Search found 2205 matches

by Manc33
25 Mar 2024, 12:44am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Anyone ordered anything from Decathlon lately?
Replies: 13
Views: 750

Re: Anyone ordered anything from Decathlon lately?

It's a shame there's so few Decathlon stores in the UK.

I've heard tales of people driving 50+ miles there and 50+ miles back to buy a bike. What I noticed about Decathlon is, they attempt to put together a reasonably lightweight bike at a decent price and that seems to be why those 50+ mile journeys are done. I'm lucky enough to live within 3 miles of one (Stockport) but to be honest, unless you're after a complete bike, they are usually more expensive on individual bike parts. I bought a £299.99 "Triban 3" from there in 2012 (on the final day of the Tour de France that year - and it was an absolute ghost town in there - due to everyone watching the cycling including the staff!) That bike I consider a bargain for what it was. It was the same with the MTB I bought from there in 2010 "RockRider 6.2" that was £269.99 but it was more like a £500 bike, if the reviews are anything to go off. I still use that frame now on my Kickr smart trainer.

I wouldn't worry about the delays and just wait it out if you're waiting for an online order to be delivered. Yes it smacks of shoddy organization at their end, you feel like you're being made to look stupid, I get that, with them daft enough to not realizing people can order stuff that's out of stock, but honestly from my experiences with them, I'd let it slide.

I will always remember taking a "Stelvio" carbon fork into Decathlon that I bought from Planet-X (and they must have known they didn't stock it) and asking them to put a crown race on it... that takes 10 seconds... but most bike shops would charge something to do that like £5 or whatever. The (older) bike mechanic guy that handed the fork back to me after hammering on the crown race, just told me to forget about paying - he did it for free. I was just some random guy off the street that wandered in with a fork they didn't even sell me. These are the things you never forget about a bike shop, or "Workshop" as it's called in Decathlon. It looks all commercial if you walk into one, but there's a human heart still beating there!

It's annoying waiting for stuff to be done, but if it was me having these delays I wouldn't really care because of things like I just mentioned, from the past. They are a great bike shop. One I truly have respect for.
by Manc33
17 Feb 2024, 3:18am
Forum: Fun & Games
Topic: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Replies: 2256
Views: 126178

Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??

Another one the football channels will not stop saying this month: "Best in class"

Man United are recruiting the best in class. Are they really! Do you have to say it fifty billion times?
by Manc33
12 Feb 2024, 2:02pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: The Schwalbe “marathon”…
Replies: 3
Views: 388

Re: The Schwalbe “marathon”…

I found getting these tyres on, it seems to be mostly about really pressing it into the rim at the 6 o'clock position, then really pressing it in at 7 o'clock and 5 o'clock, then 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock etc. If it's not already seated fully at the bottom at the start, there's often no chance of getting it on. I also found it's only when they are brand new too, taking off and putting on ones that have been ridden for hundreds of miles is a lot easier.
by Manc33
7 Feb 2024, 9:22pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Where would you emigrate to?
Replies: 91
Views: 3557

Re: Where would you emigrate to?

Nearholmer wrote: 4 Feb 2024, 1:25pm While the murder rate in Canada is far below tgat in the USA, it’s still double that of major Western European countries, and getting on for ten times that of Japan.
There's more chance of me avoiding getting killed than there is of me learning Japanese.
by Manc33
4 Feb 2024, 10:55am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Where would you emigrate to?
Replies: 91
Views: 3557

Re: Where would you emigrate to?

Canada. Wherever is the warmest city (Victoria or Vancouver).

Although those 2 places are practically in the US, it's still Canada.

Why? Because it's not America :lol: It would have to be somewhere English speaking. The only other place is Australia and it's too hot, with too many snakes and scorpions etc. People don't even lock their doors in Canada. In one documentary I saw, a local cop said there has been one murder by shooting in ten years there (this was in a populated area like Vancouver or Toronto) and "That was a guy that had wandered in from Detroit".
by Manc33
1 Feb 2024, 8:01pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Wisdom more important than intelligence?
Replies: 30
Views: 1591

Re: Wisdom more important than intelligence?

If what ever happened, us leaving the EU? :P

(joking)

I've never seen people tiptoe around a subject like they did with the virus, when anyone talking about it in any conspiratorial way started losing their YouTube channels etc. It's that 100% censoring that should be investigated and is a conspiracy in itself.

I don't think there wasn't a virus or something going around because people that are skeptics about a lot of stuff, said they caught it. I had something myself, it was really mild but I am sure that's what it was.

The people conspiring have everything covered. Most of them have died of old age by the time the truth comes out and in all the decades prior, it's a "conspiracy theory". :roll:

Operation Northwoods (1962)
Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972)
Watergate Scandal (1972-1974)
MKUltra (1950s-1970s)
Operation Paperclip (1945-1959)
Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964)
Iran-Contra Affair (1980s)

All assumed to be dreamt up by morons at first, but turned out to be true. Look at the years though. If we ever find anything out like this, it takes 50+ years for it to come out anyway.

I said it's subjective because how is a conspiracy theory defined? Some would say the above list isn't conspiracy theories, it's all stuff the US government might be doing but (at the time) is deemed outrageous and yes a "conspiracy theory", but there's other claims that are far more outrageous like the one I saw claiming every US president has been a black woman and they have figured out ways to make them look like white men. That video vanished so maybe it's true. :lol:

The tough part seems to be deciding if it's likely to be true. Elvis still alive etc or the most famous one... JFK. They all have varying levels of outrageousness about them and at first, all sound outrageous but some end up being true - after 50 years and no one's alive to be punished.
by Manc33
1 Feb 2024, 7:44pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Wisdom more important than intelligence?
Replies: 30
Views: 1591

Re: Wisdom more important than intelligence?

Jdsk wrote: 1 Feb 2024, 7:39pm
Manc33 wrote: 1 Feb 2024, 7:33pm
Jdsk wrote: 26 Jan 2024, 2:49pmOne important way of managing progress is learning how to recognise and call out conspiracy theories.
How are they recognized though?
...
Please don't take this the wrong way, but is this rhetorical or would you like practical techniques?

Thanks

Jonathan
There isn't a technique, because it's too subjective.

There's still people denying things that started out as seemingly baseless conspiracy theories, that turned out to be true. That's why I find it amazing that the investigating of any and all conspiracy theories is almost universally scoffed at.

I think a lot of it is because most people are worried that to think something is to believe it, when that doesn't have to be the case. If someone suggests something, for example "JFK wasn't shot by Oswald" then they are immediately lambasted for it, but the assumption is they only believe that possibility. It seems to be the influence these viewpoints have that is the issue. What if there's people that can entertain a thought without believing it? :lol:
by Manc33
1 Feb 2024, 7:33pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: Wisdom more important than intelligence?
Replies: 30
Views: 1591

Re: Wisdom more important than intelligence?

Jdsk wrote: 26 Jan 2024, 2:49pmOne important way of managing progress is learning how to recognise and call out conspiracy theories.
How are they recognized though?

The notion that no conspiracy theory can ever be true assumes nobody in any position of power would ever conspire to do anything wrong. My issue is, how has society been convinced to perceive looking into conspiracy theories as unfashionable?

That to me is perhaps the most amazing stunt ever pulled and it worked to great effect. Anyone questions anything and they are automatically labelled as a moron. That's not bad if you're one of the people conspiring is it! World's your oyster.

It seems the wrong way around to me and what should be unfashionable is the assumption that no one is ever conspiring and only "tinfoil hat" types would investigate such matters.

"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time Magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost 40 years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subjected to the lights of publicity during those years."
― David Rockefeller in 1991
by Manc33
1 Feb 2024, 6:57pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Which bike would be a better buy?
Replies: 40
Views: 1892

Re: Which bike would be a better buy?

Atesz wrote: 1 Feb 2024, 6:27pmIt is frame size 50 and I am 182 tall.
You're 6ft tall. Find out the effective top tube length.

It's on flat bars with a suspension fork (like MTB) but it has 700c wheels (like a road bike) and road sizing "50".

On flat bars at 5'9" tall I need an effective top tube of 590mm. Even then my saddle was pushed back, so I'd guess it needs to be 600mm. You're even taller than me so maybe 620mm or 630mm effective top tube.

If this is truly a road frame, it will have a shorter top tube than an equivalent sized MTB frame. In that case the size of the frame (in road terms) would need to be far more than a 50. More like 60+. Then you'll have no clearance to the top tube when standing on the ground and it's just all wrong. The answer is to not put flat bars on road frames (use a MTB frame).

I am sure a size 50 will be far too small for you assuming it's a road frame with flat bars on it. You'll have nowhere near enough reach. I had a 57 and put flat bars on it and that didn't have enough reach, but it had something like a 570mm top tube, which is why. When I had drop bars on that same bike, the reach was too much and if using drops, I need something like a 50.

It's all a mess these days. They are putting flat bars on bikes meant for drop bars, so who knows what's the right frame size anymore. I worked out there's 13cm difference in reach between drops and flat bars!

You say you can't demo the bike but you need to at least sit on the bike in a shop while looking where the saddle is clamped. Since these bike manufacturers aren't stupid, I guess they know they are putting flat bars on and make the frame some sort of MTB based top tube length while fitting it with 700c wheels. I still have no idea what size someone 6ft tall needs though. :lol: Not when the bike is a cross between 2 other types of bike.
by Manc33
25 Jan 2024, 4:20pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: The name of the warning gadget
Replies: 78
Views: 4361

Re: The name of the warning gadget

I wonder if they make a radar thing that checks if a car is within 3 feet and lets off a police siren noise for a second or two. Make them think they are getting pulled over as they do the close pass. :D
by Manc33
18 Jan 2024, 5:42pm
Forum: Fun & Games
Topic: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Replies: 2256
Views: 126178

Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??

"I'm not gonna lie but" [insert something they claim they won't be lying about when they say it].

Are they normally lying? :lol:
by Manc33
11 Jan 2024, 12:29am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Do i need ebike tyres?
Replies: 17
Views: 1263

Re: Do i need ebike tyres?

Most stuff labelled eBike specific is a marketing scam.

One thing that isn't (from my own experiences) is that you will get more punctures on your rear wheel. Perhaps me having a rear hub based setup might be the reason why, or maybe the added weight also makes punctures just as likely on mid drive setups? (and all of this depends where the battery is mounted too) but I got 2 punctures on mine with Marathon Plus tyres and Tannus Armour inserts. I made a thread here about it at the time, but the long and short of it is, those Tannus Armour inserts flatten out over time to only 3mm or 4mm thick (when they started out at 15mm thick) on my 26" x 1.75" tyres.

If you add together the initial Marathon Plus protection (5mm) and Tannus Armour (15mm) you'd think 20mm would keep just about anything from puncturing the tyre and it would, if the Armour stayed at 20mm... it doesn't, it ends up giving you about 8mm which for me, wasn't enough.

The last resort and something I never wanted to do after reading up on them... solid tyres. I did it anyway. The most reputable ones seem to be Tannus Aither because they did a deal with Specialized at one point, where something like 120,000 "hybrid" bikes in Japan were sold with those solid tyres. My only concern was safety, but if Specialized are willing to put their reputation on the line, I thought why not.

They handle like **** but you get used to them. They are harder to fit than pushing a steam train... but once they are on they are on. These tyres are just horrible to ride on, but the fact that you cannot get a puncture, for me overrides all of that.

There's other downsides to them like the cost, but after a lot of contemplating, I just ended up shelling out for a pair and put them on. They are around £80 to £100 for a pair which is insane compared to "puncture attracting" tyres. If you don't mind riding your bike as if you're riding on algae coated cobbles when there's the slightest bit of moisture on the road, they are fine. Keeps us on our toes anyway doesn't it! :lol:

After using them for hundreds of miles, in retrospect I wouldn't bother with them and would stick with Marathon Plus with Tannus Armour inserts... and just put up with the odd puncture. If you have a rear hub setup, with the M+ and Tannus Armour, it takes an object so offensive to cause a puncture that you're going to see it sticking out of the tyre on the outside. Once/since you know where it is, there's no need to take the rear wheel off, which is a huge faff and a huge risk on a rear hub due to risking stripping threads on those flat sided axles - and it's likely you wouldn't be carrying around a 19mm spanner to do it anyway - although I do out of sheer fear. No you can just pull off half the tyre and inner tube, fix it and be on your way, in fact the fastest puncture repair I ever did was with a rear eBike wheel not taken off, with a Park Tools self adhesive patch. If you know where the nail (or industrial staple) is then it's a 4 minute repair.
by Manc33
7 Jan 2024, 2:46am
Forum: Fun & Games
Topic: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??
Replies: 2256
Views: 126178

Re: English Language - what "Does your head in" ??

These are American but I keep hearing and reading them all the time.

"Lowkey"

Usage:
"I'm lowkey so self-conscious"

Why say lowkey? Why not just leave the word out and say "I'm so self-conscious"?

"Lowkey" seems to be used when there's embarrassment about the situation. Rather than just say you're "So self-conscious" it's somehow better to say "I'm lowkey so self-conscious" :?:

Another one: "ngl" (not gonna lie)

Usage:
"I'm not gonna lie, I was self-conscious"

This implies that usually you are lying, so why say it?

Skip to 14m 22s (the link should skip to that time)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2A5LFu1twQ&t=862s
by Manc33
2 Jan 2024, 6:59pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: TV licensing...
Replies: 1894
Views: 104020

Re: TV licensing...

I was using something (from Github) to download BBC programmes, but it's so fiddly, faffing around looking up what code number they are calling that particular programme, I don't bother with it most times. It's easier just playing it on their own iPlayer.
by Manc33
2 Jan 2024, 5:53pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: TV licensing...
Replies: 1894
Views: 104020

Re: TV licensing...

It might be relevant if anything funny was on BBC anymore but it's not. Blackadder, Only Fools and Horses, Red Dwarf... these were arguably the funniest TV shows ever made. What's on these days that even remotely compares to any of those?