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I just bought a Reynolds 531 frame on eBay to build my first fixie and it rang bells for me too - it's in the paint shop at the moment!

you sure they weren't just riding backwards?

Rather strangely both were pushing bicycles down roads rather than riding them. Maybe they need a run up to start going backwards?

I always wave thanks to drivers who have been considerate. I like to think it helps balance out the rest of the swearing and gesticulating at crapheads.

Really helps too - seems to have a calming effect on drivers. I often wave to say thank you before I need to maneuver past a car and they often let me past with no issues. Maybe they're thinking they waved me past but had forgotten...

Another thing I was going to say (but has probably been mentioned a million times already, so sorry about that) but what is it about people putting red lights on the front of their bikes?

Last night I saw two people on my cycle home with no light on the rear but a red light on the front.

Tonight's award must go to the hybrid-riding, urban mask-wearing guy in a purple shirt who wobbled past a collection of cyclists at a red light and straight across the path of crossing pedestrians. Not only that but he managed to wobble so much he stumbled and shoulder-barged a guy who was crossing. he then made his way into the very busy road and 'hamster-wheeled' in a low gear across trying to avoid cars flying past him.

A few seconds later the lights changed and all of the cyclists who'd waited had caught up with him anyway.

Not sure I've seen a better example of somebody that has absolutely no ability or road-sense at all!

...also, I think front racks look way nicer than rear racks...IMHO.

I've just got one of the Gamoh front racks and think it'd look good on your bike. Tokyo Fixed have them at:

http://www.tokyofixedgear.com/products/72-Racks-&-Pannier/3831-Gamoh---Porteur-Front-Bike-Rack/

Can't see if your bike has the right lugs, but they also sell p-clips to attach it to the forks etc.

Wish I had £600, absolutely beautiful!

Just heard that the Met have arrested a man on suspicion of careless driving in relation to the death:
http://twitter.com/#!/AysheaBuksh/statuses/128577105746345984

So horrible to hear yet another incident with an HGV. Poor guy...

Signed this too - just disgusting...

Awesome, loads of information there, thanks! It feels great now and not moving at all.

Sorry if this is a really obvious question, but I noticed that when I was using my front brake there was a tiny 'clunk' sound. Stopping at the lights it was obvious that the nut on the top of the headset was really loose.

I have an adjustable spanner that I can use to tighten it up but I wondered how tight should it be? Just tight enough or very tight?

my girlfriend has been riding now for about 8 months, and I have just built her up quite a nice new bike. She has received comments from cyclists about her bike every day since she has been riding it, including a 'nice bag' comment when using my bagaboo. I have NEVER been spoken to by another cyclist in my 2 years of riding in london. I am beginning to develop a sever and deep inferiority complex leading to an expensive habit of buying nicer and nicer bikes in the hope I may be noticed one day. If i don't it will lead to a sex change...

but yes, girls do get more hassle/attention than men, even when riding with their boyfriend.

It could be that people assume girls appreciate comments about how they (or their bike) looks and that guys maybe don't often compliment each other's looks or bikes. Bet there will be plenty of people admiring your bike (and bag) though.

Occasionally I have flowers stuck in various ways to my bicycle (although I don't have a basket anymore having replaced it with a front porteur rack) but I've had times when groups of drunk guys outside pubs have shouted "Oi, nice basket..." at me - I could live without that...

One pleasant older guy stopped me at the lights and told me he loved my bicycle and it reminded me of how bicycles 'used to look'. It's a Gazelle Tour Populair so looks quite Dutch but guess he thought it looked 'old'.

was written for rapha, can be found here..
http://www.rapha.cc/city-scopes-iv

Thanks for posting this, it's really good!

though there were some absolute weapons on 2 wheels, best let them go ahead and battle amongst themselves i've quickly learnt.

Find that's the best way too - people must have some really important jobs or get paid a hell of a lot to have to nearly kill themselves to get to them in the mornings!

^ what's an advanced cyclist and what qualifications do I need to tell people I am one?

I think you just need a cape or something...

Learned tonight that you can almost run people over on pedestrian crossings by a very helpful guy on a Brompton. It was handy because two of us were waiting for two slow-walking pedestrians to cross in front of us but we didn't realise that you could just plough straight across forcing them to stop sharply and look shocked.

When it was mentioned to him at the next set of lights that he nearly hit two pedestrians he informed us that he was an 'advanced cyclist' and that we should get a copy of the Highway Code. Think it's definitely worth getting a copy as it's been a while since I've read it and I must have forgotten that part.

So to the ignorant guy on the Brompton (nothing against Brompton riders at all) thank you for teaching us cyclists about advanced riding and thank you for keeping those pesky pedestrians in their place!

Reported for grooming.

You'd have to have pretty immense grooming powers to be able to do it on a passing bicycle!

Last year, cycling through Regent's Park, was the most amazing low-lying fog I've ever seen! I slowly pedaled down the central path and looked behind to see the swirling fog behind me, swallowing up the path again in my wake.

Bit prosaic maybe, but I love cycling through the winter and seem to do more miles and get out of the door earlier when its cold.

It's also nice to have slightly quieter bicycle lanes in the winter but I'm not one that calls out 'fair-weather cyclists' as I'm always happy to see more cyclists appearing on the roads as the weather gets warmer. Generally my bicycle is looking a bit shabby having gone all through the winter compared to the new, shiny bicycles, but it's lovely to see fellow cyclists again.

Think there's also a common bond in winter cyclists often too. That brief look you give each other as you pass on an icy road in the dark...

Absolutely horrific! So glad the lady was able to react this way - no idea what I'd have done!

I'm not 100% sure what the driver has done wrong (beyond a slightly dickish attitude, which, could be understandable when being lectured to by an absolute stranger). Where have I gone wrong?

Maybe it wasn't a very good explanation by me, but I've honestly never seen anything like it. He was inches away from wiping out a motorcyclist with a bus and was driving the bus like it was a rally car. I'm honestly not just a whinging cyclist wanting to get somebody in trouble but it was completely unbelievable - and I see plenty of terrible bus driving.

To be honest, I don't mind if somebody laughs in my face or is rude, but if he actually killed somebody and I hadn't done anything....etc...

If anybody is interested, this is the bus complaint I made:

*I wish to make a formal complaint regarding the driver of the 134 service to Archway, index LK58 COU. The driver was a male with shaved head wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt.

This afternoon at approximately 14:29 I was on my pedal cycle stopped at the ATS at the intersection of the A401 near the junction of the A40 / A401 in central London. I was to the left of the middle lane and stopped behind two motorcyclists. The 134 service bus was in the right-hand lane. The traffic lights were on red although I could hear the excessively-loud revving of the bus engine, so much so that the bus was even being lifted up and down on its parking brake as the driver revved hard. Looking through the lower deck windows, it looked like the bus was empty and had no passengers on-board, although I couldn't see the upper deck. The movement of the bus up and down as the driver revved against the parking brake seemed such that passengers would have had an issue with this. As soon as the lights changed, the motorcyclists pulled away at a reasonable speed for the type of vehicle but the bus, revving extremely hard, accelerated away from the lights in what seemed to be a race with the bikes - although the motorcyclists seemed not to be responding in any way. One motorcyclist was at this point ahead of the 134 service and it managed to cut get in front of the second cyclist and sped off along the A40 towards Tottenham Court Road. The motorcyclists appeared to head down Shaftsbury Avenue anyway so the driver had no need to overtake them.

As I was cycling in that direction, I was behind the bus by some distance but caught up with it as it stopped to talk to a colleague on another bus which was parked almost at Centre Point, immediately adjacent to The Angel pub. I came along side the driver's cab and said to him that with driving like that, he should lose his licence. He laughed in my face and replied "Yeah, thank you, goodbye" and sped off again laughing. His colleague also laughed at me.

I am absolutely staggered at the disgusting behaviour of this driver and the manner of his driving was not only dangerous but with a complete callous disregard to any other road-user in an area with many pedestrians, including those from other countries who may not be familiar with our road system, but also with a lot of pedal cyclists and other vehicles. It was clear that even when I approached the driver, he couldn't care any less about his driving. It is one thing to drive a car in this kind of manner, but to drive such a huge vehicle like this is absolutely unfathomable and I was left absolutely disgusted.

This email is also being copied to the Met Police Safer Transport Team as I believe it is serious enough to warrant a report being made to the police.*

I got a reply from the met, asking for some more details and eventually got a reply from the bus operator:

*I am writing in response to your complaint to London Buses regarding the actions of one of our drivers on a route 134, details of which have been passed on from London Buses for our attention.

You won’t be surprised to learn that the safety of our passengers, as well as that of other road users, is an issue we take extremely seriously. Our drivers receive comprehensive training to enable them to perform their duties to the highest standard. As you would expect, safety is a vital part of this training. To drive a bus erratically or at excessive speed is totally unacceptable.

I was extremely concerned to learn about the incident you witnessed. Our bus drivers are also the public face of London Buses. As such, they’re expected to behave in professional manner at all times. Driver behaviour such as you describe is totally unacceptable.

The incident is currently in the process of being investigated and followed up with the member of staff concerned. You can be assured that arising from our findings an appropriate course of action will be taken to deal effectively with the matter.

I should like to apologise for any annoyance that may have been caused on this occasion.

Yours sincerely

Jon Parry
Operating Support Manager*

I'm new here but one of the reasons I found the forum was searching on Google for bad driving from Addison Lee. I was nearly run off the road (and was actually in a cycle lane at the time) by some horrendous driving by one of their drivers. As I swerved out of the lane I looked back at the guy who was leaning on his horn and watched him drive past me on his phone!

I caught up with him, although wasn't chasing him, and knocked on his window to ask what the hell he thought he was doing although that's not something I'd usually do. Must have been a bit in shock as I noticed I was knocking so hard on his window it was bending inwards. He jumped in his seat and started shouting at me but still had his phone in his hand!

I've decided to start tweeting each instance of Addison Lee's bad driving but they're, obviously, ignoring me at the moment.

Have also reported a bus driver for totally ridiculous driving (although I was just a witness to this, but he nearly took out two motorcyclists) and I got a decent reply back from the company and the police's safer driving scheme thanking me for bringing it to their attention.

I cycle each day around central London on my commute and have been nearly hit by a bus and actually hit by two black cabs and a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist decided to do an unbelievable manoeuvre and undertook me on the inside in a gap of only a couple of feet. He whacked into me and I just managed not to fall off my bicycle. When I caught up with him at the junction he was stopped at he claimed I was 'all over the road' which was just complete rubbish. I reminded him that he screamed past me from behind and drove into me and to be fair he did say sorry.