Ti is supposedly more forgiving over long distances.

It’s more forgiving than most steels, or aluminium… But it’s not more forgiving than carbon.

Having ridden road bikes made from all materials, I’d never have anything other than carbon now. It can have the same forgiving qualities of a ti frame, but a level of stiffness that ti can never have (without beefing it up to the extent that it forgoes its forgiving qualities).

That’s why the pros use them. 😉

Can’t comment on SRAM Force – I’m a Shimano man myself, but IMHO, the carbon is a far better bike. A couple of friends ride them and they’re excellent for the money.

Ti (again, in my opinion) is a very expensive and outdated raw material that has a bit of a cult following due to its cost and its supposed “mystical” ride qualities.

You don’t see many pros riding them though…

Maybe, when you filled in your application, you put something in the wrong section? Just a hunch…

Not really thought about it much, but I keep a fairly neutral position on the bike and use body movement to correct the line mid corner so I don’t have to use the brakes or try to steer too suddenly…

So yeah, intuition. I’ve been giving it a bit more thought since I’ve been training with a young lad that’s just learning the ropes on a road bike, but again, I can’t stress road position enough – it amazes me how some people don’t set the bike up for a bend and just wing it. Your entry line dictates your exit position. Straighten up the entry line for safe braking and get on the pedals as soon as you can.

I also use the “vanishing point” technique that was taught to me by my dad – a trained Police pursuit driver – many moons ago. It allows me to increase or decrease speed relative to what the road is going to do, rather than what it’s doing immediately in front of you. Very useful on unfamiliar descents.

I think Old Git is right. I descend fast on road, which is just as well because I’m not the fastest climber.

And whilst people refer to “fearless” descenders, in my experience, good descenders know how to make the descent as safe as possible and don’t frighten themselves half as much as poor descenders who constantly take the wrong line, brake in the corner, overshoot etc.

The single most important thing is line choice.
Second most important thing is confidence in your front tyre and the understanding that if you push the bike into corners, you generate more grip than if you try to back off.
Third, knowing how much pedal clearance you have so you can get on the gas earlier out of exits.
Fourth is knowing that no matter how much you practice, some people are just far better at it than others.

I think it’s a completely different discipline and I get a completely different sense of satisfaction from it. I completely disagree that cornering and descending are dull – the higher speeds make for a real adrenalin buzz, and there’s no greater feeling of satisfaction than absolutely nailing a bend, inch-perfect at 60mph.

Rather than concentrating on control and crash avoidance – as you would on a mountain bike – you start to think about things like road position, cornering precision, and how to eek out a few extra mph.

You start to see your body more as an engine too, and work out exactly how much power you can put down before you hit threshold or bonk.

And I think you can learn an awful lot that can carry over and improve your off road riding.

If you can catch them up, opening the passenger side rear door before riding off really pisses them off….

A Zefal frame-fit pump with an iron bar secreted inside is helpful.

Otherwise, my best advice would be to remember to shift onto the lower chainring, then pick your bike up by the saddle and the bars and jab him just beneath the nostrils with your big chainring.

I’m 6′ and I ride a large. Why on earth would you want a small??

The carbon looks very nice… I’d be inclined to put a pair of Easton or Columbus forks on rather than risk a Chinese carbon steerer…

I’ve only really had gravel rash on the outsides of my calves and thighs – probably because you often go don clipped in so you can’t move your legs.

I know from my own experience, shaved leg gravel rash tends to heal in a few days, hairy leg gravel rash takes longer, goes manky and itches like hell.

Just my own experience, you’ll probably be able to dissect, over-analyse, and tell me I imagined the whole thing. 🙄

I’ve seen people told off by race organisers for sporting hairy legs. I suppose it’s their responsibility to minimise all aspects of risk, and shaven legs make far less mess when you pick up a bit of gravel rash…

What frame is that Damit? A far east job? And why do you need 3 winter bikes??

Andrew, that’s very helpful, and you’re quite right – their invoices are particularly vague. They gave me a long winded “client care” letter including a fee matrix for different staff dependent on qualifications and length of time qualified – I strongly suspect they’ve been billing me a lot of “partner” hours at £185/hr for work done by clerks or paralegals.

I’ve asked for the full journal including legend or key to decipher which staff member carried out what work and for them to cross reference this to my invoices which I’ve requested to be itemised.

Whilst the items I’m asking for might not necessarily fall under the exact remit of the DPA, a refusal to clarify my bills would not stand them in good stead should this go to court.

Konabunny – the negligence aspect is the most important part of my grievance as it’s cost me a helluva lot of money and basically undid 80% of the work they’d carried out – work I’d paid around £12,000 for. Without going into too much detail, their negligence put the negotiations back to square one. At one point I was looking at losing my home, business premises and almost certain bankruptcy. This is after the case had been settled pretty much to my satisfaction prior to that!

It’s all good fun!

SKS Chromoplastic here. Rock solid and don’t rattle…

philconsequence – Member
did little shibby not want to come out and play?

I tucked Little Shibby between my thighs and squealed “D’ya think I’m purty?” 😉

As a single man, I find women are fascinated by my shaved legs. On several occasions I’ve been told it was almost like sleeping with a woman…

Which is a perfect opportunity to shoehorn something like “Well, you seemed to enjoy it, perhaps your friend/sister/mother/daughter (delete as appropriate) would like to join us…” into the conversation. 😉

Part of the case revolves around excessive charges. The information I am requesting relates to letters sent or received on my behalf, telephone call logs, emails etc which they’ve not itemised in their invoices and seem reluctant to do.

I know they have this information, and I would imagine it would be a real ball-ache for them to provide it. If that helps persuade them that it would be easier to settle, so be it. It’s not vexatious… More tactical.

I used to shoot to quite a high standard, recurve target for me, sometimes referred to as Olympic bow. As opposed to compound which are the ones with pullies.

As said, a couple of hundred quid should sort you out, but don’t be splashing too much cash at first.

Do a beginners course to get a feel for the equipment you need, but if you progress quickly, bow limbs will need upgrading to heavier draw weights and consequently, you’ll need stiffer arrows.

Indoor is usually restricted to winter. It’s mostly outdoor though with rounds at various distances topping out at 100 metres. My club owns a field but most rent football fields etc. Membership is usually around 100 quid a year though you may have to pay ‘subs’ to shoot indoors etc.

I loved it and got to a high standard quickly – I won Bronze in a national indoor 25 metre championships – but I found the time needed to achieve Master Bowman status severely impacted on my biking time.

And it’s one of those sports that’s kind of difficult to dip your toes in because it’s all competition and league based.

Plus, if you think there are some boring b*****ds in biking, wait til you meet archers… Beardy weirdies that like hanging things off their belts and knitting their own cars… ;o)

Thanks Tracey, I think I have enough information to make a real pain-in-the-arse of myself… 😀

I would think handing over the file would substantially predjudice their case.

This is why I’m asking for it. If they’re legally obliged to hand it over – which they are – it kind of backs them into a corner. If they refuse, then I complain to the Law Society.

I already have the complaint being investigated by the Legal Ombudsman but their remit goes no further than “customer service”, which part of my complaint (excessive and unnecessary fees) relates to.

But I’m also bringing an action against them for negligence. Basically, I’ve got them nailed to the floor, but knowing how they work, they’ll string it out as long as possible in the hope that I’ll get bored or disillusioned and drop it. I’m trying to force them to settle, so any inconvenience or time-wasting I can cause them is to my advantage.

Thanks all, Tracey, was that off a .gov website?

And wouldn’t a soft surface be more likely to make them weigh things lighter?

It’s worth reading the article Kudos. British Cycling are big exponents of micro ints, whether on the turbo, track or road.

A lot of pros also do a kind of short micro interval routine whilst out on a longer “endurance miles” ride.

That Condor looks lovely. Winter bikes are a good opportunity to indulge your retro aspirations without compromising your good bike!

I actually think there’s something a bit special about a winter bike. It’s like a comfy old girlfriend that looks after you and cooks a great breakfast, but you wouldn’t necessarily take her out and show her off in daylight…

I use mine for pyramid intervals and micro intervals. Staring at the stop-watch and counting down to the next up-change or rest interval makes the time pass fairly quickly.

I never do more than an hour on it though, including workout.

A lot of micro interval routines are around 15-45 mins and are very effective. A recent study quoted in this week’s cycling weekly demonstrated that micro ints can increase VO2 max and endurance.

takisawa2 – Member

Ditto on the 92′ Ultegra kit. Got some on my old road bike. It just works & works & works.

I’m quite enjoying the more positive clunk of 8-speed. It’s a heavy group compared to modern Ultegra, but the quality of the shifter internals etc is brilliant. Built to last!

Mine has survived relatively unscathed too, so apart from the odd tiny scratch from leaning on walls, it’s pretty much mint.

Taff, I’ve got the SKS thermoplastic narrow section mudguards. They’re fantastic, nice and solid with no rattles.

These pics are almost making me hope for bad weather!

Bring on Rule 9!!! 😀

Flip, 80 and it’s yours! Haha

I have a roadrat “pub bike” built with flat bars and disks – I find it a bit heavy for proper keeping-up-with-other-roadie rides though.

Big G, what’s rule 9?

yunki – Member
I firmly believe that anyone who still has the pride and mettle to turn their back on the life of senseless consumerism and blind obedience that the British wage slave chooses.. whatever their ancestry happens to be.. has earned the right to call themselves whatever they like and has far more right to the land than any of us..

Far and away the biggest load of twaddle I’ve ever read on this forum… And this is a forum that ranks as off-the-scale on my twaddlometer.

reclassing sectarian crime / discrimination as racial would open up whole new can of worms.

That was quite an insightful prediction Shooterman…

I thought the whole point was that they don’t want permanent homes.

You’ve never heard of Dale Farm, for example?

Milky, why? Do you know what “bigotted” (sic) means?

No. They’re just caravaners. Very annoying people.

In my experience, “Travelers” are people who choose to opt out of society when it suits them but expect to enjoy its benefits and the respect of those that are fully paid-up members of a tax-funded society.

The fact that they want permanent homes, yet still enjoy the benefits of a nomadic existence (ie not pay any tax or be encumbered by any planning laws) really grinds my gears.

Wait til Drac goes to work and then try to dodge the @£%$ing swear filter on Singletrack.

Avoid stubbing your toes by walking backwards through dark rooms…

The French call paperclips “Les Trombones”. So do I.

The point isn’t how much faster a pedaled bike would be, the point is how fast you can make a completely unpowered bike go.
Same as soap box racing… Looks like it could be bloody good fun!

aracer – Member
Is that definition based on the fact you think you’re cool?

I AM cool…

Having had a look at those links, I want a go!!! Shall we organise an STW gravity league?