Tuesday, January 13, 2015

The future is bright, but it's always brightest before the burnout.

Good news!  The things that are specifically designed to kill people may finally start killing more people than cars!
Well done, America!  Way to re-focus your murderous efforts.  If we stay the course, one day we will finally live in a country where getting shot by your toddler while shopping at Walmart is more likely than getting run down by an SUV in the parking lot.

Nevertheless, here in New York we're not about to let that happen.  See, our draconian gun laws prevent most of us from arming ourselves like God, Jesus, and the Second Amendment (drafted by Jesus) intended.  Therefore, to make up for it, our legislators allow us kill whoever we want whenever we want--just as long as we do it with our cars.

This is a great deal if you're a sociopath, but incredibly not everybody's happy with it:


Data tracked by Streetsblog revealed last week that while there have been 400 pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in three years, only two cases led to a DA filing any homicide charges against drivers—motorists are rarely criminally charged if they fatally strike or injure someone and there's not one or more aggravating factors involved (such as a hit-and-run, intentional hit, or intoxication.) 

Two deadly drivers charged out of 400 over a three-year period?  Sounds about right.  Pretty much the only way to get into trouble for killing someone with your car without sending a certified letter to the police announcing your intentions beforehand is to ram a police car six times and then flee:


The cab driver backed into the squad car and rammed it about six times while the officer was still inside, and took off, police said.

A half block away at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, the cab driver got into an accident with another yellow cab while fleeing, police said.

Amazingly, fleeing the scene after ramming a police car and then smashing into another car in the process still counts as an "accident" to the local news.

If you're not from America, please note that the film "Anchorman" was a documentary.

Speaking of America going to hand in a hellbasket, our shopping malls--once the very pinnacle of our great consumerist society--are now little more than pyramids, lifeless monuments to a moribund way of life:


The upbeat music of “Jingle Bell Rock” bounced off the tiles, and the smell of teriyaki chicken drifted from the food court, but only a handful of stores were open at the sprawling enclosed shopping center. A few visitors walked down the long hallways and peered through locked metal gates into vacant spaces once home to retailers like H&M, Wet Seal and Kay Jewelers.

“It’s depressing,” Jill Kalata, 46, said as she tried on a few of the last sneakers for sale at the Athlete’s Foot, scheduled to close in a few weeks. “This place used to be packed. And Christmas, the lines were out the door. Now I’m surprised anything is still open.”

Somewhere, anti-suburbanist David Byrne is gloating:


(Byrne's concept album, "The Empty Parking Lots of America's Ghost Malls Are Filled With The Cars I Don't Own" will be out later this year.)

Indeed, like determined little sprouts emerging from the cracks in the sidewalk, people are even using these materialist mausoleums for riding bicycles:


In some cases, local residents have come up with their own uses for dead or dying malls.  Marcus Ragsdale and his wife take their son and daughter to an empty parking lot at Owings Mills so they can ride their bikes.  “It’s a dead mall, but it’s free space,” Mr. Ragsdale said.  “We live in a townhouse nearby, so it’s good for the kids to ride around here.”

The positive way to look at all of this is that, after decades of car-specific suburban planning, Americans are rejecting this spiritually disengaged lifestyle, repurposing the detritus, and returning to existence on a more human scale.

On the other hand, the negative view is that these crumbling malls represent the erosion of the middle class, and that suburban banality has merely been supplanted by a more insidious form of urban banality for those who can afford it.  The soul (or lack thereof) of the mall has merely shifted downtown and gotten more expensive.  It's a shell game of vapidity, and the banks and chain stores always win.

It's enough to make you give up in disgust and move off the grid, and I'd do so myself if only the grid weren't so full of movies and TV shows:


I can't quit you, grid.

Moving from grid to gravel, it had to happen--that's right, it's the word's first gravel-specific shifting system:


--Compatible with Shimano’s most current 10 speed Dyna-sis and Shadow Plus MTB derailleurs.
--GX Shifters are compatible with most if not all cable braking systems.
--Provides both long and short pull brake leverage to work with any cable fed system.
--New aesthetics and cable angle dropped 10 degrees for a sleeker cockpit.
--GX are sold as a complete pair. Left mount and shift lever removable for use in a 1X set up.
--Gevenalle Crash Warranty: No Questions asked, Rebuild/Replace as needed for $34 a unit including shipping in USA
--GX shift levers not backwards compatible with CX mounts due to their larger size.

Okay, that's actually pretty cool.  

The long-or-short pull option seems particularly nifty.

Still, if I read the word gravel again, or see another orange-and-camo bike--or, worst of all, encounter both of these things together--I'm going to puke.

By the way, you may remember Gevenalle as Retroshift, who first began garnering attention with their clever cyclocross shifter:



In other words, it's basically a Campagnolo shifter by way of Portland.

Even so, I still find it about a thousand times more interesting than electronic shifting.

Lastly, some roadies have invented a new Fred wheel, which as far as I can tell is no different than any other Fred wheel that has come before it:


"The design and concept has been proved out in a matter of a half an hour."

Yep.  Round things roll.  What a concept.

Spoken like a true pro cyclist.

120 comments:

Serial Retrogrouch said...

BOOOM

Anonymous said...

PODIUM you rat bastards!

wishiwasmerckx said...

Third?

Buffalo Bill said...

Round things roll, till they reach bottom.

JLRB said...

Treetop top trees

wishiwasmerckx said...

Chris Rock said it best:

Every city has two malls: the one white people go to and the one white people used to go to.

wishiwasmerckx said...

Has anyone else noticed that as of late, captcha keeps producing letters that do not exist on my standard Qwerty keyboard?

Anonymous said...

vsk said ...

Toppus Tennis !

vsk

Serial Retrogrouch said...

...wishiwasmerckx... captcha has stopped asking me anything... it promises not to ever again, so long as i place on the podium at least once a week.

...for now it's calling itself reCAPCHA... which i assume refer to the days of glory.

CommieCanuck said...

Sure, large flange hubs have been done for 40 years, but never by lumbersexuals.

Greenbelt said...

Mall and strip surplus surface parking lots actually good for farmers markets, cricket fields, roller derby etc. Block off and fill in for ice skating, or take out light posts and use for light aviation.

crosspalms said...

Speaking of lifeless monuments to a moribund way of life, I see Sasha Frere-Jones is about to disappear up his own ass in a puff of smoke.

Anonymous said...

Missed the Podi, Faceplant in the scranus!!

Olle Nilsson said...

Cool, someone revived the thumb shifter into a brifter. Friction or indexed?

Anonymous said...

vsk said ...

So, the last little bit of exercise, the mall, is doomed. Now, with a few presses of internet "buttons" (on a gorilla glass screen), you can get everything delivered right to your doorway, and closer. No need to fire up the old Buick and go to the mall and jockey for a good parking space and then have to walk all the way to the bla bla bla store and then all the way back to the veeHICKel etc.
Now the professional bike knocker offers (Fedex UPS USPS DHL, etc) can bring your goodies to you. The local convenience store drone can drop goobers right down your throat.
Better drive to the gym to work out!

vsk

Talking Freds said...

This was a parking lot, now it's all covered with daisies...

Or something like that

Unknown said...

16th!

BamaPhred said...

Still rolling in the mud.

ArtW said...

This comment cancelled due to mud and stupidity.

ValcucineTech said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Cherry picking the stats with the under 25 limitation.

Says more about the state of gang/youth violence than it does about motor vehicle deaths.

We're still going to overall have the usual 40K mv deaths taking out the age limitation.

Joe K. said...

I can't wait for the kickstarter campaign to fund a purchase of a dead mall and the construction of a booth so that they can charge admission to ride your bike indoors during the winter. "First floor is Gravel, Cyclocross and touring specific, please have adequate tires, dick brakes and mind the tree roots."

If that fails they can just turn it into a museum to commercialism where we can show dioramas of fat teenage girls crying in the dressing rooms because the largest size of the latest Abercrombie shirt doesn't fit.

Our future is glorious.

As for the future. I have electronic shifting on a bike and I love it. I also have trigger shifters on a city bike and i love them. Also I have downtube shifters on a vintage bike and I love them too. I don't have enough time to hate shifters, I'm too busy hating my lazy legs for being weak little girls.

I am not a robot. Robots shop at malls.

dop said...

US annual motor vehicle deaths have been under 40k since 2007. About 33k in 2012. (Still lots of room for improvement.) It helps that fewer teenagers are driving even fewer miles.


Don't worry. In the near future, gun deaths will outstrip MV deaths for all ages. (Although with heart disease, cancer, diabetes and copd, it won't be #1, except for kids.)

Old Goat said...

Bieks at 11:49: Both

Alberto said...

A high-ranking leader in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland was charged Friday with manslaughter for allegedly driving drunk and sending text messages when she struck and killed cyclist Thomas Palermo last month.

Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook, 58, surrendered to police Friday afternoon and was being held at Central Booking. A District Court commissioner set her bail at $2.5 million.

source - http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/north-baltimore/bs-md-ci-palermo-announcement-20150109-story.html#page=1

dop said...

On second thought...

maybe with all that cheap gas, people will get behind the wheel & start killing on the old scale

grog said...

Love it: The bicycle wheel builder has spoken.

#lightbro said...

What's wrong with orange and camo? I thought it was like totally rad? Am I missing something?

IronMan said...

****SNOB HATES ROBOTS****

As evidenced by his comments section statement -I'M NOT A ROBOT-

Snob just might be a borderline AntiRobotite ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkKkCtftXUs

Olle Nilsson said...

So I guess you have to be in the car to count as a car death? Because walking into the street with your face in your phone has to compensate for less yoot drivers.

Olle Nilsson said...

... into the path of an oncoming driver with their face in their phone ...

3G said...

Yeah really...they didn't touch the front wheel. At least throw them on there so they can be like those Roval star thingys.

What! said...

Snob obviously likes to skew statistics to fit his well known anti internal combustion engine bias.

How many under 25s were killed by a gun while riding or driving an automobile?

Afraid of the TRUTH!

dop said...

one man's camo is another's macro splash

ken e. said...

"i love camo"
-snake plissken

CommieCanuck said...

The stat that more kids will be killed by guns than cars in the future comes from the "Centre for American Progress". How ironic.

But, they used the English spelling of "Center", which can only mean this is a subversive Canadian sleeper cell. You'll all be drinking milk from bags in no time, bwahhahahah...

Wesley Bellairs said...

These wheels seem to not roll in a line. God help the guy next to him in a sprint.

CommieCanuck said...

"Snake Plissken? ...I thought you were dead!"
-everyone else in Escape from New York.

David Byrne said...

Here we stand
Like an Adam and an Eve
Waterfalls
The Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
The birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs
Cars have run on gasoline
Where, where have they gone?
Now, it's nothing but flowers

There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
you got it, you got it

We caught a rattlesnake
Now we got something for dinner
we got it, we got it

There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
you've got it, you've got it

If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawnmower
you've got it, you've got it

Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With a beautiful highway
This used to be real estate
Now it's only fields and trees
Where, where is the town
Now, it's nothing but flowers
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But I guess I was wrong

Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it

I miss the honky tonks,
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
you got it, you got it

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
you got it, you got it

I dream of cherry pies,
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
you got it, you got it

We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
you got it, you got it

This was a discount store,
Now it's turned into a cornfield
you got it, you got it

Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle

James said...

Those shifters are just an expensive solution for a problem that has already been solved. Kelly take-offs do the same thing, have been around for five or more years and you don't have to replace your brake levers. http://kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html ... Or how about some Suntour command shifters circa 1992 that mount on your existing brake levers too.

flanders_fan said...

No link to deadmalls.com? Yeah, that's a real site.

Good to see that thumbshifter modder guy still at it. He's been selling those things for a while now, hopefully he's making ends meet doing it.

dop said...

Maybe I have this bishop lady all wrong...It wasn't the drinking or the texting...she made a noble sacrifice to protect the identity of the little man between her knees who was driving the car while simultaneously pleasuring her in a lap dance to end all lap dances

flanders_fan said...

James, those Suntour shifters never worked real well.

While I sort-of agree, shimano has no solution for a linear pull (v-brake) brifter. His works really well because it's a modded bar-end shifter.

Anonymous said...

They're not wheels. Per the Pro-Fred at the video's end, they cycling toys. Cooooool cycling toys.

As for the Bishop, she's been formally charged. Her bail was upheld and she's being held in custody.

Anonymous said...

“When I’m out training, I am thinking: ‘I wonder what he’s up to today, I wonder how hard he’s training.’ I always assume he is [training], somewhere in snowy, wet Lugano. It pushes me to train harder, definitely.”

Spokey said...

top 50?

that's what i get for walking to the post office instead of firing up the car that i own.

Chris Frantz said...

+1 David Byrne @ 12:45. Snobbie just doesn't know his history and is bound to keep repeating his mistakes.

Grump said...

Snobby. FYI, Jesus didn't draft the second amendment. It was Charlton Heston that worked with Alexander Hamilton on it..(Big mistake on Alex's part)
Jesus was one of those Liberal sissies who wouldn't last 10 minutes in NYC.
Remember, if Jesus had a gun, he's be alive today.
.

James W. Rouse said...

“No link to deadmalls.com? Yeah, that's a real site.”

Not that it is a very interesting site but here it is.

McFly said...

Lumbersexuals lolz.

bad boy of the north said...

fiftieth?

bad boy of the north said...

awwww.....

leroy said...

Dear Mr. BSNYC -

According to my dog, your observation "Round things roll" should be of great comfort to me.

I'm not sure what he means by that.

And what's an endomorph?

Byrne'n 4 Ya said...

I just love David's lyrical cognitive dissonance - the image of empty lots being at the same time filled just blows my mind.

David Byrne, I love you!

Chainwhipped said...

I've only built a thousand or so wheels, so I may be off the back here. But, I'm pretty sure you can't expect the best performance from an all-radial laced rear wheel, no matter how big your flanges are, Alto.

Anonymous said...

No wonder that mall is failing; it has a store called Athlete's Foot. What are the stores next to it? Hep C Hypodermic Supplies? The Cold Sore Kissing Kiosk?

Il Pirata est Mort said...

The bowl's emptiness is its function.

Spokey said...

i like my dishless 48 spoke 4x laced rear wheel. still true after all these years. even after hauling my fat ass all over the place plus sometimes 60 of so lbs ('mericun) of crap occasionally.

Anonymous said...

"On the other hand, the negative view is that these crumbling malls represent the erosion of the middle class, and that suburban banality has merely been supplanted by a more insidious form of urban banality for those who can afford it. The soul (or lack thereof) of the mall has merely shifted downtown and gotten more expensive. It's a shell game of vapidity, and the banks and chain stores always win."

either that or Amazon.

Joe K. said...

Spokey, why stop at 4? 48 spoke means you can 5x.

Anonymous said...

As a product of the suburbs I am sad to see malls go away. I had many good times at the mall, playing video games while high, stealing compact discs, my first stink finger, binge eating auntie anne pretzels while high, etc

1904 Cadardi said...

Alto-velo: re-inventing the past, one hi-lo flange hub at a time.

babble on said...

The banks have a choke hold on the whole planet, and sooner or later, the world's economies will crumble. We can't breathe!
'Nother one spot-on, Snobi-Wan.

P. Bateman said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
P. Bateman said...

Firstly:
New aesthetics and cable angle dropped 10 degrees for a sleeker cockpit.

i'm gonna drop my cable 10 degrees tonight. i'll keep you posted if my gal thinks its a sleeker cockpit layout.

Secondandly: Center for American Progress is a DC think tank. they produce this piece of ...journalistic excellence: www.thinkprogress.org i used to work with them. if i read the site for more than 8 seconds though i just want to blow my brains out.

Thirdly: unfortunately, i think access to design software and machinery for machining has become all too accessible and that means that lonely engineers that normally would have just been at home dinking around with whatever pet project can now get together in adult treehouses and crank out actual products which is why we see so many more inane products that seem to address questions no one ever asked are launched by geekboys on a daily basis.

living in an area in florida that is very densely populated by mechanical/electrical engineers i've learned that i really dont like engineers very much. so smart, yet sooooo stupid at the same time. they drive me crazy.

Fourthorly: i just wanted to make this a very long post so i added number 4

Spokey said...

joe

didn't build it meself. I chose the 48 (40 front) and they were both built 4x. The good aspect was that my brother and I both ordered bikes (same model) at the same time and I get to continually mock him. They built his rear 4x but the front at 3x.

The downside being that while we can share rear spokes, we have different fronts.

Some day maybe I'll try building my own wheel but frankly I'm a wuss. No problem taking anything apart that just goes back together but as soon as any artistic sense or craft is involved (other than perhaps torquing to spec) I quickly see my limitations.

wood_if_I_could said...

P. Bateman,

Florida is Canada's flaccid male member with crotch rot. Why do you think it smells bad everywhere you go?

Get out.

Heh. Heh. Heh. I sure showed that robot defeater.

Anonymous said...

P. Bateman,

Florida is Canada's flaccid male member with crotch rot. Why do you think it smells bad everywhere you go?

Get out.

Heh. Heh. Heh. I sure showed that robot defeater.

JB said...

"only two cases led to a DA filing any homicide charges against drivers"

It seems that manslaughter charges are much more appropriate. How often have they been filed? Re-write and resubmit.

P. Bateman said...

oh, i know what i actually meant to add for fourthorly:

i was out on a ride recently and my bike has downtube friction shifters. i'm really not a retrogrouch, i just happen to own a rather sweet ass old bike. there have been a few moment here and there where i miss the newer Giant with its snappy dura-ace index shifters, but i never did like all the clicking and never loved all the "play" that integrated shifters have.

my friction campy's shift quite accurately and its darn near noise free.

am i the only one that hates all noise of index shifting?

Ron Burgundy said...

I resemble that statement

Bobby Sweeting said...

While we appreciate you including us in your post, I highly recommend that you research the finer points of our wheel system design, and engineering in general, before making such broad statements.

If you are interested in how our design is indeed different than some of the wheels you are referring to, you may look up the patent for yourself. The serial number is 14/542,643.

We are in a unique position at Alto Velo, as pro cyclists and engineers, to design and manufacture new products that solve real issues within the industry. I am sorry that you do not believe in the product, but I hope that you will look into it further to see the enormous benefits of a hub that has been optimized to the perfect geometry.

If anyone has specific questions that were not addressed on bikerumor.com, please do not hesitate to ask!

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

It's not a patent. It's an application for patent. There is a distinct difference. And the application is not yet published so this readership must wait to see the alleged benefit.

P. Bateman said...

geez bob, take a chill pill.

don't worry, this is a serious place for serious people so we're certainly going to have serious debates on the technical merits and performance gains of your patent pending advances in technology.

remember chill pills? i remember parents prescribing those like crazy in the hey day of malls. at least mine did.

Old-timer said...

“Mauls”. I never saw a mall that provided secure bicycle parking facilities. Yeah, I know, malls are for shoppers. (They need the SUV to take home that 60” televison!) But. com’on. Mall restaurants; cineplexes; myriad nicknack shops? Would be nice to ride over to a mall and be able to SAFELY corral the bike for a couple hours. Is public secure bike accommodation SO impossible to achieve? I guess it must be. But, OK then, malls are going…bikes are stayin’…

Anonymous said...

P. Bateman for multiple CODs today.

CommieCanuck said...

Yo Bob, just because something is different and has a patent, does not mean it is better, and not proof is is not worse.
Anyway, re-inventing the wheel is the whole point of Kickstarter. I'm sure they spin up nicely and are stiffer.

BTW..a stiffer wheel is not a better wheel, your ass will tell you that much later than that half hour.

CommieCanuck said...

Good luck with that patent.

Good luck, part 2

P. Bateman said...

@DB - COD?

yeah, bored at work and on an undisclosed medication that is making me feel more chipper than i should. thank you chemistry.

CommieCanuck said...

Good luck, part 3.

High flange hubs symmetric or asymmetric have been done before. Campagnolo Record hubs like this had frequent failures..which means Alto Velo could be as good as Zipp.

Jobst Brandt said...

"Torque transmission is more than adequate in hubs used today. Therefore, the following discussion is of more theoretical than practical interest.

Some torque from the right side of the hub is transmitted through the hub shaft to the opposite flange (see Equation 5 in Part III). The torsional stiffness of this shaft determines how much torque will be transmitted. The shafts of most aluminum alloy rear hubs are relatively weak and have a torsional stiffness of
about 30 Nm per degree of twist. This is considerably less than the torque stiffness of the crossed spokes, but it is enough to transmit thirteen percent of
the torque in a tangentially spoked small-flange hub. In a large-flange hub only seven percent of the torque is transmitted through the shaft because, in comparison with the small-flange hub, the effective spoke stiffness is much
greater. In a high-low-flange hub, with a right flange larger than the left flange,
nearly all torque is transmitted by the spokes on the right side of the wheel."

Ya put the big flange on the wrong side..Rolf put it on the correct side.

Olle Nilsson said...

Probably my favourite thing about bikes is they have wheels. However, I wasn't even interested in looking at these hubs until the whining started. My initial concerns about the horizontal stresses on such a large flange have been assuaged by the 1/2 hour stress test. I'm in!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up said...

Speaking of guns, the police are investigating another driver with a gunshot wound here in Florida's turban. The kicker: he shot himself in the leg, while driving, reaching for his cell phone. Passenger grabbed the wheel before driver passed out. So go ahead and bang on the car to get their attention and you will get shot, that is if they are not too busy texting and run over you. Pre-ride checklist: pump, patches, tube, bear spray, Glock. Sounds about right. Just kidding about the Glock. But sometimes I wonder.

Joe K. said...

@Bobby Sweeting:

It must be great to have the same initials as what you peddle.

I apologize if this isn't quite the proper conjugation and spelling, I'm still learning Bro, "Chillax Buddy."

Anonymous said...

vsk said ...

I have a Campy Hi/Lo hub on a Saronni red Colnago Super I have. I am fat and I am weak, therefore I have no idear if it's different than the low flange or high flange grande flasques. All I know is it's part of my 401K.

Talking bike stuff in dis here blog is like riding a mountaine byke on gravelle. Verboten!

In other news, I am going to start carrying a car on me in the subway because they're mo dangerous.

vsk

Bobby Sweeting said...

@CommieCanuck: Thank you for the links, I enjoy seeing all of the different designs and of course have seen these before. However, our wheel system is not as simple as an oversized flange. I wish it was that sample! This design came about from an optimization problem relating all of the wheel system variables (flange diameter, flange width, lacing pattern, spoke gauge, spoke material, shell diameter, etc) to lateral stiffness at the rim between 60 and 90 degrees. It was then our job as engineers to tweak the form to better suit the load case and test. The brand story goes much deeper than flange diameter.

@Jobst Brandt: I respectfully disagree with your argument and Rolf's decision to enlarge the non-drive flange. The drive side flange is enlarged in order to drive the effective bracing angle further out, maximizing the required tension on the non-drive spokes to dish the wheel while allowing us to implement the widest flange stance possible. By have an oversized non-drive flange, Rolf widened the bracing angle to the incorrect side, further decreasing the tension on those spokes and forcing a narrower flange spacing in order to accommodate and dish the wheel. The Alto Velo system uses a radial/2x system in order to further balance the spoke tension while also transferring much of the torque load to the non-drive side.

@bieks: Your sarcasm is obviously not lost on me, but if you truly do not understand the testing that goes into product design please let me know...

P. Bateman said...

this discussion of lateral torque loads and drive side vectoring may help clear some things up for any laymen and laywomen (i do)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgqI-Qa_sh8


Grump said...

Those wheels look cool, but they also look expensive and difficult for me to rebuild after crunching one.
.

wishiwasmerckx said...

When I attain sexual congress with my significant other, I, too, strive to implement the widest flange stance possible, and avoid at all costs widening the bracing angle to the incorrect side.

So I have that going for me.

Spokey said...

why would I think a pro cyclist has anything useful to say about what my wheels should be?

Full disclosure - I am not a pro cyclist.

being an engineer also means nothing. i have a buddy who is an engineer. several degrees in fact. started out making toilet bowls (and nude statues in his spare time) and went on to making some sort of rings used in atomic accelerators. I wouldn't trust him to 'engineer' a bike wheel. Nor my brother who also is an engineer. Particularly after the day he showed me their monitoring systems showing 3 mile island still putting out juice.

Spokey said...

fuller disclosure

i was on pace to become an engineer myself. but when faced with the choice of friday night labs until 7pm up at the heights vs all or most of the day off and quaffing wilson's (that's all) and 7-up, well it was time to go for liberal arts and something you didn't have to study for like say computering.

BamaPhred said...

Ima Engineer. Wheel design easy. Draw round circle, tell techs to build laterally stiff. Charge consulting fee. Go home. Repeat.

Anonymous said...

Oh, 93.

Anonymous said...

thanks for another above-average post, wcrm.

do you know what the deal is with all the orange everywhere? suddenly it became hard to escape, and i have no idea where it came from.

wishiwasmerckx said...

Too lazy to make a run at 100...

Olle Nilsson said...

96. taking a pull.

And no, I have no idea what kind of R&D goes into a Kickstarter funded product. But don't worry about it, I'm not in the market for a hub.

dop said...

97

99 said...

98

99 said...

99

dop said...

centi

dop said...

I love the new fast-action captcha

Evil Genius said...

Curses! And I thought I was the only one to have re-invented the wheel.

Rhett Butler said...

When it comes to Scranus, I'm damned serious.



(no one ever called me Shirley)

Holy Roller said...

In the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin, The Prophet Ezekiel saw 'a wheel within a wheel a turnin' way in the middle of the air'. And this wheel had no oversized non-drive flange of Satan. No. In fact the "Rims were high and awesome... and were full of eyes all around". So if you want to enter into salvation, ride deep dish with eyelets... Amen!

uber fuhrer Bloomburg said...

Looking at today's picture of antirealityista David Byrne I'd hazard a guess that he is always carrying 3 to 4 weapons on his person, 2 or 3 in his guitar case and his guitar has a gun barrel mounted internally in his guitar's neck with a tremolo trigger that fires a 12 gauge sabot deer slug. A clear and present danger to the planet.

Anonymous said...

I'm pushing it, I'm pushing it real good

IGOTYOURWHEELRIGHTHERE said...

Bobby Sweeting - SUCKMYBALLS

Unknown said...

I died riding my bike today so I can't complain

benDE said...

Something lost between the comment from someone unable to read a graph and the all too polite and serious nature of Bobby Boy (think of a Lutheran going to speak the good word to ISIS) We missed something major y'all!

Someone mentioned packing a Glock when riding; We all know every one of us considers this as we stuff our pockets with extra tubes and our mobiles but we decide it is just too heavy!

Bobby Boy, I guarantee you - you build a weight weenie endorsed 9mm that fits in a jersey and you will be legend. I would stay away from a KOM colorway though. As young black children in graves all across the USA would attest to if they could, the initial presentation of a gun is just as important as how or if it shoots.

Better patent that shit though.

Fred said...

@ bobby s and jobst b : you probably don't want to stress the hub shell, so having a larger flange on the drive Side is a good thing, right?

dop said...

I think Bobby S should make nice & give BSNYS a hub inscribed, "Thanks for all the hipster pussy". If he gave himself a cute nickname such as , "The Flangerer", he'd be golden.

On second thought, it's too uncomfortable to sit onb.

McFly said...

Yo Bobby what breed of VMC are youz guyz employing for machining of said revolutionary wheelset hubs?

Revolutionary.....get it?

Anonymous said...

If the race Freds are so obsessed with the quality of the wheels they are rolling on, why are they so strongly promoting Kenda tires?

Thanks Rockcrusher, you are smashing it lately.

Anonymous said...

Bob
Boob
Boobies

Je Suis Truth said...

When guns are too light only weight weenies and sparrows will have guns

Unknown said...

Good Day !!

I am Hwa Jurong, a Reputable, Legitimate & an accredited money
Lender. I want to use this medium to inform you that i render reliable beneficiary
assistance as I'll be glad to offer you a loan at 2% interest rate to
reliable individuals.

Services Rendered include:

*Home Improvement
*Inventor Loans
*Car Loans
*Debt Consolidation Loan
*Line of Credit
*Second Loan
*Business Loans
*Personal Loans
*International Loans.

Please write back if interested.
Upon Response, you'll be mailed a Loan application form to fill. (No social
security and no credit check, 100% Guaranteed!) I Look forward permitting me to
be of service to you. You can contact me via e-mail: hwa_jurong@yahoo.com.sg or hwajurong12@gmail.com
Yours Sincerely,

Hwa Jurong(MD).

Unknown said...

Good day Friends. I am Mrs Anita a single mom, from canada, I love to share this great testimony that took place in my life for you to know and be partaker of it that is why I always place it on answer, I want to thank (Mr robert) for his kindness upon my family. Just a few months Back, I was in search of a loan of $65,000.00 as I was running out of money for my business and i could not pay my children's fees anymore. I was recently scammed of $8,500 by an online lender and I decided not to get involve in such risk again I never knew that a real lender like (Mr.robert) still exist on internet and on earth here. until a Friend of mine introduced me to {Mr Robert} At first I told her I was not interested in any loan deal anymore then she assured me that (Mr.robert) is a genuine lender, though i never believed her, I made a trial and I am glad i did, I was given a loan amount of $65,000.00, by this so i am advising you today If you are interested in a loan, or any financial assistance and you can be reliable, trusted and capable of paying back at the due time of the funds I will advice you to contact:(robertfinancial_loancompany@yahoo.com) and you be free from scams in the internet. All thanks to Mr.robert for restoring happiness unto my business.

Carty Rose said...

Hello Every One, I am mrs Rose Carty From Alaska U.S.A, I quickly want to use this medium to shear a testimony on how God directed me to a Legit and real loan lender who have transformed my life from grass to grace, from being poor to a rich woman who can now boast of a healthy and wealthy life without stress or financial difficulties. After so many months of trying to get a loan on the internet and was scammed the sum of $5,600 i became so
desperate in getting a loan from a legit loan lender online who will not add to my pains, then i decided to contact a friend of mine who recently got a loan online, we discussed about the issue and to our conclusion she told me about a man called Mr Fred Johnson who is the C.E.O of Fred Loans Company So i applied for a loan sum of (360,000.00USD) with low interest rate of 2%, so the loan was approved easily without stress and all the
preparations where made concerning the loan transfer and in less than two(2) days the loan was deposited into my bank so i want to advice any one i need of a loan to quickly contact him via: ( fredloanscompany@yahoo.com) he does not know am doing this i pray that God will bless him for the good thing he has done in my life.

Unknown said...

Buy Passports, (Passportquality@gmail.com) Drivers License," "

"We offer only original high-quality fake passports, driver's licenses, identification cards, stamps and other products for the following countries : Australia, Belgium, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, UK, USA and many other countries. We are the best producers of quality documents, Contact: passportquality@gmail.com

Anita Frank said...

HOW I GOT MY LOAN FROM THIS GREAT COMPANY

Hello my dear people , I am Anita Frank, currently living in New jersey city, USA. I am a widow at the moment with three kids and i was stuck in a financial situation in April 2015 and i needed to refinance and pay my bills. I tried seeking loans from various loan firms both private and corporate but never with success, and most banks declined my credit ,do not full prey to those hoodlums at there that call them self money lender they are all scam , all they want is your money and you well not hear from them again they have done it to me twice before I met Mr. Wilson Edwards the most interesting part of it is that my loan was transfer to me within 74hours so I will advice you to contact Mr. Edwards if you are interested in getting loan and you are sure you can pay him back on time you can contact him via email……… (wilsonedwardsloancompany@gmail.com) No credit check, no co signer with just 2% interest rate and better repayment plans and schedule if you must contact any firm with reference to securing a loan without collateral then contact Mr. Wilson Edwards today for your loan
They offer all kind of categories of loan they
Short term loan (5_10years)
Long term loan (20_40)
Media term loan(10_20)
They offer loan like
Home loan............., Business loan........ Debt loan .......
Student loan..........,Business start up loan
Business loan....... , Company loan.............. etc
Email..........(wilsonedwardsloancompany@gmail.com )
When it comes to financial crisis and loan then Wilson Edwards loan financial is the place to go please just tell him I Mrs. Anita Frank direct you Good Luck.......................