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Today September 2019

@OreoCookie Yes, there is that design-around aspect. But then there is also the proactive part where the emerging tactics are to study what your competitors have, and then choose viable technological and market solutions that make it more difficult for them to prevent you from operating the way you want to in the future. One of the best minds in this field is not in fact a patent guy, but a Harvard business professor, and the father of disruptive innovation: Clayton Christensen. Pretty much all of his books are amazing.

On how bad it is? This is case by case. Some areas are wide open and I think there is a lot of freedom to move. For example, lower cost LiDAR sensors for autonomous driving that operate by simulating full functionality. We studied tens of thousands of patents and didn't really find very much other than a spin-out company from the Univ. of Ottawa doing that. I would say that depending on industry there is a lot of room to design full solutions that don't violate someone's patents, and to be fair, a lot of the very early, broad software patents that caused a lot of eyebrows to go up were filed a couple decades ago, and may either be expired or will be soon. But if a business executive in a Fortune 100 company says "Hey, we're going to design an complete autonomous vehicle and our budget for acquiring the rights to practice others innovation is not large", then there is going to be a lot of surprise. As my father said when he taught me carpentry as a young kid, "measure twice, cut once".
 
@kiwisimon there certainly were configurations like that. For example, this one. Check out the angles of movement. Sometimes it was very hard from drawings alone to understand what the real differences were.
DW has so many patents. Pivot and Ibis, which I'm familiar with, both use his 4 bar design.
I still think for XC racing 4 bar is over building. I love the IBIS BowTi but man they are pricey now.
 
On how bad it is? This is case by case. Some areas are wide open and I think there is a lot of freedom to move.
I guess many of the players are also of comparable and comparatively small size, so suing each other internationally the way e. g. Qualcomm pursues frivolous lawsuits all over the world against other companies is not that attractive.
 
Yep. Saw that. It is reasonable. But was trying to find an R5800 and couldn't find one new for less than $227.

ST-5800 and ST-R7000 shifters are each compatible with the other's FD and RD, so either should be fine for whatever purpose you are putting them to.
Official Shimano compatibility chart here:

But if you really, really need those ST-5800 shifters at a good price...here is a link.
 
Anyone ever experience a Garmin issue where it cannot find the satellites? My Edge 1000 was beeping every 10 seconds on my ride this morning saying "Lost Satellites." Maybe a factory reset?
 
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Anyone ever experience a Garmin issue where it cannot find the satellites? My Edge 1000 was beeping every 10 seconds on my ride this morning saying "Lost Satellites." Maybe a factory reset?
A factory reset seems to have fixed it.
 
Fun intro to CX at Inagi today! I should have practiced how to jump on the bike beforehand... that and "steering". Not my finest hour with a chain drop and falling over into a sign stake early on. They tried to prop the sign back up, but it had a dent in it for the rest of the day... sorry, kind sponsors :innocent:
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Course resembled a hay maze in the shape of the small intestine but thankfully it was a nice (dry) sunny day to ride it. Thanks to GrantT for suggesting it, the Wexford family who came out to watch, and met Deej who was also racing later in the day! Will have to try again in the future :)
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Hey @sean-e
Good to see you enjoyed the full CX experience. The only thing missing was rain and I don't think anyone minds missing out on that.
There is a big cycling expo called CYCLO MODE held every year in November not far outside Tokyo with lots of exhibitions and events, including another CX race. Fewer corners than Inagi, but more elevation and more fun. http://starlightcross.com/
Champion System sponsor this one as well so a good chance to rest up on that banner again. ;)
 
don't do this at home (at the alpine resort we all have in our kitchens). but seriously, if this can be done on such a bike, it just goes to show it's so much more about rider's technique than about the bike in the end. now, where do they sell such technique.... hmm

 
don't do this at home (at the alpine resort we all have in our kitchens). but seriously, if this can be done on such a bike, it just goes to show it's so much more about rider's technique than about the bike in the end. now, where do they sell such technique.... hmm


The only thing is you've got to chuck away that kind of bike after a single ride.
I love how the wheels are flexing and bending in the corners.
At least the bike had some hydaulic rim brakes.
 
don't do this at home (at the alpine resort we all have in our kitchens). but seriously, if this can be done on such a bike, it just goes to show it's so much more about rider's technique than about the bike in the end. now, where do they sell such technique.... hmm
The only thing is you've got to chuck away that kind of bike after a single ride.
I love how the wheels are flexing and bending in the corners.
At least the bike had some hydaulic rim brakes.
I do things on a rigid, some people would not do on a full suspension.
Oddly, there are things people do on rigids, I would not do on a full suspension.
There are no doubt a thousand ways to ride a bike and several goals people want.

Goal 1 - Go fastg
Goal 2 - Have Fun
Goal 3 - Challenge
etc...

It can be any combo of those goals too.
In my case I have my choice of bikes with a range of "feeling" I get from the trail when I ride them. My mood in the moment usually picks my bike for me. If I want a point at shoot with speed, I take a full squish. If I want to monster truck and explore, I take my Stanton 29+, If I want a challenge - it is the Rigid or the SS. Lately the rigid has been ridden way more than the SS, but both bikes end with a higher sense of accomplishment after a ride.

The funny thing when looking at my bikes... they all have one thing in common... a great set of brakes on all of them.
 
The only thing is you've got to chuck away that kind of bike after a single ride.
Bingo.
We should not forget that all of these videos are heavily edited. We don't know how many tries it took to get things just right. And none of us want to take unnecessary risks either. If the steerer tube, stem or the handlebars break while you are barreling down, no amount of skill will save you from crashing.
I love how the wheels are flexing and bending in the corners.
At least the bike had some hydaulic rim brakes.
I reckon this wasn't coincidence.
I do things on a rigid, some people would not do on a full suspension.
Oddly, there are things people do on rigids, I would not do on a full suspension.
There are no doubt a thousand ways to ride a bike and several goals people want.
Yup.
 
I put the parts and the degreaser (I use this one from Finish Line) in a sealable plastic bag and then suspend that in water. This significantly decreases the amount of degreases and prevents that all the muck settles in all the crevices of the machine. Everything that is dirty will be disposed of. Since this machine was meant for glasses and jewelry, it is quite weak and I will eventually replace it with something that has a larger volume and more power. But for 1,500 ¥ it does its job and the chain was very clean.

Funny there's talk of degreaser here today. I'm looking to buy a bottle of Simple Green, my go-to degreasing agent for bikes. Anyone have any idea where I could get it? And what it would look like in Japan. I don't read Japanese :(
 
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