News Archives - October 2012

Beware of breakdown costs when renting cars abroad

Holidaymakers who rent cars abroad are being faced with hidden charges for breakdown cover. It is unusual for a car rental company in Britain to not include roadside assistance and recovery in the basic cost of the hire, but consumer magazine Which? found that some companies abroad are asking customers to pay extra for the service. Which? found that car hire…

Cycling jackets go inflatable

A new design of cycling top can transform itself from a lightweight windcheater to a fully-insulated winter jacket with a few squeezes of a hand pump. Getting your clothing for a ride right usually involves building up layers, which can be removed when you get hot and replaced if the weather changes. The Klymit Ulaar jacket uses air pockets to…

Bicycle helmets fit for Halloween

Why do most cycle helmets look so boring? Most countries allow cyclists to decide for themselves whether or not to wear protective headgear, but there is very little choice when it comes to design. Exceptions to the rule include helmets designed to be covered by a hat and skateboard-style lids, but for the most part an additional air vent or…

Search Google for bicycles: They are all yellow

Google might be a many-tentacled, multi-national corporation worth £50bn, but the company’s strives to follow its unofficial slogan ‘don’t be evil’ by building server networks in as environmentally benign a way as possible. Much of this challenge centres on efficient cooling of the power-hungry servers, but newly-released images of the company’s facilities – buildings Google describes as the ‘physical internet’…

Pinarello Dogma: Ultimate stunt bike?

Mountain bikes have become the default choice for most cyclists, but trials rider Martyn Ashton has once again proved that expensive road bikes can take on the most extreme of off-road conditions and survive unscathed. Ashton took a Pinarello Dogma 2, the same £10k carbon road bike used by Bradley Wiggins to win this year’s Tour de France, for a…