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Archive for the ‘From Around the Web’ Category

If you are remotely interested in bikes, then this is a must. The history of the bicycle takes you from the first “running bike” through the penny farthing, to the cycle industry changing “Klunkers” in Marin country and then the modern mountain and road bikes you see today. Definitely worth a watch.

History of the Bicycle

Life is too easy for thieves looking to steal a bike in London but cyclists, companies and government can make it much harder.

There are good reasons why London Cycling Campaign recently launched its Beat the Thief campaign. In recent years, bike theft has grown to pandemic proportions, with the Metropolitan police’s own figures showing bike theft increasing 75% per year in the worst areas.

A doubling in the number of London cyclists over the past decade, along with the introduction of the Cycle to Work tax scheme giving some employees as much as 50% off a new bike up to the value of £1,000, has meant there are simply more good bikes out there to be pinched.

In a recent survey, 80% of respondents reported having at least one bike taken – and one in six said they had recognised a stolen bike for sale on the internet. The evidence suggests this is a problem that has got out of hand.

In London alone, an estimated 80,000 bicycles are stolen every year, with a total value as high as £30m. Some of the thefts are opportunist crimes but there are also knowledgeable and efficient gangs in operation: it’s not unusual to hear about vans pulling up outside suburban train stations or City offices, with thieves liberating the 10 or 15 most valuable bicycles and motorbikes in some cases before startled onlookers have even reached for a phone.

Bike theft has also been identified as a route into more serious crime for young people because the pickings are rich, while convictions are low considering the number of crimes.

Most frustrating for Londoners is seeing the plundered wares brazenly sold on the internet and at street markets. A trip down Brick Lane market looking for your own stolen property has become a sad part of London bike culture.

And you don’t have to wear a deerstalker to pick out the dodgy “bargains” on Gumtree. Cyclist Amelia Coulam, who saw her bike for sale on the site after it was stolen, said: “I was so angry, because this person was selling at least 20 bikes under various names.

“Some are quick to blame the police, who have been accused of treating bike theft as trivial. But the police are not always in control of their own priorities, so lobbyists have to focus on changing politicians’ attitudes to ensure cycle theft becomes a law enforcement priority.

Surely bike theft is equally frustrating for politicians? Yes, cycling budgets are tiny compared with spend on roads and public transport, but millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is still spent encouraging this non-polluting, congestion-busting, health-boosting mode of transport.

How discouraging then to discover that according to a French study one in four victims doesn't replace their stolen bike – because of frustration or lack of funds – and that two-thirds of London cyclists report using their bike less often because of the risk of theft.

So what can be done? Well, the Dutch had an overwhelming problem with bike theft but halved it during a decade of concerted efforts from national and regional government, law enforcement agencies, manufacturers, internet sellers and bike shops. They standardised bike numbering and encouraged bike sellers to sign up to a code of practice that encourages buyers to choose honest sellers and not buy stolen goods unwittingly.

London Cycling Campaign has for a long time been calling for a specialist bike-theft police squad to make life tougher for thieves. And internet sites must work with the police to make selling stolen bikes much more difficult. Consistently strong policing of street markets and a Dutch-style bike shop code of practice would make a difference too.

Longer term, the UK needs more secure cycle parking. Employers who provide car spaces should be compelled to provide secure bike spaces too you can fit at least 10 bikes into the space for one car, and every UK city needs secure parking in city centres, at transport hubs and around residential developments.

A central repository for stolen bikes in each city, like the vast facility in Amsterdam, would help reunite ownerswith bikes, many of which are never returned to their owner because the individual cannot be traced.

The good news is that persistent lobbying by campaigners seems to be having some effect. Recently, Gumtree has shown a willingness to address the problem; the police are making the right noises; and Transport for London has been asking cyclists what more can be done.

Cynics might say the imminent arrival of 6,000 of the mayor’s own bikes on to London’s streets has something to do with these latest signs of action. Whatever the impetus, with luck this year will see moves to reverse the longterm increase in bike theft.

Ignoring bike theft for years has created a serious problem: now it will take years of effective policing and policymaking to fix it. In the meantime, lock your bikes up securely watch the video above and Beat the Thief.

• Mike Cavenett is communications officer at the London Cycling Campaign

via How to stop your bike being stolen | Mike Cavenett | Environment | guardian.co.uk.

Just got an email from the boys at UK Bike Park – Well done!

Planning Approved!!

We’ve just got out of the planning committee meeting where they decided the fate of UKBP – in a nut shell they have approved all our plans!! What does this mean? Well firstly it formalises the change of use from forestry land to a leisure/cycling area. So all riding/building activies are now 100% legal in the eyes of the planners. Also we’ll be moving the cabin into the woods (so we can make it better with decking & awning), a car park in the woods (so you can get out of the car on wet day and step on gravel rather than mud!), and reroute the entrance track so it’s safer for all users.

Would like to thank all those who supported the application including the local landowners, the FC and all you guys with your letters of support and positive feedback. A special thanks goes to Duncan Anderson (it’s his kids who always get on the podiums at races!!), who without, we wouldn’t have got it approved – he has worked tirelessly on the application for over 18 months – Duncan we salute you!!

It’s been a long and difficult process which has taken up lots of valuable time, sometimes it’s been a very close call to losing the park and all that’s been achieved – but it’s all in the past now, so only looking forward to new trails, improved facilities and lots more riding!!

Thanks all and happy Xmas!!
Paul & Wayne – UKBP

You are invited to the following event:
Ukbikepark Races, Uplifts and Events

Location:
Uk Bike Park
Okeford Hill opposite public carpark
Okeford Fitzpaine
Blandford Forum, DT 11
United Kingdom

New court ruling sets precedent for accident counterclaims

A recent High Court judgement has taken into account whether or not a cyclist was wearing a helmet during a road collision, outlining that the cyclist is guilty of contributory negligence for choosing not to.

Despite helmet use not being compulsory under UK law, the judge overseeing Smith v Finch 2009 ruled the cyclist to be partially liable if wearing a helmet could be proven to have prevented any injuries sustained.

BikeRadar spoke to Richard Brooks from law firm Withy King who said: “this ruling means that if you are injured and a cycle helmet could have reduced your injuries, you may not be able to recover full compensation.”

via No helmet? That’s contributory negligence… | Bicycle business | News by BikeBiz.

Cool & Useful Bike Stuff on the Web

The late Sheldon Brown was the king of web pages devoted to helping cyclists. He had useful lists, photos, and gadgets scattered all over his website. I have used his gear calculator a time or two; as well as his aptly named, Wild Guesses of value for Selected Vintage Lightweights.

More cool stuff I like

David Mann’s Bike Frame Geometry Project is an ever-expanding database of bike frame angles and other useful data.

Joel’s collection of obscure brake photos and info.

Vintage Treks very EcoVelo-like in my book are covered thouroughly here.

Here’s a site devoted to Bike E recumbents. It’s interesting to me that long after a for-profit company has gone belly up, people will give freely of their time and resources to perpetuate the brand and provide valuable information. I’m not making any political statement here, just thinking out loud.

For iBOBs and other bikelist.org subscribers, Jim’s iBOB Mailing List Reader has to be the coolest thing out there. I use it every day.

There are too many calculators to list but let me put in a plug for this Mac OS X spoke calculator.

If you have something special in your bookmarks, please share it with us.

via EcoVelo » Blog Archive » Cool & Useful Bike Stuff on the Web.

Lower cycling fatalities always seem to follow increasing cycling shares. From Tom Vanderbilt’s How We Drive blog:

Over at BikePortland, there were some interesting numbers from the PDOT: “In 2008, there were 140 “traffic injuries” to individuals on bicycles. That’s down from 196 in 2007 and it’s the lowest number since the survey was taken in 1999. The same goes for pedestrian injuries; there were 123 in 2008, down from 191 in 2007. There was also a major drop in the amount of individuals injured while operating an automobile; the survey reports 4,428 injured, compared to 5,429 in 2007.”

Read the full story →

via EcoVelo » Blog Archive » More Cyclists = Safer Cycling.

URL: Fork tuning for beginners

URL: South East Mountain Biking: North and South Downs

URL: Mountain Biking Europe mtb guidebook