In an East London park, artists Jack Carden and Cameron Carnegie-Brown staged a medieval-style jousting match using Lime electric rental bicycles... The spectacle drew hundreds of spectators despite warnings from Lime and local authorities.

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Defying Lime's warnings against e-bike combat

The decision to proceed with "Lime bike Jousting 2" directly challenged the safety guidelines and intended use cases set by Lime. As the report indicates, the micro-mobility company had previously issued warnings that their bicycles are designed for urban transit rather than combat sports. This event represents a growing tension between the rigid, algorithm-driven safety protocols of gig-economy corporations and the unpredictable, spontaneous nature of urban performance art.

Jack Carden and Cameron Carnegie-Brown embraced this friction by decorating their electric steeds specifically for the duel. The duo, wearing shining armor and wielding lances, transformed neon green rental bikes into instruments of a modern medieval spectacle. This performance follows a similar first duel held in London Fields the previous month, which had already gained significant traction online.

A £1,200 windfall for The Bike Project and local charities

The performance art event successfully generated over £1,200 for several charitable organizations through attendee donations. According to the source, the proceeds were distributed to The Bike Project, which repairs second-hand bicycles for refugees, the Honour Thy Woman Group, a domestic abuse charity, and the Mental Health Foundation.

Jack Carden also revealed that he had advertised full event sponsorship for one million pounds on his website. While several brands expressed interest in the spectacle, Carden noted that he ultimately turned down such life-changing money to avoid commercializing the performance and ruining its inherent beauty. This commitment to the art form over profit helped maintain the event's community-focused atmosphere.

The dispute over Hackney Council's ungranted permission

A significant legal contradiction has emerged regarding the authorization of the event in London Fields. While Jack Carden claims the organizers consulted with the police and hired a professional safety team—including stewards and first aiders—Hackney Council maintains that no official permission was ever granted for the gathering. The organizers further complicated the logistics by keeping the exact park location secret, revealing it to the 5,000 interested regisrants only ninety minutes before the start.

This discrepancy leaves several critical questions unanswered for local authorities and regulators:

  • Did the Metropolitan Police provide verbal clearance that bypassed the formal Council approval process?
  • Was the secrecy regarding the location a deliberate tactic to evade official oversight?
  • How will Lime address the potential liability of their equipment being used in an unpermitted combat event?

Royal Armouries' unexpected validation of the neon knights

Traditionalists in the historical reenactment community have offered surprising support for the high-octane spectacle. Andy Deane, the captain of the Royal Armouries jousting team in Leeds, described the event as a joy to watch and validated it as a legitimate form of jousting. This endorsement helps bridge the gap between historical reenactment and modern urban performance art.

For the participants, the experience was as much about physical intensity as it was about public engagement. Cameron Carnegie-Brown, also known as Camtholomew the First, described the intense adrenaline rush of pedaling toward an opponent while wearing a helmet visor. After five rounds of competition, Carnegie-Brown was crowned the winner of the duel, much to the delight of the spectators who climbed trees to witness the conclusion.