No way is that Shimano's shittiest. There are plenty of Shimano components that are just numbered and don't get names, it's just the shittiest of the ones that they actually give a shit about. I've got Sora brifters on my Surly and they work great. They honestly work just as well as the Ultegras I have on my Madone, just don't feel quite as ergonomic.Originally Posted by G'day Mate
A new contender has just entered the ring with steel frame and carbon forks, and the guys in the store (who call me one of their "top three bike-destroying customers") reckon I can't break it:
While your mechanic hates dealing with hydraulics now, I think the user is better off with them. And maybe your mechanic will get used to fixing them that he won't mind in the future.
My experience was Avid mechanicals when most of my friends had gone to Hydraulic Hayes, I swore by the modulation that they gave (remarkable, actually) but after busting my second set I've come think that a brake piston that acts suspended on a fluid is way more serviceable than a mechanical assembly, which is usually a combination of springs and ball bearings. A good mech brake I think is easier to tune, though.
acket.
Looks like Lance Armstrong is a step closer to losing his millions, according to this article titled "Armstrong a step closer to losing his millions".
The US government is suing Armstrong on behalf of the US Postal Service (USPS) and is seeking $100 million (AUD$130 million) in damages.
The US Postal Service, who sponsored Armstrong's team from 2000 to 2004, claimed it would not have done so if it had known the team was using banned substances and methods to win seven consecutive Tours de France, and alleged brand and reputational damage.
“Because the government has offered evidence that Armstrong withheld information about the team’s doping and use of (performance-enhancing drugs) and that the anti-doping provisions of the sponsorship agreements were material to USPS’s decision to continue the sponsorship and make payments under the agreements, the Court must deny Armstrong’s motion for summary judgment on this issue,” Cooper wrote in justifying the judgement.
Armstrong's attorneys have countered with the argument that the USPS did not suffer damages from the revelations and in fact received a positive return on its $32.3 million (AUD$42 million) sponsorship.
However, Cooper concluded that there was the possibility of brand damage to USPS and "the determination of damages must therefore be left to a jury" as he set the case for trial.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2010 by Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service teammate Floyd Landis, who stands to collect up to 25 per cent of the settlement as a whistleblower.
A trial date has not yet been set for the case.
Yeah, I think it'd be hard for the USPS to show that they actually suffered damages.
My poor wife still isn't back on the bike. We went for a ride on New Year's Day and then another a couple of days later and she ended up in excruciating pain. It's not the surgical site though, somehow she riled up her sciatic nerve, so the pain is on the outside of her hip instead of the inside. The surgical site is doing fine, but we're now a good 6 weeks into the nerve pain and it isn't stopping. Physical therapist says that it's one of those things, it'll go away, but there's no way to predict how long that'll take. She's really frustrated. I'm hoping she'll recover in the next few weeks as a bunch of big bike events are coming up that I know she wanted to participate in.
So, it turns out the Bombtrack weighs 11.8kg which is a lot for someone whose daily commute ... well you guys have seen my commute, right? Without wanting to be too much of a weenie, the 2kg difference between that and the Felt would be fel... erm, noticeable.
So I think that makes the Felt the right bike for me right now.
I wonder how much my Surly weighs with its normal complement of commuting gear (the two Ortlieb Backrollers, one with a change of clothes and a 15 inch macbook pro in it, the other with a basic repair toolkit/multitool/U-lock/cable). It sure feels like a hell of a lot.
I think you would certainly feel the difference between 12 kg and 10 kg. When I upgraded the fork on my mountain bike, it was over 1 kg lighter! I could certainly feel the difference. Admittedly, I have never weighed my mountain bike. It's pretty beefy, so I estimate just under 30 lbs.
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