“Awful, poor branding, less functionality. What was the point?” Customers not happy with Wiggle’s new website; Disc brakes or banshee? Horrific brake squealing; Londoners are UK's most active commuters; TDF Netflix doc out 8 June + more on the live blog

Not a lot of love for Wiggle's rebrand, and that's putting it politely, while I'm sure many of you will get over the colour change, the reports of poor functionality, issues with the website and generally being a bit of a pain in the bleep are more concerning...

This is so bad. Came on here to check as I thought it was a scam site. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

— Jay Podesta (@JayPodesta) April 26, 2023

 hawkinspeter "just tried to find GP5000TLs on the Wiggle site to see how it's working and I'm not impressed. I couldn't see how to filter in-stock items and couldn't find a separate category for tubeless.

"They might want me to have to spend longer searching on their site (more chance of extra purchases), but as a lazy person, I'm just as likely to look elsewhere if it's going to be easier."

Ah yes, the old rumour certain large shops are designed to be like a maze, doesn't really work online, does it?

SimoninSpalding said: "My one hope for the updated Wiggle website was that it would be responsive and work properly on a mobile. This doesn't appear to be the case, and yet the Chain Reaction site does? Ultimately I purchased from them when they had the right product at the right price, if they make it more difficult to find what I want and the prices have gone up I won't be buying much."

Not everyone's upset though, a1white reckons it "looks fine to me". "It's common for new website brandings to get criticism when first launched as it takes time for people to get used to them," they suggested.

But Matthew Acton-Varian replied: "A change of branding and interface is one thing. But to remove popular functions and make navigating the site harder, that's poor. A number of complaints are about the useability as well as the appearance of the site. Not to mention that old order data cannot be retrieved on the new system."

In conclusion...

It's been a busy week as always on road.cc, and we couldn't help but notice a strong theme of scepticism and scorn running through the comments sections under a lot of articles and reviews. You 'orrible lot! We'll start with Joe Skipper's new aero position, which is giving Sredlums "fast clown" vibes...  

...and moving on to our story on Rapha's latest collaboration with Paul Smith, in which Simon E suggests that the designer underdid it on the psychedelic substance abuse back in the day. 

How about this glowing observation on the CES Sport Draig wheelset? 

Plus some shady talk about the Koo Demos Sunglasses, and.... it's only Wednesday! Stay tuned for a round-up of great cycling products with indicators on them tomorrow, followed by 10 reasons why press-fit is better on Friday and a weekend guide to the best white bib shorts...

It’s been a few weeks in the making, but this morning the organisers of La Vuelta Femenina – the first proper stage race version of which gets underway next Monday – finally confirmed that the beleaguered Zaaf team won’t be lining up at the start in Torrevieja.

🚴🏻‍♀️ El equipo @ZaafTeam no participará en #LaVueltaFemenina. 23 equipos estarán en la línea de salida de Torrevieja.

🚴🏻‍♀️ Zaaf Cycling Team won't be at the start of #LaVueltaFemenina. 23 teams will be at the TTT in Torrevieja.

— La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es (@LaVueltaFem) April 26, 2023

The Spanish squad has suffered a mass exodus in recent weeks amidst accusations of unpaid wages, with the UCI last month allowing the team’s riders to look for new teams.

Since then, French champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot – who was also one of the high-profile casualties of the ill-fated B&B Hotels project over the winter – terminated her contract to join Human Powered Health, while last week Lucie Jounier and Mareille Meijering signed for Coop-Hitec Products and Movistar respectively.

With the squad now down to the UCI minimum requirement of just eight riders – having started the season with 15 – Vuelta organisers Unipublic have confirmed that Zaaf’s management opted to pull out of the week-long race, the first since the event’s expansion and move from its September slot alongside the men’s Vuelta.

The organisers also noted that Zaaf won’t be replaced on the start-list, with 23 teams now set to battle for the red jersey.

Cycling UK has today announced two new appointees to its senior leadership team, Katie Legg and Sarah McMonagle, which means that – for the first time in the charity’s 145-year history – it will have a predominantly female team at its top table.

The appointments ensure that Cycling UK now has a female chair of trustees, a female chief executive, and a 50/50 split between male and female directors. 58 percent of the charity’s total workforce is also now made up of women.

Katie Legg, a director at Mental Health UK who previously worked for Sport England, will take up the role of commercial director at the cycling charity, while Sarah McMonagle leaves the countryside charity CPRE to manage Cycling UK’s campaigns, public affairs, communications, and marketing teams.

“It’s a really great time for me to be joining Cycling UK,” Legg said in a statement. “There is such a variety of reasons why people want to go cycling now, including reducing their carbon footprint and saving money. I look forward to growing Cycling UK’s offer to everyone so that whatever reason we cycle, we cycle safe, have fun, and make the most of the amazing cycle routes the UK has.”

McMonagle added: “Cycling UK already provides a strong voice for those who want to drive less and cycle more, and I’m looking forward to joining the charity to help that voice grow even louder.

“Whether we live in towns, cities or the countryside, encouraging more people to cycle is a no-brainer in a climate and cost of living crisis.

“And the best thing is, everyone benefits when more people cycle. I can’t wait to join the team and help ensure Cycling UK reaches even more people who don’t currently benefit from time out on a bike.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by parcours.cc (@rideparcours)

Quick, someone get Adam Blythe on the phone…

> Whoa! What do you think of the head tube on Adam Blythe’s gold Genesis?

Speaking of countdowns to important events, this morning it was finally (finally!) confirmed that the much-anticipated Tour de France documentary – with the least imaginative name possible – ‘Unchained’ will be released on Netflix on 8 June, midway through the Critérium du Dauphiné:

21 Stages. 176 Riders. One aim. The Maillot Jaune.

Through sun, rain, valleys and mountains, follow the riders as they tackle the greatest cycling race on Earth.

Le Tour de France Unchained : Coming globally on @netflix, June 8th. pic.twitter.com/ZQ4kp06Eh7

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) April 26, 2023

Eight episodes of the Tour doc and the Dauphiné at the same time? Where’s my annual leave form?

Believe it or not, but the big ‘Days to Go’ banner, marking the countdown until the first ever combined UCI world cycling championships takes place in Scotland in August, has already ticked down into double figures (I know, where has the year gone?).

Yep, that’s right, there are now only 99 days until Glasgow’s Mega-Worlds (or the Cycling Olympics, as I like to call it), combining seven different bike riding disciplines, from road racing to BMX and artistic cycling, gets underway.

And yesterday Sir Chris Hoy – known for nabbing a rainbow jersey or two, or 11, in his time – claimed that the inaugural 11-day-long championships could potentially be “bigger than the Tour de France”.

The biggest cycling event ever. 🌎

We are excited to see the cycling world come together in 100 days at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships! 🤩#GlasgowScotland2023 | @CyclingWorlds pic.twitter.com/QZLXHzi91Y

— UCI (@UCI_cycling) April 25, 2023

Speaking at an event in Glasgow to mark 100 days until the festival of bike riding takes place, the retired track sprinter told the BBC: “The impact this could have is quite staggering. [With] 100 days to go, it’s going to pass in the blink of an eye.

“You look at the scale of how big it’s going to be... bigger than the Tour de France, bigger than any cycling event ever in history and that says it all.

“Glasgow has been fantastic at getting behind big sporting events. We had the European championships here in 2018, the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

“On the cycling front we’ve had various major events at the velodrome so it’s great to see that continue.”

1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ days to go until Scotland welcomes the world and stages the biggest cycling event ever! 🚴

As part of today’s celebrations, I popped to George Square and got the chance to speak with @chrishoy and @MaggiesCentres #GlasgowScotland2023 | #PowerOfTheBike pic.twitter.com/OppVjSXYon

— Lord Provost of Glasgow (@LordProvostGCC) April 25, 2023

Hoy also hopes the worlds – and the range of different cycling disciplines on offer – will inspire people to get on their bikes in Scotland.

“One thing I hope comes from it all is that more people choose to cycle,” the six-time Olympic champion said.

“Not just for sport, not just to see that it’s a competitive thing but just to get out there and be more active.

“To improve their physical and mental health. To choose to cycle to work, to choose to cycle to school. There are so many spin-offs, so many benefits from cycling.

“You can see the work that’s gone in to improving the infrastructure on the roads around here as well to try to make it easier and more appealing for people to get on their bikes.”

He also told the Glasgow Times: “You don’t have to be competitive, you don’t have to be racing, you don’t have to be in lycra. Just get on your bike, have fun, enjoy yourselves, and reap the rewards.”

An event to inspire and ignite the cyclist in all of us 🌈

100 days to go until the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships!
🗓️ Aug 3-13
#GlasgowScotland2023 pic.twitter.com/MKPyTaXDpf

— UCI (@UCI_cycling) April 25, 2023

Hoy’s ambition for the Glasgow worlds to inspire more people to cycle was echoed by Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow City Council.

“With 100 days to go until we are, once again, the centre of the sporting world, our plans to host eight of the 13 UCI World Championships in the city and welcome visitors from around the world are being finalised,” the councillor said.

“As we move to event time, we will be continuing to tell people what to expect in August, how they can become involved and inspire people across the city to get on their bikes, travelling sustainably on our growing network of high quality, segregated cycling infrastructure.”