LesterOfPuppets

Speaking of Ti, Moots posted a painted Moots yesterday, how often do you see one of those???

Heathpack 

I just bought the light mountain bike a few months ago. So no go right now on another bike. I am trying to maintain the semblance of reasonableness to my spouse, so as to keep myself well-biked. Working for me so far, don't want to push it too far.

I agonize over whether to put a dropper post on the Spark. Too much weight, I love the bike being light. But then again, there are times I really should be dropping my seat out there. I'm torn with indecision.

I already took the race tires off when I went to Utah to ride, put on something more durable, and took a hit on magicness on the Spark. Hate to downgrade its magic further by adding weight to it needlessly. Can't make a decision.

WhyFi

I would admire it, but not be covetous of it. Specialty knives just see too little use in my kitchen.

I do need a bread knife, though.

Dan333SP

CLIPLESS IS A MISNOMER. Convince me I'm wrong.

WhyFi

Fired up the stereo/turntable after the morning's chatter. It could be better, but it's still pretty good. The girl is loving, and dancing to, Rastaman Vibration.

Bah Humbug

Yeah that's where I am with them. I have no desire to dissect fish in my kitchen. I don't even want to break down large steaks, particularly. Fuguhikis are still awesome.

Bread knife... do you not just use your gyuto? They work.

MoAlpha

I had one of those in high school, with chrome fork ends and a Sugino crank.

rjones28 

Toe clip:

No toe clip:

WhyFi

For soft breads, it's awesome, but I actually got a couple micro-chips on the edge when slicing crusty "artisanal" breads. The bottom of the loaf, in particular, can require a little more persuasion than I'm comfortable with, 'specially with such a thin edge.

Edit: oh, and Kiritsuke are at the top of my totally not practical, but still very lustful, knife list.

Dan333SP

"Clipless" implies the lack of any sort of clip. You "clip in" to "clipless" pedals.

LesterOfPuppets

No, it means they have no toe clips.

What if I told you that most threadless stems actually have threads...


often more sets of threads than most quill stems even.

sbxx1985 

I'll say this and be done. Maybe.

You completely misinterpreted my comments to you. We offer here what we hope is honest informed advice, unlike the 41. This is done on a variety of topics, from cameras to computers to illness to animals. You have been around and participated. You have offered your own advice and made your opinion apparent. You have also said you don't ride because of a previous incident and own an old aluminum bike. Based on that, you seem to qualify as someone who would benefit from some honest informed advice.

You are a grown man that can make his own decisions. Why you would ask for advice and then get insulted when it is inconsistent with what you want to hear, is very 41. The notion that I am pushing you, as a grown man that can make his own decisions, is silly.

Given all of this, I suspect you are suffering from Handwringing Butt Hurt Syndrome (HBHS). You see HBHS in the 41, but rarely here in Addiction. In fact, you might be the only one here with HBHS.

sbxx1985 

Good article. I'll highlight a few parts, in case you were looking to buy a ti bike:


So what are the best titanium bicycles?


The reality is, unfortunately, that we hear of as many titanium bikes breaking as carbon. Why? Because titanium is impossible to make cheaply and most bikes are sourced from anonymous factories in the far-east where it is impossible to monitor design and construction methods.


With that in mind, here are some questions you may want to posit before for buying titanium:


Provenance is everything - Ask the builder where the tubing is milled and machined prior to welding?
You will also want to know why they buy from that particular mill. You will want to ask what titanium grade they use and why and where. i.e. is it aerospace grade 3Al-2.5V or something else?
Do they butt they their tubing or is it plain or straight-gauge? If so are the tubes are butted internally or externally and are these processes completed in-house or sub-contracted?
You will want to know the name and experience level of the person who is going to weld your frame.
Are they titanium specialists or is it another string to their bow? If it is the latter then consider a company who make it their life’s work making your bike for life.Is All Titanium Equal?

Unhelpfully no. There are three main categories:



CP or Commercially Pure – not suitable for making bicycle frames – it is neither stiff nor strong enough. To be avoided!
3AL-2.5V Alloy – consisting of 94.5% ti, 3% aluminium and 2.5% vanadium – best suited to building bicycle frames because of optimal, strength, fatigue endurance, corrosion-resistance and workability. But not all 3AL-2.5V is itself equal (as we will find later).
6AL-4V Alloy - An alloy of 6% aluminum, 4% vanadium and 90% ti. An exceptionally hard material that is useful for making drop-outs etc but difficult to make into a complete bicycle frame.Not All 3AL-2.5V is Equal. This is becoming a minefield…


There are three main grades of 3-2.5 available and essentially you want the best one for your bike, and that means - 3-2.5 AMS grade 105 (Aerospace Material Specifications) This provides the designer and builder the greatest freedom of expression with the ultimate raw materials with the most exceptional tolerances. But this material is only available to titanium specialists as it has to be pre-purchased in large quantities.


The lesser grades are Sports and Scrap Grades of 3AL-2.5V. Both are inferior because they have fewer processing steps to cut costs, which affects the performance of the material both in construction and final ride and durability.


Essentially you cannot make a great titanium frame without great ingredients, in the same way that you cannot make a fantastic wine without exceptional grapes and vines.

sbxx1985 

Did you see that Vamoots in Hot r Not. Not painted, but all decked out. Not for me.

Bah Humbug

You did it and were fine. Then you carried on far past anyone else (all of whom acted as I expected when I asked the advice), and carried on after I attempted to let the conversation die. Then when I was frustrated, you flipped to a direct insult against the rules and made me consider, this morning, pressing the Report button. Not even joking.

Now, after the conversations had pleasantly moved past this morning, you come back attempting a "be the bigger man" post but can't resist tossing in another insult (two, really). What was your intent with this post and the insults? Do you think I'm going to say "haha yeah, you're right of course, I'm such a wuss and poor excuse for a man, thank you for everything"?

And I'm not at all interested in the input of someone who's basically a pot-stirrer or the woman who herself has blown up over excessive advice here.

As for riding, I used to not ride. I ride now, of course. You know this, unless you missed the whole thing about Boulder 70.3, and my previous tris this year, and the training rides I posted.

So again, what was your goal with this post, other than prying open the argument that had subsided for several hours?

sbxx1985 

I made the decision to get one on the 5010. But that bike is heavy as hell anyway. I'm still not very good about dropping it on the trails, but it's a necessity in the bike park.

indyfabz

Awwww. Does the cat go up to 11?

indyfabz

When I had my Engin ti built I had it colored with Cerakote. Don't like the look of all bare ti. No pizazz.

Bah Humbug

On the other hand, I love the all bare Ti look, and painting it just leaves me cold.

indyfabz

Uncorrect. Not paint. Cerakote.

Bah Humbug

It still covers the Ti, and still appears to be colored from what I see. I still prefer the bare Ti.

Heck I even love the look of raw aluminum. There's a polished P3K here in town and it's gorgeous.

sbxx1985 

Good god, Humbug. Look around. It's not just HP or the pot stirrer (who is either me or rjones). We could do a poll.

Velo Vol 

We know.

Correct.

No.

Fancy.

There's a hill at my school, but school's pretty much closed whenever there's enough snow to sled, so it's a mute point.

Bah Humbug

Now I'm even more curious what you're trying to accomplish. Are you so insecure you need me to agree with you before you'll drop it?

Ok, I'm going to drop it all out on the ******* table. Yes, I have mental issues. You all know that, I'm sure. I've been on Lexapro and Trazodone for years, since I lived in Boulder. They helped a great deal, but yeah, I'm broken. Why? Because me ******* too. That's right, men are victims of sex assault as well, and I'm still not fixed after almost three decades of trying to deal with it. So yeah, I'm emotionally weaker than a lot of people. Sensitive, as you put it. And it doesn't ******* help when I try to get things righted and someone can't help but keep picking at it. So yeah, you're right. I'm weak. I hope you're ******* happy.

indyfabz

Did you go to a school for the deaf?

We had out school closing number (377) on a sticker stuck to the rotary phone in the kitchen. Because our bus ride was into the 'burbs and some 1.5 hrs. long, our job when it was snowing was to listen to the radio for our number to determine whether school was closed. A local AM station would read through every number. It was most tedious. "455 is closed. 456 is closed. 457 is closed. 458 opening one hour late with no transportation....blah, blah, blah).