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