Open relationships.

Wider tyres will make a far, far, greater impact on your comfort level. Don’t mess around with 25’s, go straight up to 38’s. You’re not in the TDF are you?

This is just the bike industry telling you that they hate you. The real joke is that some people think the bike industry is doing us a favour with this crap.

Don’t really care about the bike, as it has way to many pivots to be messing around with…BUT… Bryceland’s riding is abosulutely nuts! What great style, looks like he’s having a blast.

I run a 32t with a 12-36t cassette. It is awesome, and will make you a better man, that much is clear.

Absolutely, when cycling becomes popular, the worst thing the cycling community can do is shoot themselves in the foot by being assholes about something people are told might save their life

No, the worst thing the cycling community can do with “OUR” time is concede this point. It would singlehandedly wipe out any and all advances cycling has made recently. And I say “advances” knowing that the modal share for cycling is still a massive joke in the UK.

I waste about an hour every day listening to non-dramas about people I’ve never met. Like a crap version of the Archers.

😆 STW really is amazing. bwaarp, I suppose there’s not much you can do other than keep on keeping on.

But thanks anyway, Batman.

😆

why a minority of road users ignoring the agreed rules will not lead to more accidents….

Ahem. You do know that the vast majority of road users ignore the agreed rules every time they use their vehicle? Show me a motorist and I’ll show you someone who breaks the law.

Do you really think there is anything green about bike racing? A season that begins with the Tour down Under, continues through Oman, and Qatar eventually the races make it to europe, with a few excursions to California, Quebec etc. The amount of air miles, the number of cars, coaches etc.

No, I don’t. That’s one reason why I don’t really like professional sport at all.

That is just the sort of anti-cyclist article I’d expect in the UK press. Obviously the hundreds and hundreds of people killed, maimed and injured by cars every year is an order of magnitude higher than those caused by cyclists, but it’s not new-worthy because we accept them as unfortunate “accidents”.

Really, it’s tragic, but perhaps we should concentrate our efforts as a society on the biggest road killers: motorists.

Er Sky? Part of the beautiful Murdoch empire? If anything their involvement makes me less likely to get Sky than ever, the cynical bastards piggybacking on a good thing. Likewise Skoda: I can imagine what went through their heads in the company meeting “oh we need to make our filthy polluting products seem more green…let’s sponsor some bike racing!”

Don’t even get me started on Monster et al…

rockitman, sorry that was a bit of a harsh reply, but it did give me cause for a chuckle. I would say that a look at quality of life indices would suggest that some of the Scandinavian societies are far ahead of Britain in most aspects. In terms of social equality, education, healthcare outcomes, transport and environmental awareness, Sweden, for example, is pretty good.

I feel like it’s a running joke in Britain that leftie types look to Scandinavian countries as role models, but I really do think there are many ways in which they are better off in Denmark, Sweden or Norway. That’s not to say they’re perfect places, just that they do a lot better than us.

I would say the UK is the most develop country on earth with our approach to health, multiculturalism, politics etc so if anyone will lead the way it will probably be us.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

We need more research into how to kill them.

😀

Our current system favours the rich to such a disgusting extent that many people have given up voting, given up any hope of things being fairer for them.

I believe only a radical restructuring away from our free ranging capitalist system would do anything about that. Obviously we need the 99% (to use the occupy lingo) to collectivise and take control of our political system. Then we can abolish the lords and the monarchy and begin restructuring society around equitable, sustainable politics.

It’s a big ask.

My Sram X9 chain has been spot on since I fitted it last year. Loads of riding on a 1×10. Of course, it will no doubt snap on my next ride now I’ve written this.

I look at the classifieds and the forums as a whole as a community thing. Maybe I’m a naive socialist loony, but I think selling at a lowish price on the classifieds to other riders is in the good spirit of community and more what STW is about than the endless march for maximum profit.

But under the current system (and I think this is moraly right) they pay in according to their ability and take out according to need.

Where’s that last sentence come from, its a quote about the NHS IIRC?

thisisnotaspoon: it was a phrase popularised by Karl Marx. He used it to describe what a communistic society would be like.

As far as living in the UK, and immigration goes, well, this all affects me personally. The government and many of the people in the UK seem to be reactionary and fearful. Me, I say no one is illegal.

I’ve got an Alfine dyno hub, can’t honestly see how the Schmidt can be any better, apart from using cartridge bearings rather than Shimano’s cup and cone crap. I never notice drag, thats running Supernova E3 LEDs front and rear. I’ve had it for about 2yrs now and it’s been spot on.

My Prophet has two holes like that on the down tube where some bottle cage boss rivets came loose and had to be, ahem, “persuaded” out… It wouldn’t worry me.

Can’t you take the train? Surely if you work for a “green energy company” you must know that an “eco car” is an oxymoron?

It seems people like me in their mid twenties in the UK are always going on about what they drunk, how pissed they were, what that night out was like and how many shots they did. It is a constant, perpetual, macho conversation topic.

I don’t drink at all, for a few reasons, and I find it all pretty wearing.

I’ve got a Transient Bag[/url] hip pouch with all my tools (minus pump) in. It is waterproof, and you can wear it on your belt if you’re a hipster or, like a normal person, just sling it in your camelbak. It’s good because it’s waterproof, and keeps my tools together useful for swapping between camel bak, pannier, normal town backpack etc.

The best thing about all these massive carbon rims is the space they give you for “All you haters suck my balls” stickers surely?

I would have thought as you won’t be using it in the depths of winter the 500 would be fine. Just exercise good sleeping bag technique: have some hot food, get toasty before you settle down by doing some push ups or star jumps or whatever and wear a hat and merino long johns and top on the really cold nights, or even a down/synthetic down coat too.

And enjoy!

I have SLX cranks, e13 34t chainring, and a MRP Lopes guide. The Lopes guide is light and good to setup, but I’ve smashed the bottom guide twice now and it’s £25 for a small piece of plastic and a bolt. Grr.

I have a Rab Alpine down bag, and it is basically my favourite possession. It came with a dry bag stuff sack and a big cotton storage bag for at home. I look after it and keep it dry as I can. Its done loads of camping in all 4 seasons, its done about a dozen bivis and is just flipping brilliant with great baffles.

I swoon, no word of a lie, swoon, when I snuggle into my Rab.

batfink, sorry, hope I didn’t come across too aggressively, and I’m quite sure you do see crazy motorist behaviour toward this woman on her cargo bike. I suppose I see the problem with the motorist not the cyclist. I’m sure you do too, and your route choice point is absolutely valid. Sometimes a busy route is unavoidable, but you are no doubt right its better to find a more chilled out route if you can.

Oh, and

I feel like it’s only a matter of time until there’s an accident.

Would that be an accident, or would it be an incident of motorist carelessness and wilful endangerment of others, showing a contemptible lack of humanity and empathy?

Jeez, I’m a rabid cyclist, sorry. 😳

But they’re not that wide… Frankly, they are the width and speed of a horse. And no car driver would think it ok to squeeze past a horse, so it’s a bullshit argument I’m afraid, and no reason not to get one. Motorists just need to deal with it. Unless they want to join the campaign for decent safe segregated bicycle infrastructure?

Flat pedals are always a good idea. Clips are for kooks, remember that and you’ll be fine.

I’ve got carbon Havens, and I kind of wish I’d gone for the carbon Havocs…
That’s all I’m saying.

“I have a 29er, I don’t know how I didn’t clean that”
😆

Have you never taken a shifter to bits?

Yes I have. It can be done, carefully. But electronics and batteries are somewhat different.

I think the more important point about electric gears on bikes is not technical, but philosophical. Do we want bicycles, that most simple, egalitarian form of transport, to be electrical? Do we want environmentally destructive batteries on our bikes? Repairing them with laptops rather than pliers and a hammer? Do we want to retain that unrivalled sense of mastery over our machines that we currently have, so unlike many of our tools in the modern world?

For me Di2 represents the beginning of the end of the very special simplicity of a bicycle.

Or if you do then make sure it’s to a crack whore.

😆

There’s a lesson here I think. Don’t ever get married. Just in case, like.

I don’t have kids or anything, but IMO Fathers for Justice are right on with their view on divorce and custody. This is not a man’s world. It is a very confused world, full of sexism on all sides, none of which help anyone. OP, I hope your friend will be alright through all this and can come out the other side still able to see his child.

I hate to break it to the auto-apologists here (actually, I love it but 😛 ) but having hills doesn’t matter. You can walk up all the hills pushing your bike in UK cities, and still get to your destination quicker than sat in a noxious traffic jam at rush hour. People by and large don’t cycle here because, rightly or wrongly, they are afraid of you motorists killing them.

I’ve been to Copenhagen in December and seen mothers cycling their kids to school with a blizzard blowing snow horizontally around them. That is NORMAL.

My mum is 53 and she doesn’t cycle. She lives in a very small city in a poor rural county, with basically no hills. It is a compact city, but too far to walk from one end to the other comfortably. She walks the half hour to work every day because she hates driving and likes walking.

She would love to cycle to the supermarket to do her shopping, but she takes the car. The reason she doesn’t cycle is that she is scared.

She isn’t scared because she’s heard that lots of cyclists get killed. She is scared because she has cycled on the road before and felt what cars whizzing a couple of inches past her elbow feels like. She’s scared because she knows she cycles too slowly away from traffic lights for motorists’ liking. She’s scared because she can’t bear the thought of pulling into the middle of the lane to turn right.

I don’t think my mum should have training to become a hardcore vehicular cyclist. I think the government should build some **** infrastructure to support my mum doing something decent for herself and her little city. And any cyclist, like druidh, who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves if they think their approach can bring about mass cycling in this country.

And they can **** off too.

I’ve got a Old Man Mountain on the front of my Surly Troll. Its pretty light and solid, with tons of mud clearance. It’s not cheap though.