Tour Tech 2016: Thomas De Gendt’s polka dot Ridley Helium SL

"we are convinced that normal hookless when everything is well controlled, is better than any hooked type with uncontrolled tolerances" - Yes, I'm sure it works fine in the right circumstances. Now give it to Joe Bloggs consumer who has no idea about tyre compatibility and recommended pressures and you no longer have that "well controlled" situation and serious problems can arise. Even if the initial purchaser does the research to know what is allowable, the person they sell the wheels or bike to in a few years time will probably have no idea. People who work for bike brands need to spend time in real bike shops and observe what setups people bring in and what level of knowledge the typical consumer has.

Speak for yourself. I say it all the time - like every time I bring the other half a cup of tea or something.

Perhaps the poster is not in the UK? The one thing that seems fairly clear is they're not in NL, and probably not in Copenhagen, Malmö, Seville...

@wtjs I'd love to be wrong but this current one doesn't seem to have fibre or indeed any ability to stick to decisions, never mind ones which might be immediately and noisily unpopular. (The only exception that immediately comes to mind is something they were forced into - taking some belated action on ex-prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson).

The TX200 had a five speed freewheel in 1976, not a cassette. Big blokes and heavy touring loads were just asking for bent rear axles.

I hope the government displays the correct 'moral fibre' attitude and also piles on the Fuel Price Escalator

I can't leave this 'ER' stuff unchallenged! We do not say ER!!

I was around in 1973 and remember the impact that the oil crisis and the subsequent oil price hikes had. That was a missed opportunity; this may be the second chance we've been waiting 52 years for. Hasn't come to that yet, but we need to be ready if it does.

[placeholder for obligatory picture meme of Inigo Montoya]

I think you're going to need to be more specific, because no-one can tell who or what you're responding to.