<content removed> – punk rocker

Nicely put, epicyclo. :wink:

Having spent most of my adult life riding motorbikes and working on building sites or in garages, I have met loads of older blokes who would reminisce about their life as a rocker. In all that time, I never met anyone who openly admitted to having been a mod. Now they're all coming out on STW.

Looks like rockers grow up to become builders and mechanics, mods grow up to become fat, middle aged IT managers.

I liked Chris Tarrant's comment…
"I was a mod myself, until I saw how big the rockers were." :D

<content removed> – teddy boy

<content removed> – rocker

It's for paupers who don't like derailleurs, but can't afford a Rohloff.

I work shifts. I'm at home now.

Motorist kill or seriously injure around 3500 cyclists and pedestrians a year.
There are speed cameras that generate £1000000 a year income from fines at £60 a time.

And yet, here on STW, we have another thread about RLJing. :roll:

Mech hangers ? Don't you guys run Rohloff hubs then ?
Next thing, you'll be telling me you're still on 26" wheels.

"…they ran past me and bounded across the trail infront – a good 6 or 8 foot wide without touching it !" then went and told their mates about the road gap they had done. :D

"Last year they reduced the fire road and increased the single track to about 90% of the course."

OK, you just sold it to me. I'm in. :D

OK, I think I'm starting to understand this bit about efficiency and economy.
An engine may be most efficient at, say, 80% of maximum power, but if it only needs 20% of maximum power to sustain the cars speed, there's going to have to be some compromise on economy somewhere.
The only way round that with a conventional engine and transmission would be to design cars that need 80% of their maximum power to sustain 70mph, but take two minutes to get there. Like a Series Two Land Rover :D

"One reason for inefficieny in petrol engines is pumping losses when you throttle the engine back. Hence, wide open throttle – no losses there. Also one reason why diesels are more efficient."
I still don't get this bit.
By "pumping losses" do you mean the induction stroke of the engine is trying to force air through a restricted inlet? In this case, the partially open throttle valve ?
The ECU will simply match the fuel delivery to the air mass entering the engine.

Hmmm, I'm not convinced.
You know those BHP and Torque graphs you see where the line rises sharply then tails away at the end, well I'm sure I've seen similar graphs with BHP plotted against gallons per hour, rather than RPM, and they were definitely biased towards the centre of the graph.

A car is far more economical at 2000rpm in 5th gear at 50mph than at 5000rpm in 1st at the same speed.

porter_jamie – Member
Are you saying that a petrol engine is most efficient at full throttle ?

absolutely!

I thought we were talking about fuel efficiency, not maximum power.

We need land for food – stopping growing food just so you can cruise around in a V8 landy when people are starving is deeply immoral, don't you think?

Breeding more people when people are starving is even more immoral.
Should I stop driving my Land Rover just so other people can keep on having babies ?

This bit doesn't make sense to me.
"When driving a petrol car at low revs, you have to throttle the intake to reduce engine speed, which is wasteful. In a diesel, you only inject the fuel you need which is not wasteful."
Are you saying that a petrol engine is most efficient at full throttle ?

I'm not so sure about "The result is that all tubes in the frame are subjected only to compressior stress." The chain stays and down tube look like they're under tension to me.

I've seen a few of these at vintage vehicle shows and they're nice looking bikes. I didn't realise they were back in production with modern components.

Oh dear. Activesport were a bit cheaper than anywhere else for Rohloff chains and sprockets so I just ordered from them.
Luckily I was buying them in advance as spares, so it won't matter if they are slow on delivery.

On the other hand, if Rider A gives up at 12:00 and goes to bed, while Rider B carries on until collapsing unable to continue at 23:00, rider A can then go out and pootle round for one last lap after an 11 hour break at 23:00.

Rider B has stuck to the spirit of the event and gets a DNF.
Rider A has stuck to the rules and gets a place.

There's only 8 solo veteran males entered.
This is the nearest I've ever come to a chance of a podium place.
It's still unlikely, but I'd best stick to the spirit of the rules, just in case.

Oh, OK.
It looks like there's a difference between the rules for this year's event and the published results for last year's then.

Looks like the rules have changed since 2008 then, Pieface.
Maybe I should have kept quiet. There's a chance I might be Rider B in my example above and gain a place or two on the last lap. :wink:

They can't disqualify you for not going out again. That's not what last year's SITS results show.
http://www.provelosupportuk.co.uk/pdfs/sis/SoloMen.xls

For example…
34th with 14 laps in 12:04:38 and…
35th with 14 laps in 20:29:23…
both beat four riders with 14 laps in just over 24 hours.

I thought it was within the rules to put the £1000 towards a bike that cost more.
Have I got that wrong then ?
You can add other items like a helmet and a rack up to a total value of £1000 if the bike costs less, can you not top up if it costs more ?

Regarding the risk of having to hand back a bike that you have spent your own money on upgrading and losing those upgraded parts, buy a £10 second hand supermarket special from your local free ads paper and swap the bits over on to your CTW bike a week before it's due back. :wink:

I discussed something similar with my LBS when I was thinking of getting a bike via CTW.
As we understood it, the £1000 was the maximum loan allowed and could be put towards a bike that cost more. I could top it up with my own cash, or supply the parts needed.

Depends how cooperative your LBS is.
I wouldn't bother asking at Halfords.

Banning alcohol would have similar benefits.
I don't think that's very likely in a democracy either.

"Generally, yes."

OK. I'll bear that in mind in future.

"what exactly is your point here?"
Dunno, I was just rambling. Does there have to be a point ?

"I suspect if we banned everyone from working in the entertainment industry who had done drugs we would be left with very few"
I think that's the problem, it would be like banning everyone who has ever been caught speeding from driving.

Perhaps if George Michael thought that a third drink driving conviction would result in no more royalties and no more TV, radio or live appearances, it might have more effect on his behaviour than merely the risk of another fine.

Malverns.

I bought a porkless pie from H&B once.
I ate the pastry and gave the "filling" to my dog.

Cougar, Linda McCartney sausage rolls are vegan, as are Jus Rol pastry and Sosmix if you want to make your own.

I know what you mean, pieface, but it's not quite the same thing.
Take my bulging tyre for example. On a two week tour you might detour off to a nearby town and buy and fit another tyre. A couple of hours wasted out of two weeks is no big deal.
On a 12 hour solo race I just wanted to get back out on the track as quickly as possible.

There are all sorts of problems my race bike might develop in 24 hours where it would be easier just to swap on to my commute bike and carry on than stop and carry out repairs.

They are there to look like a snorkel so the owner can pretend they go wading through deep water.
However, as the full waterproofing instructions for the Forward Control Land Rover run to 107 pages, most of them are just for show.
They do help in dusty environments though, by putting the air intake higher up in cleaner air.
If you look at trucks, you'll see most of them have the air intake on top of the cab with the induction pipe running down the back to the filter.

My packing list, which gets altered before and after every event. :roll:

Bike
Spare bike
Spare wheels
Spare chain
Spare pedals
Spare cables
Brake pads
Inner tubes
CO2 cartridges & adapter
Torq powder
Gels
Flapjacks
Ibuprofen tablets
Ibuprofen gel
Lights
Batteries
Spare light mounting strap.
Jacket
Gilet
Chain lube
GPS & HRM
Helmet
Gloves & spares
Shorts & spares
Jersey & spares
Socks & spares
Shoes & spares
Glasses & spares
Chain tool
Water
Water bottles
Cashew nuts
Fruit jellies
Malt loaf & grease
Sleeping bag
Mat
Fruit jellies
Malt loaf
Food
Cable ties

That's my personal list. For my spare Rohloff cables, most people would substitute a mech hanger.
If you're not using Egg Beaters, it would be safe to leave out the spare pedals.
"Food" covers everything I eat that's not racing specific, so includes bread/grease/marmalade, ready made pasta/rice meals, tinned fruit & custard etc.

Yes, I really take two bikes for multi lap events.
I've never needed it yet, but after putting a bulge in a tyre once at Cheddar, it was easier to wobble back to the pits and swap the wheel out of the spare bike than change a tyre.

Salted cashews or peanuts.
Fig rolls.

Titterstone Clee Hill, Shropshire.

Cool boxes are quite a high current drain, around 4amps, I think.
A split charge system is best to avoid a flat battery.
If it's only for one day though, a spare battery charged up at home before you leave is easier.

I wouldn't say it.
I'd just laugh.

Al, Mrs MTQG's bike has got SRAM on the rear and the cable rolls nicely round a curved plastic doo-dah.
I thought there must be something missing off my Shimano derailleur, but is that normal then ?

Fitting a chain won't make any difference.
It's not the angle between the cage and the derailleur body I'm worried about. I can see that will get pulled round when the chain is fitted.
It's the bend in the cable as it leaves the adjuster that looks wrong.

When the parallelogram is swung fully out on to the smallest sprocket, the cable clamp is in line with the cable adjuster.
When it is swung fully in to the largest sprocket it puts a sharp bend in the cable.
This happens regardless of the cage position so fitting a chain will make no difference.

This one on the park site does the same, but not as badly.

it just looks like there should be some sort of plastic guide there to line the cable up better.