Water Bikes In Wroxham..

[Guest]

It would appear that someone is setting up a workshop in Wroxham over the iron bridge in the old landamores site hiring water bikes, they are similar to the one pictured only in bright yellow. Nice to see someone is investing after all the covid business. Go by the name of "Buoyancy Bikes"...

[ES2]

That could be quite interesting in the vicinity of Wroxham Bridge.    

[CambridgeCabby]

As with any new business enterprise on the Broads I wish them well , but I do agree that such an enterprise around the vicinity of Wroxham Bridge could potentially cause problems .

IMHO it would be far better suited to somewhere like outside the Pleasureboat Inn Hickling where river traffic is quieter 

[BrundallNavy]

13 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

IMHO it would be far better suited to somewhere like outside the Pleasureboat Inn Hickling where river traffic is quieter 

But unfortunately does not have the footfall.  

[marshman]

An uprated Nutty Slack!!!!! ( No if you don't know, its too long a story from about 60 years ago!!! )

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, marshman said:

An uprated Nutty Slack!!!!! ( No if you don't know, its too long a story from about 60 years ago!!! )

 

[ES2]

Hopefully they will be limited to upstream of the bridge. That could still cause problems as if they are hogging the mid channel boats could stack up behind them and be blown into the weed either side.

I have had this problem with canoeists with a bloody minded attitude hogging the channel in the past. 

[marshman]

Yep - rode that once when Nobby Clark built it at his place in Whitlingham!!

[Turnoar]

49 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

As with any new business enterprise on the Broads I wish them well , but I do agree that such an enterprise around the vicinity of Wroxham Bridge could potentially cause problems .

IMHO it would be far better suited to somewhere like outside the Pleasureboat Inn Hickling where river traffic is quieter 

Too tame for Hickling I’m afraid, surf and bike is the way to go viz a mono board setup, the image is like the surf and bike equivalent with stabilisers... what is interesting about some of these newer ideas though is it’s bringing more people onto the water and at such point as Wroxham is saturated then Hickling will eventually take up the slack!

[Chelsea14Ian]

At times going to Wroxsham it can be a bit like the M25.This may make it worse.Yes always good when new businesses come along,but may be better somewhere else.

[BroadAmbition]

Just one of these going up the Ant will cause chaos when it’s busy. They will be slower than a paddle board 

Griff 

[CambridgeCabby]

A company attempted to introduce them to the Cam in Cambridge , they were not permitted as any boat on the upper reaches cannot have any form of mechanical propulsion as opposed to poles and oars , the gears on a water bike were deemed to breach this ruling 

[Wussername]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

Yep - rode that once when Nobby Clark built it at his place in Whitlingham!!

I remember it well. Bungalow Lane if I remember correctly. The cottage or rather his bungalow still stands. Together with a shed which used to seve as a mortuary for those unfortunates who decided to end their lives from the misery of the Asylum. Nobby's knowledge of the tides was valued by the authorities with regard to the recovery of these poor unfortunates. But that is another story. 

Andrew

. 

[YnysMon]

I’m with Griff on this one. They aren’t craft that can move quickly, and they look pretty wide in comparison to canoes and paddle boards, so I think they would create chaos if they rented them out in Wroxham. Maybe on a Broad? 

[SwanR]

If this had been posted yesterday I would have thought that it was an April Fool! Watched some paddleboarders down near the bridge yesterday which was interesting when a boat came towards them and they all had to decide which side of the river they were going on.

[grendel]

i wouldnt want to suddenly find one coming the other way through wroxham bridge

 

[catcouk]

As a commercial enterprise, it makes total sense to set up in Wroxham - the 'Capital of the Broads'. Whilst somewhere like the Dilham canal could be perfect, I can't see there being as much passing trade. 

The question is, can anyone think of a better place where such a scheme would attract the significant footfall it looks like they're aiming for? Great Yarmouth would probably be busy enough but I think we can all see the many problems with that... 

It looks like fun but not really in a location where I could make use of it (ironically). Besides which, perhaps 'dodging the water bikes' could be a fun new game to play in Wroxham... Or not! 

[Wussername]

Paddle boards and the new on the block, the bycycle boat is completely incompatible on our rivers. Is there know one who recognises the issues, the safety problem.

[Guest]

I'm wondering if the unit in Wroxham is just a base with the actual rental taking place elsewhere, reason being is that it's difficult to get to unless on foot and then it is through a gated compound and over the iron bridge taking you to the 'wrong' side of the river, unless they have permission to use the green opposite the unit.

[YnysMon]

16 minutes ago, Jemaki said:

I'm wondering if the unit in Wroxham is just a base with the actual rental taking place elsewhere

Hopefully that’s the case. Just because there’s a unit there doesn’t necessarily mean that will do the hiring from there. Good to see a business operating in Wroxham. 

[Shemaha]

From Twitter their website is https://www.buoyancybikes.co.uk says launching from Bridge Broad 

[SwanR]

Interesting. You can of course already hire canoes etc. in that area. 

l note it says no parking on site so park nearby and walk round to where they are. 

[Meantime]

57 minutes ago, Shemaha said:

From Twitter their website is https://www.buoyancybikes.co.uk says launching from Bridge Broad 

I may have read it wrong, but it says a short ride from where we launch is Bridge Broad, which to me suggests they are not launching in or from Bridge Broad.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Meantime said:

I may have read it wrong, but it says a short ride from where we launch is Bridge Broad, which to me suggests they are not launching in or from Bridge Broad.

It would seem they are trading from the unit..

[Mouldy]

It’s bad enough when you come across a ‘peloton’ of Lycra clad cyclists on the roads who feel that they are entitled to spread themselves across an entire carriageway and make it difficult for a motorist to pass.  Can you imagine finding a similar situation with a dozen or so of these progressing slowly along a narrow river, all grouped together?  
I wonder if the term ‘peloton’ would still apply or if there would be something more appropriate.