I’ve never driven the McLaren F1… I’d imagine it’s got even more grip than most of the cars I’ve driven though 😉

…And everyone’s suddenly the greatest driver ever.

You didn’t ask if I was the world’s greatest driver, you asked if I had any experience driving performance cars. 😉

Anyway, look again at the video, can you honestly say you’d catch that?

He was driving like a tool! He was trying to overtake in an unsafe place – roundabout exits are notoriously slimy in the wet due to exhaust emission from other vehicles. He was a very poor driver to pull a stunt like that in the wet!

I’d say stepping the rear out is pretty stupid on the public road myself.

We often did it for the cameras, but with 2 ‘marshalls’ with walkie talkies 😉

Really? What magazine?

It was produced for the chain that own most of the UK’s Aston Martin dealerships. We did one for their Mercedes dealers as well. The syndicated articles were reproduced in in-house magazines for hotel chains like Marriott, De Vere etc.

Who says he was reckless? It could just be an error.

Twice?

Retro, he was driving like a bell end too!

thx1138 – Member
Do you have much experience driving McLaren F1’s (or indeed any top end supercars) then?

I worked for several years as an editor of a magazine for Aston Martin and got to roadtest all the models from DB7 through to DB9, Vanquish S, V8 Vantage etc, some historical models as well as other top marques for features syndicated elsewhere such as Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Mercedes…

Modern supercars are VERY easy to live with at normal speeds and on normal roads. The amount of grip is astounding – it far exceeds the levels of grip on most everyday cars.

Yes, the margin for error when pushed hard is narrower, but to get anywhere near that limit, he must have been driving beyond what the road conditions dictated. There’s no other reason to spin off! This shows he’s a poor driver.

The other thing about supercars is their ability to recover when you get it slightly wrong – and yes, I’ve stepped the back end out many a time – but quick racks and instant steering responses mean you’re far more likely to recover it than in a lesser car.

Larger tyres take longer to bring up to heat, and due to the larger size have less grip in many conditions (notice rally cars use thin tyres in mud & snow?).

That’s utter nonsense Tucker. Tyres on a road car are developed to provide grip at all temperatures. They don’t need to be warmed up like an F1 car tyres!

Have you ever felt a racing car slick after a few laps? Hot to the touch and sticky. Feel your own car tyres, even after hammering on hot tarmac. They’ll be warm at best. In winter and on cold tarmac they don’t generate anything like enough heat to alter their performance.

Yes, I’ve crashed bikes, but you’re not likely to kill someone else when you misjudge a drop-off!

To crash that car twice, and both times due to loss of control, demonstrates that he’s a bell end. To say he has credibility as a driver is ridiculous! He’s proven himself to be more Mr. Bean than Mr. Button.

And cars like that are NOT a handful at normal speeds. You only end up backwards if you’re driving beyond the limits of the road!

Nope.

What a bell end. He crashed it on the A6 near Preston a few years ago… I seem to remember him taking out another car…

Right, I think I shall click “Buy”! Thanks for the advice gentlemen… Bacondouble, I’ll bookmark that site and have a play with that, sounds like belting advice 😀

What will the difference be Orangeboy?

Surely the triple bill would have to include the sequel, The Two Jakes? Also a cracker… I have a framed poster of Chinatown on my studio wall, it’s one of my favourite film poster as well as one of my favourite films…

I bought a Prologo Evo Knack Carbon road saddle and a roll of handlebar tape on a bit of a whim… Planet-X had the Prologos at half price.

It cost me over £5-grand to buy enough bits to finish it off!

I’ve been getting some good miles in on mine, and you d’you know something, I frickin love it!

I’ve got a 1994 8-speed Shimano 600 STI groupset on it and it’s just a joy. Such a comfy, relaxed bike to ride – don’t know if that’s down to the wheelset (open pros on 600 hubs) but I actually look forward to riding it…

I was thinking about putting the 10speed stuff/ultegra wheels off my race bike now that I’ve upgraded it to a Cervélo, but truth is, I enjoy using the 8-speed too much to retire it. The quality of those early STI groups is FAR superior to anything they make now. Quite a bit heavier, but such light quality-feeling shifting and braking, and that wider chain copes with winter road crap a lot better…

I’m actually going to feel a bit of sadness when I pack my little Dolan away for the summer!

The Deda Zero ones are brilliant for the money, not sure if they do a 0°…

Talking to the mechanic at Merlin, he said they get loads of Fulcrums back for warranty replacement/repair but hardly any Shimano.

I have Ultegra 6700 and Dura Ace 9000. After doing lots of number-crunching and reading every review out there, I came to the conclusion that both represent the best value/performance in their respective price-points.

Very pleased with both… Mavic seem to be a shade more expensive, or a shade heavier. I’m put off by the amount of stories I hear about corroding nipples cracking the rim on lower end Mavics too.

whatnobeer – Member

Although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, this thread needs more photos so we can judge how pretty everyones bikes are.

Oh OK then… It’ll pain me forever that the post has a different coloured stripe to the stem/bars, but it came with the frame and is colour-matched… But it’s all 3T, it all fits and it all makes me happy 😀

Looks just like what happens to my iPhone when it’s on vibrate on a slightly sloping surface…

That’s gonna be a good solid build… You’ll get years of use out of it! Enjoy 😀

What build are you planning?

Niiiiiicccccceeee!

I use Castelli Velocissimo bibs, they’re brilliant for the money (c.£75).

They’re a much better fit on me that Assos (I’ve had 2 pairs, Mille and F1) and the Kiss pad, whilst feeling very thin, does a great job and doesn’t bunch or rub.

They seem to be much more ‘stretchy’ lycra, so you hardly know you’re wearing them.

I’d have a look at Bike Dock Solutions if I were you… 😉

Premier, that’s a proper man’s gear! No doubt Aracer will be along soon to tell you it’s pointless ;o)

And yep, the DA9000 feels amazing, sooooo light! Can’t wait to try the brakes, all reports suggest they’re a quantum leap in performance…

Wheels, pedals and seat/post off, then slacken headset faceplate. 10 minute job. The wheels clamp into the recesses using QR skewers.

I think there’s a video on the website…

There’s only one option[/url] really…

Not cheap, but I’m not going to risk a £6k bike in a floppy bike bag!

Plus, I intend to travel at least once a year so I’m sure I’ll get my money’s worth…

Ooh, looks nice with HEDs!!!

I just need to get a new bikebox – I’m not putting the R5 in anything less than a Bikebox Alan!

EDIT Should really spend more on the wall instead though eh

I like what you’ve done with the terracotta panier, is that attached to the seat post pinch bolt? 😉

I was looking at one of those in Wheelbase, they also had some Focuses (Foci?) with full DA9000 for bargain money…

What do you think of those wheels? I’d be tempted to get a pair based on prices…

My Crit bike is a TCR, lovely little bike. Got mostly Ultegra group and Ultegra wheels on that, great, solid little bike that I’ll be keeping for circuit racing.

Carbon337, I’m going on the 13th too, I’ll drop you a message when plans are finalised…

You have to pick something that you can draw an outline of each tool on so you know what goes where.

Or I could go proper bling and cut vinyl shapes on the plotter and stick them to a nice Park-Tool-blue metal panel… Mmmmm :p

Hmmm… The Clarke one looks quite good, might nip down to local Machinemart and have a look. Aldi one looks great value! Might see if they’ve got any left…

Something along those lines, but preferably a single sheet – I have a 6′ wide wall above my workbench…

Ive seen this Draper Kit but I can’t find any dimensions for the boards!

Rusty Mac – Member

Have you seen this thread?

Yes, I saw that, he’s used wooden pegboard. Is it easily available?

Mid April for me, Pollensa Park… Cheaper than chips accommodation…

No recommendations? I thought there would be some man-cave pimpers that could offer some advice… 🙂

115 vs 130 is a big difference?

Not massive, but it’s a difference. And there would be absolutely no point in making the change to a 12-tooth sprocket… Or am I missing something??

Thanks Walleater, I like their business model too, they make beautiful bikes 😀

Carbon337, here are you heading? I’m off to Pollensa in April… Might get another few days in prior to that if work permits…

michaelmcc – Member

Red

Oh no, I’ve ordered black and now the vote has swung! 😕

Here’s a useful link to stop you having to make your inaccurate back-of-a-fag-packet calculations.

On 53/11 at 44mph, I was turning 115rpm. If I’d had a 12 (which would be a completely pointless change to my setup), I would have been spinning at over 130!

And it’s not a hill that would benefit from tucking – it’s not particularly steep and takes a maximal effort on a big gear to keep up with the traffic. Only the traffic draft and a tailwind makes it possible to get that sort of speed…

No Solo! I think I’m gonna stick with the black ones for a classier look. Red might just have looked a bit like I was trying too hard… 😀

Thanks Bikebouy, maybe next year for the deep sections! The C24s do a great job for now at a good price. Nice and light too…

I’ll be keeping my current race bike for Crit racing – I’d rather not get tangled up in one of the frequent crashes on a £5k bike! So I think the C24s should be fine for the type of riding I’ll be doing.