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pretentious? moi?

i have rarely understood the cycling coverage provided by itv4, despite being very thanksful for its existence up until this year. while offering britain's only free-to-air broadcast of the tour de france, ending for good this year, each year, itv has also engaged the services of ned and david to provide daily highlights of paris-nice, once known as the race to the sun, but presumably at the behest of climate change, now an event in which stages are cancelled due to adverse weather. however, there is no coverage of any of the classics and neither is there any visual inroads into the giro d'italia. though westminster has apparently declined to list le tour as a candidate for continued free-to-air broadcasting, despite more than 10,000 signatures on a petition, i'm sure that la vuelta and il giro must feel very much like second-class citizens; no-one has suggested petitions for either of their grand tours.

however, to return to paris-nice for a moment or two, it is notable that the yellow clad visma lease-a-bike rider, matteo jorgenson has been the victor of the last two editions. paris-nice is owned and organised by amaury sports organisation (aso), the very same proprietor of le tour de france, an organisation that dictates any team whose regular jersey might be likely to clash with the maillot jaune, is required to alter the colour or design of said jersey for those three weeks in july. yet, despite such ownership, it would appear that no such diktat exists for paris-nice. and oddly enough, i've never once heard anyone other than yours truly query why that is?

however, what might once have been considered an expensive irritation (i've no idea just how many jerseys are provided to each team member, but i'd imagine it's quite a few), seems now to have been turned into not only a marketing opportunity, but a chance to espouse seemingly hastily concocted puritanical virtues. at least, that's the way that visma lease-a-bike seem to operate. yet, if matters transpire the way the bees are hoping, their team leader may rarely, if ever, wear the jersey, other than on stage one.

however, the nub of their marketing strategy for the 2025 tour, is the opportunity for dyed-in-yellow visma aficionados to have their names included on the jersey, providing you pre-order one before the end of april. unlike the majority of world tour teams, who have their apparel provided by a clothing sponsor, visma lease-a-bike manufacture their own clothing under the yellow b marque, and have opted for a jersey design resembling that of a bumble bee and entitled the swarm. whether the team acquired the nickname, the bees from their fans, the media, or was self-generated by team management, i'm unsure, but they do appear to have wholeheartedly embraced the entire black and yellow meme. but their chief business officer, jasper saeijs seems keen to extend it just a tad further.

perhaps justifying wout van aert's apparent satisfaction with a classics campaign that, once again, ended with no wins, mr saeijs claims that, for visma lease-a-bike, "...it's about more than just winning; it's about how we work together to reach those goals." he continued with the contention that, behind every success is a team - "with this jersey, we're showcasing the power of that connection." as someone who has had call to design several cycle jerseys and company logos across the extent of my career, well do i know that, whatever i might think as being encapsulated in those designs, is not always the message engendered to others. with that in mind, i harbour doubts that those purchasing a tour jersey, or those watching from the roadside will find that to be in their thoughts as jonas, wout and matteo speed by.

and i don't think tadej will be overly concerned.

image: visma lease-a-bike

monday 28 april 2025

watch out

only a matter of weeks past, i received a text from a friend lamenting the fact that 2025 was the first year in recent memory, that he had not watched live coverage of de ronde van vlaanderen. i assumed from this missive that, like many others, including yours truly, he had opted not to provide tnt sports with £30.99 every month for the privilege of watching top level professional cycling. though warner brothers/discovery+ were keen to defend their new and considerably more expensive susbscription model by pointing out that live cycling coverage was expensive to televise, they conveniently avoided the fact that this has always been the case, and that they'd been happy to offer it previously at far less onerous cost.

i doubt that anyone's fooled by the above explanation in the face of the £6.7 billion expenditure on the tv rights to england's premier league football. whatever spin they wish to place on matters, there's little doubt that cycling fans who signed up for the dramatic increase in subscription costs, are now subsidising the nation's football fans. few of us understand why it is not within the realm of possibility to offer a cycling only subscription; i'm not a computer expert, but i'm pretty sure that applying specific user names and passwords to restricted viewing options is not outwith the ability of such a large media organisation.

however, if nothing else, the last few months might just have proved that, what has been an habitual occurrence for as long as i can recall, was just as easy to give up as it was to acquire in the first place. every april, i have scoffed my post-ride cheese and tomato toastie and soya latte in double-quick time in order to make my way speedily back from debbie's to watch as many kilometres of paris-roubaix as can be squeezed into a sunday afternoon. do not misunderstand me; i would still have delighted in watching mathieu, wout and pog race across those dusty cobbles, but it seems that the world continued spinning on its axis nonetheless. likewise flanders, flêche and brabantse. it seems, however, that there remains a few shreds of decency at tnt, for they have regularly posted the last few kilometres of all the above events on youtube, allowing me to at least learn of the victor.

and i do often wonder if tv killed the magazine star? both cycle sport and procycling ceased publication in the last decade, quite possibly due to the ever-increasing coverage provided online or on the tellybox. i did occasionally wonder if the printed page suffered from our having seen live coverage and edited highlights long before words appeared in the following month's magazines. and in the era of social media, everything that needed to be said, had probably been said several times before the presses were rolling.

so far, any disappointment experienced from missing live coverage of the spring classics has been minimal, though i daresay my resolve, and that of many, will be sorely tested when the giro commences; three weeks without sight of a pink jersey on evening tv might be harder than missing a single afternoon of cobbles. but whichever way you look at it, a television behemoth not even based in cycling's traditional heartland, has ruined the velocipedinal experience for thousands. and warner brothers/discovery, showing not a gram of remorse, has categorically stated that free-to-air live cycling is not on their road map, and that there are no concerns that placing the sport behind a paywall will stunt future fan growth.

the final test will arrive when cyclocross commences in the autumn. i have a strong suspicion that i will become £30.99 per month poorer. as has been pointed out at great length in these black and yellow pixels to the point of boredom, not only is it now all about the money, but investors are of greater importance than subscribers.

sunday 27 april 2025

stem

it is not uncommon for the local schools to contribute articles to islay's newspaper, usually highlighting an achievement by their pupils, a visit from an educational institute or leader, collaboration between more than a single school, or progress made towards environmental accreditation of some sort. the majority of contributions arrive from the primary schools, for it is there that the majority of trends begin and end. for instance, where once it was acquisition of any number of green flags, none of which are ever sought by the secondary school, currently it's whether they have achieved a unicef gold, silver or bronze children's rights award. once again, the latter seems to count for nought within secondary educational circles. this may simply be that, at primary level, various education authorities or departments feel the need for job justification, feelings that can safely be ignored at secondary level where subjects of study are of a more serious and career oriented nature.

however, one possible area of crossover between the two distinct levels of education is in so-called stem, not a component for grasping the handlebars, but an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. the term is bandied about by teachers as if all and sundry are familiar with its definition, even though i suspect that there are members of the teaching profession as much in the dark as those in more regular walks of life. almost without exception, any article including the term within its paragraphs will exclude any attempt by the contributors to enlighten their potential readers as to its definition, so common is its use-in-day to day education. if it is felt that it needs further explanation, then that's the editor's job.

however, there has been growing opposition even within the realm of education to the apparent exclusion of the arts, however you may wish to define those. the accusers contend that stem is too concerned with fulfilling the needs of industry to the detriment of many school pupils; that education ought better to think in terms of steam rather than stem. obviously, this is not a subject that demands lengthy debate within a cycling blog, its twists and turns surely more relevant to educational blogs, vlogs and podcasts. i would tend to agree.

however, there is a case for proposing the existence of a verisimilitude within the velocipedinal discipline, where specific needs, demands or desires are apparently being ignored not only to the detriment of the majority, but almost exclusively at the behest of the cognoscenti. my point can be, i believe, more specifically identified by those cycling organisations, businesses or individuals who claim to work towards cycling for all, yet on closer examination, their deeds seem almost exclusively aimed at the drop-bar brigade. in other words, those who either own or have pretensions towards the archetypal road bike.

for instance, in march of this year, british cycling published a new strategy which claims that they exist "to bring the joy of cycling to everyone", a laudable aim that would sound more convincing were it to have been issued by cycling uk, themselves on the receiving end of a recent makeover.

while i have expressed doubts that british cycling's five year strategy can actually be achieved, i'd be quite happy to be proved wrong. yet a quick browse of british cycling's website would scarcely disavow anyone of the apprehension that their mission is predominantly geared towards encouraging the sporting side of the genre. that is cheerfully balanced with the more communal approach of cycling uk, but as the nation's governing body for cycle sport, not only is the apprehension possibly confirmed, but the probability exists that for that very reason, british cycling has the higher profile of the two.

and it's a disparity seemingly encouraged by the world's principal cycle manufacturers, whose research and development dollars are predominantly spent on improving carbon layup techniques, promulgating ever-improving aerodynamics, and lowering weights below the uci minimum, all the while increasing prices almost to the point of exclusivity. would that they spent as much time and money on bicycles for the majority, and i don't mean e-bikes.

but there is yet another parallel between my stem/steam analogy. though perhaps not conclusively proven, there are many children and students who find themselves unable to fit into the definition of stem, perhaps more inclined towards artistic endeavours, such as design, art, music and literature. the latter is a loosely defined category into which i would place myself. mathematics and i were never on conversational terms, while engineering and mathematics are not words or concepts that featured highly in my years of academia.

well do i know that i'm not alone.

yet british cycling's avowed strategy is 'to bring the joy of cycling to everyone' despite the knowledge that a large portion of the british public have no earthly desire to experience those proposed joys. were i to be of school age, i fear i would be on the outside of stem looking in. i'd like to say that art college was my salvation (which ultimately, it may have been), but that might be seen as a gross exaggeration. however, i doubt i would have made it to the end of the first term of a course in either mathematics or science. happily i do enjoy the joys of cycling.

i had always thought of cycling as a welcoming democracy. perhaps i was wrong.

saturday 26 april 2025

bikeability

in the early 1990s, in what i like to call my activist period, i contacted the royal society for the prevention of accidents (rospa) enquiring about the possibility of cycling proficiency training taking place in islay's primary schools. they put me in touch with the local road safety unit in argyll & bute council under whose jurisdiction such activity fell. as a result, i became involved in cycle training at the nearby primary school, with occasional visits to the four other schools on the island. however, i did take exception to one of the criteria dictated by the scheme, concerning the standover height on a bicycle.

the guidelines stated that, while sat in the saddle, the child ought to be able to place both feet on the ground, presumably to facilitate safe stopping when pedalling came to an end. however, in those days, britain was still in the grasp of the mountain bike trend, from which children's bicycles did not escape. technically speaking, the bottom bracket on mountain bikes tends to be higher off the ground than comparable road-going bicycles on which i believe the cycling proficiency guidelines were based.

simply put, if the saddle were at a suitable height to achieve both feet on the ground when stationary, the child was in danger of knocking a few teeth out with their knees when pedalling, due to the bottom bracket height. my contention was that these guidelines be amended allowing the rider to place but one foot on the ground to achieve stability, something that the majority werre in the habit of doing anyway.

when my working life became busier, i had to excuse myself from cycle training, though i continued to check the bicycles mechanically when required, to ensure that children sitting the test were at least aboard safe machinery. but ultimately, that too became surplus to requirements, as the teaching staff took over, despite the likelihood and with no intended disrespect, that they lacked the credentials to carry out a task that seemed in danger of being sorely undermined.

several years past, as a cost-cutting measure, the council closed its road safety department, effectively signalling the end of cycle training in schools all across the region. though the teaching staff were probably capable of continuing on their own, it had traditionally been a representative of the department who became responsible for certification of the final examination. i did enquire of the bikeability scheme whether it was possible for the schools to continue under their umbrella, to which the answer was affirmative, but none of the head teachers responded when i made them aware of this possibility.

for the last five or six years, there has been no cycle training within islay's or jura's primary schools. considering the increase in visiting traffic, along with a similar increase in articulated haulage, this surely calls into question the safety of the youngest island residents?

however, earlier this week, i was approached by a local charity which has acquired several adapted bicycles for use of challenged children and adults, keen to reinstate cycle training in the primary schools. their contact was in the hope that i might agree to, once again, be responsible for checking the mechanical viability of the bikes on which the children would ultimately sit the modern equivalent of the cycling proficiency test. and though the checklist provided now asks if there is sufficient clearance over the top tube when standing with both feet on the ground, the previous iniquity has been replaced with "can the rider sit on the saddle whilst the bike is stationary and hold the bike in an upright position?" thus obviating any requirement to have both feet on the ground simultaneously, and allowing the bicycle's saddle to be set at an appropriate height for comfortable pedalling.

never mind electronic gearing, hydraulic shifting or aero frames; i'd call that real progress.

friday 25 april 2025

money, mouth, putting

aside from the punitive subscription charges levied by an arrogant tnt sports for cycling fans to watch top level professional cycling, while effectively paying for the channel's absurd £6.7 billion investment in the rights to premier league football, all has not been well in the land of domestic cycling for the past couple of years. races have disappeared from the calendar like snow off a dry stone wall, and the number of professional level cycling teams has followed suit. you can't tell me that one has not exerted undue influence on the other?

it's quite possible that the situation has reverted to that of the 1970s, when riders such as robert millar had little choice but to move lock, stock and barrel to the continent in the hope of landing a contract with one of the bigger teams. it's a sad reflection on the demise of bradley wiggins' legacy, following his success in the tour de france and the london olympics. following both, the membeership of british cycling went through the bikeshed roof and the uk cycling scene produced more than enough teams to warrant televised coverage of a city-centre cycling league. sadly, that has all gone.

perhaps the first sign might have been the demise of two of britain's quality cycle magazines, though i'd agree that apportioning both as signifiers of the decline of the uk's cycling scene might be an abrogation of the rules of hindsight. but whatever you believe or are aware of, there's no denying, road cycling in the uk is nowhere near as healthy as it once was. and then you have rapha founder simon mottram's long-held goal of making the sport amongst the most popular in the world, a laudable aim that we have discussed on previous occasions. i have theorised that rapha's sale to two american mountain bike enthusiasts might possibly have been the undoing of that potential achievement, with rapha's apparel range having been invaded by the term trailwear.

however, though mr mottram has effectively retired from imperial works, while retaining his token position as founder, it seems that either he or his legacy still holds influence, with the announcement of the rapha super-league, inaugurated to "...attract new audiences to britain's domestic bike racing scene." the league will commence with may's lincoln grand prix and end with the wentworth woodhouse grand prix in august. in between will feature 14 of the country's most exciting road races. according to rapha's marketing manager, jess morgan, "The Rapha Super-League connects the best races in Britain together into one competition and will tell the stories of the best riders. Great racing has always happened in the UK - not many people realise that you can see the local heavy hitters and future stars of the sport battling it out in your backyard. We want to make it easier to follow and understand, bringing the magic of the sport to more fans."

according to rapha, the inspiration came from last century's super-prestige pernod which awarded points based on finishing places and ran from 1958 to 1987. the rider accumulating the greatest number of points across the series of races, will be declared the winner. apparently the super-league will feature a geographical balance as well as varying disciplines, including stage races, criteriums and one-day road races. those attending any of the events will have the opportunity to buy coffee, lucky saint beer and even cowbells from the rapha broom wagon, which will be in attendance at each. though i believe many would take issue with jon dutton, british cycling ceo's contention that the super-league is an original concept, it is surely a positive move to improve the quality and stature of britain's domestic race scene.

"We want to champion innovative ideas to evolve the domestic cycling scene aligned to our own Lloyds National Series and we look forward to seeing the potential of this new league to help re-energise the bike racing community whilst captivating interest from new fans." said mr dutton. and despite the previously mentioned statement that the series would encompass a geographical spread, it is notable that none venture north of the border, though yorkshire seems to have fared well.

irrespective of your opinion of rapha as a company, they're at least prepared to put their money where mr mottram's mouth is, and should be roundly applauded for doing something positive for cycle racing in the uk. however, one does wonder why british cycling didn't attempt something like this before the rot set in? isn't that one of the reasons for their existence?

thursday 24 april 2025

dear

earlier this year, a well-known bicycle manufacturer, coincidentally supplier to the current world champion, released a much-debated aero bicycle, featuring an oddly shaped seat-tube/seatpost cluster. aside from describing the various technical and aero merits, explaining how many watts would be saved and why it would ultimately clamour for the spurious title, world's fastest bicycle, at the very end of the press-release came the price, in both euros and dollars. at the point of featuring said bicycle on the post, i opted to convert the price in euros into sterling. because i'm helpful like that.

fortunately (or otherwise), before i clicked upload, arrived a more compact and bijou release from the uk distributor which also featured the uk price at the foot of the missive. this led to a hasty retreat on my part, for it transpired that the uk pricing was all but identical to the cost in euros. there could be all number of reasons for this involving import duties, now that we're no longer part of europe, and likely westminster's value added tax.

or not.

when apple computer, a distinctly non-european concern, introduces a new model to the range, the american version of its website records the price in dollars, while the uk website, strange to relate, shows almost identical numbers preceded with a pound sign. i'll readily admit that numbers are not my strong point, even less so when representing currency, but can it be more than coincidence that prices in euros and dollars equally translate to the same numbers in pounds, shillings and pence? perhaps purely for convenience, manufacturers arrive at an area neutral number, forestalling any concerns over fluctuating currency values or, heaven forefend, tariffs.

it is the latter which are of prime concern, given president trump's on again/off again taunts at the rest of the world. and just as an aside, i'm beginning to think mr trump has even less a grasp of financial matters than yours truly. the current state of play would have the uk subject to 10% tariffs on all exports to the united states, and, as i understand it, the uk government has elected not to impose reciprocal tariffs on goods imported from the usa. however, china is being villified by president trump as the sacrifical cow, where exports to america are subject to tariffs of 145%.

it would be nice to think that two of the most powerful nations in the world could carry on their playground fight in isolation, allowing the rest of us to get on with real life. unfortunately several american bicycle manufacturers have a sizeable majority of their products built in china, thus incurring the tariffs mentioned above. and we buy those bicycles, from trek, specialized and several others. the 145% tariffs may not apply to the uk, but in this instance, we are not immune from their effects.

according to america's bicycle retailer website, trek has informed its dealer network of immediate price increases, while specialized told its dealers that it plans to increase the cost and retail pricing across its bike and equipment products starting 1 may. the addendum to the latter statement made it clear that "we maintain flexibility to update or remove the charge if government tariffs change", leaving no-one in any doubt as to the reasons behind the increase. i doubt the above two will be the last to do so. as an example, the recently released $13,500 turbo levo 4 will feature an additional 10%, which will be clearly marked if purchased online. that's a not inconsiderable additional $1,350.

discussions on the post and elsewhere have already highlighted a dramatic increase in the price of cycling in recent years, almost across the board. it now looks as if that might have been just the start. perhaps it behoves us well to pay closer attention to the maintenance of the bicycles we already own? that might benefit the service departments of most bike shops, but it does not augur well for the shop floor. we might end up with ageing bicycles, but at least they'll be in tip top condition.

wednesday 23 april 2025

needless complexity

my son is a self-employed electrician, a man whom his mother and i warned never to reach the stage where he was working seven days a week. aside from the iniquity of not having at least one day off per week, he has a five year old daughter and once you begin to work seven days, your customers tend to expect that seven day service at all times. unfortunately, as is frequently the case with parental advice, he pretty much ignored it, and now frequently finds himself working all hours, seven days a week.

as you would probably expect, carrying parts and accessories along with the necessary tools of the trade is a job requiring a tad more carrying space than even that provided by the largest of e-cargo bikes. add to that the rural demeanour of the island, and cycling to and from jobs would demand a level of physical training he simply has no time to achieve. not to mention the time it would take to travel from a morning job in portnahaven (for instance), to an afternoon job in port ellen (50km excluding the distance from home in bowmore). so for pragmatic reasons, he drives a ford transit van.

i am not one given to concerning myself with the technical details of the modern motor vehicle, but he recently was bereft of his van for almost six weeks due to the immediate need to have a replacement timing belt fitted. this is an engine requirement that would once have been the preserve of a chain, and something that could be observed on first opening the bonnet. nowadays, however, the chain has been replaced by a toothed belt and, in common with many motor vehicles it seems, the function is served by what is known as a 'wet belt'. through asking a number of silly questions, i have learned that this describes a toothed belt which is placed behind a silicon-sealed cover and party to being lubricated by a specific type of engine oil.

use of an incorrect oil standard can quite literally destroy the engine. i have also learned, from watching a series of youtube videos by the car edition, that few of these belts seem to reach the recommended service period before the teeth have stripped from the belt, not only clogging the oil filter in the sump, but no longer providing the synchronised timing of the engine valves. ultimately, this can result in the need for several thousand pounds worth of replacement engine. the damage is not a pretty sight.

these videos clearly demonstrate the complexity of modern-day car engines and the technical expertise and range of specialist tools required to service them, i now have far greater respect for the mechanics who are required to work on such monstrosities. and witnessing the above rather places in some sort of perspective, the relative simplicity of replacing internal gear and brake cables/hoses on today's aesthetically pleasing road bikes.

the contention is, i believe, that removing cables and hoses from the airstream will improve the bicycle's drag co-efficient, though personally, i'm more inclined to think it's entirely based on making the bicycle look better.

i simply can't believe that an absence of cables/hoses exiting the handlebar will ever be the difference between winning a race and coming second. in the case of the ordinary man or woman in the peloton, it clearly makes not one watt of a difference to any of us. but in the process, it does call into question the rationale behind those who design such systems; do they ever consider the additional workload placed upon the hapless shop mechanic, or ultimately the extra cost incurred by the customer when time comes to replace or repair those cables? are bicycles not already expensive enough? having watched the car edition videos, i harbour the same concerns about those who design motor cars.

perhaps it's worth heeding the advice given on one of those videos. "if you can't afford to buy new, with an attendant warranty, make sure you can afford to buy a used model twice."

added complexity is not confined purely to bicycles and motor cars. whatever was available last year has, in some marked way, to be superseded this year; and so on and so on. one of my earlier road bikes featured an internal rear brake cable, one that had to be replaced at least twice as often as on bicycles featuring external cabling, entirely due to condensation inside the outer cable sitting within the spaghetti tube, inside the top tube. the bicycle's relative simplicity ought never to bring us to the state being experienced by the auto industry, but in many cases, it still seems many reputed innovations are surplus to requirement; done because they could be, rather than of necessity.

maybe apprentice bike designers ought first to be time-served mechanics.

tuesday 22 april 2025