@MrNice – How dare you!!! “Half The Band Have Been Locked in a Cupboard” is my favourite New York scene techno panpipe thrash fusion combo, I guess they’re not commercial enough for “Mr Hifi”. Anyone who listens to “The labels on the cans must face the front” and isn’t moved is a, err, zombie maggot..? Yeah, why not.

Is there some policy of crushing cars “involved” in road fatalities?

Even so, she had nothing to do with the accident(right?), and patently hasn’t hit anything or anyone (as the car is undamaged)?

A bit of a hijack, but I’ve got some old 140mm bombers that came with my Five-0. They developed some lateral play and the stanchions are worn, but I’ve always wondered if I really needed to give up on them as early as I did.

I’ve poked around looking at companies that coat things in stuff (I understand that fork stanchions are coated in stuff) cos seeing as these were kick-ass 1.1/8 forks that would cost 5, 6, 7 (?) hundred to buy now (not that you can) it’d be a lovely way to stick two fingers up at the industry and keep ’em going.

But even if that was feasible – what to do about that lateral play… :?

No mirrors?

Sure, some people hate mirrors on bicycles, but as it’s already got a rack, ‘mudguard’, belt drive, electric motor, and indicators, those people are already ‘out’.

The only thing about the Danny Makaskill does Playboy vid that harked back to the eighties was the idea that a one piece swimsuit or little shorts is “scantily clad”. There’s as much flesh on display in the local park on a sunny lunchtime, and outside most Newcastle clubs in January at 2pm (though when it’s warm they wear less). And everyone loved the original roadbike party vid despite the gratuitous bike cleaning scene. (Alhough some folk moaned about using gt85.) That said there’s no reason a MTB site has to feature a trials riding vid, trials is a bit like BMX after all, and BMX is a bit eighties. Oh, was THAT the real issue..?

No. STW thought they heard a bandwagon and hurled themselves out the window hoping to land on it.

Apparently a Smart Roadster can return 50+ mpg.
I would imagine it’s a bit marmite though.

Putting hardcore politicised cycle-whining aside for a moment, humans are actually insanely good at hoovering up info with their eyes and plotting a safe path at a safe speed.

Yes, maybe these driver-less cars will all be on some giant network so they don’t even need to ‘detect’ each other as such and can cooperate as a cloud – great!

Except, you and your bike won’t be on that network, will you.

The experience for the cyclist on a road in this new world would be a little bit like ‘minority report’. The bit where Tom Cruise falls into the guts of a car assembly line to be precise.

In practice, these cars would probably see bicycles off the road completely, either that or any hint of creativity such as filtering or straying out of the cycle lane instantly putting you on the wrong side of the law/at fault.

(You can still go mountain biking though.)

After realising that £1000 on the cycle scheme would get me nowhere

Are you completely dribbling insane!? 1000 quid on the cycle scheme would get you a Voodoo Bajingo and 400 quid in change, or a Boardman full susser and 1p in change.

So send those nonsense “I’m gonna build a bike” purchases back, get on the cycle scheme, pick one of these two fantastic bikes, and get out and ride.

And as for 29ers and laughing at 26ers: 29ers are big in cross country racing and internet forums, out on the trails they’re rare as hell – though a few more amazing deals like that voodoo could change that.

I remember J Clarkson saying the MX5* was the best British sports car, and as his persona is obsessed with power it must mean the MX5 must be doing a lot else very well indeed to get the plaudit.

(*don’t know which model, but they’re all playing the same game)

I’d do Betty, but I’d be thinking of Wilma

It’s “I’d go with Betty…”

Lager, the only thing that can kill a curry.

Vindaloo, the only thing that can kill a vindaloo!! Good grief!

“Relative time dilation, in an amazingly compressed space”
“So what is it?”
and
“Pool God, King of the Cues, Prince – of the planet potters!”

Why Do Roadies Move The Bike Side To Side (When Climbing)?

I’ve seen world class BMXers and downhillers do it too, even though descending or on the … “flat”, for want of a better term.

I tried a Contador impression and nearly fell off.

Maybe you inadvertently did an impression of Contador nearly falling off.

Regarding the OP’s scenario and filtering. Everyone who filters on two wheels please pay attention.

You don’t overtake on the left.

You especially don’t overtake on the left when there’s somewhere the overtakee could pull left into.

You especially especially don’t overtake on the left when there’s somewhere the overtakee could pull into, and they are clearly indicating that they are actually going to do so.

That said, not sure this actually was a case of attempted filtering, or day dreaming and smashing into a slower moving object.

Probably around 24, though I haven’t weighed myself for a while.

I’m 5’6″, I buy 32 inch jeans and can comfortable shove both hands down the front, or one up to the elbow.

But I’ve been told not to.

It’s enclosing the gearbox that is the real step forward. Motorbikes, including dirtbikes, work with external chains just fine.

billet pour un, s’il vous plaît.

Maurice Garin, 1904…possibly, allegedly. :)

Reading in the local news today that 70% of the local population are overweight or obese, as many “healthy weight” as obese (28%). Okay BMI isn’t exactly a great measurement, but seriously ?

An increase in average population height would send BMI up, as it incorrectly assumes weight should increase by the square of height. (And it doesn’t account for muscley types, and there’s plenty of fellahs liftin’ these days.)

Having driven through the wrong puddle and collected 2 pinch punctures on the nearside of my van, it was parked in one fork a little Y shaped drive for a country house; it very obviously had two wheels off, WAS leaning at an angle with two great big trolley jacks holding it up, and another van nearby was disgorging overalled fellahs carrying wheels and tools.

A leathery faced posh looking woman drove up, stopped 1 foot from the rear bumper, and leant on the horn.

small children are not great at keepinga herd of cattle inside a field

You could try nailing a few together…

I am not a dog owner. I consider a lot of what owning a dog entails and the consequences of dog ownership difficult and downright disgusting.

However, if I left a bag laying about and a puppy disappeared into it head first I’d think it was hilarious. Because puppies are cute and I’m watching a baby with an unquenchable curiosity get into humorous scrapes. Were I to shoo it away, I’d do so with the same tone and attitude I’d use with a toddler. Gentle firm and in good humour.

You might have done likewise. You might have yelled angrily and aggressively. And the answer to that pretty much decides who was being the tool in your case.

Cheaper? Over its working life or the 250years afterwards when we are still managing the waste at great expense whilst building something else to take its place?!

Neuclear is a terrible idea.

Complete rubbish. There are tens of thousands of years worth of nuclear fuels on earth, and brilliantly, probably even more on the moon.

We don’t have a nuclear waste issue even now – we have a massive nuclear fuel surplus, most of that “waste” has about 95% of the original energy in it. (Ignoring the huge amount of overalls, boots, and gloves that the ill informed insist must be treated as nuclear waste because it was once worn inside a nuclear site.) Want rid of that (real) nuclear waste? Build modern reactors. You can call it recycling if you like.

I would have said the braking forces are transferred through the contact faces of the disc and hub and not as shear force through the bolts.

That being the case they’re barely taking a load at all, on with the araldite. Or playdo, if you’re out of araldite.

If you’re truly afraid you could araldite the bolt in, remember that in use it’s resisting shear forces, not tension. But I find WC downhillers leaving three of them out deliberately as fairly compelling evidence that you’d be fine without it, if you remove two more to keep the wheel balanced. :)

Seems daft to go to the expense of running a camera if you’re not going to tell people what the limit is. You’ll end up catching people rather than slowing them down, what good does that do?

Everyone gets caught in the end, even those who “don’t speed”, it was just your turn. I wouldn’t fight it on the basis of lack of signs, but definitely point it out to your MP, or Chuck Norris, or someone. If they want people to obey the limit, first step is making sure people know what that is.

You have at least damaged the muscles in your back. (You might have done more, which is where a doctor comes in.)
Up to a point they need rest, after that point they may need physio to restore them to a proper operating state. Finding that point means talking to a professional.

(Note that needles, chi, auras, and subluxation adjustments do not build muscle or aid flexibility, if they did then gymnasts wouldn’t bother with all that difficult exercise and stretching.)

I remember on a ride with three mates, we were just starting up a featureless, smooth, car width, gentle climb. One guy leading, two following, me last. The two in the middle somehow contrive to get tangled, de-tangle too forcefully and fall over/interface with bushes. This made me laugh, but the laugh collided with my need for oxygen and my throat closed making me ride up the side of a tree and collapse. Guy in the lead looks over his shoulder and stops in disbelief at the sight of all three mates down at 3mph on a smooth surface and apparently writhing in agony – though actually laughter.

I wonder if there’s a car that could beat the fastest bikes, race cars do tend to beat race bikes so quite likely, but I’d like to think maybe not.

Maybe due to the narrowness, the flowing bends which suit bikes, not a great emphasis on braking or (m)any “flat out straight into 1st gear hairpin” features, plus the jumps would smash a formula style car to pieces…

This[/url] references this, basically they reckon if 1 in 10 people switched from car to motorbike* congestion would drop by 40%, if 1 in 4 did then congestion would disappear. Quite surprised how only 10% of people changing would have such a drastic impact, but I like riding past queues of people stuck in their cars so I vote for maintaining the status quo. :)

(*Obviously (he says) anyone near enough to work to switch from car to bicycle would have the same impact.)

klumpy has the spiritual side of MMA in the bag.
im sure the yoga comment was part tongue in cheek, but dont dismiss it out of hand.

Well, the OP wants:

* Regular classes so that I force myself to get out of the office in the evenings and to help keep my workload and work/life balance under control
* Better fitness and flexibility with all of the benefits that will hopefully bring to the bike
* Definitely keen on exploring the mental aspect in terms of better focus/confidence etc

…with no mention of a desire to learn to fight. If you want overt spirituality then yoga or a shouty pyjama art might be the thing.

That said a fighty club where you train hard at a genuinely applicable skillset, among friends aiming to get better together, where you all risk hurt but don’t try to hurt (too much), that can be a very worthwhile head space to be in.

Well, briefly, the idea of “fighting” (as opposed to a particular slice of fighting) as a sport or art dates at least as far back as the ancient Greek Olympics, in which it was called pankration.

More recently a Brazilian family with a great belief in emphasising grappling and ground work in combat had a history of inviting all-comers to try and “beat their guy” in a no holds barred fight – and they always won. They invented the UFC as a big infommercial to market their school in the US; the plan being to hold it, and have Royce Gracie win it. And he did. (Also look up Japan’s ‘King of Pancrase’, which was going on about the same time but in a quieter way.)

For a while the pattern was that grapplers beat strikers, but the strikers started to learn to grapple and could force the fight to stay where they liked it, and so the grapplers learned the striking game. And lo and behold, MMA is now a style in itself.

I’m not sure that it’s overtly spiritual though; have you thought about yoga..?

I’d be taking a glow plug or two out and having a looking with an arthroscope(or somesuch thingy)

And if that other thread is anything to go by, opt for sedation rather than throat spray.

Then buy a 27.5 inch turbo to make the engine come alive

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

‘Course, if the OP is just after a bike for fun, then he should forget tarmac altogether. Buy a slightly tatty crosser for 2k, another few hundred on gear, then find the nearest club running hare and hounds.

Or more sedately, a classic trials machine should be available from £500, and there’s more of that about as the events are easier to run and need less space.

What do you suggest I do next?

Believing your wife next time she thinks there’s a problem with her bike would be a good start!

Been riding 20 years.

I used to ride mainly for fun and long trips to visit folks, since the roads now seem to have more speed cameras than lamp posts I only really ride on the road to commute. For that it’s basically the unltimate solution, no queuing, frugal-ish, sometimes fun.

If you do go for it, get advanced training as soon as possible. After passing your test you can’t get it too soon – and it needn’t cost much at all, the IAM is a good route. (And going on a track day is not advanced training!)

Wrong wrong wrong. Brimming over with wrongability.
Here we have the coolest choon of the coolest soundtrack of the coolest game franchise bar none. The original GTA theme:
Joyride

My idea of freedom is riding without pads, pack, etc etc. Minimal as possible, like when we were kids riding lazily along.

In the Peaks too many people are padded up and recently I see full facers more and more.

Oury grips with skin = mental grip/feel IMO too.

I know someone who always wears a full facer because they don’t want to buy a full set of dental implants – again. And falling and bashing your knee (or anything) possibly means time off the bike, so the padded up brigade might simply be doing all they can to ensure they can keep riding. Seems quite a good idea for someone who likes riding – rather than collecting frames.

Glubs wick away sweat, help you grip the bars, and probably give you a full down-to-the-bone worth of sliding before you even reach your real skin. And any half decent motocross glub off ebay has venting and materials that won’t give hot hands.

Got my niece some little “skate ramps”, to bop over on her balance bike. I think she’s about 4 or so, she’s walking but doesn’t drive, anwyway.

I reckon tapered steerers will go next

Ah! There may be a real advantage to tapered steerers though. I dropped the front end off a motocrosser and sure enough, different sized bearings top and bottom of the steering head.

Of course, the law of sod kicks in now; the big bearing was actually at the top, so MTB ‘tapered’ will be replaced by ‘inverse tapered’ in a year or two.

I learned to drive in a Mk1 Escort Van. It was hand painted and cost me £60. It had drums all round so forward planning was a must

“Can you stop within the distance you can see?”
“Well, I can see to the horizon, so, just about…”

I don’t like needles, so I nominate someone else to go get the jabs and then sneeze on me.