AustinBike

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

11 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Why not a hitch lock?  1up doesn't give you one with it?  At the least a hitch pin.

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...

13 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

I've had great performance with DT Swiss RWS thru bolts.  They never back out.  Running them in Hope hubs (not that it matters).

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.

31 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

Fake news!  

Anyone notice that the bots invaded mojo about the same time as they invaded the elections?  Coincidence????

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.

6 hours ago, El Gringo said:

Ha!  Check your facts, dude.  My wife's a real estate agent, and the VAST majority of her clientele are relocating here from CA (particularly NoCal), IL, NY, and NJ.  <....> Let me Google it for you . . .

Let me google that for you:

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/how-many-people-are-moving-to-austin-every-day/

Quote

For the Austin region, according to data from Texas Demographic Center, a little more than half of all the people moving to the area come from other parts of the state. A good number comes from other states, and the city is also adding people from international immigration. 

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.

I have noticed a distinct difference between 2019 and 2004-2010. Anybody remember how back then someone was breaking a frame once a week? Seems like the industry got its act together and we have better bikes. Chuck and Seth notwithstanding.

Didn't you just rebuild that one? Maybe this is why you cannot have nice things.

How tall are you? I have a Vassago hardtail (medium that skews a bit towards large). Happy to ride with you some time and bring it along if you want an extended HT demo. Retired now so pretty much any weekday would work.

I am still old school, 700, 710 and 720 on my 3 bikes. I don't get the whole wide bar thing. I believe 800's do give *some* people more leverage, but for many, spreading your arms out that far actually gives you less leverage, it really comes down to your "wingspan" as to whether or not it will benefit you. If we are going to have a discussion about bar width, it only makes sense if we are going to include a fingertip to fingertip measurement, their height and possibly their cockpit height as well.

So much of this is dependent on geometry of the overall situation. Without that data we're back to the 26" vs. 29" discussion with no indication of the relative advantage based on the rider.

And for the record I am 5' 11" and I'll measure my wingspan once my wife wakes up. If you know what I mean.

Thought that was you, but we were hauling - there was beer in our future!

56 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

turns your undies into concrete.

That's what she said

9 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

On working outside- I lasted less than six months as a commercial electrician a few years ago before taking a big pay cut to work in a bicycle shop again. I worked in several buildings that summer, buildings with no electric other than temporary lights and a few fans, but walls to trap heat in. Long days in 100+ in boots, jeans, hard hat and carrying heavy tools around tool it's toll on my soul.

Iwould lay in bed in a puddle of my own sweat every night trying to get to sleep knowing I had to get up at 4:45 and do it again 6-7 days a week. Lots of overtime pay but I got seriously depressed. I could not drink enough water to stay hydrated, Gatorade didn't help either. Mad respect for people who can do a job like that. That kind of heat makes me not want to ride my bike in modern technical fabrics let alone denim.

The guys doing AC work in Texas get my respect. 120F+ in most of those attics in the heat of the summer working on AC units that have died. 

Looks like rain has departed. Even if it is pavement, we'll be able to ride!

Costco also sells some kind of neck bandana thing that is supposed to keep you cool. Wife bought one and never really used it, I am going to ask her where it is and give it a try.

16 minutes ago, hurronnicane said:

Taken on the east side earlier this week.....

Having taken a million or so pictures of riders going over things, I have found that the secret to making things look real is the positioning of the cameraman. The more that you are under them, the more realistic it becomes. Otherwise, the vertical definition is lost in the picture and you look like you are going over a curb. Congrats on the feature, my cajones still have me going around both of those. I prefer to have my wheels on the ground for some strange reason.

Putting plans together to get out of dodge for as couple weeks in August. Wife keeps telling me that if the Texas weather is like it has been for June she might decide to cancel and just ride it out here. So I am actually cheering for a couple 100+ days in July to help convince her that a trip is in order.

Dawn, I have a decent loop that goes from Oskar Blues to WC, over to Balcones Park and then back. ~10 miles or so, either on dedicated bike paths or mostly on roads with bike lanes.

Yeah, I'll get my riding in tonight, got the women's World Cup going on right now and can't pry myself from the TV.