[brendan]

mstone’s last post was one of those posts that made me think and google for about 15 minutes. thanks!

[brendan]

@JorgeGortex 48345 wrote:

The Do Not Park right lane is always parked in by delivery trucks.

Well, it used to be worse! DC used to give discounts for delivery truck tickets…

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/1957/replace-bulk-parking-ticket-discount-with-sensible-curb-management-policy/

Brendan

[brendan]

@Dirt 48319 wrote:

$33 to fix a flat tire? I was actually pleased that it was so cheap.

Who is riding that bike? Clearly it’s not you because you never wear jeans…

B

[brendan]

By hub adjusted, you’re talking about cone adjustments or something similar? If you take the wheel off the bike, can you feel wobble in the axle?

When riding, wobble could be from:

a) an axle not properly clamped in the drop outs
b) lack-of-true wheel and/or loose/broken spokes
c) loose cones with the wheel sliding side to side on the axle
d) too tight cones with the cones pushing hard against the bearings which are rubbing hard against the bearing race leading to a bit of stiction (bumpiness) and severely increased wear
e) something else

B

[brendan]

In my experience, sometimes the traffic on the Whitehurst Fwy is moving closer to 45. And I worry about the merge at the bottom of the on-ramp. It’s not entirely blind, but coming down the ramp it can be hard to see far enough back into the lane you’re merging into, esp. if someone is speeding. I tried it once on the road bike, didn’t particularly like it. Since I ride a slower bike most of the time, I avoid it.

Brendan

[brendan]

@essigmw 48106 wrote:

The real question is, with a cash business do I claim all tips for my taxes? Or is it better to claim everything then try to deduct all of my bike parts, gear, clothing, coffee, hot dogs, etc as a business expense?

If you’re not already itemizing I won’t give you advice to do anything illegal…

If you are already itemizing, run the numbers through a tax program/website/accountant.

Brendan

[brendan]

@dasgeh 48102 wrote:

So it seems like everyone is confused on this point, at least in VA. The law seems to be: § 46.2-833. Traffic lights; penalty. , which, as I read it, allows drivers to pull into an intersection and wait to turn on green and doesn’t make (real) blocking the box illegal. I don’t know what they teach in VA.

Personally, I think traffic laws are best when they allow people to move around how they choose (1) safely and (2) efficiently. Where a right turn on red can be done safely (i.e. good sight lines, usage that’s more cars than people/bikes), I think it’s good for efficiency. But I think the penalties for acting unsafely should be higher and enforcement should be higher – e.g. if you cut off a pedestrian, there should be a hefty fine. Safety first, but efficiency is important too.

Box blocking is inefficient and inherently unsafe. Left-turn-after-red (assuming the street you’re turning on to is clear, so you’re not box blocking), is efficient and can be done safely.

That said, I think the pedestrian crossing adds an additional level of crossing to be considered? What if they entered late in the walk signal (let’s assume you can’t always see the count down the walker should have seen to decide if they’re going to clear before the light changes)? What if they are slow? Elderly? Disabled? Are you sure they aren’t? What if they have kids tagging along?

When I try to do my best to not be a crappy driver, if there are pedestrians about I’ll often be a bit more cautious than the average driver and wait to enter an intersection is there’s a chance that I could be trapped in there waiting for pedestrians to clear the way when the light turns. The last thing I want to do is be in a position to be stuck there when intersecting traffic is coming from my right, potentially blocking their view of the pedestrians and they gun it around me. Plus, depending upon intersection design, I might be blocking left turning traffic coming the opposite way as well, causing further delays when the light changes.

Usually it’s not the in-a-hurry intentional box-blocking I’ve been guilty of, it’s the unintentional due to unexpected blocks to my left trying to make a left turn. So, I tend to hold back a bit.

Brendan

[brendan]

Hmm. I haven’t heard of gluing cuts in tires.

When cuts or holes in the tire have cause flats, which are likely to lead to another flat soon after, I apply a park tools tire boot. They recommend that the tire boot only be used for finishing the ride, then the tire should be replaced. I’ve ridden for months afterward on a boot which was used to cover a minor tear caused by a piece of glass that had probably migrated over time through the tire’s kevlar lining due to poor maintenance on my part. That was on 2.0″ tires though, where the boot wasn’t noticeable at all during riding.

[brendan]

@mstone 47731 wrote:

There is some reason to believe that over cleaning will reduce chain life, because it’s a lot harder to get lube into the bushings than it is to get it out.

Great, now I’ve got ideas for a high-vacuum degreasing system, which takes advantage of the fact that dissolved gasses will expand and push grease out at 0 atm. Paired with a high-pressure lubrication delivery mechanism, of course. Now, if chains weren’t nearly disposable these days, I could be rich!

My main bike requires two chains every time I replace a chain. I’ve definitely suffered the wrath of undead cassettes and beyond-saving chainrings because of my chain laziness, which is even more ironic because the SRAM chains come with a powerlink pre-installed. I wonder if keeping two (double) chains in rotation would lead to better outcomes? Hmm.

Brendan

[brendan]

@GuyContinental 47722 wrote:

My SS 1/8″ chains are positively deathless. Also heavy as heck but I’ll ride on a single chain for years… of course as of late, the miles MTB on that chain are pretty low…

Plus, they don’t have to suffer the indignities of shifting: the greater the front-to-rear angle, the more stress is put on the moving parts of the chain, which causes faster wear.

But yeah, those are some heavy-duty chains.

Brendan

[brendan]

@FFX_Hinterlands 47673 wrote:

I have the same cap. It keeps the sweat it of my eyes. When it starts to stink add some white vinegar to the sink with your detergent. It will help, but I think mine will succomb to stink before it wears out.

Re: stinky cap? That’s what very long soaks in the washer with a dash of oxyclean powder are for. Or so I’ve found. Works on summer backpacking stink too.

I wish it was a reasonable solution for my helmet. For that I hand wash, dry, spray with lysol, let that sit for a a few hours, then hand rinse several times so I don’t lysol my eyes and scalp later.

B

[brendan]

@vvill 47595 wrote:

Is the 105 cassette very different? I noticed last year when I replaced my stock 105 cassette with an Ultegra one there was some biting into the freehub body, but just assumed all cassettes did that to some extent.

5k?! I can’t imagine even regular maintenance would prevent my chain stretching as it does for 5k, because I assume the wear from road grit, etc doesn’t affect chain stretch – or does it?

Grit is exactly what causes it: the grit gets captured in between the rollers and bushings which grinds material down. Proper lubrication reduces the grit’s ability to wear the metal down. Lubricated grit is like wet sandpaper: it is much less effective at grinding. Cleaning can get rid of some/most of the grit. Lubricating reduces the effectiveness of what grit is left.

The grinding from the grit in between the roller and bushing allows play to develop between the two parts (spacing). Collectively all these extra spacings add up to what is known as chain stretch. The links plates are all still the same size, but they can now be slid slightly back and forth due to the growing gap inside.

The stretched chain no longer fits as perfectly in the troughs of the sprockets so the sprockets start to wear down due to the spacing mismatch because the rollers no longer sit evenly on the metal and put more stress on smaller areas of the trough/sprocket, asymmetrically wearing them faster and faster.

Or…so I’ve read.

Brendan

[brendan]

@Arlingtonrider 47621 wrote:

My bike was ready in one day and came back not only as a well-lubed and finely-tuned machine, but also so clean and beautiful (wheels, drive train, everything) that I had to take some photos before riding it this morning. . Many thanks to the folks at Papillon for their generous support of community events and for the sweet job they did on my bike! They also suggested a return visit after about 100 miles for some included re-tweaking of the adjustments.

Heh. John and Bailey, the shop kids and Yuki are the best.

Brendan

[brendan]

Thanks, passing it along to the women in some groups I participate in.

[brendan]

How was the lock compromised? Was it (or signs of compromise) left behind?

Brendan

[Author]

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