[dkel]

I’ll still be there, but I’ll be on a different bike than I had originally planned!

[dkel]

I’m game for MLK pancake club this Monday at 8:30, if anyone wants to join me.

[dkel]

Anyone up for pancakes on New Year’s Day? Is Mike’s even open Monday? I haven’t really done any bikey things in years, especially while Rockford10 fought leukemia in 2023, so now I’m making an effort to get back to it. Who’ll join me in ringing in a—hopefully—much better year? I can be there at 8:30.

[dkel]

@Dorisma 211693 wrote:

I can’t understand people who take things that don’t belong to them. Do they not think at all about the consequences and how the victim of the theft will feel?

They do not. Despicable.

[dkel]

@Arlingtonrider 211505 wrote:

As far as I’m concerned, it already is and always will be the Pete Beers Memorial Bridge.

Also known as the Hello Kitty Bridge.

[dkel]

How silly of me: I didn’t include pictures above.

With drops:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]25389[/ATTACH]

With Jones Loop bars:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]25390[/ATTACH]

[dkel]

@Steve O 211475 wrote:

I’m considering buying a Soma Wolverine frameset and outfitting it with an IGH and belt drive. My intent is to have a bike that is very durable, can be set up for everyday commuting and will also work for multi-day trips with panniers, etc. Also fun to ride. Rack, fenders, lights.

That’s exactly what I did.

@Steve O 211475 wrote:

Please give me your thoughts on the following:
– Do you have a Wolverine? Or ridden one? What is your opinion?

I’ve ridden mine more than any other bike I’ve had. The ride is smooth and comfortable, and it’s also a pretty bike. Steel is heavy, but Soma uses good quality steel that nicely balances strength with suppleness. The belt drive is fantastic because it is practically zero maintenance once it’s set up (I say practically zero because it occasionally gets a little squeaky, which I resolve by spraying it with water from my water bottle while I’m riding. It is a weird feeling to spray your drivetrain with water on purpose!): after a rain ride I do exactly nothing to maintain the drivetrain. There are lots of choices for an IGH: I went with a Shimano Alfine 8 because I didn’t feel like I needed the range of more gears for riding around here, and IGH gears are heavy; you might want more for loaded touring, though. If you plan to run drop bars, you will likely have to go with an aftermarket shifter, as IGH manufacturers seem to assume you will be running flat bars with your IGH; fortunately choices for Shimano and Rohloff are increasing (I actually haven’t shopped for a shifter in a while, so there may be more out there than I am aware; I recently switched my Wolverine to flat bars, and I will say the stock Shimano Rapidfire shifter works better than the Jtek bar end shifter I ran on my drops, though the Jtek was perfectly serviceable.)

@Steve O 211475 wrote:

– I intend to have the wheels built. Thinking of a White Industries hub for the front wheel. I’m unclear on which hub is right for the Wolverine ( disc brakes.

The hub choice will depend on the width of the front fork and the type of rotor you’re putting on it (whether center lock or 6-bolt). Shimano products always have center lock, but I think 6-bolt will give you more choices for rotors. I put an adapter on my Shimano IGH so I could use a 6-bolt rotor with it. I don’t recall the exact measurement for the Wolverine front fork, but it’s probably 100 rather than 110; you can confirm this with Soma or your LBS before ordering a hub for it.

@Steve O 211475 wrote:

– I also am taking suggestions for rims? 32 or 36 spoke? Brand/model. Again, seeking strong, durable and high quality over a few grams.
I’m thinking 32mm tires with tubes (still not convinced on tubeless). I currently ride on 28s and am happy with them, too. So I guess I’m a bit agnostic on tire width. Feel free to weigh in.

More spokes will make the wheels more durable, but by the time you get to 32, you have a really strong wheel; if you were a very heavy rider I’d recommend 36, but I know you aren’t. Some rims and hubs aren’t available in 36-hole, so maybe don’t decide on that number before looking at your rim and hub options. Double butted spokes will give you a better ride, and many argue they actually make the wheels stronger because of their suppleness; straight gauge spokes are strong because they are thick along their whole length, but they aren’t as flexible; they are cheaper, though. @hozn recommended H Plus Son Archetype rims for me, and I’ve liked them. In any case, when you run disc brakes you have lots of choices because you can use disc-specific or rim-brake rims. You can run very wide tires with fenders on the Wolverine, so why not do that? Anything less than 32s would look weird if you ask me, because the spacing is huge on that frame. I run 40s because they are badass.

Ok that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to come by and ride mine, Steve O: I think it will give you as good an impression of what you’re looking for as you can get.

[dkel]

@jrenaut 211069 wrote:

It doesn’t at all. The pedestrian clearly could use professional help. However, I have no use for the type of person who injects him/herself into an established community to complain about an admittedly terrible experience, misrepresents events to avoid taking any personal responsibility, and then leaves, never to return.

Good point.

[dkel]

I can’t see how having or not having the ROW justifies the actions of the ped in this scenario.

[dkel]

@huskerdont 210488 wrote:

Beautiful. Welcome to the orange Soma club!

It’s really only the cockpit that’s redone: swapped out the drop bars for a Jones loop bar.

[dkel]

Limited stops this year, especially for me heading west from Falls Church City, but I’m grateful the event is on at all. I guess I will actually go in that day, and worse, get up early enough to get there before 8:30! Getting up for work isn’t really a thing for me anymore (every day is Blursday).

[dkel]

@dkel 202703 wrote:

Time for a makeover!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]21765[/ATTACH]

@dkel 203203 wrote:

Got the rest of the components for the makeover:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]21878[/ATTACH]

Finally, months after acquiring the parts, I’ve finished the makeover!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]25299[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]25300[/ATTACH]

[dkel]

@peterw_diy 210414 wrote:

My IT perspective: sounds like bullshit that I’d expect from a PR person misrepresenting what you get with some modern-ish software development techniques like test-driven development and machine learning.

You do your best to build a computer system that handles whatever input comes its way. And to test your work, you throw Test Cases at it, and make sure you get the Desired Results. You adjust your system until you get the Desired Results. And then you pray that the systen can also cope with new inputs after it Goes Into Production.

If you’re building an autonomous car, you collect data about past crashes and use that as some of your Test Cases. You make sure your simulation of those past tragedies results in your simulated auto avoiding the same simulated awful outcome. Real driver killed a Crazy Ivan? Use the simulator to try to ensure your auto executes an acceptable course of action in a simulated copy of that scenario.

But in real life, you’re gonna get a different Crazy Ivan, in a different situation. Maybe this new one is wearing grey and harder to see. Maybe his speed is less conssitent. Maybe there are two Ivans. Or three. Or it’s an irregular intersection. Or there’s significantly different weather. The fact that your simulation (which is likely incomplete — are you really accounting for all factors? Debris on roadway? Asphalt condition? Impefect wheel balancing? Glare off oncoming windshields?) avoided the one well-documented Ivan from seven years ago doesn’t mean you’re gonna not crash into next week’s Ivan. Especially if you pulled a Volkswagen emissions hack and tailored your system to the data about those past incidents.

My parenting perspective: this sounds pretty much exactly like me sending either of my teen sons out in the car after teaching them to drive. Everyone operates from their own experience, and after that, everyone makes it up as they encounter things outside their experience, hoping for a good outcome. (This is not an endorsement of AI drivers; just noting that we learn and function in the same way, in many respects, if we’re really honest.)

[dkel]

@ImaCynic 210396 wrote:

Stop signs? Yield signs? Traffic lights?

No. This is how it should be done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjP5IL56Yc

My god, pedestrians cross that.

[dkel]

@ImaCynic 210389 wrote:

Another practice that I wish that motorists would do less of, particularly to cyclists is the notion of traffic “courtesy”, like coming up to a four-way stop with car when I’m riding, or waiting to make a left turn. Even when the car has clear RoW, the driver often waits or stops to gives me RoW. What the driver does not realize is that this gesture often makes a situation more precarious by introducing the element of unpredictability as being predictable is safe, and courtesy is not predictable. Furthermore, this conjures up the “I shall grant you access” mentality of some drivers, so no thank you, I don’t want this courtesy, so save it as I much prefer that the driver just learn how traffic law works and how to apply it.

Totally this.

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