bobrayner
bobrayner
bobrayner

I’ve never seen a mixte frame like that, but caliper brakes under the chainstays were the fashionable tech for tri bikes, for a few years. Especially for the weird Y-shaped frames that got rid of seatpost and seatstays (well, there’s nowhere else to put brakes). It seemed cool at the time, cable routing isn’t too bad,

1x is great, but modern 1x chainsets mostly have a black finish - maybe fit an old track chainset instead? If you have money to spare, Campagnolo Pista. (I assume there’s a square tapered BB)

These are like gold dust in the UK. For most of the last year it’s been impossible to book foreign holidays, or even a hotel for a staycation, but millions of people have convinced themselves that a camper is the solution - and here’s a van which already had a good reputation and is small enough to use for other daily

The big star looks like it was put on afterwards by a shade-tree mechanic, like all the Mercedes-badged Tatas which are rolling around developing countries.

True story: I’ve been trying to hire a nice old O319 bus, and it’s almost impossible.

It looks like a conversion of a conventional tourist coach - in many parts of the world, they have a tiny little sleeping compartment for the driver (whilst the tourists check in to their designer hotel / river cruise / whatever) hidden down below, next to the luggage bays.

Yeah, taxi drivers are regulated so you can trust them!

Life would be difficult, and 40% of journeys would end prematurely with a boiling radiator or some mysterious hydraulic problem, but the other 60% of journeys would be so stylish. Definitely worth it.

I like the faired-in aero look. It’s rather like the 1985 Renault VE10.

Anybody called “Both my cars are XJs” deserves a star.

It looks a bit like a Bæ 146, except the bag is more expensive. 

Dude looks like a lady.

tbh I think Harley is at least trying to reach a younger demographic. Before now, every Harley rider was an Eagles fan, fondly remembering the golden age of the 1970s. Now they’re teaming up with a band that some people liked in the 80s. A tiny step forward is still a step forward; trying to market Harleys to

I agree that small engines are better for the environment, but for every person who agrees there’s another person who thinks a car with a sporty image and a big engine is just cooler (and is willing to pay for it). We won’t get these people into a Smart EQ, but we might have a chance of getting them in a hybrid AMG.

I think it’s a clever nod to their roots. Every other carmaker is rushing to produce a hybrid which has an electric motor tied to an environmentally-friendly-but-dull little turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. We all remember the Good Old Days when an AMG was just a normal Mercedes but with a huge V8 crammed inside.

Why limit yourself to paved roads? Imagine the adventures you could have, selling ice-cream anywhere offroad, in the 4x4 that inspired Lil Nas X’s mother.

Remember when cars had radio aerials? Lovely chromed aerials sticking up? My local tyre-fitter destroyed aerials on two different cars, and tried tactics like “It was like that when you brought it in”, and “Not our fault, a supplier did it”, and “If you get a microscope you can see that clause 57J of the booking T&Cs