linnega

I assume you just hand out flyers randomly, as it would take many rides to get courtesy sufficient to warrant a smile/thank you.

Quartz are the best pedals I've used on and off road. Considered using them on my road bike, but then I haven't ridden my road bike since 1 December so would have been a waste.

Wot he said. JPW# - If you are going to make comments either keep them general or back them up with verifiable facts. Your opinion may be whatever, but directly accusing AM and BD amounts to slander and is as such illegal.

Bike parts and frames are duty free unless a full bike is imported. There is no inefficient, unproductive industry to protect as is the case with textiles. Porky is correct, the state and SARS are targeting the retail trade in general, but in particular by weeding out unscrupulous importers. Should benefit all in the industry in the long run, but will cost the consumer in passed on admin costs in the short term.

Most things need replacing over time anyway - includign derailleurs, certainly tyres. Rims may not need replacing often (depending on how you ride and your fortune) but other wheelparts usually start to break particularly on cheaper or lighter items. Forks need servicing but can usually be used for a good amount of time before they need replacing. If you shop around - specials at CWC, CRC and are willing to rely on recommendations for good quality aftermarket products, then upgrading piecemeal can be a cost-effective solution. If you don't have the time, the energy and the knowledge then it is probably better to buy a complete bike and rely on your LBS's advice about parts.

No - it will empty itself fairly quickly unless the seal is really tight (very unlikely). Just puncture it when needed - what's an extra 2 seconds?

Rare. Sound advice from LA's biggest fan. Everyone's HR is so unique, using it as a basis for anything for the first 6 months is hit and miss. Record your heart rate and how hard the ride was. After a few months you should be able to match HR fairly closely to effort. Of course by then you may well understand your body well enough to not need the HRM, but at least you get Vitality points with a Polar.

Hey' date=' we use to get those and decent medals back in the days. My first Argus we had to buy our medals and you could only do so if you have finished, but you got an embroided badge at the finish. And a few weeks later you got a certificate in the post.[/quote'] Or you can just copy the template from Action Photo, Copy the logo and print your own certificate. My Comrades certificate is homemade and includes photos. It forms the background for the frame holding the embroidered badge and medal.

That has got to be the most bizarre thing I have heard regarding discs. Do you seriously believe that - 1 cm of metal with holes in it?

You mean you like it because it looks like Lance's bike

You can't and shouldn't stop it. I know many that did the short route at Eston simply because it was no fun out there. I assume you recorded them as DNF's in the long race. If the rider wants to start at a reasonable hour (after 9am is far too late) and has decided to do the short race but entered the long race, then logically they would start with the long race and take an early turnoff. If I had entered the long race, I would have done exactly that - in fact, I considered upgrading to the long race, just to get an earlier start and then turn early. What is the problem with any of the above as an organiser? I think you need to bear in mind that many (if not most) enter races to get access to the routes and to ride with a bigger crowd than to "race", so time is irrelevant.

Actually - don't worry. It was the wrapped seatstay that disoriented me - can see how to do it know and wll give it a bash.

Instead it goes up your ass Are there any other pics of the Anthem solution? Looks like it may be useful for when the rain comes to these parts again. Maybe October for H2H.

Its for road racing - its primary functions in order are comply with UCI rules, be lightweight, be well vented.

LA used to make it sound like it was unusual to share prize-money with the team. The team is entitled to all prize money and distribute it according to the contracts they have with the riders. Generally this means even distribution of the prize money amongst the key members of team, including support personnel. No doubt the same contractual structure is in place for Astana given that the same team manager is involved.

I assume MTN paid for it. Hardly seems fair to expect a company (if you can call SAA that) to cover additional costs for no benefit.

I'm not sure what "constructive" means in consultant speak, but generally it doesn't "this is my viewpoint and stuff all of you that disagree".

I commute daily in a town where the drivers are among the worst in the world (Durban) and have been riding in the left lane for the last 20 years. I have been taken out once by a left turning vehicle, which I could have avoided if I had been further to the right of my lane. Feeling safe is not the same as being safe. Helmets are a case in point - just because you think you are safer in one does not make it so. linnega2009-07-14 10:53:04

Hardly a fair test given that the riders and teams are behaving like infants. Phen - the point is the average TV fan couldn't give a stuff what riders or team managers think. Their opinions quite frankly aren't worth anything in the bigger scheme of this show called the Tour de France.

The biggest issue comes at intersections where you are simply on the wrong side, and are likely to get taken out. Runners, unlike cyclists, have no rights on the road. They are supposed to run on the pavement and always face traffic. Where there is no pavement, runners should be on the right facing traffic and as far over as possible. Again at intersections this is more practical for a runner who crosses at the pedestrian crossing. Cyclists have every right to be in any part of the left lane. The fact that you were taken out from behind is no indication that it would be any safer had you been facing traffic. If you were riding to the left of the yellow line then the problem was you were occupying the emergency lane - you are required to be in the lane with all other vehicles. Then there is simply the principle. Facing traffic means you are responsible for moving out of the way when a vehicle approaches. By rights other vehicles are required to change lanes before they overtake a bicycle. By moving onto the wrong side of the road we are foregoing even more of the rights we have as cyclists (in terms of the law drivers of vehicles).

Exactly the same argument you can use to say doping should be allowed. You could, but it wouldn't be a valid argument. Doping is not good for viewership as it would simply result in the biggest budget team always being the best, and essentially unbeatable. The same applies in Formula 1 if unlimited budgets and car modifications were allowed, or in football where there is no cap on salaries. There has to always be a mechanism for a newcomer to enter the arena, which is where cycling is going by getting tougher on doping, formula 1 is going by limiting the parameters and budgets and football is going by capping salaries.

I have yet to hear a good argument against banning radios. Whether banning them is the solution to help the monotony of most stages is questionable though. The "concerns" around safety are rubbish - there is no safety benefit in radios. Teams cars will not "have" to drive into the bunch to deliver a message, they will simply have to stay out of the bunch at let the riders use those things a little above their noses. The riders and team managers seem to think they are the most important part of this decision. They are not. If the race is made more interesting for the fans, particularly those that don't understand pro cycling tactics, then it is a good decision. Riders seem to think they are paid to ride - they are mistaken - they are paid to entertain. Like other sports they need to start to accept that big salaries are paid for out of TV rights and TV rights are paid for by viewership stats. Like in tennis where the pros have to play at 2am or 3am in the Australian Open, pro cyclists will need to learn to deal with minor discomforts in pursuing their profession. And all stages should be no helmet stages.

Yes, you still pay VAT. On a full bike/frame the cost of shipping can be high as the box is "oversized".