On Sun, 14 May 2006 12:44:25 +0100, Timo Geusch was popularly supposed to have said:
Back when I was a PhD student in Aberystwyth, my transport of choise when going to the pub was an ancient touring bike with a slightly twisted frame and really, seriously crap brakes on steel rims.
Put it this way: on wet nights you walked down hills; if you put the brakes on with steel rims in the wet on that bike, then for 20 seconds (count 'em, 20 seconds) absolutely nothing happened. Then they'd come on, and you'd better not be clamping 'em full on or you'd be over the front.
These days I ride a Marin with hydraulic disc brakes.
Guess which I like better?
Same is true of cars; I really rather like my current transport, which has ABS discs all round (not that you really need 'em on the back) and the grippiest tyres money can buy; not because I'm a boy racer but because I really truly deeply do not want to die in a motorway crash, and the best way to avoid it is to fit the best components you can, and drive really sensibly and safely.
Modern safety features are great, as long as you don't drive like a loon to compensate.
-- By caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, By the beans of Java do thoughts acquire speed, hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning, By caffeine alone do I set my mind in motion
