AustinBike

Sometimes a dog chariot has to do double duty.

It is the perfect second bike. I don't understand those that have only SS, but having an SS as a second bike is great.

My point is very specific to the Ripley I guess. In all of the analysis that I did, on paper the Ripley looked like the best bike. The only thing in the geometry was the STA, and how much of an impact could one little thing like STA matter when all else is right? Apparently a lot. I won't spend $5K+ on a bike if I have not ridden it. I learned my lesson. The only exception *might* be if I busted my Occam and I had to buy a new bike on risk without riding it, another in the same lineage is probably OK. But there was a difference between the 2019 I ended up with and the 2020 that I demo'd. Oddly enough STA was different between them.

A demo ride beats a spreadsheet. Every goddamn time.

I should have gone back to 11sp when I had the chance. But I agree on all of the other points. We are spoiled.

I don't know about the Ripmo, but when I demo'd the Ripley I was unimpressed. I wanted to like it and on paper it was perfect. But the seat tube angle was too steep and that put me too far over the stem. I even swapped the stem to a shorter one for my second ride and that ended up just putting me more upright than with the longer stem (which seemed to put me over the front wheel.) One mile on the Occam and I was sold and texted Wes so get one ready for me.

If I am riding out that way I will drop it on your porch. High probability of a Sunday ride, depends on a few things at this point.

I am overly excited about my Orbea Occam. It's the best bike I have ever ridden. Older 2019 model, the newer stuff is even nicer. If mine broke today I'd buy a new one without even demoing the bike. Zero hesitation. I am not a DH rider, more XC. Mine eats the greenbelt up for fun every weekend.

Yeah, I have two things going: 1. A master spreadsheet with all of the expenses from each of the remodeling jobs (that I can capture). This would show the continual pace of improvements. 2. A folder on my server full of scans of documents related to remodeling jobs. We're in the middle of a big one right now and this morning I scanned a payout schedule for this portion that matches the check I just gave to the contractor, as well as a $40 reciept from Home Depot for a deadbolt. The little receipts are the ones that slip away, it is important to capture them. I have ~$1000 worth of updates to the house in this job that would have gotten forgotten because they are just random credit card purchases. A $35 TV mount from Amazon would not normally be a "capital improvement" but when it is part of a screen porch remodeling it would be considered part of that project. Brian, I have a question for you. Would "upgrading my home to a smart home" by adding smart thermostats, smart garage door, wired networking, etc. be considered a capital improvement? All of that would stay when we leave. It would be used in the marketing of the home as well so we could show the listing with the "smart home upgrades" listed. Someone said this is just normal maintenance but I was hoping that it could be captured as a capital improvement.

If anyone wants a half full bottle of race formula Stan's, hit me up, I'm tossing it and getting the real stuff.

Does this make my Stan's look fat? I went to fill one of the bikes today and this was in my injector. The bottle of Stans is ~18 months old, it is the "race sealant." I checked online and found out, surprise!, that the race sealant is not compatible with the injector. Never found that out until today, must have been the way I was tipping the bottle, only got the light stuff at the top. Back to standard sealant or maybe orange seal as someone keeps telling me that is the way to go.

You had me at brewery. Happy to have the discussion, not sure how much I have mapped out (we were looking at Seville, Spain, pre-pandemic...) I expect to be at the R&I the next couple weeks and then out of town for a couple weeks.

This is what I use. Works great, have had it for several years with no issues: https://www.austinbike.com/index.php/repairs/109-repair-building-a-low-cost-presta-air-chuck

Yeah, my target s a state with income tax, so that is a concern. Don’t establish residency until the closing is complete.

All of my remodeling, captured the contact and the checks. On the most recent one I a, also capturing all of the purchases. TV mounted in the screen porch that will not go with me? That is on the list. Basically you are better off claiming it and having them fight you than not claiming it.

Seeing my friends going through the angel fire mess has taught me that a second home is either genetic or not for you. Management companies are good, but that adds an extra layer of complexity in my mind. The upside is someone to take care of all of the issues. the downside is someone to take care of all the issues. Toilet keeps running? Maybe they replace the toilet instead of the flapper because they "know a plumber". Anyway, a property management company is a mixed blessing.

Thanks for your work. Based on the current weather forecasts I will probably swing out there in late September.

The New Mexico fire cured me of wanting a second place. One more thing to worry about. I was all in on pulling the trigger on a condo in Santa Fe, then I started doing the math. Property tax, condo fees, utilities (which are on 24x7) and whatnot added up to $10K+ per year, and we were looking on the cheap end. That is a lot of money that you can throw at an airBNB. Also pulling money out of the market and putting it into real estate is a gamble in opportunity cost. As to capital gains, make a spreadsheet and start scanning documents. I have a pretty organized system. Don't count on trying to find paper receipts when you sell, years from now. I have a significant amount of reduction, but with the way real estate has appreciated, even with the $500K cap I'm gonna be spending a lot. Most importantly you want to make sure that you don't establish residency until you are totally out of your house here. You don't want a second state trying to claim capital gains on you.

It used to be June 15th to September 15th for the hot season when we moved here in the 90's. Now it is May 15th to October 15th. I am pretty confident that this will get worse in the future, not better. We've gone from 3 months of bad heat to 5 months. So we are literally getting close to the point where bad weather outpaces good weather. I will be happy to be leaving and heading to cooler locations. Some places like Denver were out of reach because my wife does not want snow, but in a few more years this might not be an issue.

This is one of the coolest ideas that I have seen for workshops:

Amazon will have it here this afternoon. My front porch is closer than your house 😉

Thanks. I was hoping that was the answer and also hoping that was not the answer. Time to look into a hanger tool.

Using the google, I get this: https://pezcyclingnews.com/toolbox/how-blood-donation-affects-performance/ Looks like the long and short of it is that yes, there is a 4-6 week impact. I wonder how Texas heat plays into it.

This weekend I did 3 rides where I felt "out of it", basically when I rode with others I had difficulty keeping up. Even by myself I felt winded. Normally this happens when we get to summer with heat but this felt pretty harsh. Earlier in the week I donated blood. Does anyone know if that would have a big adverse impact on me and how long should I expect that to last?

If I have a weird gap in my shifting between 2 cogs in the middle of the cassette will this tool help? I have a weird sport between like 6 and 8. Shifting one way I can shift between 6 and 7 but the other way I have to shift twice and then back off one gear. Did it on both cassettes (old and recently replaced) so I think it may be the hanger.