Forum Topic

Who'd have thought it?

Interesting article in Saturday's Times about how the number of people cycling has declined and is continuing to.Go figure...

Keith Iddon ● 223d17 Comments

“ Maybe those bicycles should be made of wood to have genuine green benefits.”What are the green benefits of chopping down trees to make bicycles?

Steve Taylor ● 222d

Thanks Julian, the Lime website is far from clear then as that is where I got the prices that I quoted

N V Brooks ● 222d

A 20 min lime bike ride is about £2You dont pay per min with unlocking fee,you by a pass containing mins. 60 minutes for £5.99, 120 minutes for £10.99 and 250 minutes for £19.99.

Julian Pavey ● 222d

That’s lovely. Don’t get splinters in your behind.It’s only the top end market of super expensive carbon fiber bikes that have maintained their sales apparently, which rather gives the game away about who’s really cycling. Not the beginners, that’s for sure.

Simon Hayes ● 222d

The vast majority of bike frames are aluminum, childrens and absolute budget bikes tend to be steel.The 'make do and mend' is really not financially viable for all kinds of reasons, so the majority get sent to Africa .

Mark Frost ● 222d

"Maybe those bicycles should be made of wood to have genuine green benefits"Simon: there are bicycles being produced from bamboo (My Boo Bikes is a good brand), they look fantastic

Justin Stephenson ● 222d

“ Lobby groups continue to highlight and exaggerate the dangers of cycling in the expectation of getting more funding thereby scaring people off.”Precisely. And many thinking of cycling only have to witness the arrogance of cyclists on the road, pavements and cycle lanes to understand that it’s not safe to cycle in London.

Steve Taylor ● 223d

Ironic that the emissions required to produce carbon fibre are about 14 times that from producing steel. Maybe those bicycles should be made of wood to have genuine green benefits.

Simon Hayes ● 223d

Lime bikes are ridiculously expensive.  If my spinal problems allowed, I could ride to Hounslow in say, twenty minutes. The cost on a Lime. £6.40 £1.00 hire fee plus £0.27 per minute. Or...£1.85 on a bus with a seat and dry when it rains.

N V Brooks ● 223d

The Richmond recycling centre had thirty plus of them piled up to say nothing of the surprising numbers abandoned throughout the streets of London.I have a hand built racing bike knocking on forty and good for another forty if looked after. I doubt any of these carbon fibre jobs will last that long.

Adrian Irving ● 223d

Apparently the biggest problem is organised crime gangs stealing the precious bikes, and police resources must be diverted to solve this threat to society.What the LCC zealots don’t understand is that they put people off cycling with their attitude. Bike and vehicle collisions are actually quite rare given the amount of traffic on the roads. Of course they produce big national figures to support claims but the numbers locally are low.What’s also got to be factored in is the cost of the bike hire schemes. Santander pushed its annual fees up and saw users plummet last year. Likewise, the per minute rate of a Lime bike is extortionate and not great value for money.

Simon Hayes ● 223d

I never checked on the age of them but there were a number of bike frames and sets of very badly corroded handlebars in the metal recycling skip at Greenford recycling centre. My first adult bike lasted a good fifteen years of almost daily use before I passed it on.

N V Brooks ● 223d

Indeed it is a pity cycling numbers are down but not surprising.The spike during the pandemic and for a while after has settled back. People feel confident to use public transport again. "Cheap" poorly made bikes from the Far East have become unserviceable and just abandoned without being repaired or replaced. Piles of them can be seen at your local recycling centre.Lobby groups continue to highlight and exaggerate the dangers of cycling in the expectation of getting more funding thereby scaring people off.The cycle manufacturers have two major problems. Over production and the rise in hire bikes. Basically they  poorly read the future market.Political backing is helpful but as they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.Or as Stan Laurel put it "you can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead"

Adrian Irving ● 223d

She likes to twist the facts as well but at least she sometimes engages on X rather than just block like a snowflake melt.

Mark Talbot ● 223d

Ah yes, the 'ever popular' Cllr. Dunne, so highly regarded by LBH's cabinet.  Bike sales have fallen off a cliff (lowest volume since 2000 according to cycling weekly), cycling numbers are down by over 7.3% in the last year(source DofT) following a 5% fall in the previous year. It was wet today and I drove from Isleworth to Hanwell and saw a sum total of five  intrepid souls in the cycle lanes.

N V Brooks ● 223d

And of course political support through every level of government is going to be very helpful locally. 
With support of 3 out of 4 residents too. I think the majority who want to reduce car dominance and encourage Active Travel have much to look forward to. 

Paul Campbell ● 223d

This sort of coverage is really helpful now we have some sensible grown-ups in charge. The previous government slashed spending on Active Travel and poured flames on the motorist / cycling culture war and yet cycling kept increasing in the few areas where local authorities bravely continued to spend and overcame the inevitable backlash from angry drivers. Like Chiswick. Instructive stuff for the new SoS for Transport who has, from what I hear, a very willing civil service in the DfT ready to do what obviously needs doing.

Paul Campbell ● 223d