British shops running out of bicycles!

[General Lighting]

Although I had noticed a slight increase in people cycling, this surprised me.. (cyclist numbers in East Anglia are high anyway due to the relative flatness and a fraction of the traffic of SE England or London, as most of the cars end up on the A12/A14 and similar roads)

Europe is running out of bikes thanks to a British cycling boom that has caught the world's biggest bike manufacturers on the hop.
Bike shops are struggling to meet demand, which has tripled in the past 12 months despite massive price hikes.


Bicycle races: Manufacturers struggle to keep up with the boom - Home News, UK - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/bicycle-races-manufacturers-struggle-to-keep-up-with-the-boom-1732182.html)

[MisterDuck]

how much would you pay for a decent-ish second hand bike to get places?

east anglia sounds like the holland of the uk. we're far too hilly.

[General Lighting]

how much would you pay for a decent-ish second hand bike to get places?



anything from £50 upwards, though at that price any bike is liable to be older than you are and may need work. Components haven't changed much in 20 odd years though...

The "less trendy" hybrid with 700c wheels and mudguards/rack but usually a 18/21/24 speed gearing is way more practical than mountain bikes, but may have gained in price as people are realising how good they are..

[Tank Girl]

My dad works for lundun ambulance service and they are doing an insentive to get more people cycling to work,

he already does but has decided to upgrade
they offer an interest free loan and discount at halfords I think,
so its all good as I get to get his old bike!! :bounce_fl

and my brothers firm are also starting up this so think schemes like this may be one of the reasons?

[joshd96320]

plus u can go inbetween cars in jams which fucks em off to no end :D

[General Lighting]

My dad works for lundun ambulance service and they are doing an insentive to get more people cycling to work,

he already does but has decided to upgrade
they offer an interest free loan and discount at halfords I think,
so its all good as I get to get his old bike!! :bounce_fl

and my brothers firm are also starting up this so think schemes like this may be one of the reasons?

yep it is a big incentive, particularly in London where you can cycle from one end to the other in an hour or less (depending on fitness and traffic conditions)

not sure if LAS have them but Eastamb actually use paramedic bikes in places like Norwich complete with blue lights and sirens. These are apparently very effective for treating people who fall over / have heart attacks etc in the city as they can get through traffic very quickly...

[Tank Girl]

yep it is a big incentive, particularly in London where you can cycle from one end to the other in an hour or less (depending on fitness and traffic conditions)

not sure if LAS have them but Eastamb actually use paramedic bikes in places like Norwich complete with blue lights and sirens. These are apparently very effective for treating people who fall over / have heart attacks etc in the city as they can get through traffic very quickly...
not seen any on push bikes but my old man is rapid response in a subaru (which he loves)

[General Lighting]

Actually checking the article further the boom appears to be mostly concentrated in London / SE England. Unlike the Grauniad, the Independent is a bit metro-centric anyway...

That said the boom in cycling isn't a bad thing at all as these areas are much more challenging to cycle in than East Anglia.

[Raj]

Just rebuilt all of our ones making 3 working ones out of 5 broken ones

Now to get them used to justify the work :laugh_at: