HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Howard.Gerber@f88.n106.z1.fidonet.org (Howard Gerber)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Spoke wrench: how to cho
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 09:13:04 -0500

 On 08-11-92 Patrick Lau wrote to All... 
 
 PL> I have a novice question about getting a spoke wrench. I saw a 
 PL> few different models of spoke wrench at the bicycle store 
 PL> (sometimes they have numbers, and sometimes they have names 
 PL> like Europe, Japan). How do I know which is 
 PL> the one I want? Any help will be appreciated. 
 
 Spoke nipples come in different sizes, and there are spoke wrenches 
 to fit each size. D-T spokes, made in Switzerland, are the most 
 popular European spoke. They use the black or Europe wrench. Most 
 Japanese spokes have slightly smaller nipples, and use the red 
 or Japan wrench. If all else fails, bring your bike into the shop 
 and try the wrenchs on your wheels to see which fits. 
 
 
 
... OFFLINE 1.36 * Comes the Revolution, we'll all eat peaches and cream 

 * Origin: Two Wheelers - The Bicylists' Communications Link (1:106/88)
From: fritz@triguy.East.Sun.COM (Steve Fritzinger - SE Sun Washington,DC.)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Thanks  (Was MTB for a really big guy)
Date: 17 Aug 1992 15:32:56 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems
Distribution: world
Reply-To: fritz@triguy.East.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: triguy.east.sun.com


Thanks to everyone who responded to my query about a mountain
bike for a 6'6" 300 lbs man.

Several people thought that a 24" frame would be too large,
and suggested a 23" AL frame if available.  Other people
suggested looking into the less mass manufactured bikes,
like GT and Garry Fisher.

All that taken into consideration, he ended up with a 23"
Schwinn High Plains, and so far is happy with it.

Thanks again.


Steve Fritzinger   --  steve.fritzinger@East.Sun.COM
The First Rule of Holes:
When you're in one, stop digging.
From: slbxk@cc.usu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Mountain Bike For Sale
Date: 19 Aug 92 21:13:10 GMT
Article-I.D.: cc.1992Aug19.151310.58259
Organization: Utah State University

I have 18 speed mountain bike for sale:

CONDITION: Brand new(Never been used with warrantee)
ASKING FOR: $138(including all shipping charges)

MODEL: MTB26A
FRAME: 26" X 21 MTB frame, color painted
FORk: 1" Unicrown
HANDLEBAR: MTB straight type, black
HANDLEBAR STEM: steel, black
TIRES & TUBES: 26" X 1.75 X 36H, steel, C-P
SADDLE: MTB saddle, Taiwan made
SPOKES: 14G
BRAKE SYSTEM: cantilever brake, Taiwan made
DERAILLEUR: 18 speed, Taiwan made
FREEWHEEL: 6 speed
CRANK: cotterless type 
GRIP/PAD: MTB rubber foam
CHAIN COVER: round type, steel, C-P
STAND: side kick stand
PEDALS: plastic, black
REFLECTOR: 4 pcs
PACKING: 52 X 7 X 28 in
G.W.: 45 lbs

You can respond by email.
From: choy@skorpio.usask.ca
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Cracks and tires
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:11:16 GMT
Organization: University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

My tires started to show cracks around the knobs of my Matrix
Cliff Hanger/Climber tires after a month of riding. After 3.5
months the cracks seemed to have deepened, spread, and multiplied.
I've seen some tiny non-knob cracks too. I've worn about 1/16~
off my rear tires. The tires have gone only 800 000 revolutions,
and I don't jump off things higher than the curb (can't find
the time to do more than commute to work). The hardest
accelerations I've done were only 0-40 km/h in 100 m, and I don't
slide around (too much pavement). I think the tires are wearing
too fast. Is it just the weathering? Does anyone have major
experiences?


Henry Choy
choy@cs.usask.ca
From: cyn@odin.mda.uth.tmc.edu (Cyndi Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Jr. Nats rider injury
Date: 14 Aug 1992 14:06:18 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: MD Anderson Cancer Center

All I know is that a rider in the Sunday Aug. 9 crit was involved in "the
crash" and was in very bad shape.  I understand that he couldn't move (feel?)
his limbs and the paramedics took him away on a backboard with a belief that
he broke his back.
Any one have more info? Who? How old? Current condition?
Thanks!
-------------
All opinions are mine, I tell you, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE (unless 
you want to rent them for a small fee...)
-Cyndi Smith-------------------cyn@odin.mda.uth.tmc.edu
-M.D. Anderson Cancer Center-----Houston, Texas
-ph: 713/794-4938--------------fax: 713/792-4262
From: shenry@cs.rice.edu (Sam Henry)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Why shave?
Date: 17 Aug 1992 16:13:46 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Rice University, Houston

>In article <1992Aug14.182158.8183@source.asset.com>
parksd@source.asset.com (Don Parks) shaves it close: 

>>I don't shave my legs, however, I thought of a good reason to do so
>>the other day after a particularly messy (muddy) bike ride.  ...

In article <1992Aug14.232957.14140@cis.ohio-state.edu>
akins@flamingo.cis.ohio-state.edu (gregory adkins) shaves it closer:

>And for rec.bicycles.road, I think it is alot easier to
>wipe off the chain grease that never fails to accumulate on
>the back of your leg.


ALL RIGHT!!  Time for the post-TdF (TIOOYK) leg shaving fest!!!!
I love this one.

REASONS TO NOT SHAVE LEGS (all scientifically founded, by the way):

Aerodynamics:  Like dimples on a golf ball, fuzz on a tennis ball, or
stiches on a baseball, hair on a cyclist's legs have aerodynamic
advantages.   It has been proven that hair of medium courseness with a
density up to 80 hpi^2 and a loose curl will actually reduce the
turbulance that contributes to rider/bike drag.

Cooling:  The body hair, unlike head hair, is of a configuration and
structure that it will wick water away from the body, forming a moist
boundary suspended, as it were, close to the skin of the body.  The
air flow caused by movement of the cyclist turns this moist boundary
into a radiant cooling system.

Warmth:  Like an amazing miracle fabic (or the low-tech, stand-by
light-weight fabric, wool), body hair will also serve to insulate the
body and trap escaping heat from the body next to the skin.  This
slowed transfer of heat from the body will protect against hypothermia
in the winter.

Skin protection:  The presence of hair of at least medium courseness
with a density of no less than 80 hpi^2 and at least a loose curl will
act as a shield against light road debris and grit the cyclist usually
enounters.  This becomes less effective in rainy or muddy conditions
but some benefits remain even then.

Crash protection:  The presence of hair meeting the above minimum
standards will act as a barrier between the road surface and the
cyclist's skin in case of an event that will cause the cyclist to
slide across the road surface.  The barrier will serve to reduce the
severity of the resultant friction burn injury (common name: road
rash).  This hair serves much the same purpose as the t-shirt that
Eddie B. recommends under the jersey--the jersey sliding on the
pavement rubs the t-shirt first, reducing the rub against the skin.
Here the hair is the rub.

REASONS TO SHAVE LEGS:

Eddie B. advises to do it.  It is part of the brotherhood of racers,
for whatever reason you want to put on it.  So, just do it to be
accepted in the peloton.

Or don't do it, get looked down on, and use all the advantages to
smother the peloton single handedly.

All this will be explained fully, complete with notes and data from
experiments,  in my forthcoming book, _The_Physics_and_Engineering_of_
_the_Bicycle_Engine_.


-- 
sam henry <shenry@rice.edu>
Wanna ride?
From: cam@castle.ed.ac.uk (Chris Malcolm)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Accident on a Bike/Ped P
Date: 19 Aug 92 15:10:36 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

In article <713752526.F00003@urchin.fidonet.org> Howard.Gerber@f88.n106.z1.fidonet.org (Howard Gerber) writes:

> You can't hold the bars with both hands and 
> turn your body without also turning the bike. At least I've never been 
> able to do it. :-) 

Try standing up on the pedals, so that you can also turn your hips,
and move your shoulders nearer to the bars. That way you can
accomplish a considerable turn without compromising control of
direction.
-- 
Chris Malcolm    cam@uk.ac.ed.aifh          +44 (0)31 650 3085
Department of Artificial Intelligence,    Edinburgh University
5 Forrest Hill, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL, UK                DoD #205
From: d3a132@pnl.gov (Carl P Baker)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Chain Suck on Mt Bike
Date: 14 Aug 92 22:23:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: oracle.1992Aug14.222351.6019
Reply-To: d3a132@pnl.gov
Organization: Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories

>>In article <1992Aug14.181130.4340@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>, mprime@zinc.Berkeley.EDU (Mike  Prime) writes:
>>|> 
>>|> My new bike (Specialized Stumpjumper Comp - Deore XT, Specialized crank
>>|> and chainrings, Shimano hyperglide chain) has chain suck. What I mean by
>>|> chain suck is that when I shift, under load, to the smallest chainring...
>>
>My problem occurs when shifting to the SMALLER chainring, as I said before.
>And it occurs when shifting under load but not very much load. There should
>be nothing wrong with doing this shift, but there is.

There a little plastic "anti chain suck" gidgets that you can
get at the bike shop or mail order.  Get a mechanic to look at it and
help you out.  The problem is that on the long drop from the middle
chainring to the small one, the chain develops a great deal of
inertia, and just keeps going.  The plastic thing rides in such a way
that if the chain misses the small ring it hits the plastic thing
(it can't fall past the plastic thing) and gets shoved back onto the
ring by pedalling action.

Carl P Baker
cp_baker@pnl.gov
509-375-2724

Disclaimer: I am not the official spokesperson for anyone.  For which
organizations that use spokespersons are profoundly grateful.
From: chuang@micro (Michael Chuang)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Bicycle Paths
Date: 21 Aug 92 21:17:13 GMT

kent@swrinde.nde.swri.edu (Kent D. Polk) writes:
> I have long proposed that driver's ed programs be at least a semester long
> and that costs be covered largely by the student. There is simply too much
> to learn in becoming a competent driver.

This will be objected to vociferously because this nation is in love
with the automobile.  However, the arguemnt against making it more
difficult to obtain a driver's license will be presented in another
way, one which conceals the true motivation of the majority of those
objecting.  Try this line of reasoning:

* People NEED cars to get to work
* The proposed driver's ed program is essentially a regressive tax
  on transportation
* There are lots of poor minority people
* Regressive taxes hurt the poor
* The plan to require students to take an extensive driver education
  program and pay for the cost of it hurts minorities
Therefore the plan is racist and anyone supporting it is a racist and
as we all know, anything a "racist" has to say is categorically invalid.
Does anyone else get the impression that these days we do not debate
ideas on their merits and weaknesses but rather smear the proponents of
a particular idea with an unsavory label in hopes of discrediting their
point of view through guilt by association ?  This is not a new tactic,
but we seem to be using it more and more.  Sorry about the bitching, but
after seeing the Republicratic conventions on television my patience with
the way policy is debated has worn thin.

Incidentally, for the clueless, this is not an attack on Kent Polk, and
I am not accusing him of anything.  It's just that I can see someone
trotting out a specious argument like the one I presented in objection
to what he said.

Ob Bike Path stuff.
The rail trail conversion here in Boston (running from Alewife subway
station _right to the door_ of the building in which I used to work in
Bedford) is nearly complete.  Last week I rode the length of it in
the evening.  At sunset it is very dark on the tree-shaded path.  I was
the only person with a light, and there were still plenty of people out
riding slowly, walking dogs and skating in the dark.  My Cateye Halogen
light is more of a "here I am" light rather than something to illuminate
the path.  I was so worried about hitting someone that I ended up riding
home on the main road (Mass Ave) instead of the trail.  I'm just waiting
for a big bike/ped bike/bike accident one fine evening soon.

However, I saw (while I still could) lots of people on their bikes who
I am sure otherwise would not have been out.  This is a good thing, and
I approve of the path.  However, it is a strolling and slow-riding
recreational path, and not one for real cycling.  (And no one advertised
it as such, but even designated bike paths suffer the same fate.)

Mike (crabbier than warranted on a fine summer day)
chuang@micro.ll.mit.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: Glenn Stauffer <stauffer@cc.swarthmore.edu>
Subject: Re: Cause of "cyclist's knee"
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A6BB2370E0014333@mac1.beardsley.swarthmore.edu>
X-Xxdate: Fri, 21 Aug 92 03:49:20 GMT
Organization: Swarthmore College Computing Center
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d9
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1992 02:49:55 GMT

In article <1992Aug20.134015.8117@nessie.mcc.ac.uk> Richard Hanby,
hanby@nessie.mcc.ac.uk writes:
>I have a problem with "cyclist's knee(s)". 
>
>Despite many positional adjustments, the problem seems to be much
>worse when I ride my mtb with toeclips (compared to a racing bike with
>Look pedals). The next step is to try putting the Looks onto the mtb -
>however, this is guesswork! Can anyone tell me the (likely) cause of 
>this ailment?
>

Forgive the ignorance, but what is "cyclist's knee"?
From: kevin@ssc.space.umn.edu (Groenke)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: TECH:LASER welded frames
Date: 19 Aug 92 17:19:11 GMT
Article-I.D.: news2.1992Aug19.171911.25500
Organization: Shepherd Labs
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1a2

My Bro and I were recently discussing the construction of bike frames. 
He's a process engineer and some of the techniques used in his current
project are LASER welds.  I hadn't heard of these but I'm told that they
are stronger than TIG welds and brazing.  They also do not weaken the
tubes by heating them up during the welding.

We wondered why nobody is LASER welding frames.  My Bro suggested that
the equipment is too expensive and bike co.s didn't want to invest the
$'s.  I quickly dismissed that notion knowing of the $'s that go into
R&D.  Is it a technical problem?  Could the LASER head be too large to
rotate within the frames triangle's, it doesn't seem likely, but what
else could it be??  Perhaps the jig and proper alignment were the
problems.

Has anybody heard of attempts to LASER weld frames?  What were the
results??

Just wondering.
***********************************************
Kevin J. Groenke	
Student Lab Services Coordinator				___			o		 					_	o
Shepherd Laboratories							_____		( 		\-						(  	\-
University of Minnesota						___		(*) \ (*)			(*) \ (*)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich)
Subject: Re: Gas subsidies and taxes (was Re: Bicycle Paths
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 02:17:41 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

A thread like this certainly deserves a prepared and documented
file but I'm tired and don't feel like it.

However, one side proposed using extreme taxes to punish automobile
users. They quote many true or half-true problems involved with the
use of automobiles.

But they seem to be living in a glass world. Before automobiles most
people didn't use mass transit. They used single transportation and
the most common form was the horse. The polution and expense of this
form of single transportation was also subsidized by society and
the filth and disease caused by draught animals were well known.

The internal combustion engine is an environmental dream in comparison.
Especially to anyone that knows about walking through a busy town with
millions of dung beetles crawling all over everything, the air full of
flying insects and often the smell overpowering. Not to mention that 
tremendous amounts of arable land were used to grow feed and bedding
etc. for these animals.

It is inconceivable that todays population could be sustained without
the internal combustion engine and the extensive transportation system
that has been built around it.

I am the first one to proclaim that we need to improve the transportation
system. But it should be done in a manner that isn't going to bring
economic collapse or social upheaval to accomplish.

Electric cars are under serious development. The hang-up for these vehicles
has been and remains the batteries which make these vehicles slow,
expensive and generally less effective transportation means than the ICE.
Battery problems may find a cure within the next 20 years.

Even though electric cars are here it only will change the location of
the polution since some 80% of the electricity generated in the world
is by coal or oil fired generation plants. Doubling the capacity
of these plants is hardly likely to improve their polution 
indexes. Perhaps a study would indicate that ICE's turn out to be
more polution effective spread out the way they are now!

No matter how much _we_ like bicycles, only a vanishingly small
percentage of the population is going to seriously consider these
machines as a transportation alternative.

Mass transit can help, but too many jobs in the developed countries
are too far flung to make mass transportation a _simple_
alternative.

In order for any progress to be made it will be necessary to retain a
good economy so that it can finance necessary changes. Massive tax
burdens on automobile drivers, no matter how well intentioned, will
only make matters infinitely worse.
From: jmoulder@mis.mcw.edu
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: What cold weather bike shoe?
Date: 18 Aug 92 12:03:47 CDT
Organization: Medical College of Wisconsin

>>Is there a decent winter shoe?
>> 
> For extra-brutal consitions, I sometimes use the neoprene rubber socks.
> 
I'll second that recommendation.  I bought neoprene socks from Early Winters;
they came with a light weight inner sock that soaks up some of the sweat and
makes them feel better.  They are good to at least 20 F with regular 
shoes and could be combined with overboots.

john (jmoulder@mis.mcw.edu)
From: amiller@ALMADEN.IBM.COM (Alex Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: problem with gear levers
Date: 19 Aug 92 18:59:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: almaden.920819.115932.amiller

In  1992Aug19.160259.16548@news.uiowa.edu>
   bonak@herky.cs.uiowa.edu (Esmail Bonakdarian) writes:

> I have a question about changing my gear levers and getting the
> old (strange) ones to work until I figure out how to change them.

Esmail, I would get rid of your unusual *single* braze-on (file it
off) and find a clamp-on indexed shift lever.  You won't hurt your
frame if you carefully saw off then file off the old brazed-on
fitting, just don't try to pry it or bend it - then you might damage
the frame.

I wanted to put Suntour braze-on shift levers on a frame that had no
brazed-on posts, so I found a cheap Shimano 400EX clamp-on shift lever
assembly and just removed the levers, leaving the clamp and the lever
posts behind.  The Suntour levers work on the Shimano posts.  This
same trick works for mounting bar-con cable-stops on bicycles that
don't have brazed-on fittings.

Alex Miller                               DISCLAIMERS-R-US
internet: amiller@almaden.ibm.com
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich)
Subject: Re: Gas Taxes R Us 
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 21:23:22 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

In article <1992Aug20.203307.14061@adobe.com> byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer) writes:
>
>If there is somebody who recieves *no* benefit from the
>educational system, then, no, they shouldn't pay anything
>into it.  But, just as you pointed out for the highway
>system, there are indirect benefits.  Some people benefit
>more, some less.  Those that benefit more should pay more
>- and all I was saying was that the costs must be exposed
>in order that that may happen.

Ah, I just read this in a quote of Adam Smith's economics.

I realize that what you're sqying is that those who uses services
should pay completely for them and those who don't shouldn't.

How, then, do you determine the hidden value of such things as
a fast efficient transportation system?

And to put a closer point on it (and because I can't remember if 
I used the quote before) try this one on for size:

(Source: The Eno Foundation for Transportation, Inc., "Commuting
in America" copyright 1987)

The average commute time if bicycle commuters and automobile
commuters is fairly close (14.5 minutes vs. 18.5 minutes).

Yet the average speed of the bicycle commuter is 7.9 mph
and the automobile commuter is 31.5 mph. This gives the auto
commuter a four fold increase in his work radius and a vast
improvement in his job possibilities. This is a _substatial_
hidden gain in people's standard of living.

Privately owned toll roads were once common in America. So were
all of the privately owned transportation systems. America grew
but didn't begin to take off economically until the installation
of publicly owned and maintained roads. The public highway system
has shown itself to be so cheap and efficient that it has effectively
taken over the entire transportation system the world over.

The idea that there are _hidden_ costs that aren't offset
to a much larger degree by _hidden_ advantages simply ignores
reality. Calls for better documentation of individual benefits
(which is all this gas tax BS is) simply doesn't address
the world the way it is.

Bicycles are a good commuting alternative for a very small percentage
of American citizens. Why is it that asians who have grown up
around bicycle commuting, after they arrive here commute via
automobiles? Could it be because they have been brainwashed into 
believing that we know better? Or perhaps because they have a good
judge of value received for money spent?
From: sproven@cs.strath.ac.uk (Simon B Proven IE91)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: Gas subsidies and taxes (was Re: Bicycle Paths
Date: 20 Aug 92 17:33:02 GMT
Organization: Comp. Sci. Dept., Strathclyde Univ., Glasgow, Scotland.

In article <t0!n+l#.tomk@netcom.com> tomk@netcom.com (Thomas H. Kunich) writes:
>In article <1992Aug19.214108.27381@adobe.com> byer@adobe.com (Scott Byer) writes:
>I'm having trouble relating the real uses of roads to
>your comparing milage. The roads _have_ to be there. The
>highway system benefits _everyone_. The movement of goods and
>services and the increase in the standard of living can be 
>directly related to the growth of the highway system.

Then have a localised distrubution and production system, where
possible.  If you tax the gas then you tax the distribution net,
and hey presto!  It's suddenly cheaper to buy local and market
forces will force local production.

Instead of buying fruit from South Africa, people will have
an incentive to buy strawberries from next door.

simple, eh?


 _ _ _            _    __
' ) ) )        / / \  /  )    /
 / / / __.  __/ / (/ /--<  o /_  _
/ ' (_(_/|_(_/_/\___/___/_<_/ <_</_
sproven@cs.strath.ac.uk             REAL (tm) peeps ride bike :)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
From: F.Brown@massey.ac.nz (F.J. Brown)
Subject: Summary of Olympics cycling wanted
Summary: Olympic cycling results please?
Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2c
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 02:17:09 GMT

Wanted:  Summary of Olympic cycling results.

Does anyone have a summary on file of cycling medallists at Barcelona?   I
believe this was posted to the net recently, but I didn't save it.   Now 
I'd like it for our club newsletter!

E-mail or news fine.

Thanks,

Frith 
-- 
==============================================================================
Frith Brown                     E-mail:  F.Brown@massey.ac.nz
Agronomy Department             Phone:   +64 06 356 9099 ext. 8800
Massey University               Fax:     +64 06 350 5614
Palmerston North
New Zealand                     Do you Du it too?
==============================================================================
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles