News

Start-up bike builders Vello have combined the performance of Dahon’s 20” wheel size with the speed of a Brompton’s fold, to produce a sleek new commuter bike. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] Ranging between 9.5 kg for its Speedster model to 12.5 kg for the mudguard and luggage rack-equipped Urbano, the weight of the Vello bikes is in line...

It's been suggested that some cyclists go through on red because traffic lights are unable to detect aluminium or carbon bikes – a problem tackled by a new accessory called the Veloloop. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] Many traffic lights in towns and cities detect whether cars or lorries are waiting, and change their phasing accordingly,...

The abolition of the paper tax disc in favour of a digital system promises to save £7m in administration costs, but with over one million uninsured drivers already on British roads, the change threatens to increase the crime of car cloning. Car thieves and drivers without insurance routinely copy the number plate of a legally owned,...

Efneo is a planetary gearbox that promises quicker and easier shifting than a conventional front derailleur. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] There is a slight weight penalty of 400g, but in its favour efneo does away with the need for tiresome, tricky adjustments. A conventional front derailleur has three chainrings of different sizes...

The roll call of vehicles destroyed as part of the government's widely criticised car scrappage scheme, which has been published following a freedom of information request, makes grim reading for classic car enthusiasts. Almost 400,000 cars went to the breakers and they are itemised in a list produced by the Department for Business,...

An intrepid British cyclist who last year rode a Boris Bike to the top of Mont Ventoux in southern France has pedalled to further extremes in America by using a New York hire bike to conquer Mount Washington. Riding an 18 kg New York Citibike, Rob Holden took on arguably the toughest cycle hill climb in the world – 7.6 miles at inclines of...

They have graced the windscreens of cars for almost 100 years, but with police now able to use number plate-reading cameras to access driver and vehicle details, the paper tax disc has, from today (1 October 2014) been consigned to history. Can I remove my tax disc even if it has yet to expire? Yes. Motorists still need to pay for vehicle...

The Packtasche is a set of panniers made from cardboard designed to be offered by supermarkets to their cycling customers. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] German designers Philipp Moherndl and Matthias Lechner claim the panniers can safely carry 12 kg of shopping and can be used numerous times before they are recycled....

[quote type="cycle_insurance"] Quick release bicycle wheel theft is an irritating peril of urban cycling. Quick release bicycle wheels stem from racing, but have become pretty much standard issue on bikes; great news if you routinely break your bicycle down for transportation - not so good if you are targetted by thieves. Unfortunately, as...

In 1887 Karl Kron published Thousand Miles on a Bicycle thanks to book pledges from cyclists as he pedalled his penny farthing around America. In 2013, Carlton Reid used crowdfunding website Kickstarter to do much the same thing. Roads Were Not Built For Cars is a fascinating account of how cyclists were the first to push for good roads and...