Minion

From the Polar site: OwnCalS basic information So the calorie information is only really as accurate as the data you enter for VO2max, HRmax and weight (assuming HR measurement to be correct)

I found this site while looking for the difference between clinchers and tubbies (slow learner ): http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html Near the bottom he gives a table of possible tyre pressures. He recommends, amongst other things, that the front tyre be around 10% lower pressure than the rear as it carries less weight. I'd never thought about this in any detail and always used to pump front and back to max pressure (130psi). I'm now going to do a bit of experimenting. Edman2007-11-05 09:52:29

I experienced this on my club ride on Sunday. A couple of times we had taxis giving a quick hoot as they came behind / past us. It definitely seemed more of a 'Hello, I'm here, how are you' kind of hoot than a 'get off my road' one.

I was thinking about pedals the other day and my conclusion was that the larger road pedals are better for power transfer, producing lower contact pressures and thus less flexing. From this followed your question of why aren't MTB pedal also this size? I think it is because you have additional design constraints on a MTB pedal: 1.) Access - On a road bike you don't clip and unclip very often (stopping at a robot etc., start and finish of a race) and when you do, there's usually not so much of a rush to clip back in again. On a MTB you could unclip anywhere (stop/start, really technical stuff etc.) and probably need to clip in again quickly. It thus helps to have a symmetrical pedal which you can clip into from either side (top/bottom) rather than having to align the thing first before clipping. You could design a symmetrical road pedal but it would be large (see below) and heavier . 2.) Size - The nature of the terrain means that there are many more things that your MTB pedal could get caught up on. A smaller pedal makes a smaller 'target' for all of that crud. Likewise a smaller cleat when you walk around off the bike. A smaller, metal cleat (SPD) is also less likely to break from impact - I have managed to break two road cleats by stomping on them a bit too hard (Translation: Regaining balance after almost falling over ) 3.) Grip - The MTB shoes need to have grip and need to be designed to walk on. A smaller cleat is much easier to recess into the sole of the shoe so you don't end up standing on it - as mentioned above, larger cleats don't like being stood on with any kind of force - rather let the sole of the shoe take the load. Thus end the conclusions of the meandering thought processes of a bored engineer, formulated to stop him going insane while on a long IDT session. Hopefully these ramblings make some sense, while proving an adequate first post Edman2007-10-31 10:43:02