AustinBike

I already have one from Competitive Cyclist that was about the same price - and steel. I will keep them in mind because I may swap up to a 34T in the future. I don't really like the 50T in the back so maybe one day jumping to a 34T would help blunt the spinning that I seem to get, which keeps me from ever using that gear.

Denon DVD player. Note - not HDMI, it has a DVI port and you can get a DVI to HDMI cable if you do not have a DVI input on your TV.

We ran into a similar issue with our last remodel. Turns out a contractor put in for a permit for some reason we do not understand. Had to get that nullified and it was a real pain. We started on a patio/screen porch project last April. Maaaaayyybbbeee it will start soon. Permits were a mess and we had an architect on top of it the whole time. Good luck on your job.

Having lived there 25 years ago I can say that there were few, if any, places to mountain bike when I was there. Luckily, since that time, <checks notes>, nope, still not happening. I'd bring an urban bike and hit the town. There are plenty of places for urban riding, with plenty of breweries to visit.

Patiently waiting for them to open. I have a pair of wheels that I need James to rebuild. Close enough that they could become my go-to shop. We are definitely spoiled in Austin with the number of good shops that we have. Friends in other cities generally talk about the *one* good shop in their town and how hard it is to get things done.

I spin too much on my 50T. The 46T on my 11-speed was perfect and the 42T on my 10-speed was 99% perfect. One day I will live in a place that will use the 50T. And I will be happy.

Yeah, I think I will go with the "heavier" option for $210 instead. I liked the world better when 10 speed ruled the earth and an expensive cassette was around $100.

32T cinch for a Truvativ Descent crank.

Yeah, I think a ring, chain and cassette would be a good idea.

OK, other than the dirt (just got done with a ride) how bad is this chainring? I dropped my chain twice on today's ride, that never happens. This is the original ring from September 2019, approximately 2300 miles on the bike. Is it time for a new one?

Yeah, I'd be more worried about Xi taking over infrastructure in Africa via Belt and Road than going after Taiwan. From a global trade perspective there is more benefit from Africa and at the rate that they are going, they will have a big chunk of it before too long. Brilliant strategy: loan money at really high rates to developing countries to build ports, airports, roads, infrastructure, etc. When they can't repay the loan, you take possession. Voila! You now have global trade paths around the world for a fraction of what it would have cost you because they did all the work for you. That is the long game for China, Taiwan is just an annoyance, like HKG at this point.

Highly unlikely that China invades Taiwan. I've spent a lot of time in both countries. Xi is too smart and Taiwan is too strategic. The reason that Ukraine was invaded is that Putin is coming unhinged.

Russia is the second largest producer of Aluminum in the world. China is #1. With all of the existing supply chain issues, the potential for an impending aluminum shortage is real. It will probably take a month or two before we start to see shortages, but there has never been more precious commodities to stockpile at this point.

Again, this whole thread is my college career.

Sounds like my college career

They will send it. But the unwritten rule in my world is that you only accept things like that if you are going to actually write about them. This is why I have a closet full of networking equipment and an empty beer fridge.

Somehow I have landed on the PR list for some company. I get these emails every week with new beers that they want me to write about. The bad news is that I don't ever write about beer so I am not going to be doing that anyway. The other bad news is, well, look at the "beer"...

1971 Fender Precision Bass. Badly abused before it ever came into my possession in the late 1980's. In late 1980's I restored it as much as I could, but never touched the metal. Spent this crappy weather fixing a few things. Next week I go after the electronics.

Does anyone remember warm weather?

There is plenty of good food and beer in the midwest, but biking sucks. If you make it to Chicago there is a place in the south suburbs that is on par with maybe Pace Bend or Walnut. That is their Mecca. Sad.

Sorry, not smiling enough 😉 Looks like a fun ride.

When you tell me the beer was just OK and you were in South Bend, then, honestly, at least you got beer out of it. Indiana is basically, well, um, at least you got OK beer out of it. If you make it up to Detroit, there are some awesome breweries up there.

No discussion of where, but trust me that if you passed by you could not have missed it. Might be some interesting routing once they are done and leave. Basically it looked like the Battle of the Bulge with 88's blasting cedar. If anyone has any details on what is going on, PM me.

The black and decker has a 20V, I would prefer it had the 40V like my other tools. The 20V battery is for the polesaw, drill, and hedge clipper. The 40V is on the chainsaw, leaf blower and weed whipper. I will say my 20V B&D pole saw is pretty durable, it's cut through a ton of limbs. You do need to manually lube the chain, there is no "tank" to fill with oil. That is a pain, but not the worst thing in the world. Broken down these are ~4' segments and could easily be put in a backpack if you lash the 3 together with the handle/trimmer at the bottom.

I am a huge fan of those. I have a black and decker (20v) that is awesome around the house. Everyone in the neighborhood has borrowed it. Also, the black and decker battery powered chainsaw is awesome. I have the 40v 12" version and I use it constantly. Great tool and amazing battery life.