Every comment made, every question asked and answered??

Does it seem to you that there comes a time, between USENET, Bicycle Forum and other internet sources, that every question has been asked and answered and every comment made and every argument argued and every discussion topic exhausted?

I go to the USENET and look at the topics and simply sigh - I have seen them all before. I go away without reading anything. Or, if I do, everything eventually degenerates into the same old flame war by the same people.

Even on this discussion group, I see again and again the same topics and answers.

"I need a new bike. Tell me what to buy."

"What bottom bracket *****"

"How do you keep your chain clean?"

and on and on and on.

I guess I must have NG's burn out. Perhaps it is the 5 degree F weather and the ice storms like last night.

Perhaps I need some better weather?

Sigh!!

There are always going to be new people joining the sport, and they wil all have similar questions.

Until they've been here for a while, they won't know where to turn to get the info they need, ie looking up FAQ's, archives, etc. That's where forums like this come in, where people that have been around for awhile can offer their assistance, and the newbie can get an answer to their question in the shortest time.

May be old hat to some, but very important to the novice, and may contribute keeping them in the sport, which is good for all of us.

Forums like this are a great way to contribute, and pay back some of the great times we've had riding.

Hang in there Dnvr, you have and can still make a great contribution.

I just read a thread like this one....... Actually not in awhile. I too get bored with some of the same topics. Usually I will pass them by. But now that I consider myself an experienced cyclist, I sometimes respond to the novices who ask the questions we have heard over and over and try to help.

Here in Maine, we call this ennui "Cabin Fever." It's a virus that makes the rounds after every winter; it attacks every age group, but fortunately it is not a life-threatening condition and will go away with warmer weather. Known antidotes are reading, writing, any kind of physical activity and chatting with friends such as those found here on the forums. After all, misery loves company.

It's why I let my Bicycling subscription lapse. After any given two years' worth of issues, you might as well just read the ones you've already got over again. (Which I've done in some cases! )

What I like about Bike Forums is that there are places to be as off-topic as you wish. In The Lounge or even in General Discussion, I could, I think, start a thread about meringue pie toppings and nobody would object; whether anybody would follow it up is another matter. (Knowing some of the eating habits here, I think it might be a popular thread.)

So, often, I confess I just skip the technical questions, where I'm either incompetent to answer or tired of saying the same thing yet again, and read the nutty threads. That keeps me relatively happy.

Can't do that in a newsgroup! I very seldom visit newsgroups for that reason (boring) and also because of the bad manners exhibited in some (most?) of them.

Wouldn't a more prominant search engine help the situation as long as people used it? New members could use it to search for the topic before posting a FAQ.

I didn't even notice the one on the toolbar until recently.

Perhaps we need a FAQ page.

OK -- new topic --

On Wednesday, three of us Capo owners converged at my company's headquarters in Silicon Valley to oogle over the original components (except rims, spokes, and front hub), paint, decals, and chrome (except the stays, which had been painted after the chrome rusted) on John Nielsen's 1960 "Modell Campagnolo." What's cool about this:
1) John N. is the first and only owner of his Capo.
2) Mike S. inherited his from his late father.
3) The company, founded in Austria in 1930, is still in business, operated by the founder's son.
4) The company name is a very clever Italianate anagram of founder Otto Cap's initial and surname.
5) There are very few of these bikes in California, where they were imported from 1959 into the early 1960s, and even fewer elsewhere in the U.S.
6) I know of only two other Capo owners in San Diego County.
7) The frameset, including fork and stays, is full Reynolds 531, with a butted main triangle.
8) The craftsmanship is intricate and first-class.

Denver Fox, it's time for you to get some fresh inspiration.

Then, come back and share it with us (of course, we will have heard it all before, but who cares? It's all in fun!)

Yes, what I need is a really good ride with something to write about!!

Jon, why is it that the only pie I've ever seen with meringue topping is lemon, and why is meringue spelled that way?

Yep. That's what it sounds like to me.

I think your first question is fairly original.

$0.02:

• FAQs - A good idea, but not really necessary if the group has a good search engine. (This one does.) Besides, FAQs as subject to growing obsolete as a web page (take a look at the wreck.bicycles FAQ for some examples), and like a web-page, require maintenance and upkeep. "We need a volunteer."
• Repeated questions - each forum has a different personality and readership. The answers often vary widely depending on where and the context in which they're asked.

Heated debates re/chain maintenance and lubes, I'll wager, are as old as the safety bike, and are as sacred to us bike geeks as religion and politics. And about as subject to resolution as how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? With no more than a gut feeling and a subjective opinion based on what I've tried, and even some I haven't, hey, man, I'm right in there every time!!

"What bike should I buy?" Why does anybody have to ask this? Why not just go to a shop. Or, like so many other things (as JonR correctly points out), it's covered on an annual basis by Buycycling. I think Trek has a decision tree selection engine on their web-site, as do other biggie bike companies. In my case, it would be because I feel I have a personal perspective that I want personal answers about, from somebody who doesn't have a financial stake in my decision.

I'll bet the main reason most of us are here, anyway, is because we aren't riding, but wish we were.

Which, I think, takes us full circle back to your original gripe about riding weather.

I know what you mean man! But I don't mind answering question, I remember when I was a newbie and everybody helped me out. I also see it as a way to get better at answering the simple questions, and it also helps me get better at giving clear cut instructions or advice. But then, I have perfect riding weather here..That could make all the difference in the world!

Life is a cycle of repetitions.We are both student and teacher at the same time. Boredom sets in after constant repetition without variation. So it is the ice storm!

Meringue is originally a French word, which helps explain the spelling. The Random House Unabridged Dictionary (electronic edition) says this: "[1700–10; < F méringue; perh. to be identified with dial. (Walloon) maringue shepherd's loaf, marinde food for an outdoor repast (< L merenda light afternoon meal, prob. fem. ger. of merere to MERIT, such a meal being part of a laborer's wages), though certain evidence is lacking; assoc. with the town of Meiringen (Bern canton, Switzerland) is solely by folk etym.]"

But it doesn't say why meringue pies always turn out to be lemon.

Up in the 60's today, so I got a 20 miler in.

Feeling a lot better. Still no comments (except this one!!), questions or answers, however!!

Way to go dude!