TONIGHT 9pm: - E-Bikes: The Battle for Our Streets - Panorama

[guerney]

Is she deaf? Most white cats are. Our one used to go nuts on firework night, chasing up and down the garden after the bright lights because she couldn't hear the bangs.

Pure white cats are prone to skin cancer, my neighbour had one, it got skin cancer, due to lack of melanin... but died well after he did, of testicular cancer which made him deaf after spreading to his brain. He was dead six months after moving in, shortly after his left cochlea was augmented with an electronic implant. I didn't ask if it had line-out. I hated the cunt because his so called "friendly" and massive "traumatised" rescue dog kept attacking my cats, but despite that loaned him an electric oil heater when his gas central heating packed up in winter. Wanker denied it, after seeing it and my having a right go at him. Biggest killers of dogs is road traffic and dogs, in that order.

 

[portals]

Her hearing is fine, already tried the 'shaking dry food box' before I put it out and she hears it from other end of flat and comes running. Even when apparently asleep.

She had a full heavy duty private medical (twice!) before arriving in UK and has a full medical record from UAE with no issues. She is a doll face so won't have the problems that Muffin who was peak face had with the tear ducts etc.

Tricky to get skin cancer if you always lived indoors.

My 'do-gooding' neighbour had a massive rescue dog, bit most of close and put me in casualty, I hate most dogs these days almost as much as I despise their owners....

 

[guerney]

The government guidelines state that EAPCs "must have a maximum power output of 250 watts” and bikes should be labelled as such. This means that the continuous rated power should be no more than 250 watts.

The BBC know they've already lost the argument, if they have to explain the fucking stupid comment made, via reply to a complaint, expanding using words not originally used in the programme, delivered by perpetutally peturbed looking cabbage patch doll looking mutherfucker afflicted with ADHD, which is exactly the worst type of cabbage patch doll viewers need being involved with the organisation and presentation of a TV programme about ebikes requiring ATTENTION TO DETAIL!!!!!!!!!!!

Adrian Chiles - TV Presenter formally diagnosed for ADHD

Adrian Chiles (b.1967) is a UK television and radio presenter. He has presented Working Lunch (1994–2007), Match of the Day 2 (2004–2010), The Apprentice:

adhduk.co.uk

 

[lenny]

“E-bikes are not illegal”: BBC hit with more complaints about “misleading and damaging” Panorama e-bike episode, as cycle shop owner says: “Finding a wolf in sheep’s clothing should not be a reason to attack sheep”

“The safety of road users is the most important thing, but highlighting danger should not involve the misrepresentation of an important and fast-growing sector increasing the amount of healthy, eco-friendly travel”

road.cc

 

[Woosh]

The Panorama program should have started with the fact that the vast majority of e-bikes are road legal.

 

[nigelbb]

The Panorama program should have started with the fact that the vast majority of e-bikes are road legal.

Do you have the figures to support that claim?

Most of the e-bikes that I see in the UK look illegal with motors the diameter of dinner plates & batteries held together with gaffer tape.

 

[saneagle]

Do you have the figures to support that claim?

Most of the e-bikes that I see in the UK look illegal with motors the diameter of dinner plates & batteries held together with gaffer tape.

Good point, but maybe you'd get a more representative sample if you went for a ride in the country instead of only direct to the kebab shop and back.

Joking aside, it's fair to say that many town and city centres are infested with illegal e-bikes, as demonstrated in that video of Croydon that I linked a couple of weeks ago, where at least 4 were seen cruising past the police without pedalling within a 20 minute video, and the police didn't seem to care. When I watch similar videos, it's always the same.

Where I live (Telford), the majority seem to be legal, though I can't say about throttles or speed restriction.

 

[Woosh]

Do you have the figures to support that claim?

Most of the e-bikes that I see in the UK look illegal with motors the diameter of dinner plates & batteries held together with gaffer tape.

We have something like 2300 bike shops in the UK.
Most ebikes are made by large businesses and sold by normal distribution like
Halfords, all the retailers with shops in the streets are selling road legal ebikes. Virtually all ebikes with dinner plates motors that you see are kits sold on aliexpress, ebay and amazon. There is no way that sales of kits match the numbers of ebikes sold by normal bike shops.
Also, the idea that cycle to work schemes can be used to buy illegal bikes is totally unsubstantiated. They are governed by contracts. You won't get paid by the scheme providers if you don't comply.

 

[thelarkbox]

Did someone say cats?

For anyone interested and to help me vent.. yeah last vet appointment for jabs resulted in a failure to 'box' and a disappeared cat, however as soon as i got off the phone to inform the vets and re-appoint for Tuesday am, guess who turned up all purrs and leg leaning, hurumph! - seems she is not one to hold a grudge

So Im laying wrapping towels on all her spots well those i know.. so if the food tempting fails again, i can try the wrapping up of claws with a towel?? it didnt work when bringing the towel to the unsuspecting cat, so digits crossed???

 

[flecc]

The Panorama program should have started with the fact that the vast majority of e-bikes are road legal.

Perfectly true.

Sadly though it hides other bitter truths:

The illegal e-bikes used for delivery, maybe 10% or less of the total, often work all the time, day and night. As @saneagle remarked about the centre of cities and towns like the North Croydon he exampled with photos, we see them all the time in those locations.

Legal EAPCs all too often are very little used with extremely low leisure mileages. We see it so often with the second hand offerings having genuinely tiny mileages on unworn and unmarked examples. As @nigelbb posted, legal EAPCs are hardly ever seen among the so many obviously illegals being actually ridden. My 18 years of remarking in posts the near total absence of seeing any EAPCs where I live in the heavily populated parts of South Croydon and the North Downs confirm Nigel's observation.

So the situation compares with that of minicabs and private cars, far fewer minicabs but their mileages and use vastly exceed those of the private cars, idle and parked most of their lives.
.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Same in Cardiff.

Go the the pedestrian precinct by the Castle, where there Deliverpoo riders congregate by OldMicDonalds and maybe 90% + of the 'eBikes' you see look like illegal eMotorBikes.

 

[Woosh]

The illegal e-bikes used for delivery, maybe 10% or less of the total, often work all the time, day and night. As @saneagle remarked about the centre of cities and towns like the North Croydon he exampled with photos, we see them all the time in those locations.

I don't see why we should tarnish all the food deliverers in the same brush. In Southend, they all congregate in Queens Road because Mc Donald's, chicken, burger and pizza places are located around the pedetrian part. Some of them use cars, some proper motorbikes, some legal ebikes, some push bikes and some with pancake type motors. Only those with pancake motors have double batteries.

 

[flecc]

I don't see why we should tarnish all the food deliverers in the same brush. In Southend, they all congregate in Queens Road because Mc Donald's, chicken, burger and pizza places are located around the pedetrian part. Some of them use cars, some proper motorbikes, some legal ebikes, some push bikes and some with pancake type motors. Only those with pancake motors have double batteries.

I didn't !!!!

I expressly said "illegal e-bikes used for deliveries".

I made no mention of all the other types of vehicle in use for that purpose.
.

 

[guerney]

For anyone interested and to help me vent.. yeah last vet appointment for jabs resulted in a failure to 'box' and a disappeared cat, however as soon as i got off the phone to inform the vets and re-appoint for Tuesday am, guess who turned up all purrs and leg leaning, hurumph! - seems she is not one to hold a grudge

So Im laying wrapping towels on all her spots well those i know.. so if the food tempting fails again, i can try the wrapping up of claws with a towel?? it didnt work when bringing the towel to the unsuspecting cat, so digits crossed???

I've used that method to administer pills. Best rehearse it many times beforehand. You don't want the poor cat trapped in a towel inside the pet carrier.

 

[Woosh]

I didn't !!!!



I expressly said "illegal e-bikes used for deliveries".



I made no mention of all the other types of vehicle in use for that purpose.

.

Those with pancake motors are not generally a problem for anyone, they stick to the roads and hardly ever seen on shared space. We don't have much Surron type bikes round here.

 

[Cadence]

Meanwhile, it seems that the BBC are not alone in quoting the EAPC laws incorrectly. I had a marketing email from Halfords yesterday, trying to sell "e-bikes", with a link to a page detailing among other things "Ebike safety and legal implications".

https://www.halfords.com/cycling/advice/e-bikes-everything-you-need-to-know.html?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Email_one_time&utm_campaign=FY25_WK43_BAU3756_Active&utm_identifier=203D0F0B-38C4-4C5D-BF0C-24D4329ABDBD&cid=113938&mid=2836344415

In it is this:-
"In the UK, e-bikes (or electrically assisted pedal cycles, EAPCs) must comply with specific legal requirements. The motor must not exceed 250 watts, and the bike should not assist pedalling over 15.5 mph. E-bikes are required to be pedal assisted and not controlled by a throttle."

The crucial words "continuously rated" are missing when referring to 250w and no reference is made to a throttle being legal without pedalling up to 6km/h and with pedalling above that to 15.5mph.
No wonder there is confusion, even among established pedelecers, about what is legal!

 

[Az.]

This particular Panorama follows certain pattern of programs I call "I don't have a clue". They choose a presenter who has no bloody clue about subject. I guess programs like that are equivalent to content published in British tabloids.

 

[lenny]

BBC claims its Panorama episode about e-bikes was “fair and impartial and clearly not an attack on the e-bike industry”
The broadcaster made the claims in response to a viewer’s complaint, weeks after widespread criticism from cyclists and the Bicycle Association stating the episode “unjustifiably damaged” legal e-bike industry

"The BBC concluded, saying: “Some viewers felt the programme was too negative about e-bikes. However we believe it was fair and impartial and from the outset was clearly not an attack on the e-bike industry but an examination of how the huge rise in their use has impacted our towns and cities."

BBC claims its Panorama episode about e-bikes was “fair and impartial and clearly not an attack on the e-bike industry”

The broadcaster made the claims in response to a viewer’s complaint, weeks after widespread criticism from cyclists and the Bicycle Association stating the episode “unjustifiably damaged” legal e-bike industry

road.cc

 

[MikelBikel]

So Chiles was reporter on current affairs until demoted to football, no good at that either, so demoted to hit pieces for Pana-rama-dingdong coz of drinking. I assume he's not driving either, and in a right moody, hic! ;-)

 

[MikelBikel]

So is Wales really going back to 30mph , just as Ireland reduces 50kph down to 30kph (80kph also down to 60kph on 7th Feb). Must be serious money in the contracts for signage, wink wink, kerching?
Oh, for Safety, of course