Fixie-Killer: Sturmey Archer S2C

Today was trade/media day at London’s annual Cycle Show at Earls Court. Among the most talked-about new exhibits was the long-awaited Sturmey Archer three-speed fixed wheel hub, the S3X. In the craze for all things fixed, Sturmey’s ancient ASC, a three-speed fixed hub that went out of production in the mid 1950s, has been selling for enormous sums on Ebay and for a few years now it has been rumoured that Sturmey would bring it back into production. The S3X is now ready to roll. Continue reading

Harriet Harman: On Your Bike!

Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman is ‘helping police with their enquiries’ about a minor car crash in which it is alleged Ms Harman committed two offences: driving while talking on a mobile phone and leaving the scene of a collision without swapping contact and registration details. Both are serious offences, the latter carrying a potential 6 month prison sentence. Ms Harman has form here. In 2003 she was fined £400 and banned from driving for a week after being convicted of driving at 99 miles per hour on a motorway, 29 mph above the speed limit. In 2007 she received a £60 penalty notice for driving at 50 mph in a 40 mph zone. As The Times reports today, Ministers convicted of traffic offences have traditionally had to resign their ministerial careers, though these days it does seem to take a lot more before ‘honourable’ Members to do the honourable thing. As the row continues to rumble on, perhaps there’s an opportunity to turn it round to her own benefit. Continue reading

Podcasts on the radio

I love listening to the radio. And I love podcasts because they mean I can listen to my favourite radio programmes from around the world whenever I want, plus the growing number of high quality podcasts that are not radio programmes, like Philosophy Bites, Ruby’s Chicky Boilups and the Hackney Podcast. I’ve recently made a fantastic discovery that is allowing me to listen to podcasts on the radio. Continue reading

Cycle Super-MyWays

Boris Johnson is London’s first cycling Mayor and he has put a ‘cycling revolution’ at the heart of his programme of government. As well as the Cycle Hire Scheme, Mayor Johnson has announced plans for what he has dubbed ‘cycle superhighways’. There will be twelve superhighways, each offering “safe, fast, direct routes to central London from the outer boroughs”. But there are growing concerns that the plans are being watered down. Continue reading

Cycle Chic

cyclodelicRiding with Amy Fleuriot, a young British fashion designer who’s Cyclodelic range of clothing and accessories is offering women a more stylish alternative to the typically drab clothing sold to cyclists. This is the final show in the current season. Thanks for listening!

Le Tour Redux

tdf
Joining me in the studio is Graeme Fife, author of the definitive account of Le Tour de France, updated each year. He’s also author of the beautiful Rapha Guide to the Great Road Climbs of the Pyrenees.

graeme_fifeWe discuss this year’s Tour de France, the most spectacular for some time, featuring the drama over the return from retirement of seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, seeking to try his luck against a new generation of outstanding riders including two plucky Brits: Mark Cavendish and Brad Wiggins. Our discussion is leavened with some insighful comments from a handful of Bike Show listeners.

Thanks go to Dave at road.cc, Pete, David of the marvellous Highway Cycling Group, Jason and Adrian.

Photo:BERNARD PAPON/AFP/Getty Images

Play on links below.

More AudioBoo fun: Tour de France reflections

After the Dunwich Dynamo by AudioBoo, now a look-back at the Tour. My guest on tomorrow (Monday’s) show will be writer Graeme Fife, who has written widely about the Tour, cycling, French history and other things too. We’ll be looking back over the 2009 Tour. We’d like to hear your reflections, your most memorable bits, the things that will stay with you, the things that made you happy, made you angry or made you sad. And if you’ve got an iPhone, it’s a simple as laying down an AudioBoo. Just tag it with ‘tdf09’ and they’ll be played on the show. AudioBoo is a fantastic free audio blogging service from a London company based just a stone’s throw from Resonance FM.

Update: Apparently you can also do this from a normal phone. Just call +44 (0) 203 393 6430 and leave a message. Normal national call rates apply, though you could do it from SkyeOut to save a few pennies or if you’re abroad.