Critique

Well since i have only used a couple welders in my life I'm going to review something out from my hobby, Biking.


Product: 2010 fox 40 rc3

Price: $1600

Ups: DH machine. This fork will eat up anything you throw at it. 8.5 inches of consistent travel take the big hits and keep your tires on the ground

Downs: Although have consistent stiffness and pressure throughout the the whole 8 inches keeps your traction it ups your chances of a bottom out making it a unreliable free ride fork. High Performance means means high maintenance. Prepare for constant blown seals and oil changes every 8-15 hours of riding. If you cant do this on your own your local mechanic will be taking all your money.

Overall: If your working your way up the DH circuit and you need a fork to keep up the 40 is the way to go. If not, Dint waste your money





Product: Marzochii 888 rc2 evo worldcup

Ups: Virtually maintenance free, Solid DH fork and the best dualcrown free ride fork on the market. Very versatile

Downs: Heavy, Bad high speed traction, not compatible with most direct mount stems

Overall: Awesome all around fork. last inch and a half is stiff to reduce chances of a bottom out making it the best free ride fork out there but still has the plush lower end for DH. If your looking to dominate the DH circuit then this is not your fork but if you an average Joe rider looking for the best do it all fork then the 888 is your best bet.

Product: RockShox Boxxer world cup

Ups: Super light, Most accomplished fork in the world cup series, Consistent stiffness for DH domination, Sleek cool design

Downs: High chance of bottom out on drops, vulnerable rebound control (one big bottom out and your in for a pricey repair)

Overall: Every where you look in the DH scene there are boxxers. They are one of the best downhill forks because they are perform at their peak in any terrain at any speed. These forks will lead you strait to the podium.... as long as there are no big drops.



All of these forks cost the same and are built for the same purpose so you can not review one without comparing it to the other. I hope this review will help you decide where to spend your life savings because that's about how much it will cost you.



By: James Perrier

How It's Done

The schooling required to be a welder ranges from a year to a lifetime. There are literally enough welding courses and classes that you cannot complete them in a lifetime. In one year you can complete basic welding training and receive your c ticket that can get you into basic welding jobs such as body shops and other basic steel welding. In 3 years you can complete your b ticket and work on pressurized pipes and tanks and many other metals. This is where most people stop and go to work because the pay ranges from $30-$100 an hour. If you stay for a full 5 years you will receive you A ticket allowing you to work on nearly any metal or welding machine. As an A certified welder most will make the same as a B certified welder but with chances for other high paying side jobs. Other than you basic ABC welding training there are hundreds of classes for anything from plastic welding to under welding and even outer space welding. What courses you take all depends on where you want to work, how much money you have for courses and how much you want to make on the job. A welder can make between $25,000 to upwards of $850,000. Just depends on your skill and training.

What Not To wear

As a welder, you will need to wear thick protective clothing along with the safety equipment u will need. Steel toe boots must be worn at all times and some welding will require a shop jacket. clothing with Long laces like sweaters or baggy clothing would be a bad idea for there are many things to get caught up on. Even on hot days a welder needs to wear long pants and shirts and sometimes thick heat resistant clothing to reduce risk of burns. Most welding jobs wont have much of a dress code but i guess it depends on how much u want to get burned :P

Tools of the trade

As a welder you will be using a variety of tools and materials. The three main types of welding are: MIG, TIG, and Arc. MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding is used for basic welding such as car body work and other broad metal projects. This is one of the simplest types of welding but is very limited on what metals it can be used on. TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) uses heat to bind two metals together and additional metal is added by hand if needed. This kind of welding can be used on almost any kind of metal but can not be used on vertical of overhead positions. Arc welding is used by creating a electric arc and melting metal on two other metal surfaces binding them together. This kind of welding is very useful for pressurized tanks and repairing torn or damaged metals but can only be used by skillful and experienced welders. As a welder u will also use a variety of metal cutting and shaping equipment. The most important thing to have is a welding mask. looking at a burning weld for even just 1 second can burn your retina and blind you. So now your ready to go be a welder right?

whats In Store

OK so right now i am registered for the ctc welding program. For those of you that have no clue what I'm talking about ctc is a program for high school kids and basically u skip gr.12 to go get a head start on your trade. I chose welding because i have been doing a lot of it in my shop class and apparently I'm pretty good. As a welder i would have long hours of working my ass off in many weather conditions. Lucky for me rain ruins welds so i would be working under cover in snow or rain. This will be a hard job with lots of deadlines, problems and stress.... just the way i like it :). I find if I'm not under pressure, nothing gets done, so i love to have deadlines etc to keep me on track. This may seem like a crappy job but i will be making more than the fancy ass people in there shinny suits and 20 years of university. So i don't mind. One thing about welding is all the work work is in the crap holes like the oil rigs etc. so i might go get another trade that would be good for winter with steady work but i don't have to worry about that for a while. As long as it pays for my sweet bikes I'm good to go.

Why?

People often question the biker mentallity. Why would we want to take the risks? One can never understand why untill they have tried it. The feeling of flying threw the air or bouncing over rocks at ridiculous speeds is truly liberating. When you are in the zone, nothing else matters. There is always the risk of getting hurt and i adds to the expirence. If u talk to someone who mountian bikes you will notice that "safe thrills" like roller coasters ect. just dont do the trick.call me crazy but im sure any fellow riders reading this will agree.