Remember when you knew where the potholes were? Nowadays, cycling on British roads is a constant, crater-ridden skirmish

Yes - and damage is relative to the fourth power axle weight. So if you double the weight of a vehicle, the impact on the road surface increases by 16 times. So vehicle weight really, really matters. "Autobesity" is creating potholes.

There is the fourth power law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_power_law regarding wear and connection with vehicle weight. I hate SUVs for various reasons and they definitely contribute, but actually the big damage is caused by heavy trucks despite their limited number.

Edit: in general weight discrepancy is a big problem in car fleet. We have tiny cars well engineered to get 5 stars in crash tests but it is useless when they crash on that Range Rover. Big cars will use more parking space too and of course will emit more harmful gases and CO2. And we haven't started yes speaking about height discrepancy in cars that also create problems. I believe 90% of car trips could comfortably be covered by kei cars, yet they are practically non existent and now the trend for the big european manufacturers is to get rid of them.

On the topic, I feel unsafe with anything less than 32c while also trying to stay slow. Heavy rims also help you to keep your balance once you hit that big pothole you never saw in the middle of the night, so going cheap on wheels has some benefits!

Here's for micro-vehicles!

I would say that even smaller versions could be a useful addition to address worries about "but old people" / "but those with disabilities".  That could be a counter to the current "selective concern" arguments used to counter any changes to our streets (e.g. "because old people we can't have any restrictions on people driving and parking everywhere; also no cycling infra because it's dangerous!").

Unfortunately I have my doubts the UK could do this anytime soon without messing things up:

• We don't have sufficient cycle infra and where it exists the quality is poor or worse.  Specifically - width is really insufficient.  Junctions and interactions with motor traffic are far more inconvenient and indeed dangerous than they need be (see how they do it anywhere with mass cycling, particularly in NL).
• We aren't providing sufficient feedback to keep the big motor vehicles from driving / parking and even killing people on cycle paths and footways.  We would also need some kind of feedback / enforcement of any new classes of vehicles, which leads on to...
• We have essentially failed to manage the emergence of all kinds of new electric "things" on the market e.g. e-scooters, powerful electric motorbikes disguised as EAPCs.  It seems the current government (and indeed any potential replacements) simply don't give a stuff.  Or it's so far down their list of concerns in practice it's ignored.

Such tiny cars that can fit even cycle infra, would be a game changer, but the biggest problem is that: Aside from Netherlands (maybe Denmark too) there are few countries with consistent decent quality cycling infra.

No thanks...you can keep your mini cars off my bike lanes. I want the scooters (petrol and electric) off as well.

Interested in this - I know that scooters (particularly ICE) are ... controversial (e.g. here, overview here, about new electric things here - and of course David Hembrow taking a different view).

What is opinion about the Cantas?  Is there a different opinion on similar-sized microcars (e.g. the Biro)?  I would imagine that (in most places) they are rather rare?  It sounds like the latter - having expanded in wealthy places / for certain business uses - are being reined in by being moved out of the "disability vehicle" class - are they now barred from cycle paths (and if so is that restriction followed?)

Are there any issues encountered in practice with them other than "they're different" / "not playing by the same rules" (similar to motorists with cyclists?)

My information's from the NotJustBikes' video of a few years back so not current with these.

The truth is than in the Netherlands that I saw them, they were indeed a bit huge for cycle infra. However they were rather rare.

It's the mass that's the issue. Two people on a petrol powered scooter can really mess up a cyclist. Also the fact so many of the petrol scooters are illegally de-restricted so capable of 45kph.

Cantas, mobility scooters and Biro's aren't so common (Biro's maybe in Amsterdam, but not so much elsewhere in the Randstad). 
 

Edit: Scooters (brommers) are now banned from bike lanes in Amsterdam. No idea what the legality is regarding Cantas. I will try to find out. 
 

On infrastructure - a lot of it is pointless as it doesn't connect places. 

On new kinds of electric, the police do nothing. For instance, e-scooters are illegal outside official hire schemes and yet I see lots of them and have even watched a police car drive past one.

"Infrastructure pointless as it doesn't connect places".  Agreed - however at least in my area it's getting better.  Very slowly, a step forward, most of a step back.  What we need though* is a network AND also motor traffic reduction.

Definitely don't see any interest at any level in managing the new electric vehicles - except when some cut-and-shut ones cause a serious fire, then we all get a stern warning about safety and then it's "as you were".

* Unless you're an "I'm alright Jack" type, or even someone who feels that as a cyclist they're an elite and doesn't want any of the weaker / lazier / slower folks getting in their way.

The biggest problem for the state of the UK's roads comes from lack of maintenance. There is a reason for this. Local councils have had their budgets halved by central government over the last 14 years. As a result, local councils haven't had the funds to repair roads. 

The austerity measures introduced in 2010 meant spending on things that weren't immediately required would be pushed forward to the future. It was a short term saving that's resulted in a long term expense. Skimp on infrastructure and it costs more in the long run.

We have a general election coming so if you care about the state of the roads, then you can work out for yourself what you have to do.

France is slowly degrading too unfortunately. Never seen so many potholes there taking so long to be temporarily or permanently fixed...

In all seriousness I'm thinking of going over to the SUV Dark Side, as I am fed up with the constant banging and crashing along driving a 'normal' car, plus numerous new tyres and two bent wheels.  Its not helped by car manufacturers' obsession with stupidly low-profile tyres.  

Get rid of your car. Chances are you don't really need it.

Chances are you live in London or somehwere where you have decent public transport, to make such a dumb comment

I rented a car a few weeks ago, a Skoda Octavia (needed a big car for a weekend), and the ride was astonishingly good compared to my own 10 year old tiny Vauxhall. So I don't think you need an SUV.

It did 75 mpg (diesel) on the long haul from Oxfordshire to Edinburgh, which you surely can't get from an SUV. Stay away from the chariots of Satan.

We just moved to east sussex and the roads are unbelievably bad. I daren't ride when light was poor as many of the potholes were outright dangerous. I couldn't avoid one in my old saloon car and it was so bad it jerked the steering wheel out of my hand. In many places people drive centrally when there is no oncoming traffic as the side of the road is falling apart so badly. 

On the positive there is less traffic and the roads while poor are generally two lane even on B roads.