Comments on: Another tiresome post

Another tiresome post

adamrice — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:16:48 -0800

Bicycle tire sizes You thought paper sizes was an obscure and dull topic? Wait till you explore the historical arcana of bike tire sizing, where 1.25" does not equal 1 1/4".

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:26:53 -0800

No. We don't need a contest to see who can find the dryest stuff to post. I currently have a bunch of bookmarked pages on ancient Hittite and its relation to Proto Indo-European, but I know better than to share.

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:31:43 -0800

Like Mayor Curley said, please don't let this little trend get out of control. Anyone can find bike-tire sizes or paper sizes by simply searching Google. What's there to discuss?

By: bshort

bshort — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 09:33:09 -0800

By: Pericles

Pericles — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:07:20 -0800

me too. could you mail me the links?

By: jamespake

jamespake — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 10:59:00 -0800

Can we draw a line now betwen the relative interest of bicycle tyre sizes and ancient Hittite's relation to Proto Indo-European before we set some sort of precedent?

By: jokeefe

jokeefe — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 11:05:48 -0800

Mayor Curley, I'd like to join the growing chorus of requests for those links re ancient Hittite and its relation to Proto Indo-European. Seriously, post them. There are many of us here who find this stuff fascinating...

By: twine42

twine42 — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 11:10:00 -0800

I want bike tyres though... *audience waits while twine gets beaten to death with an inner tube*

By: bshort

bshort — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 12:09:52 -0800

Mayor Curley, we're calling you out. We need a front page post on ancient Hittite and its relation to Proto Indo-European! Don't make me take this to MeTa :-)

By: Hildago

Hildago — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 12:57:31 -0800

Bah! The relationship is specious at best! (waggles jowls)

By: jamespake

jamespake — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 15:52:48 -0800

Hittite advances in wheeled vehicles

By: languagehat

languagehat — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 17:51:39 -0800

I currently have a bunch of bookmarked pages on ancient Hittite and its relation to Proto Indo-European, but I know better than to share Don't tease me, damn you! Post them!

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 18:38:42 -0800

Sheldon Brown is one of the coolest men on the Internet. If you own a bike, and especially if you fancy you can perform at least some minor repairs upon it, please read his site. He frequents rec.bicycles.tech with dry wit and some of the best advice. Great post adamrice.

By: Fupped Duck

Fupped Duck — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 20:13:15 -0800

what caddis said, you snarkofux

By: eddydamascene

eddydamascene — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 22:44:23 -0800

Hittite advances in wheeled vehicles Ancient Mesopotamian cultures used positional sexigesimal numbers. Matching tire and rim sizes is next to impossible in this number system, so the Hittites just rode around on their rims.

By: HTuttle

HTuttle — Tue, 29 Jul 2003 23:30:27 -0800

Well, I'm more interested in this than some obscure language anal indulgence. Back to bikes: I just pulled my mid 80's road bike down from it's high storage for the first time in about 15 years. In looking at what's out there for misc. upgrade parts (i.e., my gel seat is no longer gel) I was surprised that 9 speed freewheels are now the common road gearing. When did that happen? (Mine has seven). Also, my bike has those out-of-round chain rings which were a fad for a time but which I was always doubtful of being any better than round ones. Do those still exist? Or have those things been abandoned to the failed invention heap of history? I haven't seen any anywhere online. (Not that I want to buy any, just wondering) Oh, and I notice that the new(?) brake-lever shifters seem to be the norm today. Go figure.

By: teg

teg — Wed, 30 Jul 2003 01:35:22 -0800

The non-circular chainrings are biopace rings, which have fallen out of favour. I have had the experience of trying to install a tire on my bike that looked like it should fit but which was not quite the right one. (I've also tried to remove a pedal by turning it in the wrong (normal for everything else in the world) direction. I now check the internet before I try to fix anything.) I'm also amazed at how every part of a bike seems to require yet another tool for installation or removal. But, hey, it's much simpler than a car.

By: elliot100

elliot100 — Wed, 30 Jul 2003 06:32:13 -0800

HTuttle: Campagnolo moved their high end components to 10 speed a while ago. Shimano are doing the same next year.