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I think the Bow flyover situation is really simple to resolve (I cycle this most days, so bear with me here):
1) 99% peds and cyclists are going east/west.
2) Traffic is doing all directions, but west to east traffic over the flyover is minimal. East to west is mixed, but this is already one lane anyway.
3) There is NO pedestrian crossing that actually allows peds to safely go east/west across the blasted roundabout (unless you are a professional sprinter).So my view is this - get the bikes and peds away from the roundabout and use the flyover...
a) On the West -> East side of the flyover, take one whole lane and convert into cheap ped lane + segregated bike lane. Put ped/cycle crossing points at either end of the flyover. I had a look at TFL's first attempt at this, but it was stupid as it forced all cyclists to use the ped/cycle crossing to access the segregated part... daft and slow.
b) On the East -> West side, rinse and repeat, but make this a "full cycle lane only" affair and move the road lane out into the hashed section. Add cycle crossing lights at the east side so bikes can easily get across to the flyover.- Note, none of this impacts the bow roundabout... so any excuses about impact on traffic flow can be ignored here...
For the rest of the CS2 between Aldgate/Bow Flyover, I would make the bus lanes 24hrs mandatory Bike/Taxi/Bus only. No other traffic allowed. And paint the whole lot blue + remove the rights for car parking outside rush hour...
For all bus stops, make sure there is enough space for bikes to go round the outside the bus and stay within the restricted lane.
After that, then we are into pavement reduction/segregated cycle lanes. But my issue is that the whole route is so busy (with junctions, tight bridges) that it would make the whole thing too complicated to use without making it more of a nodder fest than it already is.
That's my thoughts...
- Note, none of this impacts the bow roundabout... so any excuses about impact on traffic flow can be ignored here...
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Eurobike 2013 - Dahon has concept folding fixie on display - see back end of the video...
http://www.foldingbiketravels.com/2013/09/dahons-new-product-highlights-at.html -
7:45PM - Just passed the police closing the junction down and the ambulance arriving.
The person was laying in the road was being seen to.
The white bike lying on the side of road looked in good shape from a distance (unlike the mangled mess I saw last year nr Victoria). Looking on from the far corner of the junction, I would say this was a cyclist - but the title is set to cover the other scenario too.
The lights changed and I had to go on.
I hope they get well soon. :-(
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I wonder why there aren't more bikes like these being produced.
Hmm, good question, it does look different for a road bike... and also Dahon already has a folding road bike with their Tournado (it's not an instant fold, more an Allen Key + 25 mins to make it happen, but the frame looks like a regular road bike...).That's not a bad weight for a folding bike!
The weight is helped by the alu frame and picking known components with published weights. Also, I've done simple things like swapping out the heavy R500 wheelset skewers for titanium ones that I sourced from the web.It looks pretty short for big wheels though, are you getting toe overlap?
I was worried about that as well, but testing out has shown no overlap. -
Here's the pics folded. I've also taken off the detachable pedals...
So now it's easy to drop into the boot of a car or sit near the exit door of a train.
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Ha, that looks hilarious.
:-)
I currently ride a folding Dahon Jack (that's a full size 26" MTB type folder with the same frame as in the pic) across east London most working days. I need a folder as I have a train element to my journey. The frame is alu, a simple mechanical fold and the whole unit works well + cheap.
With the recent Dahon/Tern history, I've been looking for a spare frame in case of damage and I cannot source a replacement. Just before Xmas, a seller on Ebay was selling new Espresso/Jack frames for £60, and I could not resist. The nice thing about this frame is that it's just polished alu (the Jack is matt black painted + marks easily) and all elements/fittings are standard sizes, so no special parts to worry about.
Ok, so I keep on knocking into this spare frame in the garage and I'm now thinking, can I stick 700c wheels on this and make it a "sunny day" commuter + audax bike? The worst that can happen is that it has a rubbish ride, I then just remove the road bits and buy a "proper" road frame instead.
Budgetwise, I've been on a lean cost basis, but kicking the numbers round has led me to a cheap Tiagra 2012 groupset from ebay and low cost parts elsewhere. No carbon except for the forks.
Weight wise, my Dahon Jack MTB commuter weighs in around 14.5Kg, this weighs in around 10.2Kg.
Either way, it's an interesting project to play with. So far, I've just got it built and will be folding it onto the train in the next few weeks. Looking forward to cycling with drops - the last time I was using drops was in the early 90's...
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Hmm, how about this:
My Dahon Espresso Road Project:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77981342@N02/7145844537/in/set-72157629608204628I've just finished this project with a Dahon Espresso frame I was able to buy off ebay before xmas... it's not single/fixed, but you can see that 700c wheels with caliper brakes (long drops) can be fitted...
The issue here is if a rider goes through the Bike lane at Red (first lightset from the RHS), then they are in parallel with any traffic on the main carriageway. I.e. they are effectively undertaking any vehicle.
Now put a bike and a lorry in the equation and you have a potential LFGSS black logo scenario as the lorry cannot see the bike. A lot of traffic turns left for the tunnel and also changes thinking from 30mph to higher speeds.
I'm sad as I expect a few more black logos from this specific junction in the next year or so. The only way to fix this junction is to get the bikes over the flyover (it has the space) and avoid the roundabout altogether.
I'm posting here as I passed Venera that morning (1/2 mile back) and just missed this. RIP :-(