AustinBike

I'll put some in the trunk

Eh, boutique specialty insurance is great, until you need it. What makes insurance affordable is tons of people who pay but don't need it. This type of specialty insurance would have a lot of people who are more likely to use the insurance, and when they do, there could be some pretty steep bills. Worse yet, if for some reason they say "not covered" you are really screwed. Insurance is a mess in this country and it needs to be scrapped and refreshed but this is the opposite direction. Think big pools minimize risk and minimize costs. Every time I am at the doctor I am surrounded by people who walk in, those are the cheapest ones to treat. You definitely don't want to be picking up the slack of the life flight folks. That being said, "GAS UP THE CHOPPER"

Listed on Ebay but I'd entertain cheaper offers locally https://www.ebay.com/itm/293147106939

Urban ride from my place at 5:15 (central Austin), followed by cold beers at local watering hole. Ping me if you want to join us.

Ok, back to the streets tomorrow 😞

Fuuuuuuu.... will this ever end?

Arguably it pairs with everything. If there is something it does not pair with, dispense of that item and just have bucket head. For me it is the "drink at home beer" because it packs a punch.

In for this week with bratwurst. Planning an early lap at ~4 or so, then catching up with the social group once they arrive.

Since we are on this thread, Bamwa reminded me about this neat little trick: http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/repairs/111-repair-hydration-pack-water-chiller He likes to make a pouch to hold his water. For me that didn't work because I used a lot of ice and it didn't melt fast enough so I was halfway through a ride with no water but lots of ice. Your mileage may vary. I have a bunch of this stuff left over if anyone wants a sheet of it just ping me.

Starting to think about just getting a 2" receiver on the Nissan. That would set me back ~$200 and for the road trip one of the other guys has a 2" 1up that we can use for the base and add 2 trays.

My Nissan has a 350lb tongue weight, the rack claims a 300lb max. Rack is 23lbs. Trays are 18lbs (36 total). That means 59 pounds for the rack, plus 3 bikes. Assuming 30lbs each to be conservative (my Niner is definitely less) then we are looking at under 160lbs, all in.

If the guy didn't steal the bike he won't mind you looking at the serial #. If he starts acting sketchy, don't get get into it physically with him. Just say "there's an online database of stolen bikes and I am not interested in buying anything that the cops can take from me. If it is hot, I'M the one out the money and the bike. If it's clean we have a deal and I'll swing back tomorrow to get it." You've got his cell#, right?

Yes, that is an option. $110 for the rack parts. $200 for a new hitch installed. Sadly that comes to over $300 to solve the problem, which is why I have been investigating the real limits of the rack. If I was hauling several bikes on a regular basis, moving to 2" would be a no-brainer, but 99% of the time there is a single bike on the rack, so it is a bit harder to justify the $300 spend.

See the picture. Just using a lock or a chain.

Are the tires the same? If someone is selling a bike for $300 it is unlikely that they would switch out the tires.

They have a different type of system. I do have a hitch lock on it, but it only prevents someone from removing the rack from the car, it does not prevent the rack from sliding out of the receiver should it ever come loose. Have also considered moving to a 2" receiver. The 1-1/4" receiver is a vestige of my very first hitch which was class I on a car. Since that time all racks and hitches had been 1-1/4", upgrading one or the other at different times. If I ever had to go to a new rack and hitch simultaneously, I'd go with the 2".

Something like this, maybe a little smaller. Goes through the loop on the hitch and then through the rack. If I can find something smaller, or maybe a heavy duty chain I can get a better fit. Right now there is about 2” of slack, need to take the time to undo the rack and see if it could come completely out of the receiver or not.

It is class II. But when I say bracing I guess I really mean something to make sure the rack doesn’t back out of the receiver. A u-lock was what I had in mind. Just need to find the right size solution for the job. Right now it has a Velcro strap, I want something more secure. 1up says 150 pounds of bike weight, pretty sure 3 bikes will be under 90 at least.

Perfect. I am going to add some additional bracing around the hitch.

I have the 1-1/4" 1Up rack and an extra tray. https://www.1up-usa.com/product/quik-rack-single/ According to the website, it can hold up to 3 bikes, I have only held 2. Has anyone else ever done three on a 1-1/4" hitch? It would be for a full day at highway speeds, not just running around to a local trail.

My biggest challenge is no longer a rear axle but my cassette coming loose, to the point where I am carrying a cassette tool and a wrench in my pack. Also my rear thru axle loosens up over time. Maybe it is just time to look at bikes...

I second this. Back when I had the old QRs I would find that they loosened up occasionally. Then I got a 9mm RWS on the front and a 12mm on the back. Those things were awesome, never had a single issue. Loved them.

Nope, one of my sites was hacked by Russians as well. No real damage, just using it for a popup farm. Shut that shit down quickly.

No, all of those snakes moving here from Ireland. Thanks a LOT st. Patrick.

Let me google that for you: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/how-many-people-are-moving-to-austin-every-day/ Here's the thing with using a single realtor's input as a data point: It is totally biased. Not that they are biased, but realtors *generally* specialize in a particular area. If you were a realtor that specialized in my neighborhood you'd say that people come from all over (we have few California transplants.) But if you worked in my in-law's neighborhood you'd say 90% are coming from California. Californians tend to cluster towards more expensive locations possibly because they are coming in with big checks from selling their homes and end up spending about the same amount here. When you sell a $1M 1500sqft house in the Bay Area, you look for that $1M 4000sqft house here because it seems like such a bargain. Clearly we have a lot of them coming here from the Bay Area for tech jobs, and California is probably the primary supplier, but it looks like more than half of the people are coming from within the state. Also, one little trick that you have to consider is when they say that Austin is adding 100+ people a day, consider that the number also includes births, not just the people moving here.