Aren't Bicycles Great.

Nasqueron

Kernow666 wrote: »

bikes are great yeah & no road tax to pay

I have 3 bikes and a car and I don't pay road tax either

Just in case you are not aware - no such thing as road tax, cars have to have VED which is a tax on pollution. It is nothing to do with road building or road repair (latter is from council tax in most places) but a general tax like VAT that goes to the government to spend on what they like. Many cars (hybrids, electric and those with small and efficient engines) pay nothing in VED every year hence why the new "road tax" (as it's meant to be used towards roads in theory though applies to newly registered cars) coming in 2017/18 is being introduced as the treasury is getting less revenue due to more efficient cars. My old 90bhp 2 litre 206 was £150 a year, my new 150bhp 2.2 litre mazda 3 is £20 a year. Finally, even if bikes had to register for VED as they would pay £0 as they would be in band A the system would just cost the government (and thus the tax payer) money as they would be doing loads of admin for zero revenue - plus bikes don't damage the road like cars

esuhl

marleyboy wrote: »

I used to be able to do that when I was single too. Now I have a family a couple of panniers just about carries the milk.

Blimey! How much milk do you get through?! I could easily carry 20 pints and a couple of small bags of groceries. I guess it's just not as easy if you're overweight and unfit. Cycling's a good way to fix that, though.

marleyboy

esuhl wrote: »

Blimey! How much milk do you get through?! I could easily carry 20 pints and a couple of small bags of groceries. I guess it's just not as easy if you're overweight and unfit. Cycling's a good way to fix that, though.

Agree but I still struggle with a fully loaded shopping trolley, they just wont fit in the panniers. That's before I even contemplate putting the Wife and kids on the handlebars.

I suspect its just safer if I use the car.

System

Nasqueron wrote: »

Just in case you are not aware - no such thing as road tax,

Hail the pedant!

It is called road tax for the simple reason that over time it has become a general name for it as the name keeps changing. It is a tax you pay to use a vehicle on a road.

More people probably understand the term road tax than understand if you just said VED.

For the same reason that ballpoint pens are generically known as Biro even though they are probably a no-name Chinese brand. and also hoover for a vacuum cleaner even though it may be a Dyson, Bex Bissel etc

[Deleted User]

brat wrote: »

My 'best fun' mechanical was when my mech hanger snapped near the top of Kirkstone summit

My least fun was when a crank broke, I'd just got up out of the saddle to give it some stick when the world disappeared from beneath my feet. After I skidded to a halt the bike was several yards back down the road, but the right pedal was still on my foot. That's the only breakdown that left me stranded, it also left me too bruised to sleep on my right side for about a fortnight, with a haematoma the size of an egg on my hip.

yorkie2

!!!!!! wrote: »

It is called road tax for the simple reason that over time it has become a general name for it as the name keeps changing. It is a tax you pay to use a vehicle on a road.

Many vehicles can use the road without paying a penny. The term "road tax" is extremely misleading.

brat

yorkie2 wrote: »

Many vehicles can use the road without paying a penny. The term "road tax" is extremely misleading.

It shouldn't be misleading really, but unfortunately the term does get used against cyclists. The problem for cyclists arises when thickos in motor cars think that they have more right to use the road than cyclists because they pay 'road tax' and cyclists don't.

It gets tiresome having to point out how wrong they are.

Johnmcl7

jack_pott wrote: »

My least fun was when a crank broke, I'd just got up out of the saddle to give it some stick when the world disappeared from beneath my feet. After I skidded to a halt the bike was several yards back down the road, but the right pedal was still on my foot. That's the only breakdown that left me stranded, it also left me too bruised to sleep on my right side for about a fortnight, with a haematoma the size of an egg on my hip.

Ouch that's a nasty one, what on earth caused the crank to break?

John

Nasqueron

!!!!!! wrote: »

Hail the pedant!

It is called road tax for the simple reason that over time it has become a general name for it as the name keeps changing. It is a tax you pay to use a vehicle on a road.

More people probably understand the term road tax than understand if you just said VED.

It's not called road tax though, all the documentation refers to "vehicle tax" or VED, the fact people refer to it as road tax even though that was abolished in 1937 is not a reason to use it and it's incorrectly used as a stick to beat cyclists as we wouldn't pay it even if it was.

You do not pay VED to use the vehicle on the road, you pay VED as a pollution tax - hence why many vehicles pay £0 VED (in band A) so even if you call it road tax and apply it to bikes, bikes would still pay £0 so it's meaningless to argue it.

wealdroam

Nasqueron wrote: »

...so it's meaningless to argue it.

Perhaps now is the time to stop doing so.