Author Topic: A random thread for cycling things that don't really warrant their own thread  (Read 106132 times)

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Ah, destructive maintenance.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
That applies to everything except the Dremel itself.  My Maxicraft Dremel-equivalent has a broken contact inside and is resisting every attempt to open it.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

That applies to everything except the Dremel EQUIVALENT itself.  My Maxicraft Dremel-equivalent has a broken contact inside and is resisting every attempt to open it.

Ahem.

ETA


Owning a second Dremel would have ensured that the original Dremel would not have broken.

I currently own 0 Dremels. This will be resolved this Christmas.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
That applies to everything except the Dremel EQUIVALENT itself.  My Maxicraft Dremel-equivalent has a broken contact inside and is resisting every attempt to open it.

Ahem.

ETA



Obviously I inherited the wrong gadget. Careless of me.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
On a ride into town to the bike shop today, 2 minutes into the return journey the sole of my boot parted company from the rest of the boot when I tried to unclip at traffic lights.


Boot fail by Ron Lowe, on Flickr

Back to the bike shop.
Do they have winter boots?
Why no, they do not.

So I had to ride home like that, using the still-clipped-in sole as a platform.

Last night (when in car) I drove passed someone cycling, with no bike lights or reflectives, on a busy nthbd A34 (DCwy) just before Oxford.   :o :o  Never seen anyone cycling that stretch before. 
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

Feanor

  • It's mostly downhill from here.
At Feanor Outpost in Edinburgh, each of the 3 blocks has it's own bike storage room, which also houses some utility stuff.

One night last week, all 3 were broken into ( by hoofing the door open ), and *all* the bikes were stolen.
All that was left was the remains of cable locks, cut with bolt cutters it looks like to me.

We had no bikes in storage at the time, so I've not lost anything.

The doors were pretty poorly secured.
They were double doors, with the lock on the RH door, locking into the LH door.
You'd expect the LH door would have a couple of decent bolts top and bottom on the inside.
But no, it was mostly secured with Thoughts and Prayers.
So I reckon even leaning against the mid-point of the 2 doors a bit firmly could have popped it open.
They are looking into securing it better, but I don't know that that means.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
 >:(
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Today I espied a Thorn Nomad (derailleur version) velocipede locked to a post only about 100 yards from my house.

Apart from our own bikes, and those of occasional visitors, I don't think I have ever before seen another Thorn bike in Southend.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Schwalbe launch a solid tyre, could be interesting, they rarely get things totally wrong. I do wonder what the tools are though.

Torslanda

  • Professional Gobshite
  • Just a tart for retro kit . . .
    • John's Bikes
They're going to be a hard sell.

$SupplierRepresentative called with a rival brand before Xmas. Retail is approx 100 quid a pair.

'How do I fit them?'
'You need the fitting tool'
'How much is that?'
'Around 200 quid inc VAT'
'Bye . . . !'

I'd have to fit around 10 sets before breaking even. Don't think I get that many enquiries in a year and I've got far more useful things to spend that kind of money on.

Cynical? Moi?
VELOMANCER

Well that's the more blunt way of putting it but as usual he's dead right.

There have been so many attempts at solid tyres in the past which have just not caught on. Will be interesting to see what happens here.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Yes, a lotta dosh for a tyre that will still just wear out.
Cycle and recycle.   SS Wilson

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Tannus solid tyres have been going a few years now and show no signs of going away. I hate them but they seem quite popular with some people.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
I guess it's a bit different though, a specialist brand like Tannus compared to a mega (in the small world of cycle tyres) like Schwalbe.
Quote
Requiring special tooling to install, the product comes well suited to physical bike shop installation, as opposed to online sales.
!!!
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
I'm assuming Tannus is the other brand Torslanda was referring to but I wouldn't expect him to confirm or deny that. They also require an expensive special tool for fitting so are not a DIY job any more than the Schwalbe ones - and I can tell you from bitter experience that they are a feckin' nightmare to get off too. In fact, I believe it's not actually possible to remove them without destroying them.

None the less, they have their fans.

The mind boggles.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
I'm assuming Tannus is the other brand Torslanda was referring to but I wouldn't expect him to confirm or deny that. They also require an expensive special tool for fitting so are not a DIY job any more than the Schwalbe ones - and I can tell you from bitter experience that they are a feckin' nightmare to get off too. In fact, I believe it's not actually possible to remove them without destroying them.

None the less, they have their fans.

The mind boggles.

But surely the only time you need to remove them is when they are worn out, so destroying them isn't an issue?
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Time will tell whether Schwalbe doing solids means the time has come (maybe in conjunction with electric bikes?) or it's the tyre equivalent of Shimano's 10mm pitch chain. Or even just another iteration of the saga, like elliptical chain rings.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Until some new wonder material is invented, solid tyres will always have significantly more drag than pneumatics.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
If they can achieve a decent grip and not too harsh a ride, there may be a future for them on e-bikes where drag and weight are relatively unimportant.

The blurb does say they can cope with ebikes, the other obvious application is bike share, where the ability to remove them is not wanted, I'd have thought Schwalbe would be a bit pricey for that though.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
I'm assuming Tannus is the other brand Torslanda was referring to but I wouldn't expect him to confirm or deny that. They also require an expensive special tool for fitting so are not a DIY job any more than the Schwalbe ones - and I can tell you from bitter experience that they are a feckin' nightmare to get off too. In fact, I believe it's not actually possible to remove them without destroying them.

None the less, they have their fans.

The mind boggles.

But surely the only time you need to remove them is when they are worn out, so destroying them isn't an issue?

It's not inconceivable that you might want to remove them before they're worn out, eg if you want to swap them onto a different wheel, or need to replace a broken spoke. Or you might just want to use them for winter riding and change to lightweight pneumatics in summer.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

All of the dockless hire bikes currently littering the capital's/nation's/world's pavements use solid tyres, so there's likely more in existence and - very occasionally - in use than there ever has been.

I've ridden them before I noticed this and it didn't jump out at me that the tyres were solid, but the expectations on those bikes are so low that it's hard to tell.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
I had a very quick look at one of the Yo Bikes this morning, I didn't notice the manufacturer's name but I did see a marking on the sidewall "Inflate to 40-65 PSI". Quite who, when and where does the inflation is a moot point.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.