notyal

4 minutes ago, Barry said:

This reminds me of why I don't want to race. I have little interest in jockeying for position at the start of an event, not getting to ride "my line," but having to ride the line that available, or having some guy yelling to pass me, only to ride his axle for next couple of miles. I make some exception for endurance events. 

And dang, have a look at 2:56! He damn near ate tire. 

Yeah, I was thinking "this looks miserable" the whole time.

Nothing's better than bashing something you've never tried.

You guys are missing one thing - they're fun as shit.

AB, let me add one more category: 2E. Vacationers who have 3 days to ride 200+ miles of trail, but legs that can only handle a fraction of that. Or same vein, "I have a rare day with no kids or chores, and I want to ride longer than I normally would and not suffer terribly doing it."

I don't own one. I have ridden one on difficult, technical trails. It wouldn't be my only bike, but if I had the means, an eMTB would be the 2nd or 3rd bike in my stable. Why? They are fun as shit.

I must be a visionary.

Ride with one foot clipped in and one foot on flats. Best of both worlds.

This Orange Seal story has the feeling of an online review where the package arrived damaged, so the reviewer gives the product 1 star and flames the product/company, but the real fault is with the delivery company. 

It doesn't seem like he would maliciously lie about one of the two wheels having a tube. He probably just forgot he hadn't set them both up tubeless. It doesn't seem like any of your disdain for Orange Seal comes from actual use of the product. Only a bad experience with someone affiliated with the product (not even selling that product to you) who could have made an honest mistake.

14 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

how many cops would be enough?

2:1000

First off, I don't even live in Austin and had to look up what Prop A is, but for the sake of argument...

Maybe it's stupid to have a law that ties personnel decisions to a crude ratio of cops to residents. Who came up with the magic 2:1000 ratio, anyway? Talk about a scare tactic. "Oh no! There are a thousand people here and only 1.7 cops. My life is in danger!" This is just a way for cops (and those who represent them) to protect their own interests at a time where many are questioning their effectiveness anyway. 

I guarantee you that there isn't a law on the books proclaiming that there must be a defined number of BS in Art welding Exhibit Coordinators per capita. Maybe if that Exhibit Coordinator was given more help, they could have an exhibit about not doing crimes in the first place. That would reduce the need for more armed police on the streets.

What if future advances in crime fighting reduce the number situations requiring police officers to put themselves in dangerous situation? You're telling me Robocop couldn't handle 1000 residents on his own? 

Before you freak out and call me a commie or something, I'm not saying don't give them the money for training and more staff. I'm just saying that the magic number of 2:1000 is stupid. How could guaranteeing a number of jobs based on another metric that you can't control be a good idea? That seems like a recipe for corruption and greed to thrive. 

11 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

For those making home brews and saying it works, what kind of testing are y’all doing or what kind of first hand experience with a puncture have you had?  My experience with orange seal has been awful but with Stan’s I’ve had big enough holes that I get two revolutions of Stan’s squirting before it completely stops.  I know I also have smaller punctures that I only learn about at a tire’s last bit of life where it starts weeping.  I’m not wanting to discourage or criticize, rather I would love to brew my own too, but not without some assurances.

You know how there are certain things in life that if they work perfectly, you don't even notice them? I've been using homebrew for 8 years or so, and I don't think I've had a puncture flat in that whole time. I've been on rides where other people have gotten punctures with white goo sputtering everywhere. Maybe it's better. Maybe I've just been lucky. Maybe both.

Here's a picture of my tire with a pinky sized cedar branch in the sidewall. I rode out like this. I even patched the hole and rode that tire for another month or two. 

I'm still using the Slime + RV antifreeze + latex mold builder recipe. I've never considered changing because it works, it's cheap, and relatively simple to find the ingredients. (The latex mold builder is sometimes a problem.) However, I am now intrigued by this Berryman Tire Seal'R.

14 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I have a really loud bell. When 3-4 rings elicits no response, I pass them, probably closer than I should, and ring the bell right next to them. Yes, it is rude, yes, it scares the living shit out of them. I am hoping that at least a few of them recognize that their music is too loud. I hate being rude, but occasionally it is warranted. The only thing worse is bikers with Bluetooth speakers….

I passed a guy blaring a bluetooth speaker the other day.

He said, "I'm riding alone."

I said, "I'm not surprised."

A few months ago we rode up on a hiker with headphones in SATN. Bell, bell, bell. No reaction. BELL, BELL, "riders back!" He finally turned around, definitely saw us, turned right back around and kept walking at the same pace in the middle of the trail. It was an open area, so we just had to go around him off the trail through some grass. We were both too confused or in awe of it to even be mad.

13 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

That thirsty is tough to find. Just picked some up at TW.

Also grabbed this......

 

 

 

That is just precious.

I don't think I've ever seen a deer with red horns like this. 

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

the answer was CORE WORK.

Same here. I realized sitting at my computer with one hand up on the mouse and sitting in my car with the same hand up on the wheel was causing a pinch in my left side. Squats and deadlifts have helped me. I should probably do more planks, but I hate them so much. 

This seems a bit off.

Bit of a rant here, but what happened to plain old velcro straps for bike shoes? Everything is BOA or a ratchet these days. Velcro straps are lighter, simpler, and can't break if smashed on a rock. Or there are laces that can get caught up in the drivetrain. A lot of times on lace shoes, it seems like they add a velcro strap to secure the laces as much as any sort of retention purposes. 

7 minutes ago, Barry said:

For one, lactose gives us milk stouts! It sounds gross but they're usually very good. Celis has a great one, for example. Lactose adds a nice layer of subtle background sweetness with also adding a thick and creamy mouth feel.  

I guess I'm just intolerant. 

1 hour ago, jcarneytx said:

This was pretty ok. Sort of a whisky sour in beer form. 

I've never tasted a beer and said, "You know what this beer needs? More lactose."

I couldn't even tell you what lactose taste like (or maybe it's just for mouth feel?), but for some reason that's where they lost me. Until I read that, my interest was peaked. 

21 minutes ago, Taco Man said:

The one pair of Giros I owned the bottom was so hard (like a road shoe) I couldnt walk on any obstacle for fear of slipping.  Final straw was after bending a rotor on Rock Garden of Greatness and having to walk out the blisters were awful.

Right! I almost forgot about how much I hated walking in those shoes. The soles were hard plastic and very slippery if there was any moisture. 

13 hours ago, Sluggo said:

…

 

This thread is for random dogs, not random dots.

26 minutes ago, Taco Man said:

Just breaking in my 4th pair of Pearl Izumi X-Alp shoes.  

Sole like a hiking boot so when you have to walk its easier on the rocks and feet

I average >2000 miles on these shoes

I've had a few pairs of these as well over the years. I'm sure they've only gotten better. Right up there with the 510 Kestrels for me.

I had one pair of Giro's that the sole separated from the shoe mid ride. It's really hard to unclip when the sole is flopping. Caused me a low speed fall. Luckily, I had some Gorilla Tape to get me home. I read that this was a common problem with all Giro models due to the glue they use. Maybe they've fixed it since then, but I'm not going to risk it. Giro helmets are great, but I'll stick to PI or 510 for shoes.

Also, I've had good experiences buying (and returning) from https://bikeshoes.com/. Bonus! They have 12% off sitewide right now or 15% for first time buyer email spam sign up offer. It doesn't look like they have the 510 Kestrels though. 

38 minutes ago, Barry said:

They're pricy, but the 510 Kestel Boa are the widest, most comfortable and most durable shoe I've ever owned. Also the best looking. They certainly walk WAY better than any other technical shoe. One of my favorite things about the shoe is that if I pop out of the pedal in a techy situation, the bottom of the shoe gets really good purchase on the SPD pedal until I can get to a place where I can clip back in. And check out this Blister review of them.

Interestingly they also have a 12.5 size, so I guess that's a 45.5 in Euro sizing. 

I have the 510 Kestel Lace and replaced the laces with Hickies (the velcro strap works well enough for tightness). The rest of what you said I would second word for word. The only con I would add is that they are not the lightest shoe out there, but I've never been one to put weight over things like durability, walkability, and toe protection. 

Work beer. At 9.0% ABV, you can’t say I half-ass it at the office.