Probably 15 minutes, tops. But then again....I've been a "forum junkie" for a number of years now....so it was a "scary experience" or anything.

I've been using forums regularly for probably 6 or 7 years and vBulletin forums for about 4. I even wrote a "newbie guide and faq" for using vBulletin for my computer geek forum that I frequent.

-about as long as it took for someone to disparage Eddy Merckx. I just have to take the bait;-)

Lurked for a couple of weeks, read all the Kryptonite threads (and could say smugly "oh, I know about that" when friends pointed out the newspaper articles), and finally signed up under a boring and must-be-forgotten username. It wasn't til I changed names to this one that I started to feel I belonged.

But my sign up date still says I signed up AFTER Kryptonite. You'll have to take my word for it that it really was before.

Maybe 6 weeks while I was buying my first bike in many years, and was lurking here at other internet sites to get some buying ideas. I didn't really feel comfortable posting questions which would show my newbie ignorance but I learned a lot just lurking. Then after buying I decided to jump in and join, fairly unusual for me as I usually don't like getting involved in internet groups.

HA!! :D I lurked for ages; maybe a few of months.

The forum kept coming up on Google hits for things like "time-trial training", or "steel is ace", and stuff like that. I would read bits of pieces of pages, not even realizing where I was in a thread, not knowing there were different sub-forums, and not even knowing there was a front page!! :p I was lost.

Then I was reluctant to sign up because I knew absolutely nothing about internet forums, and thought there must be some way that I would be charged. Eventually, I very slowly and cautiously registered :p

I have a theory that most people sign up in a hurry to chime in on a thread or to ask a quick question, which is why most of us have unimaginative user names -- well, that's my excuse. When I registered I thought I was the only Aussie here (ooops :p), hence my crappy user name

It may have been an hour after I first found the site in a search. It took so long because there was a lot to read as a resultof the search. This forum is a great resource. :)

Like some others, I was looking up information on google about my bike and kept getting referred to threads here. I did not know what a thread was, or a forum for that matter, but after clicking into threads several times I figured out there were alot more comments. I then looked at the address I was on and just chopped it down to BF.net presto!! I looked for about 2 evenings and found so much good information I told my wife, "I'm not sure what this is but I have to join" Its been great, but I do spend too much time here. Many times don't post, but read alot!

I joined right away. Like many other forums I joined, I sign up first then think later. It took me a while before I became a frequent participant(like for a year). It was because of members like sydney, 55/Rad and many others(not to mention Sheldon) who have a lot of knowledge in different way and can give objective opinion without agenda that made me come back more often.

This is a nice place to be. I had another cycling related forum but I rarely go there anymore. It is important to me who are in just as much as how many.

I dont think i lurked. I had a question and needed it answered most likely