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Anyone that actually likes cars on here?
I love riding my bike but I also love a bit of petrol (not diesel!) fired transport. After fighting the urge for last 7 years, I've just bought myself an Audi TT (mk1) that'll I'll hopefully maintain until they reach classic status.
I did think about getting another motorbike but since parenthood there are too many non-fault variables that can lead to you having a very bad day on a motorbike - so I chose the more sensible option.
Given a lottery win, I'm happy to say I'd have dozen of cars. GT40s, AC Cobras, Lancia Deltas, Mk2 Golfs, the lot!
Anyone else that doesn't see cars as the devil?
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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“And don't get me started on houses. You hardly ever see any people inside a house during the day, so what’s the point in putting all this money...
- Fergus_O'Hara 3 hours 5 min ago
I did, I just think he's full of s***
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Cycling is not a lawless act, because its totally lawful to kill a cyclist....
- mark1a 3 hours 41 min ago
Energy from the Severn - it's always baffled me why one of the highest tidal ranges in the world can't be harnessed for a clean, predictable and...
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My cleaning go-to is old t-shirts. I've got mixed feelings about the fluff of microfibre towel; tea towels not so much as they don't have the bit...
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- carefulrider 4 hours 31 min ago
Two points of clarification....
- Secret_squirrel 5 hours 44 min ago
Unlikely IMO. They've already pretty much run out of parliamentary time. Only statutory instrument stuff could get done now.
- Ianbb 5 hours 54 min ago
Good luck Dave. May well see you there. Hopefully the weather will be like it is this week!
- ktache 5 hours 56 min ago
Well done for Reading cyclists for being so welcoming.
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75 comments
This. Everyone who lives near me seems to piss bewteen £300 and £600 a month away, just to have a blobby shopping trolley with a German badge on the drive. In white, of course, with automatic everything, the biggest alloys and the smallest engine.
Agree, i've owned my passat Estate for almost 12 years (it's dark green btw), it's unbelieveably reliable, gets 50mpg on the motorway, has a gearstick/pedals for going and stopping and a radio cassette (I kept all my 80s/90s house mixes
) the only 'gadget' it has is the computer for mpg/distance/fuel remaining and electric windows/mirrors, oh and the wheels are only 15".
I can fit 4 bikes inside with a bit of dismantling if need be (2 bikes and shed loads of luggage/cases of vino is the norm) and though it's declared off road most of the year i still enjoy driving it as the simplicity and the fantasticly smooth gear change are exactly what i like. why any family car needs more than 15" wheels I'll never know.
I read somewhere that 85% of people who identify themselves as cyclists also drive a car. According to the DVLA roughly 70-75% of the UK population hold a driving licence. So cyclist are more likely to drive than the general population.
I don't hate cars, they're incredible handy, life changing even. But they're 1 ton of speeding metal and many drivers don't treat them with the caution the deserve.
One of my mates still races bikes at a fairly high level and it costs him an arm and a leg (and sometimes other injuries). I looked into tin top racing years ago and even running in a hot hatch class was more money than I could ever put into it.
When I was more involved as a proper motorsport photographer, I came to realise that half the paddock ran on bounced cheques and broken promises. Cheap it is not. Very political as well, but then again anything organised is.
I've done loads of work on cars over the years - my Grandad worked for Ford, taught my Dad and he has passed it on to me. He's got a couple of MG Bs kicking around and loves tinkering with them.
We used to have an Audi TT as a company car, but had to change it for something we could fit car seats in when first kiddy arrived.
Also have a motorbike - mainly as a toy these days. I hardly use it, but love having it as an option.
I've done a couple of track days, too - fantastic fun.
My wife's a dentist. And, no, we've never used the chair.
Yeah, a motorbike is special kind of buzz, my tipples were 400cc bikes, had NC30, NC23 and FZR. ZX6R was faster but somehow not as fun. Always good to hang with some fat bloke on a 1000cc when you're only rocking 400cc.
Tetsuya Harada said something along the lines of it being like an eagle and I agree. Blatting over the IOM mountain section is something I'll carry in my head forever. God knows how they do it at the speeds they do it at. Most of the bike pros are keen cyclists as well.
TBH Motorsport doesn't interest me as much as it used to. Technology has killed it's edge and road safety rules have made the cars look basically the same thing with different badges. F1 just toilet these days, I don't want to think about how much of my life I've wasted on boring races. BTCC and BSB are probably the most entertaining series at the moment.
I can relate. I weaned myself off cable television since 2013 and I basically stopped following Formula 1 subsequently. MotoGP and its feeder series provide a better spectacle in terms of pure racing.
For the four-wheeled kind, I'd heartily recommend Australian V8 Supercars if you can get it on the telly. Really good. It's like a nice mix of BTCC and NASCAR and it's almost always entertaining.
Personally I find it more interesting to join local motorsport in an amateur capacity than watch it...but reality does bite in that it costs money on upkeep, fuel, and track rental. So I understand the decision to limit it to one or two trackdays a year.
Yep I like cars, but like motorbikes even more. I've a boring family saloon that does the job of hauling the family around, including heading off to compete in cycle races. But I prefer being on two wheels, both with and without an engine. Right now I've two Suzukis, one being new and fast and the other being old, noisy, slow and a hoot to ride. I've had various Italian, Japanese and British bikes over the years. When we had kids I did sell one motorbike.
Wow, didn't think I'd get more than about 2 people who actually 'liked' cars as things to enjoy. Driving itself is mostly tedium these days but as I've just re-discovered, I'd rather sit in a queue in a distinct car feels better than a shopping trolley.
Keeping the shopping trolley to run until the TT has been properly looked over by this nice BMW tech we've befriended. Said he'd give it MOT and proper look over for £30 and then I'll assess whether it's summer toy just to get it out my system or a keeper. Willing to put about another £500-1000 into it at cost prices to get it perfect seeing as it's recently has £1200 spent on belts,pumps,exhausts etc. by the last owner. Hopefully it'll be in good fettle when properly inspected and I'll get it undersealed if needed and then maybe just enjoy it.
Can't believe how much 80s cars are blowing up in price now though. Looked at a Mk2 golf on ebay.....£16k!!! Apparently it had a 'career' as a show car. Even sheds of iconic stuff are now worth stupid money. This is why I went for TT. Hopefully it won't drop value if maintained. My choices were TT, Rx8 (too thirsty really and too prone to problems), Celica VVTLi 190 and the Hyundai 2.7 V6 as outside bet. Think I've made the right choice.
I was an amateur time attack driver for four years, specializing in "slow car fast", and have had gasoline in my veins ever since I was a kid.
The photo is a good clue of where I'm from - it's a shot from the Turn 1-2 complex at Clark International Speedway in the Philippines.
Not to toot my own horn, but I suspect I got good at riding when I resumed it in 2013 after almost 15 years off the saddle precisely because of the skills I picked up on trackdays - particularly situational awareness, very late braking, and maintaining momentum.
If any of you have cars and access to a racetrack, I highly suggest going to a trackday even just once a year - especially in a well-maintained car in unmodified condition. It's applied physics hands-on and it's a good way of releasing stress. Professional instruction is highly recommended too.
As for myself, I'm mainly a fan of Hondas from the 1990s and early 2000s - most of the cars I've driven/owned don't even feature their headline technology (i.e. VTEC) and they're still excellent to drive.
Yes, love cars.
Have had two Triumph Vitesse Mk 2 convertibles and a 1964 Ford Consul Capri in my time.
Loved them every bit as much as my hand built Condor and my Eddy Merckx EMX-1.
Wish list would include Shelby Mustang, 1957 Chevy Bel Air, Austin Healy 3000 and 1958 Corvette.
Can't see why this tribalist mindset continues.
Because loads (a majority?) of car users are motons who don't appreciate the machine they're using, much less what it is to ride a bike next to a ton of metal driven by an idiot.
Used to be a complete petrolhead in my 20s/30s. Mostly Toyotas, Hondas, and VWs. Spent huge amounts on money on tuning, track days, road trips, etc.
Now I'm a family man its still there but channeled in different ways. Never thought I be slavering over German & Swedish 80s estates the way I did over sports cars and hot hatches but that's my reality now. Partly its from being utterly fed up with the cost and complexity of modern cars - so much to go wrong and never, ever cheap to fix. So I'm in the market for a Volvo 940 as a daily driver and something like a Merc 280TE as a weekend car. Even Peugeots get a look in with the 504 & 505.
I enjoy nice cars driven fast with no regard for anyone else, as does my eldest son. So once a year we will have an experience day at one of the various race tracks or disused airfields. Gets the need for speed out of your system in a safe environment.
Wow. This thread flushed out the dentists.
Cheap stereotype.
I'm a banker.
I have some pliers if you got a sore tooth
You don't say?
The TT is a hairdressers car, BTW.
Is that why the new version of the New Beetle now looks like the old version of the TT?
Come sit in my chair good sir.
Zing!
Surly is the bike brand of cottagey MPs, BTW.
I'd say the convertible has that image, yes. The hardtop with its domed roof, however, is a design classic. You can even make them handle for not much outlay. I'll take a 4-pot turbo manual in silver with the smallest alloys, please.
I love my car I can throw two bikes in the boot with the seats down no problem, three if I take the wheels off
Cars - yes. Very useful.
Car users - generally no. Seems to bring out the worst in the human species - selfishness and aggression.
Necessary (sometimes) evil. Generally they are either gassing me with fumes, trying to run me over, or both.
You're still not peddling (pardon the pun) this bullshit line of yours, are you? The whole "I'm a cyclist by the way". Pull the other one, it has bells on!
That's bikeLikebike. bikebikebike is an innocent bystander.
Thanks, davel. I am indeed not bikelikebike. I am a (utility) cyclist.
Should have gone to Specsavers...
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