gdog-1992

10 minutes ago, Hugh said:

One of those patents was just filed in May.

Not technically (I'm a patent agent so it's my jam).  It was published (by the patent office) in May but was actually filed in the patent office December 2022.  Even then it has a basis from an earlier patent application filing of March 2022.

As of now, the patents are still assigned to Guerrila Industries.  Looks like they are part of assets being sold though.  Will be interesting to see if some large bike company buys them or they could go to another carbon fiber company.

6 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

Can anyone find the patent filing?  I could not find it under Will Montague, Guerrilla Gravity or Revved.

https://patents.google.com/?assignee="guerrilla+industries"&country=US

On 7/21/2022 at 1:32 PM, AustinBike said:

There is little good news for people buying in Austin. Values went up 30-70% in the past year, so a $20-40K drop probably puts it way over where it should be.

My assessment went up ~65%, I had a friend who had his assessment go up 75%. While tax increases are capped at 10% per year, this essentially says that I am guaranteed to get hit with 10% a year for the next 6 years or more. I am finding that suburban CA is actually about the same price as living here for me. Even with a state income tax and $6/gallon gas. It's crazy here.

The one thing CA does right (and some other states do this too) is it caps annual assessment value increases at 2% as long as you own the home.  That's why people who bought long ago in Manhattan Beach and other similar places where values went through the roof haven't been priced out.  It's essentially a fixed value for your home as long as you own it. 

Glad you found your phone.  FYI, this is something Garmin watches (not sure about other devices) could be helpful with.  My Garmin watch has a find my phone feature.  Once it gets within range, it makes the phone play a loud ring so you can find it.  I imagine other connected wearables do something similar.

Didn't realize my comment was going to turn into a discussion on zippers and lube.  On Reddit, I might expect that but I guess mountain bikers are dirty too 😉

1 hour ago, RedRider3141 said:

Depends, was the replacement done in a reasonable amount of time to prevent my phone/wallet/ keys from falling out of a failed zipper?  My point is, I'm glad they stand by their product, but if something fails on me more than once it's not a good product and not worth my time, no matter how many replacements they send. 

My replacements/repairs were not even from manufacturing defects but user error.  I literally ripped the side water bottle pocket catching the pack on a tree.  They replaced the pack because they couldn't repair it.  Free of charge (paid shipping there but that was it).  And when they didn't make that pack anymore, I got my choice of newer comparable models.  Another time was zippers froze because I didn't clean them enough and they got frozen shut with salt.  No questions asked or blame made, just replaced.  What I'm trying to say is it's not necessarily manufacturing defect that they're warrantying.  I haven't had any manufacturer defects yet that have needed replacement but 3-4 user error fixes.  Plus the fit and technology is on par or better than anyone else.

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

They need more than one "fit" design for those to include those of us who have "additional fuel storage capacity."

I have plenty of that additional fuel storage capacity myself.  I do have to adjust the Seral to tighten as I ride but that seems to be from drinking water and the reservoir shrinking.  Also, you have to make sure hip packs are actually on the hips, not your waist.

17 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Had a ripped zipper and called them on their lifetime warranty. Brand. New. Pack. At. My. House. Now.

Can't beat that!

Fan for life now.

I've gotten 2 warranty replacements with brand new packs and one where they fixed the zippers.  Wasn't even manufacturing defect.  One was the side pouch (loose stretch pouch) that I ripped up when it got caught on tree.  They couldn't fix it so they sent me new pack.  Another was zippers frozen from not cleaning enough.  And the turnaround is legit fast.  The fit in their backpacks is also top notch.  My wife hated backpacks until I got her an Osprey women's pack that fit's her back so much better.

Trek Lamar is getting a shipment of Roscoes soon.  You may want to call and see what availability may be.  I ordered a small Roscoe 6 for my 11 year-old early December and it should be in any day now (was on a truck last week).  It's just a little over $1000 (~$1200).

Trek Kids Roscoe 20" 2018 model (same model still sold).  It's 8 speed Shimano (base components) and Tektro mechanical disc brakes.  Lightweight (less than 25 lbs).  It's in really good condition.  Kid has just outgrown it as they tend to do.  Pedals not included though I think I have original plastic pedals.

On 4/27/2019 at 8:02 AM, AustinBike said:

 

Last night we went to NXNW and I had the Cobb salad, with sirloin on top.

THAT, children, is how it is done. Washed it down with a couple glasses of wine. Low carb dinner.

To the people at the R&I the other night that thought it was too hard to go low carb and still have energy to ride, I'll be doing a few hours or riding today on some very steep trails, should be perfectly fine.

Try that salad.

Now you're just making me miss the NXNW on Slaughter that closed down.  That was a great ride to beer/food destination.  Could ride trail from my house to there.

19 hours ago, TAF said:

Not that fast. I'm not planning on spending $800k on a small two bedroom home.

17 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Was just reading an article about this.  Supply is moving toward meeting demand now and mills are investing in more capacity.

Guess I could have phrased it better - start saving as it may be safe to buy lumber soon.

On 6/13/2021 at 4:21 PM, TAF said:

Salida, CO - but definitely missed the window to build, have to wait for material and labor costs to drop down.

Buy your lumber soon, prices have been dropping fast since beginning of June.

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

If I remember correctly, several properties on Lake Austin were taking advantage of an oooold exemption from Austin taxes because they were not getting some services from the city due to their location. that has changed, obviously, so they are having their cake and eating it too, while the rest of us schmucks are paying taxes for services they enjoy for free. it looks like they have good lawyers and  know how to grease some palms, because they're getting their way. https://patch.com/texas/downtownaustin/senate-oks-bill-allowing-lake-austin-owners-avoid-city-taxes

That bill and another bill to let Lost Creek de-annex were shot down in the Texas house on point of orders (e.g., constitutional issues).  Probably won't be the last thing they try to do but at least it's a severe uphill battle.

21 hours ago, Mattlikesbikes said:

My tax scheme is to lock a house into its valuation when transacted. Maybe set a 2% inflation COL adjustment to it, but otherwise no revaluation without remodel or transaction. The city/ISD will have to find revenue someplace else, but it makes the whole buying a house something more available to people when they can more reasonably anticipate tax obligations. 

This is the one thing California got right as it sets property tax values at purchase price and can go up only 2% per year (or less based on inflation) - Local Real Property Is Assessed at Acquisition Value and Adjusted Upward Each Year. The process that county assessors use to determine the value of real property was established by Proposition 13. Under this system, when real property is purchased, the county assessor assigns it an assessed value that is equal to its purchase price, or “acquisition value.” Each year thereafter, the property’s assessed value increases by 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. This process continues until the property is sold, at which point the county assessor again assigns it an assessed value equal to its most recent purchase price. In other words, a property’s assessed value resets to market value (what a willing buyer would pay for it) when it is sold. (As shown in Figure 2, voters have approved various constitutional amendments that exclude certain property transfers from triggering this reassessment.)

and this happened under Jerry Brown in the 70's.

6 minutes ago, GFisher said:

What were the costs (if any)? Their website doesn't have any cost details.

There was no charge.  Drop-off was free as it's associated with the City of Austin program.

https://www.austintexas.gov/page/battery-drop-locations

On 2/11/2021 at 12:50 PM, June Bug said:

Thanks for this info!  I'll call the Milwood Library since I do my curbside pickups there.  The Northern Walnut Creek trail is great for bike errands to that library! 

I was at Batteries Plus on Burnet just north of Anderson Lane last week and could potentially drop off there.  The "plus" part is  light bulbs and they had the exact LED version of the big bulbs I needed for the can lights in the garage that I couldn't find anywhere else. 

 

Just noticed this but yes Batteries Plus takes old batteries.  They take all single-use batteries and most rechargeable batteries (apparently some Li-Ion batteries they won't take).  They gave me a discount coupon for my next purchase there as well.

On a related note, anyone know of a bike shop in town that carries Kid's Full Face helmets in stock?  I can always order online but it may be easier to go somewhere to be tried on.  TIA

13 hours ago, The Tip said:

I have a list of why urban mountain bikers and trails are good.

Thanks for being such a great ambassador for mountain bikers!

7 minutes ago, CrownKing said:

yeah, went through there yesterday.  It is kind of funny, it started with a few boulders, the trail moves around them, more boulders show up, trail moves, now fully blocked except the middle boulder is easily rolled over.  

I've started to wonder if the boulders are meant more for ATVs or ORVs than MTBs.  There is a history in the area between Meridian & Avana with motorized usage though it seems to have dwindled a bit with the new sections of Avana being built.

1 hour ago, AntonioGG said:

Yes, I think it was Discovery at 702W 24th street.  4 bike shops within walking distance in West Campus.  How many were there at the same time?  I am pretty sure Ozone, Freewheeling, and Discovery were all there and may have visited them all when shopping for my bike.  I don't remember Euro-Sport though.

Charlie was the owner's name, just came to me.  He briefly changed the name of the shop when he bought it away from Discovery before closing the shop for good eventually.  Most of his customers were UT students but he'd have a few MTBs in stock from time to time.

18 minutes ago, AntonioGG said:

The one I bought my bike from was definitely on the North side of 24th street, and I remember it being smaller.

I bought my first Gary Fisher HiFi 29er at that shop in the same track as the Shell station.  The owner was a great guy but I can't remember his name off the top of my head.  At one point, it was cobranded with the bike shop on Anderson near Alamo (Discovery, maybe?).  I remember he also did home inspections and lived near my house and near Patterson Park.

Yes, there's a bunch of trash around there.  Surprisingly no beer cans, just soda cans, which is disappointing to me on a mischievous level.

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

What kind of trash are you finding back there? Any way to tell if it's an accumulation of individual items, or does it look like it was dumped all at once? trash accumulates where people experiencing homelessness camp, but I would be really surprised if anyone was camping that far away from public toilets, panhandling spots, etc. it's too far away from commercial development to be a good camping spot. there's a lot of construction in the area, and getting ride of construction waste (including soda bottles that workers were drinking and all that) is difficult, so they might be dumping. residents dumping there doesn't make any sense because they should all have municipal trash pickup. hikers might drop something. riders don't carry enough around with them that they would dump it in any amount that would accumulate.

how does the HOA feel about these trails? if we volunteer to keep them clean, it would reflect well on the users. on the other hand, drawing any attention to the area might have bad results.

Here's some pics neighbors took.  Looks like many items are from bulk pickup that we just had in the 'hood.  The consensus on the neighborhood page is leaning to a teen hangout.  That was my original guess as I agree it's too far away from anything commercial for a homeless encampment.  Teens have probably been hanging out there then saw the opportunity to add some furniture during bulk pickup.  A neighbor is contacting the HOA to see if they'll get it removed (it is Circle C HOA land).  If not, neighbors are already planning on removing it themselves.  Guess the kids should have built a more natural hangout spot.

An FYI/ask for those that ride through Avana. There's been some dumping or homeless activity off the trail near Escarpment between Antigo and Estana (northernmost section near 45 of Avana trails). Just keep a heads up and let me know if you see anything. It's in the area that usually sits under standing water after rain (near drainage under Escarpment) so may just be a dumping spot. Neighbors will probably also be clearing what's in there at some point. Thanks for any assistance.