News

Minibrake - a remote-controlled brake for kids' bicycles

April 25, 2014

Minibike is a remote-controlled brake that allows parents to bring their children’s bicycles to a halt from a distance. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] The MiniBrake consists of two parts: a remote controller and a small brake attached to the rear wheel of the child’s bike. When the parent presses the controller, the bicycle comes to a safe...

Cycling

More Donky than bike

April 25, 2014

Donky Bike is an innovative British-designed utility vehicle: An affordable and versatile load-carrying bicycle. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] Many of the bikes used on city streets appear unsuitable for urban use. cheap mountain bikes grab sales by boasting many gears and suspended forks, but rarely offer luggage racks or mudguards....

Cycling

Glamping in yurts, treehouses and classic caravans

April 16, 2014

Holidaying in Europe is less financially and environmentally costly than a long-haul holiday. Discovering the pleasures of local produce, simple regional cuisine and a slower pace of life is also an excuse to stay in an increasing range of alternative overnight stops – from converted lorries to tree houses.

General News

Land Rover develops 'invisible' car bonnet

April 15, 2014

A new gizmo developed by Land Rover that allows drivers of its vehicles' to see through the bonnet to the ground directly beneath and in front of the bumper could help make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. A driver's view - the head-up display shows the ground and...

General News

Brainy Bike Lights

April 11, 2014

A new bicycle light claims to use the way our brain react to instantly recognisable symbols to help make urban cycling safer. The Brainy Bike Light uses an illuminated bike symbol as the front and rear bike lights. The design was developed with the help of a specialist in behavioural economics. Professor Charles Spence at the University of...

General News

Insurers slow to back bike theft register

April 11, 2014

Check That Bike! is a recently launched online database allows cyclists to check the provenance of any bike they are looking to buy second hand, but despite over one in ten searches of the website returning a bicycle suspected as stolen, police forces and cycle insurance companies appear reluctant to contribute their data to the scheme. The...

Cycling

London buses adopt Formula 1 technology

April 4, 2014

If you feel thrown around during your next bus ride, don't be too quick to blame an over exuberant driver - the forces exerted by a 15-ton bus constantly stopping and starting in traffic is very similar to those experienced by a Formula 1 car and engineers are taking advantage of this fact to pioneer fuel-saving technology. Williams Hybrid...

Environment

Putting the skin back into cycling skinsuits

April 3, 2014

If you baulk at the idea of sporting a conventional Lycra skinsuit while cycling, you're unlikely to be in the market for a design that is even more revealing, but it may be that these new swimwear-themed versions will keep you safer on the road. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] Women cyclists given wider berth on the road Research carried...

Cycling

Hövding cyclist airbag demonstration on film

April 2, 2014

Everything about the Hövding airbag for cyclists is extraordinary: It cost £10m to develop; its sensors record the wearer’s movements 200 times a second and, with a price tag of £260, it costs more than many bicycles. [quote type="cycle_insurance"] The ground-breaking approach to head protection for cyclists has resulted in Hövding already...

Cycling

ETA celebrate cycling culture at Spin LDN

March 21, 2014

Slowly but surely, cycling is growing in the British consciousness as something desirable, fashionable and approachable – a fact reflected by the welcome return of a festival of cycling culture in the capital next weekend. Join the ETA at Spin LDN cycling festival next...

Cycling