Cycling on TV (programmes)

Thought to make a new one whereever there's random stuff on cycling... Have UTFS'd and it only brings up the races.

It's on Watchdog right now, talking about Bikes that you can buy from ASDA and Tescos and if they're safe or not

yes and had John Humpherys advocating cycling without a helmet like he does because 'research has shown it is actually safer...' although he did acknowledge that there were many people who would argue with him on that (whilst failing to mention why).

Thought he was going a bit beyond his remit by making comments with such potentially serious ramifications for individuals because he vaguely remembers a headline on his 'news' that he might have mentioned once a few years ago, rather than ensuring that the research was scientifically robust, and that he was presenting both sides of the argument objectively, which is what I would expect from someone who was used by the programme because of his 'respectable and educated old fucker that everyone will believe always' tag.

Funny to see those flat pack bikes though.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/11/flat_pack_bikes.html

They've written the whole bike section they did on Watchdog in text, for those who can't have sound on.

Paste it here too I guess.

If you can't afford an expensive bike you could pick up a flat pack bike. They're very cheap, and you assemble them yourselves. However, we wanted to find whether they are a false economy? More importantly, we wanted to know whether the bikes are safe?

You can pick up a flat pack bike for less than £100. Among the names selling them are Tesco, Halfords, Toys R Us, Argos, and Asda. The major retailers would have you believe that these bikes are straightforward to build, you add the pedals, the seat and the handlebars and away you go. But if it really is that simple, how come ASDA, even in their own advert, couldn't get it right?

Asda launched a bike for just £70 back in June. Since then they've sold fifty thousand of them. That's despite having to pull their television advert when someone rather more practical spotted that the front forks were back to front. This meant that you wouldn't be able to steer the bike and the brakes wouldn't work. If Asda couldn't manage it, what hope is there for their customers?

We decided to find out by buying a flat pack bike from the five biggest names selling them and asked a volunteer to help build each one. We had two experts on hand to help judge how the bicycles were assembled, Paul Topham a bike mechanic and John Stevenson a leading cycling journalist. Both of them have strong opinions about flat pack bikes. Paul spoke about the ones we bought:

"They're very poor quality. There is the combination of the factor that they come un-built and the various bits that go to make them up leads to something that it's just not going to be much fun to ride even if you do manage to build it. Construction of these bikes is so shoddy that the wheels go out of true quickly brakes go out of adjustment quickly they stop working very quickly compared to a better quality proper bike from a bike shop."

Never mind what the experts say. What about the people they're aimed at? Students, commuters and amateur cyclists out for a bargain. We gave our team of testers two hours to build their bikes. Drama teacher Claire was tasked with assembling our most expensive model costing £99.99 from Toys R Us. Brian had the one from Halfords, Will had one from Argos and Wendy was going to tackle Tesco's.

Our cheapest bike cost £70 from Asda. We gave that one to Kulveer Ranger. He's the Mayor of London's Transport Adviser (and we all know Boris likes bikes). All of our volunteers had to construct the bikes without anyone's help. They were given the bike in the box with whatever instructions came with it and the tools provided - just an Allen key and a simple wrench. Our experts kept a watchful eye over the proceedings.

All of our volunteers struggled with their instructions and the tools often seemed inadequate for the job. All five made crucial mistakes that left their bikes unsafe to ride. But let's not be too hard on them - they're not experts and that's the point. Whether it was down to our cyclists and their assembly, or problems with the individual bikes we happened to buy, they all ended up with faults that only someone in the know would be able to put right. Paul inspected each bike and explained what he found:

The first bike he scrutinised was the one from Asda: He found "quite a major buckle in the front wheel." Next up he looked at the Halford's bike and again found a "Major buckle in the front wheel" which meant that the wheel was "rubbing against the brakes pad."

When Paul examined the Toys R Us bike he found that it had problems with its brakes. The Tesco bike had a buckled rear wheel and the chain jammed when the gears were changed. Paul said "If we pedal that on the ground that would just snap and break, it would be very dangerous as you would come to a halt and your new bike, all be it a cheap new bike would be broken." This happened with the Argos bike too.

All of the bikes came with gears, which needed tuning, and this can be tricky without specialist tools and knowledge. Putting a bike together yourself obviously isn't easy. The question is, is it safe? Well in France they reckon not. If you buy a flat pack bike there you have to have a professional to help you put it together. Here's where Halfords go the extra mile as they encourage you to have your bike checked or built in store, free of charge. Toys R Us offers the same service. Both stores, along with Asda offer a helpline. But with Argos and Tesco, you're on your own. Luckily our cyclists had mechanic Paul on hand who was able to make sure the bikes would be made safe enough to ride.

The view of the experts is that the bikes do work, at the moment, but for how long? They question whether they are they a false economy? Whether they are robust enough? and whether they are safe? These are things that these experts doubt.

Note:
John Humphries chose not to wear a cycle helmet during the course of the film about flat-pack bikes. He made his reasons for this decision clear during the programme. Although wearing a cycle helmet is not compulsory and there is debate on the subject, there is strong evidence, endorsed by the British Medical Association, to say that cycle helmets save lives and prevent brain damage. Visit this site for more information.

**Company responses:

Argos:**
"Argos sells a wide range of excellent bicycles of all types for all ages and, in common with other retailers, many of them are delivered part-assembled and need to be completed by the customer. This is made clear in our catalogue Bike Guide as well as on our website.

Part-assembled bicycles (the majority of which arrive either 85% or 90% assembled) enable us to offer value for money, which our customers welcome. We provide full, clear and easy to follow instructions with all our bicycles and include the tools required for them to complete the cycle assembly at home. In addition, all our bicycles comply with the Pedal Bicycles Safety Regulations, which amongst other things covers bicycles that are to be self-assembled.

Finally, our customer services team have told us that they have had only a very small number of customers call to say that they have experienced assembly problems.

While we are confident that the vast majority of our customers appreciate the options that we offer, we are constantly reviewing our products and processes for areas of improvement and we thank you for bringing this to our attention."

Asda:
"The real experts here are our customers and almost 50,000 of them have bought the bikes since they went on sale in June. Assembled correctly, they offer a safe and affordable option for customers looking to get on their bike on a budget and we've sold them at no profit to give our customers the best possible price.

What's more, there's a step by step film on our website that shows customers how to assemble the bike. As you'd expect, all the bikes we sell are built and tested to the safety standards set by the European Commission Directive - if they weren't we wouldn't sell them."

Asda are committed to making cycling both accessible and affordable to all and this year have raised over £1.5million for local cycling groups as part of our Pedal Power campaign.

Step-by-step guide to self assembly on YourAsda.com

Halfords:
"We recognise the possibility of a low but measurable risk of defect and the complexity of setting up gears and brakes. This is why we actively encourage customers to take advantage of our free Bike Build and follow up 6 week service. This way we can ensure that the bike is fully set up and ready for our customers to enjoy.

Halfords bike servicing is carried out by in-store cycling experts who are trained through a programme developed with the British Cycle Association. Encouragingly 93% of our bikes do now leave our stores fully checked and this percentage is increasing all the time

Where customers do opt to build their bikes at home we provide detailed instructions. We also encourage them to seek advice from a Halfords cycle specialist if they need any assistance and to bring the bike into store for a free safety check once built.

Loose Crank:
A loose crank is a rare manufacturing fault - as our requirement specifies that all cranks are torque tightened at the factory. We take faults seriously and will be discussing this finding with our manufacturer.

If customers find any such problems on home built bikes we will repair these free under warranty."

Tesco:
Tesco did not comment but passed on a response from their supplier Moore Large. This text includes Moore Large's responses to some of the findings of the experts featured in the Watchdog film:

"Needless to say, we at Moore Large are extremely proud of our very enviable record of selling quality bikes to consumers with a modicum of end-user adjustment required: we've been at it for over 25 years and today, just any other day we stand wholeheartedly behind our unblemished reputation and the quality of the product we supply."

**Expert Opinion: **The front brake is loose and doesn't seem to work at all - our mechanic believes this is down to poor adjustment by our non expert cyclist.

"This is undoubtedly down to poor adjustment by the assembler who has obviously not read the owner manual provided.

The inside front cover of the owner manual has the following statement:

'IMPORTANT: Read this manual before taking your first ride on your new bicycle, and keep this manual handy for future reference.

It has been written to help maximise your safety, comfort and enjoyment whilst cycling. It is important that you understand your bicycle's operations, limits and features to ensure you enjoy a lifetime of safe cycling from the very first ride.

This is the WARNING symbol. It is used throughout this manual to precede important safety instructions. Make sure you understand these instructions fully. Failure to do so may result in you losing control and falling. As any fall has the potential to result in serious injury or death, please pay particular attention to these warnings. If you are unsure of any aspect of these warnings you should consult a qualified bicycle technician before using this cycle.'

Additionally, pages 11-15 of the owner manual show the step-by-step instructions for correct adjustment of brakes along with a warning to check the brakes before every ride."

Expert Opinion: Front wheel has a lot of sideways movement - our mechanic believes this is down to poor adjustment by our non expert cyclist.
"Again, the assembler has failed to follow the supplied instructions and to heed the warning on the inside front cover. Front wheel attachment is adequately covered on page 6 of the manual."

Expert Opinion: Nuts on the front wheel are finger tight - our mechanic believes this is down to poor adjustment by our non expert cyclist.
"Answer as above. Correct tightening torque is also provided on page 27 of the manual."

**Expert Opinion: **Gears rattling but do work - our mechanic believes that whilst the gears did work they were of poor quality.
"As conceded by the mechanic, the gears do work. Adjustment instruction is provided on pages 17,18 & 19 of the manual with a warning at the foot of page 18 to not ride a bicycle that is not properly shifting."

Buckled rear wheel rubbing against brake pads, but the brakes do work - our mechanic believes this is a manufacturing error which would need tuning in a bicycle shop.
"Possibly. Unfortunately, we cannot anticipate and eliminate all damage that may occur on a bicycle during transit to the consumer. For this very reason, we include on page 26 a recommendation to check wheels before every ride. However, we would be very surprised and disappointed if the lateral movement of the wheel rim exceeded the ±2mm tolerance stated in BS 6102or indeed the ±1mm tolerance stated in BS EN 14764."

Not confident about plastic brake levers which flex - our mechanic believes these items are of inadequate quality for purpose.

"Your mechanic's personal opinions are not consistent with standards laid down by either the British Standards Institute or the European Committee for Standardization. Our over-riding interest and concern is providing a safe and functional bicycle to consumers. The brake levers exceed the requirements of all safety standards and I have never known there to be a brake failing attributable to plastic levers in the 25 years that Moore Large has been supplying such bicycles."

Right peddle incorrectly attached - our mechanic believes this is down to poor adjustment by our non expert cyclist.

"I should like to refer you to the instructions on the pedal wrapper, to the symbols on the pedals and cranks (left and right) and to the instructions on page 5 of the bicycle owner manual."

The chain came off the chain ring and chain guard and got stuck when the gears were changed. Gears not set up correctly - our mechanic believes that our non expert cyclist is not properly equipped to tune the gears and is not provided with the right tools to do this.

"We suggest that this is through lack of any adjustment -or incorrect adjustment- of the front derailleur. Instructions for the correct adjustment of the gears are stated on pages 17,18 & 19 of the owner manual.
The only non-supplied tool required to perform this adjustment is a screwdriver.
The Pedal Bicycles (Safety) Regulations 2003 state that all bicycles should be supplied with a list of readily available standard tools for assembly any special or non-standard tools that are required for correct assembly. The tools required for assembly and maintenance of the bicycle are listed on page 3 of the owner manual (with diagrams). Whilst common tools like pliers and screwdrivers are not included with our bicycles, we do anticipate that not all households may own Hex keys (Allen keys) and adjustable spanners. For this reason, a multi spanner and hex keys are included with all of our bicycles."

Instructions and tools inadequate:
"This allegation is groundless. The owner manual passes all safety standards for bicycles, we include less commonly found tools and as stated above, we anticipate most households have a screwdriver and pliers.
If not, I would refer the consumer to the warning on the inside cover of the owner manual."

Finally we plan to reflect the opinion of our mechanic who says that, in general, across all the bikes we tested, whilst many are 'easy' to put together - all needed some tuning of the gears and brakes. He believes that these are things a non expert cyclist could not achieve and that the correct tools for this tuning are not provided with the purchase of the bike.

He believes that anyone who purchases a bicycle of this sort should be strongly advised by the retailer to have it fine checked and adjusted by a professional bike mechanic and the bike should not be ridden until this has been done.

"We agree with the mechanic's opinion in so far as we suggest in the manual that any person unsure of their ability to assemble the bicycle or of the safety of their assembled bicycle should contact a local bicycle specialist for assistance before riding the bicycle.
I am a member of the technical committees of the Bicycle Association of Great Britain where we have input into and comment on any and all safety related standards and legislation that affects the bicycle industry in the UK and across the EU.

At Moore Large, we are very proud of our heritage and stand by all bicycles supplied to all of our customers. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you require any assistance or clarification regarding the issues raised."

Toys R Us:
"We take great pride in the bikes we sell and ensure all bikes conform to the toughest relevant British or European Bike Safety Standards.

We actively encourage all our customers to have their bikes built by our certified bike technicians COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE and mostly while they wait.

Our helpful bike advisors are keen to ensure our customers receive expert advice on which bike is suitable for their children and themselves... including important safety advice....and we stress that we'd like to build their bike for them - FREE.

As you appreciate Bikes come from the Bike factories in shipping boxes to facilitate transport and some self assembly is required if a customer insists on taking the bike home unassembled... some customers prefer this because it is sometimes easier to get into their car. There are clear instructions on assembly, but obviously a professional Bike assembler is likely to do a better job than an untrained person. We understand that some of our customers like to build their own bikes and we have worked hard over the years with our manufacturers to make bike self assembly easier to do.

Our Bike technicians are more than happy to build any bike bought from Toys R Us to ensure it is built correctly and safely which gives our customers 'complete peace of mind' when buying a bike from Toys R Us. Our bike building service is completely Free of Charge for our customers, unlike many of our competitors who either charge for this service or don't offer it at all. We will also check out bikes bought from us after the customer has assembled them if they have any concerns... again free of charge.

We do recommend to our customers that if they are in any doubt about building a bike themselves bought from Toys R Us, they let us build it for them at the time of purchase... if they have already taken it home unassembled we will be happy to build it for them if they return to the store with it."

The mechanic in the Watchdog piece Paul Topham is the friend of a colleague of mine.

He runs special bike out of Brighton.... quite a good bit on them on the Slow Coast site.

http://slowcoast.co.uk/soundslides/soundslide.php?id=86

I need to watch the whole thing with subtitles I think.

Those are some pretty weak responses. Especially to the "your wheels are out of true" criticisms. There is only so much you can blame on postage!

John Humphries gets on my tits. I wake up to R4 every morning and if it's a JH day it usually goes straight off again. His harrumphy rude faux-indignant interviewing style really gets on my nerves. Just listening to him you can almost see the self contratulatory look of his warty face.

Regarding the above i'm shocked, SHOCKED to hear that these bargain basement cheapo bikes from toy shops are of generally low quality. Also nice to see the "expert opinion" spells pedal "peddle".

Haha

Repost?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/cambridgeshire/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8386000/8386468.stm

**The Inside Out programme will be broadcast on BBC1 at 1930 BST on Monday 30 November. **

Nothing too bad in that clip, the cyclists darting in front of the bus was probably the worst of them.

Hardly "war"...

this wasn't on LONDON's BBC1 btw

this wasn't on LONDON's BBC1 btw

As I found out after watching a load of old tosh about fruit flies. Grrrrrr.

Yeah, sorry about that - I didn't realise either until half-way through.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search/?q=inside%20out

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p7hqs/Inside_Out_East_30_11_2009/

Thursday night 8pm, BBC 1, Human Power Station, reality show in which a family house is powered by cyclists on static bikes, unbeknownst to the fambly...

Thursday night 8pm, BBC 1, Human Power Station, reality show in which a family house is powered by cyclists on static bikes, unbeknownst to the fambly...

that'll be interesting.
the experiment they did at HH in the summer showed that it took an awful lot of cyclists just to boil a kettle, there's got to be some serious effort to keep a whole house going

It was, when dad got in the shower...

"Do you know how much room you should give a cyclist when passing?"
"I don't live in Cambridge love so it don't really bother me"

classic

Snoop Dogg has a go on two wheels:
http://www.mirror.co.uk?bcpid=18731164001&bctid=616561095001