It has more class than the cannondale I reckon. It's retro and modern at the same time. Looking at it you can't make your mind up whether its Klein or Kmart. Anyway its a work of art, don't mess with it! And never, ever clean it!

I dunno what's happening on Sunday yet, racing might get in the way. I'll still catch up at some stage tho, even if it's just to pick up the thingy. Man, the lamp is hard to attach to the bracket. Took me 25mins (most of that scratchin my head) to get it done last night. But being able to see the road while doing intervals is a bonus.

Thank you! I did scrap the cages for a pair of silver Elite Ciussi's. A nice touch. A bit more tinkering with the bar/stem combo for max comfort, and I'm set. Oh, and maybe get that fork sorted out. And some skinnier tires. And a new seat...

To adjust and align the rear derailleur, is it just twaeking the two screws that are there to move its alignment left and right? or is there more to it than that?

My turn this morning. I often find truths on my training rides. This morning I found that intervals and the delicate bouquet of 'Blood and Bone' don't mix. Thankfully I hadn't had first breakfast before starting and the mess was just water, but its a vile feeling all the same.

Pretty much. The two screws define the limits of travel for the parallelogram.

However, if you hanger (or lug on older frames) is bent then you should fix (carefully) that first!

You need to shift to the smallest cog, then make sure you've got no cable slack. Once that's done, if you can't go from small to big cog, you use the hi/lo screws to adjust the swing. You've got to start with a tight cable though. PM or email me if you want to bring it over and have it done right.

***** Rowan, what did you go and do that for. Bloody hell. For the record, I haven't been commuting much lately, I've only been getting about 150km a week in. I don't know where you got the "lean" part from, I cary a spare tire as well as anyone I'll accept the under 30 part though, well under 30 thanks.

That armstrong guy has finally committed to riding the TDF, so be prepared for a rash of 'hands up who loves lance' and 'lance is the best rider blah blah blah' threads

I can't go in the 27th - that weekend is a nightmare for me. The womans' birthday party is Satdee night, I'm going for a ride with guys I haven't ridden with in 12 years on Sunday, and have to be back at 4 to do my fortnightly stint at the soup kitchen.

Gawd, I'm tired just thinking about that. What a nightmare.

On a completely non related note, I went and had a look at some of the big ticket bike shops in town yesterday afternoon ( part of my research project, naturally ). A Colnago C50 frame and forks is nearly 6 grand for the frame and forks! Considering I can do custom carbon frame and forks for 4995, I'm pretty happy.
I also noticed Cecil walker had some Ariones, so I went and fondled some. I thought they were 185 bucks which I thought was cool, but then I noticed that was just for the yellow one - the white one I want was 250! Definitely going to go with eBay, methinks.

Seems your adventures into exotic bamboo technology have been preempted according to the Hindustani Times. Not content with building a frame out of wood, some idiot with waaaay too much time on his hands has built a complete bike out of wood... https://www.hindustantimes.com/news/1...0,00040009.htm

I get into Melbourne on Sunday morning at 7am. I'm thinking I might try to find somewhere to stay for one night, so I pretty much have all day. Probably around 2 or 3 in the arvo would be a good time to start though. What does everyone else think?

Calfee has a bamboo/carbon bike - it was on display at the North American Handbuilt Bike Show a month ago. It looked amazing.

Interesting, but I could think of better things to do with my time. 13month to make a bell..

Vicious had a CX bike painted to look like bamboo in Dirt Rag last month. It was a great trick of the eye and done very professionally, it looked great.

Munchie, check out the racing forum, Lance threads abound already.

I never understood the hero worship thing. Munchie may understand where I'm coming frmo here, but I'd say the plastic surgeon that stitched me back up when I was 6 (twice, if you can believe it!) is a far bigger hero than a guy that rides a bike.

[QUOTE]That wasn't his phone number, it was the bill [QUOTE]you're not kidding!

[QUOTE=wattsy_rules][QUOTE]That wasn't his phone number, it was the bill Kinda like a trip to the LBS? You're stuck with a big bill and a sore arse?

I don't think I will. It's not that I don't like the guy, I just don't follow the hype. Besides, I'm from a more ancient time where individuals excelled on true merit in the TDF, rather than on the back of a team. Sure, they still had teams supporting them, but their riding was far gutsier. Doh! I just dragged myself into it....

Most people are sheep. They need to be told who to admire, what to buy, when to get up in the morning, what to believe. Idol worship is all part of the mechanism. I understand perfectly well what it takes to be a top athlete ( I rank it up there with other obsessive-compulsive disorders ) however, I place almost no value on it in terms of it's value to the furthering of the human condition.

Lance's high profile is great for getting more Yanks riding, but the fact that he ONLY concentrates on the TdF hints at a motivation that's not exactly focussed on winning bike races. It's about elevating the Cult of LanceTrekNike.

You certainly are becoming an Aussie Expat. You don't even spell arse as if it were some form of mule any more

You don't understand the cultural differences. Andrew Johns or Shane Warne will never make anything approaching a US athlete's salary (from endorsements) for several reasons. Foxtel has chosen to gouge the consumer in exchange for fewer commercials. We pay $90+/month for commercial free crap. In the US, it's more like $30/month (mostly same crap). Sucks for the advertising industry. Why endorse a celebrity if there's no mass advertisements with his image? Even worse, with less than 1/10th the market size, you can't possibly justify paying someone to pitch your products to so few people. I'm kind of rambling here on my soapbox, but I get very frustrated by the fact that we get the very short end of the stick as far as price and selection. The government here gives away too much money, taxes too much, and doesn't do enough to promote commerce. I'm not saying the US is a better system, just that I don't see any incentive for business here. One day I will move back to the states, and make a very good living shipping stuff to Australia. I'm actually cutting this short before I really go off.

Don't have to remind me how hard it is doing business in Australia. My US customers outnumber my local customers 10:1.
How retail survives in Australia is a great mystery to me. I'm guessing it will die in the next 10 years. I mean, why pay 250 bucks for an Arione when I'm just about to buy one off ebay for 150?
The great irony is, of course, that 'globalisation' or perhaps more accurately the 're-centralisation' of distribution means losses of jobs for people down the distribution chain.
I dunno.....maybe it's just a reshuffling? Retail might continue to exist for small items, consumables and 'high warranty return' products, but for high end or low warranty return items, it might die.

Either way, Lance stull sucks and his sponsors suck even more

I understand perfectly the 'consumer cultural' differences between the US and Aus. However, you'll be proud to know we're doing our darnest to catch up, and soon we'll have levels of personal debts, no health care system, and civil litigation levels just like you guys!

You're wrong about the celebrity endorsement point - most Australian sports people can only do what they do because 1) Of institutions like the AIS, and 2) Corporate sponsorships and product endorsements. In fact, many sportspeople make more money from their sponsors than they do from wages.

I agree taxes here are too high and there is no incentives for small business though. Two things that constantly infuriate me about living here. ( or trying to ).

The way I see it is that small business will survive for as long as the entrepenaurial spirit remains fired within the bellies of crazy ppl. With just a little research it should become apparent to anyone thinking of starting up a small business in Oz that they are only asking for trouble. Apparently they gloss over it in huge numbers

30% of businesses fail within the first year, 60% within 3 years. But they keep coming back for more...

Luckily I've been doing this for 10