Bear Grylls Fronts The Latest Air New Zeland In Flight Safety Video

The cleaver folks over at Air New Zeland have come up with another great in flight safety video called “The Bear Essentials of Safety “. Air New Zealand’s previous Hobbit Inspired Safety Video was a hit both in the air & across the web, this time their new video is fronted by Bear Grylls & for the first time its not even filmed in an aircraft:

I personally prefer the Hobbit inspired version but its great marketing whichever way you look at it & from a passenger safety point of view it will hold your interest so that can only be a good thing. Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Jason Vigus

Did you see the Hobbit Safety Video by Air New Zealand yet?

I first saw this video (unsupringly) on an Air New Zealand flight from London to Los Angeles last month, its a completely new take on an in flight safety video that really captures your interest unlike most other airlines boring, but functional saftey videos.

This Hobbit inspired safety clip even features a cameo apperance of Sir Peter Jackson himself. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Jason Vigus

Rayzor Professional Lightweight Red UV400 Sports Wrap Cycling Sunglasses – Review

Since taking my first serious cycle ride on my new road bike (the Cube Attempt 20 speed I reviewed here), the fly I discovered in the corner of my eye afterwards was enough for me to get straight on the internet and order a good pair of wrap around sunglasses.

I had already decided that I didn’t want to spend a fortune on glasses as I already had a nice pair of everyday sunnies. After checking the various well known cycle shops online I was starting to feel that I’d to need to dig deep as most glasses were £25 upwards. Then I discovered this pair on Amazon for under £15 delivered, the reviews were positive so I took the punt.

My new Rayzor Professional’s arrived today and I’m very happy with them for the price, I might even wear them when I’m not cycling too as they look great. The version I went for is the red pair at the top of this post, although Amazon also do the Rayzor’s in a few other colours which you can see below:


Click any of the pictures to read more about them on Amazon.co.uk

I think these glasses are lightweight, stylish, well made and most importantly excellent value. They are comfortable to wear & darken the view well without removing all the colour, I’ll probably pick up one of the yellow lens versions soon for evening/night riding, it may seem strange but the idea is to dim oncoming headlights of passing cars who are often not considerate to cyclists.

 

Jason Vigus

Cube Attempt Compact (20 Speed) 2011 – Road Bike Review

Cube Attempt Compact 105 road bike - 2011

Cube Attempt Compact 105 road bike - 2011

Funding the bike:
I recently signed myself up to the cycle to work scheme my employeer was offering as with all the usual good intentions of getting that little bit fitter (the jury is out on how that goes at this early stage). The idea behind this scheme is you need to use the bike for some of your journey, and for at least 50% of your overal trips to work, you save (usually) the income tax, NI & VAT on the purchase of a bike (which can be up to a 50% saving) & its spread over a 12 month period. Most employers are happy to offer this scheme as it reduces their NI & tax liabilities they pay for the employee.

Choosing the bike:
I wanted the best bike I could get for £1000, so after a few hours of research online (reviews, forums & online shops) I’d narrowed it down to a couple of bikes, the Canondale CAAD8 105 and the Cube Attempt 105, both of which had very similar specifications & equally important, both looked great. I’d heard that the CAAD8 was probably the better bike to go for as they were well known for making good frames, but further research told me there was really not much between it and the Cube Attempt, as its not the same CAAD8 frame that everyone raved about anyway – its been redesigned & is made in the far east to make it more affordable now. So I called my local bike shop, Solent Cycles in Porchester and asked them to get both bikes in, the following weekend I went along, did my test rides on each of the bikes, I also looked at the Canondale Synapse 105 while I was there, but in the end I came away with the Cube as it just felt right.

The bike itself:
Cube are an established German manufacturer who follow the trend of throwing out competitively priced road bikes, the Attempt is highly specced for the money. Many of the features, like internally routed cabling and the nearly complete Shimano 105 groupset you’d expect to see on a bike costing nearer £2000.

One of the deciding factors that helped me choose the Attempt over the competition was it came fitted with high end Schwalbe Ultremo tyres & Fulcrum Racing 7 wheels, and since after the frame its the wheels/tyres that make a bike ride well (or perhaps not), this was a big plus to get these on a bike costing £1000.

I’m not by any means experienced enough to say if the bike is a really good ride or not, but to me the bike was firm, felt fast and handled well – so I’m happy. Coming from a background of riding mountain bikes, its a totally different experience riding a road bike, and so much easier due to the lighter weight & reduced wind resistance.

This is a great first road bike, which I’m very happy with myself & definitely recommend as a test ride if you are thinking about getting a road bike.

Accessories:
I picked up a few extras with the bike including the obligatory bottle holder & spare inner tubes & compact pump. The others were:

Giro Saros Matt Black / White Helmet:
 Shimano M077 SPD Cycling Shoes:
Shimano PD-M770 XT SPD Pedals:
 Topeak Aero Wedge Medium Bag:

Jason Vigus