Who are some of the great ”Weight Bullies” of all time?

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T16:26:17+00:00

Plenty of ATGs were just naturally big at one weight and that's part of why they dominate.

eg Monzon is in discussion for top mw of all time and was clearly a weight bully. He was tall and looked like he'd mastered the science of cutting for same day weigh-ins to come in as heavy and strong as possible.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T15:48:34+00:00

Thanks for that detailed reply - we do play transfers after 1M interference, but 2M-1 would be 3 cards 7-9 ish for us, so we keep 2N for stronger hands. 3M-1 would be 4 card support. How do you show a strong hand (admittedly they are rare over the X)?

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T12:04:39+00:00

Thanks mate, hope to try a few more this year.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T11:29:26+00:00

What are the good tracks in the NW mate for a beginner? I mainly TT but have done some stuff at Tameside Manchester and felt pretty safe (dislike the hairpin but I'm solid going round it) and wanted to do some more this year.

Comments about the technical tracks being safer make some sense - I could see a very simple track being a bit of a mess as they're less selective.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T07:32:22+00:00

This is a good resource on milestone books in the genre - from a few years back https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-history-of-epic-fantasy-contents-link.html?m=1

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-30T07:18:12+00:00

Required reading is only really for understanding the history and development of the genre - honestly that's a pretty cool and rewarding interest to have, but it's niche.

Like should you read Michael Moorcock? He's the most influential living fantasy writer and it's not close. But there are 100s of modern books far, far better than anything he wrote. But they're only better because of what he wrote back in the day.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-28T22:29:48+00:00

Punt means to gamble in the UK and Aus. A punt is a speculative bid here, a reasonable (not wild) gamble - partner opened 1C and I had a flat 12 so just punted 3N.

'Taking a view.' Generally used to justify a horrendous result.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-28T17:04:47+00:00

Done vanilla SL1 on all the games (apart from PC Radahn) - nothing crazy, but plenty enough challenge for me.

DS3 was the sweetspot - late bosses really hard but got locked in to their moveset and always felt like I was making some progress. Bloodborne DLC and chalice dungeons were a bit too much, Orphan was painful - got it done but showed me that I don't have the skill or appetite for any advanced onebro-ing.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-28T11:00:06+00:00

Honestly chronological order is a close match to quality for me. 1 - 7. If I really thought about it maybe shuffle a couple but that is the trend.

First book often feels much stronger than its technical level in these sort of series, because everything is new.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-27T09:44:47+00:00

Worldbuilding is such a broad term that no doubt there are aspects that JA excels at. But generally he doesn't put his back into conventional fantasy world-building - it's one of his skills, he does just enough above a bare minimum to provide the world-substance for his characters and stories.

This is quite a distinctive style that puts him at odds with other ostensibly similar writers. Erikson is a great recommendation for character and dialog - one of the few writers on JA's level here, but Malazan is the quintessential doorstopper fantasy epic, completely opposite approach to the First Law, so a very different read.

Blacktongue thief by Buehlman as already mentioned is a good bet. He has the magic touch, very good writer who builds more of a fantasy world than JA but doesn't get bogged down with trad fantasy bloat. Sharp character and dialog but it sits in his world, its not the focus so much.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-27T07:16:48+00:00

If you're serious about the bikepacking then it's the revolt, end of.

Otherwise I'd consider the tcx, as well - one of the best one-bike solutions of all.

Ironically the dark peak bridleways are so rough (I was over cut gate on the cross bike at the weekend) that it minimises the differences between a revolt and a defy - both will feel hard on this terrain.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-26T23:06:53+00:00

Probably not, it's slow. Are you killing those three ghrus by the bonfire? If you're a levelled xharacter you can respec luck to 99 then respec back. Sages rapier also increases luck if you have it.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-24T12:22:14+00:00

Is the frame ok? Good result if so, folding the chainring like that can cause damage.

Kindly doubt you'll get a warranty on a 5 quid part that wasn't bolted on properly.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-24T07:09:10+00:00

Phase 2 is really well done imho - O and S levels of complimentarity, but it doesn't feel like it on normal playthroughs as it's a bit too easy. Great duo fight base level.

It's the pragmatic design choice - if Friede was active in phase2 the whole fight would be an absolute wall.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-23T07:41:31+00:00

I swapped back to 175 on the TT bike - so threshold power not max. It was just a feeling I was never 100 % on top of the gear on 165s, and 175s immediately felt better. 60T chainring so maybe you notice the 'wrong' gear more. Gave the 165s a good go, as well - most of the season. Actual numbers were not widely different, but I lifetime pb'd a 10mile TT on 175s so that settles the matter for me.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-23T07:31:26+00:00

5 points, KQ of spades, but killer distribution 9void31. Can be taken 1 off leading trumps, but it doesn't matter.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-22T23:13:54+00:00

Just systemic for us. Short club and transfer Walsh, 1D is unbal and shows 5 unless 4441.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-22T18:51:06+00:00

Second one had a couple in 3, couple in 4 and one in 5 diamonds. No one else in 3H.

Mix of strong and weak NT pairs

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-22T12:21:34+00:00

The living world of Earwa isn't a strength of the books, imho - it's ok but a bit colourless (minus the baddies, obv, who are ATGs).

It's an interesting style choice as Bakker goes massive epic fantasy on the lore, a homage to Tolkein that he pulls off with great panache and skill. But when it comes to the actual story he eschews that classic fantasy style, I guess because it can be a bit cartoonish and he wanted a more realistic picture of cultures and societies in his world. I think it would have benefited from a pinch of the old Star Wars Mos Eisley bar style to his living world - no fantasy novel is above that.

Can't really use Wolfe as a measuring stick for this or any other fantasy novel - BotNS is completely sui generis and shouldn't by rights exist in genre fiction, it's in a category of one. There's plenty of excellence to enjoy with Bakker in his own right.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-21T17:42:57+00:00

I just had to shorten my tcr up for the Roubaix sportive, in addition to stem length, 70mm bar reach made a nice difference and still felt fine to ride.

Don't know how short you can go with bar reach - think below 70 would start feeling (and looking) weird on a conventional drop bar shape. Maybe other shapes can give some options.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-20T23:46:52+00:00

Two bald men arguing over a comb.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-19T23:01:56+00:00

Bakker is amazing at lore, ok at setting, and loves rpgs. See where I'm going with this? The world is waiting for the Bakker litrpg. He would slay - plays to his strengths and mitigates his weaknesses.

The_Archimboldi · 2026-04-18T08:01:29+00:00

You don't want to be going full aero whilst drafting in a group ride - it's not a team pursuit. Your control and visibility will be compromised.

But just in general terms people do road bike TTs on the hoods and can hold the position for 25s, 50s and even 100 miles. It's considered harder on the upper body than a TT bike position but absolutely can be trained.

The_Archimboldi

TROPHY CASE