It’s in lock down. Closest you can get is westfield shopping centre the other side of the road. You can get a par pass when the Olympics start though.

Had a paratrooper scan my bag on my way in yesterday. can’t see it a valuable use of resources. nice enough guys and certainly more switched on than the g4s lot who just congregated in packs pointing and speaking in broken English. don’t feel any safer though. in a crisis the best than can manage is a Chinese death grip, as they don’t have weapons.

Willing to give that thing a go shep. Where did you get it?

Got my last bike from there. Actually ordered online and picked up from shop as was easier. Sorted the dodge shock with no hastle. Respectable bunch. Click away

You sure your scales are zeroed properly? Unless its a midgets bike I can’t see how its 14lbs. I’ve got a look 586, carbon bars, carbon wheels, titanium bits, etc… and it is 16lbs on my electronic scales.

Its going to be amazing. Trust me, Im in it! :-)

Shes a beauty….

Fridge engineer, really? Come on.

Yeah, cougar jumping from a helicopter without using a parachute is totally mundan 8)e. Can’t see what all the fuss is about. Could do it with my eyes closed. 8)

Full set of crashes from 2:29

Well I didnt die. But I did fall off a lot (one rather embarassing one in to the swamppy bit at the bottom- see about 3:03)

Very mellow. Im all chilled out now.

Am i supposed to be smiling at you falling off? Entertaining all the same.

Its on the heavy side I would say…

Weight Weenies

double post

Havent done anything to edit the colour. Im not that clever. Yep, does 60fps at 720, 30fps at 1080.

It has a standard tripod screw mount. So you can use any number of standard camera fixings available on the market (clamps, tripods, bike mounts, pole mounts….if you were so inclined). All available on ebay for peanuts. Plus it comes with them as standard anyway (strap mount, helmet mount, bike mount). If you wanted to be clever you could even make your own, all you need is a screw to attach to the camera at one end.

Oh, and it takes standard Cannon batteries. You can get after market cheapies off ebay for £2.
Also like the way the lens rotates, which means you can mount it at any angle and still get a straight shot.

But the main real advantage is being able to see what you are and have recorded on the screen. The remote control is a bit of a gimic if i am honest, but can see it would be useful if mounted on the end of an airplane wing or something.

I would say however that it does appear bulky. But as it sits relatively flush to the helmet its not as noticable as a gopro, but the contour is obviously better. But there is the newer drift hd out which is much, much smaller. But 3 times the price for the same thing in a smaller box. I got mine for £120 off amazon, so am pretty happy with the added bulk over the newer one that is £300ish.

After a lot of research i went for a Drift HD170. Much cheaper, better fixings and availability of fixings, doesnt look like a toaster flying out your head…….. (scroll to about 2:10 to see some nice pictures)

Thanks guys.

Going to be dressed like a storm trooper and take my mahoosive tires and tubes.

Dont particularily like off camber roots, but learnt to not show them any fear. Will see if that works. Otherwise will get off and walk ;-)

Got any tips?

So basically:
1. Its slippery when wet
2. Its slippery when dry
3. You will slide off if you go slow
4. You will slide of if you go fast (and maybe hit a tree)

Right. Confidence levels have hit rock bottom. Thanks for that.

Gonna book my bed in A+E before I go.

Rootes- I’d be surprised if you had to cycle in more than once or twice a week to make it worth while buying daily tickets. Accounting for bank holidays, annual leave and the odd day out the office I only have to cycle just over once a week. If it looks like I will be on the train more often, say in the winter, I get weeklys

Not sure I agree about the frame weight. Weighed mine when i stripped it down and came out not too dissimilar to the Look 586 I just bought for a considerable amount more money. The forks do weigh a bit more though, but as they are alu steerer they will do. Doubt you will get a carbon steerer for another bike in the same price bracket.

My tips for road bike buying are to make sure it fits and make sure its got good wheels. 105 and Ultegra (and Rival and Force) are basically the same function and weight. Wheels make a huge difference.

I just replaced my tcr c2 after 5 years of amazing riding. Fantastic ride and geometry for me. Perfectly comfortable enough for centuries and long rides. Fast enough for tts and tris. For the money I don’t think there is a better frame or spec out there when I got mine. Mind you boardmans didn’t exist back then. If you want a secondhand large frame and some parts, drop me a line.

I do 26 each way twice a week in the summer on flatish roads and am a pretty keen road cyclist. I don’t think I would want to do 32 regularly. Thought about driving and parking half way in? 16 is doable every day I recon.

Is it the sort of place you can session the dowhill (i.e. is it worth it and is there somewhere you can park close by)? Was wondering whether to take the full face…

Thank you very much. Now to follow up with a biking one….

Bought some from ebay that lasted one cable before blunting. Sent back and bought the ones from halfords. Still cheap, but work great.

Thanks guys. Not sure how you worked out what I was on about, but spot on. Sanity restored to pre Top Gear levels..

Great quality. And good price. You wont go wrong with them. If you have a Benchmarx near you, I would take a look at them. The chipboard is a bit denser, and the back is solid rather than flimsy compressed board. You can get them to price match each other and eventually get them down to a real bargain. Haggling is the key.

Aaah, searched Sir Fred.

Carry on, ignore me.

Oh, and there is a guy at work who washes his bits in the sink (see email from someone else below to facilities) Another real story.

Paul,

This is a bit of a delicate matter, but it’s one I feel I should report.

I have previously heard rumours of a member of staff washing himself after going to the toilet; by which I mean more than his hands. I’m sure you appreciate what I’m saying and that I don’t need to spell it out. I had always assumed this was an ‘urban myth’, but recently experienced seeing it myself in the 1st floor toilet, which was obviously fairly unpleasant. This morning one of my colleagues also experienced it – suggesting it’s now quite a common occurrence.

Putting aside my obvious concerns over the whole hygiene issue, it would not exactly be good publicity should a client see anything like this going on.

I think you can probably guess who it is that I’m talking about, though I will confirm it if you need me to.

If you were able to take this matter up with the relevant person I would be grateful.

Regards,

I will collect them for you next time if you really want? (at considerable cost) Unfortunately they went down the sink this time, so am unable to recover them for you.

I got an ad for a romantic city break for 2 on my ad banners. Hope its not assessing my subconcious

i will keep my eye out for him tonight. :wink:

The razor was shielded by his willy and covered in foam so can not confirm exact branding. Was a wet shave and not a cut throat if that helps.

Did not hang around long enough to see if he flipped over for the full monty.

Will promise to ask more about his personal grooming technique for you when I see him next and pass on any tips (again- no pun intended)

It actually reminds me when i did the Austria Ironman and there was bloke doing the whole thing in a thong (for chaffing purposes apparently).

Picture the crowds of people lining a hill climb, cheering and clapping, and parting as you ride through them. To be followed by in immense collective groan as they catch the site of his bare cheeks as he dissappears in the other direction.

I was unfortunate enough to be passed by him and had to follow his bare ass for about 10 minutes. Certainly stops you from drafting.

:lol:

Chill Bob.

All tongue in cheek.

If you had enough money to buy outright two flats, you would be better getting 70% mortgage on multiple flats. Buy to let mortgages are about 3.8% right now. You could potentially earn double the amopunt you pay in interest from rental income.

Lots of maths, but worth working it out.

Not sure what you have factored in. But dont forget tax on the income (i.e.20 or 40% depending on what you earn of the profit minus costs), and 20% capital gains tax when you sell the property.

6-7% would not be worth the hassle for me if you already get 5%.

You may be able to rent your house to the council which is lower rent, but takes all the hassle out of it (no maintenance, no empty periods, no finding tenants, no dealin with tenants)and is guaranteed income for 3-5years.

Try the direct gov website. Lots of stuff there to read.