The cars and bikes thread!

[crownpuller]

Bugger confidentiality, I want to see a picture of the owner.

Yes, I'm more than a little curious to see who owns it too (not seen them yet).

[Raza]

Bruce willis's character paints his car then power washes it off to change the colour so the baddies don't recognise it

I don’t remember that scene, but yes.

[crownpuller]

The Audi is coming along nicely...



... looking good !

[geoffbot]

They must have used water based paint or something or stripped it because that's nuts...

[tribe125]

There really is no understanding it, unless someone has turned car restoration into a project for a not fully equipped child.

[Samanator]

The Audi is coming along nicely...



... looking good !

Maybe it’s some type of new paint cleaning product to remove water spots. Like a liquid clay bar. The paint doesn’t look all that bad under it. Or maybe they were using it for a green screen vehicle.


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[Samanator]

I really dislike these urban Bird rental scooters that some of the cities have allowed. There were eight of them spewed all over the sidewalk and my driveway exit in front of my house this morning. They do have a rear stand that swings down to hold them in place, but only one had it on it and the rest just laying over. I nearly drove over two of them going to the gym since I could not see them through our driveway gate while it opened. My truck sits high and these were laying over. Luckily I saw the others across the street on the sidewalk and stopped to get out of my truck. One was about a foot in front of my tire. I don't know what they are supposed to do with them when they stop. I've always seen them in one area down the street at the park. The console indicated lock and the rear tire would not roll when I tried to move them and place all some place the the runners, walkers and people on bikes on the sidewalk would not trip over them. After carrying eight of them and lining them up on the edge of the side walk I'lm not certain I needed to go to the gym this morning. These felt as heavy as our electric bikes which mine is 70lbs. I need to call the city and find out how this is suppose to work or how to get them picked up. I assume someone needs to charge them somewhere. There is nothing on the scooters to tell you who to call about them.

Last time in DC they where laying all over the place on the sidewalks there. Seems like a really bad model to allow to operate without a better set of rules around where they are left sitting when done. Imagine a rental car company and someone abandoning the rental cars on the road and bridges where ever they wish. This is the Bird model. Seems half baked if you ask me.

Their site talks about reducing the carbon foot print. Since the only people I see riding these things here are kids that don't have licenses how is that reducing the carbon footprint since they would not be driving anyway. My guess is there are maybe a dozen or so of these which not a lot of people are on so that carbon footprint reduction does not seem to be a big factor. Looking at their site they are suppose to ride on the street by adults so their model is failing there on both accounts. I have only seen them on the sidewalks which the sticker on the scooter says not to do. These things have to be getting trashed since I saw a group of teens last summer riding them in the dirt and jumping them off of two and three foot berms. They were flying both wheels off the ground for about eight feet. Maybe in a truly urban setting with high numbers of dedicated bike lanes would an adult consider one. I can't see anyone taking one to work here except for high school kids or younger grads. Things are spread out and not connected with bike lanes for any great distance. Our town is not an urban center and is not the right place for these except for going around Lake Jackson (10 miles around)which I live on. Most people like us have golf carts both gas and electric. We don't leave those ditched in someones front yard and drive way. On this side of the lake you must cross the street to get to the lake front section of your lot.

Update: The good news is these were all gone by 9 am. Based on my Ring camera it appear the company that owns most of the car dealerships in town that has vehicles coming around the lake quite a bit must have the Bird franchise. They must take them for charging and then put them back at the park later in the day. They are tracked by a cell tracker.



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[geoffbot]

In Paris I saw a scooter in the Seine. Then I saw another. Then another. Then literally over 100 in about 30 minutes. Absolutely littered with them. Like big vapes.

Just googled, apparently they're banned now.

[crownpuller]

... apparently they're banned now.

I wish they'd ban them here, they're a bloody nuisance.
Driving in Bristol was always a chore, but now (since the introduction of those things) it's a highly stressful ordeal; and the same applies if you're cycling or a pedestrian:
They come at you from all angles and go where they want with no regard for anyone else nor the rules of the road. Traffic lights don't apply to them. Others' safety is not even a consideration from what I've seen.
They're supposed to keep to the roads and adhere to the Highway Code - They don't.
They're not supposed to use footpaths - They do.
They're not supposed to use cycle lanes - They do.
They're not supposed to use the pedestrianized areas of the town centre - They do.
I'm sure there are some that play by the rules, but I've seen little to no evidence of it.

Same as Michael says above - They're just dropped and abandoned where they stop. I can't count the times I had to (when I was commuting by bike) leave the cycle lane to get around abandoned scooters.

Rant over.

[geoffbot]

Yeah it's a shame, because they are an excellent form of transport, and anything that reduces traffic in inner city areas is a win in my book. They should just say roads only, like cyclists. And let them use cycle paths.