Rumble in the Dark. Albstadt, Germany UCI XC World Cup

 Bmw bikes are always worthless. As an employee of bmw I've seen quite a few of them and they're usually $3k alivio/suntour builds with neat paint

 The tubing shown here is great looking though!

 shop.bmw.com/en_US/p/lifestyle/sports/bikes/bikes/bmw-cruise-bike-white-blue/200003115

 Again, Many Chinese would be very glad to pay $30k for a $3k alivio/suntour build BMW bike.

And for the majority of those who want a BMW but can't afford one, they have this:
item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.22.k59CPt&id=45536769666&ns=1&abbucket=4#detail

Trust me, Taobao.com is a really amazing site.

 That's frikken funny.

 gshep then shut your damm mouth you fool.

 I love how the special edition of the BMW Cruise M Bike has "anti lock disc brakes" HAHAHA. What a novel way to market Shimano Acera brakes.

 Konachina - about affording BMWs. In Europe, the M series is quitely yet widely recognized as inverted W, standing for either Wanker or Wannabe. It is very often a choice for people who desperately want a true sports car but cannot afford it. A limbo of being caught between a regular street car and sportcar. Some try to feel better about it by calling it Stealth performance because all in all, these are seriously fast cars. The trouble is, owning a fast car in the world of speed limits is just going to give you blue balls. I don't get it why do they state acceleration as 0-100km/h. Be realistic, it should be given per 0-50km/h. Top speed? 110-130km/h baby. Then you take it to Nurburgring twice a year which is Whistler for cars, and you crash it on first corner.

 @KonaChina I found ENVE bars for 68 cents...

 "Kaser Spatzle"... Do you even German? It's called "Käsespätzle"!

 not far wrong Waki, I have two BMWs and have had loads of classics, at the mo I have a 635csi, however I have as much fun cleaning it as I do driving it!!

 Waki, in the us m cars arent cheap. We had an m4 come in that was $99k usd (had a 7k paint option and some carbon stuff, fully loaded) they start somewhere near 70, but I've never seen a base one.

They're also fast as crap. I gave a buddy in a ride in one and the first thing out of his mouth was "this is faster than my gtr"

Cant agree more about the speed thing waki. I've had a couple m5s i ended up selling because i couldn't mash the gas for more than 3 seconds without going over 90mph.

My 540it is the perfect amount of power and hauling my bikes/kids/dogs. Still don't know why they discontinued it here. (Or don't offer a 335 wagon)

 hmmmmm...cunning-linguist...

 @WAKIdesigns You have to admit that in China, the automobile industry and culture is still not as developed as you western countries. And imported cars are more expensive than in their original countries. For instance, a BMW M3 in China costs about 160k US dollars, which I believe is about two times the price in many countries. Moreover, Chinese average income is relatively low. So, when people get rich, the first thing is to get an Audi, or BMW, or Mercedes-Benz, or even Land Rover. They think those cars are their "faces", which is important in Chinese culture. Besides, Chinese love bigger or longer cars, that's why those brands release longer version of their models exclusively in China and sells really well.

As for the speed thing, I agree with you.

Firstly, the traffic jam in China now is getting worse. Even if you get a LaFerrari, you still may get stuck on the road and moving from time to time at 20km/h.

Secondly, those who bought supercars rarely know how to drive properly on public road, not to mention high level driving skills. Speaking of which, several days ago two high school students raced their Ferrari and Lamborghini in Beijing urban area and crashed. They got sued and put in jail (www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2015/04/12/lamborghinis-smash-beijing-street-race-gone-wrong). And they should know that there's a circuit right outside the 5th ring road of Beijing. Months ago in Shanghai, a Porsche 918 Spyder crashed a tree by the owner's female friend (www.carbuzz.com/news/2014/12/18/Porsche-918-Spyder-Involved-in-Serious-Crash-in-Shanghai-7724350).

So you can see things are really different in here. People just start to get rich and the whole automobile culture is underdeveloped.

 @NotDannyHart That's great. How many do you need? I can get that for you to sell in Europe and we can split the profit. Haha.

 BMW in the UK? acronym for "Boring Middle class Wanker"...

 There is nothing wrong with M3s, M4s, M5s or M6s - it is the average behavior of most of their drivers. You do not want to overtake this one, particularly when starting on lights and changing lane in front of him, like, when you have to make room for Audi A5 that is 1cm from your bumper, a milisecond after the light changes from red to orange. 2s after he blinks. I rarely experience such behavior from Porsches which seem to have less to prove. Yes I am talking out of my A...

 Audi drivers are by far the worst these days! But I'll agree with you most do drive them as if they'd been stolen. I suppose I'm more sedate because I actually care for mine? Plus I think of cyclists being one and understand that there is a time and a place for speed & it's not in a 30 limit!!

 All in all, the worst drivers are professional drivers. Whenever I ride on a cyclepath, getting close to the crossing I always pay extra caution when I see a bus, cab or a lorry driving aside. They often turn and cross the path without blinking and looking if someone is cycling or walking. The small lorries like Kangoo are bloody killers, three of my friends have been hit by them. Same on the highway, nothing more irritating than a bully in VW transporter going faster than audis and SUVs. As to Audis, the Q series are special they count as 2 1998 M3s or A3/A4. 10yr old A4s are often filled with class A-holes as well. Slam the accelerator to the floor is what they understand as a driving skill. I drive a Volvo V50 1.6 just under speed limit, I am reasonable, please respect me

 That's basically the same here. Bus drivers and construction waste trucks are always the craziest drivers. And Audi cars here also like live "Need For Speed" gamers. They change lanes without turning on signals, use high beam all the times even after you protest by blinking them. Other bullies on road include but not limit to Chevrolet, Hyundai, KIA and a large proportion of VW.

 @KonaChina that web site you suggested, it's safe.

 @FabienTT You mean Taobao.com?

 @KonaChina yeah man, is that enough safe ?. There a lot of components cheaper than my local store.

 Yeah man. Many components are indeed cheaper because there are many of them were leaked from factories. So they are basically the same quality but have no warranty at all. Meanwhile there are also some fake products. As far as I know, there are fake old XT V-brakes and brake levers, Deore and Avid rotors etc. So you should be very careful about that. And I don't think most of the sellers would ship internationally.

 @KonaChina Thanks man for your advice, you're very kind ¡¡

 You're welcome dude. And welcome to China when you got a chance!

 How about the accent?

 its by far the most ridiculous accent in southern germany... but käs´spätzle are awesome!

 Thanks. I first noticed the leaves that look like they have been attacked by elm beetle, and I was wondering if that beetle was the culprit. The bastard beetles that attack the elms around here are tiny.

 @iamamodel I think those are beech leaves on ground (not a 100 percent sure). Definitely not elm beetle. Elm beetles are leaf beetles who can double damage both as a larvae and adult. I'm sure you seen the skeletonized leaf damage they case. Similar pest are the Colorado potato beetle & corn root worm, Scarabs larvae tend to confined to roots of their host plant, rotting wood, or dug. By the time you see the adults the damage has been done. Invasive species like the elm beetles are one of the underrated and expensive nightmare any government, farmer and/or homeowner can deal with.

Err... back to bikes I guess.

 That was my first thought.

 I'm pretty sure that is a GT of some sort as that "triple triangle" seat stay extending to the seat tube and top tube is a trademark of GT (ridiculous i know)

 No, it's a BMW Cruise M bike.

 I guess that badge will make it understeer out of corners like the M3s and M5s on fail videos from Nurburgring.

 "Thanks pinkbike keep me coming"

...

 Oh sorry I meant keep IT coming.

 The only colors worse than laguna seca blue

 I actually kind of liked Laguna blue o.0

 Sakhir Orange would be a sick frame color. If it wasn't made by BMW of course.

 BMWs rule!!! I know people aren't all the same, but I see them as a Ferrari for the masses - they really do drive better than any Audi Mercedes ford or any other shyte!!! 50/50 weight and RWD are really the main sellers for me!

 Over 9000hp