Numpty Week

Sirius631

nation wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Always Tyred wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Elbows out and big cog engaged......

... out of the saddle, bouncing along on the front suspension.

I don't get it......:-(

Cheapo supermarket MTBs come with horrible suspension that compresses in response to pedalling forces, especially if you mash in the big ring.

Watch someone on an Argos special trying to ride up a hill sometime. It's like they're trying to control a pogo stick.

Even if they have lockable suspension, newbies don't know how to use it.

Sirius631

Roastiecp wrote:

Christophe3967 wrote:

... remember that we were all beginners once. .

I was born with a bicycle between my legs...

For your mother's sake, I hope you're an only child. :shock:

Did she opt for the epidural? :P :twisted:

Jay dubbleU

roger merriman wrote:

nation wrote:

BoardinBob wrote:

nation wrote:

BoardinBob wrote:

There are plenty of full susser bikes costing £1,500+ that weigh a lot more than 35lb.

True, but not really anything you'd conceivably use for transport.

I regularly commute in on my full susser if I'm going to head out on the trails straight from work

What does it weigh? I'm curious because from an XC point of view 30lbs is getting into "really heavy" territory. I can't imagine that it would be much fun to ride something 35lbs + over any appreciable distance.

most of the town bikes ie hybrid type bikes are closer to 40lb, my pottering to town bike with basket etc is 50lb unlaiden, but these are not bikes one rides far, few miles at most.

they have there uses, they tend to have (for road) wide tires and a more upright postion so it's easier to look over traffic and behind and the bike tends to be a fairly steady ride, so lumps and bumps tend to much less of a issue.

My Giant's weight when I bought it was 11.5kg - added mudguards and a rack and its now around 13kg - don't assume that hybrids are all heavyweights - mine is lighter than its MTB equivalent - Giant Yukon - by around 5kg

Christophe3967

wantaway wrote:

Originally it got on my tits a bit. I have re-thought this a bit. Unfortunately I had to go to london this week. Unable to get any decent sleep in the hotel I got up early and went for a run from Kings cross to the tate and back. It gave me a good chance to experience london commuting up close.

my god cyclists are like a plague of ill disciplined wasps. swarming round junctions like they were made of jam. I can now understand why some of these day-glo riders irritate other cyclists so much and why london car drivers have such low regard for pedal powered road users.

I also began to understand the manly appeal of a single speed bike. mmmmmmm. tempting.

Exactly - we're our own worse enemies. And fixed is manly. SS is for wusses.

il_principe

wantaway wrote:

Originally it got on my tits a bit. I have re-thought this a bit. Unfortunately I had to go to London this week. Unable to get any decent sleep in the hotel I got up early and went for a run from Kings cross to the tate and back. It gave me a good chance to experience london commuting up close.

my god cyclists are like a plague of ill disciplined wasps. swarming round junctions like they were made of jam. I can now understand why some of these day-glo riders irritate other cyclists so much and why london car drivers have such low regard for pedal powered road users.

I also began to understand the manly appeal of a single speed bike. mmmmmmm. tempting.

Welcome to my world. This morning was a classic. Waiting at lights outside Borough tube with 2 other roadies, no luminescence in sight, behaving like proper road users. Then the Hi-Viz swarm approaches, riding (to a man) hybrids and every single one of them proceeds to either jump the lights, or creep so far forward the lights are about 4 meters behind them. Green light, I'm going right but watch as the 2 roadies take pretty much take the lot of them. I have stopped remonstrating with these RLJ'ing numpty c0cks but I fear I'm going snap soon, getting fed up with people's behaviour.

Oh and SS is for men, Fixed is for luddites.

Greg T

Greg66 wrote:

I'm really a patient though.

Let us know how the treatment goes - I for one wish you well, knowing how difficult and embaressing your "condition" is.

Will we see you on Channel 5 Freak TV anytime soon?

I'm happy to see the swarms of Summer bikers on the road - it keeps the cars off to the right hand side and out of my space - if I have to hang around a couple of seconds waiting for the herd to move off from the lights - well that would be time I spend fecking around with my shagging SPD SLs that are playing up so I'm not losing anything.

Now then - all you chippy "elitist forum" nut jobs - if some one (ITB - he's famous for it) is gobbing off and giving you a hard time for riding flat bars / wearing an ipod / wearing your parka on a bikel get a hold of your cojones and tell them to feck themselves with their drop bars / ultegra group set what ever.

If there was no banter there'd be no board - just bored.

That is all.

antfly

We don`t get anywher near as many numpty cyclists outside London,i`m sure, but I have to admit the better the gear I get the more I look down on people with inappropriate bikes and rubbish gear and helmets hanging off the back of their heads who look as if they have just come out of Halfords and do 10mph max.Does that make me a bad person?
It also irritates me when people post questions like "what bike for £100".What do they think they are going get for £100 apart from a piece of junk.

DonDaddyD

It rained today not one numpty, absolute riding bliss!!!

roger_merriman

Jay dubbleU wrote:

roger merriman wrote:

nation wrote:

BoardinBob wrote:

nation wrote:

BoardinBob wrote:

There are plenty of full susser bikes costing £1,500+ that weigh a lot more than 35lb.

True, but not really anything you'd conceivably use for transport.

I regularly commute in on my full susser if I'm going to head out on the trails straight from work

What does it weigh? I'm curious because from an XC point of view 30lbs is getting into "really heavy" territory. I can't imagine that it would be much fun to ride something 35lbs + over any appreciable distance.

most of the town bikes ie hybrid type bikes are closer to 40lb, my pottering to town bike with basket etc is 50lb unlaiden, but these are not bikes one rides far, few miles at most.

they have there uses, they tend to have (for road) wide tires and a more upright postion so it's easier to look over traffic and behind and the bike tends to be a fairly steady ride, so lumps and bumps tend to much less of a issue.

My Giant's weight when I bought it was 11.5kg - added mudguards and a rack and its now around 13kg - don't assume that hybrids are all heavyweights - mine is lighter than its MTB equivalent - Giant Yukon - by around 5kg

which is why Hybrid is in many ways a meaningless sterotype as the bikes range from fast light street fighters to heavy weight shoppers, i was talking about the shoppers at that point, as one can see.

nation

Greg T wrote:

I'm happy to see the swarms of Summer bikers on the road - it keeps the cars off to the right hand side and out of my space

I'd agree with this. In the last couple of days I've been yelled at for following a slow moving car in primary through a five way junction, and for filtering past stationary traffic on the right.

Anything that gets drivers used to the idea that they have to share the road space is all right by me. I'd prefer it if they didn't RLJ and ride on the pavements, but on balance I'd rather they were there than not.

nation

antfly wrote:

It also irritates me when people post questions like "what bike for £100".What do they think they are going get for £100 apart from a piece of junk.

I remember reading a really good editorial once by Steve Worland about some non-cycling friends he loaned a couple of bikes and some kit to for a summer ride.

They were in the Pub afterwards, really enthused and asking how they could get into it, but totally lost interest when they found out they'd been riding bikes that cost in excess of £1000, and wearing about £250 worth of kit each. To them, bikes should cost about £100.

The funny thing is that isn't a really dramatic amount of money for an adult hobby, especially a sport that requires equipment. Look at the amount it would cost to get into golf, for example. Or the money people spend getting into surfing, or diving, or sailing, etc. Somehow cycling has got stuck with a false perception of cost.

antfly

Exactly,and unlike other hobbies you don`t have to join a club,have lessons or travel anywhere {apart from on your bike) to do it.

Rich158

nation wrote:

antfly wrote:

It also irritates me when people post questions like "what bike for £100".What do they think they are going get for £100 apart from a piece of junk.

I remember reading a really good editorial once by Steve Worland about some non-cycling friends he loaned a couple of bikes and some kit to for a summer ride.

They were in the Pub afterwards, really enthused and asking how they could get into it, but totally lost interest when they found out they'd been riding bikes that cost in excess of £1000, and wearing about £250 worth of kit each. To them, bikes should cost about £100.

The funny thing is that isn't a really dramatic amount of money for an adult hobby, especially a sport that requires equipment. Look at the amount it would cost to get into golf, for example. Or the money people spend getting into surfing, or diving, or sailing, etc. Somehow cycling has got stuck with a false perception of cost.

Exactly, Golf is a prime example, it's very easy to pay £500 - £1k on a set of clubs, and then there's the club membership, try finding anything under £2k a year within spitting distance of London, and add in the golfing holidays etc and it's a very expensive hobby. All of my family play and are members of clubs, and yet they think I'm mad for spending £1k on a bike that saves me £160 in train fares a month. Ok my weekend bike cost £2.5k, but then my yearly club membership is £15 , so I've recouped that in a year compared to their golf club membership.

It's the same with any sport, try doing a marathon in a £15 pair of trainers from shoe fair, or playing tennis with a £10 racket from Argos :shock: Cheap equipment performs a certain function, it gets you started, and once you want to progress you go out and buy better equipment, and then all of a sudden you're hooked, and well on the way to financial ruin :roll:

Christophe3967

Rich158 wrote:

nation wrote:

antfly wrote:

It also irritates me when people post questions like "what bike for £100".What do they think they are going get for £100 apart from a piece of junk.

I remember reading a really good editorial once by Steve Worland about some non-cycling friends he loaned a couple of bikes and some kit to for a summer ride.

They were in the Pub afterwards, really enthused and asking how they could get into it, but totally lost interest when they found out they'd been riding bikes that cost in excess of £1000, and wearing about £250 worth of kit each. To them, bikes should cost about £100.

The funny thing is that isn't a really dramatic amount of money for an adult hobby, especially a sport that requires equipment. Look at the amount it would cost to get into golf, for example. Or the money people spend getting into surfing, or diving, or sailing, etc. Somehow cycling has got stuck with a false perception of cost.

Exactly, Golf is a prime example, it's very easy to pay £500 - £1k on a set of clubs, and then there's the club membership, try finding anything under £2k a year within spitting distance of London, and add in the golfing holidays etc and it's a very expensive hobby. All of my family play and are members of clubs, and yet they think I'm mad for spending £1k on a bike that saves me £160 in train fares a month. Ok my weekend bike cost £2.5k, but then my yearly club membership is £15 , so I've recouped that in a year compared to their golf club membership.

It's the same with any sport, try doing a marathon in a £15 pair of trainers from shoe fair, or playing tennis with a £10 racket from Argos :shock: Cheap equipment performs a certain function, it gets you started, and once you want to progress you go out and buy better equipment, and then all of a sudden you're hooked, and well on the way to financial ruin :roll:

It's OK, you don't need to justify your £3.5K expenditure on bikes here. You're with friends.

gtvlusso

Ultimately - buy what you want, you will use it more than something that was second best or you didn't want.......(Budget constraints allowing!)

Bianchi PIsta please......oh, what do you mean Mortgage?!

the_hundredth_idiot

jashburnham wrote:

Welcome to my world. This morning was a classic. Waiting at lights outside Borough tube with 2 other roadies, no luminescence in sight, behaving like proper road users. Then the Hi-Viz swarm approaches, riding (to a man) hybrids and every single one of them proceeds to either jump the lights, or creep so far forward the lights are about 4 meters behind them. Green light, I'm going right but watch as the 2 roadies take pretty much take the lot of them. I have stopped remonstrating with these RLJ'ing numpty c0cks but I fear I'm going snap soon, getting fed up with people's behaviour.

My wife makes me wear bright yellow (with a green tinge) tops and a helmet. I don't mind wearing the helmet (please don't dwell on that point - I don't want this thread to descend into THAT debate) but I do wish she would relent on the luminescence. Rapha don't do luminescence for good reason.

Any persuasive arguments to give her, apart from the obvious of me MingTFU?

sarajoy

The Hundredth Idiot wrote:

Any persuasive arguments to give her, apart from the obvious of me MingTFU?

Maybe that now it's daylight for all of your time spent commuting (esp after this weekend's change to BST), yellow hi-viz is no more visible than other colours against bright skies/concrete/foliage/whatever your surroundings.

I'm not always sure about how effective the yellow is during the day (though I /do/ wear that colour, regularly, and happily, thankyouverymuch), but the wide reflective bands are brilliant at showing up a cyclist in headlights at night.

Jay dubbleU

Get one of these

http://www.foska.com/training-jackets/m ... i-vis.html

the_hundredth_idiot

Jay dubbleU wrote:

Get one of these

http://www.foska.com/training-jackets/m ... i-vis.html

Not quite what I was thinking of.

I can just see me walking through the door when I get home at night. Eldest son comes running towards me wanting a hug from his Daddy, takes one look at me, does an about turn and runs off screaming. Cue disturbed night as he wakes up with nightmares about Daddy being a skeleton.