Cycling UK Forum

Good point about standards. Unfortunately, whichever standards win, they only win temporarily. We can only hope that what succeeds them will be better, as well as better marketed.

It might also make us think about the relative importance of innovations in marketing vs those in technology.

Shimano became dominant by backing indexed gearing, which Sun Tour didn't pay so much attention to. Gravel bike (along with all road and similar) is pretty much a marketing term for a wide range of versatile bikes. Pashley have a technological innovation – really it's a refinement of an otherwise old fashioned, even archaic, technology, but they seem to be able to use it in an innovative way – but their marketing, reliant on tradition, is at odds with innovation. And of course they're very, very late to the gravel game.

I'd have to read the article again but I thought they could/would modify other things, eg top tube length.

I agree it's a crowded segment and I also agree about re-inventing lugs; that's a retrograde step, even if they only use them in one or two places. But it will appeal to a certain type of customer. I'm not sure about the price though; they're selling a full build for £2.8k, you could spend that on a frame alone if you went full custom, eg from £1950 to £2350 according to frameset for a Mercian High Peak gravel bike.

Yes, that standard-but-modifiable frame design is what makes it interesting. Not unique – Shand have done it, for instance – but not something you'll get from Trek or Merida, while (presumably, hopefully) avoiding the expense of full custom. I suspect that most people don't really need that modificability (is that a word?) but that it will prove a popular option.

plancashire wrote: ↑19 Jan 2025, 5:17pm I've never needed to saw alligators. Am I missing something?

If you need to file
A crocodile
It takes a while
Because his hide is thick
And his teeth are quick

pwa wrote: ↑20 Jan 2025, 5:31am Anyway, enough of that! Moving on from dangerous tools, it is Mr. Trump's big day.

Badoom tish!

It's not so much about the driver's experience. In fact it would be better to think of it at population level, so drivers' experiences. It's more to do with the possibilities afforded by the default assumptions. At present roads are assumed to be primarily a carriageway for motor vehicles, with provision made for pedestrians and cyclists where it is deemed appropriate or necessary. What if we reversed this, with the whole road as default for pedestrians and cyclists, making provision for motor vehicles were appropriate? Again, it's not going to happen; but it's worth thinking about.

Carlton green wrote: ↑19 Jan 2025, 8:47am In my experience ‘viewing things from the perspective of a car windscreen’ can be a very effective way of avoiding accidents and the biggest issue is what the nut behind the wheel does with what they see.

That's a very good point when it comes to road design and traffic management for predicting how drivers will react to the road layout etc. But ‘viewing things from the perspective of a car windscreen’ is a very bad practice when it isn't combined with the pedestrian's, cyclist's and bus passenger's view; neglecting those means all roads tend to the motorway.

The trouble is you are viewing this from the perspective of a car windscreen.

This is, sadly, almost always the case.

A convoy of communicative cars allows closer following distances while maintaining safety, and increases efficiency by reducing aerodynamic losses, but not to the effect of linking them all up to each other and putting them on rails. As rareposter has said, but people seem to have missed the point.

I must say I'm not a fan of bobble hats, preferring an unadorned beanie. I hope that's not too controversial

Seems to be private shots from a user calling themselves Off Road 360. Yes, I'm sure I've seen similar from cyclists (and hikers etc). And the track, at least its southern, untarmacked section, looks great fun.

At least since 1948 in Italy, canonically!

A group of friends were stopped by the police for no helmets in about 2013. One of the four was able to produce a helmet from the depths of his pannier, and the cops accepted that as compliance. The other three were told to buy helmets in the next town. As they'd already been in Spain for about a week and the next town they were heading to was in France, no purchases were made.

In addition to the Ramblers, Living Streets, etc, there's Right to Roam, which is more of a campaign group, and various more focussed leisure walking groups eg Steppin Sistas and MeetUp groups.