I was using the Lime bikes so much I sold the car and invested on Tren bike. So much quicker and easier to get around London. Long as its over 4c. Rain is not even an issue as it never last that long here
I only cycle because of owning an ebike. Never thought I would ever get back on a bike, but I love ecycling. There is a need to provide more secure bicycle parking though.
Thanks for your message, Paul and we hope you enjoyed the video. So many of our eBikers have a similar case-study to you, and with the introduction of 500 new e-cycles as part of the Santander scheme in London, we hope to get more people into cycling in general.
I love how enthusiastic Dr. Will is about cycling! We need more people to support him and more politicians supporting biking infrastructure all over the world.
Great to see policy makes putting together good plans to make London’s roads safer. It’s a valid point about certain councils not pulling their weight. As someone who used to travel in between Kensington and Chelsea to get to work I am STAGGERED about how little cycling infrastructure there is there!!!!
Love the format of this interview and the content itself! Well done! I agree there is this deeply embedded thinking in the UK that using e-bikes is cheating and not "proper cycling". I have worked with many people of different (dis)abilities and seen how e-bikes aided their mobility and improved their well-being. I hope to see more of them across the country.
Really enjoyed this video. And I would commend the progress on biking infrastructure in the UK. There is still much to be done. However, I was disappointed yet unsurprised by the answer to the question of the 20mph limit on cycle lanes. There is a real need to increase the speed of Ebikes to 20mph or allow e pedelecs on bike lanes with a speed limit. It would allow much greater distances to be covered on ebikes and get more people out of cars. It seemed like the politician didn’t even realize this was a problem with the legal status of ebikes in the Uk.
Allow s-pedelecs in bike lanes, but enforce a speed limit I say, they should be seen as a very important part of people leaving the car behind but not allowing them in bike lanes will harm uptake.
Excellent, Ben. But i think it is unwise to think about harmonising ebike speed regulations with those in Europe - they have proper cycle lanes, often separated from traffic (both urban and countryside), own traffic lights, etc. Belgium & the Netherlands are outstanding examples, the UK is light years behind implementing a SAFE cycle path network country-wide. If a car collides with a cyclist on a cycle crossing point in Belgium the punishment is equivalent to a motorist colliding with a race horse in Newmarket!🕊
There's already tons of people using illegal e-bikes, e-scooters, unicycles and skateboards, I think if the law was actually enforced (though that gets into the whole issue of austerity...), ones that are built properly, and should have to be registered at point of sale like motor vehicles would much be safer. That said, after I now have experience riding E-Motorcycles (well, "scooters" but that term is vague nowadays), I don't think there's much reason to choose a high speed e-bicycle over one, apart from perhaps indoor storage, as the costs are similar, but they need more maintenence, less power, less range, and since you're exercising it's not as comfortable to wear safety gear. Also in the UK there's no distinction between a moped and a motorcycle like in say the netherlands, they are both treated the same in terms of traffic rules, so you might as well get one that goes more than 28mph and be able to keep up with traffic on
Excellent piece but at the risk of highlighting the North/South divide, those cycle lanes are off the chart compared to what Manchester has so far. It's all well and good talking up infrastructure but there is a total lack of funding outside of the big smoke to get the job done. Ben, the comment "mammals in lycra" - whilst some would say is insulting, I would suggest everyone knows EXACTLY what you mean :-) and the speed thing is one that needs further debate as the current regulations on restriction and control are not fit for purpose.
Honestly my last motorbike Honda c90 did 45mph and even on a dual carriageway I managed it. I'm sure an e-pedilec can manage at 20-30mph in the streets of a city. Though that being said, most of our cycling infrastructure like in Stevenage was built with their equivalent 50cc mopeds in mind.
Higher speed bikes do not belong in cycle lanes, the lanes are there to protect people cycling. If you want to travel at 30 mph you need to do it with other vehicles traveling at that speed.
Simple, fair and effective doesn't mean pricing the poor. The poorer cannot be forced into buying expensive electric cars/charging points etc, what happens is they're forced onto a public transport system that is woeful before the influx of this additional strain....come up north and the problem is infinitely exacerbated!
To make it more appealing to cycle in London, please reduce the cabs on the roads. Regulate cabs because there are thousands of them on the roads and causing congestion.
I was using the Lime bikes so much I sold the car and invested on Tren bike. So much quicker and easier to get around London. Long as its over 4c. Rain is not even an issue as it never last that long here
I only cycle because of owning an ebike. Never thought I would ever get back on a bike, but I love ecycling. There is a need to provide more secure bicycle parking though.
Thanks for your message, Paul and we hope you enjoyed the video. So many of our eBikers have a similar case-study to you, and with the introduction of 500 new e-cycles as part of the Santander scheme in London, we hope to get more people into cycling in general.
I love how enthusiastic Dr. Will is about cycling! We need more people to support him and more politicians supporting biking infrastructure all over the world.
Great to see policy makes putting together good plans to make London’s roads safer. It’s a valid point about certain councils not pulling their weight. As someone who used to travel in between Kensington and Chelsea to get to work I am STAGGERED about how little cycling infrastructure there is there!!!!
waltham forest is great until you get to E4 and then suddenly its SUVs and zero cycling infrastructure, very frustrating as an E4 resident!
Love the format of this interview and the content itself! Well done! I agree there is this deeply embedded thinking in the UK that using e-bikes is cheating and not "proper cycling". I have worked with many people of different (dis)abilities and seen how e-bikes aided their mobility and improved their well-being. I hope to see more of them across the country.
Really enjoyed this video. And I would commend the progress on biking infrastructure in the UK. There is still much to be done. However, I was disappointed yet unsurprised by the answer to the question of the 20mph limit on cycle lanes. There is a real need to increase the speed of Ebikes to 20mph or allow e pedelecs on bike lanes with a speed limit. It would allow much greater distances to be covered on ebikes and get more people out of cars. It seemed like the politician didn’t even realize this was a problem with the legal status of ebikes in the Uk.
Allow s-pedelecs in bike lanes, but enforce a speed limit I say, they should be seen as a very important part of people leaving the car behind but not allowing them in bike lanes will harm uptake.
I'd like to see more of these interviews, perhaps Andrew Gilligan, Mikael Colville-Andersen etc.
Well done friends :-{D Interesting discussion, future of commuting is coming we need to keep pushing for it!
Excellent, Ben. But i think it is unwise to think about harmonising ebike speed regulations with those in Europe - they have proper cycle lanes, often separated from traffic (both urban and countryside), own traffic lights, etc. Belgium & the Netherlands are outstanding examples, the UK is light years behind implementing a SAFE cycle path network country-wide. If a car collides with a cyclist on a cycle crossing point in Belgium the punishment is equivalent to a motorist colliding with a race horse in Newmarket!🕊
There's already tons of people using illegal e-bikes, e-scooters, unicycles and skateboards, I think if the law was actually enforced (though that gets into the whole issue of austerity...), ones that are built properly, and should have to be registered at point of sale like motor vehicles would much be safer.
That said, after I now have experience riding E-Motorcycles (well, "scooters" but that term is vague nowadays), I don't think there's much reason to choose a high speed e-bicycle over one, apart from perhaps indoor storage, as the costs are similar, but they need more maintenence, less power, less range, and since you're exercising it's not as comfortable to wear safety gear. Also in the UK there's no distinction between a moped and a motorcycle like in say the netherlands, they are both treated the same in terms of traffic rules, so you might as well get one that goes more than 28mph and be able to keep up with traffic on
Great video, keep it up lads
Thanks, Anthony. Hope you are well!
Excellent piece but at the risk of highlighting the North/South divide, those cycle lanes are off the chart compared to what Manchester has so far. It's all well and good talking up infrastructure but there is a total lack of funding outside of the big smoke to get the job done. Ben, the comment "mammals in lycra" - whilst some would say is insulting, I would suggest everyone knows EXACTLY what you mean :-) and the speed thing is one that needs further debate as the current regulations on restriction and control are not fit for purpose.
Honestly my last motorbike Honda c90 did 45mph and even on a dual carriageway I managed it. I'm sure an e-pedilec can manage at 20-30mph in the streets of a city. Though that being said, most of our cycling infrastructure like in Stevenage was built with their equivalent 50cc mopeds in mind.
Higher speed bikes do not belong in cycle lanes, the lanes are there to protect people cycling. If you want to travel at 30 mph you need to do it with other vehicles traveling at that speed.
Simple, fair and effective doesn't mean pricing the poor. The poorer cannot be forced into buying expensive electric cars/charging points etc, what happens is they're forced onto a public transport system that is woeful before the influx of this additional strain....come up north and the problem is infinitely exacerbated!
To make it more appealing to cycle in London, please reduce the cabs on the roads. Regulate cabs because there are thousands of them on the roads and causing congestion.
For me London is hopeless