Good to catch up with you too, Phil! I take your point about the “Santander Bikes” (to give their current sponsors due credit); they’re not a svelte machine like your average road/mountain bike. But I can tell you that, compared to the equivalent dumpy ones in Brisbane’s bike share scheme, they’re are a lot more manageable!

My only comment is that I’d quibble with the description of the Boris Bikes (actually it was his predecessor Ken Livingstone who initiated them, but the name has stuck) as ‘lightweight’. I find them pretty heavy and probably because of this the gearing is very low. When they first started I signed up for the system but found such difficulty keeping up a reasonable in heavily-trafficked situations that I soon reverted to my trusty Brompton, even though I have to lug it onto the train in Birmingham.

All the best, Phil