WSJ has fixie article mentioning Sheldon's site

In article <[email hidden]>,
<[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Once again, Sheldon Brown points--er, leads the way!

The number of hits sheldonbrown.com generates must be astronomical.
Cycling enthusiasts I've met over the years, during casual
conversations, almost invariably broach Sheldon's site as the
preeminent cycling resource on the WWW.

His affiliation with Harris Cyclery notwithstanding, I've often
wondered how Sheldon resists the obvious temptation to profit from his
considerable efforts through selling adverts. No doubt the site's
renown must've generated interest from advertisers.

But how tactless to enquire of Sheldon himself! I wouldn't expect the
man to condescend to respond to such impertinence directly anyway;
replying obliquely through his collection of signatures is more in
accordance with his sense of style.

Quoted message said:

If the WSJ
mentions his site, surely they must be contemplating a flattering
piece on the collective wisdom of RBT!

Wasn't that tribute already published in the WSJ's OBIT section?

Luke

Luke said:

Quoted message said:

Once again, Sheldon Brown points--er, leads the way!

The number of hits sheldonbrown.com generates must be astronomical.

We'll have to ask, but when I used to send letters to the WSJ editor in
the 70s and 80s, and they printed one, zero letters and phone calls
resulted. Websites may be more attractive, but mere national exposure
doesn't do it alone.

I had the format down pretty well at the end, and got a lot of letters
printed. Working an editor is an art.

--
Ron Hardin
[email hidden]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

Carl Fogel said:

The Friday, July 7, Wall Street Journal has a 9-column piece on fixies
below the fold of its Weekend Journal section, "Look Ma, No Brakes,"
by Hannah Karp.

One paragraph must be quoted:

Quoted message said:

"The danger doesn't stop ewhen the bike does. Fixed-gear owners can
injure themselves when the bike is elevated on a repair stand. In
contrast with standard models, with chains that stop spinning if
somehting is caught in them, the chains and pedals oon fixies keep
moving as long as the wheel is turning, even if something gets stuck
in the works. Sites including fixedgeargallery.com, cycelicio.us, and

www.Sheldonbrown.com

contain tales of stuck digits, even pictures of severed fingers."

The reporter had contacted me by email, then interviewed me on the
phone, but, as I feared aftter talking to her, she seemed fixated on
the finger snippage issue as the central "hook" of her piece, wich is
unfortunate.

Luke said:

The number of hits sheldonbrown.com generates must be astronomical.
Cycling enthusiasts I've met over the years, during casual
conversations, almost invariably broach Sheldon's site as the
preeminent cycling resource on the WWW.

Aw, shucks...I don't like to brag--actually that's not true, I LOVE to
brag, so here are my latest stats:

Report: Summary - www.sheldonbrown.com
Date Range: 07/01/2006 - 07/07/2006

Total Sessions 120,038.00
Total Pageviews 408,703.00
Total Hits 3,038,567.00
Total Bytes Transferred 46.68 GB

Average Sessions Per Day 17,148.29
Average Pageviews Per Day 58,386.14
Average Hits Per Day 434,081.00
Average Bytes Transferred Per Day 6.67 GB

Average Pageviews Per Session 3.40
Average Hits Per Session 25.31
Average Bytes Per Session 407.80 KB
Average Length of Session 00:05:55

Sheldon "The Internet Been Berry, Berry Good To Me" Brown
+----------------------------------------+
| Missing my daily Amanda Congdon Fix |
+----------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Captain Bike said:

Average Pageviews Per Day 58,386.14

Whoa.

JT

****************************
Remove "remove" to reply
Visit http://www.jt10000.com
****************************

Quoted message said:

One paragraph must be quoted:

"The danger doesn't stop when the bike does. Fixed-gear owners can
injure themselves when the bike is elevated on a repair stand. In
contrast with standard models, with chains that stop spinning if
somehting is caught in them, the chains and pedals oon fixies keep
moving as long as the wheel is turning, even if something gets stuck
in the works. Sites including fixedgeargallery.com, cycelicio.us, and
www.Sheldonbrown.com contain tales of stuck digits, even pictures of
severed fingers."

IIANM, a fixed-gear bike would violate the safety regs at most of the
refineries that I used to visit when I was in the forklift business.

--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Captain Bike said:

Aw, shucks...I don't like to brag--actually that's not true, I LOVE to
brag, so here are my latest stats:

People constantly wonder what they can do to be a success. Being
excellent at what others are at best good at works every time.

-paul

Werehatrack said:

IIANM, a fixed-gear bike would violate the safety regs at most of the
refineries that I used to visit when I was in the forklift business.

Another example of how short-sighted big-brothered
safety regulations have killed off the uniquely American
(if uniquely misguided) fixed-gear bicycle-forklift industry.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ron Hardin said:

Luke said:

Quoted message said:

Once again, Sheldon Brown points--er, leads the way!

The number of hits sheldonbrown.com generates must be astronomical.

We'll have to ask, but when I used to send letters to the WSJ editor in
the 70s and 80s, and they printed one, zero letters and phone calls
resulted. Websites may be more attractive, but mere national exposure
doesn't do it alone.

I had the format down pretty well at the end, and got a lot of letters
printed. Working an editor is an art.

That's funny. A year or two ago, I sent a letter to the editor of one of
the local weekly papers. This is in a suburban municipality of less than
50,000.

I got an answering machine message from a stranger thanking me for
stating the opinion I did.

Maybe it's a local thing.

On the other hand, my website (wiredcola.com) gets about 20 pageviews a
day. It is, on the other hand, much less useful than Sheldon's.

While I'm touting web pages here, My club-mate John has put up
bikephysics.com, and is now testing the aerodynamics and rolling
resistance of various wheels. It's neat stuff if you're a bike racer.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 01:10:42 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ron Hardin said:

Luke said:

> Once again, Sheldon Brown points--er, leads the way!

The number of hits sheldonbrown.com generates must be astronomical.

We'll have to ask, but when I used to send letters to the WSJ editor in
the 70s and 80s, and they printed one, zero letters and phone calls
resulted. Websites may be more attractive, but mere national exposure
doesn't do it alone.

I had the format down pretty well at the end, and got a lot of letters
printed. Working an editor is an art.

That's funny. A year or two ago, I sent a letter to the editor of one of
the local weekly papers. This is in a suburban municipality of less than
50,000.

I got an answering machine message from a stranger thanking me for
stating the opinion I did.

Maybe it's a local thing.

On the other hand, my website (wiredcola.com) gets about 20 pageviews a
day. It is, on the other hand, much less useful than Sheldon's.

While I'm touting web pages here, My club-mate John has put up
bikephysics.com, and is now testing the aerodynamics and rolling
resistance of various wheels. It's neat stuff if you're a bike racer.

Dear Ron and Ryan,

Few letters to the editor provoke direct private responses.

One reason is that anyone outraged or enthralled has only your name
and perhaps city as a clue to how to address a letter or look you up
in the phone book.

Another reason is that privately venting my spleen at either of you
(or writing you a fan letter) reaches an audience of either a minimum
of 0 or a maximum of 1 (my letter ends up in your wastebasket, whether
you read it or not).

Come to think of it, a letter would require paper, an envelope, and
one of those rare pieces of art that stamp collectors have bid up to
39 cents. (Email is much cheaper, once you buy a computer and pay for
a high speed connection.)

It used to be much easier for people to write a letter to the editor
of their own that praised your brilliant letter to the editor (or
ripped the stuffing out of your obvious straw-man). That way, they
reached as many readers as you did.

But nowadays we write on the internet in places like this, where
almost anything is "published" and an audience of fellow enthusiasts
is guaranteed. (How many disappointed people, sixty born per hour, are
wondering when I'll get around to bicycles?)

Meanwhile, the letters to the editor stand daily guard beneath the
parrot with no email, telephone number, or street address to encourage
direct replies.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

email hidden said:

Werehatrack said:

IIANM, a fixed-gear bike would violate the safety regs at most of the
refineries that I used to visit when I was in the forklift business.

Another example of how short-sighted big-brothered
safety regulations have killed off the uniquely American
(if uniquely misguided) fixed-gear bicycle-forklift industry.

Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
it's just as well.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack said:

email hidden said:

Werehatrack said:

IIANM, a fixed-gear bike would violate the safety regs at most of the
refineries that I used to visit when I was in the forklift business.

Another example of how short-sighted big-brothered
safety regulations have killed off the uniquely American
(if uniquely misguided) fixed-gear bicycle-forklift industry.

Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
it's just as well.

Dear Werehatrack,

Okay, you rotten troller, you've hooked me fair and square.

I demand at least three of your juiciest examples.

Cheers,

Micropterus salmoides salmoides

Quoted message said:

Werehatrack said:

Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
it's just as well.

Dear Werehatrack,

Okay, you rotten troller, you've hooked me fair and square.

I demand at least three of your juiciest examples.

Warehouse racers; a pair or Nascar-wannabe lift drivers managed to
poke one of the forks of a 5000-lb-capacity forklift *through* a 12"
(3/4"-wall) I-beam when he encountered a patch of wet floor coming
down the back straight. The fork is still there as far as I know.

Aluminum stirrer; at an aluminum recycling plant, the molten metal is
agitated (to cause contaminants to collect for skimming) by a long
pole attached in place of the forks; the lift truck operator
approaches the end of the long melting depression in the floor, drops
the end of the pole into the aluminum, and then rocks the mast forward
and back with the tilt control to stir the aluminum. If the lift
truck stayed there too long, the front tires would melt until they
installed a home-made heat shield in front of the wheels.

Larceny; at a plant that shall remain nameless, employees bent on
theft used a forklift to dump boxes of stuff over the plant fence at a
specific location so that they could retrieve them later. The plan
had a flaw that they hadn't expected, however; after a hard rain, the
gravel-covered clay along the fence became just soft enough that
although the forklift had no problem pulling up to the 10-foot fence,
it became mired before it was able to pull away after depositing its
load past the razor-wire crown. The security people were less than
amused.

And then there are the countless incidents of people using a forklift
to try to change the bulb in a tall floodlight tower (without using
the personnel safety cage that's designed for such purposes), and
poking a hole in a gas tank when trying to use a forklift as a vehicle
jack to change a tire, and dumping a pallet of unfortunate stuff into
a particularly ill-chosen location by approaching too fast with the
load lifted too high...and hitting the brake a bit too hard and too
late...the list could go one for quite a while.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack said:

Quoted message said:

Werehatrack said:

Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
it's just as well.

Dear Werehatrack,

Okay, you rotten troller, you've hooked me fair and square.

I demand at least three of your juiciest examples.

Warehouse racers; a pair or Nascar-wannabe lift drivers managed to
poke one of the forks of a 5000-lb-capacity forklift *through* a 12"
(3/4"-wall) I-beam when he encountered a patch of wet floor coming
down the back straight. The fork is still there as far as I know.

Aluminum stirrer; at an aluminum recycling plant, the molten metal is
agitated (to cause contaminants to collect for skimming) by a long
pole attached in place of the forks; the lift truck operator
approaches the end of the long melting depression in the floor, drops
the end of the pole into the aluminum, and then rocks the mast forward
and back with the tilt control to stir the aluminum. If the lift
truck stayed there too long, the front tires would melt until they
installed a home-made heat shield in front of the wheels.

Larceny; at a plant that shall remain nameless, employees bent on
theft used a forklift to dump boxes of stuff over the plant fence at a
specific location so that they could retrieve them later. The plan
had a flaw that they hadn't expected, however; after a hard rain, the
gravel-covered clay along the fence became just soft enough that
although the forklift had no problem pulling up to the 10-foot fence,
it became mired before it was able to pull away after depositing its
load past the razor-wire crown. The security people were less than
amused.

And then there are the countless incidents of people using a forklift
to try to change the bulb in a tall floodlight tower (without using
the personnel safety cage that's designed for such purposes), and
poking a hole in a gas tank when trying to use a forklift as a vehicle
jack to change a tire, and dumping a pallet of unfortunate stuff into
a particularly ill-chosen location by approaching too fast with the
load lifted too high...and hitting the brake a bit too hard and too
late...the list could go one for quite a while.

Dear Werehatrack,

Now I know how to stir molten aluminum!

Thanks,

Carl Fogel

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

Quoted message said:

Werehatrack said:

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:56:39 GMT, Werehatrack
<[email hidden]> wrote:
>Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
>(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
>it's just as well.

Dear Werehatrack,

Okay, you rotten troller, you've hooked me fair and square.

I demand at least three of your juiciest examples.

Warehouse racers; a pair or Nascar-wannabe lift drivers managed to
poke one of the forks of a 5000-lb-capacity forklift *through* a 12"
(3/4"-wall) I-beam when he encountered a patch of wet floor coming
down the back straight. The fork is still there as far as I know.

Aluminum stirrer; at an aluminum recycling plant, the molten metal is
agitated (to cause contaminants to collect for skimming) by a long
pole attached in place of the forks; the lift truck operator
approaches the end of the long melting depression in the floor, drops
the end of the pole into the aluminum, and then rocks the mast forward
and back with the tilt control to stir the aluminum. If the lift
truck stayed there too long, the front tires would melt until they
installed a home-made heat shield in front of the wheels.

Larceny; at a plant that shall remain nameless, employees bent on
theft used a forklift to dump boxes of stuff over the plant fence at a
specific location so that they could retrieve them later. The plan
had a flaw that they hadn't expected, however; after a hard rain, the
gravel-covered clay along the fence became just soft enough that
although the forklift had no problem pulling up to the 10-foot fence,
it became mired before it was able to pull away after depositing its
load past the razor-wire crown. The security people were less than
amused.

And then there are the countless incidents of people using a forklift
to try to change the bulb in a tall floodlight tower (without using
the personnel safety cage that's designed for such purposes), and
poking a hole in a gas tank when trying to use a forklift as a vehicle
jack to change a tire, and dumping a pallet of unfortunate stuff into
a particularly ill-chosen location by approaching too fast with the
load lifted too high...and hitting the brake a bit too hard and too
late...the list could go one for quite a while.

Dear Werehatrack,

Now I know how to stir molten aluminum!

Thanks,

Carl Fogel

And my favorite:
http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/forklift.gif
Kerry

KERRY MONTGOMERY said:

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

Quoted message said:

Werehatrack said:

On Sun, 09 Jul 2006 21:32:11 -0600, [email hidden] wrote:

>On Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:56:39 GMT, Werehatrack
><[email hidden]> wrote:
>>Given the inventive and counterintuitive ways that forklifts have been
>>(mis)used in a number of settings of my direct acquaintance, perhaps
>>it's just as well.
>
>Dear Werehatrack,
>
>Okay, you rotten troller, you've hooked me fair and square.
>
>I demand at least three of your juiciest examples.

Warehouse racers; a pair or Nascar-wannabe lift drivers managed to
poke one of the forks of a 5000-lb-capacity forklift *through* a 12"
(3/4"-wall) I-beam when he encountered a patch of wet floor coming
down the back straight. The fork is still there as far as I know.

Aluminum stirrer; at an aluminum recycling plant, the molten metal is
agitated (to cause contaminants to collect for skimming) by a long
pole attached in place of the forks; the lift truck operator
approaches the end of the long melting depression in the floor, drops
the end of the pole into the aluminum, and then rocks the mast forward
and back with the tilt control to stir the aluminum. If the lift
truck stayed there too long, the front tires would melt until they
installed a home-made heat shield in front of the wheels.

Larceny; at a plant that shall remain nameless, employees bent on
theft used a forklift to dump boxes of stuff over the plant fence at a
specific location so that they could retrieve them later. The plan
had a flaw that they hadn't expected, however; after a hard rain, the
gravel-covered clay along the fence became just soft enough that
although the forklift had no problem pulling up to the 10-foot fence,
it became mired before it was able to pull away after depositing its
load past the razor-wire crown. The security people were less than
amused.

And then there are the countless incidents of people using a forklift
to try to change the bulb in a tall floodlight tower (without using
the personnel safety cage that's designed for such purposes), and
poking a hole in a gas tank when trying to use a forklift as a vehicle
jack to change a tire, and dumping a pallet of unfortunate stuff into
a particularly ill-chosen location by approaching too fast with the
load lifted too high...and hitting the brake a bit too hard and too
late...the list could go one for quite a while.

Dear Werehatrack,

Now I know how to stir molten aluminum!

Thanks,

Carl Fogel

And my favorite:
http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/forklift.gif
Kerry

Dear Kerry,

I like it!

Adding a third forklift would reduce the dangerous extension of the
first two forklifts.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

KERRY MONTGOMERY said:

And my favorite:
http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/forklift.gif
Kerry

http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/loadingdock.jpg

Quoted message said:

KERRY MONTGOMERY said:

And my favorite:
http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/forklift.gif Kerry

http://www.occmedcentral.com/humor/unsafephotos/loadingdock.jpg

This was a publicity photograph for the manufacturer:

http://www.mikecauser.com/images/quiz-6-0001.jpg

Mike

Lars Lehtonen said:

According to <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

The Friday, July 7, Wall Street Journal has a 9-column piece on fixies
below the fold of its Weekend Journal section, "Look Ma, No Brakes,"
by Hannah Karp.

At a cursory glance, you'd think the following article in the Wall Street Journal was
just another "Cuckoo-Crazy Fixed Gear Bike" story. Instead, it's a sack of
anti-cycling [censored] that is probably a personal favor to local government and its
anti-cycling campaign.

Themes: "fixies" aren't cool any more, they're for old people. Bikes make your [censored]
fall off. Fixed-gear is illegal. Fixed-gear is dangerous. Even if you think you're
hot [censored], you're going to crash. Fixed gear makes you crash. Crash, crash, crash.
People die because they ride bikes. The cops are gonna get you!

To put it kindly, she seems to be a bit fuzzy on the difference between
a fixie and a track bike.
I suppose the greater general public are too...

bookieb

Lars Lehtonen said:

According to <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

The Friday, July 7, Wall Street Journal has a 9-column piece on fixies
below the fold of its Weekend Journal section, "Look Ma, No Brakes,"
by Hannah Karp.

At a cursory glance, you'd think the following article in the Wall Street Journal was
just another "Cuckoo-Crazy Fixed Gear Bike" story. Instead, it's a sack of
anti-cycling [censored] that is probably a personal favor to local government and its
anti-cycling campaign.

Themes: "fixies" aren't cool any more, they're for old people. Bikes make your [censored]
fall off. Fixed-gear is illegal. Fixed-gear is dangerous. Even if you think you're
hot [censored], you're going to crash. Fixed gear makes you crash. Crash, crash, crash.
People die because they ride bikes. The cops are gonna get you!

The Portland Oregonian ran a slightly less frenzied article around a
year ago, with much discussion about bikes without brakes.

It included photos of fixies with captions citing their brakeless nature
- even though the bikes in the pictures had clearly visible brakes.

Oops.

Mark