Any question answered...

I can't comment. I cannot be seen racist against Chinese twice in the same week.

Question: I'm as old as white dogshit......I started riding bikes when everything was single speed...then went to 10 speed......to 21 speed....etc I'd like to ride a fixie but I'm afraid I'll kill myself starting out so I'll probably just use the single speed option for a month or so then take a crack at the fixed speed.......I occasionally ride in Manhattan and have those messengers whiz past me on the fixie bikes......I will definately not ride one in Manhattan......single speed maybe - are there any old goats out there that ride a fixie ?..... as in 50 plus ?

Why not ride fixed with 2 brakes?

I might give that a try....just so I can slow down without using my feet on the blacktop like I see these kids doing......must wear yer soles down pretty good

I always rode fixed gear with a brake or a ss with a coaster brake. To be honest, I only fully got it since I went brakeless. It's not a quick thing - it will take few months to a year of riding brakeless in different conditions to really master it and at the same time stay safe and efficient, IMHO.

are there any old goats out there that ride a fixie ?..... as in 50 plus ?

There are people 80+ who ride fixed. Being old, they are wise, and therefore never use the word fixie and always have two brakes on their road bikes.

As long as you have BUPA insurance it doesn't matter.
If not, single speed is much a better option.

• are there any old goats out there that ride a fixie ?..... as in 50 plus ?
  
  

My dad's, he's 56, and there's lots of elderly forumeanger who still rode with a fixed wheel.

My grandfather used to, till he's in his 80's and rode his old road bike with a flipped drop bar.

thing is - it's not as hard as it sound, methinks you're exaggerating to the point of it sounding impossible to master, it's not.

There's no rules that you have to ride a fixed wheel brakeless/with front brakes, can be ridden with a pair, in fact, fixed wheel + two brakes is extremely underrated.

How is VO2 max measured, is it expensive to find out your own?

There are people 80+ who ride fixed. Being old, they are wise, and therefore never use the word fixie and always have two brakes on their road bikes.

they also push up steep hills rather than grind...

No reason to think they would be at $200, but Ribble have them in stock at £152
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-track-bike/WCS-Carbon-Evolution-318-Bars/RITCHBAS360

Merlin £150
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Road+Parts/Handlebars++Stems/Handlebars+-+Road/Ritchey+WCS+Evolution+Carbon+Bars_1482.htm

That eBay vendor came back with £118 delivered, antone seen them cheaper/same from UK place.

How is VO2 max measured, is it expensive to find out your own?

Do a bleep test.
there are a bunch of websites that will convert it to rough VO2 max.

also this site has other ways of measuring it:
http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm

http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm is proving an interesting read cheers!

That eBay vendor came back with £118 delivered

118 + 20% VAT + 5% Duty + £10 carrier tax collection fee = £157.50

Good point.

How is VO2 max measured, is it expensive to find out your own?

Find some sports science students at your local uni. Part of their course is to measure VO2/power, I did a couple a few years ago. Amusing to compare the rugby players to cyclists. The rugby players were struggling to keep cadence up at 60rpm whereas the cyclists struggled to keep it down at 60rpm. The guy made a few ramp tests at different rpm which was useful for us.

do i need a 5 speed or a six speed freewheel for dropouts spaced at 124 mm?

Find some sports science students at your local uni. Part of their course is to measure VO2/power, I did a couple a few years ago. Amusing to compare the rugby players to cyclists. The rugby players were struggling to keep cadence up at 60rpm whereas the cyclists struggled to keep it down at 60rpm. The guy made a few ramp tests at different rpm which was useful for us.

Good shout, I'm sure i know someone doing sport science as well... now just to remember who.

do i need a 5 speed or a six speed freewheel for dropouts spaced at 124 mm?

either.

do i need a 5 speed or a six speed freewheel for dropouts spaced at 124 mm?

If you measured 124mm, they are probably supposed to be 126mm, in which case a 'standard' 6-speed or 'Ultra' 7-speed, but there's no reason why you shouldn't use a 5-speed if that's what you have laying around. If you're feeling fancy, you can re-space a 6-speed hub to take a 5-speed freewheel and end up with an almost dish-less wheel. The Ultra 7 is actually slightly wider overall than a 6, and some frames have chain clearance issues in top gear if the seat stay tube extends close to the axle centre of the dropout.

What free books would be good to upload to my mums kindle?

I've got cailbre - which a friends suggested, and now I'm looking for books, but am completely stumped for ideas. She likes stuff like Wilbur Smith and that guy who wrote the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books. Or anything funny.

Any ideas?

Isn't loads of classic literature available for free on Kindles? Or very very cheap?

Get an iPad and download colour magazines instead.

^Yeah, but it's trying to find suitable ones. Most seems to be P&P style, or Dickens. My mum isn't that bothered about Dickens and hates those girly Victorian semi-sadomasochistic novels. Ending up just going with Gulliver's Travels and some intro to Philosophers and Plato.

I figure the device is enough, just wanted to get something on there. But flicking though, I does make the idea of getting one quite tempting.

So a computer question.

My friend put some movies on a usb for me, I'm trying to see if they work, and the usb is saying:

not formated. do you want to format?

but then when i say yes, it says it will delete the contents of the usb, if I do.

Any way around?

Is your computer a PC and his a Mac?