VeloVision met in the home of all things science and innovation, Cambridge, with four enthusiastic cyclists. We compared a Velomobile, a recumbent, a road bike and an electric assist push bike over a five mile distance.
Unfortunately (SPOILER ALERT) the electric assist push bike was lapped, but otherwise it was a very interesting comparison!
Please note that this is not to be considered a scientific experiment, it was an opportunity to see how the four compared. We were clear before hand that there was no racing to be had!
For more information please visit the Cambridge Electric Transport Company.
VeloVision met with Jeff Woolf OBE to discuss his innovative folding helmet, the Morpher Helmet. A full write up will follow in issue 53. We encountered a bit of trouble with the video but audio is fine so please enjoy the video!
On 22 July 2017 VeloVision attended Rockstar’s Red Hook Crit, London No 3, at Greenwich Peninsula. As we’ve said before this isn’t necessarily the sort of event that VeloVision would normally attend. However the unique challenge drew us in! For those unfamiliar a Criterion is a street circuit race, but on bikes more appropriate for the track: no brakes and no gears.
The day consisted of a series of heats, then a final. Notably the women’s race had doubled in entries from the previous year. The weather was intense, with torrential rain falling and standing water soon amassed throughout the circuit. Unfortunately for the riders and the spectators this weather persisted throughout the day. Though it did amplify an already engaging spectacle!
The atmosphere was great, the racing was fierce and incredible The bikes were inches apart at times, sometimes too close – resulting in spectacular crashes. The constant thumping music kept spirits up, as did the incredible food on offer.
VeloVision got the chance to speak with Dani King, Keira McVitty, David Vigano and Dylan Buffington. Unfortunately we encountered serious sound problems but we have decided to publish the videos regardless. The Dylan Buffington one will require a bit more work but we hope to have it out soon. In the meantime trust us, we are on the look out for a more appropriate set of microphones soon!
Many thanks to Alan Cresswell who joined the VeloVision team on this day and was a great addition. He brought incredible knowledge of the mechanics on show, as well as some first hand experience of being in the same position as the riders!
Prominent manufacturer Tern have announced a new e-assist bike. Pictures and video are below.
The bike is well suited to city travelling for young families. It can carry additional weight up to 180kg and the rack can be adapted to carry up to two children. Despite it’s ability to carry such large weight it is only 180cm long, making it shorter than most city bikes. Importantly you can also pack it away using the folding mechanism to ensure that the family can travel, then extend the journey on the bike. Ideal for camping and visits into cities from the outskirts, avoiding traffic.
The bike will be available in Spring 2018, world wide. Video from Tern available here. More information via Tern Bicycles.
VeloVision was delighted to chat with Chris Hopkinson, the UMCA 24hr European Champion while he was heading down from Edinburgh to London on the LEL 2017 event.
On July 30 VeloVision was able to attend the London-Edinburgh-London 2017 event as it passed through St Ives, Cambridgeshire. We have uploaded some video content with more to come soon, but also got a few images to share with you. What made the situation even more interesting than it would normally have been was that the Norris Museum in town was reopening and held a parade that coincided with riders arriving. Chaos ensued!
Heinrich Neumann with his velomobile
Not actually taking part, but joined in for a bit it seemed
VeloVision attended Ride London on 29 July. We were able to publish our videos fairly quickly and were proud to release what we believe is the first review of a Brompton Electric on YouTube.
Below we have a brief gallery of photographs from the day, but our focus was on video content.
James and Adrian, son and father, prepare for the Brompton World Championship Final.
We attended a rain soaked Rockstar Red Hook London Criterion, on Greenwich Peninsula. For those unfamiliar a criterion is a closed road circuit with bikes that are more appropriate for a velodrome: fixed wheel, no brakes. With the rain considered this was a hell of a challenge. Riders present ranged from full time professional, Olympic Champions down to domestic club riders who qualified.
This is not the typical event that would be of interest to VeloVision but the unique challenge and the exciting set up was fascinating to witness.
We also managed to have interviews with Davide Vigano (recently of Team Sky), Dani King (Olympic Champion), Keira McVitty (high profile character of the Crit scene) and Dylan Buffington who designed the eye catching Specialized Allez. These videos will be uploaded soon, unfortunately we encountered serious sound issues and are trying to find a way round these before publication.
Specialized Allez Red Hook Bike
Carla Nafria de Miguel
Dani King leads
Spectators in awe of the athletes
Carla Nafria de Miguel pursues Dani King
Carla Nafria de Miguel in hot pursuit of Dani King
Carla Nafria de Miguel and Dani King
Carla Nafria de Miguel and her giraffe
Dani King
Carla Nafria de Miguel
Carla Nafria de Miguel
Keira McVitty
Despite the torrential rain some managed to smile!