Friday, December 27, 2019

Christianity And Free Methodist Church - 1555 Words

Weapons, such as guns or knives, are not innately evil, but rather serve whatever purpose a person chooses for one. This remains true for more than just physical tools. Ideals and beliefs have been used throughout the ages to justify actions, good and bad alike. For example, Christianity was used commonly during the crusades as a justification to slaughter thousands of people for the purpose of reclaiming the ‘holy land.’ Though this one belief has been used broadly for negative actions such as that extreme example or even something is frivolous as the picketing of funerals by Westboro Baptist Church, it has also been used to better the world. The church I belonged to, Pine Grove Free Methodist Church, made its best efforts to assist its surrounding community by volunteering at the local homeless shelter and running charity events for starving children in Africa. Furthermore, interpretation and practice truly differentiates the diverse groups within Christianity from the ir stereotypes. However, to better understand Christianity and Free Methodist denomination I belonged to, one must understand their foundations and common practices within. Unlike most groups where a person joins that respective community by choice, an individual is usually either born into Christianity or brought into it through a close friend or family member. On rare occasions a person seeks out this belief by themselves, usually under the guise of searching for a purpose in their life. In a lot of waysShow MoreRelatedDavid Walker: Analysis of the Appeal Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pagesextremely radical, Walker uses the bible and what can most clearly be defined as a Methodist theology to support his stance on the issues of society. David Walker was â€Å"born a free black in late eighteenth century Wilmington,† however, not much more information is known about his early life. During his childhood years, Walker was likely exposed to the Methodist church. During the nineteenth century, the Methodist church appealed directly to blacks because they, in particular, â€Å"provided educationalRead MoreImpact of Second Great Awakening on Modern Society1415 Words   |  6 Pagescentury,1 this Protestant awakening sought to reach out the un-churched and bring people to a much more personal and vivid experience of Christianity. Starting on the Southern frontier and soon spreading to the Northeast, the Second Great Awakening has also been associated as a response against the growing liberalism in religion - skepticism, deism, and rational Christianity.2 Although the movement is well-known to be just a period of religious revival, its tremendous effects still influence the nationRead MoreAnalysis Of The Article Let s Make A Slave 1299 Words   |  6 Pagestraditional religion is evaporating and Christianity and Islam had made their presence felt. Christianity now claims 160 million followers in tropical and southern Africa and there over 130 million Muslims. In my opinion, this is largely due to the Europeans bringing the religion into Africa and pushing it upon the people there (modern day). The assigned reading for the book titled, â€Å"Black Church History,† was also very insightful because I learned that Christianity was beaten into the slaves and theyRead MoreReligion : Religion And Religion948 Words   |  4 PagesReligion has many different types and it has branches to it as well. When you are living in the United States of America, Christianity is the most common among people. Around 75% people worship Christianity. Christianity has further dominations which may be little different, but ultimately they all believe in Jesus is the son of God. One of them is the first United Methodist which is very significant and very influential to it. They believe that God is the holy spirit who is a father, son and playRead MoreEssay on The Churchs Struggle Against Apartheid2873 Words   |  12 Pagesrights, constitutes the failure of the church to live up to its faith convictions. Rather the church often got caught up in its debates on the legitimacy and right of resistance against the authorities. These debates were dominated by the question of the violence and the armed struggle. This furthermore happened under circumstances in which our members were part of the armed wings of the liberation movements. Prozesky, Martin, Christianity in South Africa p 132 The ChurchesRead MoreChristian Beliefs Of The United Methodist Church990 Words   |  4 PagesChristian. Specifically, I belong to the United Methodist Church. My mother was a Catholic, but had decided to become a United Methodist and to raise me in that church. I have always believed in Christian beliefs such as God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, as well as having read Bible stories since childhood and participating in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, retreats, and many other things. I have many essential memories of being in church, from asking the pastor to allow me to finish theRead MoreMark TwainS Religious Views Seen Through His Works. Mark1341 Words   |  6 Pagesmiddle of this piece over the core of the Christianity religion. This doctrinal struggle had been evident for centuries. However, it became severe in the childhood of Mark Twain during the spread of the Great Awakening into the valley of Mississippi. The Great Awakening of the eighteenth century coache d the resurgence of the religion of Christianity in doctrinal terms. The first evangelists to arrive in Mississippi Valley suggested that low membership of the church was a consequence of not holding up toRead MoreChristian Religious Education : A Book Based Out1593 Words   |  7 Pagesread that way. However, if you read the book based out, as recommended by Leslie Long then the book was fine. Yet, whichever way you read the book the same general message will get across. That message is one that education is important, in Christianity and all religions. This book talks all about the importance of Christian religious education and how to actually apply it to the ministry that you are working in. One of the most important things that it says about teaching is, â€Å"Our studentsRead MoreInfluence Of God On The Fate Of Tess And The D Urbervilles1564 Words   |  7 PagesTess Durbeyville a victim, not of free will or fate - but by the hands of God? With the theme of fate and f ree will in mind, I will look into why the characters; Alec D’Urberville, Angel Clare and Joan Durbeyville influence Tess’s choices and fate through their different Christian beliefs. I shall also look at how the Victorian period influenced the characters beliefs and actions. Hardy’s representation of God is established through many different forms of Christianity, though it offers little supportRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Meditations Of The Spirit Essay1706 Words   |  7 Pagespretty, know how to be a good wife. But her mother also let her study instead of cook and dress boyish. Chung Hyun Kyung saw in her mother a desire to break away from the deeply patriarchal religion and society in Korea, and the wish that she could be free to be something other than a mom and housewife. Kyung’s life changes when she discovers that the mother she had always known was not her birth mother. Chung Hyun Kyung life story and her two mothers shows how much a patriarchal society like Korea

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Section I. How Did Adolf Hitler Use Environmental...

Section I How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich(1933-1945)? During this time period Adolf Hitler had taken control over Germany and had begun purging the country of people he thought were â€Å"impure†. He began building up his military powers and persuading his people. The Source â€Å"Children of The Slaughter† is especially significant to this investigation because it gives detail about Hitler’s Youth groups and gives insight as to what the youth was exposed to. The Book â€Å"Children of The Slaughter† is a secondary source written by Ted Gottfried in 2001, an American Author born in the time period of The Third Reich and has written many books about†¦show more content†¦It gives information about the age ranges for the different groups and rites of passages. It also describes the separation between boys and girls in these youth camps, and is thus valuable to one researching Hitler’s Youth. A limitation of this is that does not reveal anything about Hitler’s success or failure in his military involvement, or reveal anything about his invasions into other countries but simply informs about his Youth programs. It does not reveal his military involvement and is thus not valuable to one researching Hitler’s Involvement in other countries. Section II Adolf Hitler manipulated the Hitler Youth to build up his militaristic power, maintain and strengthen his control over Germany during The Third Reich, and easily purge Germany of â€Å"Impure races† with his anti-semitic raised soldiers. Hitler used environmental isolationism to train and gain loyalty from the youth while he manipulated and indoctrinated them to follow his beliefs using propaganda and anti-semitic teachings. Hitler isolated the youth from the rest of Germany to be able to easily manipulate their beliefs. In 1926 the Hitler Youth was founded to train boys to enter the SA (Storm Troopers), a Nazi Party paramilitary formation. After 1933, however, youth leaders sought to integrate boys, while isolating them from the German girls and from their parents, into the Nazi national community to prepare them for service in the armed forces as soldiers. The Nazi army was such a dominantShow MoreRelatedHow Did Adolf Hitler Use Environmental Isolationism In1617 Words   |  7 Pages How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich (1933-1945)? Trinidad Reyes Ms. Coloma Period 4 May 22, 2017 1573 Words Section I How did Adolf Hitler use Environmental Isolationism in and alongside the Hitler Youth Program to benefit his cause during The Third Reich(1933-1945)? During this time period Adolf Hitler had taken control over Germany and had begun purging the country of peopleRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesreferences. ISBN 978-1-4399-0269-1 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0270-7 (paper : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4399-0271-4 (electronic) 1. History, Modern—20th century. 2. Twentieth century. 3. Social history—20th century. 4. World politics—20th century. I. Adas, Michael, 1943– II. American Historical Association. D421.E77 2010 909.82—dc22 2009052961 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

The History of Recording Music

Question: Describe about the The history of recording music ? Answer: Introduction The report basically contains the details about music technology. Music technology like all technology is complex in nature. There is always scope of development in the music technology. This research will be carried out basically on the problems with music technology and how music technology is impacting the level of music. Like every coin has two faces, similarly music technology also has two faces, i.e. positive and negative. On one side, it is creating the digitized music which is liked by the music lover, on the other hand it is destroying the real music. Thus, there are various facts which should be discussed about the music technology. This literature review analyses the music technology present in the market and will conclude the results of these technologies in the real world. Literature Review Most of the industries today are trying to reduce the complexity of the technology but still as the modern technology and the gadgets are growing, the technology itself is becoming more complex (Hughes 2004, p.1). Technology is really tough to understand and define. Contradiction always remains present in any type of technology. Music technology is also one of the part of those technologies. There are various successful example of music technology present in the world. It was the same even at the time of 1940s when the technology was at the developing state. The experiment for bouncing and adding track in disk recording was successfully done in 1940s. Lover (When Youre Near Me) The famous album of 1948, was recorded by the above technique. This music was the result of combination of 8 guitars. First 8 track recorder was developed in 1955 and sold in 1957 by David Sarser at a cost of $10,000. It was then named as Octopus (Recording History, 2014). Actually, there are four divisions in any music technology. These are, fundamentals, instruments and interfaces, recording and distribution, languages and representation. Each division has its own significance. Fundamental includes the basic or tradition of the music. This includes the technology related to the digital representation of the music (Ecoff, 2000). Coding music technology is one of the important part of music technology, coding is required in each division of the technology. Instrument and interface use the coding for designing the interface. Coding of designing music interface provide a different look to the music technology. When we play music in the software, a program of software comes on the screen. Whatever is watchable on the screen is under the interface. The efficiency of interface depends on the ease to use. It also depends on how easy all the programmes are accessible on the screen. Instrument technology includes the use of digitized instruments like electric guitar, electric drums and synthesizer etc. As these instruments are described, here coding is actually related to the designing of the instrument. Recording and distribution includes the technology related to the final storing of the music. As recording is taken into the consideration, a full planned and designed coding is required in the backend to store the music. Music is prepared for the distribution in the market. Various changes in the music have been performed at this stage of the music production by using the computer and software to enhance the effectivity of the music. Even this software is the result of coding. Representation and language technology includes the virtual music players which play the music and the dubbing technology. For music and dubbing also a software programme result of coding is required. There is a particular problem of using technology in art. New technologies have always been exploited by the arts for creative agendas. The first problem that is tracked by the use of music is that the success mainly depends on the technology operator more than the artist which means that the aesthetic criteria defines the success more (Warde, 2000). The other problem is that the original work of the composers and the producers cant be seen. Coding of course has created various positive aspects and work easy but these negative aspects are also the result of coding. After the invention of recorded music, sound and the technology, various new inventions from phonograph to mp3 music have been done. Currently, the trends in the music technology have been changed to digital recording (Theberg, 1997). Coding of digital music is very much advanced thus produce a real effect of music. Song mixing, mastering and recording has been performed by sophisticated software like Neundo and ProTools. These coded tools has made easy these things, otherwise there were various additional instruments also required. The various innovations like iTunes, digital Jukeboxes and mp3 players are changing the effect of music in the world. Today, computer is playing a central role in the music process. The digitization and arrangements of sound through the computer really generates a better impact on the listeners. The concept of play back singing has come after the digitization of the music. The case of grey Tuesday on 24th February 2004 cant be forgotten when more than 300 blogs and websites had done an online music protest for supporting various music files generated by Brian Burton (a famous hip hop artist) (Warde, 2004). Actually, The grey album were an innovation of the hip hop mix by rapping the lyrics of Black Album and White Album. Thus, the name was given as grey album. Nowadays, the most expensive parts are used by the recording studio (Theberg, p. 231). People have become the habituated of quality music generated through the music technology. No matter how much touching the lyrics of songs are or how well the music was played, people dont like the song without digitization of the music. A proper software installed in the computer helps in creating high quality music (Middleton, p. 66). The above technology is the result of the power of microprocessor, computer interfacing and recording software. The software packages provides various kind of facilities to the professionals to create high quality music, the main facilities are merging, cutting, pitch setting etc. Even for the consumption of music, computer works as a central device. Hard disks have the ability to store lakhs of unauthorized or authorized music. After the CDs and recording tapes, digital music has changed the choices of music in the people. Virtual players are the software which actually plays the digital music in the computers, mp3 players, mobiles and other devices. These virtual players are also designed with various facilities. These facilities provide the user to manage the quality of the music. User can create various playlists in single software according to his choices and save in his device. Playlist reduces the searching efforts and time for the music (Jones, 2000). The future will be much more advanced; the shuffle technology in the iPod will provide the facility of skipping from first music to another (Ross, 2004). Visual aspects of the music have also created a revolution in the music world. It is really surprising that people can see the music. Musicians argue that sound was visible after the music notation but the digital representation of sound is really a bit different. It has made the processing of music very easy (Ross, 2004). Digital representation of the music is the combination of ones and zeroes which can be adjusted very easily and effectively. Harmonies, melodies, versus and Chorus can be created just like paragraph in a word processor. The world of music has changed. Previously, the music directors and producers used to use their ears while today they rely on their eyes (Danny, 1999). Thus, the consumers today are not getting the music, they are getting the stream of zeroes and ones. Looping and sampling is also an interesting technology. The case of grey album was the result of the same technology which used the sampling and re-arranging of the well-known music. The sampling provides the user an access to the libraries of sounds and instruments. If a musician doesnt know to play violin, he can buy a CD of music samples of various reknown violin players and by looping them, can create his own sound (Morris, 2010). It is just like music without instruments. The use of pre-recorded material has reduced the use of music instruments. It is very true that the old music were legendary music but today, its the only technology that is working (Coleman, 2003). Musicians are using the combination of old melodies and todays technology which is really impacting the world of music. Thus, the trends have changed from full music knowledge to the 50% music and 50% technology in creation of any music. Both should be perfect to influence the people. The technology has entered in the music instrument also, like acoustic guitar to electric guitar, harmonium to synthesizer and traditional drums to electrical drums. Acoustic guitar was just a bunch of string while the electric guitar is the combination of the string and the digitization. The digitization of the string sound produces the result of electric guitar. If we see todays trend, electric guitar digitizes the string sound in hundreds of other sounds. Same thing happens in case of synthesizers and the electric drums (Bull, 2000). After the digitization through the instruments, the digitization of the music is performed on the computer which means digitization of the pre digitized sound. Conclusion Music processing is divided into four parts, all the four parts are associated with some kind of technology. These technologies have really changed the view of the listeners towards the music. After analysing the technology in depth, it is found that the digitization process is the heart of each type of music technology. Technology really has reduced the originality in the music. Everything we hear is just a stream of zeroes and one. At a certain level, the technology has really influenced people but if we consider it at the level of art it is reducing the impact of real art. References Recording History (2014). The history of recording music [online]. Available From: https://www.recording-history.org/HTML/8track3.php [Accessed: 19th March 2015]. OCW (2013). Music Technology [online]. Available From: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/music-and-theater-arts/21m-380-music-and-technology-contemporary-history-and-aesthetics-fall-2009/lecture-notes-and-videos/MIT21M_380F09_lec01.pdf [Accessed: 19th March 2015]. Bull, Michael (2000). Sounding out the city: Personal Stereos and the management of Everyday life 1st ed. Berg: Oxford Press Coleman, Mark (2003). Playback: From Victrola to mp3, 100 years of music, machines and money New York: De Capo Press Danny, Michel (1999). Sound Recording Jones, Steve (2005). Music and the internet Popular Music 19(2) p. 217-230 Theberg, Paul (1997). Any sound you can imaging: Making music/ consuming Technology 1st ed. Hanover: Wesleyan Werde, Bill (2004). Deffiant Downloads Rise From Underground. New York times 25th February 2004 p.3 Ross, Alex (2004).Listen to this. The New Yorker 16th February 2004 p. 146-155. Morris, Jeramy (2010). Developments in Music Technology: Hybrid Activity in Popular music 15 (2). 91-101 Eccoff, Samuel (2000).Fundamentals of Music Technology. 2nd ed. New York: Secret Society Production. Middleton, Chris (2003). The Complete guide to digital audio. Boston: Muska and Lipman Publishing

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay Example

The Great Gatsby Assignment Essay ts a new year and after 2 seasons on my last steed I am lucky enough to be able to build up my new ride for the 07 season. While todays off the shelf rigs can offer an amazing value for what you pay, I wanted to build something unique that stands out a bit. What I ended up with is a 36. 3 lbs coil sprung DH bike that you wont see anywhere else. I have to say that coming in a close second to the actual riding, the technical aspect of mountain biking is what really excites me. I am a self admitted tech nerd. I can spend hours reading about the latest gadgets from any sport, be it Fl, MotoGP or ven tennis. If its lighter, faster or uses a new material then I am interested. The great part about our particular sport is that if you have the time, money and knowledge you can build some really neat things. I dont have a great deal of any of those three things but I still try, even though a smart guy once told me it was the first step towards failure. So what I did was try to build up a light and very functional DH bike. Actually what I built is a full on DH race bike. I Just happen to not race all the much, only hitting up a few each year. But what I do like to do is pin it. We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Great Gatsby Assignment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer All-the-time. Weight was a huge concern for me, not because of any delusions of getting my pro number plate, but because this is my only bike. I have had more XC-type bikes in the past and I hated descending on them. It was not worth the uphill gain. I want to ride everything on my DH bike and to make that a little more enjoyable I had to pick my parts real carefull like. I Just happend to end up with a really light DH race bike! Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges Fact: All 3 current Honda factory riders have raced World Cups on Oranges The biggest decision to make when building up your dream bike is which frame you will decide to hang all your parts on. I had a few on my short list so there was some thinking to be done. The U. S. made Iron Horse Sunday frame is one that Ive always had my eyes on (not that Id ever rail a corner like Sam even if I was on his bike). The Glory from Giant was also hard to say no to, being one of the best deals out there. The DW Link and Giants Maestro designs look similar but work in different ways and are about as far away as you can get from a well thought out single pivot design as seen on the Orange 224 frame. I have spent the last two seasons on an Orange 223 and came to love the light weight and simple bike, so even though the 224 frame is almost more than the Glory and Sunday put together, I still wanted one. After doing my homework on the frames the decision was made for me. The 224 was the only one that had the geometry that I liked. A bikes angles are absolutely the most important factor in its performance. There are a lot of different takes on suspension out there but the truth is that while some work different, they all do work good. But a DH bike with a 67 degree head angle will be ntirely different beast than a 64 degree monster. The 224 has that slack 64 degrees up front and also the low b. b. height and longer wheelbase that I feel at home on. Another consideration of mine was a full length seat tube on the frame. Some of my best rides are xc rides from home with my iPod and the seat on my DH bike Jacked up to the max. Oh, and it is light. The 224 is claimed to be one of the lightest production DH frames which is key when trying to piece together a light bike, might as well start off on the right foot. Suspension is the second most important part of any rig. Again, there are a lot of hings out there that do work great so it is more important to pick something based on your needs instead of Just looking for the trickiest possible set of sliders. But what if I could have a fork that came in at under 6. 51b, had a super low crown to axle length and worked great to boot? Id say that would be a pretty trick fork! So what I built is most likely one of the more unique forks out there. I started with a set of white 07 Boxxer lowers that use the Maxle system. Dropping the pinch bolts helped save a bit of weight but also means I only need a single allen key to get my wheel off. It doesnt hurt that the athena white lowers look dope next to my white 224 frame. I had originally planned on tracking down some of the old gold ti-nitrite stanction tubes, I did find a few but nothing in usable condition. Thankfully Tyler had some of the slippery silver tubes laying about from a buddies wrecked fork. The rest of the fork was garbage but the silver stanctions were mint so a small amount of money was exchanged and I nearly had a complete fork. Instead of dropping in some boring (but good working) World Cup internals, I installed a MOJO Boxxcart in the right leg and the ingle MOJO spring in the left. MOJO decals MOJO decals Now, you may or may not be aware that MOJO does not even produce these nice little units anymore. So why am I telling you about this stuff if its not made anymore? Because it is by far the best suspension I have even ridden. Ill admit, its not for everyone. It feels like ass in the parking lot (but thanks for telling me, everyone! ) but once you open it up on dirt it will blow you away. Stay tuned for pictures and details of the Boxxcart that will be in the (really long) review of the whole bike this summer. So what I ended up with is a 6. 1b coil sprung and MOJO damped Boxxer. The MOJO rebound knob Out back the boing is handled quite well by a Fox DHX 5. 0. Fox obviously know how to produce top end stuff as they have been in the suspension game for a long, long time. The great thing about the 5. 0 is the range of adjustment. If I am on a trail or course that would normally be faster on a smaller travel (read: stiffer) bike I can turn my 224 into that bike without to much hassle. Likewise, she can be a rock and root eating machine and all I need to do it is a single 4mm allen key and a simple shock pump. Another plus is the range of rebound adjustment. Some of the newer shocks on the market seem to have no noticeable difference in return speed until the final turn of the adjuster. All this adjustment is great if you know what is going on back there but one thing I did want was a slightly more active ride out of my 5. 0 shock. After some top secret trickery on a late night at the shop I think I have get her dialed. 5. 0 w/ Ti spring So you may be starting to see a trend here. I am building a very single purpose bike. A bike that is meant to pin it fast down fast trails. I am not the rider who stops to hit p the skinnys a few times or goes to sesh the local gravel pit drop, all I want to do is go. Sometimes the most important part of going is the stopping or Just slowing down a bit. Only a little bit though. I am a huge Avid fan, having spent time on the original Juicy 7s, 5s and Juicy Carbons. You cant really go wrong with any of those setups but I wanted something a little bit special. Last season some of the top SRAM riders were sporting the new Juicy Ultimate levers mated with Code calipers. Since I am nobodies top rider I had to spend my personal booty. Lucky for us peons the Code and Ultimate parts can be bought seperately. Using the Ultimates upper end saved some grams over the 7s master cylinders plus there are no finicky red dials for friends to play with. You still have the ability to fine tune the bite point but youll need an allen key to do it. Code caliper Code caliper The Code calipers bump up the power a bit by using four pistons and more importantly a much larger pad surface area. After a few bleeds the Ultimate/Code combo works great, much to my relief as SRAM does not advise combining the two systems. Two years ago I saw a picture of Fabian Barels bike sporting a 6 rear rotor o I decided to give it a try. It worked great with my old Juicy Carbons, actually saves nearly a 1/4 pound and should perform Just fine with the even more powerful Code calipers. I expect a lot of power but will my hybrid brakes keep the Juicy modulation that I love so much? X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp X. O shifter and Ultimate lever mounted using Avids sweet Matchmaker bar clamp It is no different with the wheels I chose but I did decide to avoid the more expensive rims out there. I put a rim thats on a DH bike in the same category as brake pads or a hain: Disposable. I wanted something light but nothing to expensive as I would most likely be going through a few as the season got bigger and badder. I have had nothing but great results with my set of Alex Supra Ds, under 600 grams, easy to build and very reliable (gotta love the anodized gold option! ). But at $90 msrp canadian they are a little expensive to be turning them into squares. The SingleTrack from Sun seemed to be the perfect choice. Closer to 500 grams then 600, a decent width and cheap! The msrp here in Canada is only $40 so it was hard to say no. Hubs re a hard one. There are a lot of amazing hubs out there, some seem to be more art then a bike component. The truth is that they all use wheel bearings that I can buy from local hardware store or distributor so why drop more on a rear hub then most regular people spend on a whole bike? Well.. l cant! As much as I wanted a Hadley or DT I could not Justify it. I would rather put that money into my suspension or brakes. I did manage to find a sweet set of hubs that come in at nearly half as much as some others, are lighter and are easy to service. WTB may not Jump out at you hen you are thinking about hubs for your big bike but you should really look them up. The Super Duty rear hub is an amazing little bit of work. Unlike most hubs, everything is a push fit which makes it super easy to disassemble and clean. The 12/150mm Super Duty rear hub has been stripped of absolutely any extra material that it does not need. You also slide your cassette onto a aluminum freehub body which is where most of the weight savings come from. WTB SuperDuty hub Check the aluminium freehub body Actually, the rear hub weighs 305 grams and the front comes in at only 190. The folks at WTB are also good people which has a lot to do with me picking their hubs over some others. Poor spokes. No one ever thinks about them and they do so much work. I really did want to build these wheels with Sapims super high end CX-Ray spokes but time was not on Sapims side. All my parts were where they needed to be and I had some very nice black DT Champion spokes to hold everything together so that is what I chose, pertinence be damned! The CX-Rays do make a lot of sense though and I hope to use them on my next wheelset. I have not had a spoke break in years but hey are light and the minimal middle section is bladed which makes building and truing alot easier as I can hold the spoke with a special tool to prevent and wind-up (wind-up is when a spoke turns with the nipple when truing, it makes things difficult). Aluminum nipples get such a bad rap but as long as you treat them right they work great. I weigh in at 1701b. which is not huge but I have run al. nipples exclusively for years now with no problems. I am sure I have had no trouble because I look after my wheels though. With A1. ipples you need to keep the tension from getting to low as he constant loading and unloading of spokes can snap the heads off. I also use a four sided spoke wrench to finish the build, tension and true. Holding onto all four sides minimizes the chance of rounding the corners on the softer metal and also dropping a touch of thin lube into the nipple now and then keeps things from seizing up. A light wheelset can be the k ey to a fun and nimble bike so I thought it was important to choose parts carefully to end up with the right package, something I think has been done. Everyone go buy Srams X. O shifters and derailleurs. And if you cant afford them then ell a liver or something because you owe it to yourself to roll with X. O. I like nice stuff (obviously) but my rides dont depend on it. If I am on a test bike with a lower end group set I will have Just as much fun as on some rare super bike. But this X. O stuff is amazing. Basically, you put it on your bike and then 6 months later you scrape the dirt off it and maybe make a small adjustment. The 1:1 cable pull ratio means that stretch and other variables that can cause shifting to go haywire will have half the effect that it would on Shimanos traditional 2:1 pull. I love how I am able to move the lower shift paddle to a more comfortable position for my tiny girls hands. Its a feature that I thought was more gimmick than function but now I Just would not be comfortable with a stock non adjustable shifter. All around quality parts and despite the fragile look they can take a beating. 0k people, stop buying outboard bearing cranksets. They are not better. In the real world they do not last longer and you can not tell me that you can feel a differance in stiffness on your mountain bike with big knobby tires and suspension. k, you can ell me whatever you want but I wont believe you. I will go through two ISIS b. bs in a year of riding. I gave outboards a shot a while back and if I had stuck with it would have gone through four sets of cups. Lame. Take your chain off your external bearing crankset and give it a spin, not to great eh? Even on a broken in external bearing b. b. you will have a ridiculious amount of seal drag, way too much to be accept able for the meager amount of power we put out. Unfortunetly, the amount of companies putting out nice light ISIS cranks is shrinking so hit up e-bay and scoop up what you can get