HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jmoulder@mis.mcw.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: VETTA 200 Wireless
Date: 14 Aug 92 09:42:59 CDT
Organization: Medical College of Wisconsin

>>I have found a Vetta 200 wireless computer reasonable, and am wondering
>>how well they work.  I'd like to mount the computer on the tip end of
>>my aero bars, like my Vetta C10 is.  Will the transmitter on the front
>>wheel send to the computer ok like this?  

Works fine in this position for me.

>>Does rain affect communications?

Not in my experience.

>>Does this computer interfere with the heart-rate monitors, like the Polar
>>units?

You should assume that all "wireless" products will interfer with all other
"wireless" products until proven otherwise.  At least some "wireless" products
transmit with bursts of RF *noise*.

>>Any positive/negative experiences with this unit?

My experience has been uniformly good, but when I returned to the shop to
get another one, they had stopped carrying them because of customer
complaints.  
> 
> In my experience, the Vetta 200 wireless is very unreliable.  Mine never
> works below 40 Fahrenheit, and sometimes cuts out at warmer temperatures.

I've not seen this problem

> I've replaced the batteries (receiver and transmitter) and tinkered with
> the alignment, all to no avail.
> I'd buy a new one (not wireless), but I'm such a cheapskate that I'd prefer
> to save a buck and live with the inconvenience. If you're set on buying a
> wireless, the Vetta 300 claims "improved reliability" as one of its
> features; but its more expensive.

Clearly there are problems with this and other wireless units, but they
seem highly variable.  Is there a quality control problem or is there
something that effects performace or interfers with transmission that we
have overlooked.

John Moulder (jmoulder@mis.mcw.edu)
Radiation Biology
Medical College of Wisconsin

                                      
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: gell@henry.ece.cmu.edu (David E. Gell)
Subject: creaky stem
Organization: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 15:49:34 GMT

My stumpjumper has just developed a creaky stem expander bolt.  Anything but 
the most gentle grip on the bars will cause an annoying creaky noise on
downstrokes.  Both tightening the bolt down and loosening it up did not seem 
to help alleviate the problem.  Any suggestions to get rid of the noise?  
Thank you.


Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: thomas@bitrot.in-berlin.de (Thomas Driemeyer)
Subject: Re: Bicycle Paths
Summary: German commuting stats
Organization: Thomas Driemeyer, Berlin
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 18:22:43 GMT

In article <16842B54F.MEDELMA@cms.cc.wayne.edu> MEDELMA@cms.cc.wayne.edu (Michael Edelman) writes:
>A quick survey of my coworkers indicates one-way commmute distances of from
>10 to 60 miles (!) In some European countries a 60-mile commute would be
>considered emigration ;-)            --mike

Some German statistics from 1990 (the newest I have):

Commuters use...
	motorcycle                 1.3 %
	railway                    1.7 %
	subway, light rail         5.9 %
	bicycle                    6.3 %
	bus                        6.5 %
	walking                    8.3 %
	car                       55.1 %

Commuting time...
	< 10 min                  21.6 %
	10..<30 min               46.1 %
	30..<60 min               14.9 %
	>= 60 min                  3.4 %

Commuting distance...
	< 10 km      < 6 mi.      21.6 %
	10..<25 km   6..<16 mi.   26.7 %
	25..<50 km   16..<31 mi.   7.8 %
	>= 50 km     >= 31 mi.     2.8 %

	all others work in the same building they live in.

Source: BMV (that's the German DMV) "Verkehr in Zahlen", pp. 94-97.
There are about 34.5e6 cars in Germany, for a population of a bit over 79e6.
Population density is 247/km^2 (96/mi^2).

Does someone have the numbers for the USA?

Thomas
-- 

--
Thomas Driemeyer      thomas@bitrot.in-berlin.de      voice/fax: +49 30 8924936
From: lous@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Lou Salz)
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 00:31:34 GMT
Subject: Re: PowerBars for $.99 each
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles

In rec.bicycles, ehouse@Apple.COM (Eric House) writes:

    (BTW, would anyone care to speculate on why a grocery store has such a low
    price on these things?  

Grocery stores operate on very small profit margins.  They make it up by
doing huge volumes.  If I can remember from my days in the Grocery
business, the margin was something like 1 percent.   Bike shops are
most likely more like 30 or 40 percent on items like power bars.

It may also be that PowerFoods is giving a volume discount to the
distributer supplying the stores.  I've heard of similar cases like this
where small specialty shops could go to the local Wal-mart and buy some
items cheaper than they could get them wholesale.  Obviously they can't
have this happen on too many items before they are out of business.
    
    If this is true then PowerFoods' decision to break out into
    mainstream retail should eventually make the price everywhere more in line
    with what I'd call reasonable.  

I agree as long as they are big enough to make it in the mainstream.
Large Grocery chains closely monitor the sales performance of all the
items in the store and eliminate those that are slow sellers.  That
narrow profit margin makes it critical to use every inch of shelf space
efficiently.  If they can make more selling bubble gum, the power bars
will be gone.  PowerFoods is very likely still being careful not to
alienate the bike shops.

    Either that or their high margins will
    attract the attention of a General Foods, but that's another story....)

Energy foods look to me like a very young marketplace.  Every few months
I seem to see a new type of energy bar in a bike shop.
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: kenl@origami.cc.bellcore.com (Ken Lehner)
Subject: Re: Heart Rate Survey: Results
Organization: Bellcore
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 18:31:02 GMT

Steve Prefontaine, a world-class distance runner from the U.S. in the '70s,
had a resting rate of 31.  (He died in 1975 (?), so his resting rate is much
lower these days).

Bill Koch, former World Cup champion in cross-country skiing, used to be
wired during 2 hour roller ski (x-country skis modified with wheels for
use on the road) workouts.  He could hold his heart rate between 210 and 220
for the whole workout.

A nurse once told me that if I showed up at an emergency room with my normal
resting heart rate of 40, there is a chance that the personnel might think
that I was experiencing brachycardia (sp?), or abnormal low heart rate.  Don't
know what they'd do about it though...
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich)
Subject: Re: Dual pivot calipers (?)
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 05:33:53 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

I always recommend to people who have ridden bikes before to
be EXTREMELY careful when using the dual pivot brakes for the
first time. Many of them come _very_ close to going  over the 
bars.

And I've never felt a cantilever half as powerful. But we may be
talking apples and oranges here because I prefer the power-brake
feel of the dual pivots and I don't like pulling a death grip on
cantilevers before they start feeling like they're working.

I have cantilevers on three of my bikes so this isn't heresay.
From: alavalle@seqp4.sequoia.com (Art LaValle)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Chain Suck on Mt Bike
Summary: Mutually Exclusive
Date: 21 Aug 92 12:13:10 GMT
Organization: Sequoia Systems Inc., Marlboro, Mass.

In article <9208171543.AA29965@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, SSDC2@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (J Green) writes:
> >From: alavalle@seqp4.sequoia.com (Art LaValle)
> >There are a couple of widgets on the market which mount under the chainstays
> >and act as a barrier (cover the space between the stays and the chainrings)
> >so that the chain can't jam. Trek makes a steel plate that sells for about
> 
> this thing came on my Trek 930. the drawback is that
> you have to choose between it and a kickstand, as
> the kickstand is installed in the same space.
> 
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Janice Green, Research Programmer      Social Science Data Center   __o
> Janice_Green@Brown.edu                 Brown University           _`\<,_
> SSDC2@BROWNVM          -+||-----||+-   Providence, RI (USA)      (*)/ (*)

Would you really mount a kickstand on a bike that was going to see some serious
off road use ? It seems to me that use of an anti chain suck device is mutually
exclusive with use of a kickstand.. But what do I know, some folks really maximize
their expenditures and wring every last bit of potential out of their purchases. I wish
I were so frugal ! :-)

Seriously though, I think the (at least this has been my personal experience) occurence
of chain suck is most prevalent when riding off road in less than ideal circumstances.
It usually happens when I'm *forced* to make a very hasty downshift to the smallest
chainring, or after I've been riding in some very mucky (not necessarily muddy) conditions
and have accumulated a fair amount of dirt or pasty thick grit on my chain. I think TREK
has wisely chosen the steel plate under the chainstay approach to minimizing chain suck
as opposed to the elevated chainstay frame design. Try to mount a kickstand on an elevated
chainstay bike..at least TREK gives you a choice.

BTW - For those of you that think Chain Suck is something that happens only to klutzes
like me, I'd suggest you take a close look at one of the recent Mountain Bike magazines.
You may have noticed a contest that somebody (??) is running and the first place prize
is the "actual" bike that Ned Overend used to win his title last year. The advert includes
a picture of the bike and if you look closely at the chainstays near and under the
chainrings, you may notice some *bare metal*. Hmmm..do you think deadly Ned has experienced
chain suck too ? :-0
From: debbie@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Debbie Lienhart)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Looking for advice on purchase of TOURING bikes
Date: 18 Aug 92 21:27:12 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA

The Trek and the Cannondale have different top tube lengths for the
same size frame.  Marc's Trek is a couple inches longer than my
Cannondale T600 for the same size frame (19").  You will probably find 
that one fits you better than the other, and having a bike that fits 
is at least as important as the componentry.  You may also find that 
the brand that one that fits you and the one that fits your wife are 
different.

Debbie
From: ftgcdj@vax.oxford.ac.uk
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Descending hills
Date: 14 Aug 92 09:21:08 GMT
Organization: Oxford University VAX 6620

I heard a story about a guy in a road race being handed a water bottle full of
lead (Pb) at the start of a long descent. Around 8kg (17.6 lbs) extra!

One way to get your speed up, I suppose!

-------
Charles

ftgcdj@uk.ac.oxford.vax
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: edr@gtech.com (Eric D. Remington)
Subject: Re: Chainwheels probs I had...
Organization: GTECH Corporation, West Greenwich, RI
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 1992 16:21:19 GMT

In article <6516@izar.dcs.exeter.ac.uk> dbe2@dcs.exeter.ac.uk (David Bennett) writes:
>A few days ago I posted that I was having problems w/ my front
>chainrings, the chain getting stuck between them.  Anyway I was look
>at the bike a few days ago in view of Eric (Preatzle) 's article about
>the spider spacing, and I suddenly realized that the teeth on the ring
>weren't in the middle, but indeed to one side of the centre.
>
>  By turning the ring (that is the inner ring - you can't rotate teh
>outer ring because of the doobry-whatsit that stop the chain going
>between outer ring and crank ) the problem was solved.  It did mean
>that the ring appears to be the WRONG way round, because now the
>Campag markings are on the inside next the the frame as opposed to
>being face out.
>
>Hope this helps anyone else...

	I replaced 2 of my three front chainrings with some of different
	sizes... What a pain, they put under the chain rings to center 
	them correctly, with the new rings that I put on I had to play
	around with the spaceing between the chain rings !
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: jmilhoan@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jason T Milhoan)
Subject: Help in choosing a new MTB
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 04:47:58 GMT

My bike got stolen just a few days ago and I am now looking for a new one.  I 
haven't been keeping up with what's available, so I need some advice.

Ultimately, I would like to get front suspension (only front, no rear), but I 
don't have the money right now.  I am willing to spend around $700 for a stock 
bike, and prefer top mounted shifters, DX or better.  I had rapid mis-fire on
my old bike and would rather not have it again.

The Rocky Mountain Hammer has caught my eye, but I would appreciate any and all
suggestions.

Thanks,
JT
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: hoppe@cs.cornell.edu (Bruce E. Hoppe)
Subject: Re: saddle problem
Keywords: pelvic bone saddle
Organization: Cornell Univ. CS Dept, Ithaca NY 14853
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 14:28:41 GMT

henry krautter writes:

>I've been riding about three months now and it appears that I have a small
>high spot on my pelvic bone. I went from a racing to a touring seat with
>no help. There is a sore spot or bruise on the skin above the bone. I can
>adjust my position on the seat as I'm riding which helps a little, but I
>could end up just making the sore area larger. It seems the more I ride the
>worse it gets. I'm hoping the skin will eventually toughen up instead of
>getting worse. The only doctor it would make sense to see would be my 
>orthopedic surgeon, but I think it would envolve an operation and he may
>not be willing to do it unless it's a necessity. Has anybody had a similar
>problem or any suggestions? 

Saddle discomfort is a common problem.   Simply changing from a racing
to a touring saddle may not be enough.  A good bike shop should let you
"test ride" a saddle for a few days, just enough time to get a good idea
if it fits or not.
   Your butt does toughen up with more riding, but your description sounds
like a different problem.  I rode for a couple years on a Turbo saddle, 
and suffered from one particular pressure point regularly.  I hoped and
hoped that I would toughen up.  Finally I gave up.  I test rode a Waveflo
Race for a couple days, then tried an Avocet Racing I.  I have been on the
Avocet Racing I all summer, and it's been wonderful.
   Saddles are a very personal matter.  You can only trust your own butt
to know which one is right for you.

   Another possibility is adjusting your saddle position or your riding
position.  On the latter topic, I found the latest issue of VeloNews
particularly interesting.  There is an article about the pedaling techniques
of John Stenner (US National TT champion).  The first thing he advocates
is that you rotate your pelvis BACK on the saddle so that your weight is
resting on the same two points you sit on in a normal chair.  This also
requires an arched back, rather than a flat back.
   Strangely enough, the day before I got that issue, I experimented with
exactly that position.  Rotating my pelvis forward and flattening my back,
as normally recommended, had only made my saddle woes worse.  I have found
rotating my pelvis back a little and arching my back a refreshing change.

Bruce Hoppe
hoppe@cs.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: dewolfe@ug.cs.dal.ca (Anarchy for Peace)
Subject: Re: Canada and Sports Eats
Organization: Math, Stats & CS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 14:30:06 GMT

In article <Bt8CFA.7Bt@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca> praetzel@marconi.uwaterloo.ca (Eric Praetzel) writes:
>In article <1992Aug14.074344.1@kean.ucs.mun.ca> mnewton@kean.ucs.mun.ca writes:
>[lots of stuff deleted]
>>Now the dept of health think that people might try to live off Power Bars!
>>Evidently the bars contain a lot of vitamin A and this can be toxic in 
>>large quantities.
>  Well since I have some of the contrabad substance here I thought I would
>check it out.  According to the wrapper these bars are 100% of US RDA for a
>lot of nutrients and are < 2% of RDA for Vit. A (dito for Vit. D).  In no
>case is it in excess of 100% of US RDA.  The only exception is chromium and
>that is because there is no established RDA.
>  Personally I think that they did it because the label was not in French.

Not true.  The Power Bars that we had in CycleSmith in Halifax had bilibgual
packaging on them...so that's not it...

>We had that in Toronto last year when shops had to take British candies off
>the shelves because the labels were not bilingual.  I have never had any
>problems buying German items but maby they don't count because not one bit of
>the label is in English.
>  - Eric 
>//  When all else fails read the index or verify suppositions.

It might not be the Vitamin A, however Iron can be toxic at levels not
much higher than what's in a power bar (100% RDA).  Eating three of them in 
a day *could* be bad news... (I'm just going on what a nutritionist told me, 
so no fire OK? :)) 

I suppose I could just phone up Health & Welfare and get the real scoop...
NAH, too easy. :-)

Colin DeWolfe
dewolfe@ug.cs.dal.ca

Disclaimer:  Everything thing here is just PURE speculation...
From: pardo@cs.washington.edu (David Keppel)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: using presta tubes with a Schraeder wheel
Date: 13 Aug 92 23:13:01 GMT
Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, U. of Washington, Seattle

self@pasteur.ics.uci.edu (John Self) writes:
>[Presta valve tubes in wheels drilled for Schraeder valves.]
>[Should I put a washer over the valve stem inside the wheel?
> Should I use the valve nut in this case?]


[A while ago I posted:]

I want to install a grommet to use a presta tube on a Shrader rim.
The rim is a double-wall type; does the grommet go on the side facing
the tube or the side facing air?  Rim cross-section:

	  tube side
	__         __
	| )       ( |
	||         ||
	|+--o   o--+|   <--- grommet here?
	|           |
	|           |
	\---o   o---/   <--- grommet here?

	  hub side

I've asked: on `rec.bicycles', a local mailing list, and bike
mechanics.  The numbers in parenthesis are how many respondents said
`use two grommets if you can'.

	tube side	10 (5)
	hub side	6 (2)

Reasons:

TUBE SIDE: support the tube so it doesn't blow in to the gap between
	the rim walls.
HUB SIDE: keeps the stem from being yanked around, keeps gunk out
	of the gap between the rim walls.
BOTH: a great idea if the rim walls are far enough apart, but they
	probably won't be.

Interestingly, all five of the bike store mechanics said `put it on the
hub side'.  One mechanic pointed out that there will be a rim strip
protecting the tube against the rim edge.  With the grommet on the
hub-side wall, the distance spanned by the rim strip will be much less
than the distance across each of the spoke holes.

		;-D on  ( Using your unintuition )  Pardo
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: bgeer@javelin.sim.es.com (Bob Geer)
Subject: Re: Opinions Sought On Eight-Speed, Indexed Shifting Gruppos
Reply-To: bgeer@javelin.sim.es.com
Organization: Evans & Sutherland Computer Corporation
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 14:41:41 GMT

msw10@nepenthe.as (Michael S. Wong) writes:
>Suntour to have a PowerFlo 8 speed casssette next year.  Campy 8-spd a distant
>3rd, but these are available in a very light alloy cassette. Problem is,

My "New for '92" C-Record 8-spd downtube shifter w/ Campy steel cogs
shifts very well, both on 13-26 & 12-21 cogsets.
-- 
<> Bob `Bear' Geer <>  bgeer@beorn.sim.es.com                           /  <>
<>                 <>   (this *often* works)       __o      o   ,______/o  <>
<> Salt Lake City, <>  speaking only for myself,  -\<,     <\   ,__/   >   <>
<>          Ootah  <>  one of my many tricks      O/ O  __ /__,       /    <>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: tan@lynx.msc.cornell.edu.UUCP (David Tan,Box 219 Baker Lab,54810,2720402)
Subject: Re: Re: Dual pivot calipers (?)
Originator: tan@msc2.msc.cornell.edu
Organization: Cornell-Materials-Science-Center
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 14:46:10 GMT

From article <33!n+gf.tomk@netcom.com>, by tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich):
> 
> My Peugeot PX-10 time trial bike presently has a Super Record
> groupo on it and the brakes don't work until the pads are
> almost melting. My cantilevers all are adequate but uninspiring.
> 
If you're really having a problem with this, have you tried using different
brake pads?  It's been known for at least a decade that SR brake pads leave 
much to be desired.  I like Mathausers and Aztecs (Dura-Ace is good, too,
if you like shelling out the $$ for them.)

Dave

Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: arpepper@math.uwaterloo.ca (Adrian Pepper)
Subject: Re: Tandems - help from experienced riders please?
Organization: University of Waterloo Math Faculty Computing Facility, Ontario.
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 15:54:15 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.021537.20807@slc.com> marcs@slc.com (Marc San Soucie) writes:
>Kelvin Don Nilsen (kelvin@kickapoo.cs.iastate.edu) writes:
>
>>   Mounting the tandem is a bit of a trick for me.
>
>Right cheek (buttwise, that is) presses against nose of saddle. Tandem
>leans every so slightly (5 degrees) to the left. Right foot is injected 
>into pedal system. Left foot rests about 18 inches to two feet out from 
>tandem, bracing. Hands grip brake hoods.
>
>Stoker approaches bike. Who cares how stoker gets on? Stoker gets on.
>That's what stokers do. They get on and get off. Don't tell me from
>stokers. Stoker's feet enter rear pedal systems. Stoker gets comfortable.
>Tandem is leaning slightly, most of the force absorbed by captain's
>well-muscled cheek. Captain and stoker find this position familiar and 
>comfortable. Parade rest. Traffic light stop. Looking good.

This subtle comment is much more important than it seems, and most other
respondents have not mentioned it.  It is very important for the captain
to press something, usually the edge of a hip, against the saddle while
holding the tandem stationary.  Even with both feet on the ground, it is
a good idea to back up so your are pressed right against the tip of the
saddle.

Adrian.
arpepper@math.uwaterloo.ca
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: adrian@ntmtv.UUCP (Adrian Brandt)
Subject: Re: Gas Taxes R Us
Organization: Northern Telecom Inc, Mountain View, CA
Distribution: rec.bicycles
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 17:32:53 GMT

In article <f3!n=-c.tomk@netcom.com>, tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug19.180739.10650@ntmtv> adrian@ntmtv.UUCP (Adrian Brandt) writes:
|> >
|> >How so?  The NRPC (Amtrak) 1990 Annual Report states on page 14:
|> >"passenger-related revenues--derived from the sale of passenger tickets
|> >and on-board services--make up approximately 71 percent of Amtrak's
|>      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|> >revenue base".  So the American taxpayer can at best only be paying
|> >for about 29% of Amtrak's revenue base in the form of a subsidy.
|> >
|> If you will investigate this you will find that ticket prices and
|> money earned from on-board services are two different things.

Two different things?  They're both money.  They both help cover
the cost of providing Amtrak service.  And to that extent they both
reduce the amount of subsidy required by the US taxpayers.

Explain yourself.

|> The American taxpayer _is_ paying -- as you correctly quoted me --
|> for about half the _ticket_ fare.

References?  Explain exactly how your claim was calculated, and what
assumptions were used, and why.  I'm not quite sure what you mean
when you say the taxpayer pays "half the ticket fare".

-- 

Adrian Brandt (415) 940-2379
UUCP: ...!ames!ntmtv!adrian
ARPA: ntmtv!adrian@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles