News

How cycling became a kinky vaudeville act

February 14, 2018

Somewhere in a German forest 200 years ago, during the darkest, wettest summer for centuries, the story of cycling began. The calls to ban it were more or less immediate. Re:Cyclists is a beautifully written account of the following two centuries. It tells how cycling became a kinky vaudeville act for Parisians, how it was the basis of an...

Cycling

Height of discretion: Cooper electric bicycle

February 9, 2018

There's something undeniably cool about bicycles that offer no clue that they're electric. We're not talking about the mechanical doping antics of some pro riders, but rather the super-discreet town bikes that do such an clever job at hiding their batteries and motors. Take, for example, the Cooper E, which features a fully integrated...

Cycling

The Big Lemon - A new form of public transport

February 9, 2018

Imagine if community transport was owned and operated by the community. The Big Lemon is owned and run by members of the community and actively encourages local people to buy shares in the company during regular public meetings where people can come and discuss their thoughts, ideas and concerns. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdJuQ36y3_k...

Bus Travel

The future is here: Automated taxi drone now carries passengers

February 6, 2018

If you can use a satnav, you are already fully qualified to take to the skies aboard the world's first fully-automated, passenger-carrying taxi drone. The EHANG 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle this week achieved a series of manned flight tests carrying one and two passengers, including the company's chief executive. The internet is awash with...

Driving

Words are powerful. Choose them carefully

February 2, 2018

If you accidentally spill coffee on your trousers, that’s one thing, but if a driver's speeding car slams into a bus stop, killing a child in the process, it’s clearly different...so why does the language we use rarely distinguish between the two? While one can be dismissed as an accident, the other deserves to be described more carefully -...

Driving

Airbag hip protector

February 2, 2018

The proliferation of airbag technology has seen it move from car steering wheels to dashboards...and now belts. The Hip'Air is the first wearable airbag to prevent people from injuring their hips should they fall. If sensors within the device decide that the wearer is falling, bags that protect the hips are deployed in milliseconds. The...

General News

Why can cars break the speed limit?

February 1, 2018

Why do we allow the sale of motorised vehicles capable of breaking local and national speed limits? Nobody would suggest that cars driven within speed limits present no road danger, but we have yet to hear a rational argument for why cars need the ability to exceed the speed limit. Four in 10 drivers admit they sometimes break 30 mph speed...

Cycling

Join us. Together we can do more

January 29, 2018

You already know we are different. We may not have a household name, but as Britain’s most ethical breakdown company, we find other ways to stand out from the crowd. If you buy your home insurance, cycle insurance, travel insurance and breakdown cover or mobility scooter insurance, here are just a few of the things you made possible this...

General News

Rubbee turns every bicycle electric in seconds

January 26, 2018

A small and stylish-looking electric motor that clips to any bicycle in seconds aims to revolutionise the electric bike market. Most conversion kits available currently weigh in at 10-15kg and require a toolbox and some skills in electronics and mechanics to install them. According to the designers of the Rubbee, most electric bike...

Cycling

Is there such a thing as ethical car insurance?

January 25, 2018

How much do you know about your car insurance provider? Are they attentive - perhaps friendly? Do they entice you with offers such as free car breakdown cover? With a lucrative pool of 30 million cars requiring insurance it’s likely they do, but have you stopped to consider how some insurers are able to keep premiums low and sales...

General News