Mars bar syndrome

[Nick Kew]

Simon Brooke wrote:

>>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.
>
That followeth not. I wouldn't describe my mountaineering boots as
a comfortable walk (the ones that take a crampon, not the lightweight
walking boots for UK conditions - which are indeed comfy).
Neither would I describe _any_ climbing shoes as even remotely comfy.

If it's marketed for a particular activity, there's always a risk
that performance _in that activity_ comes at the expense of comfort.

Someone else praised stiff but shaped souls. I've encountered
those in mountain boots, and found them deadly.

--
not me guv

 

On 15 Apr,
"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote:

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

At a similar age to the OP, I have considered clipless pedals, but have stuck
to clips, as I consider my old bones too fragile to sustain what I see as
inevitable falls incurred in aclimatising to clipless pedals.

I could be convinced, but I don't ke falling off.


--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

 

[Paul Boyd]

On 15/04/2006 15:53, [email protected] said,

> At a similar age to the OP, I have considered clipless pedals, but have stuck
> to clips, as I consider my old bones too fragile to sustain what I see as
> inevitable falls incurred in aclimatising to clipless pedals.

At a considerably younger age than the OP, I also stick to traditional
toeclips and straps, which I acclimatised to 20+ years ago. I suppose I
could join the 20th century and go clipless, but why? Clips do me just
fine, thank you!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

 

[David Martin]

Nick Kew wrote:

> Someone else praised stiff but shaped souls. I've encountered
> those in mountain boots, and found them deadly.

It does have to be the right shape. I find that my Koflachs (plastic
mountaineering boots) are just about fine for walking in as long as it
isn't downhill. And my cycle shoes fit just fine. OTOH if your foot
doesn't fit the rigid shape you are on to a bad thing.

Horses for courses as they say..
...d

 

[Alan Holmes]

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "citizen142" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>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

Why do you think it neccessary to tighten the strap on toe clips?

I leave mine with enough slack to get out of quickly, much easier to deal
with.

Alan

 

[Alan Holmes]

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Nick Kew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> wafflycat wrote:
>>
>>> 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 ;-)

Shame on you!-)

Out of interest, what have toe clips to do with Mars bars?

Alan

 

[Alan Holmes]

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Mark Thompson"
> <pleasegivegenerously@warmmail*_turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com> wrote in
> message news:[email protected]...
>>> 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...

I'd give it 50/50!

Alan

 

[wafflycat]

"Alan Holmes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>
>> "Nick Kew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> wafflycat wrote:
>>>
>>>> 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 ;-)
>
> Shame on you!-)
>
> Out of interest, what have toe clips to do with Mars bars?
>
> Alan
>

I do believe there are web sites which require your credit card details
before you can view the pictures that enlighten ;-)

Cheers, helen s

 

[wafflycat]

"Paul Boyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 15/04/2006 15:53, [email protected] said,
>
>> At a similar age to the OP, I have considered clipless pedals, but have
>> stuck
>> to clips, as I consider my old bones too fragile to sustain what I see as
>> inevitable falls incurred in aclimatising to clipless pedals.
>
> At a considerably younger age than the OP, I also stick to traditional
> toeclips and straps, which I acclimatised to 20+ years ago. I suppose I
> could join the 20th century and go clipless, but why? Clips do me just
> fine, thank you!
>

The answer, for me, was simple - once I'd reluctantly tried clipless.
Pedalling is smoother, more efficient and as I automatically pulled on the
upstroke of the pedalling action once in clipless, less wearing on my knees
& shins. I said exactly the same as you - prior to using clipless - now I
would not willingly go back to using ordinary platform pedals & toeclips.
And *much* easier to clip in and out of *quickly* in traffic than
traditional toeclips.

Cheers, helen s

 

[Tony Raven]

Geoff Pearson wrote:
>
> 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.
>

The first is an Urban legend
http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marsbar.htm

As for the second, yours isn't as big as an American's
http://www.oregonl5.org/mist/marsbar.html
;-)

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

 

[Tony Raven]

Pinky wrote:
>
> 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.
>

Shimano SPD sandals are what you need. I live in mine when I'm touring.

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

 

[Jon Senior]

On Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:40:37 +0100, Tony Raven wrote:
> Shimano SPD sandals are what you need. I live in mine when I'm touring.

They must be bigger than the ones I've seen. You could just get your feet
into those!

Jon

 

[Peter Clinch]

Paul Boyd wrote:
> I suppose I
> could join the 20th century and go clipless, but why? Clips do me just
> fine, thank you!

Same reason you might, for example, want more than 3 gears, or
brakes that stop you better in the wet, or panniers that securely
attach but can still be lifted off easily and be totally
waterproof, etc. etc.

Just because something is adequate doesn't mean it can't be
improved, and clips and straps can be. I changed after I'd
completely acclimatised to them 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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Peter Clinch]

Alan Holmes wrote:

> Why do you think it neccessary to tighten the strap on toe clips?

Because that links you better to the pedal, which gives more
efficient pedalling. Which is rather the point!

> I leave mine with enough slack to get out of quickly, much easier to deal
> with.

Most people do in traffic, but on longer hauls it's just throwing
away efficiency. With clipless you get maximum efficiency the
whole time without compromising ease of entry or exit.

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 protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

On 15 Apr,
"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote:

>
> The answer, for me, was simple - once I'd reluctantly tried clipless.
> Pedalling is smoother, more efficient and as I automatically pulled on the
> upstroke of the pedalling action once in clipless, less wearing on my knees
> & shins. I said exactly the same as you - prior to using clipless - now I
> would not willingly go back to using ordinary platform pedals & toeclips.
> And *much* easier to clip in and out of *quickly* in traffic than
> traditional toeclips.
>
How many times did you fall off whilst acclimatising?

--
BD
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

 

[Pinky]

"Tony Raven" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Pinky wrote:
>>
>> 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.
>>
>
> Shimano SPD sandals are what you need. I live in mine when I'm touring.
>
> --
> Tony
>
> "The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
> right."
> - Lord Hailsham

You see that you are not always right!

You see there are problems in being older and my body is subject to
various drawbacks caused by medical conditions and by some of the
medications I take as well.

I am a type 2 diabetic which is controlled by diet only but I am aware that
it is a degenerative disease and one of the effects is a circulation problem
with extremities. Now I have no problem with my feet at the moment, but I do
take care of them. Also I take one aspirin every day as an aid to blood
pressure (to "thin" the blood). One of its side effects is to reduce the
speed of clotting of my blood such that any minor cut or scratch bleeds
quite enough to lay a small trail of blood on the surface of my skin and it
is disfiguring to my pride rather than detrimental to my health.

So I avoid wearing sandals when cycling seriously for obvious reasons --
much as I would enjoy the freedom involved. It has other drawbacks -- I wear
2 pairs of socks every day - the 2nd after showering for evening!

So were I were 20 years younger I might perhaps live a different life
style -- given the knowledge I now have being 20 years older!!!!! :-}

In then end my cycling is all to do with

Enjoying being out and about every day,
Stopping making scratch marks on the walls at home,
Staying alive,
being happy,
Knowing that after a long life of much waste I am more aware than ever of
that wasted energy

Finally, at a fairly advanced age, I am very much aware that I am more than
a little fixed in my opinions and find it a slow process to change them
these days. That is not because of being stubborn but rather a matter of
long experience of being influenced by "life" -- so my "fixed" opinions are
those which I have slowly developed over many years and are somewhat set in
concrete!

'twas ever thus with old fogeys!

So called "wisdom" and knowledge gained by long experience is totally self
contained and is never successfully passed on to succeeding generations --
who go through the same life process as I, and thousands of others, have
done, and relearn similar lessons.

Successful states are those who actually learn by having regard to their
history

Oooops another tangent again!
--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.

 

[congokid]

In article <[email protected]>,
David Martin <[email protected]> writes

>It does have to be the right shape. I find that my Koflachs (plastic
>mountaineering boots) are just about fine for walking in as long as it
>isn't downhill.

So you can climb uphill, but not down. How do you get down then?

--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

 

[Pinky]

"wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Paul Boyd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> On 15/04/2006 15:53, [email protected] said,
>>
>>> At a similar age to the OP, I have considered clipless pedals, but have
>>> stuck
>>> to clips, as I consider my old bones too fragile to sustain what I see
>>> as
>>> inevitable falls incurred in aclimatising to clipless pedals.
>>
>> At a considerably younger age than the OP, I also stick to traditional
>> toeclips and straps, which I acclimatised to 20+ years ago. I suppose I
>> could join the 20th century and go clipless, but why? Clips do me just
>> fine, thank you!
>>
>
> The answer, for me, was simple - once I'd reluctantly tried clipless.
> Pedalling is smoother, more efficient and as I automatically pulled on the
> upstroke of the pedalling action once in clipless, less wearing on my
> knees & shins. I said exactly the same as you - prior to using clipless -
> now I would not willingly go back to using ordinary platform pedals &
> toeclips. And *much* easier to clip in and out of *quickly* in traffic
> than traditional toeclips.
>
> Cheers, helen s
Spot on helen! This talk about old bones and so on is rubbish. And living is
learning. - if we never changed and tried new things we would still be in
caves!
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire,
England, United Kingdom.

 

[wafflycat]

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:4E180FBBA5%[email protected]...
> On 15 Apr,
> "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> The answer, for me, was simple - once I'd reluctantly tried clipless.
>> Pedalling is smoother, more efficient and as I automatically pulled on
>> the
>> upstroke of the pedalling action once in clipless, less wearing on my
>> knees
>> & shins. I said exactly the same as you - prior to using clipless - now I
>> would not willingly go back to using ordinary platform pedals & toeclips.
>> And *much* easier to clip in and out of *quickly* in traffic than
>> traditional toeclips.
>>
> How many times did you fall off whilst acclimatising?
>

Once.

Cheers, helen s

 

[John B]

Pinky wrote:

> This talk about old bones and so on is rubbish. And living is
> learning. - if we never changed and tried new things we would still be in
> caves!
>

Arguably you are tecnically correct, but if someone wants to use toeclips, then
why not.
There is no *complusion* to follow what is seen as an imrovement if you are
happy with your present situation.

Just ride and enjoy; many do without spending zillions on the latest gizmo.

John B