Bike targeted as 'terrorist threat' Islington Tribune 29th June 2005

A CYCLIST feared police would blow up his bike, believing it to be a potential terrorist threat.

David Clement-Horton, manager of projector hire firm AV2Hire.Com® in Clerkenwell, was making a delivery in the City when he got a call from police who had spotted his distinctive yellow bike.

Mr Clement-Horton, 39, said: "The officer said people had called the police worried the bike was a terrorist threat. I told them it was a delivery bike and they told me to move it.

"I said I'd be down in two minutes but when I got there the entire contents of the bike, including a £500 projector screen, were on the road. I think it was a bit harsh."

Mr Clement-Horton, from King's Cross, feared police would carry out a controlled explosion.

He is now considering asking police to "stop hassling" him.

Mr Clement-Horton said: "It's madness. If I had turned up in a white van, nothing would have been done. "We are being victimized because we are unusual. This is an irrational approach to policing."

City police said they had no record of the incident. Sergeant Julian Goudchild said: "If it was a direct action from an officer who was alerted by members of the public then it may not have come into our computer-aided dispatch system." Sgt Goodchild said that, if Mr Horton-Clement made a complaint, officers would routinely examine CCTV images.

By Royal Appointment BNI Successnet Spring 2005

 When Clerkenwell Chapter's David Clement-Horton received a message to call HRH Princess   Michael of Kent, he thought someone was winding him up. His booming projector hire business, AV2Hire,Com, might  have brought him into regular contact with the rich and powerful, but.,..royalty?

However, a call to the Princess's personal secretary confirmed that Her Royal Highness was indeed looking lo use David's services - and that he'd received the royal request as a result of a referral given to Kensington Palace by one of his chapter colleagues, Gary Weekes of Mark Turnbull & Associates Photography.

"It never ceases to amaze me just how diverse are the people in each other's networking circles, but I never thought it would include royalty," said David. "It shows how well-connected BNI members can be."

David arrived at the Palace on one of his company's distinctive seven-foot long bright yellow cargo bicycles and spent an hour with the Princess, setting up a large screen in her private dining room and showing her how to use a projector.

While this was his first royal appointment, AV2Hire.Com's colourful bicycles are a common sight around some of London's most famous addresses. David has twice ridden through the gates of Downing Street to deliver equipment for Tony and Cherie Blair, and become a frequent visitor to The Houses of Parliament.

He's now looking for more referrals into the Royal Household in the hope of obtaining ,a Royal Warrant to display on his bicycles.

You can contact David on 0845 123 5654

Pedaling Projectors, VeloVision June 2004

Velo Vision caught up with David Clement-Horton of AV2Hire, a London-based business offering audio-visual equipment for hire - by bike!

VV: Could you describe whet AV2Hire it all about?

We hire anything to do with audio/visual that we can safely carry on a bicycle. This includes PA (public address) sound systems, 12' x 9' (4m x 3m) screens, staging, data projectors and a whole list of extra items such as laptops, DVD players, microphones and the like pretty much any equipment you need to give a professional presentation. One thing we don't do is plasma screens, and I believe we never will, as they're just too bulky and delicate to transport safely.

The business is completely built around the ability to transport the equipment quickly and safely around London, which we do overwhelmingly by bike. Unfortunately we hadn't anticipated that our advertising would reach beyond Central London so we do sometimes still have to use cars or vans for the longer distances.

Being based in Central London though, most of our clients are within the first two zones of the underground system which is perfectly accessible by bicycles. Phone for a pizza, and phone us... we'll get there quicker!

Using bicycles instead of vans for most of our work means that our prices are the cheapest around. Despite this we hope we have a great reputation for quality too - we regularly update the equipment, and another plus point is that all of our delivery riders are actually the trained AV technicians too so they can set up and test the equipment when they deliver it. Other companies just employ couriers to deliver the kit, leaving the client to struggle with setting it up.

We hire equipment mainly to businesses, although there are also private customers who hire projectors or sound systems for all sorts of reasons.  These have included weddings, where they can show pictures to illustrate speeches (usually showing photos of the stag night!), or to relay proceedings to guests in another room. Or we get people wanting a projector so they can get some mates round to watch a football match.

VV: Tell us about yourself and your personal background.

I first started putting bicycles together when I was seven, mainly to sell to friends to make some pocket money. My father wouldn't let me have my own bicycle until I was sixteen - at which point he didn't have a say in the matter!

When I was seventeen I did my first Land's End to John O'Groats ride, and at eighteen cycled 12,000 miles in six months (I was unemployed and went for a cycle ride with my guitar). At nineteen I became a cycle courier in London and then worked at Dial-A-Bike in Victoria. Dial-A-Bike was a cycle hire shop which kind of inspired me into the business I am in today.

After that I became a computer guru, stopped cycling for a while and started weighing in at 16.5 stone! I'm back down to 12 now...

Among the things I have carried on a bicycle (for good or for bad) are: a bed, a tuba (15 miles, three times a week), a guitar, a three-piece suite (on a trailer) and now a full 12' screen sound and vision cinema outfit!

VV: How did AV2Hire start up? What gave you the idea - and had you done anything similar before?

It started as a way of getting around IR35, a nasty 'New Labour' tax law that picks on computer

contractors by claiming that they are bona fide employees of the companies they do work for, rather than Limited Company consultants. Basically, my accountant said that I needed to diversify.

I had a projector that I used to watch films on, and I could employ my wife Mila to help. So AV2Hire started.

I used the principles I'd seen at Dial-A-Bike in the hire structure and used my knowledge about projectors and laptops for the technical side, used my knowledge of the Internet and search engines for the advertising and of course my knowledge of the fastest way to get around London as the basis for logistics. After a few teething problems it started to make more money than my computer contracting.

VV: How many people work for the company? Do you employ people with an AV background, or a cycling background primarily? Which is harder to pick up?

We have four people working at the London office, plus a franchise in Luton, and another franchise opening in Manchester. Cycles don't seem to work well for this business in rural, small town areas, but when you have a large concentration of businesses in one area such as Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and of course London, they are a blessing.

In answer to your employment question, I can teach anyone about AV. I can't teach London road sense or personality. When I look for people, I don't really care if they have an AV background. But they need to be able to fend for themselves on the London streets and have superb customer care skills as well as being able

to stop at traffic lights and note how one-way streets work.

That's not me having a go at other cyclists - it's just that when they have AV2Hire.Com® on the back of the bicycle they are an ambassador for me, and bad behaviour would not only give other cyclists a bad name, it would give AV2Hire a bad name too.

VV: Do you sell your services on the ecological and community-friendly aspects of using bikes, or mainly on price and convenience? Do your customers know or care that you're using bikes?

We sell our services purely on the price and good service basis. We believe that our customers are more concerned about price and whether we will actually turn up with a projector than the ecological aspect. Using cycles we have the advantage over our competitors of reliably being at a customer's venue when we say we are, instead of lots of phone calls apologising for being stuck in traffic.

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VV: Have you heard of any similar operations elsewhere?

No - I am pretty sure they don't exist. But there's no reason the idea shouldn't work in any of the world's major cities.

Do they know we are using bikes? They do when we turn up with a 150 watt PA system, six foot screen, projector, and DVD player and wearing a cycle helmet! I deliberately wear a helmet and track mitts to emphasise the fact that we are different and hope that they see the difference in increased speed and reliability. It gives me a great buzz to walk into Lloyds of London wearing full cycling gear amongst all the suits. I'm sure it makes our service more memorable too, so they'll call us next time.

We have pictures of the 8 Freight on the website, so I guess our customers are aware of it that way too even before they order.

VV: Are there any motorised competitors in your area offering similar services?

There are hundreds of competitors in our industry, but to my knowledge we are the only AV company using cycles. Maybe we are the only ones who have broken the mould - who knows?

I do know that we don't get our bicycles towed away for illegal parking, and by using bicycles instead of cars and vans not only are we giving our clients value for money, but I have changed what is normally a financial liability into a viable asset. What if another bike-based service started up? By that time we would be so well known that it would be difficult for them to gain any ground, in London at least. It would however be possible for the large established AV companies to follow our lead - which I would only applaud. If a significant industry such as ours can transfer to HPVs instead of HGVs it can only be the start of something great.

VV: How do you feel the conditions for utility cycling in London have changed over the last few years? Have you felt the impact of congestion charging? Are workbikes getting to be a more familiar sight? Is there a workbike community you can slot into?

Bug Bugs! Like them or loath them, they have brought huge visibility of workbikes onto the streets of London. These are the pedicab services, mostly using Cycles Maximus and other rickshaws, and there are a few hundred of them now around Soho.

However even as a workbike advocate I feel that they contribute to the traffic problem because of the sheer size. When considering a bicycle to get things quickly around London, anything with more than two wheels is more likely to get stuck in the jams - or will have to ride over kerbs to make progress, annoying pedestrians and police.

There are a few other workbike companies out there trying to make a difference, mainly sandwich delivery services, but the main potential is for companies who regularly use vans to consider alternative transport. There's certainly lots of potential.

Is there a London workbike community? Not really. I feel very alone out there at the moment, but who knows... With more exposure, hopefully people will begin to realise that fossil fuels aren't the solution.

VV: What plans do you have for the future?

More franchises in the major cities, with more vehicles. A fleet of around ten 8-Freights in London with larger premises to store them. AV2Hire being a household name. World domination!

VIDEO  VEHICLES

AV2Hire has used a number of cycles over the years to transport equipment, as David Clement-Horton explains:

When we started we used folding bicycles, tandems and trailers. The only trailer that could carry PA systems and screens safely through London was the 'Bike Hod'. But because of its upright design it had a tendency to overturn if badly loaded. It also had a 'Kangaroo' effect when heavily loaded, affecting the handling of the towing bike.

The tandem idea worked well for carrying screens, as they strapped to the top tube, however we could only carry one screen at a time (unless you like cycling bow-legged) and the usual comment "She's fallen off!" tends to grate after the first few times. My favourite comment however was outside New Scotland Yard where a policeman intoned "I think you need to report a missing person sir". The main problem was that it didn't look very professional, and didn't really blend into a corporate image.

Not being a defeatist, I decided to start looking for alternatives .. sure there were trikes, and Broxes,

but nothing really that could carry even six foot screens and still get through the traffic I even considered telling people that we couldn't hire out screens.

Then I turned up at the Bikefix in Lambs Conduit Street one day on my folder with a six foot rolled-up screen sitting in the rear pannier, going through the middle (in place of the top tube) and slung under the handlebars with a couple of toestraps.

Bikefix owner Stuart had a suggestion. He hires out 8-Freights, and we took one of the screens over to his hire bike and started to experiment. It soon became clear that if we strapped the rolled-up screen to the sides of the cargo frame then it could work. The frame is wider than the pedals, so there's clearance for your feet, and it didn't increase the overall length of the bike.

But I didn't like the idea that it would still look unprofessional, and security/safety were high on my priority list So we needed something better than a jury-rigged 'bodge'.

When I phoned Mike Burrows about this, we talked about everything from stainless steel tubes to a mild steel platform. I needed something that could not only carry screens, but also 4 foot square 18mm plywood sections for staging. It therefore needed to be bombproof.

So were born the 'Mike Burrows Bat Wings'. These are retractable stainless steel tubes (on blue plastic bearings) which hold up to four screens, microphone stands and 4' staging. They also make great foot stands for people taking a ride on the back of the flight case! They neatly slide out of the way when not in use.

I wanted it to be noticed, and as our corporate colours are yellow and blue we decided on that. I was very humbled when I realised that Mike had obtained matching components just for our machine, even having his '8 Freight' logo printed in blue instead of the usual red!

The flight case is a modular design, so that we can add or remove different sections depending what we are carrying. For 12 foot screens and large, heavy PA systems we remove the top, so that they can be strapped on directly over the bike's cargo frame -they wouldn't fit inside anyway

In normal use we will have two sections as a lockable case to hold cables, projectors, stands etc. We can also add a middle section to create a totally enclosed padded box when carrying ultra-bright projectors that need that extra care. A layer of high density foam underneath the flightcase, plus internal padding, means we incorporate a form of dampened suspension. Adding this to the slightly flexible frame and the balloon tyres it seems to even out the potholes and bumps in the road nicely.

It took me a while to get used to the 'steering a bus' fork rake on the 8-Freight, but it really makes a difference when you carry heavy loads. To test this, take out a tandem with a stoker for half an hour, then ask the stoker to get off, and see how much you wobble around. The 8-Freight handles the same, whatever load you are carrying.

VV: David, thank you

CONTACTS

AV2Hire: for more details, price list or to hire a projector see their website www.AV2Hire.Com® or phone 0845 123 5654 (for London area) or 0845 070 5166 (for hiring details outside London).

All photos by Mark Turnbull,

Mark Turnbull Photography, Tel 0207 729 8684

Website www.mark-turnbull.co.uk 

Is superbike the future for city couriers? Ham&I August 2004

Jam-buster proves a useful invention

 CLERKENWELL business has found a new way of beating London's congestion charge, slow traffic and eagle-eyed wardens.

Hire company AV2 has come up with the 8-Freight superbike -specially designed to deliver up to 100kg loads without a trailer.

The   nifty   vehicle   can   nip between buses, park on the pavement and take equipment door to door - without worrying about gelling a ticket.

Boss David Clement-Horton told the High&I: "I am very pleased with the design. It's a small enough bike to get past buses and slow traffic - I'm sure it can get anywhere in London faster than a car."

AV2Hire specializes in renting out and transporting heavy projection equipment but its six feet

Screens do not fit into a normal car, the vans kept getting clamped and attempts to use a bike and trailer resulted in the whole thing overturning.

"We started by using a tandem” says Mr. Clement-Horton. "I am a life-long bike enthusiast, and the problems of London deliveries begged for a green answer. We have cars for long distance trips but, for most of our customers, the bike is better."

Mr Clement-Horton decided he wanted a bike light and streamlined enough lo weave through traffic and strong enough to carry his unwieldy equipment.

So he commissioned Olympic bike designer Mike Burrows to make him something to help keep his business moving.

Mr Burrows is the man behind the bike which helped Chris Boardman win gold in Sydney.  And the designer used some of his speed expertise to ensure the 8-freight stands out from the crowd. With rip-stop nylon wheel covers to reduce wind resistance, a carbon fibre/aluminium frame and stainless steel wings that pull out from the back, it is a million miles from your average two wheeler.

And it has attracted plenty of attention

On a recent delivery to the Houses of Parliament, the bike was stopped and searched by police. The six-foot black tubes holding projector screens to the side of the bike aroused suspicion. Mr Clement-Horton said: "I was very amused. 1 think the police were worried we were smuggling in Mortar Bombs.

The Moving Picture Show London Cyclist 12th January  2004

The moving picture show

In the second of an occasional series, Ben Summers spots, and stops, another of the capital's more unusual working bikes. This time it's a projector screen-toting tandem and its steerer and stoker

AV2Hire rents out audiovisual equipment for weddings. exhibitions, conferences and presentations. The items are heavy, bulky, fragile and expensive. The smallest pull-down screen, even folded away, is 6ft long. And yet managing director David Clement-Horton delivers in London using only a Dawes tandem and a Ridgeback folder.

"You couldn't fit one of our screens into a car," he says, "but rolled up, it straps nicely on to the top tube of a tandem." No fancy equipment needed - just a couple of 5p cable ties. A projector, meanwhile, fits snugly into a Karrimor pannier.

The tandem also carries one or two riders, depending on how many people are needed to set up the equipment. And if the job requires more kit, the tandem can take it. A Bike Hod trailer with a hardshell case swallows up whatever the panniers can't. "The most I've been able to carry was a PA system, four projectors and two screens," says Clement-Horton. 'That was with two riders."

"The only adaptation I've done is to move the hooks on the panniers, so I can carry them on the folding bike as welt. We haven't needed to fit extra padding - as long as you don't ride down kerbs, it's fine. We've never damaged any equipment"

The company works all over the UK and when I call Clement-Horton he is on a train to Wales with his equipment and the Ridgeback. A major client had rung his London office and asked him to get to Cardiff

within three hours. He made it.

It’s in London, though, that the company can show off the full benefits of delivering on two wheels. “The really important thing is getting there on time” Clement-Horton says. 'This way, we don't have to drive vans or pay for taxis, There's no congestion charge, and no parking problems."