Which Is Faster, Cycling Vs Public Transport? We Race Around London!
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 28. 05. 2024
- It's an age old question: which is faster around cities, a bike or public transport? Hank wanted to find out once and for all, so got in touch with London cycling legend, Alec Briggs, to have a race across the UK's biggest city! Who can take all their selfies first?!
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What do you think is the best way to get around a city?
EUC by far, either a small one (like inmotion V8s) in combination with public transport, or a big one like veteran Sherman or inmotion V11, which with the right riding style and skill is the fastest and most awesome way to get around in any city
I dig the bicycle mode more than the trains/busses. It's important to note that most people couldn't/wouldn't ride like Alec did around city streets.
Ebike.
Cycle
Cycling. No time tables and get more exercise.
Alec had more fun. Hank seemed miserable without his bike. Please do this again in January to see how cycling commute works in winter. But let Hank pedal.
What's the difference? It doesn't snow in London?
@@goldenretriever6261 Despite being on the same latitude as Siberia and parts of Russia, London does not experience the long, harsh winters associated with those regions. Instead, it experiences a mild temperate oceanic climate characteristic of Great Britain. Winter in London lasts between December and February and is characterized by cool temperatures, little snowfall, and rainy weather.
@@goldenretriever6261 GCN constantly goes on about how they need to be on indoor cycling trainers during winter. This implies that the weather is too dangerous to cycle in. However, in eastern Idaho I cycle from -35 C to +35 C in all types of weather (snow, slick ice, 60 kph headwinds, hail, etc). Going indoors to cycle in what an Idahoan would view as exquisite weather seems a little silly to me. Ride all year long!
@@apm9507 I was bike courier in Toronto for 7 years. I preferred working in winter, you don't sweat.
@@goldenretriever6261 is not bout snow or cold, is about rain and wind. This will slow down bike significantly
At this point Alec Briggs is already a bona fide GCN presenter.
And i'm here for it !
Legend !
You should have asked Geoff Marshall youtuber to do the public transport part - he holds the guinness world record for travelling to all London Underground stations in the fastest time possible. I am sure he will be happy to participate.
I thought the same. Would have been fun to see two of my CZcams worlds collide. đ
I'm going there now! :)
Absolutely, was thinking the same! Geoff knows all the secrets of the tube stations to navigate them quickly.
That's a hard challenge in London. The Tube is generally pretty fantastic. Expensive though. I did a race like that here, in Miami Fl, for one of the cycling organisations. Racing against public transit and a car. We beat the transit by 10 min I think it was, which was I was impressed with. I had thought PT here was pretty garbage, but 10 min to not be in the Miami heat? Might be worth it. The car however, we beat by almost 30 minutes. And yes, I followed ALL the traffic laws, as always.
Hate the tube. Can be some incredibly irritating delays on longer journeys when you rely on it on a daily basis, and often easier to walk for shorter journeys. Spent many an hour finding alternative routes trying to get home, to the point I bought a Brompton and just gave up on the tube altogether. Some of the lines work a lot more efficiently than others, but still hot, crowded, smelly, aggressive commuters and dead time, would rather be on a bike any day of the week.
As Philip says, Tube is a horrible place to be when living in (as opposed to just visiting) London. Using it on a daily basis, to and from work, no chance. My wife used to commute from our home in SW London to Mayfair. 1.5hrs door to door to cover a total of 10m/16km. Meanwhile I was working in Windsor (20m/34km) and would often cycle in less time, even factoring traffic. Now we live in France and if I ever go back to London I only walk, Boris Bike or use Buses. Much nicer and you see so much more of the city. I avoid the Tube like the plague.
As someone who lives and works in London, cycling is definitely the best way to get around the city.
I raced someone from Arsenal stadium to Kensington on a bike and won by 15 minutes even though they had no changes.
I agree
It's the fastest and cheapest right up until the point you are killed
Cycling is the best way to get around in most American cities built up before WW2.
Its refreshing to see more cargo bikes around london ^_^ I used to live and work there, and there were fewer bicycle infrastructure. nice one guys!
This was really fun. More like this please. đ Maybe challenges like point A to B race where one presenter rides on the road with traffic while the other must travel by bicycle specific paths. For this challenge to be sporting, both racers would be required to comply with all traffic structures and applicable laws.
Sounds like a great idea
I started cycling last month as a result of the TFL strike for 2-3 days and since doing it I've noticed cycling is FAR quicker than taking trains or other means of transport.
Probably more fun and less expensive too! Good work! đđ
Exactly! You ride door to door, no freezing your ass off waiting for the bus, no figuring out far you have to walk at the other end. It's free on many levels, no traffic jams, no tolls, no parking fees, no gas, no liability insurance. The machine is repairable in a stand in the apartment. You get to work wide awake, mentally alert, and ready to conquer the day. You shed off the tensions of the day riding home, ready to chill out and get a good nights' sleep.
Are you enjoying it?
@@gcn enjoying it? Iâm loving it! Itâs fun, within a month I now know how to cycle with no hands, been watching your videos to learn a thing or two. Iâm trying to get more people at my workplace to cycle đđ
Unfortunately the existence of a hill (Hampstead Heath) can tip the balance when the Overground just runs through a tunnel.
By the time Hank had sorted the bike out at Green Park station he could have simply walked across Green Park. (Pedant alert: Big Ben is the bell inside the tower, the tower itself is the Elizabeth Tower).
Every time when I asked about my average speed on a bike in regards to commuting in London , I answer: âfaster than a busâ
GCN, these types of videos are fun to watch, thanks for doing guys. Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching
I absolutely love these videos guys. Please let these continue!!! Well done to all!!
Love the content! More videos with Alec please!
There is something much more memorable on experience done done on bike or legs over experience done on train, bus or car. When you work ourself up to get somewhere then its much more strong memory over leting something else do all work to get you somewhere
Great challenge! Loved Alecâs enthusiasm and energy as well as Hankâs back and forth lead changes. Lots of fun to watch!
I loved this video. We live in the US, but just a few weeks ago we were in London, figuring out the âtubeâ and various ways to get around. Good fun! Thanks.
Thank you for the bike commute video!
oh man, what an incredible video! so much fun to see. Enjoyed it even more since I use to ride around London a lot
Alecs pic of the shard has to be the greatest photograph ever taken
His Pulitzer must be in the post
Nice content and well thought guys. Enjoyed watching. My commute used to take 1.15 min from Stratford to tooting Broadway. Well, with my caad13 ultegra, only 45 minutes now. Cycling can often be faster.
I'm surprised Hank's t-shirt stayed the same blue with all the running. I would have been drenched in sweat.
Fun challenge. Would love to see it again!
I would definitely would like to see you guysâŠHank and Alec do another video together, that looked like so much fun, awesome video boys, canât wait to see what else you guys can come up with
That was great fun to watch, more of these two please!
Love this. Would like to try it. I've done something similar though. A few times when at the pub with a group of friends I've raced thier cab to the next pub or party on my bike. Usually arrive within a minute of the cab plus or minus.
Should have run from Piccadilly to Buckingham Palace!! So much quicker than the tube and a bike!
Great video though and good to see Hank and Alec having a laugh as always
Refreshing fun video! Alec was a good candidate for this one! :)
Enjoyed the video, thanks!
I like the charisma of Alec. He seems really happy and at home in himself. He reminds me of Herger the Joyous.
I enjoyed that! As your organisation is called GCN(G standing for global) you should do similar challenges in all the major cities in the world. That would be brilliant fun and education. Go for it! X
This was really fun - more like this please! it was a blast.
Amazing! London is where i started cycling and i found out about this passion!!! I realised right away how the bike was faster than public transport! Summer or winter! Always been cycling. Now that i got back in italy i am only cycling for fun and training for some races! Cause Italy, in my case Milan, is not really cyclist friendly. Great video!
As a New Yorker, I am impressed with the London tube cars. And your city bikes look just like ours!
That's because they are the same.
@@firesurfer Just different bank logs!
Mr Alec Briggs, and Hank, BRAVO-----I really enjoyed that. You guys were truly entertaining and charismatic, WOW!
No contest. The bike everytime. PS last I met Alex on his bike, when he was commuting, he was wearing a suit and formal work shoes!
Brilliant! Thanks, lads.
Hank and Alec are way too similar itâs amazing! We need so much more of this content! Top geezers đ
Nice vĂdeo. You guys need tĂŽ make a series of this races in big cities around the world. Locals x gcn presenters
Loved it! So fun!đ€
What a great video to watch, having been to London a few times to visit relatives. My money was on the bike but I thought by a bigger margin. But still looked like fun
It's only cause Hank cheated in the middle.
great experiment, awesome video đâ€â€
Agree that itâs always quicker in London on a bike, which is why I commute on one, but then thereâs ten minutes for a shower and to get changed when you get to work. Still saves me twenty minutes.
Enjoyed that boys, thumbs up đ
I used to commute from Croydon to Tooting regularly. The traffic during rush hour can be so congested, I easily pass 3 to 4 buses on the same route (264) as I am within around 40 minutes.
Great one, look forward to see Alec on the show again!!
this was fun please do more
The GCN camera man is clearly faster than both of them! đ
must be on aero equipments!
@@miranassy2759 Motorbikes or scooters, I think.
GCN's greatest athlete, riding up those classic climbs with a camera on his back
@@gcn riding up those classic bike rides BACKWARDS on her bike! đ
This was Crazy , Cool And Unique ;) Loved it
It wasnât unique. Hammond, Clarkson and May did it years ago. Boat vs public transport vs bicycle.
3:00 awesome photo dude !
Fantastic challenge guys. Loved seeing Stratford my old turf.
Dave B. Thailand.
As a former push bike courier in London, I can tell you, If you know your way around town you simply can avoid 90% of lights via side roads. Cycling is not only much much faster, but also hell of a lot of fun, great cardio and most important of them all... beat having to be packed inside the tube on rush hour. Once you try it for a week you will never look back.
PS.: You should do another one against a car.
Loved this one đđđ
Cycling is definitely faster. Growing up in SW London I had a number of summer jobs in the heart of London (Chelsea, West End etc) and cycling was always faster to my job, even with locking the bike up and taking a shower. What makes this test unrealistic, despite the cyclistâs win, is that it clearly isnât rush hour and also nobody runs around when using PT, they walk. When youâre in work clothes, plus have to weave around commuters between platforms etc, maybe not even get on the first train because itâs full, it all adds to your overall time.
So even getting from home (St Margaretâs near Twickenham) to a job I had on Bond Street, cycling was quicker. Straight A-B, then lock bike, quick shower at work and start the day. Commute was a walk to the station, catch train to Richmond, then swap to Tube to Hammersmith, then swap to Tube to Green Park, then walk to office. In a suit, no running. Bike won every time, was more enjoyable and during summer allowed for variety such as going through various parks or along the river. And thereâs one heck of a buzz cutting about in traffic, although I did get knocked off a few times and I think (since â91) thatâs only got worse.
Great vid! I reckon there was time for Hank to gain, better tube routes and run through green park by the time he had sorted the bike!
Been to London once. It's the weirdest mix of high speed stop-n-go. And all the cars are driving on the wrong side! ^^ I wouldn't want to be in a hurry on a bike there. I really enjoyed the subway: Stations at all the right places, great connections and a decent frequency.
It's hateful during rush hour. Crowded, hot, smelly, and can be unpredictable depending on which line you're taking. Absolutely hate it. Wouldn't fancy rushing on a bike, unless you want to ignore the 600 traffic lights, but is far nicer just bimbling round on a Brompton or walking if you're already in the city centre.
In Orange County, Ca I tend to beat the busses. Even me averaging 10-12mph, with the wait time between busses. Occasionally I'll be on the same route as a bus for a long stretch and end up playing tag with it if he has a lot of stops (Happens near Disneyland a lot). Nice ideo, thanks for sharing
Kings Cross to Woolwich after the Eurostar return from a London to Paris ride. Me on the bike, my wife and our little girl plus bags in a taxi. We arrived at the same time - and I stopped to help another cyclist with a mechanical. đđŽââïž
Really good guys a quality video well done
Entertaining for sure! But I wish they made this more realistic, not using a pro and pro bike, not having to run from station to station. Like a more average "what is more efficient." Out on a normal commute what is better at betting you from place to place.
To be fair, most gcn-viewers ride race road bikes and push hard on their commute. In a city and following trafic laws a pro wouldn't be that much faster.
@@hateferd I am riding a folder, and from chatting in the comments, I'd say a lot of folks in cities like London use commute beaters, rather than fancy road bike. Bike theft is real. đ
This was inner London boys, would love to see outer London video and add a car as a competitor, e.g. Chingford to Peckham which is around 14 miles on the road. There are a few cycling lanes on the way, cars would be stuck in traffic and the overground stops everywhere. I recon it would be super close
I live in Edinburgh and started commuting via bike a few months ago, love it, actually been life changing for me tbh getting the bike in general has, canât wait to get my first proper purchased bike from new in a month or two, nothing spectacular but prob the cannondale tompstone 4 gravel bike, got a second hand road bike atm, got 23s on and Iâve probably had 12-15 punctures in 4-5 months, just havenât got the road around here đ€Ł
Try this in Copenhagen or Amsterdam
Please get Hank on GTN and sort out that running form lol
More More More please Alec is such a cool dude and a brilliant presenter
Haha, best Top Gear style! Only missing The Stick!
Do more like this!
Haha great! Thank you for bringing us such great content đđ§đ·
Fastest way around London is often to combine bike and public transport. Such as cycling to your nearest tube, or getting an overground train with your bike and cycling the last part.
Hank going full Ethan Hunt mode here
Love these challenge videos. In north manchester, I use the buses as pace machines, it goes either way alot of the time đđ
Seeing Hank run makes me think he should do a GTN spot
That initial map gave me warm vibes of playing Scotland Yard with family. I loved being a detective as well as being Mr X.
Camden Town to Ealing Broadway, bicycle is faster by 10+ minutes! Nice video guys.
More.of Alec.please. Was great in this vid and the 'slow ride' series, top bloke.
Itâs much better to mix the bicycle with public transport! Especially train and bicycle is really great and very fast. My wife commutes 55km each way mixing train and bicycle.
Riding down half of The Mall is hardly the quickest way from Green Park to the Queens joint, and where did Hank change to get from the central line to Westminster? Huge interchange at bank/monument or Bond St? And also why go to Charing Cross when the Jubilee from Westminster goes direct to London Bridge? Not been to London in 7 years but still know my way around the tube!
Now do it again without stopping at red lightsđ đŽââïž
hank is so good in front the cam, good race fellas
here in Albany New York, depends on where I'm going and time of day. I can pretty much leap frog the bus service during peak usage when it stops at every stop. in recent years there are routes where the bus gets its own turn at traffic lights that help them meet the schedule.
however public transport is limited by set routes. so there are some destinations that require multiple transfers on routes that are definitely not the most efficient for getting to that specific spot and some of destinations it might take 2 hours by public transport but only takes me 45 minutes by bike... which is a huge discrepancy. I saw one route that would take me 20 minutes by bike but it would take over an hour on public transport. partly it was due to the roundabout routing: public transport is designed around getting the most people to common destinations, not around getting there in a timely manner. on the bike I can go and pretty much a straight line from point A to point B whereas by bus first I would have to go into the city center and then transfer to a bus that goes out of the city center. unlike London or New York City there's no underground rail here only bus, and common destinations are pretty spread out, so the bus lines take the most direct route from destination to destination and pick up people as they go. during off-peak when the bus isn't stopping at every bus stop, there's no way I can keep up with the bus, but on-peak all the stops even it out. however if I can take a straight line to my destination but the bus has three destinations to stop at before it gets to my destination plus all the stops in between I'm always going to win on the bike
Yes, the infrastructure of the largest cities is honestly pretty unique worldwide. Look at how big the US is and now many cities have tube style trains. Most states don't have mass transit on rail.
I will watch any Alec video. He's so charming and watchable.
Bike beats all other transport modes in London.
True on most major European cities
@@deivytrajan isn't the commute time dependant upon the weather? I would love to see this test rerun in January.
@@apm9507 I wouldn't think there would be a massive difference in January. While colder, my speeds didn't really fall that much from the summer months when I lived there. Just to make you jealous (about the cycling, everything else sucks here), I live in Miami now.
What about motorcycles? Both motorcycles and bicycles can lane split. Asking from a guy who have never set foot in england
@@TheAdriaizat Parking a motorcycle is a chore.
As someone who lives in a city with a great subway, this is my prediction before watching this video. BIKE WINS. Transit is great because it's cost effective and quicker than a taxi, not because it's the fastest way to do it. I started bike commuting because it saves time.
I feel like Hank cheated a bit more than the taxi.
Not just the tube itself, but you can also spend a heck of a lot of time going up and down escalators, getting in and out of stations, walking between different lines during rush hour etc.
Great story of Hank riding with Sir Bradley Wiggins
Looks like a fun race! I live in London but never cycle anywhere as the bike would be stolen in less than 10 mins of locking it :(.
Hank and Alec maybe try this challenge again in a different city? Paris or New York??
In Boston absolutely no contest, at least within the denser parts of the city. My commute by bike 20 mins, the "T" (if it doesn't catch on fire again) 45 minutes.
I live in CO and in Denver the light rail is faster than a bike, but the bus is slower than biking. Why not do both I bike to the rail in bad weather or going far or commuting.
As good as the Top Gear episode doing a similar test years ago!
Been on holiday so not so much gcn for some weeks. I missed u Hank..
Of course the bike won! This is GCN and the bike was piloted by the coolest and fastest dude on two wheels in London! It was a foregone conclusion! Great video again. Would love to see a bike v public transport video from my neck of the woods (Herefordshire), but the result would be the same as public transport is an elusive beast here in the shire! Bikes rule!
Love the way Hank almost said âWhat the FâŠâ when he trod in chewing gum
Time was lost getting on the Jubilee line to get to Piccadilly Circus from London Bridge could have got the tube from Waterloo straight to Piccadilly Circus on the Bakerloo line.
cool travels guys ,, a bike is the best up there in the city
I live and work in London and ride my bike. Iâm a ânaughty riderâ which makes 2 wheels the quickest (& cheapest) way to get around.
How long did it take in total ? For each person ? Thanks
Iâd say less thAn 2 hours
@@Lorneplumber thank you
This (for Alec) was a bike messenger alleycat race. Go to a number of checkpoints in any order you please, return to agreed upon finish (often the starting point). All in live traffic. As a former Toronto bike messenger, I've done a few. Great fun!
@@jamessmith984 I'm Frank. Messed from about 96 to 2014. Grey Fondriest track bike. Before that, blue Rossin. When were you a courier?
Out of curiosity how much did it cost Hank in total? Cracking video as always guys
More Alec!!
What was the cost of Hank's slower roundtrip?
The train journeys would total ÂŁ7.70 ( the maximum you have to pay for a day's travel in zones 1 and 2). The totally unnecessary cab and bike hire would have added another ÂŁ8 or so.
Not sure that renting a bike is in the spirit of seeing which is faster, a bike or public transport.