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Welcome to Velo Vision, the practical cycling magazine.Print edition: Subscribe and/or order sample copies, back issues, PDFs, T-shirts etc...here! Digital edition: details or subscribe! The current issue is Issue 38. The next issue is out in late Sept 2010.
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Wednesday miscellanyLeeds station goes Dutch, handy hub gear help, electric bike boom, the pedal powered 'RV', Brompton frame clip price cut and the Catbike update.. Sue Archer writes: Leeds to lead the way in cycle parking Martin Wilson wrote to tell us that Leeds station is to get a new bike facility based on a model tried and tested in the Netherlands. The Cyclepoint brochure PDF explains that it will offer secure staffed bike parking, retail and repair services and bike rental. Similar points operate at 40 stations in the Netherlands, with storage for between 500 and 3000 bikes per station. With bike spaces on trains limited, and security at stations often not reassuring, it's hoped the Cyclepoint will encourage more rail travellers to arrive by bike, fulfilling the needs of local travel plans. Currently only around 100 cyclists use the station despite an average weekday footfall of 110,000 passengers. The rental and retail services will also serve non-rail users. Eventually the scheme could be extended to other key stations in the area. Leeds is the busiest station on the Northern Rail network, and with Northern Rail part owned by a subsiduary of Dutch Railways, they should have plenty of practical expertise to call on. If only they could have found a bike tyre pattern to decorate their brochure, instead of a car tyre... Handy hub gear help If you're new to the idea of hub gears, or wondering whether to go down the hub gear route, have a look at hubgear.net. There is a useful hub comparison chart to save you compiling all the information yourself, information on which hub is the best for your needs, and how to retrofit one to your bike if you don't have horizontal dropouts. Electric bikes boom According to this New York Times article electric bikes are set to take over the world, providing assistance to those who find purely human powered riding a struggle, or less encouragingly, providing an option for those who don't want to pedal at all, but don't want the legislation that goes with a motorbike. The market share of electric bikes has increased in many countries worldwide, giving regular bike makers a new opportunity - not only to sell a new product, but also to provide replacement parts and servicing during its lifetime. However, the proliferation of these bikes, especially those more akin to mopeds, leads to problems - authorities can't work out whether these bikes should be allowed in bike lanes and 'real' cyclists feel that some electrics are cheating. Presumably with the proliferation of electric vehicles of all sorts, legislation will eventually catch up... Pedal powered mobile living  Jonathan Pattison sent us the link to this Ideas Inspiring Innovation article on a pedal powered 'RV' or Recreational Vehicle - what we Brits call a campervan. Artist Kevin Cyr designed and built the camper in 2008, and describes it as a 'functioning sculptural piece'. You can see more pictures on Kevin Cyr's website, including some of his paintings featuring the trike, and a sketch of the interior layout (the last of the nine pictures available). Brompton frame clip down in price  We've mentioned Martin Bronsdon's neat little Brompton frame clip a few times in the magazine, most recently back in Issue 33 when we answered a reader's query about them - at that point they were 25 dollars, euros or pounds. Since then, the price has reduced for British or European customers - £15 or 18 Euros. The US price remains $25. To order one send cash and a return address to Martin at Svangatan 9D, 416 68 Gothenburg, Sweden. Email enquiries are welcome, on martin.bronsdon@telia.com CatBike details unleashed  We mentioned the release of a teaser video of the new Catrike Musashi bike here, and now all the details have been released by Catrike. The price will be $2350 US, and Catrike say they have plenty of orders already. The first bikes will arrive in the UK around the beginning of March... Posted on 10 February 2010
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