Lounge Lizard

Grandpa - get new glasses - Its not about "brooke shields", - its about stopping "broke wheels".....

How do these things get past the Advertising and Consumer forums ? Surely they would tackle the issue on the grounds that it is a scam ? Anyway - how on earth do they sell them ? Is it like a religious thing of sorry we can't prove it, you must just trust us and believe it ! What makes people buy them ? Anybody done 'research' to see what the claims are and why they suggest it works ?

Crankbrothers Candy ! I have a set of LOOK, SPD and Candy. Used SPD for 10 years, LOOK for a couple of months - now a CANDY fan for past year. SPD last longest, are very tough, but mud and dust in your shoe cleat or the pedal = fall time. Crankbrothers Candy - easy in - easy out, push down,or slide forward or slide back to engage. plus - has a platform for more support. Still have a set of SPD shoes and pedals on my general (mostly road commute) m-bike - and work fine only because they don't get full of mud or hard pack dirt.

'break','topwine', 'edam' ; this has been one of the better threads in a long time. Very interesting to try and understand something so simple that keeps our faces of the tar daily. thank you very much for your contributions

Thank you fellows. (sorry big cheese you lost me on your last post - getting too heavy for me)

Now that is so amazing ! and I like the explanation of the rim wants to ovalize That makes sense. How would the wheel collapse if weight is added Almost until it fails ? I assume the 'ovalization' (probably not a real word?) will stress the more horizontal spokes until they snap. If so the tension on the vertical (top and bottom) spokes will reduce to a point where there is none. Is that not an indication that, if those top and bottom spokes were missing, a Stationery wheel actually hangs from the more horizontal spokes. (i.e. The wheel neither stands on the bottom nor hangs from the top ? (but the missing spokes will be required for motion as they will become the horizontal spokes) Furthermore - does the wheel really want to ovalize ? yes, if the weight is placed on TOP of the rim - like squashing a ball. But the weight is applied at the hub/axle/centre ? Ok, thanks guys; just seen the other newer post - Yes I was also thinking in terms of as straight (radial) spoke configuration - which appears to be more common lately. Not sure why, as in theory I think it will be weaker (?) I understand the explanation better now - (i think) - the cross-laced spoke pattern will never have the top and bottom of the spoke vertical - so there will always be tension due to the 'ovalise' tendency of (at least the bottom half?) the wheel - therefore all lower spokes have their tension increased. (?) Anyway, is that not the cause of all the confusion - the forces on a straight radial wheel are not exactly similar to a cross-laced spoke pattern. Not sure I am any wiser - but I do feel better informed - Thanks Guys

now watch it ! boys... you will get this thread going the wrong way (or is it right way) and ADMIN will close it under the 'porn' statute.

Now this is the confusing part :- ...top and bottom spokes then decrease their tension equally How can the tension in the top decrease - when one applies weight ? i.e. pull on the hub side end of the spoke, surely this will increase the tension ?

A thread that discussed bridge building (and the spoke topic) was closed - I did not see why, but looks like it had some 'too personal' remarks. Problem is, it was very interesting and I would still like to know the mechanics. I am obviously not an engineer but it almost sounded if the one story had merit. 1) Does a bike wheel stay in shape because the pressure (rider weight) on the hub/axle is less than the tension in the bottom spokes ? i.e. the hub/axle stands on the spokes ? in line with the pre-tension principle used in bridge building (concrete reinforcing)? This implies that (provided the weight vs spoke tension is correct) a stationary wheel will not collapse if only the bottom half has spokes (?) or 2) is the rider weight as pushed onto the hub/axle supported by the spokes in the top half of the wheel ? which implies that the stationary wheel will not collapse if the only the top half has spokes (?) or 3) is the combined tension from ALL the spokes in play ? of wat de f*& gaan nou eintlik aan met die wiel ?

Used the lanes today to go to into Cape Town to collect my mail. The lanes are still not completely open into the CBD - some concrete barriers, but they are easy to bypass. I think its a very impressive piece of cycle road we have here - I enjoyed riding it and recommend other to try it. It is such a pleasure to get out of the traffic and onto this cycle path. I came from northern suburbs so only joined near Rietvlei. It was a bit empty. In fact I only met 2 other bikes - not a single pedestrian (?) but I guess it was the wrong time of day (10am) and wrong time of year. Felt a bit vulnerable in the last 3 kays or so - in Paarden-Island and the new stretch on the south after crossing the highway. Well done to the CT city to get this built, lets just hope it does not become full of litter and broken glass like the older cycle lanes in the suburbs. Good job !

Gheeez guys .... I can not believe some hubbers are trying to defend crossing red lights (! ?). Not only is it against the law it pizzzes off the motorist who are then more aggressive to cyclists. Yeh, I also find it a pain, and it looks safe to cross, and it keeps my avrg speed up, and...and BUT its law and others watching you break the law makes then psst with you. You have explained it by your example of taxis - everyone sees them breaking laws, and everyone complains about them..yes, you too....so the same applies to cyclist....they become the bad guys (and in fact are when jumping lights). Next topic is the littering . . why do so many cyclist find it easy to carry full bottles and full GU,Wasp,Hammer etc sachets ...but when they are empty they are too heavy and must be dumped on the road side ! Got so psst off in the Burger to see the ar$eholes in the bunch doing this - if you were no 1241 - you and your Buddy don't deserve to be on our roads.

Thank you for asking - To put it simply, Just straining up under the bear thanks, and how are you ?

Look for a firm bag or basket, get some velcro and make your own - (attach to handlebar)

Day 1 Day 5 And the misses..

I had a similar problem. If its a hole that is too large and the plug comes out, take a new plug thread and knot it first. The knot does not slide out the hole so easily. On a cut, I patch it on the inside and if the hole is substantial I use a large car type patch (much thicker) Once under pressure, I find it does show a little from the outside (ie. hole stretches slightly open), but I have done another 1000 km on it.

What time do you guys get up for those views ? This was my view when I got it up this morning.

he he he !

I think they are talking about guys who ride often.....not ride sometimes ;-)

It is just plain selfish not to have all the tools and tubes etc you need to look after yourself. I have seen many guys / girls walking back or on with a flat wheel, broken chain, broken jockey, etc etc and fixed punctures for too many youngsters and females who don't carry spares and don't know how to do it - don't even mention chain or single speed conversions etc. Sure you don't need it in a Crit. (distance too short back to base and once you have a breakdown in a crit you are out of the race - I bit like indoor stuff -(not that I do crits.) I recon one must carry, 2 tubes (road bike),pump, tyre levers, gator, money, quick-stick patch, gold link, tool-set with chain breaker and spoke spanner, cell phone, a form of ID (ice info), food/energy bar - Optional for ease and speed also 2 bombs+dispenser. All this crap in a jersey pocket is too uncomfortable - so saddlebag it is ! Yup nothing is as beautiful as a 'clean -bike' i.e. with no extras - but, on a breakdown 100km from home I ain't gonna call my mommy - gotta be self sufficient even if you think I look like a dork - too old to worry about colour coordinated outfits and opinions.

Remember the rules - some already mentioned above: 1) Don't under estimate how good, fit and fast some guys are. 2) warm up (the older you get the longer it takes - mtb takes me 10km and road 30km just to get going properly - so warm up well before the event) 3) Be prepared to Go hard (but not so balls to the wall that you collapse after 5km - keep a check on your HR) 4) There will always be riders much stronger than you - be it generics, fitness, youth etc. - so don't stress. 5) There will always be riders much weaker than you - so don't stress. 6) see rule 1 7) Finally, relax, Its not about whether YOU win or YOU lose.......its about whether if I win or lose !

Hi there, in MHO, I am not sure the other replies have realised (some of them heavy on drugs as you noticed) you are talking about the front chainrings - and of moving up to the larger ring. On the back cluster - it must alvaize be only one klick - going up and down, but on the front chainrings, one click should get you to a smaller chainring, but it is common for the shift up, to be a longer push movement - perhaps you are just not giving it the full push all the way. (by the way you did not mention what groupset you have - which could have an impact on shifting quality) Re the helmut (note; spelling on forum - never say helmet) The strap may slacken if it is not threaded correctly - further, the end of the strap must be tied down (another small buckle, rubber band etc higher up)should be present to tuck the end in. Easy to make something yourself with a rubber band if desperate - and yes, like the guys say - keep it firmly on, but not so that your eyes pop out or you can't open your trap to gasp for air)

gheeeeeeezzz... Did not know the K2C was so technical....had to bunny-hop, swerve, jump, wheelie just to miss all the bottles.. must have seen 100 bottles... don't these riders learn anything ? Sure the water points were regular enough that you could probably manage on a bottle or two - but come on guys bend your bottle cage shut/tight if you go the bottle method ! it was a mine field out there for the followers (I was in the late 800 placing and another 1200 riders still had to dodge bottles after me.......eish

Normally down the front of ou kaaps I will get 75/85 but it helps if the wind is blowing the right way - and it helps if there is passing traffic. Without actually drafting you can add on 20kmh on downhill from the traffic benefit - a sneaky little direct draft near the top can also contribute - but once the speed picks up its too scary to draft - (can't see the riding surface) Helps when you weigh 90kg. Not sure now, but I can only pedal to about 65/70 as far as I recall (53/11 gears). Must say, these fast descent are just plain stupid and normally just when dicing a buddy - and ou kaaps has an almost 180 degree turn at the bottom - which just scares the sh!t out of me everytime. Re; more to the point of this thread - 'clock milage' - on the tandem, we only did 1,880 this year (not really a favourite ride for me - but was trying to get wife interested in more riding - needless to say, I did not get any 'leg-over' for weeks on the occasions when the tandem was taken down ou kaaps)

Did the Caledon Staalwater ....fantastic non-technical route ....one of those where everybody can RIDE the whole route. A Must for your calendar...sometimes its great to just get out there and burn it up !

No Stoffel...they want to know what you did on your bike ;-)