Any experiences of Nu-flex as a cyclepath surface ??

[mjr]

"A very good job considering"? Considering what? Considering it's only for active travel? Considering the RLJing road tax dodgers don't deserve the full Design Manual for Roads and Bridges to be implemented? Considering what?

They'd never build that on a new road open to motorists.

[pwa]

Just to give an idea for anyone not familiar with this neck of the woods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhaxkFz6lYs

I believe some bridges have been damaged by flooding since then.

[mattheus]

"A very good job considering"? Considering what? Considering it's only for active travel? Considering the RLJing road tax dodgers don't deserve the full Design Manual for Roads and Bridges to be implemented? Considering what?

Considering that they could have just built ****** instead, just left it to the ducks and the badgers, and spent the money on a tiny tax-cut.

ffe john1054

[Paulatic]

I don't know Nu-flex, but if it is anything like the recycled car tyre stuff that is used to surface children's play areas it will be susceptible to fire damage. It will also cut up if anyone tries to ride horses over it. I'd be wanting to know about the funding for future maintenance if and when the surface is broken because any edges will be trip hazards. And unlike with tarmac, they will not be able to send in a regular council team to do an hour's work with materials they are familiar with.

Seems like it’s built for horses http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/council/st ... test-news/

The more I read about it I’m sure I’ve ridden on it. I thought I’d gone onto loose shiny gravel then discovered it was actually a good grip. Formby or Bootle area can’t remember exactly.

[ChrisButch]

A gentle reminder (In case this is wandering off too far into the hypothetical) that the National Park actually wants to tarmac this stretch, it doesn't have to be persuaded. So the only question for cyclists is whether any objections to tarmac are substantial enough to justify lobbying for an alternative.

[pwa]

With regard to Nu-flex being porous and letting water through, I am sceptical about how that will hold up after a few autumns worth of leaf fall and all the other gunge that countryside surfaces get plastered with. Porosity will probably decrease with time.

The boardwalk looks a bit twistier and narrow than it needs to be, which is a pity considering all the hard work that must have gone into making it.

[100%JR]

"A very good job considering"? Considering what? Considering it's only for active travel? Considering the RLJing road tax dodgers don't deserve the full Design Manual for Roads and Bridges to be implemented? Considering what?
They'd never build that on a new road open to motorists.

From your ill-informed question I take it you've never been on said trail?
Considering that the section in question is built on a steep wooded bank and is "suspended" from trees and hugs the steep bank If you knew the trail you'd know that there really is no other viable option.

Just to give an idea for anyone not familiar with this neck of the woods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhaxkFz6lYs

I believe some bridges have been damaged by flooding since then.

The boardwalk in question is about 7 mins in.What it doesn't show is the big drop to the river to the right.
(The first two bridges in that video were completely destroyed/washed away)

[mjr]

"A very good job considering"? Considering what? Considering it's only for active travel? Considering the RLJing road tax dodgers don't deserve the full Design Manual for Roads and Bridges to be implemented? Considering what?
They'd never build that on a new road open to motorists.

From your ill-informed question I take it you've never been on said trail?
Considering that the section in question is built on a steep wooded bank and is "suspended" from trees and hugs the steep bank If you knew the trail you'd know that there really is no other viable option.

This country builds full-blown motorways onto the sides of cliffs. I'm pretty sure it could hang a smooth surface off a steep wooded bank if there was political will instead of cyclists making apologies that a narrow boardwalk is the only viable option.

I've never been on that section and seeing as the National Cycle Network has (correctly AFAICS) been rerouted away from it, I'm unlikely to until it's made suitable for all.

[100%JR]

"A very good job considering"? Considering what? Considering it's only for active travel? Considering the RLJing road tax dodgers don't deserve the full Design Manual for Roads and Bridges to be implemented? Considering what?
They'd never build that on a new road open to motorists.

From your ill-informed question I take it you've never been on said trail?
Considering that the section in question is built on a steep wooded bank and is "suspended" from trees and hugs the steep bank If you knew the trail you'd know that there really is no other viable option.

This country builds full-blown motorways onto the sides of cliffs. I'm pretty sure it could hang a smooth surface off a steep wooded bank if there was political will instead of cyclists making apologies that a narrow boardwalk is the only viable option.

I've never been on that section and seeing as the National Cycle Network has (correctly AFAICS) been rerouted away from it, I'm unlikely to until it's made suitable for all.

It is suitable to all as both myself and at least one other poster has said.
They've re-routed it as the bridges at the Threlkeld end that were washed away in 2015 have yet to be replaced.You cannot get to Threlkeld on the trail....unless you are really good at jumping very wide gaps
Until the bridges are replaced it's in effect a dead end.
Nothing at all to do with the boardwalk.
Please try to keep up

[mjr]

I'm pretty sure it could hang a smooth surface off a steep wooded bank if there was political will instead of cyclists making apologies that a narrow boardwalk is the only viable option.

I've never been on that section and seeing as the National Cycle Network has (correctly AFAICS) been rerouted away from it, I'm unlikely to until it's made suitable for all.

It is suitable to all as both myself and at least one other poster has said.

While myself and at least one other say it's unsuitable and another says it requires caution.

Please try to keep up

Stop being patronising. I'd love to, but I'm riding slowly on a substandard boardwalk!

[100%JR]

While myself and at least one other say it's unsuitable and another says it requires caution.

You have admitted you have not ridden it so how can you make any assumptions on suitability?May I suggest you get yourself up there,ride it then comment?
1000s walk,run,cycle it every year(or did) and I don't recall seeing any petitions etc regarding safety concerns on that particular part of the trail.It's only been there since 2000 so I suppose there's time yet
I'm a member of the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway trail Facebook page.Updates/progress etc.No concerns over boardwalk there either.
No matter what they do they'll never please everyone.
Nice grippy surface,wide enough for two bikes,what's unsuitable about it?

[mjr]

While myself and at least one other say it's unsuitable and another says it requires caution.

You have admitted you have not ridden it so how can you make any assumptions on suitability?May I suggest you get yourself up there,ride it then comment?

You can suggest, but are you willing to pay? I've ridden similar. And do you dismiss the criticism from ones who have ridden it?

I can comment on whether it meets any standards based on what's publicly available. It really doesn't seem to. What standard do you think it meets?

1000s walk,run,cycle it every year(or did)

Where is that traffic data from?

and I don't recall seeing any petitions etc regarding safety concerns on that particular part of the trail.It's only been there since 2000 so I suppose there's time yet

How bad would things have to get before there are petitons? Especially when its fans probably tell you to go ride on roads if you don't like planks.

I'm a member of the Keswick to Threlkeld Railway trail Facebook page.Updates/progress etc.No concerns over boardwalk there either.

Fans of it on facebook are fans? Well, that's a surprise(!)

Also, facebook pages are the edited ones where posts get put in a ghetto not shown to fans unless approved by admins or they look in the ghetto, aren't they?

No matter what they do they'll never please everyone.
Nice grippy surface,wide enough for two bikes,what's unsuitable about it?

It looks like a rumble strip. How wide is it, then, fence to fence? It doesn't look wide enough for two in picture or video. The video seemed to show riding single file.

[pwa]

Looking at the images, the boardwalk is not of the ideal width and straightness that would be required for two cyclists to pass in a relaxed way. That is certainly true. With a tandem i would be walking if there were any other users about. So it is not 100% ideal.

BUT it looks to have a grippy surface, as a solo cyclist it would present me with no more than a few moments of having to take extra care, and it clearly allows the track to get round a very challenging bit of terrain. So my inclination would be to forgive its faults. Seven out of ten perhaps.

[Paulatic]

Because that boarded section is an engineering feat in itself I’ve met pedestrians on that section most times I’ve rode it. (9 or 10 times) They can’t resist standing and looking down that ravine.
Caution because I’ve been down to walking speed at that point and I’ve had to bide my time behind families with young children on wheels of varying sorts. But that’s surely considerate cycling. I can’t see why a tandem would get off and walk and as stated earlier it never happened when out with the tandem club.
Don’t just be a fan put some money into it, I have. Going round by the 'stones' is a lot harder.

[Pete Owens]

And we wonder why cyclepaths are so rubbish when even cyclists celebrate our relegation to second class citizenship.

Compare this to the road to Grasmere (a route of considerably less importance than the route to Penrith). This was destroyed in the same flood FOUR YEARS AGO. This wasn't a simple resurfacing job, but major civil engineering work to stabilise the hillside. It took five months to rebuild and even then there were complaints about lack of urgency:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/may/11/lake-district-road-reopens-five-months-floods-misery-a591-grasmere-keswick

Cumbrians see length of time it has taken to repair crucial A591 link after floods as proof of lack of government interest

If instead the council had left it four years and rather than build a proper road had upgraded a forest track I don't think you would find posters to a motorists forum expressing gratitude that the council had bothered to do anything at all. If someone had posted that they drove along the route in their Landrover without problem - so long as they slowed down to walking pace when they encountered a vehicle coming in the other direction they would be treated to derision. Similarly if it was suggested that a flexible surface was desirable to cope with the inevitable subsidence in the foundations.