I guess the mods just drilled their seatposts with bad outcome.

Some of the threads that will, or better, have to disappear:
- every thread mentioning SRM. Those things are heavy.
- Every thread where people rave about the stiffness of Dura-ace cranks. Dura Ace cranks are heavy.
- Di2. That battery is heavy.
- Every thread where people admire the aerodymics of Zipps. Those are errr...heavy!
- training. One can argue that a light bike doesn't replace good fitness, but pro-team stuff is banned so why should one have to train? It's about light bikes (and fat guys), not about performing bikes or persons who can handle it. I want to see a tower of carbon spacers with a short stem on top, straight seatposts and low saddle/bar drops.
- Light weight issues for touring bikes. Weight-weenie-ing your touring bike...this cannot be serious???

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Bianchi EV3, Master Olympic, Pinarello Asolo

Not having read through the entire thread I'm disappointed that the pro-team thread has gone, I've spent many an hour looking through the pictures in one handy location.

Whether it was true to the spirit of the forum or not didn't really concern me, I just found it really interesting. Hopefully a reappearance in time for le Tour?

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VO2 Max - 79 ml/kg/min
W/kg - 4.9

"Because it isn't about WW issues" is not the reason the thread was removed.

"Because the thread was becoming too much work for the moderators" is the reason the thread was moved.

Moderating knobbers, get it back on, its the only reason I and many others on here sign on to WW.

... sounds like that was a big reason to me

quoted from the mods post...
"As we would like to maintain the focus on WW issues (let's face it, most of the bikes on this forum cannot be raced in a UCI race), we would kindly request all of you to refrain from starting new pro threads. Even in chat. Any new threads that are opened to mirror the now defunct pro thread will be locked and deleted."

sounds like YET AGAIN another case of the confusing mods.

and really, was the banter on the previous pro thread really THAT bad??? Others have said it as well... even if you did think it started to go off topic, it came back around - particularly around the big races - and I actually thought it was one of the best cases of self policing on the internets. There are a whole lot worse out there! I could see their point if every page contained people wanting to bring up doping, etc., but the recent mod intervention of "pictures only" was worse than the so called problematic discussion of said parts. The thread was never a "gallery" so discussion about parts posted had to have been assumed. Is it only after several hundred pages, they realized that people were mucking up their gallery???

and (finally), the whole "it's a private place" argument is bunk! It's a FORUM! The etymology of the word goes back to the Roman gathering place (usually in or around a market) for public discussion. As soon as you start a "forum," it is inherently public - like it or not. If you are not open to discussion, debate, or other's opinions (or whether they include a picture or not) a forum is not the right venture... start a blog and disable the comments.

...i changed my mind... At first i felt that deleting the Pro thread was a big mistake, but I then realised that i actually had to jot down what page i was up to in that thread because the entire thread would develop so quickly that i would miss important bits of information amongst all the crap that was posted.

If i was really honest with myself and didn't get completely caught up with crowd, against a handful of mods with a thankless task - maybe removing the thread isn't such a bad thing.

Sure we have lost some pictures of the pro's bikes - but Ride Magazine has plenty, if that's what you're after... the advantage of not having a Pro thread is individual topics will now be started about important gear development in the Pro ranks - so we will not longer have to trawl through 200+ pages of rubbish to find those few golden posts of a first peek.

I like hearing others opinions as much as the next person, but if the Pro thread is removed - the result is we get more clarity over what's being spoken about by way of having individual topics, it will not only become easier to find (and search for) what you might be more specifically interested in, and by the simple nature of having specific topics, it will keep people more on topic.

Whether they bring it back or not, I am not leaving WW - it has the most knowledgable members of any forum i've ever visited and i think those core members with something truly interesting to add, and members with constructive comments will remain - i loved the forum of the past and learnt to love the forum currently but i would admit the respect members had for one another had noticably decreased.

Viva WW.

I know!! And it seems like the mods just ignore this thread! Either that, or they just aren't doing anything.

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Road bike: Cervelo R3, Campagnolo Chorus/Record mix...
Supercommuter: Jamis Renegade...pastatrails.blogspot.com
And you can call me Macktastik Honey Pete Kicks, thank you.

ok. Fair enough

@ Stats, I concur. I also enjoyed the Pro thread, but it had become bloated and directionless, which at times the Mod tried to guide back to what it was supposed to be... but were ignored.

I think perhaps a strict information/photo only thread could work. No chit chat whatsoever. Also, as suggested by another member, a "user-rated" system to self-assess and moderate would also work.

I think there seem to be a lot of short sighted people whom think that the mods have arbitrarily taken upon themselves just to delete the thread as some sort of "power-trip". If they think that then they really need more imagination. It's a thankless job but the mods, in my opinion, do a very good job. Spam kept to a minimum, topics kept on track and anything inappropriate removed. If you have a look some forums out there it just descends into a free-for-all.

Actually let me change that now.

Thanks Mods.

I am sure the Pro thread will be reworked and reinstated in a better format some time in the future. Till then, viva la WW.

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"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
"I'm not a real doctor; But I am a real worm; I am an actual worm." - TMBG

Good suggestions and analysis - I agree with all.

And I think we know better now. This is a Forum BTW.

What would be the meaning of a pictures-only topic?
I always thought a forum was meant to discuss things or am I wrong?

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CANYON Ultimate AL 2010
CANYON Ultimate CF SL 2014
Instagram @coureurdusoleil

yah, same here. I don't see how we can have a thread with ONLY pics, with ABSOLUTELY NO sidetracking. Its a forum, and thats what forums do. I like the idea of a personal rating system, but not such a tight system that we get busted every time that someone screws up. I'm no expert, but this would be what I would want to see. I liked it in the mid point, with the mods stepping in only when necessary

Take it or leave it