Greetings

I was happy about something but couldn't share it which has made me sad and confused. Where has RSQ, the happy and angry thread gone?

Thought someone split this into the car thread and the FWD hatchback, preferalby French thread? Where's the other 1000 pages gone?

I'm sooo happy that song didn't turn out to be a dubstep remix. I f**king hate dubstep.

Looks really odd. But I'd love to ride it, could be interesting.

Group 1: trailing spokes on inside of flange Group 2: trailing spokes on outside of flange Group 3: leading spokes on inside of flange Group 4 leading spokes on outside of flange As opposed to just having trailing on outside and leading on inside. I wonder why none of the professional wheel builders on this forum have anything to say about this.

Starting to wear off now but when I was younger and had to go to church I used to imagine riding on the stuff they had in there to make time pass faster. There were some really cool obstacles. Priests must be pretty lucky trials riders if there are any.

No need for different spoke lengths. It's by all means possible, done it many many times. I'm self taught when it comes to wheel builds, must have done about 300 as of today and I just absorbed Sheldon Brown's guide at the start and have been doing everything according to that since. However, there is no mention in that guide about 4 groups of spokes rather than 2. Despite this for a reason I cannot explain, I always end up with this 4 group build on my own bike and the problem mentioned in the 1st post. Don't really want to change it now because the wheel is an absolute pig to get straight due to the zero-stiffness rim. I can understand the need for 4 groups on rear disc brake wheels but why on ones which use a rim brake? edit: actually I can't understand that either, in trials the braking force is reversed.

One of my riding buddies bought some clay last year and found that he quite enjoyed sculpting. He's now making stuff like this

Took a few pics of the big car. B12 kit seems to have settled in. Really want to have it detailed but it kind of needs a repaint which I don't want to spend money on now but might want to next year...

I love the bedside lamp attached to the engine! Gives the car a touch of class. Got to agree with the gear stick. Looking at a similar stick to this in the new car. Looks like a sequential shifter but it's not. Must feel fantastic.

You're female aren't you?

Believe it or not but that's not the only wheel and frame I've had in the last 5 years My main point is that if the wheel is held in centre entirely by spokes which lose tension under torque then the rim will shift. Loosen all the leading spokes and the wheel is not going to be dished anymore.

I love one of the youtube comments "what happens if you drop one of your tools?" Felt really uncomfortable watching that.

Could be something to do with the hub, this King is the only one I've used on a stock bike. As for the 2nd point I've heard that and I'm sure there's a lot of sense in it. But in that case the wheel would shift towards the left wouldn't it? Due to the right chainstay becoming slightly shorter. I guess the only way to be completely sure it to build a wheel with the spokes the other way round and see if it shifts to the left.

Yes, it still happens and has done on lightweight builds for as long as I've been riding a stock bike.

After 5 years I think I've finally figured out why some wheels will tend to shift to one side under heavy torque. Basically looking for confirmation here and a reason why these kind of wheel builds are common in trials (Inspired have them for instance). This is my current build which shifts to the drive side under torque: I figure this happens because the non-drive side flange trailing spokes run on the inside, while the drive side flange trailing spokes run on the outside. So when torque is applied, the axis of the rim shifts towards the side both spokes are sticking out of. If one had both trailing spokes on the outside of the hub then presumably this wouldn't happen?

edit: Never mind. Finally ended up ordering this one. Pretty much all the reasonably priced bikes were out of stock which left me with this slightly pricey and also rather ugly thing But hey, if I don't like it I'll easily sell it for the purchase price.

Would I be right in saying that for 95% of the riders out there an Element would be good enough? Apart from the ridiculous ball bearing headset of course.

My first car was a 2nd generation CRX with a twin cam non-vtec engine and it was brilliant. Sold it 3 years ago but I'm briefly driving it now and am still enjoying it a lot despite being used to cars like the 7 series or BMW M models. Very good fuel consumption, incredibly reliable (over 65k miles it had a clutch done, exhaust, a few bushes, new discs and pads and that's it). It's easy to park, if you limit yourself to 1 passenger it's got a properly big boot and maintinence like tyres is very cheap. Plus it's properly quick but even if you don't want to drive it quickly (probably best if you don't) you benefit from the low weight and great torque that engine has at low revs. It literally pulls hard in 5th at over 1500rpm meaning you can go into top gear very early and relax without having to rev the shit out of it. Honestly I have never driven a car with such a small engine that pulls so well at low revs.

Will look into it. Thanks. Pimp spec although what caught my attention more was the welcome gnome Spec of that bike is as follows. Not sure if it's good or bad? Hope the Merida importer has them in stock. Can't wait to get it!

Went to test out a few bikes and decided to go for this one: Probably going to change tyres for something narrower and that's it. Absolutely fell in love with how these bikes ride.

That's a fair point. Although all things considered, I have loads of nice roads to cycle on since I live out in the countryside but not that much trails. The surroundings are as flat as a 28AA lady and it's mostly fields. I can see the benefit of a road capable bike being that I'd be more inclined use it to ride somewhere I would otherwise take the car (provided I have the time to ride of course). As for what I enjoy, that's another good point and I just don't know. The appealing thought now is mostly just exercising alone in pleasant surroundings with some good music and having time to think. Anyway, I'm going to go to a local Merida dealer tomorrow morning and actually look at these bikes in the flesh.

Can't say that's good news. But surely it's possible, just a bit more difficult to balance? Andee I can only get a Merida bike due to the reason mentioned in the first post. This seems fairly similar: And then there's the 29" more mountain-bikey alternative. However, if I'll be doing 80% of the riding on tarmac then it's probably not worth it? So if I understand this correctly, the hybrid bike will be good for tarmac and a more recreational alternative to a typical road bike, the bike in the 1st pic is more off-roady than the hybrid and the one just above is mostly for off-road but also good on tarmac right? Yeah I know. My diet isn't brilliant but it's not bad either. The reason I'm getting a bit portly is due to a mono infection I got in September, wasn't able to do any exercise at all for over half a year. So despite the not too brilliant diet I never had weight issues.

Thanks man. If only there were some "blueprints" for obstacles made out of the normal 120x80x15 pallets. My imagination really sucks when it comes to inventing new stuff, can't think of anything really interesting.

Would you say that with some fatter tyres a hybrid bike is good to go ever so slightly off road? Like riding in the woods for instance? I've got no experience with road tyres, perhaps they're good for any surface as long as it's not soft?