A major advantage of the narrowing of the lanes is that it makes it easier to "take the lane", since drivers can't get round you anyway. Traffic speeds are also (slightly?) lower than they were, since 40mph isn't a serious option at present.
However, if you are coming from the Gildersome area, large nos. of riders have always used the pavement on the north eastern corner to go onto the eastbound A650 from that direction.
That said, this roundabout has been the most dangerous one in Leeds for a number of years, which is partly why the rebuilding of it is taking place.
When I was heading westbound towards Drighlington, I always took the RH lane to prevent myself from being hooked by drivers turning left onto the M621/M62/IKEA exit.
Coming the other way towards Wakefield/Morley, I always took the LH lane fully (slightly more than half-way out) to make myself as visible as possible to drivers turning off towards Leeds, espec. those who had come off the motorway.
In short, it's always been a bit of a dodgy design and is one of those where you have to ride in a way which reduces your risks, even if you don't strictly follow the Highway Code or even the strict letter of the law. Local cycle patrol PCSOs have also been known to use the pavement so it is unlikely in the exptreme that they will ever pull you up for pavement riding at that point.
If you are going down the IKEA junction, you either take the pavement option and be prepared to wait for biggish gaps in the traffic, or stiffen up the sinews and be forceful in your positioning and be prepared to ride at some speed.
When I surveyed the roundabout for Leeds as a cycling officer, I recommended the shared pavement idea on the corner described (both directions) with the greatest reluctance as it seemed to be the one which most readily reflected existing use (there had been no cyclist/pedestrian collisions according to the stats) and the only one which did not call for major re-structuring.
I'm not normally a proponent of shared use, by the way.
The only people I've seen using the roundabout in the normal way are club cyclists who are fast and confident enough to ride with the usual stream of traffic. They also tend to use it outside the rush hour.
