Any question answered...

but they are rather nice.

Apart from the hubs.

^ http://www.lfgss.com/thread45371.html

utfs etc..

ta.

What do good brakes do that bad brakes don't? (Given, it seems to me, that all brakes I've used can lock the wheels up, and isn't that all you can ask for?)

Modulation.

You actually want the opposite of wheel locking. You want them to slow you down. "Good" brakes give you more progressive braking. So an old pair of single pivot brakes will just not do much until you squeeze really hard, then the wheel locks.

I have never used "really" good brakes. I have used crap brakes - which are crap, and DA's from 2002, more recent Ultegra's, and an oldish 105, and to be honest although there's a bit of difference, they're all 'good' to me.

Tester always says buy tektro, on the logic that all they do is make brakes.

Quick one, just to double check before buying.

A 90° stem is just a 0 rise - ie straight, right?

Cheers.

a 90° stem will project upwards by 17° if fitted to a fork set into a frame with 73°headtube.

If you want parallel with the road then a 17°(-) stem would be required

Ahhh... ok I see.

But if you laid it on a desk, it would be flat, right?

for a 90° stem: if rotated about the shaft axis the axis of the stem collar would describe a perpendicular arc

yes ;p

they're also double the price of what I want to spend.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300607317914?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Modulation.
Aaahh. I see. Thanks.

It's my understanding that a wheel is providing it's greatest retardation when it is at the point just before locking up.

Therefore modulation and feel are critical as they mean that you can apply the brakes in such a way that the wheel stays in this pre-lockup zone, rather than either locking up and (potentially) losing control, or not applying enough braking force and running into a postbox/similar.

Two questions, what is this effect called,

and could you create this effect on a bike frame? - or is the heat too high/steel too thin?

Without heat

                    **[OXYNATE~ NO. 7 1-40# OXYNATE 7 (HAZ MAT)](http://screwsuk.co.uk/links/clicked/15294/680)**


                                                                    OXYNATE NO. 7 has, for more than 55 years, been the popular  bluing salts for the professional gun trade. For quantity work (one to a  dozen guns a week or month) the cost per gun is extremely low. Oxynate  No. 7 is manufactured by one of the country’s chief producers of  manufacturer’s chemicals and sold by us to the gun trade by exclusive  license. This is mentioned so that you’ll appreciate the vast research  laboratories available to our users of Oxynate No. 7- and that you are  using the best gun blue modern science and research can produce.

Heat tint (temper) colours on stainless steel surfaces heated in air

Introduction

The colour formed when stainless steel is heated, either in a furnace application or in the heat affected zone of welds, is dependent on several factors that are related to the oxidation resistance of the steel. The heat tint or temper colour formed is caused by the progressive thickening of the surface oxide layer and so, as temperature is increased, the colours change. Oxidation resistance of stainless steels

Similar effects can be acheived on carbon steels, needs to be above red heat.

Cheers.

Many years ago I had a book that compared all the components of the era (weight, performance, etc). I thought it was by Richard Ballentine but can't find it now. He favoured Shimano DA iirc.

What book am I thinking of?

Fly fishing by J.R. Hartley?

No. That book is impossible to find.

Damn I wish I could remember, it was a book I wanted for ages God knows what happened to it....

Red cover. Erm probably late 80's. I dunno.....

Try spelling his name Ballantine....

Bibliography

• City Cycling (2007)
  
• Living Ultimate Bicycle Book, DK Living, with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Grant[*[disambiguation needed ](http://toolserver.org/~dispenser/cgi-bin/dab_solver.py?page=Richard_Ballantine&editintro=Template:Disambiguation_needed/editintro&client=Template:Dn)*] (2000)
  
• Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book (2000)
  
• Ultimate Bicycle Book, with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Grant[*[disambiguation needed ](http://toolserver.org/~dispenser/cgi-bin/dab_solver.py?page=Richard_Ballantine&editintro=Template:Disambiguation_needed/editintro&client=Template:Dn)*] (1998)
  
• Bicycle Repair Manual (1994)
  
• Cyclist's Britain (1989)
  
• Richard's New Bicycle Book (1987)
  
• Richard's Bicycle Book (1972)
  

Am I the only one who has been silently giggling at the proliferation of people riding around in POC helmets?

not any more!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/300607317914?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I bought Shimano RS80's. £450 from Condor, 1500g, feel very nice.

I was fully on track to build my bike today, until I got to the penultimate step, cabling up the derailleurs, when I discovered the cable holder inside the right shifter has snapped. Rendering it useless.
So very annoyed.

should i come up for the fireworks party to get a prince albert?

Bit extreme

These 36H Open Pro CDs are grey. Are they hard to find in this colour? Other than where I found these, which are currently out of stock, everywhere else I've checked online seem to have them only in black or silver.

I bought Shimano RS80's. £450 from Condor, 1500g, feel very nice.

On the one hand, £450 is a lot for RS80s. On the other hand, if you found some which only weigh 1500g, I suppose they're worth the premium. They are usually ~1575g without skewers but with the stock rim tapes.

they're apparently 1521g, good enough for me. They're about £100 less on chainreaction but I was willing pay that to have them immediately and have the support from a local shop that employs friends of mine.

Open Pro CDs are grey

True fact.

The black and silver ones are not CDs, the CDs are always grey. That picture looks a bit lighter than the actual colour, which hasn't changed since Mavic introduced the Couche Dure process decades ago.

they're apparently 1521g,

'Apparently' as in that's what Shimano claim, or 'apparently' as in you've put yours on a scale in which you have enough confidence to make a statement to 4 significant figures?

apparently as in what they claim. If I had weighed them I would say "they weigh xxxx".