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OPINION

The scar

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Aaaargh! Not the new bike!

Days, just days and already the shiny new Roadrat has acquired "character" in the shape of a down to the metal scar and a dent to the top tube… sob!

The fateful blow was struck in the bike store we share with the rest of the building, by, it looks like a pedal strike from a carelessly handled folded Brompton, (there's a lot of them in these parts). My guess is some git couldn't be bothered to move my bike to get to their's and reached across only to find that for all it's multi-modal commuting prowess, that impressively small folded package still amounts to a fairly solid lump when you try and lift it one handed over a rack full of bikes… the Roadrat took the hit when the perp's puny strength gave out. Git.

Oh well, it gives me somewhere to put a road.cc sticker I suppose… looks pretty good actually.

road.cc's founder and first editor, nowadays to be found riding a spreadsheet. Tony's journey in cycling media started in 1997 as production editor and then deputy editor of Total Bike, acting editor of Total Mountain Bike and then seven years as editor of Cycling Plus. He launched his first cycling website - the Cycling Plus Forum at the turn of the century. In 2006 he left C+ to head up the launch team for Bike Radar which he edited until 2008, when he co-launched the multi-award winning road.cc - finally handing on the reins in 2021 to Jack Sexty. His favourite ride is his ‘commute’ - which he does most days inc weekends and he’s been cycle-commuting since 1994. His favourite bikes are titanium and have disc brakes, though he'd like to own a carbon bike one day.

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7 comments

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TheOldCog | 13 years ago
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Funny really - If the bike gets damaged when riding I don't bat an eyelid, but if someone else damages the bike or I ding it through some silly none riding incident, I get really vexed!  13  14  20

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cat1commuter | 13 years ago
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I don't care about scratches. But dents...

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Tony Farrelly | 13 years ago
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Yes, the first cut is the deepest… and luckily we do have plenty of stickers.

My Ridgeback is more scratches than paintwork these day, in fact I can't imagine what it looked like when it didn't have any

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northernrebel | 13 years ago
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I love the dents, dings and scratches on my mountain bike. They remind me of the fun I've had on it over the years. Good to identify it on ebay too should some scrote swipe it!

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demoff | 13 years ago
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Had a stone chip to the metal last week, gutted.

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mttvrtn | 13 years ago
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I remember the disappointment of my first scratch like it was yesterday, even though it was 2007. My sympathies...

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John_the_Monkey | 13 years ago
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 2

The first scratch is always heartbreaking. And shame on that Bromptoneer, I though we were better than that!

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