News

Making equality the norm

March 8, 2019

Last Spring, we made the decision to stop using titles in our written communications with all our customers. We deem the use of honorifics and titles, to distinguish between married/unmarried women, but not men, to be outmoded and discriminatory. Titles can often set people up against each other as they imply some as worthier than others....

General News

The disposable bag is dead. Long live 'notabag'

March 4, 2019

As disposable plastic carrier bags edge towards extinction, their place is being taken by a new generation of lightweight reusable bag. Whether you are popping out on your bike or off on holiday further afield, the reflective Notabag is a clever combination of a bag and a backpack made from high visibility reflective material. It's party...

Cycling

Where will you travel in 2019?

March 4, 2019

It's hard to know whether spring has sprung, but the promise of better weather is enough to spread the travel bug. Bicycles that have been languishing in sheds over the winter deserve to be brushed off and readied for a summer of riding, travel maps dusted off and adventures planned. If you are planning to cycle abroad, Bike Express makes...

Cycling

Tall bikes can save the world

March 1, 2019

Roads have a social hierarchy of their own. Generally speaking, the bigger the vehicle the more entitled the attitude of the driver - an anti-social and potentially deadly hierarchy that puts vulnerable road users at greatest risk. This inequality is part of the inspiration for tall bikes - and there is none more lofty than this...

Cycling

Surly by name, city friendly by nature

March 1, 2019

According to a recent survey of 4,300 cities around the world, 80 per cent of urban areas do not comply with World Health Organisation air quality guideline levels. Worse still, particulate air pollution levels in many developing cities can be up to 15 times higher than WHO guideline levels, putting many at risk of long-term health problems...

Cycling

High-tech zebra crossing

February 28, 2019

When people have to work in or around a road it's considered a serious healthy and safety issue involving risk assessments, special equipment and even closure of the carriageway. The rest of us who interact with busy roads have to make do with little more than good luck. With this inequality in mind, a new high-tech upgrade for the...

General News

Faema Guerra cycling top up for grabs

February 21, 2019

Spring is in the air so in its honour we have this Faema Guerra retro cycling top in medium to give away. The top is worth £70 and boasts lightweight polyester for incredible comfort and breathability in warmer weather. To be in with a chance of winning the top, please leave a comment below. Ethical cycle insurance On the face of it,...

Cycling

Only one of these vehicles is illegal on British streets

February 21, 2019

There's something of the Mad Max about today's cities: We wave a chequered flag to cars capable of over 200mph; we don't bat an eyelid to SUVs that boast 700hp and we turn a blind eye to fully laden 44-ton articulated lorries that squeeze six miles from every gallon of diesel as they rumble along our narrowest streets. We do, however, make...

Cycling

How do we kill each other in Britain?

February 21, 2019

Talk about road fatalities centres almost exclusively about numbers killed. It's a narrative that masks not only the misery caused by each death, but details about who is doing the killing. 1,793 people were killed on Britain's roads in 2017. But what about if we put that statistic to one side and focussed on which vehicles are involved...

Cycling

Schools under siege: Why do we need child-shaped traffic bollards?

February 15, 2019

Our schoolchildren are under siege. Not only are more than 950 schools near roads with harmful levels of illegal pollution, but over 6,000 children were injured on British roads in 2016 - a threat that prompts some schools to resort to barricades against cars. However, a decade after child-shaped safety bollards first appeared outside a...

Driving