Coolest on a bike? #220

When absolutely nothing is cool

Stuck in a baking queue of traffic, going nowhere? No thanks. Sweaty tube ride? I’d rather not. While cycling during the hottest part of the day is best avoided during a heatwave, if you can manage to ride during the cooler parts of the day, with a suitable route, bikes can still be the best way to commute. Meanwhile, e-bikes are wrongly taking the heat for illegal e-motorbikes.

BIG STORIES FOR CYCLING ADVOCACY

HOT DAMN, THAT’S A HELLISH BIKE LANE. Friend of the newsletter Laura Laker has been investigating a terrible cycle route on the verge of a dual carriageway near Brighton. The road is owned by National Highways and Laker, along with campaigner Chris Todd, went to take a look at it. This atrociously bad cycling and walking path, and others like it, needs tackling with urgency. Todd points the finger at National Highways - but the piece acknowledges that others may end up footing the bill. Either way, placing vulnerable road users within a metre or two of a 70mph dual carriageway seems astonishingly dangerous.

HOT BIKES, STICKY FINGERS. Bike thefts are an ever-present issue in modern-day Britain and, in some places, they are only getting worse. Road.cc has scoured Reddit threads for terrible tales of thieves’ antics, and the apparent inability of police to get the problem under control. One horror story involves a man watching from his window in the dead of night as thieves angle-grind his gold standard lock and make off with his bike. Another reported the theft of 15 bikes from a keypad-controlled storage area. Cycle theft is notoriously a low-risk, high-value crime and few are ever returned to their owners. The London Cycling Campaign is calling for concerted action on this scourge.

POLICE CRUSH ROAD-LEGAL E-BIKE. The issue of misinformation around what is and what isn’t a legal e-bike is creating ever-bigger problems for the industry. The latest example of this is West Midlands Police allegedly crushing a legal e-bike seized in Birmingham, having mistaken it for an e-motorcycle. The Tern HSD e-bike in question was purchased by Birmingham Bike Foundry with Birmingham City Council funding as part of a try-before-you-buy scheme aimed at helping people choose alternatives to driving. As the shop representative put it, though, “why would people want to hire an e-bike if they are going to be harassed by the police for it?” Education of police officers is clearly needed, to remove a very serious barrier to people buying, hiring and using legal e-cycles. The folks at the Association of Cycle Traders (ACT) have handily just launched a one-day training course for Police on this very issue.

INDUSTRY STILL BETTING ON E-BIKES. Analysis of market research data by Cycling Industry News suggests e-bikes are still seen as the biggest growth area. However, a comparison with 2021 shows a steep drop-off in their industry-estimated potential. When asked “Which demographic do you believe holds the greatest opportunity to grow cycling in the near term?” in 2021 72% of dealers answered “those drawn in by electric assistance”. By 2026 that figure had dropped to 55%. ‘Sports cyclists and existing enthusiasts’ and ‘Over 50s’ had taken up much of the slack. Relying on existing customers to spend more money each year isn’t much of a long-term strategy; a lower confidence in e-bikes, along with logistics business, new cyclists and young people is something to address, urgently.

WALTHAM FOREST STILL BETTING ON CARGO BIKES. Retailers’ confidence in cargo cycle growth may be understandable. In the past year or so we’ve seen the closure of delivery firm Zedify and cargo bike manufacturer, EAV. However, in Waltham Forest, former staff of Zedify have started a workers’ co-op and signed a two-year contract with Waltham Forest Council to deliver services like cycle hangar fob keys to new users - plus work for private companies. Distancing themselves from gig economy companies, they are paying riders the London Living Wage and aiming for a high standard of rider training and behaviour.

OTHER HEADLINES

DRESSING FOR THE WEATHER. Momentum Magazine, which is based in New York where summers can be brutally hot, has gathered some tips for heatwave-appropriate cycle clothing. And because it’s New York, style is definitely part of the equation. From dresses to natural fibres, and loose fabrics - to which colours won’t show sweat - there’s one or two handy tips in this short piece, and a couple of stylish New Yorkers to boot. For a more technical approach to the question that’s being typed into search engines with regularity at the moment, Cycling UK has some practical advice.

INTERESTING GRAPH OF THE WEEK: Cycling Industry News’ analysis of where dealers see cycling growth coming from. Source: https://cyclingindustry.news/cin-market-data-stats-show-increasing-industry-focus-on-enthusiasts/

ACTIVE TRAVEL WORD OF THE WEEK:

E-motorcycle. Calling them illegal e-bikes is one way of describing the illegally modified, high-speed machines on the street, but there’s still a lot of confusion around. The legally correct term is really e-motorcycle.

Until next time,

Adam Tranter

CEO, Fusion & Founder, #BikeIsBest

This newsletter is brought to you by Fusion, the agency for movers, specialising in communications and public affairs for active travel and mobility.