Topgear - Cycle is quickest!

prj45

s1m0n wrote:

Apologies for the rant.

Ha, have you been lurking to discover what sort of person you'll turn into when you get on your bike?

They're not mind control devices you know!

prj45

Parkey wrote:

I hate driving and cars but I really enjoy watching Top Gear.

It's important not to make the mistake of taking it too seriously.

I go out of my way to watch top gear, i really enjoy it, and I don't mind the "I'll run you over" jokes, but again, the helmet thing was a step too far.

WeirdNeville

I though it was a good return to form for Top Gear. It's lost it's way recently but this challenge had a bit of the old sparkle in it.

Of course the bike was going to win. It's the only sane option in central london. I though it was unusually balanced for a Tog Gear Stunt!

Hammond is actually quite a keen cyclist by his own admission, and Clarkson has even been spotted on a bike occasionally. I think it's good to blur the Cyclist/petrolhead divide. I just wish more people cycled more of the time so we could enjoy our cars more when they are the best/only transport option.

cooper.michael1

Parkey wrote:

I hate driving and cars but I really enjoy watching Top Gear.

It's important not to make the mistake of taking it too seriously.

Indeed im the same, to be honest top gear is no longer a car show as it was 10 years ago, its not just a bunch of 40 somethings di*cking around and they do this with the theme of transport.

Cyclegent

s1m0n wrote:

Parkey wrote:

I hate driving and cars but I really enjoy watching Top Gear.

It's important not to make the mistake of taking it too seriously.

Well said!

I have been lurking on these forums on and off for the last few months while I work on my employer to introduce a 'cycle to work' scheme (its a slow process). I have to say that while I have got some useful information from here about what kind of bike I will need (16 mile commute each way), there is a lot of 'back chat' that is really off putting.

The overly aggressive anti-car stance by many is one, the anti/pro helmet stance by others is another. Many of us commuters live in areas where the only viable alternative to a car is a bike and we need encouragement to get on a bike, not judging us because we also need to use a car (try juggling two children, nursery, school, work and a 16 mile commute with just a bike).

All it does is put us off coming to forums like this with a real risk of making the wrong bicycle choice putting a would be cyclist off for life - how has that helped anyone. Bit like the guy i saw on a bike the other day with stickers proudly saying 'one less car' - very good, except he was cycling along the pavement where I don't tend to drive.....

Apologies for the rant.

I think once you have been commuting regularly you may start to understand the 'overly aggressive anti-car stance', though I agree some take it to extremes. The pro/anti helmet debate can be tedious but to some of us it is very important to regularly counter what we believe to be exaggerated or incorrect claims about helmets, on both sides of the argument.

s1m0n

Cyclegent wrote:

I think once you have been commuting regularly you may start to understand the 'overly aggressive anti-car stance', though I agree some take it to extremes.

I'm sure. Many, many moons ago I did used to commute (albeit only a mile or two) as student to college on a second hand Raleigh Grifter.... I didn't even have to lock it up, no one would nick it.... I had my fair share of run-ins with cars and particularly buses, but in all fairness some of it was probably me - a grifter isn't the quickest. There are nightmare drivers (heck, you only have to spend 3 hours a day commuting by car as I currently do to see that), just as there are nightmare cyclists.

Cyclegent wrote:

The pro/anti helmet debate can be tedious but to some of us it is very important to regularly counter what we believe to be exaggerated or incorrect claims about helmets, on both sides of the argument.

I agree. I admit I didn't even know there was any controversy till I came on this forum. I am scientist by education (MSc/BSc), so have now done a reasonable amount of research and concluded that it most certainly should NOT be mandatory, but at the same time no-one should try and preach to me that I wrong if I were to choose to wear (or not wear) a helmet. From where I'm 'sitting' it does seem that the ones most eager to jump in though are those who are anti-helmets only too willing to jump on someone who dares to mention they wear a helmet for safety.

Simon

AidanR

The first rule of helmet debate is: Never talk about helmet debate.
The second rule of helmet debate...

el_presidente

AidanR wrote:

Without wishing to start some kind of flame war, or sift through pages of helmet-related rants, what exactly are the pros and cons of helmets? It's always seemed a no-brainer (not pun intended...) to wear one, but now I'm not so sure!

Please can you delete this post and start a new thread on the subject. That way most of us can happily ignore it

misterben

cooper.michael1 wrote:

Indeed im the same, to be honest top gear is no longer a car show as it was 10 years ago, its not just a bunch of 40 somethings di*cking around and they do this with the theme of transport.

It's no longer a car show. It's now a driving show. There's a big difference.

hevipedal

Graeme_S wrote:

I also thought they made a bit much of the dangers of cycling, but then if you compare it to the earlier feature where Clarkson was testing that new F1-inspired road car, they didn't make it look all that dangerous!

er, they mentioned about the fire experienced that burnt the test driver on 5th Gear, they mentioned the other things that went wrong with the car, they mentioned that if you didn't drive at speed you would crash................... and they showed the car floor collapsing. That seemed to cover the dangers to me.

The cycling I thought was shown quite well, but if it was me I'd have ridden more in the primary position, however I regularly swear at buses

even when i'm in my car. And the car did come last and the bike first. By a long way.

hevipedal

[quote="karl j
Werent very impressed with the way Richard Hammond cut up that girl (nearer the end, on top of some bridge IIRC), she was on a sort of cycle lane and he just bumped up the kerb right in front of her - ok yes he said sorry but i couldn't help thinking it wouldnt have hurt him to either wait the few seconds and let her pass first, or pedal up a bit and get a decent distance in front of her. Shame really as he comes across as a decent enough bloke, and the prog gave the impression he's no stranger to cycling
[/quote]

and you've never made a mistake and cut someone up? I have and I too apologise. It happens we all make mistakes

bryanm

cupofteacp wrote:

Did anyone else notice he was always in the middle ring at the front?

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12549747

Yup!

graeme_s-2

hevipedal wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

I also thought they made a bit much of the dangers of cycling, but then if you compare it to the earlier feature where Clarkson was testing that new F1-inspired road car, they didn't make it look all that dangerous!

er, they mentioned about the fire experienced that burnt the test driver on 5th Gear, they mentioned the other things that went wrong with the car, they mentioned that if you didn't drive at speed you would crash................... and they showed the car floor collapsing. That seemed to cover the dangers to me.

Sorry - I had a bit of an English failure there. I was trying to say that they (rightfully) made driving that super car look a lot more dangerous than riding a bicycle in city traffic.

dirk_van_gently

I thought it was a good piece of television, they did play up the dangers a bit, but lets face it do you London commuters want a sudden upsurge Chelsea Tractor drivers suddenly going "Green" because Clarkson said it was a good idea. First one who fell off would be writing an irate letter to "Points of View" about how they had not said falling off was possible. :-S

I think TG is a top program, and I can see the producers are slowly trying to shift it's emphasis from just cars, to transport in general, lets face it you couldn't have had a more diverse program last week, everything from loony supercar to public transport.

So who the Hell is the Stig?
Personally I think it is Tiff Needel, but because of contracts elsewhere cannot be seen to be driving on TG, hence the Stig Persona, or lack of one.

bryanm

Dirk Van Gently wrote:

So who the Hell is the Stig?
Personally I think it is Tiff Needel, but because of contracts elsewhere cannot be seen to be driving on TG, hence the Stig Persona, or lack of one.

Well....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig

I think it's a great entertainment show. It's got naff all to do with cars really, they're just incidental props.

overmars

I don't watch Top Gear (don't have a TV!) But I've just seen that ep* and thought it brilliant.

*Did skip the car stuff at the beginning though!

Bassjunkieuk

Having used a car, bike and public transport in London I knew the bike could win but I was so happy when JC checked in and hamster was sitting there already :-) Definitely one of their better races!

It would have been a bit better if they'd actually given some more details, i.e distance traveled and average speed for each journey, I did a quick route on Google after the show and it seemed to pick the same route as them and had it at around 13 miles so about and hour (or under for regulars like people on here!) is a reasonable time to assume!


Cycling FTW