cycleq

The Quick Set epoxy is not ideal. It is better to use Epidermix 372 or a slow-set epoxy.

No, the US situation has no bearing whatsoever on our law.

I think the tendency in situations like these is to postulate unnecessarily. Whether he rode the see-saw before or not is irrelevant to the injury he suffered. Obviously the close family are in the throes of the anger any wasteful loss would induce, but perhaps we might respect the feelings and rather adopt a wait-and-see. The letter sent to Bezzie might well have been exploratory in nature rather than the instigation of a suit. Either way let's see what unravels. While I personally don't believe seeking redress in these circumstances is appropriate, compared say, with the example of a cyclist mowed down by a car driver in a hurry, it also speaks volumes about the general ignorance many participants have regarding their pastimes. I come from the old school that believes it a better proposition to take the couple hundred rand destined for that first helmet and putting it toward cycling education, bike skills and road knowledge. Statistics tell us the educational route prevents far more injuries than the trite assumption we can just plonk a helmet on our head an we're good to go. Also, proving intent here is not necessary. Delictual actions invariably ground in negligence and not intent.

The law says volenti non fit injuria. No-one forced him to try the obstacle. Would a reasonably prudent man in his circumstances have foreseen the prospect of injury resulting from trying the obstacle? Would a reasonably prudent man have heeded the warning posted by the disclaimer? Feel free to guess. The fact a letter has been sent means very little. Any claim would be a delictual action and volenti is an appropriate defence. Please remember that there is a lot of posturing in situations like this and pretty much any of the lab rats passing as humans (aka lawyers) will be happy to take a clients money in pursuit of taxed costs income, irrespective of the prospect of a successful lawsuit. What it means is that Bezzie might be faced with raising money to secure a good attorney (or in the event of this proceeding to trial - a good advocate) to defend any action. But this will be preceeded by the issuing of a letter of demand, a summons and the formalities of a civil action. Much water to pass under the bridge first and I'd personally like to see how the plaintiff is going to establish causality between anything Richard might have done and the patrimonial loss suffered.

There are currently 2 demo gruppos in the country being shown to bike shops. Having had a good look I must say the sex factor is quite high!! The cranks in particular are a mindblow.

I'll indulge you: What exactly are you sueing for? Assume I'm riding along and I see a cliff, or a ring of fire and I decide to ride off the cliff or thru the ring of fire. If I wanted to sue someone once they put out the fire or patch me back up, is this not tantamount to wanting to sue someone for my own stupidity? Roman-Dutch law doesn't even require a disclaimer in the Spruit example above. It just adds weight to the argument against a lawsuit. If I play in a rugby game and decide to go for the line with ball in hand and someone called Schalk (long blond hair) tackles me the way he normally tackles, would my family be able to sue him for the multiple surgeries required to get me walking again? No. Life has a general disclaimer built in: Take care or suffer the consequences.cycleq2008-08-21 00:22:05

There is an old established principle in our law: Volenti non fit injuria Simply put it means if you willingly participate in a dangerous activity you assume the risks associated with that activity. If there was a disclaimer present on the obstacle the injured party would have little prospect of succeeding in suing for damages. You could just as easily fall off a bike riding down your driveway and suffer similar injury. Who do you sue then? Answer - no-one.

Perhaps before you spit the dummy you might try adjusting the cleat position........ You could even try different strap tensions and avoid buying any more of those deficient SpecZ products.cycleq2008-08-19 11:29:25

Cycle Lab can do the testing, as can Fritz or if desperate, call Le Peloton for advice.

Merckx was known to adjust his own saddle height while riding (terrifyingly, even on steep alpine descents) - didn't seem to affect him much except insofar as it settled his mind. Then he just cranked it up again... Bike fit is good to establish a point of departure for dialling in position - then, really, nothing is going to beat careful application of experience by a rider fiddling with his own setup. We develop as riders over time - hence positioning must alter to cater to this development.

If your shoes do not have the BG footbeds you can buy them separately from a Spec dealer. They should also be able to put you on the pressure bed to determine which footbed you require. I had lots of success with these footbeds (in Shimano shoes BTW). Also, as mentioned, step one would be to experiment with cleat position and strap tension. Try moving cleats as far back on your shoes as you can (i.e foot forward) and ride like this for a while. See if the problem remains or changes in any way. But a podiatrist or ortho won't help right now until you have reference data from positioning changes.

Nipples are typically brass, not steel. Optimum tension is determined by the rim type and the spoke type and can be obtained from the manufacturers, but in the absence of this, and assuming decent quality rims, try to get tension as high as possible without deforming the nipple. Spokes break because tension is too low. Remember to lube spokes/nipples well before tensioning and stress relieve the spokes throughout the tensioning process. Use raw linseed oil as a lube as it sets nicely when it dries and acts as a spoke freeze.

Why not contact Sean/Adrian at LePeleton (011 627 5080) and get it sorted. Sounds like cable routing or dropout alignment. You can't run that RD cable tightly under the BB - it needs a fair bit of slack. Also the RD cable and Brake hose run in such a way that they cross under the BB. cycleq2008-07-30 00:44:13

There was a woman who rode against the men in the Giro back in the 40's or 50's. I'll have to look to find her name but she was quite a character to defy the rampant chauvanism in Italy back then. She lasted until the final week I think and then was excluded for not finishing within the time. Also some women (Jeanie Longo) have competed quite successfully against men in hillclimbs and the inimitable Beryl Burton once passed the UK men's champion deep into a 100 mile TT. She mentioned afterwards that she gave him a sweetie because he looked like he was suffering.

As Sean B pointed out, these regurgitating takes on this race (and our sport) are written by penny-ante tossers who wouldn't have a glimmer of understanding of what it takes to compete in an event like this. All this crap about 'cheating' is the icing on their ignorance. Anyone who has raced a bicycle knows deep down that very little out there can turn a donkey into a racehorse. Some historical perspective on these endurance events might shed light on what it takes just to start and finish a TdF. Frankly, I couldn't care less what they use. Who the hell am I to complain when I don't hesitate to medicate myself with whatever it takes to fix my flu, bruised muscle, back pain, headache etc and while I share society with first division recreational drug takers from preparatory school age and up?

I don't want to spoil the party' date=' but that doesn't say much. Brazing 531 tubing isn't very difficult since 531 steel was designed specifically for factory brazers and had a high tolerance for overheating, something that an unskilled brazer often did. The fancier Reynolds tubesets, 851 (?) required silver solder, which melts at a lower temperature so that the steel needn't glow red. [/quote'] In classic pedantic style... You'd swear 531 was the only tubeset used..... Gotti had a Reynolds ticket, not a common commodity anywhere. But you bootstrap up there with the best! There was a wide range of Reynolds tubesets available. To get a ticket you needed qualification in all of the different tube types. No party, no spoil!

Gotti was one of a handful of Reynolds-certified brazers/welders in SA (I think Du Toit and Lang might have been others).

Because right now, all the UCI is interested in is money... That is the current 'anti' view although how you weigh this up against the motives of a decidedly commercial organization such as ASO might be interesting. The UCI needs money - like any statutory body - to run itself and more importantly, to develop the sport in historically deprived areas. The Pro Tour is a minor part of its scope as a world body, albeit one that does contribute important revenue in the form of race sanction and scheduling. But to leverage this into labelling the UCI as only interested in money is a bit disingenuous. Mamy years ago I was part of an initiative trying to get SACF operating on a more effective level (long before the advent of CSA) and we came up against just this issue: Pro riders ONLY interested in the next pool of prize money, irrespective of where it came from, and race organizers unwilling to part with ANY of their income to fund the federation - despite demanding a place on the official race calendar. As McQuaid said in response to LeMond - he really doesn't have any real understanding of the issues at play. All he wants is exposure so he can sell bikes.

So LeMond's view prevails and the pro teams go off and start a rival body under ASO. Who caters to development riders in the rest of the world? Who cares for cycling on the myriad levels other than top-rank pro racing? I personally prefer a body like the UCI that has some regulatory authority and can look after the development of the SPORT rather than pure commercial interests. cycleq2008-07-10 01:04:53

I'm sure in exercise physiology "fitness" has some quite specific parameters. I do know one measure is the evenness of the interval between your heartbeats. And having a heart attack, as pointed out, has little to do with fitness or lack thereof. But it does impact on survival and recovery rates when you do sieze!

A couple years ago Longo rode in the Mt Washington Hillclimb (if I remember correctly) and was only beaten by two other competitors - both men, one of whom was Tyler Hamilton. Beryl Burton was another great woman rider who took on all comers just about up until the time of her death.

It is also possible to replace the two small cap screws that tighten the non-drive side crank to the spindle - these do tend to distort over time making it difficult to tighten properly. Make sure you get the DA bolts (available from Coolheat) as they differ from the other cranks - they are shorter. Cost about R18 for both.

Slowbee, a good idea is to try and feel the pedal the whole way through the stroke. You can improve efficiency in the weak zones with slow cadence, seated climbing which will make you focus on the bottom and top of the power stroke. Also I believe you have mis-read the articles on cyclingnews. Steve Hogg has been advocating moving the cleats as far back as you possibly can to increase efficiency - if you look at the "wobblenaught" bike fitting methodology they advocate the same thing. Called "stacking the bones". I have been using it for some time with great results. Look for improvements in pedal technique through cadence and relaxation.

Slowbee, I'm saying good technique will develop an unweighting motion of the non-drive leg as opposed to any attempt to try and generate power on the upstroke. Do some power-testing to see how drastically power reduces as the drive leg nears the bottom of the pedal stroke. Carry this on and see how much efficient power you can develop with concerted efforts at pulling up on the non-drive leg.... Sorry, the results have been around for a long time so I'm not too concerned with anecdotal opinions. Good pedal technique is not just about making power - it is about making efficient and sustainable power. Look at a track sprinter as he leaves the blocks: see the short, concerted effort (while he stands) to lift up the non-drive leg... But how long is this sustained? It is merely a technique used to get up legspeed and momentum before he sits down and resorts to efficient motion. (Sorry, long answer) Short answer - no, don't bother with pulling up!cycleq2008-06-18 05:32:59