What's faster across one of the busiest cities in the world - the bike or public transport? James and Rupert use pedal power to try and beat Will in a race from Herne Hill Velodrome in South London to the Lee Valley Velodrome in Stratford in East London.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00We're here at Hearn Hill Velodrome today and we're going to ride to the Lee Valley
00:21Velodrome in London, two iconic London cycling destinations to show you the
00:26merits of riding your bike in the city. Now to take on this challenge I'm using this
00:31the beautiful Rivel Hybrid ALE, something with a little twist because it does use a little motor.
00:38And I've chosen Cannondale's Topstone Tiagra as my bike of choice here and we're going to be using
00:43Komoot to plan our route from Hearn Hill all the way to Lee Valley. Well we'd better go on with it
00:49really haven't we? Hang on. What are you doing here? There was a memo last night did you not see it?
00:56The boss said we're going to spice this video up and make a race of it. I'm going to use my two
01:01legs and you guys are going to use your two bikes and we're going to see who gets to the Velodrome
01:04first. There is a catch though. The memo clearly stated that you guys have to go via the third most
01:09iconic cycling destination in London, the Mall. Alright well that's not fair because that is so
01:14out of the way. To make this fair again you have to take three different types of public transport.
01:21Okay, alright, you're on. Sounds fair. Sounds fair. Three, two, one, go. Oh he's got a headstone.
01:26Come on, come on, we've got time. Let's go, let's go.
01:36Let's go, let's go.
01:55Come on.
02:17So we've just arrived at Hearn Hill Station.
02:20Just checking the live tracking here.
02:22They're already about to cross the bridge,
02:24so they're getting really close to the mountain.
02:26We've got about 10 minute wait here
02:27before we get going up to London Bridge,
02:29so I think this could be a tight race.
02:37For today's challenge,
02:39I've chosen to give myself the best chance of winning
02:42as possible by using an e-bike.
02:45This is Ribbles Hybrid ALE,
02:48and it looks like a beautiful, sleek hybrid bike,
02:51but with a difference.
02:52It uses an e-bike motion system
02:54that's tucked in the rear hub of the wheel.
02:58Now, that gives me 250 watts of support
03:01in three different levels,
03:02which means you can tune the ride
03:04to exactly how you want it to be.
03:07Comes with all of the other fittings
03:08that you would expect on a commuter bike,
03:10including mudguard mounts on the front and rear,
03:12a pannier rack to carry all of your goods,
03:15and wide tires.
03:17The Ribbles Hybrid ALE is going to give me
03:20that lick of speed I need to win today's race.
03:23Well, James, we've just crossed over Vauxhall Bridge,
03:28which is just over there, past the MI5 building.
03:30Oh, very exciting!
03:33It is!
03:34And we're about to go through Parliament Square.
03:36Beautiful, but notoriously a very difficult place to cycle through.
03:39Yeah, however, we've got this really cool blue superhighway.
03:43Can't miss it, can you?
03:44No, no.
03:45We've just been on CS5, which has brought us down from Hearn Hill,
03:48and then we've ridden that through Vauxhall,
03:50and now we're on to this one, going through Parliament Square.
03:53Yeah!
03:54Yep!
03:54So, I'm going to go through Parliament Square.
03:56And then, we've got this really cool blue superhighway.
03:59Can't miss it, can you?
04:00No, no.
04:01We've just been on CS5, which has brought us down from Hearn Hill.
04:05Yes.
04:06And then we've ridden that through Vauxhall,
04:07and now we're on to this one going through Parliament Square.
04:10Yeah!
04:43James, where are we?
04:49Well, I think this is quite a famous building here on the left.
04:54Buckingham Palace.
05:01Well, we're here.
05:02We're at the Mall.
05:03Main to the Mall.
05:04So the third iconic cycling landmark of London.
05:08So we've achieved our challenge.
05:10Yeah.
05:10Now it's just time to crack on.
05:12But what a journey we had down here.
05:13It was pretty good, actually.
05:15You know, obviously riding in London is quite an experience anyway.
05:19Lots of traffic.
05:20But the cycle highways are so good.
05:24They're just really well marked out.
05:26And actually navigating was good.
05:27And we saw some great sights as well.
05:29Hang on a minute.
05:31What's that?
05:31I've got a message from Will.
05:34Oh, yeah?
05:35Yes.
05:35Where is he?
05:37Hi, boys.
05:37You can see him at the Tube.
05:40Second mode of transport.
05:42Where are you guys at?
05:43I think I'm in the lead right here.
05:46He comes to my train.
05:47Oh, he's on the Tube.
05:48So Elephant Castle.
05:50He's quite far along.
05:52Yeah.
05:52We better actually go there, haven't we?
05:53We better go.
05:54Could there be a more perfect bike to take on the streets of London than Cannondale's Topstone Tiagra?
06:19It is a gravel bike, but it's way more than just that.
06:22A gravel bike is actually perfect as a commuting weapon, purely because it's got such great, versatile features.
06:29The first feature that makes it great as a commuter is the riding position.
06:33It gives you a much taller, much more commanding position when you're riding in traffic.
06:38And it's also got what Cannondale call their out-front geometry, which puts the front wheel further forward than on a normal road bike,
06:46meaning it's way more stable.
06:48Now, with the road surfaces that we have around here, that is definitely a plus point.
06:53Then going hand-in-hand with that geometry, you've got those tires.
06:57There's big, chunky tires on this bike that are still fast-rolling, but they'll take on the potholes
07:02and all of the cracks and everything that the roads can throw at you.
07:06With the DNA of a road bike, this bike is definitely fast and nimble.
07:10And we'll make sure that today we will come out on top.
07:13Right, so we've made it to London Bridge.
07:34I've got to find another mode of transport, but I've got an idea.
07:37Come with me.
07:37I've got to find another mode of transport.
08:07I've got a text.
08:20Dower Bridge! We were coming by and we just felt like we had to stop really.
08:25Yeah, it's not an iconic cycling spot but it's an iconic spot altogether really.
08:29It is, isn't it? Oh, hang on. I've got a text!
08:35Hi boys, hopefully you can hear me okay on the boat. I think to level the playing field,
08:39you guys should take on another challenge. You keep banging on about how good your commuter bikes
08:44are and how they're so versatile. How about you try some off-road on the way to Stratford?
08:49Let me know what you think. So we need to hit some off-road before we get to the velodrome.
08:54Some off-road? In London? Is that possible? Yes, on the canals. So East London's full of canals.
09:01I see the Zurich Tower Bridge. We should be able to. We're pretty close. We can cut up through
09:06Limehouse I would have thought and onto the Regent's Canal. Cool, program it in mate. Let's plot it in.
09:13We're just coming under Tower Bridge. I've got a sneaky suspicion on the live recording and it's just
09:18over there. There they are. We've just seen them go by on the boat. We better get going. Yes.
09:37Go James!
09:55I think we should go and ask the captain if he can put his foot down.
10:13I think the captain got a message, full gas, full gas.
10:43Alright, we're almost there, so literally just there.
11:11I think he's just round the corner, he's coming round the corner, look, there he is, so there's
11:32us, and he's right there.
11:39Welcome.
11:41Easy.
11:43How did you do that?
11:45We have these.
11:46Bicycles, my friend.
11:47We don't have to then rely on other forms of transport to get here.
11:52We could do it all ourselves.
11:54London Transport's like the best in the world.
11:56No doubt.
11:57But no transport is more efficient than the bicycle.
12:00Well, well done, gents.
12:02Well done.
12:03Fair and square, I'll give you that.
12:05It was a good challenge.
12:06It was not bad, you weren't too far behind, but it was still second place, first loser
12:11and all that, isn't it?
12:12Yeah.
12:13Thanks, guys.
12:14Yeah.
12:15Well, sorry, Will.
12:16It was a good challenge, but here we are, iconic Lee Valley Velodrome behind us.
12:21And that was a good challenge.
12:23It was.
12:24And I think the one thing that stands out more than anything else for myself is just how
12:28small London becomes when you're on a bike.
12:31Definitely.
12:32It's just, everything is just so close.
12:34All of a sudden, one minute you're like, oh, we're here.
12:36Yeah.
12:37So good.
12:38I've just been thinking the cost of this trip versus what you can get one of these bikes
12:41on the cycle to work scheme.
12:43It's really quite impressive.
12:44I think within, you know, say you're commuting five days a week, within six months, you could,
12:48you know, you could get your money back.
12:49Really.
12:50It's really impressive.
12:51Easily.
12:52Yeah.
12:53But that does end this challenge and what a challenge it has been.
12:56But if you've enjoyed it, then please do like and subscribe to the Cycling Weekly YouTube
13:00channel.
13:01And if you have any tips for riding in the city, do let us know in the comment section below.
13:05And likewise, if you're interested in the route that we took across London,
13:09we'll be putting a link to that in the description box underneath this video.
13:13But until next time, we'll see you then.
13:15I'll have to get a Boris bike.