Useful Information

This Useful Information does not contain advice

The information is provided for general information purposes only and is not a substitute for official advice. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate authorities. The information provided by us is provided in good faith, however we make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information. The use or reliance of any information contained here is solely at your own risk.

EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORmATION

The Club recommends OneLife iD. The single most useful piece of information is whether there are any allergies or medications as paramedics cannot start to administer potential life saving drugs in the ‘golden hour’ after any event without this information. Age is the next most important.

The OneLife iD is an engraved tag. You can upload all relevant medical information to their website which can be accessed by paramedics on site using a pin code on the tag. This can save precious minutes in the treatment of any serious incident. See the very positive review by Cycling Weekly here.

The cost of a tag starts at a low amount and we have negotiated a 15% discount for members – the discount code can be found in N&V 403/6.

ICE – IN CASE OF EMERGENCY – APPS

There are ICE apps which allow personal ICE information to be accessed on a mobile phone even if the phone is locked. In other words the information is accessible from the lock screen.

A variety of these apps exist with some performing different functions. The overall thrust of the approach by these apps is similar to the OneLife iD tag, i.e. readily accessible information about allergies, medications, contact information, etc. Typically these apps are free for use and can be seen as complementary to the OneLife iD tag.

WHAT3WORDS APP

This is another app which makes it easy to find, share and save precise locations. what3words has given every 3m square in the world a unique 3-word address. The words are randomly assigned to each square and will always stay the same. So it’s easy to find and share any location with just three words. If you find yourself unable to move you can summon help to your precise location.

HIGHWAY CODE

All cyclists on the public highway are required to observe the Highway Code. These are the rules for cyclists.

New rules have been published which are expected to take effect from 29 January 2022. Four main changes for cyclists are:

The introduction of the ‘Hierarchy of Road Users’, which recognises that road users who pose greater risks to others have a higher level of responsibility;
Simplification of the rules relating to non-signalised junctions which will make junctions safer and address ‘left-hook’ collisions;
New rules to tackle dangerous overtaking and ‘close passes’, with a guideline minimum safe passing distance;
The inclusion of the ‘Dutch Reach’ to help prevent ‘car-dooring’.

THE LAW RELATING TO BRAKES ON CYCLES

This is a summary of our understanding of the law from a detailed article written by Bob Damper and published in The Boneshaker, 214, Winter 2020. The law is contained in The Pedal Cycles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1983.

A chain-driven bicycle or tricycle with fixed-wheel transmission requires an efficient, working front brake to be legal on the public highway. This brake cannot operate on a pneumatic tyre.

A chain-driven bicycle with free-wheel transmission requires independent front and rear brakes to be legal on the public highway. Neither brake is permitted to operate on a pneumatic tyre. So an early machine such as the Metropole Acatène of the 1890s is not legal on the public highway because it has a front brake operating on a pneumatic tyre.

A chain-driven tricycle with free-wheel transmission, having two rear wheels and a single front wheel, requires two independent brakes to be legal on the public highway, with either one or both operating on the front wheel. Neither brake can operate on a pneumatic tyre. It appears that an adult tricycle manufactured before August 1984 may be permitted to have a single brake operating on a pair of rear (or front) wheels otherwise the brake must operate on both wheels of the pair.

A boneshaker, transitional, or ordinary, with the cranks fixed directly to the driving wheel axle without interposing chain or gearing is legal with no additional brakes.

A rear chain-driven bicycle or tricycle with fixed-wheel and a single rear brake is not legal on the public highway.

A dwarf or geared front-driving ordinary such as the various models of Crypto Bantam with a plunger brake operating on the front pneumatic tyre is not legal on the public highway.

As a consequence of a loose definition of ‘pedal’, the legal situation is uncertain regarding treadle-driven cycles but it is safest to assume that a treadle is a form of pedal and so they come within the scope of the Regulations.

It is unclear if the back rest of a recumbent bicycle or tricycle counts as part of the ‘seating area’ and so whether two independent (front and rear) brakes are required.

The law is unclear as regards cycles without a saddle, either because the saddle has been removed, or because the cycle is designed not to have one, e.g. some stunt cycles and stand-up cycles such as the ElliptiGo.

The Regulations appear to have overlooked unicycles which consequently appear to be legal on the public highway without brakes. They do of course have cranks fixed directly to the driving wheel axle like an ordinary which requires no additional brake.

INSURANCE

There are two aspects to insurance: public liability claims and cycle insurance.

All Club members participating in official Club events organized in the UK are covered by the Club’s public liability insurance. Official Club events must be prior notified in writing (including email) to the Club Secretary or the News and Views editor. Specific details of the Club’s insurance can be obtained from the Club Secretary.

Public liability, or third-party, cycle insurance helps cover for any damages and losses you and your cycle could cause to a third-party person, property or vehicle, such as in the case of an accident or collision when you are not participating in a Club event or are overseas. In some instances the insurance may provide legal expenses cover in addition which is useful to have. Third-party cycle insurance cover needs to be purchased from a specialist after considering the level of cover etc. There are reviews online.

Then there is insurance for the value of the cycle itself. For those who have home contents insurance, 78 percent of policies have some cover for bikes stolen from the home. However in many cases a value limit applies to the cycle or the claim. Only 29 percent of home contents policies provide cover of more than £2,000 for cycles stolen when away from home. For V-CC members it is worth considering a specialist cycle insurance policy.

MANUFACTURE OF SPARES

The idea of the Club sponsoring the manufacture of parts for members’ renovation projects, or to keep their machines on the road, is something that comes up for the Committee’s consideration with great regularity. For some time now, we have held to a firm policy of not getting involved in small-scale manufacture of this sort. The reasons for our reluctance are many and compelling.

First and foremost, someone has to “drive” this. We are a club run by volunteers and like all member clubs of our kind, we are
permanently and chronically short of people to do all the jobs that need doing. The work involved in researching possible manufacturers, contacting them, negotiating production runs and costs, storing the stock, handling sales, postage and packing, keeping inventory, liaising with the Treasurer etc. is very considerable. And inevitably, the job would grow. It would not be long before someone requested 28-inch tyres for their Sunbeam, then 22-inch tyres for their Crypto Bantam, and so on.

There would be requests for other things, such as: handlebar grips of various patterns, brake blocks of assorted kinds, brake lever rubbers, pedal rubbers, the list is endless. We would have to find room somewhere or other to store everything, probably having to pay for it. There is obviously a financial risk to any such venture and the last thing we want is members’ money tied up in stock that we find ourselves unable to shift. With each new request, the Committee would be put in the invidious position of either refusing the request, which would naturally lead to bad feeling or increasing the storage requirement, the money tied up in stock and the workload on the poor volunteer running the show. We are reminded that Spa Cycles (now a large retail operation) started out in exactly this way back in the mid-70s when Alan Pocklington volunteered to keep a small stock of increasingly hard-to-find parts (like Resilion brake parts and Shockstop handlebar grips) for members of the Rough-Stuff Fellowship. See how that grew!

When it comes to sourcing parts, there is really nothing your Committee can do that individual members cannot do for themselves. One of the beauties of our club is that we have many members with specialist skills who can be approached for help in getting things made. We have an excellent marque enthusiast service with MEs able to offer advice on sourcing parts particular to their marque, like Sunbeam brake blocks or springs for Dursley-Pedersen hammocks. News & Views has a Marketplace section where wants can be advertised, or a letter can be published seeking information on sources for needed items. If it does happen that a number of members are all searching for some item, why not band together and share the cost (and risk) of getting it made to special order? Your Committee would be pleased to consider giving whatever help and support we could to any group seeking to do this, but would stop well short of running any kind of special manufacturing service ourselves.