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I had a look at the Specialized website and the current "Rime 2.0" actually doesn't look too bad - I might try them.

+1 for Sambal Oelek :)

My favourite in this category was the original Specialized Rime. I wore through two pairs before Specialized downgraded the Rime to a sort of budget shoe.

They were nicely light and minimalistic but with a surprisingly good Vibram sole. They walked a lot better than the ME7s.

One of my biggest ongoing frustrations in life is when a brand changes a favourite item of mine.

This product could easily have been branded as "R-MTB Inserts" in a parallel universe where the marketing folks jumped on the "rigid" branding!

My standard comment as a European: how are these racks even legal?

It seems that around here, cops are finally starting to ticket people with racks that obscure the rear lights and license plate. I've already seen one local bike shop starting to stock a European style rack with lights and plate on the rack.

I think the short truck beds are a result of the American car industry marketing pickup trucks as family vehicles(*). Most people who buy a truck now don't actually use it as a truck, they need spacious backseats, not space for lumber, tools, sheep, etc. The average truck length has grown over the last decades but the average truck bed length has actually shrunk.

(*) This in turn was apparently a result of the car industry dodging tightened vehicle emission standards from which light trucks were exempt. Also why we have SUVs now.

[Bike nerd alert] - The OG would be the Hügi Compact pre 1995 DT buyout. That hub became the DT Hügi and later the 240.

Hügi/DT star ratchet hub.

The problem is there are too many other destinations that are great too!

Awesome photos Deniz! Need to get back there, I just realized it has been almost 10 years...

Loving all the recent travel content!

Ford E-Transit is available here, I've seen several in the wild here already.

Could be a good base for a campervan conversion although the range is meh (300 km, probably less once you add a bunch of weight).

I don't know much about pension splitting but don't most tax return softwares automatically allocate deductions and credits between spouses where possible for the optimal result?

We use UFile and it does that for a bunch of things like medical expenses for example. You can also override and allocate manually to see the difference.

The key is "if you have a large enough portfolio", i.e. already enough to retire. In that case, you can basically get your start-CPP-at-70 amount already from your 60th on for no additional risk. 

If not, and taking CPP earlier enables you to (semi-)retire earlier, I agree that might be the way to go. In the end it's about having enough, not about having as much as possible.

Posted by: Couch_Surfer

[Why Taking CPP at 65 Is The Worst Possible Option]

Here's a link that shows that if you have a large enough portfolio, you can delay CPP to 70, park 10 years worth of your CPP-at-70 in GICs and draw from those, and come out ahead (vs taking CPP at 60), risk-free. The math is pretty straightforward.

https://www.financialwisdomforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=593743#p593743

I bookmarked it to revisit in 2040, lol.

Posted by: Fast-Orange

I also feel like I have better sightlines now because I'm higher up which is great for not hitting cyclists. I can see above the parked cars on the narrow streets to the left and right after stopping at stop signs. when I had a sedan I couldn't do that so it was way harder/sketchier to creep out through the intersection.

Bigger vehicles have bigger blind zones. You may be able to see above the parked cars into the side streets but you can't see the kids crossing right in front of you.

Lots of info online, for example https://usa.streetsblog.org/2022/03/17/study-megacar-drivers-up-to-4x-more-likely-to-hit-walkers-while-turning.

"SUVs and pick-up truck drivers are three to four times more likely to hit a pedestrian when they make a turn than the drivers of smaller cars"

"Fatal crashes involving pick-up truck drivers, meanwhile, are four times more likely to involve a driver making a left — and when it comes to right-turn crashes, they're still 89 percent more likely. Right-turning SUV drivers are 63 percent more likely to strike a person than the drivers of smaller vehicles."

"For instance, the massive blind zones of the 2021 Ford F-150, one of the most popular new cars sold in the U.S today, can fit a staggering 578 preschoolers if they crowd close together, according to a calculator sponsored by USDOT."

You can play with that calculator at https://blindzonecalculator.herokuapp.com/

For example compare Honda Fit and Ford F-150, you can select kids, adults, wheelchairs etc. to see how many are in your blind zones.

I'm sure 265 was a typo and you meant 765? Or maybe 625 worst case?

265 sounds to me like what the hardcore hipsters ran on their fixies in Montreal when I lived there.

Posted by: cooperquinn

Bars have been chopped to 265

The Cybertruck might be safe for its driver but like most big pickup trucks, it's high and heavy and has poor sightlines so it's dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians.

But of course it's more important to have a bulletproof vehicle in case you get shot at since that's so much more likely than hitting a pedestrian or cyclist :-\

Perhaps says something about Elon's world view?

Posted by: tungsten

The only problem is that I assumed people would know who John Pilger was. I forgot where I was posting.

Not parroting the chosen narrative always make people question your sources. That's the point.

Your thread got locked because you couldn't be bothered to write anything in the opening post. All it contained was a link.

You use the word "parroting" while most of your own posts are links or copy-pasted content from elsewhere. Make an effort and share your own opinion for a change. If you think a link is worth posting, tell us why you think that link is interesting and why we should go click it and read it. The subject in the locked threat had the potential to create a quality opening post and maybe start a discussion on independent, critical journalism. Yet you chose to dump a link to twitter and leave it at that. If you want us to engage with you in a meaningful way, you have to do a lot better than that.

On the other hand, if all you want to do is trolling, which is what it looks like, then your comeback in NBR will be short-lived. Prove me wrong.

Post your full suspension bike! Old or new, riding or leaning against a bench, doesn't matter. 

I'm once again buying the bike I own (2020 Reign). Based on my experience on the 2023 Reign tester, I plan to make a few small cockpit adjustments in the next few months. I also have a Deore derailleur ready to replace the tired GX Eagle one. The internet says it should work as drop in replacement, we'll see.

First ride of 2024 today in Cumberland, after more than a month off the MTB. 2 days without rain were just enough to have mostly dry-ish trails save for a few deep puddles. Good start of the year!

Happy New Year!