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The mobile menace is still out there… I’M DISMAYED to read of the cancellation of several UK road races due to police concerns. It makes no sense to ban cycle racing from public roads on account of it being dangerous. It’s not the cyclists who are dangerous and irresponsible, but rather the lunatic element of drivers who have no respect for safety and the rules of the road. For every cycle race competitor that ignores the Highway Code – sometimes inadvertently, sometimes unavoidably, sometimes forced by the demands of all-out competitiveness – a hundred, if not a thousand drivers surely ignore it, and in a far more life threatening manner – on account of them being shielded in big lumps of metal. Instead of the police looking out for law breaking
racing cyclists, why aren’t they looking for law breaking drivers? The speed freaks and mobile phone menaces, who as we all know, are on their best behaviour when they see a police car, yet are on their worst behaviour when they have us alone on quiet roads. The lunatic drivers on our roads, and the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and Nigel Havers will be elated when they hear of cycle race bans. If these people win the day, what chance for the likes of obesity, congestion and global warming? What chance for the youngsters who want to become pro bike riders? What effect on the cycle industry? Get online and sign: http://petitions.number10.gov. uk/mobilemenaceban/ Allan Ramsay, RoadPeace
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60 BIKEBIZ JUNE
AS A PROVIDER of managed EPoS and e-commerce solutions to thousands of store-based users and hundreds of web-based retailers, we’re in a position to see precisely how our clients’ businesses are faring in these economically challenging times. An interesting trend is emerging. As is widely acknowledged, online and multi-channel businesses are generally doing better than their store-only peers. However, what we are observing is nuanced. It’s clear to us that the greatest success is coming not from ‘pure play’ online retailers that sell headline items, but from companies who sell spare parts, add-ons and support services.
If you are selling mainstream products, even leading brands or those with particular cachet, competition is very tough. This is less the case for ancillary products – often specialist items. In the world of bike retailing, the ones who seem to be performing best are those selling spare parts and upgrade items that are more difficult to obtain. The market also seems to be less price-sensitive. There’s no doubt that the recession is encouraging consumers to recycle, repair or reuse. Add to that a green retailing agenda that is starting to resonate with more and more of us, and you end up with customers who are slowly turning their back on the
throw-away economy. As people are more prepared to mend or to upgrade what they have already, ‘second tier’ retailers are likely to do better than their ‘first tier’ peers. We’re seeing our clients in this ‘second tier’ work really hard on their websites, putting time into getting good product images loaded and making them easy to navigate. Their field of operation is frequently not well optimised for search engines, so they have to work extra hard on their own promotion. Their reward seems to be coming in sales that generate not only high margins, but also repeat business. Ian Tomlinson Managing Director, Cybertill
Cooking oil for cables? CEREDIGION County Council has recently published an A4 brochure called Get Cycling Ceredigion with the help of the Company of Cyclists in York. It is being distributed free-ofcharge to local residents and I understand similar publications have also been produced for other UK local authorities over the past five years or so. I’m writing to express my concern that this otherwise excellent publication contains one piece of very bad, and potentially dangerous, advice – that ‘basic replacement (brake) cables are fine – run a little oil over them before installing – even cooking oil will do.’ I wrote to the County in January, drawing its attention to this error. They, in turn, contacted the Company of Cyclists and I have received a reply. A quotation from the Company of Cyclists says that they will remove this advice
from future Get Cycling publications, but also that ‘we do not agree that the reference to cooking oil presents a risk.’ I disagree with this assertion, as do other engineers whose opinions I have sought. There is a risk that riders who follow this advice may not be able to operate their brakes properly. And my fears aren’t merely academic as I have personally witnessed the seizing-up of
equipment that was incorrectly ‘lubricated’ with cooking oil. Over time, cooking oil becomes thick and sticky. Used on brake cables, the brakes would become progressively harder to operate and would become reluctant to return fully under their normal spring tension. Also, most cooking oil solidifies in very cold weather. There seems to be a serious difference of opinion between my experience and that of the experts which the Company of Cyclists has called upon. What do other engineers and mechanics in the trade think? Finally, I must emphasise that, apart from this one piece of bad advice, Get Cycling Ceredigion is an excellent publication, and I applaud the good work done by the Company of Cyclists in encouraging people onto bikes. Chris Bell, Highpath Engineering
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