I can feel the anticipation already building…
> Coming soon… the road.cc Recommends awards 2024/25: we’ll reveal the very best bikes, components and accessories, plus our overall Bike of the Year
No, Geraint Thomas hasn’t been accused of fly-tipping by Cardiff Council after a heavy Christmas pondering the fate of his Ineos Grenadiers team, in case you’re worrying.
Instead, the 2018 Tour de France winner – who, as we all know by now, enjoys the odd beer when he’s off the leash and out on the lash with the lads while at home in Wales – has left a few cases of (thankfully) unopened beers next to his golden post box at Cardiff Castle, as part of a New Year’s giveaway in collaboration with BrewDog.
And because it’s ‘Dry January’ and the season’s starting soon, the 20 or so cases of beers on offer are, of course, alcohol-free.
The beers were on offer at Cardiff’s “most famous landmark” (Geraint’s words, not mine) from noon yesterday, using the magic words ‘G sent me’ – which gives the impression that some bulky BrewDog minders were standing guard – while anyone who missed out can apparently get a pint of free alcohol-free beer at the chain’s Cardiff branch on Westgate Street.
Though, since it’s BrewDog, everyone’s favourite anti-establishment pub chain which refuses to pay their employees the real living wage, all the cases might still be there at the post box anyway.
“Will remain my favourite cyclist but a black mark for promoting BrewDog, I’ll never buy that beer,” Peter said in response to Thomas’ post on Instagram.
“Not the best company to team up with G,” concurred Jenks.
Though not everyone was up in arms about the publicity stunt, with Stephen writing: “Well I for one like BrewDog and their beer (OK, go on… hate me) and I love that G is doing this!”
Anyway, it’s just a pity Thomas didn’t team up with Guinness – I had my ‘Splitting the G’ pun ready to go…
2025 may have only just begun, but it’s already time for the BBC’s by-now annual Panorama special on bikes and cycling, packed with extremely helpful words like ‘battle’, ‘chaos’, and ‘menace’.
Yep, last night the tactfully titled‘E-Bikes: The Battle For Our Streets’ aired on the BBC, hosted by Roy Keane’s favourite football host – and cargo bike naysayer– Adrian Chiles, and seeking to discover whether electric bikes are “a new menace in need of tighter regulation”
In case you missed it in favour of catching up on the Traitors or watching University Challenge, our colleague Alex over at e-biketips helpfully summarised the, ahem, interesting 30-minute programme.
And, as Alex noted, in short, Chiles and the episode appeared to focus quite a lot on illegally modified electric motorbikes, without actually making it clear that the machines favoured by rampaging youths and delivery couriers are not, in fact, e-bikes at all.
Nevertheless, according to Chiles, these ‘e-bikes’ are responsible for criminality, dangerous riding, and serious injuries, due to them being faster (which, of course, normal e-bikes are not).
“Maybe we’re biased, but ‘What can we do about e-bikes?’ and ‘What can we do about illegal e-bikes?’ are not to us the same question,” Alex wrote in his piece.
Anyway, the reviews are in for Panorama’s e-bike special. And let’s just say it hasn’t won over the critics.
“30 minutes of Adrian Chiles gaslighting on how legal e-bikes are dangerous, when the dangerous behaviour documented was simply people breaking existing laws,” the Infra-PM wrote on Twitter.
“Two per cent of pedestrian collisions are from bikes, the rest from vehicles. Will Panorama investigate the 98 per cent?”
“Very odd and fishy programme on Panorama this evening focusing mostly on illegal motorbikes masquerading as ‘E-Bikes’, presented by Adrian Chiles who starts the programme saying he has never ridden an e-bike before,” noted Karim.
“95 per cent of the footage is delivery riders, mostly on illegal motorbikes – constructed from regular bikes with an illegal aftermarket kit, providing the bikes with a throttle and motor (also known as a motorbike).”
Karim continued: “Adrian then goes on the internet and finds out about the Cycle to Work Scheme. Based on zero data he concludes that all illegal electric motorbikes are bought via tax breaks using the Cycle to Work Scheme. Steve Bird of the Daily Telegraph agrees ‘this is utterly absurd’.”
Meanwhile, the London Cycling Campaign argued that “Panorama’s attack on e-bikes tonight nails some of the issues but little of the solutions.
“Our view: e-bikes are brilliant,” the campaign posted. “They enable a far wider range of people to cycle more journeys, which is vital for public health, climate, and road danger outcomes.
“Panorama confuses legal with illegally modified e-bikes and ignores their benefits compared to the UK’s car use. If we switched lots of cars for e-bikes in the UK we’d see health, crime, road danger, and climate benefits, not the tabloid, crime-ridden, apocalyptic vision Panorama paints.”
The group continued: “The main e-bike issue is illegal modification. Nearly all problems e-bikes in the UK are causing, highlighted by Panorama, come from illegal modification to not need pedalling and remove the top speed legal e-bikes cut out at, a (sensible) 15.5mph. These effectively are electric motorbikes.
“The government’s response to Panaroma ignores the opportunity to control sale/import of such modifications – just as they’re washing their hands of the import of dodgy batteries and chargers causing e-bike fires. The proper control of sales of street illegal e-bikes and modifications is needed from the government.
“‘Gig economy’ delivery companies also need dealing with. Construction firms used to pay tipper lorry drivers ‘per load’ – which incentivised lorry drivers to cut corners and drive dangerously. ‘Gig economy’ food delivery companies currently pay their riders ‘per drop’.
“So some of the poorest, most marginalised residents are being pushed into cutting corners in order to make enough money to feed themselves and their families. Gig economy companies need to stop incentivising corner cutting and if needed, the government should step in to protect riders better.
“E-bikes are a great idea – far better than current car-dominated status quo – but where they’re being misused we need more government involvement, not more fear-mongering.”
The LCC’s City of London branch was also critical of the lack of focus on the duties of food delivery companies.
“BBC Panorama continues to disappoint. Tonight’s on e-bikes was actually mostly about illegal battery powered vehicles,” the campaign wrote.
“Maybe get representatives of food delivery companies in front of a camera and ask some hard questions, instead of accepting the usual ‘we take safety seriously’ rubbish.”
Likewise, Better Streets for Birmingham, which is currently fighting a proposed PSPO designed to clamp down on ‘dangerous’ e-bike delivery riders, said: “Today's BBC Panorama hits the nail on the head: The danger is posed largely by food delivery couriers, who are incentivised to deliver as many orders as fast as possible. The non-statement from Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats shows how little they care.
“However, it’s dangerous to conflate e-bikes with illegally modified electric motorbikes. One helps many to cycle, the other is dangerous and illegal!”
Turning to the potential effects such BBC ‘investigations’ could have on the cycling industry, Mark Sutton from Cycling Electric described the programme as “littered with inaccuracy, misinformation, and bias”.
“The bike industry should explore legal options against this type of content,” he said. “It is also laughably, truly bad in terms of its grasp of the law. Adrian Chiles has done no research whatsoever and is often asking leading questions to fish for an answer. Terrible journalism.
“The wall of misinformation the press has put up around e-bikes has had a profound economic effect. It has seen insurers stop covering many bike shops. No insurance, no shop.”
“I’ve found some of it staggering,” added Adam Guest. “The ‘189 pedestrians injured by bicycles last year’ stat. No mention of how many were injured or killed by cars.”
> BBC Panorama – Road Rage: Cars v Bikes – the road.cc Podcast debrief
“What a shitshow,” agreed Alastair. “I’ll never understand how Chiles carved a career as a journalist. All he had to do was draw a clear distinction between what’s legal and what isn’t, but either he chose not to, or he still doesn’t understand.”
The Hammersmith and Fulham Cycling Campaign concurred: “Unfortunately, between the title and the presenter, not much hope held for reportage. And so it came to pass.”
Addressing the benefits of legal e-bikes largely ignored in the programme, Green Party politician and London Assembly member Caroline Russell said: “Legal e-bikes help everyone, including older and disabled people, use bikes more and use cars less cutting congestion, pollution and road danger.
“Dockless hire bikes help people make door to door trips not served on public transport often favoured by women getting home (safely) at night.
“There are so many serious issues but if ‘e-bike’ Panorama can’t even identify what is and isn’t an e-bike, and hints about harm from badly-ridden bikes without considering the greater harm from badly-driven motor vehicles, I fear we won’t see practical healthy street solutions any time soon.”
And finally, DJ asked: “If e-bikes have the potential to usher in chaos, what terminology would you use to describe the effect of motor vehicles on public safety Adrian?”