Chro Mo

This old chestnut comes around time and time again - I remember it well - in different form- from the biker lobby in the States saying that helmets make your head heavier, forcing your neck to move/rotate more than it would. On a racetrack there are no curbstones, no lamp-posts, no stop signs, no cars. One of those elements does not care how far your head rotates. The world has changed. I rode my bike through primary and high school with no helmet and no cares. Fact is - there were less cars, and the drivers of those cars were far more aware of cyclists and motorcyclists (remember the "Think Bike" campaign of the eighties?). We need helmets now. I think it is also a legal requirement too. Imagine trying to claim from the RAF having had no helmet on....

Wow!! Very pretty!

I know!! Who would have thunk it? Australians who build awesome bikes? I knew about Llewellyn and VueloVelo, but these Baum bikes are gorgeous!

I see your Baum, and raise you one: Steel Hardtail:

My word, this is beautiful!

+1 - Jared is VERY good!

Columbine Cycles: the ultimate in lugwork

I can believe that. Engineers build machines. Artists build bikes. Bikes have soul, machines do not. When you have artistry and technical perfection in one package, cue the Heaven-sent shaft of light and angelic music.

Llewellyn. Beautiful, but prices to make the eyes water.

I had no idea Baum was Australian. Oz has some craftsmen to be proud of - Llewellyn comes to mind. Beautiful lugs.

These are some fine looking bikes.

danthunders - nicely done!

Rode at 4am this morning - 2hrs at the fastest pace I've been able to maintain for 5 years. Climbed like a ....well...buffalo, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Went to work in a positive frame of mind. Good thread, this!

Amen to that, brother!

This is an amazing race!!

Never has a truer word been written. In order to be even moderately good, relatively large sacrifices have to be made. Which is why I am moderately average.

But you'll keep thinking about that old 10 speed you had when you were fourteen. in later years you'll swear it was the best bike you ever owned....(it wasn't).

http://www.cyclingfans.com/tour-de-france/live

http://www.sportlemon.tv/20130627/vv51cc61931f6807.22400970-599163.html

....is that if you suck at going up hills, climb more hills. You'll still suck, only not quite as much

Best motivation for me was my waistline and my sanity: I was hit by a car in December. it a) ruined my favourite bike, B) messed up my shoulder, c) messed with my confidence. I didn't ride for a while, then twisted my knee, pulling the ligaments, then I fell down some stairs, cracking my kneecap. All in in all: 4 months lost and a few kgs gained. I realised that I was snapping at my wife and child, eating too much, suffering mood swings as a result of my awesome diet of chips, pasta and chocolate. One day I just got on my bike, suffered through the pain in my knee which was a fu@ker, and came home serene. Riding my bike centers me, lets me think clearly, forces me to exhale. Even my wife, who hates the fact that I love cycling, now recognizes that it makes me a better person to live with. Cycling makes us better as human beings. Very few activities do that. My advice: take a wee break, see how you change, and analyse what is missing in your life. The answer will almost always be that your bike, or rather - riding your bike - is the missing link.

i'm more classically inclined, but Cavendish's Venge and this Roubaix disc may be bringing me around.

Norco, Intense, Santa Cruz, Giant, Jamis, Pyga (I think) and many, many more.

My CX bike has BB7s on, and I must say that I feel much more confident in the braking ability of the units. Going into corners and braking later are a definite plus. Weight doesn't bother me, because I am, shall we say, quite big too. Would discs be of greater benefit to heavier or lighter riders in terms of stopping power?

That's the one I want to ride.