Mars bar syndrome

citizen142 said:

I guess I'm stuck in my old cycling ways and will stick to toe clips
and straps. I needed a new pair of Christophe clips and duly bought
them at the LBS. On fitting them I thought hang on these just don't
seem the same as the one's I have on my old hack bike - sure enough on
examination the clips were made of much thinner metal. [censored] how
mean can you get, the old ones must only weigh grammes but you've got
to make them of thinner gauge metal to save a few cents (made in
France).

For flip's sake!

Just get with the 20th century (Yes, I know, but these things have been
around for 20 years!) and get some proper pedals! They're not that
expensive!

"citizen142" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I guess I'm stuck in my old cycling ways and will stick to toe clips
and straps.

May a middle-aged, apprentice old-fart of a woman suggest a change to one of
the clipless pedal systems? I was a reluctant convert to clipless but now
would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just so much easier
to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need to be able to loosen
off a strap quickly... Some of these new-fangled, modern, techo-wizardry
stuff is actually better than the traditional methods :-)

Cheers, helen s

citizen142 said:

I call this the Mars Bar Syndrome - at 62 I can remember when the
'giant' Mars bar was the standard bar, instead of which we now get the
ever decreasing bar where eventually the packaging will be heavier
than the contents!

Point of order, m'lud, at 39 my memory is rather the opposite, with
the standard sized bar increasingly sidelined by ever bigger
versions as time went by.

As Helen points out, the main reason to use clipless systems is
they work better, and are easier to get in and out of too.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"citizen142" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I guess I'm stuck in my old cycling ways and will stick to toe clips
and straps.

May a middle-aged, apprentice old-fart of a woman suggest a change to one
of the clipless pedal systems? I was a reluctant convert to clipless but
now would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just so much
easier to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need to be able
to loosen off a strap quickly... Some of these new-fangled, modern,
techo-wizardry stuff is actually better than the traditional methods :-)

Cheers, helen s

I converted to clipless 18 months ago ( I was 67 ) I fell off 3 times the
first day and twice on the second but after that I was ok -- and it was
like riding a new bike! Never regretted it!

On my new bike I have had half and half pedals installed. I just think on my
long touring holidays it will be nice to get out of bike shoes at the end of
a day and be able to pootle around in flip flops/trainers or whatever.

But anyway change to spd for a new / better experience

Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.

Quoted message said:

Point of order, m'lud, at 39 my memory is rather the opposite, with
the standard sized bar increasingly sidelined by ever bigger
versions as time went by.

Several years ago (2002?) they were girlified - made smaller with poncey
rounded lettering, thinner chocolate and more 'fluffiness'.

wafflycat said:

May a middle-aged, apprentice old-fart of a woman suggest a change to
one of the clipless pedal systems?

Bloody lycra-louts!

I was a reluctant convert to clipless

Quoted message said:

but now would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just so
much easier to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need to be
able to loosen off a strap quickly...

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Some of these new-fangled, modern,

Quoted message said:

techo-wizardry stuff is actually better than the traditional methods :-)

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

--
not me guv

Mark Thompson said:

Several years ago (2002?) they were girlified - made smaller with
poncey rounded lettering, thinner chocolate and more 'fluffiness'.

Did you call my Mars bar a pouf?

"Mark Thompson"
<pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Point of order, m'lud, at 39 my memory is rather the opposite, with
the standard sized bar increasingly sidelined by ever bigger
versions as time went by.

Several years ago (2002?) they were girlified - made smaller with poncey
rounded lettering, thinner chocolate and more 'fluffiness'.

Speaking as one of those girlie-things... 'girlified' would actually mean
putting on ever more chocolate.... as every girlie knows, chocolate is
better than s*x, men...

Cheers, helen s

Response to Nick Kew:

Quoted message said:

I was a reluctant convert to clipless

Quoted message said:

but now would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just so
much easier to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need to be
able to loosen off a strap quickly...

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Some of these new-fangled, modern,

Quoted message said:

techo-wizardry stuff is actually better than the traditional methods :-)

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

Just a day or so ago I went to my favourite LBS and bought a pair of
these -

http://tinyurl.com/qa84c

[for a couple of quid cheaper than Wiggle's April special offer, so
bully for http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/] to replace my present pair,
which are getting a bit long in the tooth. The SPD cleat is recessed,
so you can walk normally; although the sole is slightly stiffer than
ordinary shoes.

I wear shoes like these pretty much invariably on the bike, and happily
walk around in them as well. If I was buying all my bike equipment
again from scratch, SPD pedals and shoes would be a *very* high
priority.

Be aware: you really have to go to an LBS and try them on. Sizes vary
between manufacturers *and* models, and pretending to yourself that an
on-line bargain fits when it doesn't is a pointless exercise. DAMHIK...

Come to think of it, it's almost the season for SPD sandals again. I
love this time of year!

--
Mark, UK
"One of the gigs was in Kidderminster at a venue called Frank Freeman's
Dancing School. This was in the days when groups were called things like
Creedence Clearwater Revival or New Riders of the Purple Sage, and one
of the band said to me: 'Hey, that's a really groovy name.' 'Not
really,' I told him. 'It's a dancing school run by a man named Frank
Freeman'."

"citizen142" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I call this the Mars Bar Syndrome - at 62 I can remember when the
'giant' Mars bar was the standard bar, instead of which we now get the
ever decreasing bar where eventually the packaging will be heavier
than the contents!

Ever decreasing? The last Mars bar I saw was gigantic!

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

wafflycat said:

Speaking as one of those girlie-things... 'girlified' would actually
mean putting on ever more chocolate.... as every girlie knows, chocolate
is better than s*x, men...

The easiest way to add chocolate is take out all that ridiculous
milk they keep adulterating it with, taking up the place of
perfectly good cocoa mass. As you'd relaise if you /really/
appreciated chocolate! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

in message <[email hidden]>, Nick Kew

(') said:

wafflycat said:

May a middle-aged, apprentice old-fart of a woman suggest a change to
one of the clipless pedal systems?

Bloody lycra-louts!

I was a reluctant convert to clipless

Quoted message said:

but now would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just
so much easier to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need
to be able to loosen off a strap quickly...

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Some of these new-fangled, modern,

Quoted message said:

techo-wizardry stuff is actually better than the traditional methods
:-)

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

You can generally walk comfortably in any shoes designed for mountain
biking or cyclo-cross - necessarily so, because in these disciplines
occasions when one has to get off and carry are not that infrequent.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; L'etat c'est moi -- Louis XVI
;; I... we... the Government -- Tony Blair

"Nick Kew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

wafflycat said:

May a middle-aged, apprentice old-fart of a woman suggest a change to one
of the clipless pedal systems?

Bloody lycra-louts!

That's me ;-)

Quoted message said:

I was a reluctant convert to clipless

Quoted message said:

but now would never willingly go back to toeclips. Clipless are just so
much easier to get in and out of quickly, getting rid of that need to be
able to loosen off a strap quickly...

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Indeedee, there's many such a stylee available. My very own ones I wear are
such a stylee.

Quoted message said:

Some of these new-fangled, modern,

Quoted message said:

techo-wizardry stuff is actually better than the traditional methods :-)

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

Oh yes, I can do that.

Cheers, helen s

Nick Kew said:

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

Yes, no problem. The shoes you need are sold as "MTB", rather than
"road". The sole is more flexible, the cleats are recessed into a
moderately chunky tread, and there's a small heel. I've been very pleased
with Shimano M031, and they're available in subdued colours too. I also
find that double-sided pedals, that is SPD both sides, are good for
road/touring use, and very handy on the recumbent. The downside is that
there won't be effective pedal reflectors, although I wear reflecting
ankle-bands at night to compensate.

Mike

Mike Causer said:

Quoted message said:

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

Yes, no problem. The shoes you need are sold as "MTB", rather than
"road". The sole is more flexible, the cleats are recessed into a
moderately chunky tread, and there's a small heel.

And by happy coincidence, Lidl are doing cleat compatible cycling
shoes this very monday, for the bargain price of £15.

http://www.lidl.co.uk/gb/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20060417.p.Mens_Mountain_Bike_Shoes

These aren't the only game in town, as others have mentioned, but they
are surely the best value.

Cleats come with the pedals and bolt into the sole of the shoe where
they happily sit out of the way so that you can walk normally when off
the bike.

Usual recommendation for those new to clipless pedals are the base
model Shimano SPD's, available at several places for about 20 quid.
CycleXpress have them and offer free postage:

http://www.cyclexpress.co.uk/products/M520_SPD_Pedals_169.asp

I can't think of another way to spend £35 that would deliver such a
big improvment on the bike.

"Bob"
--

Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage.

Mike Causer said:

Nick Kew said:

Are they available in a comfy form (like a trainer)?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

Not unless I can, at the very least, walk comfortably in it.

Yes, no problem. The shoes you need are sold as "MTB", rather than
"road". The sole is more flexible, the cleats are recessed into a
moderately chunky tread, and there's a small heel.

You don't need flexibility. You need the right degree of rock on the
sole. I have a pair of Diadora Chili that fit like a glove. Very stiff
(which is a good thing for cycling) but the sole is curved just right
for comfortable walking. I have worn them all day at work when I forgot
my 'proper' shoes.

...d

in message <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch

(') said:

wafflycat said:

Speaking as one of those girlie-things... 'girlified' would actually
mean putting on ever more chocolate.... as every girlie knows,
chocolate is better than s*x, men...

The easiest way to add chocolate is take out all that ridiculous
milk they keep adulterating it with, taking up the place of
perfectly good cocoa mass. As you'd relaise if you /really/
appreciated chocolate! ;-)

Just so. Less than 70%, just say /no/. 80% or better, mmmmm.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; All in all you're just another hick in the mall
-- Drink C'lloid

"Simon Mason" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"citizen142" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I call this the Mars Bar Syndrome - at 62 I can remember when the
'giant' Mars bar was the standard bar, instead of which we now get the
ever decreasing bar where eventually the packaging will be heavier
than the contents!

Ever decreasing? The last Mars bar I saw was gigantic!

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

It must be my mind but I assumed this thread was about Mick Jagger and
Marianne Faithful and a Mars bar in 1967. I'm sure mine was much bigger
then.

"Geoff Pearson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

It must be my mind but I assumed this thread was about Mick Jagger and
Marianne Faithful and a Mars bar in 1967. I'm sure mine was much bigger
then.

Blokes have always overestimated the size of their... errr... Mars bar ;-)

Cheers, helen s