Bikealot

Delivered from 50 Cycles on 16 May and used solely for commuting and the associated exercise (6.5. miles each way). I live near Lincoln and the route is mainly cycle path, some road in stop-start rush hour conditions (Lincoln's version of a rush hour) and one short but steep hill in the City itself. First Impressions: Appearance - Black and dark grey - almost 'sinister' looking, particularly when I add by black waterproof pannier. Components - Well made with quality parts. A work colleague who is a triathlete and the owner of a competition standard road racing bike was expecting to disparage me when he heard I had bought an 'electric bike'. He was actually very impressed with the high end components. I had not realised it had Woods inner tubes but fortunately I have an adaptor. I will describe the battery and BIONX separately. Performance - On the flat and without assist or head wind the cycle is quite a fast machine once up to speed. If the G2 console is accurate I am travelling at higher speeds than previously with my 'manual' bike. I am normally rather sedate but have found myself doing 20+ mph. Thank heavens it has disc brakes! Battery and BIONX system - This is my first battery assist cycle and it is fun to ride. I have got used to the sensation of being pushed at the rear of the saddle. I like the G2 control console. It is simple and not particularly distracting to operate on the go. Maybe I had too great an expectation of battery endurance but so far I have found it less than I had expected and a bit disappointing. Despite charging according to the handbook the battery meter on the console only registers about 75% charge. I cannot get it to show a 100% charge and do not know whether this an issue with an inaccurate meter, something that will improve with time, or a fault with the battery. On my first trip to work I was alarmed to see the meter showed the battery was empty at about 8 miles of use despite being on assist for only a portion of those miles. I will concede the meter ran out while climbing the hill going home on maximum assist for about a minute or so. However, the battery continued assisting as necessary for the next 5 miles despite the meter reading. This has been my experience on every commute in the last week. Consequently, I am a little confused as to whether it is the battery or meter. When I get the time I plan to ride it until there is no power left. I have emailed Jim at 50 Cycles requesting comment and advice and am awaiting a response. Overall - a strong, well built and good looking bike that suits my purposes and is a fun and capable ride (although I need a little more convincing about the battery life).

In my view the 'wedding' was a spectacle put on by the elite for the elite and paid for, whether directly or indirectly, by you and I. In its favour I suppose the world will see us as great wedding planners. Some will always get vicarious enjoyment by being allowed to watch but the experience is temporary and a hugely expensive diversion from the real social, economic and political issues facing this country. We need to face and deal with this issues and one small step to accomplishing this, in my view, is to be allowed to be citizens rather than subjects.

I have seen this site before but then it was obviously a work in progress. It has now added several more counties including my own. The route it gave me from home to work is a good one. The only issue would be that for a short part of the suggested route is down a steep cobbled street. A nearby metalled alternative would be much safer. Like Satellite Navigation systems user discretion is required! Blind obedience to the instructions should be avoided. It might be something to use in conjunction with say Google street view.

No bike ride as still waiting delivery of Kalkhoff B27. Ordered October and was due end of March. The final wedding straw for me is the £20 million cost of security, 5000 police officers on duty, and while the Syrian ambassador has his invitation rescinded at the last minute the ambassadors of Iran and North Korea and a number of others representing countries not known for democracy or human rights, will be at the Abbey.

SUPERLORRY]Lincoln news, Local Lincolnshire news | This is Lincolnshire pioneer Dick Denby believes it is now just a matter of time before monster trucks like his 25.25m-long vehicle are allowed to run on Britain's roads.[/url] This recent article carries a photo of one of the 'super lorries'. Lincolnshire has no motorways, relatively few dual carriage ways, and in fact the roads around this company's depot are all single carriage way. Flecc is totally right!!

Some figures to compare House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 26 Jan 2009 (pt 0003)

This is a private member's bill that is very unlikely to become law (I hope) and I think nicely captures both the anti-cycling prejudice that stains our country and the increasingly 'Kafkaesque' nature of British law making that believes everything causes risk so we must legislate against everything rather than invest in changing attitudes and infrastructure. It is as disproportionate as banning running on the pavement which is, as we all know, clearly dangerous and might result in a collision. In my view, a far better and proportionate use of Parliamentary time would be to introduce a "strict liability" law when a driver hits a cyclist.

Yesterday my wife and I travelled to York by train from Newark. I regularly travel by train to London using the 'East Coast' Train company and class myself as normally competent (and observant) holding down a professionally demanding job. I am in my 50s but have all my faculties As I was as paying for the tickets I booked via Trainline.com in advance. I was sent 10 separate tickets (address, credit card confirmation, seat reservations, etc.). This always strikes me as being a lot of cards and can be quite confusing. Going to York involved a change at Doncaster and the first leg from Newark to Doncaster was with East Coast. It was 10 minutes late meaning we only had a few minutes to catch the connection to York - 10.12 East Coast Service. I checked the one display board on Platform 4 and saw our train listed as due on Platform 4 (but no indication if on time). At 10.11 a train pulled into Platform 4, neither my wife or I saw any obvious company markings on the train and presumed it was our train (it turned out the company logo was on several carriages but not ours) and the on the loudspeaker the announcer (in a distorted and 'Norman Collier' voice said something like, "........form 4...the.....10.....ice....to....calling... at....ork...." Mrs Bikealot and myself (also normally having all her faculties) got on the B Coach and found our seats. About 10.13 the train pulled off and a few minutes later the ticket inspector checked our tickets and said we were on the wrong train. It was going to York but was a "Cross Country" company train. We had to pay again a total of £25. I explained that the train came at the same time as the service we should have caught and he said his train was late and our train was probably late too and the arrival time was simply a coincidence

There have been some news reports of sharp practice by big supermarket garages in particular putting the price up in anticipation of the duty cut. I have paid £6.27 a gallon for diesel and it is quite possible we will see £10.00 a gallon. A quick bit of Google research shows average weekly wage for men in 1974 (In 1974 I had a Saturday job at a petrol station)was £38.10 (Hansard) and £461 in 2011 (http://www.statistics.gov.uk). The figures are not 100% compatible but are a rough guide to comparison. The AA publish historical prices of petrol. In 1974 a gallon of 4* was 49.6p. My nearest supermarket garage was selling unleaded today at £1.32 a litre (i.e.£6 a gallon). In 1974 the average weekly wage bought 76.8 gallons and in 2011 the average weekly wage buys exactly the same. My comparison is very simplistic and unscientific but does seem to undermine in at least one area the 'green' commitment of government. In my view, the budget was another missed opportunity to start breaking down the myth of an oil dependent economy (and society) being sustainable. Better perhaps to let us all down gently and in a planned way. But of course there is little evidence of a plan!

Remember the door safety zone when passing parked cars. I once saw a postman who should have taken note of this. His sudden crash to the ground was spectacular, almost gymnastic, but very painful. The driver started to blame the postman for riding too close but with several witnesses who were clearly prepared to get involved (including me) changed to making an unreserved apology.

OK, but this and 100s of other under enforced traffic laws are still in the police officer's tool kit to get out when discretion or the 'attitude test' is failed. I suppose they are also there to apply retrospectively when the rider causes an incident because of the manner of their riding. Here in my home town they sometimes have purges of cyclists who ignore the access regulations and the 'one way' of the pedestrianised High Street. This enforcement is the direct result of public complaint. There have been other mini campaigns in respect of cycling on pavements and without lights. I agree there are probably fewer enforcers but there is still enforcement.

Cycling without due care and attention. Source: Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 29 Offence: It is an offence for a person to ride a cycle on a road without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road.

Wow factor The Kalkhoff Image 27 seems to me to have the 'wow' factor. See 50cycles web site. This is a Bionx and may suit your needs.

With the sides down in heavy wind it could become a kite! I'll take my chances with the weather.

When did you first become aware of electric bicycles? Where did you see an electric bike for the first time? Why did you become interested in electric bikes? What did you do about this interest?Thank you for reading this;) 1. I have had a general interest for some years. 2. About 4 years ago when a mature rider seemed to effortlessly overtake me while battling a headwind on my bike. 3. In the last year I moved offices to the limit of my cycle commute range and there are no shower facilities. This focussed my mind onto actually owning a e-bike as a viable alternative to car or public transport and to allow me to arrive in a reasonable condition. 4. I have ordered a Kalkhoff B27 E-bike due for delivery around the end of this month. It took me several months of research and plucking up the courage to spend the cash.

Netherlands have very high rates of bike theft. This is one solution that might work here in areas of high cycle use (e.g. Bristol, London or Cambridge). Bicycle storage in the Netherlands | Evans Cycles | Ride It Blog | News, reviews, how-tos

Lincoln Lincoln LN3

"A while ago I bought a bike on ebay that came with a receipt from Halfords for the day I collected it from then. £250 off the cash price - they'd got it on the scheme" If this bike was bought from Ebay and was being sold by the person who was still leasing it from his/her employer it was not their property to sell. if this is the case the owner still has title to it and the Police could seize it from you without compensation. The employee even without the bike would have to continue payments (taken direct from salary). if this stopped I think there would also be a fraud committed against Revenue & Customs who are giving the benefit on the basis of compliance with the scheme. Any financial benefit from the scheme is from the public purse (i.e. taxpayers). Sadly it will undermine the credibility of the CTW scheme and give evidence to those who might be calling for its abolition.

I wonder if Clarkson might go the same way as Jonathan Ross. It was perhaps a little ironic that he was the 'star' in the reasonably priced car last night. Both of them have made their fortunes sending up and patronising a whole spectrum of things - pushing the boundaries of acceptability (and some would say going beyond). Mr Ross was even making comments yesterday that he thought he had been paid to do this and seemed to be suggesting he had been hard done by. They may be bright guys on Top Gear but I guess the public and the BBC will eventually tire of what is becoming a hackneyed formula - driving like idiots around a track in cars that most people can't even dream of and with a carbon footprint so large that probably an acre of trees is required for every mile on the track; driving like idiots in locations (often in third world countries, areas of outstanding natural beauty and/or in cultures that are just not British and allowing the running 'joke' that they maybe don't understand they are behaving like idiots;) and contriving schemes involving building Frankenstein motors, blowing them up, dropping them out of aircraft, or trying to send a car into orbit (actually that was quite interesting). Anyway, men behaving like idiots (and badly) is apparently what a lot of people want and, perhaps to my eternal shame, I watch it too despite knowing that inevitably we will see more negative treatment of cycling.

bells and whistles I think using some sort of power horn is suitable only for road use and in compliance with the highway code. Such horns can easily convey aggression and may also frighten some people. For cycle paths and any shared routes I think the more sensitive and patient approach is required (as described in this thread). I have been surprised and alarmed myself when walking when a cyclist has sped past me from behind (without advanced warning) so approach walkers myself with caution. Bikes and E-Bikes are particularly silent when there is other ambient noise even for those with excellent hearing and concentration.

e bikes and fitness I am still awaiting my first e-bike - Kalkhoff B27 due end of March. My core reasons for wanting the bike are a mixture of interest in the technology and sustainable transport, having an alternative to the car and an increasingly dodgy bus service, and finally to arrive at a shower free work place in a condition that does not offend colleagues! I agree it should also be a lot of fun

This advert is a bit like a fast food joint giving a free booklet with every 'Bigwhoppermac' with fries entitled, "The 10 things they do not tell you about trying to lose weight".

Straw Poll Matching investment in cycling infrastructure should be money spent on changing the psychological barriers to cycling and cutting the almost the umbilical and addictive attachment to cars (and negative attitude to cycling). A straw poll at work reveals the vast majority consider cycling as a serious alternative form of transport too dangerous for themselves and their children. Some also consider cyclists as a risk to other road users (i.e. motorists). There is also insufficient economic or practical disincentive to use the car. Before the late 1950s we were a 'cycling nation' until mass car ownership came along. It was a transport necessity. The Netherlands have mass car ownership yet have retained their link to the cycle. Is it as simple as coordinated transport policies and decent investment? Or is it something buried in the national psyche and resistant to change? Maybe it is both.

Crossings I tend to think Zebra Crossings are a little 'low tech' and perhaps a little out of touch with modern safety requirements and the manners and attention span (further undermined by texting, phoning etc) of many drivers (and pedestrians). Even using light controlled crossings I feel I have to look carefully before stepping out as a red light is no guarantee a driver will stop. At a Toucan crossing near my work there are regular shunt collisions as vehicles are driven into the back of the vehicles that have stopped. With many car drivers no longer using the handbrake and preferring to ride the brake, one day a vehicle will be shunted into a cyclist or pedestrian. I am not sure of the answer.

Kalkhoff B27 It looks a great bike. Any indication of the likely price - so I can start saving? Regards