 Poster: A snowHead
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Anyone see this on BBC2 last night? They had a couple of dudes on there with a cross between a snowboard and a push bike, pitching for a £100,000 (IIRC) investment in their new mountain sport. Thing is, these things were available for hire in La Rosiere last March. I hope Rachel Elnaugh does some research before handing over the cash.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I did see that. Wasn't it 75K they wanted? I had the same firs reaction as you.. this is just a snowbike so I share your doubts. The fact that it is a fold-up attachment for a Snowboard is the clever bit though... so maybe there is a market. A couple of years ago I was at Belle Plagne and there were guys sliding down the slopes from BP to Plagnecentre (?) at 10pm using their boards as sledges. In theory the piste is closed but there is a cabin that runs so people can come down and go to the pubs as there is not much in BP. I could see the people I witnessed getting out their snowbike attachement and whizzing down the slopes on their boards - an after ski activity. It would just need some better floodlighting to make it safer (oh and no piste bashers).
The guy manning the lift told us that he'd seen drunken English people who had sledged the run on metal doors ripped off the fridges in their s/c appartments!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I was surprised that Rachel invested, having been referred to as "grandma" and after the designer said that he was fed up of designers being ripped off by investors. Bannatyne is miserable tosser - do you think he was borne rude or just learned the skill when he got rich?
It would have been interesting to see video of the device in use. The guy I saw on one in La Ros. was rubbish on his.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Ski bikes, in various forms, have been going since the 1950s or earlier. It's more fun to steer with the legs than the arms, but they're fun for a day or two. The newer scooter-type devices look more dangerous and less controllable.
The classic ski bike, with outrigger skis for both feet is - I reckon - the way to go.
But really - what's the point? And what a hassle on ski lifts.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Surely these things will never be allowed on most runs? The guys were rather self-confident and didn't really seem to appreciate that this is far from an original idea. Also as there is no form of suspension and the frame appeared quite spindly with no obvious gusseting surely these things would break after a few hard landings? Had to laugh at the fact that miserable Mr Bannatyne & the pompous Yo Sushi guy both purported to be winter sports experts yet both referred to snowboards as "ski boards"!! There is a website http://www.snowbone.com which already has a link with Red Letter Days whereby you can try one for the day at Milton Keynes and then buy one at a disount. Think she should have kept her money in her pocket!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Nick Dawes, of course they came across as confident: they were trying to get investors on board (get the pun?!). In their position you aren't going to tell prospective investors that it is a throwaway fad idea that is not entirely original: such an approach would get you precisely zero investment!
I thought those guys played the situation well. Most of the people on that program who do get a Dragon to invest end up getting their pants taken down for 25%. Fair play to them for driving a hard bargain and telling her to forget about future rights on ALL of their inventions, which is what she originally wanted.
One more thing: I think she IS the Red Letter Days impressario, which would explain why it is on their website. Looks like she is pushing it hard already.
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the ice perv, Yes Rachel Elnaugh is the founder of Red Letter Days - allegedly worth £25m! My point about their confidence in the product was that I don't think they realised it is totally unoriginal! I know lots of innovators from the sports equipment field who often can't see the wood for the trees in this regard, latterly a very clever designer who lost his shirt on a hardly revolutionary folding bicycle.
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| Quote: |
Bannatyne is miserable tosser - do you think he was borne rude or just learned the skill when he got rich
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Did some work for him 20 yrs ago before he was really rich and he stuck in my mind as the nastiest ba****d I had ever met. Vowed never to do work for him again, and never did!. Thought he was a psycho 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Frosty the Snowman, i'd agree with that . I'm a member at one of his gyms and met him once. We complain about the facilities, lack of hot water etc but nothing ever changes. Still, we're the idiots who pay him a fortune every month.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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hyweljenkins, now,now.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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or should that be shoulder 
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hyweljenkins, I wasn't too surprised Rachel went for it. It was a minor investment for an entrepreneur of her standing and she was buying into a relationship at least as much as the product concerned - about which she probably knew next to nothing. The duo came across as believing in their product, they were transparently honest and firm about turning her first offer down - which will have impressed her and made her more determined to be involved. Hence her immediate back pedalling to meet their original request, the 75K. She knows that in the future she will be well placed to "help out", having been involved from the outset, should the designer come up with any more innovative designs. And he certainly seemed confident in his ability. They were both articulate, enthusiastic, they were not overawed, they gave off an aura of frankness and honesty, obviously got on well with each other. The employer's/investor's "dream team".
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You know it makes sense.
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| PG wrote: |
| hyweljenkins, I wasn't too surprised Rachel went for it. It was a minor investment for an entrepreneur of her standing |
erm, she went bust over the summer, maybe not such a great judge of a good idea?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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| PG wrote: |
| http://www.rachelelnaugh.com/ I'm sure she'll scrape by! ;-) |
but will the snowbike thingummygig?
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FAQ
