Weight Weenies – observations and participation

Based on Hine (2000) ethnographical study needs to include participation and observation. I assume observation is fine as all postings are accessible online in a forum that people need to sign up to before being able to access all the comments, but there are no real exclusions.

However to allow a more fuller understanding of the group and to feel part of the community I feel I need to become a member and an equal. However becoming a member was more difficult than I thought! I keep getting the spambot question wrong, I checked and rechecked spelling and finally the site said I was blocked out for 24 hours grrrrrr

Day two – attempting registering – spambot question
Which two words combines the term Shimagnolo?: Shimano and Campagnolo
answer is case sensitive and requires Capitals at the start arrrrggh

However, I am now a member – and can begin to participate so I can create an ethnography (acc to Hine!)

I have scrolled through conversation streams and have noted there are sections for different user groups road cycling, cycle cross, MTB;s. I belong to the road bike community and it is interesting to see this segregation of users, as it is very important to cyclist which group they belong too and some are dismissive of other groups.

I have now (tried to) ban my husband from looking at this website as people are posting weights of every component on their bike and showing photo’s of the pieces being weighed. He has already spent a fortune on bike parts and if he gets into weighing each part I can see further purchases landing on the doorstep and an ever decreasing bank balance!!!!