyre (usually in tiny black numbers, as pictured). Check for wear, cuts, sharps, and replace tyres after 3,000 miles or so. Correctly inflated and little worn tyres are far better at resisting punctures. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 27
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THE TIPSTER As well as running Dr Bike repair sessions for LCC and other organisations, Wendy Flicker also manages mass bike rides and is a Bikeability instructor
#6
#9
Make sure a bike fits properly. Often riders who complain about discomfort have either/both the saddle and handlebars very poorly adjusted. A lot can be adjusted on the bike to improve fit, though a frame that the individual cannot straddle is a nonstarter, as is a frame that is way too small. Most of the rider’s weight should be on the saddle not the handlebars, so keep that in mind when tweaking. The image shows a well-balanced position: not too cramped, not too stretched.
#7
Saddle height is determined by leg length. The rider should have a slight bend in their knee when the pedal is at its bottom-most position (pictured). When sitting on the saddle a rider should be able to touch the ground with the balls of their feet and not with their feet fully flat on the ground.
Handlebars can be raised or lowered if the bike has an old quill stem (identified by a single bolt at the top and no side bolts), but do not exceed the upper marked limit. Ahead stems (with two bolts on the side) can often be reversed to raise or lower their angle and they can also be replaced for ones with a steeper rise. Even simpler, the headset spacers above or below the stem can be swapped around to alter bar height.
#8
For most cycling, saddles should be horizontal rather than tilted. You can check this with a long ruler (or the angle-finder tool on iPhones – Ed), but measure on the flattest part of the saddle, not the nose or rear. Saddles can also be adjusted forwards or backwards to suit the rider’s reach and position over the pedals (a rough guide is that the kneecap should be over the centre of the pedal in its most forward position).
#10
Brake adjustment is often forgotten, even though stopping power is critical to safety. Levers can be angled up or down to suit a rider’s preferred ergonomics. And the lever itself can be adjusted too, with a simple screw or dial; those with smaller hands will want the levers to be closer to the bars.
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ADVANCED REPAIR
THE TIPSTER Brian Phillips was the crack mechanic at Roberts Cycles, a custom builder in Croydon, well known for his perfectionism. Following the closure of Roberts, he became a freelancer, now assembling custom bikes for enthusiasts
#11
Keep an eye on rim wear if you have caliper brakes or V-brakes. On most modern clincher rims there is either a groove or dot to show wear — when this disappears, the rim is about to go, so you’ll need a new one. Clean the rim’s braking surface regularly, first with soapy water, then clean water. Rim wear isn’t an issue with disc brakes, which is one of the main reasons they have become the most popular and most reliable option in all weathers.
#13
If you’re having gear problems, check that the derailleur hanger is perfectly vertical and not bent. Luckily, if it is bent, most bikes now have replaceable derailleur hangers (like the one pictured), so can be swapped out. Otherwise you can possibly bend the hanger back into position — but it’s best done with a specialist alignment tool by a shop, not with pliers and a rag at home.
#12
If you’re taking the rear derailleur apart for deep cleaning (thankfully not required very often), make sure you put the pulley wheels back in the right order. On most modern bikes the top pulley (aka ‘guide’ or ‘upper pulley’), is designed to have a little lateral play to assist smooth running. The bottom pulley wheel (aka ‘tension’ or ‘lower pulley’), sometimes has cut-outs. Check for G/U/guide or T/L/tension markings on the wheels themselves.
#14
Take care of brake and gear cables. If replacing them, it’s a good idea to choose stainless steel – they don’t rust and slide more smoothly. Use proper cable cutters to trim them and use end caps pinched on with pliers (or the dedicated part of your cable cutters, pictured) to prevent fraying. Make sure to use the right outer cables for disc brakes too, to minimise stretch.
#15
If you have a steel frame protect it on the inside to stop rust. A squirt of WD40 down the inside of each tube is a minimum, but a purposedesigned frame-saver is better. Brian likes a protector called Bilt Hamber Dynax S50 which comes with a wand to get the wax into hard to reach zones. NB — as we’ve mentioned WD40, we need to stress again that it’s not a lube; save it for freeing those rusty parts.
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SECURITY & ROUTES 1
2
THE TIPSTERS At Hackney Cyclists’ and Tower Hamlets Wheelers’ events Keith Jones is ever present behind the bike stand with spanner in hand. In recent months he’s been running Dr Bikes for keyworkers at the London Hospital
#16
Lock your bike properly! New cyclists are all too often victims of bike theft and that may deter them from ever cycling again. Two good locks (gold Sold Secure rated), preferably of different types (D-lock and chain) should secure frame and both wheels to a bike stand or solid object.
#18
Don’t forget to remove any lights, bottles, bags. Thieves find it easy to remove and quickly sell these untraceable items. Also choose bike locking locations that are in public areas and ideally have CCTV coverage (some supermarkets and stations have CCTVcovered bike stands).
#17
Secure all detachable bike parts. Any quick release on a wheel or seatpin/saddle can be opened in seconds. If you can afford it (£50 for a set), replace all quick releases with lockable units like Pinheads or Pitlocks. Even allen key skewers are preferable to basic quick releases, and you can also superglue ball bearings inside the heads (just remember to carry a pointed tool to remove them). Another trick is to fill the bolt/allen heads with Sugru — this sets hard to deter tampering, but does require drilling/tapping out if you need to change or swap anything.
#19
Insure your bike against theft, including parts theft, and in case of collisions where you might cause damage. LCC members get free thirdparty insurance (lcc.org.uk).
#20
Choose easy routes to start with. Keith advises new riders to use off-road routes where possible; in his home area, for example, Victoria Park is an ideal connector between many parts of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham (via the Olympic Park). Riders can then develop confidence to ride on other streets and initially it’s best to aim for safer, marked Cycleways, like the one providing a car-free journey from Tower Hamlets to Paddington.
#21
Finally, when distanced training becomes readily available, sign up for a road craft (Bikeability) lesson. And also look up your local LCC group rides so that you enjoy the relative safety of a small group that can show you the best local routes and destinations.
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CLAIRE HOLLAND As London’s boroughs race to install new cycling and walking facilities, Tom Bogdanowicz speaks to a Lambeth councillor who’s leading the charge You recently spoke about the social justice aspects of cycling and walking to MPs and councillors — why do you consider this so important? If we want to be genuinely successful in achieving our aim of reducing reliance on cars and increasing walking and cycling, then we need to make it accessible to as many people as possible who can then make that healthy choice. So we need to widen the net and enable more people to be able to walk and cycle safely and have the confidence to do it. And, secondly, it’s a matter of tackling inequality — we have dirty air, and prior to Covid-19, 10,000 Londoners were dying each year due to toxic air related conditions. We know that walking and cycling is better for your physical health, it’s better for your mental health and it’s better for the community in terms of the air quality, climate change and carbon reduction. Enabling more disadvantaged communities, who wouldn’t have access to cycling, whether that’s because they can’t afford the equipment, or having the confidence to do it, or even having a place to store a bike — it’s a matter of equality to make it accessible to all.
Lambeth leaped ahead of other boroughs during lockdown and embarked on more than £2m worth of temporary and permanent schemes to make cycling and walking safer and more attractive. What motivated the urgency? Before lockdown restrictions started easing, everyone was using the streets differently because the playgrounds,
gyms and leisure centres were closed. More than half of Lambeth households live in flats and don’t have access to private open space or outdoor space. We also saw, with fewer cars on the roads, a significant increase in speeding and therefore in road danger. So we looked at what would happen when restrictions started to ease. We wanted our communities to be able to continue using the streets safely, but we also anticipated that some form of social distancing would remain and public transport use would be affected. Lambeth has one of the highest levels of public transport use in the country, so we could see that there was a perfect storm brewing. We predicted there would be an increase in road danger and air pollution and also making our streets more cluttered, which is why we saw that we had to take emergency action.
With safety such a crucial factor, do you think such schemes should be made permanent? Yes, I do think some of these schemes could become permanent. We’re going to have to work with communities, engage with them and see what people want. We’ve introduced our measures as part of an emergency transport strategy, so it’s a direct response to Covid-19 and we haven’t been able to have that long engagement period that we normally have. We need to see what works and what doesn’t work for our communities, on a case by case basis.
The DfT has commissioned the Rapid Cycleway Prioritisation Tool which shows a UK-wide cohesive cycle network, and TfL has published its own Strategic Cycle Network. Will you be delivering a cycle network in Lambeth? We are already working on this. For example, where we’ve chosen to prioritise interventions has been precisely to look at those strategic routes. We looked at how we can get keyworkers to Tommy’s (St Thomas’s) and Guy’s hospitals, how can we link town centres. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 33
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So we are using those tools and looking at making that more widespread and more comprehensive and make more sense for people on their journeys.
Lambeth was quick off the mark with the Oval Triangle Low Traffic Neighbourhood. What are benefits of LTNs and how do you persuade local people to support them? The benefits are that they stop rat-running, but allow access. On a lot of our streets the majority of the traffic is rat-running and fewer than half of the households in Lambeth have access to a car, and that’s particularly true of the north of the borough. We know that the vast majority of the traffic going through our neighbourhoods is not local traffic, it’s not residents, it’s just rat-running. To bring the community with you means you have to constantly listen and be open to their concerns. In particular small businesses, making sure they survive and recover from Covid-19, and in a cleaner, greener way. It’s also about building strong relationships within the neighbourhoods and between different interest groups, and understanding that if people oppose something there’s a concern underneath that — a concern that we can hopefully address together.
While we’ve seen cycling more than double in London in the past 15 years that’s not been the case with children. In Holland nearly half of school trips are by bike, in London its just 1% — what can boroughs do to change this? What we’ve been doing is looking at a programme of Schools Streets. PreCovid it was a model that was quite resource intensive and had very long introductions etc. Under Covid we are looking at a very different model because the need is so pressing. Because when schools are back, we are going to have to make sure those streets are much safer. Looking at the immediate environment around the school is the first point. Making it safe so that a parent will feel confident that their child is safe cycling, scooting or walking to school. The second thing is bike swap shops at schools, basically a pool of bikes that children could try out for a term and the
child and parent/carer could get used to cycling and would feel confident about that route to school. We’ve also been doing lots of cycle training in schools and that’s vital because a lot of the barriers for people who don’t normally cycle, including children, is that confidence that you are going to be safe on a bike. And also there is the issue of affordability, if a family can’t afford a bike, and that’s why the bike swap shops are important and also the bike repair workshops we’ve been doing with adolescents. Plus storage, that children can use, which is also affordable, especially on estates. Post Grenfell no-one is allowing people to store things on balconies so we have to provide storage.
Lambeth has declared a climate emergency and Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to reach zero carbon by 2030. Is that a target you support? Definitely. We were the first borough in London to declare a climate emergency in January 2019 and we have been doing a huge amount of work ever since. Our planet is not going to survive unless we do this. And we also have to look at what we are handing down to the next generation, what we are leaving. We should be leaving our world in a better place than it was before we came into it. And so it’s something that we are proactively working on in Lambeth on multiple levels and we’ve had a seismic shift in the outlook of the council. It underlies all our work now.
We know that the vast majority of traffic going through our neighbourhoods is not local traffic, it’s not residents, it’s rat-running
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The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, is aiming for a 15-minute city — all the things a community might want within cycling or walking distance. Would you want to achieve that? Yes, she was re-elected and my understanding is that in terms of polling the research shows that her approach to this was very popular. I think it’s a fantastic idea. We have, for example, in our electric vehicle charging point policy said that we want everyone who needs access to an EV charging point to be no more than a five-minute walk from one. We need to be taking the same approach as Paris. What Covid-19 has taught us is that more people can work from home; that we are being asked to not use public transport unless we have to; that there is not the same drive to go into the centre of London; and that we need to be working, shopping and moving around locally. It’s advantageous in terms of public health benefits and it’s advantageous in terms of a local and green recovery. I think it’s an excellent idea and I’d like to see something like that in London.
Freight may be one of the biggest challenges to decarbonisation of transport — what solutions do you see? It’s a challenge because we need, and want, businesses to survive; we need to find ways of making businesses survive in a way that can tackle the climate crisis and clean up our air. We had already through our Brixton Liveable Neighbourhood (sadly the funding is currently frozen on that due to Covid-19) been looking at trialling and modelling consolidated deliveries in Brixton town centre. Covid-19 forced us to trial that in an emergency because Brixton Rec (recreation centre) became a food distribution hub and we commissioned Pedalme to do a lot of deliveries by bike.
How good does that look? Superb new cycle lanes in Baylis Road, Lambeth
We are also looking at our road sweeping being electric and have supported Brixton BID (Business Improvement District) in a partnership with them to have an electric van that businesses can borrow in order to do their deliveries. So we are looking at lots of different ways in which we can address the very challenging area of freight. Don’t forget that in Lambeth we are a very long, thin borough, the A23 goes all the way from the north to the south of our borough and that goes all the way down to Gatwick Airport, meaning we are a key strategic route for freight. We also need to collaborate with neighbouring boroughs, such as Croydon, in how we do this in way that doesn’t disproportionally disadvantage any other communities. But it’s something that we will expand in the future.
Finally, Lambeth was once a hotbed of cycle production with the legendary Claud Butler brand in Clapham leading the way — any plans to commemorate your borough’s cycling history? Oh, that’s a really good question. I’ll need to study that history, but I think it would be excellent to do that. History is so important and that’s something I’ll take away, so thank you for that. [Editor’s note: Famous cycle makes once based (and built) in Lambeth include: Claude Butler, Evans, AS Gillott, Southern Cycles, Edwardes, Pat Skeates, Vic Lyons, Maurice Selbach, RO Harrison]. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 35
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12/08/2020 22:56 07/05/2019 20:44 03/04/2019 10:44
BUSINESS
BUSINESS not AS USUAL
As more people turn to cycling for their daily commute, Stewart Dring looks at ways workplaces can help enable this shift to active travel
L
CC HAS been working with workplaces and business groups to encourage cycling for more than 20 years. This has been made more urgent by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reductions in public transport capacity. According to Cycling England, the country saw a 16% increase in cycling numbers during the lockdown, and with that lockdown now easing workplaces are already seeing more people wanting to commute by bike as they return to the office. This means that workplaces need to get up to speed and ensure they cater for an increase in cycling uptake. Demand will be greatest in companies and organisations where working from home is not an option for the majority of staff — places such as hospitals, care homes, factories and many service industries. Schools too, especially secondary schools, will also see an increase in staff and student cycling and many are currently not set up for it, as they have often been LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 37
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make it easier to sell the benefits to other senior managers (who may need to change policies or release budgets for improvements). If you cannot find a senior champion, then bring together the existing cyclists and form a group that can then talk to senior management.
reliant on the free bus pass system as the main way students travelled to schools/colleges.
ENCOURAGING YOUR EMPLOYEES TO CYCLE Cycling has so many great benefits, pretty much all of which will have a positive knock-on effect to business, including: n Commuting by bike is a simple way to get a daily fitness fix. Cycle commutes in London average 45 minutes and this is rated as ‘moderate’ exercise, and means staff who cycle may be fitter and healthier than non-cyclists. n Related to the first point, studies have shown that employees who cycle take fewer sick days. n Studies have shown that cycling improves mental health and wellbeing, and encourages a greater connection to the local environment and community. This means staff who cycle may be more alert and ready for work when they arrive. n Cycling is a zero-carbon form of transport. Enabling it is a great way for your organisation to show commitment to reducing London’s impact on climate crisis. The work commute can be a large part of some organisations’ carbon footprint and encouraging cycling is a simple way to reduce emissions — something that can be signalled in reports to senior management or shareholders.
Photo: WOF
BECOMING A CYCLEFRIENDLY EMPLOYER We’ve been asked by many businesses what practical steps they can take to encourage cycling? Which is why we have relaunched our corporate packages (see panel, page 40) which support and assist
#2 organisations whose staff wish to cycle and, in the process, help create a better cycling network in London. We recognise that all workplaces are different, but also know how different cycling initiatives have worked in different settings across the city, so can help you encourage cycling in the most cost-efficient way. To start with, there are five things that your organisation can do to encourage people to cycle:
#1
APPOINT A SENIOR CYCLE CHAMPION This senior cycle ‘champion’ should be someone who can bring together all the departments or managers who are responsible for staff welfare, health, facilities and budgets. Having a senior member of staff championing cycling will
CONDUCT A REVIEW OF CYCLING FACILITIES Talk to your existing cyclists, review your current facilities and think how your building would cope with a substantial increase in the numbers of people that cycle regularly. The review should include things like secure cycle storage, showers, changing or drying rooms, and employee storage lockers (pictured below). The facilities manager will need to be engaged and they may need to negotiate with the landlord or building manager. If this isn’t something you can do internally, then consider bringing an external company in to do the review. You will also need to understand your workforce and what proportion would cycle if it was better enabled — we’ve seen a doubling in cycling during lockdown and you can apply that to your workplace facilities. Increased cycle parking will usually be one of the key pressures on your workplace — and if your full workforce is returning to work then you need to think about at least doubling or trebling your cycle parking provision. You need to consider emergency and longterm cycle parking and measuring demand; best practice is to have the number of cycle parking spaces at 20% above demand. Car parking spaces can easily be converted to take 8-10 bikes
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with basic Sheffield stands, and in the short-term you can ask your council for emergency on-street cycle parking options. Safe, secure storage is key — as cycling becomes more popular, there’s always an increase in bike theft. Any cycle parking you put in should be as secure as the rest of your building and assets — it works best in highly visible areas or where you can fit controlled access, and ideally be covered by security patrols or cameras. Cycle parking should also have level access and spaces should be wide enough to accommodate nonstandard bicycles (eg cargobikes or adapted cycles). TfL and other organisations have published design standard on how to create good cycle parking facilities.
#3
JOIN A CYCLE TO WORK SCHEME Encourage employees to take advantage of discounted purchases through the various ‘Cycle to Work’ schemes, or free shared bike memberships. Cyclescheme (cyclescheme.co.uk) and Bike2Work (bike2workscheme. co.uk) are the two best known schemes and they both help employees save up to 42% on buying new bikes and accessories, and spread the cost across the year. Such schemes have been used by over 1.6 million commuters working for over 40,000 different employers since it was introduced by the government in 1999. In simple terms, the employer buys a bike for an employee to ride to work and they ‘hire’ it through salary sacrifice (which is where they save by not paying tax and National Insurance contributions on the monthly fees). At the end of
the ‘hire’ period, the employee is usually offered the option to buy the bike from the employer. It is usually arranged through the HR team and payroll systems, and is a great staff benefit to offer. Shared bike schemes are also an option and you could cover the costs of your staff using these bikes both for travel during work hours and for their commute. The TfL Santander cycle hire scheme is ten years old this year and operates across central London. There are several new e-bike hire schemes operating across London too; the bikes for these schemes are stored on-street and may mean you require less cycle parking.
#4
PROMOTE SAFE CYCLING Organisations will need to support staff who want to take up cycling, as well as making sure existing cyclists are cycling safely. What policies do you have in place to encourage cycling? Is there a reward scheme? Can staff claim cycling travel time on expenses? Funding on-site bike mechanic visits will help your existing cyclists to keep their bikes running smoothly; depending on the size of your organisation a monthly
or quarterly service can be really popular. Cycle training can also be arranged — these two-hour individual or group sessions equip people with the necessary skills to cycle safely on roads. Group sessions also work well as part of team-building initiatives. Staff that want to cycle may be a mix of total newbies or returning riders, so events such as helpdesks, demo days, bike breakfasts and seminars are all proven to equip employees with the knowledge and skills they need to choose cycling. Creating a ‘bike buddy’ scheme is another useful option to offer. Here, work colleagues are matched up with fellow cyclists who live nearby and they cycle into work together until the less experienced one feels more confident. Remember, LCC has run hundreds of the above events and projects in workplaces and communities across London, so is in the perfect position to help and advise you as part of a corporate membership package.
#5
JOIN US — BECOME A CORPORATE MEMBER Employers can support their new and existing cyclists with an LCC corporate membership — LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 39
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which means access to a wide range of discounts (via a network of independent bike shops), third party insurance and free use of LCC’s advice service. LCC’s workplace membership also means that you can offer reduced rate LCC memberships to all your employees.
HOW TO GET YOUR EMPLOYER TO TAKE CYCLING SERIOUSLY The five points above are great if an employer is already taking active steps to encourage cycling in the workplace, but what can you do if your employer isn’t taking cycling as seriously? CONNECT WITH OTHER CYCLISTS One way to connect with other cyclists in your workplace is to form a Bicycle User Group or BUG. This is a group of people who cycle to work and meet regularly, with a view to promoting cycling in the workplace and encouraging more people to commute by bike. The group should aim to work with and not against the employer, and may choose to set workplace specific objectives such as introducing a cycle buddy scheme, introducing cycling training to the workplace, or improving facilities for cyclists.
ABOUT CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP LCC corporate membership can help businesses remove barriers to cycling to work; improve health and wellbeing in the workplace; or deliver on business commitments such as taking active steps towards tackling the climate emergency, reducing air pollution, or creating peoplefriendly spaces and places in the city. With three different packages, corporate membership can be tailored to different types of organisations and to meet different needs and objectives: STRATEGIC PARTNER Take a leading role in making London a happier, healthier, more sustainable place
to live and work. Packages can be aligned to your organisation’s objectives to focus on advocacy, community engagement, or behaviour change work. WORKPLACE MEMBER Access LCC support in areas such as improving staff health and wellbeing, creating welcoming workplaces, and reducing carbon footprints – all while increasing cycling numbers. GROUP MEMBER Actively support staff who cycle to work by providing access to all the advice, information, support and discounts that individual LCC members receive.
PUT YOUR ORGANISATION IN TOUCH WITH LCC Find the person responsible for sustainability or travel in the workplace and ask them if it’s okay if LCC contacts them. We can provide more information on the services we provide and the types of things they may want to consider to
encourage cycling in the workplace. You can also contact the LCC membership team for a PDF of this article if you want to share it with a few colleagues. n Contact us: Stewart Dring; stewart.dring@lcc.org.uk; lcc.org.uk/corporatemembership
GET THE SUPPORT OF A SENIOR STAKEHOLDER Is there a senior manager who cycles to work or can you engage the department head responsible for sustainability or travel? In a similar way to the last point above, having a senior stakeholder who can work with a BUG or cycling champion at a senior levelcan really help kick-start support for cyclists. 40
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ALL ABOUT E-BIKES As more people turn to active travel after the coronavirus crisis, electric bikes are finally becoming one of the key solutions for city commuting. Richard Peace explains what they are and why their popularity is booming 42
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TRAVEL E-BIKES
I
N CASE YOU hadn’t heard, there’s something of a bike boom going on at the moment — and that includes all types of e-bikes too. The latest figures quoted by the Light Electric Vehicle Association tell us that across the EU e-bike sales for 2019 topped three million. Although the UK is way behind some neighbouring countries’ sales, they are still growing at around 50% year on year. One dedicated e-bike retailer told us that in the three months from March, they were 350% up on the same period last year. So what’s the great buzz about? In a nutshell you get all the benefits of a regular bike, but with a little extra assistance to help you up hills and in headwinds. And, as with a non-electric bike, e-bikes do not require any red tape (insurance, MOT, tax, etc). While riding you still need to use brakes and gears in the traditional way, plus all the other bike riding skills you would on a non-electric
Taking the strain by e-bike: no matter if it’s kids, shopping or business materials
bike. But if you’re competent with those basics, it’s simply a case of get on, turn on and pedal away with a gentle hand on your back. Essentially e-bikes are bikes with a small motor and battery added. They are not mopeds and they are not ‘cheating’ as you need to pedal for the motor to kick into action. In other words, they are a wonderfully efficient blend of human and electric power. The legal maximum an e-bike can assist at in the UK is 15.5mph, but of course you can carry on pedalling above this without motor power if you wish. And they are proving to be another welcome option in the fight to get our post-pandemic transport arteries flowing freely again, alongside the traditional bike and newer micromobility solutions such as e-scooters (which, unlike e-bikes, are not yet legal for private use). Many e-bike riders have found that the extra assist an e-bike brings makes that once too sweaty or too lengthy cycle commute entirely practical. You might have the impression that the often sleek, high-tech e-bikes seen today are a fairly recent invention, but in fact the concept, as outlined in patents, dates back to the 19th century — 1920 is often cited as the date for the appearance of the fist commercially available e-bike (produced by German firm Heinzmann, who still make e-bike systems today). What has since revolutionised the industry is, of course, technological advance; lighter, more powerful motors and more energy-dense batteries have been the dominant trends since modern e-bikes appeared in the 1980s.
Why would you choose an e-bike? GO FASTER In stop-start London traffic e-bikes are often ‘faster’ than non-assisted bikes. Put another way, a good electric bike allows the average cyclist to travel as fast or faster than a cyclist of similar (or even increased) fitness on a conventional bike — and with far less effort. The e-bike magnifies the advantages of the conventional bike; it’s a largely ‘congestion proof’ mode of transport, with a more consistent average speed. With motor traffic speeds in central London hovering around the 10mph mark (according to TfL), it’s no surprise e-bikes are increasingly popular. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 43
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LONG-RANGE COMMUTING You can extend the range, speed and reliability of bike commuting. Round trip commutes of 20 miles are now easily within the capability of the average rider.
HILLS & HEADWINDS CONQUERED Cycling might seem like a piece of cake until you hit a hill or a serious headwind. It’s then that e-bikes come into their own; some e-bikes even have built-in gradient sensors, automatically boosting power levels when they detect a hill. Provided you supply a reasonable amount of effort, you can expect to climb hills of 10% on an electric bike with ease, even cresting 25% hills without drama and with the right motor. It’s a game-changer for many wannabe riders. NO SWEAT EXERCISE Looking sweaty and dishevelled can be a major turn-off for many considering cycling. Most e-bikes let the rider adjust the amount of motor assist so that they get a nice level of exercise, but don’t arrive at work looking like they’ve just completed a stage of the Tour de France. And you will get exercise — how much is up to you. Studies suggest a one-hour ride on an e-bike — with power set at a low level to stop you getting exhausted and too sweaty on hills — could easily burn 200-500 calories, the equivalent of many other sporting activities. Because many people find riding an electric bike is easier going than a regular bike as the terrain and weather becomes tougher, users also make more frequent use of e-bikes. More time in the saddle equals more exercise. RIDE SAFER This might sound unlikely, but some riders feel more confident when riding an e-bike; being able to get ahead of motor traffic from a standing start is an oft-quoted safety bonus.
FOLDING: Brompton Electric Combines the legendary compact Brompton fold with the company’s own design of motor system. Weight: from 16.8kg depending on spec. Battery Capacity: 300Wh Motor System: hub motor (front)
Xxx: Xxx
School run by bike: even easier with pedal assist!
MUCH CHEAPER COMPARED TO OTHER MOTORISED OPTIONS Legally speaking an e-bike is an ordinary bicycle (see boxout), with no need for expensive red tape. And despite the high initial outlay and the cost of replacement batteries (the most expensive ‘consumable’ on an e-bike) running costs are minimal compared to motor-powered alternatives. This is especially so in busy cities like London with so many extra costs associated with driving motor vehicles around. Numerous estimates of the running costs of e-bikes rank them as tens of times cheaper than all other forms of motorised transport.
THE LAW & E-BIKES
UK e-bike law states the following: n Electric assistance is provided to a maximum of 25kmph (15.5 mph). n The motor must have a maximum continuous rated power of 250 Watts or less. n The e-bike’s pedals must be in motion for motor assistance to kick in. E-bikes powered solely by turning the pedals are known as ‘pedelecs’. n Throttles, if provided, can only be used without pedal power below 6kmph (4mph), above that the pedals must be turning. n The rider must be 14 years of age or over. n Machines with a 45kmph (28mph) assistance limit are known as ’speed-pedelecs’ or ‘s-pedelecs’. These are classed as mopeds and need appropriate licencing, insurance, etc.
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E-BIKES
Mid-drive Shimano Steps motor: sits neatly behind the cranks
ALL-ROUNDER: Cube NuRide A great example of how e-bikes can promote ‘crossover’ genres, this step-thru e-mtb is ideal for older or less confident riders. Weight: 25kg Battery: 500Wh Motor System: mid-drive (Bosch’s top of the range Performance Line CX Gen 4)
E-bike Technology
Decent quality e-bikes also command a healthy resale price too. LET THE E-BIKE TAKE THE LOAD E-cargobikes are a quantum advance in bike carrying capacity and innovative designs now allow for heavier loads like the weekly shop, or kids on the school run, to be carried with ease. An increasing number of businesses and delivery firms are also seeing the huge advantage (and savings) of using e-cargobikes around town. BE GREEN E-bikes use energy at an average rate of a few hundred watts, compared to 15,000+ for a car. Recharge with renewable electricity and you have the perfect ‘green machine’ — typical fuel consumption is 8-20 watt-hours per mile, or about a tenth as much as a small motorcycle. That’s the equivalent of 800-2,000mpg. GREAT FOR ‘MIXED’ GROUPS Cycling can be a wonderfuly social and inclusive activity; e-bikes can enhance this aspect, allowing all abilities to ride together. There are also e-bikes especially adapted for disabilities or for those with medical conditions. ABOVE ALL — HAVE MORE FUN You’ll hear it described in many ways — your own ‘magic carpet’, ‘bionic legs’, the ‘e-bike grin’ — but it boils down to the same thing, that riding an e-bike is great fun, whatever your level of experience. And now there’s electric options for every type of cycling imaginable.
The increased capability that adding a motor system gives to a bike has led to all kinds of new designs that would probably never have seen the light of day as unassisted models. Today you can take your pick of e-bikes, whether you’re a roadie wanting lightweight minimal assistance, or a family wanting large load carrying capacity. In terms of weight expect to see anything from around 11kg (relatively rare and very expensive) to more than 30kg for heavy duty e-cargobikes. Around 20kg is a typical e-bike weight. Electric assist systems are made up not only of motor and battery. Equally important are the ‘power delivery’ elements such as the pedal sensor system that ‘decides’ when and how much power to apply.
MOTOR CHOICE — HUB MOTOR OR CRANK MOTOR? It’s generally a straight choice between hub or mid-drive (crank) motors — and there are real differences between the two, with each having distinct pros and cons. Hub motors are built into either the front or rear wheel. Front hub motors are often favoured by retrofit firms like Cytronex and Swytch as they work with most frames/forks and don’t involve drivechain compatibility issues. Rear hub motors are favoured for ‘offthe-peg’ e-bikes, like Ampler and Ribble, as they minimise the chance of any wheelspin when the motor is delivering maximum power (grip is usually greater at the rear wheel). Hub motor system manufacturers to look out for include the ubiquitous Bafang, and smaller players like AKM and TranzX. A few years back the main reason for buying a hub motor e-bike was affordability over more powerful and expensive mid-drive systems. LONDON CYCLIST Autumn 2020 45
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BATTERIES INCLUDED
But the recent emergence of lightweight systems like Ebikemotion has given hub motor e-bikes a new lease of life, especially in the road, town and folding bike market. Hub motors may have regenerative braking too. Here, the motor can act as a generator, recharging the battery and using the motor as an electronic brake at the same time. These sound great, but the rules of physics dictate the amount of power on a lightweight vehicle like an e-bike that finds its way back into the battery will always be minimal. ‘Regen’ is rare, but one neat example comes from Zehus. However, for stability and pure climbing ability so-called ‘mid-drives’ are unbeatable, hence they feature on the majority of electric mountain bikes, ‘trekking’ e-bikes and e-cargobikes. Many aficionados say they offer the most ‘bikelike’ ride, offering power assistance over a greater range of speeds as they provide power to the cranks rather than the wheels (for the technically-minded, cranks operate in a narrower range of rpm than wheels, so the motors on mid-drives can deliver more power more efficiently as motors also operate best within a fairly narrow rpm range). The stability comes from having the motor nicely centred on the frame, at the bottom bracket/ crank area, rather than the sometimes ‘unbalanced’ feel of hub motors. For pure power and efficiency mid-drives are king — and also they tend to come with larger batteries so you won’t suffer from range anxiety (running out of juice at an inopportune moment). There are odd exceptions to the above generalities though. Fazua makes removable mid-drive systems that offer less power than the main established mid-drive players like Bosch, Brose, Shimano and Yamaha, but are lighter and offer an even more ‘bikelike’ ride.
Rear hub motor: on a cheap folding e-bike
Battery tech has come on leaps and bounds over recent years, meaning battery reliability and performance isn’t a concern on most e-bikes now (no-name units on cheaper bikes are a mixed bag though). All decent batteries are made of quality lithium-ion cells, like those from LG, Panasonic and Samsung. Your main decision is how much battery capacity you need. Battery capacity is measured in Watt hours (Wh) and a standard capacity is around 500Wh — the bigger the Wh of your battery the longer the range before you need to plug it in and recharge it (all other things being equal). There are now dual battery systems out there well in excess of 1000Wh, but of course you can always buy a spare battery and carry it with you. To give an extremely approximate estimate of an e-bike’s range divide its Wh battery capacity by fifteen. Batteries remain the most expensive ‘consumable’ on an e-bike and usually cost several hundred pounds to replace. A quality battery should be guaranteed to retain most of its charge for at least two years or several hundred charging cycles. In reality they now last for several years if looked after and not handled too roughly.
POWER DELIVERY SYSTEMS Buying an e-bike means choosing between a motion-sensing system and a torque-sensing one. A good quality torque-sensing system undoubtedly offers a better quality ride than a motion-sensing system and makes better use of your valuable battery power. That said the best motion-sensing systems can be very smooth and help keep the price of e-bikes down. Motion-sensing systems are one area where a test ride is vital. Does the power come in when you want it to? Does it cut off quickly enough? With motion-sensing systems you will never know until you have ridden the e-bike in question.
CARGO: Babboe City-E One of the keenest priced e-cargobikes out there with a huge kid-carrying (or other cargo) box. Weight: heavy Battery Capacity: 375Wh Motor System: hub motor (rear)
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CHAIN CHECK & CASSETTE SWAP
John Kitchiner is the editor of London Cyclist and confirmed bikeaholic
We continue our series of basic workshop skills with a look at chains and cassettes. These two components (along with brake pads) are usually the quickest to wear and need most frequent replacement, especially after extended periods of riding in poor weather. Chain checking takes only a few minutes, while cassette swaps are a five-minute job once you know how...
1: TOOLS FOR THE JOBS As these are both straightforward bike maintenance jobs, the tools required are equally basic (and cheap). To check the chain, all you need is a dedicated chain checker tool (or ruler).
To remove/swap the chain, you need a rivet extactor (also just known as a ‘chain tool’) or master link pliers. And for the cassette, you’ll need a chain whip and the appropriate lockring tool.
2: CHAIN CHECK — ROUGH GUIDE The quickest way to check as shown. A new chain will is by hand. Shift gears so hardly move from the ring. the chain is on the biggest However, if you can pull chainring at the front and the chain 5mm from the ring the smallest cassette cog at (so the chainring’s teeth are the rear, then pull the chain visible), it’s worn and will at the front of the chainring likely need changing soon. 48 WELDTITE
3: CHAIN CHECK — GOOD As step 2 isn’t foolproof and and see how far the other can lead to false readings, end drops in towards the it’s best to use a proper tool. chain. If it’s not worn the Our Cyclo one has markings tool will sit above the link (as to detect 1% and 0.75% wear. pictured). If it drops in a small Simply put the curved amount it’s ok, but check part around one chain roller again in a few weeks.
4: CHAIN CHECK — BAD If your chain checker tool drops in to sit flush along the chain, it’s worn and time for a new one. A 0.75% reading is the suggested replacement point for 10-speed chains and lower. (0.5% is the
‘change point’ for newer 11 or 12-speed chains). Using a metric ruler, 10 links of an unworn chain will measure 25.4cm (centre to centre). If it measures 25.6cm or more, it’s time for a change.
lubes, cleaners, repair kits & CO2 available from: East Side Cycles, E2 8QR //
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HOW TO In association with
5: MEASURE & FIT NEW CHAIN Check back in the Autumn pliers. Measure the new 2019 issue of London Cyclist chain against the old one to for a fuller explanation of find the correct length and this step. remove any surplus links. In short, remove the old Thread through the derailleur chain using either a rivet and rejoin the chain (using a extractor or master link master link is easiest).
7: REMOVING OLD CASSETTE The traditional way to do cassette’s teeth. Insert this is with the wheel resting the lockring tool into the against your legs, cassette lockring, using a wrench (or facing outwards. Use the dedicated rod) for leverage chain whip with your left to unscrew it. The cassette hand and ensure the chain should now pull/slide off the part secures against the freehub body.
6: CHECK CASSETTE If your chain is worn, then it’s worth inspecting your cassette too. The easiest way to determine if your cassette is worn out is to install a new chain — if the chain skips under pedalling load then
8: FITTING NEW CASSETTE The freehub body of your the most popular. Look for rear wheel has a number the widest spline on the of splines on it. These cassette and marry it to the correspond to the ones in freehub body, adding a little the centre of the cassette. grease first. Then with the There’s a few different cassette properly assembled, designs, but Shimano remains simply tighten the lockring.
it’s time for a new cassette. But you can also do a visual inspection, looking for worn (often pointy) teeth. Changing cassette at the same time as the chain helps prolong the life of each.
Edwardes Camberwell, SE5 0HG // The Hackney Peddler, N16 8AA // & all good shops 048049_HowTo.FINAL.indd 49
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Author Jack Thurston guides us on a familyfriendly loop selected from Lost Lanes North
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CAPER by Daniel Defoe as “the Andes of England”. Here the route leaves the tarmac for a superb traffic-free gravel section around a series of reservoirs before slowly descending on quiet country lanes back to the Calder Valley for a return on the riverside cyclepath. The route is family- friendly, on towpaths, gravel tracks and cycleways, though the climb from Littleborough to Blackstone Edge is on an A-road with a cycle lane. n Signed copies of Lost Lanes North (£16.99) are available from the author at lostlanes.co.uk/shop.
FACT FILE START/FINISH: Hebden Bridge DISTANCE: 38km (24 miles) TOTAL ASCENT: 471m TERRAIN: canal towpath, roads, country lanes and a short section of good gravel track. Ideal for a hybrid, touring or cyclocross bike. BIKE SHOPS: Blazing Saddles Hebden Bridge, HX7 8UQ (01422 844435). Also Hebden Bridge Visitor Centre, HX7 8AD (01422 843831) has a number of e-bikes for hire at reasonable rates. RAILWAY STATION: Hebden Bridge MAP: you can find an online map and gradient profile at lostlanes.co.uk/ a-calder-caper/
Photos: Jack Thurston
ITH STONE buildings and cobbled streets wedged into the steep-sided Upper Calder Valley, the former mill town of Hebden Bridge is the arty, techsavvy, LGBTQ+ friendly, hipster capital of the South Pennines. It’s a perfect base for exploring the hill country on the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire, which sees none of the summer crowds that flock to the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. This route is 38km (24 miles) and mostly flat and traffic-free with just one big climb to Blackstone Edge, a wild and windswept spot described
A CALDER
A CALDER CAPER
3 4 1 HEBDEN BRIDGE
TODMORDEN 7.5km
2 LITTLEBOROUGH COW’S MOUTH GADDING’S DAM 22km 25.5km 16km
HEBDEN BRIDGE
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RIDE GUIDE
Route Guide A CALDER CAPER
TODMORDEN ‘Tod’ for short, is a little rougher around the edges than Hebden but has a strong claim to be the most greenfingered town in Britain. Its Incredible Edible urban gardening project has seen little plots of land all around the town turned over to growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and bee-friendly flowers. The produce is all free to pick and enjoy and the idea has now been emulated in dozens of towns and cities across the country. All around town the word ‘kindness’ is spelled out in bold white letters, Todmorden’s version of the Hollywood sign. The Rochdale Canal was opened in 1804 as the main highway of commerce between Yorkshire and Lancashire until the first trans-Pennine railway opened in 1840. Engineered by George Stephenson, the ‘father of the railways’, the rail line negotiates the summit pass through a 1.5-mile long tunnel cut by an army of men and boys armed only with hand tools and candles, 28 of whom were killed in accidents. Above the tunnel, the Pennine watershed is marked by a cast iron bench and a poem by Barnsley poet Andrew McMillan.
COW’S MOUTH QUARRY Visible from the track is a slab of weather-sculpted millstone grit, the size of a house. It is part the old Cow’s Mouth quarry works. On it is carved a poem by Simon Armitage entitled ‘Rain’. Appointed Poet Laureate in 2019, Armitage hails from Marsden, just a few miles across the moor. The route turns right at the second of a series of reservoirs, but if you carry straight on for 2.5 miles on an increasingly
uneven track you will eventually reach Gaddings Dam. GADDINGS DAM Here a small patch of golden sand made national newspaper headlines as England’s highest beach, accompanied by the inevitable photos of bikini-clad hedonists soaking up the rays. The reservoirs were built to supply water to operate the locks in the canal, and gravity is also on hand to take you back to the Calder Valley. The Blackstone Edge road (B6138) is the longest continuous descent in England: five miles long, with a drop of almost 300 metres. It passes the village of Cragg Vale, the base of the infamous gang of ‘Coiners’ who, in the late 18th century, supplemented meagre earnings from weaving by shaving the edges off coins and smelting the shavings to make counterfeit coins. So big was their ‘yellow trade’ that its effect on the money supply spooked the Treasury. The law caught up with them in the end, and their leader ‘King’ David Hartley was hanged at York (his grave is in Heptonstall churchyard). The story, the landscape and the brutality of life in those times are brilliantly conjured in visceral detail by local author Benjamin Myers in his novel The Gallows Pole. Though the longest descent in England has an obvious appeal, more rewarding in terms of great views and quiet lanes is the route via Sykes Gate, Holly Hall Lane and Long Causeway. Back in the Calder Valley at Mytholmroyd, turn left on NCR 68 to follow the riverside cycleway back to Hebden Bridge. Hopefully you’ll have allowed time for a beer in the sunny courtyard of Calan’s micropub.
©Crown copyright 2018 Ordnance Survey. Media 060/18
LITTLEBOROUGH At Littleborough the route leaves the canal and heads uphill on what is undoubtedly an ancient way across the Pennines. Cutting tools made from flint, a stone which doesn’t occur naturally in West Yorkshire, have been found here and dated to 10,000 years ago. A little
way higher up there are a couple of 19th-century milestones to spot. At the top is a brief but sublime detour on a track along the top of the escarpment beside the reservoir. The glass and steel towers of Manchester are clearly visible, and on a fine day you can see the mountains of North Wales. The bare hills, the pylons leading off into the distance, the cold dark reservoirs with their windblown wavelets, wind-hewn rocks and abandoned quarries make it a perfect — and popular — location for moody album cover or fashion shoots. In all this solitude it is hard to imagine the scene in 1846 when 30,000 people from nearby industrial towns gathered here under the Chartist banner to talk radicalism, political reform and workers’ rights. The event is commemorated every year with a walk and a picnic where radical songs are sung.
CUT-OUT AND KEEP
The Rochdale Canal towpath makes for an easy, traffic-free start, heading west to Todmorden. There’s a cheerful local rivalry between these two groovy little former mill towns.
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CUT-OUT AND KEEP
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Bikes & Reviews L ATEST | BIKES | GEAR | MEDIA
PRODUCTS
BIKES
E-CARGOBIKE 56
GREEN GEAR 58
TRACK PUMPS 60
BOOKS 62
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REVIEWS
E-CARGOBIKE TEST We swing a leg over the very latest bike from British heritage brand Raleigh
Katy Rodda/John K
MODEL: RALEIGH E-CARGOBIKE, £4,950 n raleigh.co.uk n ebikeaccess.co.uk n elctrc.co.uk
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ESPITE THE DEARTH of available bikes, we’re very lucky to bring you another exclusive first test — this time of an electric cargobike that’s so new it’s not even up on the Raleigh website yet! The Nottingham-based company has just launched two and threewheel versions of this practical utility bike, both featuring Yamaha mid-drive motors and ours had a 400Wh battery (mounted in the box) which charges from empty to full in 4-6 hours. The curved, fibre-glass box is just under one metre long and has a capacity of 350-litres and up to 80kg weight; this means it’ll easily swallow a week’s shopping and all manner
of household wares, tools and equipment. We’re reasonably used to riding cargobikes and this ‘longjohn’ felt fleet from the off; with the e-assist even hefty loads are a breeze. The saddle position and handling are exactly like a Dutch bike, upright and relaxed, and the low-slung weight means it feels very stable at
speed. Cornering and slower speeds need practice, but there’s a steering limiter that prevents the rider from trying to turn too tightly (and toppling over), and we were really impressed by the turning circle which saw it complete 360 degrees within the confines of a standard road lane. Perhaps the one downside with the long front is pulling out of
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side roads with poor sightlines, you just need to do this on a slight angle. The NuVinci gearing is super smooth and intuitive, the little orange figure on the shifter moving from hill to flat to mimic your selections. Most of the time, cruising or downhill, we’d only need to use the ‘super-eco’ or ‘eco’ assist setting because of the easy rolling design, it’s only on steeper uphills where that extra boost is needed. Very easy and great fun to ride, we just need a long-term test now to assess durability.
Room for a week’s shopping and more: the fibreglass box has a 350l capacity!
n Big thanks to Ed at Electric Bike Access and Graham at elctrc for making this review possible at the last minute. VERDICT +G reat design, very easy to use, handles ‘light’. + S hould fit anyone from 156cm to 198cm tall. + Integrated front/rear lights and lock. + Overall it’s one less reason to need a car!
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GREEN GE R CLEANERS & LUBES In the second part of our new series on environmentally-friendly products, we look at the latest bike cleaning fluids and chain lubricants
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YCLING MAY be one of the greenest forms of transport and recreation, but not all of the associated products are very environmentallyfriendly. So we’re trying to point you in the direction of products that are a little kinder to the planet. Clearly not all ‘green’ bike fluids are created equal and details of ingredients are often pretty vague; eg some ‘biodegradable’ products contain PTFE (which isn’t biodegradable). As we can’t lab test all such products, it pays to read as much small print as possible to make the best choices.
#1 FINISH LINE
TEXT: John Kitchiner
One of the first companies to develop a dedicated bicycle chain lube (in the late 80s), Finish Line now offers dozens of products — though only a handful can be considered ‘green’. The Super Bike Wash is non-toxic and biodegradable, while the EcoTech 2 Degreaser features biodegradable, soy-extracted solvents which break down grime in double-quick time. n Super Bike Wash £9.99; EcoTech 2 Degreaser £10.99; freewheel.co.uk
#2 MUC OFF
From its early mtb roots, Muc Off has grown to be a real British success story, with a similarly growing eco commitment. The Nano Tech Cleaner is biodegradable, free from acids, CFCs and solvents and can be used on any surface. The Drivetrain Cleaner and lubes are also biodegradable, the latter products coming with a pipette-style nozzle for easy, waste-free application onto ready-scrubbed chains. n Nano Tech Bike Cleaner £10.99; Bio Drivetrain Cleaner £19.99; Dry Lube £8.99; Wet Lube £8.99; muc-off.com
#3 FENWICKS
Working differently from typical degreasers, this Foaming Cleaner is biodegradable and doesn’t use solvents or acids to be effective; we found using a sponge to work it in achieved best results. Though intended for all conditions, we found the lube gave better ‘dry’ weather performance. n Foaming Chain Cleaner £4.99; Chain Lube £7.99; fenwicksbike.com
#4 GREEN OIL
Based in Brixton, Green Oil has been pioneering truly green products since 2007 — not only the fluids, but its packaging and bottles are recycled too. You get 300ml of the Green Clean concentrate in the bottle and add the water yourself at home, while Agent Apple will have an immersed chain sparkling in about 5-10 minutes.
n Green Clean Bike Cleaner £9.99; Agent Apple Degreaser £14.99; Dry Chain Wax £14.99; green-oil.net
#5 MORGAN BLUE
Hugely popular with professional cycling teams, the bio lube is based on vegetable oils, while the cleaner pulls double duty and works equally well on chains and derailleurs. n Bio Bike Oil £7.95; Bio Bike Cleaner £11.95; windwave.co.uk
#6 PURE
The relatively new Pure range uses natural, sustainable ingredients; its lubes specifically are said to be 100% free from petroleum-based solvents. The 200ml Wash Concentrate makes 1-litre of cleaner — or half that mix can be used in a long-lasting 500ml aluminium ‘refill’ bottle launched just as we went to press. n Refill Bottle £6; Bike Degreaser £7.50; Bike Wash Concentrate £7; Wet Lube £5.50; weldtite.co.uk
#6 SQUIRT
Another smaller name, Squirt has been around 15 years and makes a handful of biodegradable products, including these lubes which contain waxes and water in emulsion form. While not that relevant in the UK, we have used the low temps version while winter fatbiking in the Alps to good effect. n Chain Lube £11.99; Low Temperature Chain Lube £12.99; extrauk.co.uk
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GREEN GEAR
#1
#2
#3
#4
#6
#5
#7 LONDON CYCLIST Summer Autumn 2020 59
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BUILD YOUR OWN HOME WORKSHOP Last issue we looked at the basic tools you’ll need to set up your workshop. Now we focus on that other essential — the track pump
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EXT TO your allen keys, a track pump will be the most used item in your home workshop. A good one will have your tyres pumped up to optimal pressures in roughly 20-30 strokes and an accurate gauge will allow you to tinker with those pressure settings as conditions dictate — a little harder on dry, smooth terrain, or a little softer on wet, bumpy ground. As with the basic tools, a canny purchase should last for decades, so find a model to suit your needs and spend wisely. We used a Topeak Smartgauge D2 to accurately assess each pump’s pressure readings at both 30psi and 80psi — and were impressed to find no more than 2psi variance even on cheaper models (the digital gauges were most accurate).
#1
#4
With its CNC-machined aluminium barrel, polymer handle and feet, and dual Presta/Schrader head, the Maha is the very definition of a no-frills workshop staple. Easy-to-read gauge at the base, with 220psi capacity. n £36.99; silverfish-uk.co.uk
With a capacity of 160psi, small base and inconsistent gauge readings, the Easitrax comes up a little short — which can also be said about its hose length. For the money it does a job, but it lacks the solidity you’ll get elsewhere for an extra 20 quid. Like the Blackburn, it also has a fiddly head with reversible internals. n £25.99; freewheel.co.uk
BIRZMAN MAHA FLICK IT V
#2
BLACKBURN PISTON 4 We loved the 3in oversized gauge at the top of the shaft, it’s very accurate too. And the steel base and barrel combine to make it feel really stable and robust. Our one dislike is that the head unit uses one of those fiddly rubber bungs to swap between valve types; not an issue if you only ever use one type though. The air bleed button is a welcome addition. 220psi capacity. n £49; zyrofisher.co.uk
#3
LEZYNE MACRO FLOOR DIGITAL DRIVE
REVIEWS: John Kitchiner
Third cheapest of Lezyne’s huge pump line-up, the Macro Floor delivers one of the smoothest actions on test. Its rigid steel body feels less flexy than most and a slightly longer hose is particularly useful. The gauge proved spot-on (220psi max) and you get that famous ABS chuck, which quickly switches between valve types and has a bleed button to release any back pressure. n £50; upgradebikes.co.uk
TRUFLO EASITRAX 3
#5
FABRIC STRATOSPHERE RACE Combining a sleek aluminium body with an extra long hose, this pump has a capacity of 140psi and a reasonably accurate, 2.5in gauge. It struggles a little with higher pressures and the sandpaper-like base is an oddity, but the ‘smart’ head is a hassle-free option that slots onto all valve types. n £54.99; fabric.cc
#6
TOPEAK JOE BLOW SPORT DIGITAL The Joe Blow series has been a bestseller for decades for good reason — steel barrel and base make for a super stable and efficient pumping action, the handle has light padding for the over zealous, and the mid-mounted gauge is easy to read and was consistently the most reliable at low and high pressures (max 160psi). The hose could be a little longer, but the dual ‘hammer’ head is an object lesson in slot-on simplicity. n £69.99; extrauk.co.uk
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REVIEWS
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REVIEW
BIKE BOOKS
LOST LANES NORTH
BELLS & BIKES Rod Ismay
lostlanes.co.uk, £16.99
Vertebrate Publishing, £12.99
With an inadvertently prescient launch coinciding with the easing of the CV19 lockdown in early summer, the latest in Jack Thurston’s guidebook series takes us to the north of England, specifically to Yorkshire, the Lakes, Pennines and Northumberland. As before there’s three dozen well researched routes to choose from, each given six pages, including mapping extracts, suggestions for pubs and pit stops, plus an array of enticing, scene-setting images. There’s something for all abilities, with rides graded from easy to challenging, and we really like the ‘best for’ suggestions depending on whether you’re after arts and culture, gourmet, history, family outings (one of which you can find on page 51), long weekends and suchlike — this series really improves with every edition. It’s also a huge bonus to get free links to gpx files for foolproof navigation.
What happens when one man brings two passions together at the same event, one that garners global attention? Well when those twin passions are the Tour de France and bell-ringing, it makes for a very quirky book. With Yorkshire awarded the 2014 Tour’s ‘Grand Depart’, Ismay had a plan — get as many churches as possible along the route involved in a rolling succession of celebratory rings as the riders passed by. It was certainly ambitious, but spurred on by this oncein-a-lifetime opportunity he undertook months of prep work — including appearances on Songs of Praise and Sport Relief — until the big weekend finally arrived. Would the ‘Big Ring’ pan out or prove a bridge too far? We won’t spoil the key chapters, but let’s just say it goes down to the wire. A fascinating ‘small cog in big wheel’ insight that bubbles with a diehard race fan’s enthusiasm throughout.
REVIEWS: JK, Russ Taylor
Jack Thurston
MOUNTAIN BIKING ADVENTURES Tony Wragg & Hugh Stewart
TRAFFIC-FREE CYCLE TRAILS
2QT Publishing, £12.95
If guidebooks were rated on thud factor alone, then this new edition would be sitting near the top of the pile. Weighing in with an impressive 468 pages, it’s the most comprehensive listing of its type — it includes details of more than 400 trails or locations suitable for cyclists of all abilities, particularly families. Think converted railway tracks, towpaths, Forestry Commission trails, the better parts of the National Cycle Network and you’ll get the picture. Navigational detail is sparse as most of these routes are obviously waymarked, but you get info on the nearest stations, useful websites and where to find refreshments. With the exception of Northern Ireland, there’s dozens of options in every region of the UK. Put simply, if you’re looking at a cruisey bike break, then all the options are together in one place for you.
This first venture by the co-authors concentrates on multi-day routes in northern Britain, and very much has a homecrafted feel to it. There’s 19 three or four-day routes covered, listed from the farthest tip of mainland Scotland down to Lancaster. Plus a bonus 20th route for southerners, which essentially combines the South Downs Way and Ridgeway national trails into one monster epic. Every day of every route gets its own Ordnance Survey mapping, navigational overview and factfile. Having ridden several of these routes, we can attest to the volume of hard riding and research involved; it’s a real labour of love. But we feel it might have been better to focus on fewer routes to give the maps and images more space, as it does feel squeezed at times. Despite that, it’s still a useful tool for planning long weekends away.
Nick Cotton
Vertebrate Publishing, £17.99
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CYCLE IRNCA MALLO RADISE T’S PA
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ICONIC BIKES
1992
Lotus Type 108 John Kitchiner explains the story behind a space-aged superbike, piloted to multiple World and Olympic honours by a true British cycling great
L
Luckily an employee at Lotus saw the potential and took the idea to his bosses at the reknown engineering firm. By 1992 the automotive specialist had bought the rights and marketed the stealthy machine as the LotusSport Pursuit Bike. At the core of Burrows’s original concept was the idea that so much of a cyclist’s energy (80-90 percent) is lost in the battle to overcome wind resistance — and he wanted to find a way to minimise drag as much as possible. Like all true boffins, Burrows questioned traditional cycle design and why it used a collection of tubes, instead looking at planes and wondering if something like a wing might work better. His theory was borne out in years of rigorous wind tunnel testing — with its tri-spoke and disc wheels combination, and the extended aero handlebars, it sliced through the air better than anything before it. Boardman would not only set a world record in Barcelona, but he famously caught the reigning world champ, Jens Lehmann, in the final. Only 15 108s were ever built. Of these, one is on display at Lotus HQ in Norfolk, and another is now in the permanent collection of the Science Museum.
Illustration: David Sparshott
ONG BEFORE he was an acclaimed campaigner and Greater Manchester’s first commissioner for walking and cycling, it’s fair to say Chris Boardman had a pretty decent career as a pro cyclist. He claimed the Tour de France yellow jersey three times, became a time trial World Champion, held multiple hour records, and at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona took the gold medal in the individual pursuit. And it’s perhaps for the latter that he is best remembered by the British public, not least because the bike he rode on that glorious day was like something from another planet — the Lotus 108. The revolutionary carbon monocoque design was the brainchild of Mike Burrows, whose diverse portfolio has encompassed recumbents, tricycles, cargobikes and cuttingedge road bikes for Giant. However, his 108 concept, originated in the late 80s, was initially rejected by UK manufacturers. At that time, the design was also too hot for the everconservative Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and so was shelved for three years; by the time the ban on monocoques was revoked in 1990, Burrows had other projects on the go.
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