There's quite a difference between a thread and a forum. I used to post my questions in the Road forum and get overwhelmed with attitudes because I either didn't know as much or have the same priorities as the other posters. What prompted me to pony up some $$ and become a BikeForums member was the forums that better suited my interests.

The 50+ forum alone is worth my membership money on BikeForums. How do you know that there aren't lots of other clydes like me out there that would be members too if they had "their" forum? We DON'T need (or ask for) a "clyde subforum" on every type of riding. Just as the 50+ group has enough in common to form a separate community, so too will the clydes, IMHO.

What does it cost to set up a clyde forum? Now ask what are the potential benefits (both to the users and to BikeForums in possible new memberships)? I see lots of plus with little minus. If it doesn't work after a month, take it down - the experiment failed.

Forums will either self-select or fail. You don't have to define criteria for the clydes - they know who they are (and aren't). I don't understand the negativity toward new ideas here.

When I look at people's suggestions about adding a forum (personally), I look at the popularity of the thread(s) that exist. If the thread is active and has a lot of responses, I could definitely see it. If a thread is pretty lackluster, I choose to take the wait-and-see approach.

We get requests for new forums regularly. If we automatically added new forums as often as we got requests, we'd have two pages on the index page, not just the one.

As Mael said, it is up to Joe, however... so we'll wait to see how he reacts to it.

Koffee

How about a forum for people who carry guns when they ride?

When I look at people's suggestions about adding a forum (personally), I look at the popularity of the thread(s) that exist...

Hi Koffee (and Merry Christmas!)

So far we have 37 votes for "I'd use it" on the poll with this thread. If we had only 3 or 4, it would be obvious (to me, anyway) that the forum was a non-starter. With 37, I think we may have critical mass.

Why don't all 37 post on the existing threads - IMHO, they may not FIND them! If the threads are buried in a forum that I rarely visit (Road Cycling...), then there's no way I'd post since I wouldn't see the thread.

If there were a FORUM, then I'd regularly check it for threads of interest. Using your selection criteria, we'd not only have to have a critical mass of interested posters, but they'd already also have to be regular readers of the forum that the thread was in! I think the way you gauge forum viability is flawed for this reason. Please don't take this criticism personally, it's just a comment on what you said you used as criteria.

In any case, I'll be happy to abide by Joe's decision. Again, Merry Christmas to you & yours (and thanks for the services you perform for BikeForums!).

Guys....let's start this on the right foot.

What is a clyde?

To understand whay a clyde is, we need to understand what a "normal" bike is designed for...a normal roadbike is designed around 185lbs. Given this weight has a margin of error, around 200 is where you start worrying about component stress, thus the start of clyde territory.

It IS a weight issue, as a 5-3 guy of 185lbs, may be a heavy guy proportionally, but he is still within the design limitations of most of the parts on the market. Guys like me (5-8 220lbs) are beyond the limits of many of these parts and have all kinda of issue, from forks getting sloppy under braking loads, to having to run 23c tires at disturbing pressures to not suffer from reduced efficiency from excessive tread deformation.

Athena weight being lower is merely a proportion thing...since few women who ride bikes at any level are 200lbs...that only means the gear will endure...but they still have physical needs too.

All that being said, I do think a Clydes section would be nice, since there are things to consider...like for me...I can be incredibly fast, but at the cost of endurace...I am either slow and enduring, or fast and burnout within a few miles. There is the occaisional exception, but that's how it is. I also have joint pain issues that many lighter riders probably don't have. Not to mention how it's super easy for me to trash gear...so there are special needs here, and at the least, having a single "go-to" point for all of this is a fantastic idea.

To start this is my first post, this is what brought me to the site in the first place, is my Diabetes and keeping it under control. I walk 5 days a week for an hour and do at least 3.5 miles with at least 1/2 mile being on a 6.5% grade. But i'm bored with walking, so i started thinking about a bike for when we go camping. That brought me to this web site looking for info about bikes and styles of bikes and so on. I read the Sept issue of Bicycling and it spoke to my thoughts of my own weight and health so here i am. My Christmas present from my family was a Giant suede and now i wait for warmer weather here in Michigan to get it out on the road till then I walk and walk some more, yes I'm in favor of a Clydesdale forum. Because it might be the encouragement that some one else just might need to get started and we all have to start some where for what ever reason biking becomes an interest to us.

Well, I don't think there will be any more voting on this. Once a topic gets in this area it is rarely seen because of the way navigation works. You need to go to the top twice to get to this list.

Joe, just remember any decsision need not be permanent. You could try out a new forum for a year and see what response it gets. Because the hidden inability of many bike parts to be suitable, or out of warranty, for the large riders, there is a strong weight discrimination that keeps many larger people from discussing their concerns, because they know they will have to deal with mocking responses.

Again, I don't think it is essential, but might be very welcome. More important is the earlier suggestion of being able to set a perference which subforums I see in my forum list view.

Again, I think it would be nice to see a Clydesdale forum. I wasn't even aware there was a Clydesdale thread anywhere here...!

So Joe - What's the call?