Milton Keynes

It's obvious that it's going to be a long winter. When spring comes around and people on here start getting out and riding their bikes things will get better.

smd4

SMH. "And then this kid came up and said my bike was ugly and we weren't even talking about him and then he said my hair looked like my mom cut it using a bowl and then he said my mom wears army boots. So I told him that his bike was ugly too that that his dad bought his suits off the rack. I had to say something, right?"

wolfchild

Not one time did I ever say that disc brakes are a fashion statement. My very first reply in the rim vs disc brakes thread was that I have two bikes with disc brakes and one with rim brakes.... and that the " The main advantage of disc brakes is that they prevent rims from wearing out when riding in wet and dirty conditions"... and what I said is absolutely true....As soon as I said that anther poster came along and blasted me for saying the truth and that's when the entire thread started going of the rails.

Eric F 

This might be where one would get that idea...

The topic of the thread would lead the reader to conclude that disc brakes would be included in "latest trends".

tomato coupe

You might want to get that memory checked:

wolfchild

My comments on cycling being like a fashion industry had nothing to do with brakes...but some people just love to take what I say out of context, twist it and make it look like I am he bad guy...That's just the way it is on internet forums.

Lombard

Not as well as Royal Scam. Aja had too many Top 40 songs that were played to death back in the day. I prefer their lesser known songs.

wolfchild

I own two bikes with disc brakes, my comments about fashion don't even apply to the actual brakes.

tomato coupe

Your statement was in direct response to another poster's question about why someone would replace their brakes.

Lombard

Along with the 18% mortgage rates from the 1970's? No thanks.

Eric F 

It's not out of context, or twisted. The subject of the thread was brakes, and the comment you quoted in your post was about brakes.

wolfchild

My comment had nothing to do with the actual disc brakes...You can believe whatever you want.

Lombard

Yep. Every post brings in ad revenue.

Kontact 

Clearly he was using someone else's label "fashionable brakes" to make a point about fashion, not to agree that disc brakes are nothing more.

tomato coupe

If he just wanted to make a point about fashion, there would have been no reason to quote the other poster asking a question about switching brakes. Poor reasoning, weak excuse.

Kontact 

It's either an excuse or poor reasoning. It can't be both.

But I knew exactly what he meant, so who is reasoning poorly?

tomato coupe

His excuse is weak. Your reasoning is poor. They exist simultaneously.

Camilo

I don't see what you're seeing. Just shake it off and move on.

Camilo

I don't disagree with what I understand your point to be - people shouldn't take criticisms of equipment personally. But the point is, why criticize "retro" equipment at all? It's fine, it works well and nobody should care.

Rolla

Hell if I know. Because it's human nature to be critical? Because basic utility isn't everyone's measure of desirability?

The fact is, nobody should care if other people like or dislike the things they like or dislike, but there are people here whose job in life is to be continually offended by others' preferences.

urbanknight

Probably a little of both. I have definitely had students tell me their father or mother plays it all the time, but never considered auto playlists on streaming services. It's cool that they get exposed to the good stuff one way or another.

PeteHski

Definitely all good. Music streaming has opened up a whole new world for me too over the past few years. It's so much easier to surf different genres and follow their related links and playlists etc. I've discovered some amazing material that I never would have found previously.

PeteHski

You actually said it was their ONLY advantage. The other poster pointed out other advantages.

Oh and that is not when the thread started going off the rails. That began when you stated that cycling has become a fashion industry.

njkayaker

This thread started being “off the rails” with the first post.

It wasn’t even a train.

Kontact 

If cycling isn't driven by fashion, it sure isn't driven by science or sound engineering:

There is no data that stiff frames are actually more efficient - but more flexible ones have some data showing they are.

Ceramic bearings, normally only valued for high rpm/temperature applications are considered valuable to cyclists. Meanwhile clutched drivetrains have noticeable drag.

Big road tires are supposed to have less rolling resistance. But that only happens when they are inflated well above what anyone would ride them at. The lowest rolling resistance tire to date remains a skin wall 23c.

Bicycle companies keep building stuff that will almost automatically corrode. Alloy nipples in carbon rims crumble from galvanic corrosion, only to be replaced by bronze nipples that fall apart from the ammonia in tubeless sealant.

Campagnolo EPS will destroy its battery if you just let the bike sit without a magnet wrapped around the seat tube. Shimano batteries will fail if you recharge them from the wrong USB - and there was nothing in the manual about that. Warranty applies to neither situation.

Some 1x chainrings will allow the chain to the be put on wrong, and if you ride it like that once the teeth stop retaining the chain.

Some disc caliber flat mounts are a single flat section rather than two raised posts - which makes it impossible to face them for the flat underside of the caliper if they need facing.

One of the biggest watt savings - much larger than special bearings - is helmet strap that doesn't dangle under your chin. Have helmet straps changed?

Bikes have never been more prone to creaks originating in the BB, bars, stem, steerer, seat post, dropouts or cranks.

Some press fit BB designs have no reasonable way to remove worn bearings other than relying on the tight fit of those bearings to allow the inner race to yank out the other race. But you replace cartridge bearings when they have play.

In the age of disc brakes, the imperfect run-out problem of trispoke wheels became a non issue. Yet carbon rim makers are still selling expensive wheels with less aerodynamic and more easily damaged steel spokes.

Current Ultegra Di2 has no front derailleur limit screws and relies on an automatic process to make the first adjustment shift from small to large chainring. When that happens the chain is likely to fall off the large ring to the outside and right down onto the raised, matte contours of the crank - destroying the finish before the crank has ever been ridden.

Dura Ace hydraulic levers will leak if they are clamped to the handlebar at a normal torque.

There is no standard for carbon rail shape, so supposed 7x9 saddles and seatposts are often incompatible.

One of the biggest fitting brands is based on the junk science of KOPS equally peak power/efficiency. As if gravity has anything to do with pedaling. No one has ever been able to replicate this data, yet it is sold as the pinnacle fitting product.

And my personal favorite - there is no relationship between sit bone width and the outer width of the saddle.