Hilly, Dangerous and Circuitous

I was surprised to read views in A to B that I normally only encounter from non-cycling motorists (Geoff Green, Letters A to B 33). Although I sometimes use a car for work (when transporting people or equipment), I try to use my bike. As the journey takes five to twenty minutes longer by bike, I need reasonably speedy routes from A to B – much as I would like to spend my day dawdling about on the Sustrans network.

Going to work, I travel on a derestricted three-lane highway in preference to the shared-use path.The latter entails not merely slowing down for the occasional pavement but bumping along an appallingly surfaced narrow path, giving way at every slip road (one of which is on a blind bend where motorists are travelling extremely fast and where fatal accidents have occurred), negotiating roundabouts and crossing a busy road (with no dropped kerbs) where cars are coming from three directions.The path is liberally sprinkled with broken glass, and icy in winter, whereas the roads are gritted and de-iced by cars.

On another journey I make from my office, the cycle path is only on one side of the road, so you must turn right across a roundabout to reach it, cross two more roundabouts, give way to three supermarkets, and negotiate a ‘cyclists dismount’ section where the path narrows under a bridge, only to find that, after a little more than a kilometre (and 14 dropped kerbs), the path suddenly ends, because the designers assume cyclists are heading for the north-south bridleway that crosses it.You then have a frustrating wait to cross back on to the road. Meanwhile, the road-going cyclist is in the distance.

I use Sustrans routes for leisure trips or if they are convenient, but they rarely are. Some are very pleasant in the summer but daunting in the winter and after dark (some run through an area where a murder of a young woman is still unsolved two years later). Route 72, for example, has little relevance to the cyclist commuting between Newcastle and North Tyneside as it adds several miles, lots of hills, and includes some bad design features.

The statistics support the cyclist choosing the road since a high proportion of accidents occur on so-called cycle paths – hardly surprising, as most accidents occur at junctions. Perhaps Nottinghamshire is different, but my experience of Right to Ride conferences and trips to other parts of the country suggest that the problems I have described are hardly unique to this area.The CTC has fought hard since the 1930s to keep our right to cycle on the roads, which – unlike cycle paths – tend to go somewhere useful.

Michelle Whitworth
Tyne and Wear

Right to the Road

I read Geoff Green’s letter with concern. Generally I do not use these ‘facilities’, as they are an extremely poor alternative to the road. A ‘cycle lane’ is usually a strip painted on the carriageway, so car drivers often assume that cyclists are duty bound to stay in the gutter.

There are also things called ‘cycle routes’, which are mainly lines painted on pavements. The ones I’ve tried all lead the cyclist to rejoin the road somewhere dangerous – usually a road junction where it is most dangerous to do so… Cyclists should never feel obliged to use these cycle lanes. Councils create them because the roads are increasingly being perceived as the ‘property’ of car drivers. Most roads in the UK are older than the car, and we all have the right to use them.

Patrick James
Hove,West Sussex

Leisure Use Only

Following your review of LED lamps in A to B 33 I bought a Cateye EL200. It gives a good light, but as a lamp design, it’s certainly not worth £25. As you said, its mounting bracket is poorly designed, but you didn’t mention its fatal flaw. Maybe you didn’t use it in wet and windy weather, but if you try riding against strong winds in heavy rain you will find the interior of the lamp swimming in water. It won’t last long like that, so I put a clear plastic bag over mine – it slightly affects the light output, but not much. Bitter experience with the first generation of red LEDs suggests the makers assume we are all fine weather riders only.

A G Bannister
Padstow, Cornwall

We didn’t come across any serious weather while testing the lamps, but we have since and, yes, our EL200 gets wet inside too. Mind you, there isn’t much to go wrong, except the switch and the battery terminals, but we should have spotted the drain hole under the lamp… Obviously Cateye is an adherent of the ‘total loss’ system; allowing water out as fast as it comes in. A strip of insulation tape along the leading edge might be a better solution, but we certainly do sympathise. (Eds)

Yellow or Blue Beam, sir?

It just happens I had purchased a Cateye EL200 (white) and a Cateye LD600 (red) about a month before A to B 33 thudded through my letterbox, recommending these lamps. I have used them in my regular cycle commuting journey, on a moon-less journey on a canal towpath and (the EL200) walking on a busy unlit country road after dark.

First, I agree that the mounting provided for the LD600 (red) is poor. I discarded it without even trying it. I noticed one on someone else’s bike that had evidently defeated efforts to tighten it adequately. On the other hand I disagree about the mounting for the EL200.The cam arrangement allows me to adjust the beam up and down to suit the conditions, and the slight swivel is handy when used with other lights in very dark conditions. It stays where it is pointed.

As for weather-proofing, it has rained every time I have been out since Christmas Day, with four hours of the heavy stuff on Boxing Day, plus a couple of hours in medium showers and spray today.The LD600 (red) lives under my saddle and is protected from falling rain.The EL200 is exposed to rain and spray on the handlebars, but I found surprisingly little sign of ingress – some slight condensation, but the weather was very cold.

Whereas the light from the LD600 (red) is very visible, considerably outshining my other LEDs, usefulness of the EL200 is more conditional.Walking against oncoming traffic, drivers plainly saw it, slowed immediately and gave reasonable room, even though it wasn’t aimed at them. But when cycling off-road at night, it was near useless, as the very blue light seems to reveal less than a yellow beam. For lighting your path, the EL200 is still eclipsed by filament lamps, such as the Sigma Sport FL100 (2.4w, 5x AA batteries). I have to conclude that LEDs have a way to go yet before they are a good light to see by.

Allan Luxton
Leeds

The yellowish light from traditional lamps certainly seems to illuminate the road better, which is hard to explain, when the LED beam reaches so much further. But these new white LEDs are indisputably better at picking out reflective material, such as ‘cat’s eyes’ and road signs, even at a considerable distance. And they’re far superior at catching the attention of motorists, which seems to be more important than lighting your path these days. (Eds)

Run Time Discrepancy

Thanks for A to B 33, and especially the section on LED lights.Why are the ones for cycles so power hungry? Last year I bought a Lucido Lightwave torch (£24.99) from Field & Trek (they have a number of outlets nationwide).This has four LEDs and runs off three AA cells, giving a claimed life of 336 hours continuous use, which I have no reason to doubt.

Lucido also produce a C10 model, with ten LEDs, which has a claimed continuous run time of over a month (720 hours) continuous use, but which I did not purchase because it appeared to be far too bright for my purposes.

I’d be interested to know why I should pay for something designed and priced for a somewhat limited market, when it would appear that a torch attached to the bike would do the job a lot better?

Bob Frost
Deal, Kent

We’ve received a number of letters querying our results, which gave battery life well below the manufacturer’s claims in most cases.We measured the power consumption for each lamp and divided it into the rated capacity of typical alkaline and nickel/cadmium batteries – not particularly scientific, but clearly more accurate than the manufacturer’s methods…

The Lucido claims are way off the mark.The theoretical battery life of these lamps (using the best batteries available) is 34 hours for the Lightwave, and 90 hours for the C10. Quite good, but nowhere near the claims. Are bicycle-specific lights worth buying? Only if they’re rugged enough for everyday use – and some may not be, see page 12… (Eds)

Legal LED Lights

I have moved my Brompton’s (old style, non- halogen) front dynamo lamp from its rather low position to the top left side of the handlebar using the clamp part of a Vistalite VL300 bracket (with extra rubber insert) and an L-bracket from my box of bits.The lamp has to extend mostly behind the handlebar so that it just misses the wheel axle when folded (the outer edge of the lens is protected by sellotape). Others could probably make a better homemade bracket. If an official bracket was available it would be much neater than this, but I was unhappy with the low standard mounting.

Also – according to Cycling Plus magazine, the Cateye EL300 is the first front LED lamp to pass British Standards: it isn’t marked as such because the pass is so recent. I am still unimpressed with the Basta SL6: I replaced its circuitry with my own, sealed the gaps with epoxy resin, and chose a seatpost BS6102/3 Knightlite for battery backup/legality.

Alan Bradley
Belfast

We’re not convinced that high level lights are more visible to drivers, but are willing to be persuaded otherwise. Incidentally, do keep the light below the maximum BS height of 1.5 metres. Failure to get this right may cause legal problems after a collision.

It would appear that Cycling Plus has made a minor boo-boo over the Cateye EL300.This front LED lamp is definitely not BS approved, but a British Standard version (EL300BS) should be available ‘from mid-2003, if not sooner’, according to Cateye. As we said, some examples of the Basta lamp have suffered from water ingress, but improvements are apparently being made. (Eds)

What About the Cargobike?

I couldn’t have agreed more with Professor Pivot’s comments on child carrying in A to B 33. However, he seems to have been rather fixated with Mr Burrows’ new contraption as the only solution! The Cargobike by Dutch bike builder VanAndel fits Professor P’s criteria rather well… and it doesn’t require any modification before being pressed into service. The Cargobike is a ‘load before rider’ configuration with a 20″ front wheel and 26″ rear, the rider sitting directly behind the load box which has a bench seat to the rear of it and two child harnesses. Great for seeing what the little blighters are up ts to, or if your excessive load of shopping is about to fall out! We tested it recently and were very impressed. It rode and functioned in true A to B form. It was surprisingly easy to push if the hills got too much, or for Loadcarryers: 8-Freight (top), negotiating around the shops.The no- Cargobike (below) nonsense standard spec will please too: Full chainguard, Nexus 4-speed hub, hub brakes, mudguards, dynamo and an agricultural strength stand – but what else would you expect from a Dutch bike? The Cargobike is sold in the UK via www.dutchbike.co.uk

Steven Brandist
Birstall, Leicester

Prof Pivot replies:Yes, it was a little amiss of me to concentrate on the one design, as a number of intriguing cargo bikes exist on the continent. Keeping the cargo in view is certainly useful, but like most such machines, the Cargobike has two potential weakness – wheels of different diameters, with all the attendant hassle that brings, and a long and rather complicated steering train. Having witnessed a steering joint fail on a long wheelbase recumbent, sending the rider through a hedge (fortunately unhurt), I am wary of advocating such unnecessary complication! The Cargobike costs a little more too – £1,150 against £975 for the 8-Freight. (Eds).

Rim Failures Unacceptable

With regard to rim failures (Pivot Points, A to B 32), I can’t help thinking that excessive wear might not have been properly considered when they started putting alloy rims onto bikes instead of steel ones.Aluminium provides better braking, but at the expense of wear to a vital component. I wonder how many utility but non-enthusiast cyclists (ie, the ones who don’t read cycling magazines) ride a high mileage but know nothing about this. I can’t help feeling that there would be a lot more fuss if a car’s brakes were wearing away the wheels every time they were applied, in such a way as to make catastrophic failure a high probability.

My Brompton has now done 3,000 miles and I was planning on asking Bike Trax to do a major overhaul, but it looks as if I might have to pay for a rebuild of the back wheel too. And if you ride a 5-speed, you can’t just change the whole wheel, since the hub is now irreplaceable.

John Love
Edinburgh

Firstly, don’t panic – catastrophic failure is extremely unlikely, provided you inspect the rim once in a while and stop immediately if the brakes show any sign of juddering. However, as you say, many people don’t inspect rims regularly, and they shouldn’t need to.

16-inch rim replacement should cost in the region of £60 including parts and labour, making it one of the biggest running expenses for a Brompton, but it’s unavoidable without resorting to drum, disc or roller brakes.

Incidentally, despite hearing a number of gloomy reports about Shimano’s roller-brake system, the brakes on our Giant Lafree have settled down well, giving excellent all-weather service at 1,000 miles plus.We’ll keep you informed… (Eds)

Lay off the Car

A to B generally includes a good balance of interesting and informative articles, covering both the technical and practical aspects of cycle use. However, some of the more virulently ‘anti car-use’ contributions grate a little. Those contributors should realise that anything pursued to excess – or without consideration for others – can be equally unacceptable. Hence pedestrians find cycle use on footpaths irritating… if every motorist abandoned the car and turned to cycle use, think of the effect! There were traffic problems in ancient Rome…

Richard Dunn
Kettering, Northants

Traffic problems have been around since the invention of the wheel, but as you quite rightly say, mis-use of transport causes problems, and mis-use of the car has reached epidemic proportions. Selfish behaviour by motorists does indeed force cyclists onto the pavement once in a while – we’ve all done it.We’d be delighted to share the roads with pedestrians, horses or even chariots. (Eds)

The Final Word

In which you get your say… briefly

A to B is my favourite . Good value . First class and fun . Good and lively . Absolutely invaluable . Analytical and informative . Good mix of features . A good read .Always a good read Common sense and refreshing approach . Back to its best – more bike info, fewer gimmicks It really is great now . More on full-size folders . More imaginative designs, less about Brompton Perhaps more about accessories . Beware always of smugness and cynicism . Definitely too much about electric bikes . Not too much motorised stuff please .Very interesting – particularly electric bikes and public transport . Keep up the electric bike work! Bring back The Mole . A brilliant light in a dim world . Multum in Parvo [much in little] Small is beautiful . I would like to have it more often if possible [Ah, wouldn’t we all?]