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Bicycle age

danowat

Banned
Aye. Though I have heard someone argue that having a bigger ring on the front makes a difference, no matter the ratio... but they were never able to explain it well enough for me to believe them.

There is a slight difference due to the (slightly) increased mechanical efficiency due to a large ring (fulcrum point on the crank arm is in a better position with a big ring opposed to a smaller ring), but it's very small, much of it is probably psychological, the same can be levelled at different length crank arms too (that's a whole other can'o worms).

In theory, use the largest chainring you can get away thing for the greatest mechanical effieceny, and let's not muddy the waters further with Osy rings!
 

Mascot

Member
HAHAHA fucking Met Office shitheads.

BBC Breakfast News local weather forecast at 8am: sunny, warm and dry all day, light cloud, zero chance of showers.

Reality: it's been bastard hammering down for most of the day, peppered with rumbles of thunder, skies as black as night.

It couldn't BE more wrong.

Bah cubed. The fucking woods will be like swampland this evening.
 

danowat

Banned
HAHAHA fucking Met Office shitheads.

BBC Breakfast News local weather forecast at 8am: sunny, warm and dry all day, light cloud, zero chance of showers.

Reality: it's been bastard hammering down for most of the day, peppered with rumbles of thunder.

It couldn't BE more wrong.

Bah cubed. The fucking woods will be like swampland this evening.

It's hotter than the surface of the sun here, and more humid than a fat blokes armpit.
 

Mascot

Member
I was just commuting from work, through some trails. 18C warm, light wind and a cloudless sky. Dry leaves were rustling in my wake.

Sound lovely. I don't think I'll bother with the bike tonight, it'll be boggy as fuck and I don't fancy the idea of deep-cleaning the beast afterwards. I hit a slippery root last night and got body-slammed so have a few aches today anyway. I'll hit the cross trainer instead in front of a good film. Far more sensible.
 
HAHAHA fucking Met Office shitheads.

BBC Breakfast News local weather forecast at 8am: sunny, warm and dry all day, light cloud, zero chance of showers.

Reality: it's been bastard hammering down for most of the day, peppered with rumbles of thunder, skies as black as night.

It couldn't BE more wrong.

Bah cubed. The fucking woods will be like swampland this evening.
It was like that every day I was over, I just figured you had shit weather people. "Oh it's so nice out today!" Look outside and it's overcast and threatening.
 

Mascot

Member
Not sure where you're from but in the UK "overcast and threatening" counts as nice weather

We have to stop perpetuating this myth to the world. UK weather isn't that bad (we generally don't get extremes of hot and cold, or significant hurricanes) it's just bloody hard to predict. Our weather invariably comes from the Atlantic, tugged along by the jet stream. It gets fucked when it hits the cliffs of Ireland, then gets fucked again when it hits the hills of Wales. By time it reaches the M5 it's anyone's guess what's going to happen.

I'd rather have the variety of UK weather with its proper seasonal changes than desert-like conditions under ubiquitous baking sun, for example.

Edit: just noticed that today is national Cycle To Work day. Anyone partake? Funnily enough I was running late this morning and grabbed the bike (it's only a ten-minute walk), but had a flat at the back.
 

danowat

Banned
We have to stop perpetuating this myth to the world. UK weather isn't that bad (we generally don't get extremes of hot and cold, or significant hurricanes) it's just bloody hard to predict. Our weather invariably comes from the Atlantic, tugged along by the jet stream. It gets fucked when it hits the cliffs of Ireland, then gets fucked again when it hits the hills of Wales. By time it reaches the M5 it's anyone's guess what's going to happen.

I'd rather have the variety of UK weather with its proper seasonal changes than desert-like conditions under ubiquitous baking sun, for example.

Edit: just noticed that today is national Cycle To Work day. Anyone partake? Funnily enough I was running late this morning and grabbed the bike (it's only a ten-minute walk), but had a flat at the back.

It's the extremes that do my head in, high 30's in summer, -10 in winter, droughts, floods, give me a solid mid 20s throughout the year and I'd be happy.

Ironically, Weds in normally the only day I would not cycle to work as it's club TT day!.
 

kottila

Member
We have to stop perpetuating this myth to the world. UK weather isn't that bad (we generally don't get extremes of hot and cold, or significant hurricanes) it's just bloody hard to predict. Our weather invariably comes from the Atlantic, tugged along by the jet stream. It gets fucked when it hits the cliffs of Ireland, then gets fucked again when it hits the hills of Wales. By time it reaches the M5 it's anyone's guess what's going to happen.

i'm not english, so your arguments are wasted on me. (My hometown has twice the average precipitation of Cardiff, the rainiest city in Britain)
 

Mascot

Member
It's the extremes that do my head in, high 30's in summer, -10 in winter, droughts, floods, give me a solid mid 20s throughout the year and I'd be happy.

Ironically, Weds in normally the only day I would not cycle to work as it's club TT day!.

It does crack me up when people see a forecast of 30C and think that that is somehow a good thing.

Them: "Ooh, lovely - it's going to be absolutely roasting next week"

Me: "You are a fucking idiot. Take poison".
 
Not sure where you're from but in the UK "overcast and threatening" counts as nice weather
The Pacific Northwest. I'm familiar withthe weather. ;)
We have to stop perpetuating this myth to the world. UK weather isn't that bad (we generally don't get extremes of hot and cold, or significant hurricanes) it's just bloody hard to predict. Our weather invariably comes from the Atlantic, tugged along by the jet stream. It gets fucked when it hits the cliffs of Ireland, then gets fucked again when it hits the hills of Wales. By time it reaches the M5 it's anyone's guess what's going to happen.

I'd rather have the variety of UK weather with its proper seasonal changes than desert-like conditions under ubiquitous baking sun, for example.

Edit: just noticed that today is national Cycle To Work day. Anyone partake? Funnily enough I was running late this morning and grabbed the bike (it's only a ten-minute walk), but had a flat at the back.
I did but then I usually do so it's not a big deal. Also, it's national bike to work week?
 

Mascot

Member
Right, I need a new chain. Simple, right? Wrong. It's tying me in knots. Can anyone help?

I'm running 1x10, with a Zee 10-speed mech and a Zee 34T chainring.

I *think* I need a 1/2" X 11/128" ten-speed chain, but am not entirely sure. There's all sorts of uni-directional chain shit going on these days I can't keep up.

Also, are KMC any good?
 

Mascot

Member
Ta all for the chain comments.

Got T-boned by a mad old roadie on a blind bend this evening. His fault, very apologetic. Mainly cosmetic damage to me and the bike, but I had a noisy spoke for the next twenty miles. Could have been a lot worse.
 
Ta all for the chain comments.

Got T-boned by a mad old roadie on a blind bend this evening. His fault, very apologetic. Mainly cosmetic damage to me and the bike, but I had a noisy spoke for the next twenty miles. Could have been a lot worse.

Not totally the same, but 20 miles into 40 today I noticed my chain was in need of some oil.Was driving me nuts for the final 20
 

Mascot

Member
Bah! Woke up this morning with very sore back ribs after getting clattered by Jimmy Savile's ghost last night. Thought I'd got away with that but apparently not.
 

Mascot

Member
Man, roadies and Mascot really don't mix! Or then there's some kind of animal magnetism at play.

I just realised it happened right outside a primary school, so it was definitely Jimmy Savile's ghost. CCTV would probably show me just falling off for no reason, but there was a whiff of cigar smoke in the air afterwards and a faint "now then now then" could be heard to the jangle of gold chains.
 

danowat

Banned
Last club TT of the season last night, managed to avg 21.4mph on my steel framed, 78" single speed commuter bike, complete with mudguards, was a lot of fun!

Sorry about the crash, was he looking at his Garmin?
 

Mascot

Member
Sorry about the crash, was he looking at his Garmin?

Nah, he was very apologetic. Said he goes around that corner all the time and always goes slowly, but had just fitted a new headset was going flat out to test it (no, that made no sense to me either). He was wearing thick woolen gloves, which was weird. Definitely Savile's ghost.
 
I reckon there's a roadie plan in play to fuck up the ribs of mountain bikers everywhere. :(

I'm sure I caught a yellow tracksuit in the corner of my eye before my crash.
 
Unrelated... my next bike, should they ever decide to put it on sale.

max_2017_Spectral_CF_9_EX_609165.jpg


(Look Mascot... single ring!)
 
No, nor will I until October most likely. I still need to get it wrapped and I've been too busy actually earning the money needed to pay for all these toys (just cleared a £12k CC bill).

Edit - That and, well, breaking myself.
 
Helicopter tape does, so it's possible. Spreads out the impact force a bit.

But that's not why I'm getting it done anyway, so it's irrelevant.
 
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