"That saddle has stories to tell": Horrified bike shop would "really rather not find out" if battered "single speed... maybe with multiple cadence options" still works; Pogačar skinsuitgate + more on the live blog

JohnnyEnglish wrote:

The way the story on Pogacar's skin suit is written makes no sense at all.

To be fair, I think (as the writer says) it's the underlying story that makes no sense - UCI threatens to sanction race leader for colour of skinsuit which was provided by race organisers. 

Still confused. Why would the pink jersey revert to black?

The jersey stayed pink. But the bottom half reverted to black, instead of the purple shade that had been made to honour the victims of the plane crash.

The maglia nera on the other hand is (or was?) to the Giro as the Lanterne Rouge is to the Tour.

Thanks for trying to clarify.

I can't believe I've gone down this rabbit hole but, in addition, the UCI Jersey Guidelines for a skinsuit (p116) divide it into two zones - basically the team sponsor panels and the organiser zone. For the organiser zone, it says "the organiser is free of use any design and color for this zone". So perhaps the argument is that it doesn't say colours, plural and so should be all pink - but that would scupper the polka dot KOM jerseys.  

The underlying story certainly has elements that are confusing, but I must agree with JohnnyEnglish that the way it has been reported here is exponentially more confusing. 

But yes, as far as I can tell the story is:

Pogacar, as current General Classification leader, was wearing the race leader skinsuit provided by the event organiser's kit supplier (Castelli). This is traditionally pink.

The bottom half of the skin suit was not pink. The UCI objected to this.

There had been speculation that the objection was due to potential confusion with the "ciclamino" (mauve) kit allocated to the current Points Classification leader, but that was not the case. Instead, the colour was described as "granata" (pomegranate?), and was intended as a tribute to the disaster mentioned.

The objection appears to have been that kits are required to either be a uniform colour (i.e. all pink), or else be pink on the top and with plain black lower half.

So, to comply with the rules, Pogacar was provided with a pink jersey and black shorts (again, provided by the event organiser's supplier, Castelli).

The UAE Team Emirates' kit supplier, Pissei, were not involved.

How do you pronounce "Pissei"?

Ffs, a large number of people use bikes (as with cars) as a tool to get from A to B.  They're not precious shiny toys.  Many people can't afford to spend hundreds (thousands !!! ?) on their bike; it's makedo and mend.  If the derailleur can't be fixed, it gets removed. Yes the tyres could probably do with replacing & the inside of the rims checked to see how far the tin worm has got. But if the brakes brake & the steering steers it is probably ok pootling along the road. 

Many people don't have, or can afford, insurance of any kind (assuming that, if they ride this bike they can't afford a car; for which they do need insurance).

I really don't think we need to run down the road screaming "we're all going to die" at this point.

I'm more impressed by the people who take these bikes give them a polish (ie. replace those parts that need replacing) and supply them to people who need them; than the omg brigade.

It's been a while since I bought insurance in the UK, but here in NL, 92% of adults have liability insurance. Mine is included with my home contents insurance. Is it not included with home insurance in the UK?

It can be, but as I said, there are many people who can't afford (or who choose not to have) any kind of insurance.

ChrisA wrote:

It can be, but as I said, there are many people who can't afford (or who choose not to have) any kind of insurance.

Cyclists' PLI is available for a couple of £ per month - while there will be  people who can't afford that, I suspect the vast majority without it just haven't bothered (more likely because they haven't thought about it than actively opted not to).

That is a good point. I rented here for about 18 months before buying a place, and didn't bother with home insurance...apartment was rented fully furnished anyway.

Yes, most (all?) home insurance policies would include public liability insurance. But whilst most home owners have such an insurance policy, many renters will not, so that's a substantial portion of the population without insurance.

ChrisA wrote:

Ffs, a large number of people use bikes (as with cars) as a tool to get from A to B.  They're not precious shiny toys.  Many people can't afford to spend hundreds (thousands !!! ?) on their bike; it's makedo and mend.  If the derailleur can't be fixed, it gets removed. Yes the tyres could probably do with replacing & the inside of the rims checked to see how far the tin worm has got. But if the brakes brake & the steering steers it is probably ok pootling along the road. 

Many people don't have, or can afford, insurance of any kind (assuming that, if they ride this bike they can't afford a car; for which they do need insurance).

I really don't think we need to run down the road screaming "we're all going to die" at this point.

I have a friend who has her rear canti brake cable disconnected. Apparently it rubs the wheel if reconnected. She's a single mom and doesn't have a lot of money. I've offered multiple times to fix it, but she seems happy with just a front brake. She knows I'm competent as I've done lots of other work for her before on her house, car, lawnmower, etc. for free or for a six pack.

One night we had biked to the same event, and I took advantage of the opportunity when leaving before her to hook the cable up and adjust the tension screws to recentre them. They seemed to operate properly, and I went home. The next day she asked me if I'd done it, because she noticed on the way home that the bike felt really slow and she found the brake hooked up and dragging.

Now I just passive agressively mention when we're on a ride that I hope today isn't the day her front brake fails. Fortunately she's a slow and careful rider, but she's over sixty and won't do well even in a minor crash.

ChrisA wrote:

Ffs, a large number of people use bikes (as with cars) as a tool to get from A to B.  They're not precious shiny toys.

My commuter is in for a service.  The LBS asked whether I wanted the front brake noodle replacing as it was very rusty - I said check if the rust in on the inside and affecting the cable movement: if not, don't bother.  I'm more concerned on whether it works properly than how well it looks.