RacerX

10nm is nice and tight using a short allen key by hand. It should hurt your hand a bit. But actually, get a torque wrench - good investment with the lightweight bolts and soft materials in use these days.

I disagree - it's such an incredibly selfish act and an insult to the whole team, especially these days with the MPCC where the entire team can be banned for a period of time even if only one rider tests positive (2 incidents in a 12 month period I think). Calling him an idiot is generous in this case.

Ok cool. As a parent myself, I understand your frustration at other parents' neglect. It's like not strapping kids into a child seat in the car, the kid has no say in the matter and is a victim of the parent's actions. But for an adult cyclist who can make their own choices and is in control (or not!) of the bike, it's different. Your original post touched a raw nerve, and I stand by my statements about the over-empahsis on helmet use above other more relevant safety actions/habits.

The tone of this thread and your choice of title is pretty much shouting in my book.

It's much more than a matter of opinion - the OP is rehashing the commonly held fallacy that helmets are the one thing you do to be safe on a bike. This is bad for cycling safety in general. We would all be better off if helmets were optional and skill, visibility and adherence to the rules of the road were the focus of safety. Unfortunately shouting at someone without a helmet is the equivalent of speed traps for cars - it's the easy way out.

I'm not saying "don't wear a helmet" - I wear one most of the time too. My beef is with the OP who will shout at someone for not wearing a helmet as if that is all that is between them and certain death.

Anecdotal evidence. All studies (and there are many) prove that helmets are not our first line of defence against injury. The over-emphasis on helmet use as the way to be safe on a bicycle is counter-productive. And motorbikes are not a good analogy - there a helmet is more important due to the speed (again, that stats bear this out). Google it if you don't believe me. If you want to shout at someone on a bike, shout at those who ride beyond their skill level, wear black clothing on a dusk ride and take stupid risks like running stop signs and lights.

Hmmm. A helmet is pretty much useless in most cases of cycling accidents that result in severe injury. It protects you in only a small minority of crash scenarios. It also suffers from the "airbag effect" in that someone wearing a helmet is likely to take bigger risks than someone who is not. Helmets also discourage newcomers to cycling as it makes the activity appear dangerous (more true for commuters than sport cyclists, though). It's far better to be a skilled rider, be visible, be assertive (not aggressive) and generally be sensible than it is to wear a helmet. I have seen countless cyclists wearing fancy helmets who are doing none of the above - they are at a far greater risk.

Just a word of thanks to the two gents who without hesitating each threw me a spare tube when I ran out of luck at the top of Remhoogte (10km from finish) in the Burger race this morning. I could not catch your numbers or remember enough to identify you, but if my experience is anything to go by, those tubes will come back to you I was in the % group in a Ben jersey and on a Bianchi. I got punctures in both wheels going up that climb (glass, grrrr!) - you guys saved my ride (and sense of humour). Cheers

Cool, me too! Glad to see I'm not *that* weird Ahem, use 180mm cranks, not EPO, hehe

Shane at Bowmans is very good too. Really understands a wheel and will build it to your specs, varying spoke type and spoking pattern to suit your needs. I have at least four sets of wheels he built (I've lost count) and very happy with all of them.

Same here. The carbon paste (gritty red paste) is the bomb. You only need to lightly torque the clamp (especially on a Thomson post) to make it rock solid and never move.

According to Tyler Hamilton, take three sleeping pills and down a bottle of sparkling water

I have a RR 29" 2.4 on my front wheel and love it. Got it from CRC.

I disagree - with modern brakes, you don't need to be strong to lock a wheel. Your right hand (if dominant) is also better at motor skill/control, so best to use that for front where you need finer modulation to control the bike.