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Chris Froome divides opinion with topic even MORE controversial than disc brakes — shows off his new "trendsetter" Crocs; Reaction to bike shops urging MPs for changes to Cycle to Work scheme + more on the live blog

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08:58
Chris Froome divides opinion with topic even MORE controversial than disc brakes — shows off his new "trendsetter" Crocs

And we thought disc vs rim brakes was a big debate... whether Crocs are fashionable and whether they're suitable footwear for grown adults might just be even bigger...

Exhibit A:

Chris Froome Crocs (Israel - Premier Tech/Instagram)

As a person living with someone who got a pair for Christmas too I'm going to have to watch what I say here. The durable quirky-looking footwear has exploded in recent years, Crocs growing to a multi-billion dollar company and their squidgy shoes being seen on the feet of celebrities around the world. And I've got to admit, even as a sceptic, they do feel good...

Time for some more Croc praise (plus Luke asking the important questions)...

Chris Froome Crocs (Israel - Premier Tech/Instagram)

Although Mr Froome might be a tad disappointed to hear he's been stripped of that fourth yellow jersey due to an anti-fashion violation.

Rapha, Palace and EF Education-EasyPost also might have something to say about the "trendsetter" tag. You might remember that trio collaborating during the 2022 Tour de France, producing an eye-catching switch-out kit for the race (and a range of products including EF-branded Crocs)...

2022  Rapha + Palace EF collection - 9

And a trip down memory lane and into the comments section on our story on that tells you all you need to know about the divided public opinion on Crocs (don't tell Joey Barton, GB News and Laurence Fox, we really don't have the energy for Crocs to become a new culture-warring frontier or anything more than a bit of light-hearted Friday live blog fun)...

Exhibit C:

"Crocs on an adult are just code for 'Yes, I have given up; thank you for asking!'"

"£35 for a pair of flipflops? I'll just stick to my local flipflop dealer that sells a few pairs at £5 each."

"The only people who don't like Crocs are people who've not worn Crocs (that's a science fact)."

"No, I won't be wearing the Crocs, as I am an adult."

"I actually want a pair of the Crocs. Shoot me now."

The marmite of footwear. You can leave your disc rotor ranting in 2023, Chris...

11:32
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10:02
Reaction to bike shops urging MPs for changes to Cycle to Work scheme
Cyclists at traffic lights, London © Simon MacMichael

> "Cycle to work schemes are sucking the lifeblood out of cycle shops": Bike shops tell Parliamentary Committee of "need for urgent systemic change" to Cycle to Work scheme

Plenty of reaction to the Association of Cycle Traders, on behalf of more than 500 bike shops, and senior representatives from Balfe's Bikes and JE James, meeting with MPs to urge changes to the Cycle to Work scheme. With comments about it being too complicated, excluding many people (some of whom would benefit most from such a scheme), that manufacturers should contribute to fees, unequal distribution of costs and fees, plus many more concerns...

But what do you think? Have you bought a bike through the scheme? Any problems? Do you work in a bike shop? Is it, as Mark James of JE James suggested, "sucking the lifeblood out of cycle shops"?

boxrick: "The big issue with Cyclescheme [a provider of the Cycle to Work scheme] is that it is confusing and benefits highest earners. Whilst it is great if you are in the position to benefit from it and can navigate the pains. It doesn't make much sense from a fairness point of view."

London cyclists at traffic lights (copyright Britishcycling.org_.uk).jpg

zweiblumen: "The Cycle to Work scheme is not now and never has been fit for purpose. I've bought probably half a dozen bikes while working for employers that operate the scheme and never once considered using it. So I pay for a bike out of my pre-tax salary and at the end of the contract I don't own the bike, and if I want to keep it I must pay the 'market rate' for the used bike that I've ridden from new? Erm, no thanks! The fact that the retailers are also suffering under the schemes is no surprise at all."

Cyclists at traffic lights (©Toby Jacobs)

super_davo: "I've used the scheme loads of times and helped lots of others use the scheme and you're painting a horror story that doesn't exist in practice. You apply for a voucher and you get deductions from your gross salary over a year to pay for that voucher. This can be a very useful way to lower your salary if you're in one of the very high marginal rates (e.g I've used it to dip under high income child benefit charge).

"At the end of the period you either have to pay "a fair market value" charge to your employer which is c25 per cent of the price (i.e. less than the tax+NI in the first place) or you tick a box 'to extend hire' for 4 years and pay nothing. Whilst technically you do not own the bike either during the initial hire or extended period, I have never heard of any company ever asking for the bike back. If you don't trust your employer and think they might you probably should be looking for an new one.

"If you leave during the initial hire period then you have to pay the amount net out of your severance. If you leave during the extended period you don't pay anything. The scheme is far from perfect though. It clearly royally screws the retailers. It benefits high earners the most, whilst locking out the poorest that could benefit from it the most due to minimum wage boundaries. It hasn't been updated in 15+ years so it's now a mess of fudge over fudge like 'extended hire periods' and use of consumer credit licences to keep pace with the price of bikes.

"The very fact that so many companies have sprung up to run the admin is proof in itself of that."

09:35
A history of Crocs in cycling: April Fool's, DIY, WorldTour merchandise

No, I didn't expect to be writing this today either... 

Remember April 2020? Yeah, maybe you've scrubbed that from your brain too. Well, April 1 was met with the usual cycling-related April Fool's gags from bored bike brands, including Velo Kicks' quite funny BOA-dialled version of the footwear everyone loves to hate...

velo kicks crocs april fools.PNG

Quite an amusing joke, by April 1st standards, but the premise behind it — Crocs with cycling functionality — are actually a thing. Introducing... SPD Crocs...

SPD Crocs (via YouTube KarlOnSea)

Paris-based Valcko Studios announced an SPD version too...

Valcko Studios SPD Crocs - 2

Oh, and then Rapha, Palace and EF Education-EasyPost got involved with the pink colour schemes and sent the cycling world into meltdown during the 2022 Tour de France (no out-the-box cleat compatibility however, although I'm sure Karlonsea could do something about that)...

2022  Rapha + Palace EF collection - 9
2022  Rapha + Palace EF collection - 8

Maybe a bit of a stretch to call Froomey a trendsetter...

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