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Everything posted by MarkF

  1. This may be a great bargain? Airnimal Joey http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Airnimal-Joey-Folding-Bicycle-/331977519110?hash=item4d4b66f006:g:9J0AAOSw4shX4lZN
  2. I had a Leisure Lakes bag that was very useful but I wouldn't have wanted to use it every day. What are your requirements? I've thought about the Airnimal, as a compromise, for a few years, but even tonight informative owners reviews are pretty hard to find,
  3. I don't think I have ever felt the need to stand up on a folder, I take it easy, it's not like I am on my road bike. Surely the need to stand up on a folder is either, wrong gear, not enough gears, unfit? All could be applicable to any sized bike. 2 Cheap Dahons https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=tS&doc_id=1957&v=Tj
  4. What point? I don't understand that at all. Stable on what? 16" wheels? 20" wheels? 24" wheels? Quality bike? Supermarket folder? What tyres? What pressure are those tyres? I forget I am riding folder after a few minutes. I have 2 dedicated tourers but I could not fit one in my car last week with four 16 year old girls wanting to go to Sandcastles at Blackpool, so I took a folder. On a long tour I take a normal bike and prefer them but on a "fun" trip I take a folder, I can get it on any train or bus, a normal bike is not accepted on many buses or trains abroad, they give total freedom, not least when it comes to taking them in your room. Also packing for flights, I can just put my folder in the Dahon bag and into normal luggage, with a normal bike I have to use a full size cardboard bike box, package it well and go through a dedicated "over sized" luggage facility. Try carrying a full sized cardboard bike box on your own, 2 bikes and 2 people is easy, 1 is not so. What is your experience of folders?
  5. Absolute Rubbish. People have gone around the world on them and there are umpteen long distance tour reviews on the net. I first came across them in 2009 when my cousin from Oz pitched up on a Dahon, he is 6' 5" & how I laughed............but they got me thinking and now I own 2, after a few minutes I forget I am riding a folder, they have been all around The Netherlands, France & Spain and in July I did an 8 day trip of Catalonia on a Dahon. Last weekend I rode from Blackpool to Morecambe on one. Oh, and as a regular long (trans countries) distance cyclist I have 2 dedicated tourers and can appreciate the differences. OP I too would love to try an Airnimal, wish test rides were available especially at the cost but I think many regular folder riders will look and covet the Airnimal. http://www.jimlangley.net/ride/airnimal.htm
  6. Hi Haydn,

    I'll take it.

    Rgds, Mark


  7. Hi Paul, I'd like the Estyma please.

  8. Well we won't agree obviously but we've been through all this with the same arguments with motorcyclists and with seat-belts and I remember the discussions well then which when on for a long time... You say that "Nobody, AFAIK, is against m/bike helmets or seat belts, but those are easily proven to be of a nett benefit, " Well that is certainly is the case now but at the time there were pressure groups making the same arguments about compulsion and that people would be at more risk of an accident because they felt more safe. All untrue of course as the figures now show very clearly since they have been made mandatory. You also use the oft quoted "Why don't you wear one whilst driving or walking? " well it's simple, car drivers have seat belts and airbags to protect them and walkers are unlikely to impact the pavement head first at twenty or thirty miles an hour... As I say we won't convince one another and the law will eventually decide the situation one way or another but I'll just quote the latest from Rospa on this:- "Head injuries, ranging from fatal skull fractures and brain damage to minor concussion and cuts, are very common injuries to cyclists. Hospital data shows that over 40% of cyclists, and 45% of child cyclists, suffer head injuries. A study of 116 fatal cyclist accidents in London and rural areas found over 70% of the cyclist fatalities in London had moderate or serious head injuries in London, and over 80% of those killed in collisions on rural roads." I know it's a contentious issue and at the moment we all have the choice but I sincerely hope that you never have to regret the fact that you or a member of your family wasn't wearing one when they had an accident. We won't agree no, but I am not calling you or any helmet wearer "foolhardy", and that is what I took issue with. It doesn't matter what safety feature the car driver has, many more are killed than cyclists, you don't think a helmet for drivers & passengers would reduce death/injury casualties? Of course they would. So why not wear one? Helmets are not the issue for cycling casualties, it is bad driving and bad riding, a bit of polystyrene offers minimal protection for a small part of the human body, partly offset by increasing the chances of said part being hit. Helmets are not rated to cope with vehicular collisions! That's why if Bond is so determined to stay safe(er) he should buy a proper helmet, a motorcycle one. I am sure the parents of children who now have significant brain damage from the rotational impact applied by a cycle helmet, when without one, they may have suffered only a bump on the head, might also have regrets. http://www.cyclehelmets.org/1039.html I fell off once and banged my head on the road, but the new woolly bobble hat meant I only had a bruise, so I implore everyone to buy a woolly bobble hat and never ride without one.................
  9. Never said that, never would. I have car, motorbike & scooter as well as several bikes. Thanks. I am not anti-helmet, not at all, I am pro-choice, that is anti-compulsion. That is why I challenged Mike's opinion, despite being a non-rider he said "anyone not wearing a crash-hat of some description is being foolhardy" which insinuates that those who do not are some sort of clueless risk crazed numpties. In reality many are experienced cyclists who have taken time to look at all the available information, calculated the risk and then made an informed choice. Introducing m/cycle helmets and seat belts into the debate is only something a helmet debate newbie would do. Nett benefit of helmet wearing has never been proven, not even in countries where it is compulsory (same countries where cycling usage drops). You were saying Plenty d!ck head drivers around and this one got all he deserved. To be fair I'm a fair weather cyclist and use a car so I like to think I give cars a bit more consideration than some of the full time cyclists who admittedly can be completely inconsiderate. I saw that a few weeks back, very funny ending. Both are idiots, the pass wasn't worth getting worked up about in the first place.......
  10. Oh give over Mike! I've yet to hear a cogent argument FOR wearing helmets and what anti-helmet brigade? That's your logic coming over clear. I am only aware of anti-compulsion people, that take time to tackle ill informed opinions. You will have looked at what has happened in the very few countries where compulsion has been introduced? Nobody, AFAIK, is against m/bike helmets or seat belts, but those are easily proven to be of a nett benefit, cycle helmets are not, not being either, or even remotely related. A&E's up and down the country tonight will be full of head injuries, only a miniscule % will be cyclists. Why don't you wear one whilst driving or walking? After all the risk is high comparable with cycling, why do you think cyclists should wear one, and not drivers, when the benefit, sociologically and monetary would be would be greater if car drivers did? I wouldn't have my kids wearing helmets, I love them too much and they all cycle, every day. What about the thesis carried out by Bristol uni, it showed that helmet wearers have a much greater risk of being in collision with a vehicle. In fact (easily Googled) the person carrying out the study was knocked over, twice, by a car, both times whilst he was wearing a helmet. Car drives didn't see him as "vulnerable". Whilst not wearing helmet, he was given far more space by passing vehicles and more importantly, not run over. Lots to ponder Mike, but helmets do not = good. If they did then the manufacturers would seize on that fact.
  11. I have been about a bit..............am in Stockton soon, we will meet up? If you had been wearing a helmet perhaps you really would have had a severe battering, after all your bonce would have been very much bigger.
  12. They said that back in the days when motorcyclists' pressure groups used to moan about wearing helmets... I think I'd rather believe ROSPA's findings based on real research... ROSPA "The effectiveness of cycle helmets" Believe all you want Mike, but how about reading some alternative views? You said you don't ride but now your are a bicycle helmet scientist? Bond is riding a bicycle not a motorbike, they are not comparable, I ride both. Acquaint yourself with some bicycle helmet knowledge stats/facts and come back to me if you like. A better & quicker idea would be to Google "cycle helmet debate" and it might open your eyes............. I believe, having assessed & assimilated all the available information, you are either a helmet wearer or you are not, nowt wrong with that, each to their own. Bond isn't, I've met him, he might waffle about a bit but no way will he be wearing one. Not really, how much are you increasing your impact zone by ? 30/40%? My cousin is a helmet wearer, I am not. We've cycled across countries together but don't talk about helmets. He spent last Xmas in hospital with a fractured skull and many fractured ribs. He thinks his helmet saved his life, I think it caused his crash. I would not have been going down that stretch at that speed helmetless, I'd have been very aware of my vulnerability. It's how you look at things and how you assess risks....but a default opinion of helmets = good is utter nonsense. Focusing on helmets only deflects attention from the real cause of cycle injuries.................useless car drivers in 2 tons of metal.
  13. Bond, I am so disappointed in you. There is not one single shred of scientific evidence to prove that cycle helmets have any nett benefit, not one. This is why CTC the major cycling organisation in the UK, will not encourage mandatory use. They are not even sold as safety devices by the manufacturers, but as a "product" to buy...amazing, you'd think they'd sell zillions if they were so useful, er, protective...., it's a UK/US thing......get it now? Plus, you'll look a twat. If people want to wear one, fine, if they don't, fine. But none of this daft "anyone not wearing a crash-hat of some description is being foolhardy" nonsense without any shred of evidence, except anecdotal, to back it up.
  14. Hello everybody, quick visit, we had a family calamity which took up a lot of my time and caused me to re-evauate some things..............I've since sold my buisness and now help semi-independent adults who have mental and/or physical disabilities. Watches? I had the perfect 10 for a couple of years (I still have them) and there was just nothing that I coveted, not then and not now. All I was doing was regularly changing my work watch, but then I bought a Seiko Sportura from Taffyman and that became the perfect work watch, it has been for over a year now. I need something to grab my attention to make me "desire" again.. Cycling, been across Spain again, a quick visit to Sicily and am about to cycle to Acre (South of Rome) where my ex-business partner now lives. I can recommend Catania to anybody wanting short break, stunning baroque architecture, mucky, edgy and with suppendous views of Etna. Couldn't cycle in it as the roads were made of larva slabs and too slippy. As you can see, my handsomeness is ever growing as I age. :yes:
  15. Nice pics everbody (bar the mtb), the Isaac looks great. I am in Barcelona for a while, riding a 1990's retro Peugeot which are in fashion here, 25 euros a week, I'll see if I can get a pic up.
  16. 40psi! My 35mm's are at 100psi when on the road, I've a MTB with knobbly 40mm's and even they are at 65psi. You'll have legs like a body builder by Xmas. :)
  17. My friend Gary, the owner/builder/designer, it's for sale as he's building another, any takers? :D
  18. Well done Paul, a good time indeed. Tyres make all the difference. I would not have suspension on your commute, it's dead weight and saps energy and enthusiasm. Yes, my road bike is a hard ride on 23mm tyres at 120psi, but my hybrid is super comfy with 35mm Schwalbe's.
  19. The watch is an Orsa military on a black hemp strap, great for sticky, humid days.
  20. I have used a Thule towbar mounted one since losing 2 bikes from my car roof in an underground car park entrance in Breda. There is a lot of crap out there that you won't be able to give away when you have no longer have use. Thule.
  21. Been drinking a bit recently, I wish it would stay this hot forever. :) https://soundcloud.com/musicmix/bombay-mixed Great summer music, 12.00 is an epic Jumping Jack Flash, but there is something for everybody, very silly indeed.
  22. Archos! Would not touch one with a bargepole. My son broke his tablet 2 days after purchasing it, he cracked the screen like umpteen other owners if Ebay is anything to go by. No spares are stocked by Archos and they cannot repair, a repair which should be extremely simple. They can however, offer 20% of a new tablet. Oh, he couldn't run YT vids either...........
  23. Worlds gone mad. Scottish football team can no longer kick a ball straight but jock tennis player starts winning grand slams. :huh: P.S His mum is scary, has a face like a bag of chisels and false teeth like Bingo from Banana Splits.
  24. Hmmm that looks a good day out, but, I am doing the Leeds Sky ride and then promised I'd take my daughter to Bolton Abbey for picnic and swim. Might show some tanks and stuff later and see her reaction. :)
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