Safety Pin Rant!

Pross

Every time I run a race I spend ages going through the numbers and ensuring each one has sufficient to secure it to a jersey - no more, no less. At sign on you can guarantee several people will tell me their number hasn't got enough pins and can they have more. I say no as I know they all have enough. Then you sort the numbers for the next race and there are loads with pins missing - in many cases all six. It's a time consuming pain in the ar$e doing this every time so a message on behalf of organisers to any safety pin thieves out there - buy your own f***ing pins you cheap skate lazy gits!

buckles

I have a tub of spare pins. Always getting given numbers with missing pins, or weak thin old flimsy pins that won't go through the jersey and then bend and become unusable, or rusty old pins. Then I forget which pins are mine and which were already in the numbers. So I leave them all in the holes and end up actually losing pins out of my stash. Message to all organisers on behalf of all riders who have their own pins - make sure the numbers have enough pins and that they are of sufficient quality you cheap skate gits!

jgsi

I do... at start of season in March.. I had tens of them.new sharp shiny . bought from Tesco.. I now have about 5... work that one out... it's the pin elves you know

thistle_

Alternatively turn up to an event as a competitor and flash a box of safety pins and sell to he/she who offers the most tea/cake

imposter2.0

Pins? Getting all the numbers back after a race would be nice too....

Pross

Every single one of my (double) numbers had six shiny new pins in for the race I ran in May. Having just gone through them I need 115 for the set of 90 numbers to replace those missing! Anyone know a High Street store that sells big tubs of them? Last time I ended up getting them from Wilkinson but they were small packs varying in size from tiny to giant nappy pin sized ones that must have weighed more than some bikes!

Pross

To answer my own question Hobbycraft looks the best bet. Need the club to invest in new numbers too!

sub55

Six pins for a set of double race numbers isn't enough, young man.
I normally use 8 in a single tt number in a road race ,need at least 16 to stop the sides flapping in the wind.

imposter2.0

madasahattersley wrote:

I am guilty of this I'm afraid. Started with none, and having been an unbearable PITA for a lot of organisers I now have a pretty large tubs worth.

Sorry.

Absolve youself by sending them to Pross...

Pross

sub55 wrote:

Six pins for a set of double race numbers isn't enough, young man.
I normally use 8 in a single tt number in a road race ,need at least 16 to stop the sides flapping in the wind.

6 is enough to hold them on. It's all I use when I race. If I rider wants the number less flappy then they need to use their own pins. It took over 3 hours to put a full set of pins on each number last time. Next season I'll get a tub of 1000 and people can sort their own numbers out (although at 16 pins per number even that wouldn't be enough!). Most I have seen used on these numbers is 10.

DavidJB

pins? Added weight...I super glue the number to my face.

Zoomer37

I blame 4th cats

racingcondor

Looks like I'm your dream competitor. I bring my own so I can avoid the rusty ones that pull holes in your jersey and use as many as I like (normally 7 per square number or 10 for a double number. Like Sub55 I don't like them flapping around).

sub55

Pross wrote:

sub55 wrote:

Six pins for a set of double race numbers isn't enough, young man.
I normally use 8 in a single tt number in a road race ,need at least 16 to stop the sides flapping in the wind.

6 is enough to hold them on. It's all I use when I race. If I rider wants the number less flappy then they need to use their own pins. It took over 3 hours to put a full set of pins on each number last time. Next season I'll get a tub of 1000 and people can sort their own numbers out (although at 16 pins per number even that wouldn't be enough!). Most I have seen used on these numbers is 10.

Hey Pross, i must admit im a lazy bu**er, and only promote one event a year and thats a time trial.
I can deal with safety pins ,just get a big box and lay them on the table, riders can help themselves, no big issues.
What i really object too is the arrogant ,selfcentered fu**ers that use double sided sticky tape to stick their numbers on. Getting it off again is a complete nightmare. Dont suppose this trick has filtered down to the road racers in Abergavenny yet. But it will.

Dess1e

sub55 wrote:

Pross wrote:

sub55 wrote:

Six pins for a set of double race numbers isn't enough, young man.
I normally use 8 in a single tt number in a road race ,need at least 16 to stop the sides flapping in the wind.

6 is enough to hold them on. It's all I use when I race. If I rider wants the number less flappy then they need to use their own pins. It took over 3 hours to put a full set of pins on each number last time. Next season I'll get a tub of 1000 and people can sort their own numbers out (although at 16 pins per number even that wouldn't be enough!). Most I have seen used on these numbers is 10.

Hey Pross, i must admit im a lazy bu**er, and only promote one event a year and thats a time trial.
I can deal with safety pins ,just get a big box and lay them on the table, riders can help themselves, no big issues.
What i really object too is the arrogant ,selfcentered fu**ers that use double sided sticky tape to stick their numbers on. Getting it off again is a complete nightmare. Dont suppose this trick has filtered down to the road racers in Abergavenny yet. But it will.

tried this once, but didn't want to return the number with the adhesive tape still in place so removed it after the race. Took about an hour! pins are fine for the difference it made.

Pross try a medical supplier for bulk quantities of safety pins.

racingcondor

I'd also add that I heard a story the other week of someone bulk buying safty pins in eBay only to find that they were so weak that they wouldn't go through the numbers without bending!

+1 on the medical supplys.

Just found this place too (dependent on shipping it should be VERY cheap so worth the risk of rubbish pins) -

http://www.raceresult.co.uk/en-uk/shop/safetypins.php

ozzzyosborn206

why not make it like in France where all riders take their own pins, they even have just paper numbers which further reduces cost, not sure how many races they last for but some i have had look like they have alot of pin holes in them. It wouldn't take long for people ti get in the routine of putting pins in their race bag with their licence and bidons etc

declan1

I would find somewhere that sells pins in bulk. Give out race numbers without pins and people can take however many pins they need from a big tub on a table.

motd2k

Neodymium magnets (20x2mm work well) covered in ducktape for a bit of grip