Top Gear Race across London

unionman

Did anyone see it? It was a great piece of TV (as you'd expect, though I know the show raises heckles among some cyclists, particularly Mr Clarkson). If you fancy a gander, I've posted links to Youtube, see below. Chances are they won't last long though, as BBC will probably withdraw it on copyright grounds.

Suffice to say I am posting it here because it was a triumph for the two-wheeler. Richard Hammond rode a Specialized Sirrus (carbon framed - £1700 worth of bike) and still managed to beat Clarkson in the speedboat, who was able to travel 70mph after he passed Wansworth bridge.

Needless to say, I was shouting at the telly by the end:o

Part 1 - http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg6hZgnQnq0

Part 2 - http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoZUODHp7YA

Part 3 - http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoZUODHp7YA

niceonetom

yeah, saw this on telly.

hammond certainly seems the fittest of the top-gear lot but i reckon i could have made the same point on my beater bike. it's a pity he seemed to hate every minute of it though (screaming at buses/vans etc.), i doubt this will convert many motorists.

mloc123

I think most motorists will put it down to the £1700 bike aswell which is a pity.

unionman

mloc123 wrote: »

I think most motorists will put it down to the £1700 bike aswell which is a pity.

Fair point, it is a pity. But how many TG viewers (who are motorists) are likely to go out and buy a bike under any circumstances? I just enjoyed the fact that even with all the stops pulled out the bike still won. The look on Clarkson's face when he is told that Hammond has already checked in is priceless (and genuine I think).

unionman

niceonetom wrote: »

i reckon i could have made the same point on my beater bike. it's a pity he seemed to hate every minute of it though (screaming at buses/vans etc.), i doubt this will convert many motorists.

Pardon my ignorance, what's a beater bike?

And yes, he seemed like he hated most of the experience. Though some of that was for the benefit of the audience I think. Did you catch the bit where that woman cyclist told him he was too slow or something, didn't quite catch what she said?

His sustained pace was impressive, but a part of me figured I could give him a run for his money on my fixie;)

niceonetom

mloc123 wrote: »

I think most motorists will put it down to the £1700 bike aswell which is a pity.

it might if it was explained in their terms.

carbon-fibre mono-coque chasis
rear wheel drive
mid-engined (if you count the rider as the engine)
etc.

beater bike = the one i use in the rain cause i don't care if it gets wreckd n stuff.

i'd have annihilated him on my fixie.

mcgratheoin

Good to see alright - as you all say, a regular cyclist would have put the result beyond doubt completely. Not a huge surprise though, one of the other recent challenges was Clarkson versus a runner over the Marathon route in London - the runner won by about 10 minutes iirc

edit - I was surprised that public transport was slower though - would have thought the tube would be pretty quick in London.

rp

unionman wrote: »

...though I know the show raises heckles among some cyclists, particularly Mr Clarkson.

Guilty, that used to be me. But from watching him & reading his books, I think it's all a big act he puts on, I think he believes in all that petrol-head stuff about as much as Frank Kelly's conversation consists entirely of Feck, Girls and Drrink! He's been spotted cycling around a village in Oxfordshire at the weekend, as well (Jeremy Clarkson that is, not Frank Kelly).

unionman

rp wrote: »

Guilty, that used to be me. But from watching him & reading his books, I think it's all a big act he puts on, I think he believes in all that petrol-head stuff about as much as Frank Kelly's conversation consists entirely of Feck, Girls and Drrink! He's been spotted cycling around a village in Oxfordshire at the weekend, as well (Jeremy Clarkson that is, not Frank Kelly).

Agreed rp, I think it's largely an act. The African special last week underlined the silliness of city dwellers driving 4x4's, as they successfully completed an off road trek in very old 2-wheel drives. He forces punters to take a position, which I think is a good thing.

Anyway, bikes are great...just so I'm not deviating from a thread which I started!:D

EH

For anyone who missed it the episode of Top Gear is repeated on Wednesday @ 19.00 on BBC2

Pherekydes

That was gas to watch. Fair play to Hammy, he gave it his all. He's quite fit, too.

delta_bravo

unionman wrote: »

Pardon my ignorance, what's a beater bike?

And yes, he seemed like he hated most of the experience. Though some of that was for the benefit of the audience I think. Did you catch the bit where that woman cyclist told him he was too slow or something, didn't quite catch what she said?

His sustained pace was impressive, but a part of me figured I could give him a run for his money on my fixie;)

I think she told him to hurry up and he said something about his knees

tampopo

And didn't his legs look very white?

I think half his problem was not using his gears (after stopping at all the red lights)

blorg

Classic stuff. That's a long enough cycle too - over 26km over not the most hospitable terrain.

Thank God he stopped at lights.

Mint Sauce

niceonetom wrote: »

but i reckon i could have made the same point on my beater bike.

i'd say i would have done the same on my ATB or road bike as well, neither top of the range, both entry level

mcgratheoin wrote: »

edit - I was surprised that public transport was slower though - would have thought the tube would be pretty quick in London.

not always, considering the stig first of all would of had to walk to the station firstly, ok only 5 minutes from where they were, the first tube he took, he would have been on for most of its route (the district line), from west to east, then changing to docklands, almost five minute walk between district line and dockland platforms when he changed trains at bank/monument station

i used to do a five mile commute in london, foot/tube/bus/tube/foot through the out skirts took me 45 minutes, woukd take almost an hour staying on the tube if i went through central london, 20 minutes on the bike

copacetic

tampopo wrote: »

And didn't his legs look very white?

I think half his problem was not using his gears (after stopping at all the red lights)

he flew away from most of the lights I saw? seemed to be going hard all the whole way at 20mph or so, not to be sniffed at..

Hungrycol

delta_bravo wrote: »

I think she told him to hurry up and he said something about his knees

She said he had bandy legs!

mkdon05

I got more excited about the outcome of this race than any of the Ireland football matches of late. I was screaming at the telly for Hammo!! Gas crack!

milod

niceonetom wrote: »

it's a pity he seemed to hate every minute of it though (screaming at buses/vans etc.), i doubt this will convert many motorists.

That's the best part of cycling for me tbh! I can vent all my pent up anger after a hard day at the office! Though I must say I thought he was hamming it up a bit (no pun intended...) for the camera. I've done a similar trip on a regular basis (Brentford to Canary Wharf) and cycling conditions in London are a lot better than here in Dublin.

As an aside, isn't it interesting how may of us cyclists watch Top Gear...

unionman

milod wrote: »

As an aside, isn't it interesting how may of us cyclists watch Top Gear...

I know, I thought I might have been the only one! But I appear to be in good company.

Hungrycol

That's because most cyclists are car driver too. When driving I have more respect for cyclists on the road. The amount of idots on the road that pull out in front of you and don't realise the speed of a bicycle is amazing.

Raam

I love Top Gear!
I wonder how a motorbike/moped would have fared in the same race.

wahlrab

It was the most exciting race I have seen in a long time, i was jumping like a mad man screaming, i was so relieved when hammond won and glad also that he didn't break the lights,

one question though is would the carbon framed bike have made much of a difference, under the conditions he was in??

copacetic

this is being repeated right now on bbc2

tampopo

milod wrote: »

As an aside, isn't it interesting how may of us cyclists watch Top Gear...

yeah but look what else was on in that time slot...

RTE1 Fair City ffs
TV3 Heartbeat Not ready for the cocoa and slippers yet...
UTV Heartbeat ditto
TG4 Snucar Beo nil me gaelgoir, ni maith liom snucar either
Ch4 Wife Swap seen one, seen them all
BBC1 Antiques Roadshow jaysus no
RTE2 The Premiership, fair enough

not much of a choice, and the Long Way down is on after....

copacetic

tampopo wrote: »

yeah but look what else was on in that time slot...

RTE1 Fair City ffs
TV3 Heartbeat Not ready for the cocoa and slippers yet...
UTV Heartbeat ditto
TG4 Snucar Beo nil me gaelgoir, ni maith liom snucar either
Ch4 Wife Swap seen one, seen them all
BBC1 Antiques Roadshow jaysus no
RTE2 The Premiership, fair enough

not much of a choice, and the Long Way down is on after....

get sky!

blorg

wahlrab wrote: »

one question though is would the carbon framed bike have made much of a difference, under the conditions he was in??

To winning the race, no, speed-wise he'd probably be quicker on a cheaper aluminum road bike with drop handlebars. Not a hilly route so weight wouldn't be a major factor. The carbon could certainly contribute to rider comfort though.

High&Low

blorg wrote: »

Classic stuff. That's a long enough cycle too - over 26km over not the most hospitable terrain.

Thank God he stopped at lights.

He said something at the start about stopping at light cause he was on tv, implying that he might not normally.

High&Low

Raam wrote: »

I love Top Gear!
I wonder how a motorbike/moped would have fared in the same race.

I assumed a motor bike was filming Hammond, so I reckon it would have fared pretty well.