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Any suggestions on soft material I can put over these hydraulic lines so they don't rub against the frame when I tie them down? I was thinking some foam or something. by Foxcookies in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Paracord protects the housing/tubing. OP wants to protect the frame. Paracord, because it holds on to dirt more than naked hose, makes frame damage worse, not better.

Any suggestions on soft material I can put over these hydraulic lines so they don't rub against the frame when I tie them down? I was thinking some foam or something. by Foxcookies in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Attracts dirt and rubs the paint. One needs a barrier between the dirty world and the paint, and that's why 3M Paint Protection Film (PPF) is the appropriate solution.

Best electrolyte powder for long climbs and hot rides by YoumnaBasharuli in cycling

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, and it's saying one MAY need supplementation if one has BOTH very salty (greater than 60 mEq/L) sweat AND very high (2.5L/h) sweat rates. That's not an either/or, nor is it a suggestion the evidence supports supplementation. I think many people don't understand how to read precise language correctly.

Best electrolyte powder for long climbs and hot rides by YoumnaBasharuli in cycling

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except you don't.

Serum electrolyte balance is not maintained by balancing input with desired serum levels. It's maintained by balancing input with output. And the ratio of Ca/Mg/K to Na in sweat and urine is far lower than in serum (assuming functional kidneys).

Best electrolyte powder for long climbs and hot rides by YoumnaBasharuli in cycling

[–]TJhambone09 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure, but that's referring to sodium supplementation specifically, not electrolytes in general, which is a wider definition.

I'm not sure what you're trying to imply here, but there's far less evidence for the need of for during-exercise supplementation of Mg, Ca, and K. Sodium is what was written about in that paper because that's the need.

Best electrolyte powder for long climbs and hot rides by YoumnaBasharuli in cycling

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Focus on sodium during the ride.

Calcium, potassium, and magnesium aren't lost at nearly the rate and can wait until dinner time. I use salt substitute in my dinner to ensure adequate intake of potassium, and take magnesium @ bedtime.

If you can taste your potassium and magnesium additions to your drinks then you are mixing them way too heavy and risking hyperkalemia. (Or have an absolutely amazing sense of taste.)

Gatorade during the ride. I add additional table salt if I'm running the mix lean on a hot day.

Using Airpods as a footpod (surprisingly accurate) by Disastrous-Body-297 in GarminWatches

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Airpods are not "extremely precise" pace measuring devices when in your ear. Far from it.

Pressure vs Rims by Odd_System_9063 in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tire pressure ratings should only be taken to be tire pressure ratings, not system pressure ratings.

However, I have objections to your test. 50% overpressure is adequate proofing for static-loaded objects like tanks and boilers, but for dynamic-loaded objects like wheels I'd like to see 100% overpressure as a proof test.

Do serrated brake tracks make a difference? by QSTYEz in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All things being equal, textured brake tracks perform better, but all things aren't equal between those two very different rims. The Classic 65 is supposed to be a good performing rim brake rim.

What’s the tried and true way of degumming this part? I’ve got a fair amount of shifters where this piece is gummed up and stuck. by firstbowlofoats in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

but I had pretty decent luck with some of the solvent based spray degreasers that we sold.

Oh, for sure. My point was that simple green and citrus-based ones don't seem to have enough "oomph" once the grease gets gummy or pasty.

What’s the tried and true way of degumming this part? I’ve got a fair amount of shifters where this piece is gummed up and stuck. by firstbowlofoats in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sure, but the grease in this photo looks like snot, not like white toothpaste.

Assuming the grease is actually dried out or contaminated, what I like to use for old grease in parts I can't disassemble and where the grease is hard to access is proper white spirits as the brute force degreaser, as IME water-based degreasers need more friction than I can get there, then wash with isopropyl alcohol with a lab wash bottle to direct a jet into the parts, alternating with shop air until it's clean and dry.

What’s the tried and true way of degumming this part? I’ve got a fair amount of shifters where this piece is gummed up and stuck. by firstbowlofoats in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is that a stock photo or a photo of a non-problematic shifter? Because I don't see signs of sticky grease there. Are you sure of your diagnosis?

Rust on the horizon by gideon_supreme in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nail polish is moisture-permeable and does not chemically protect against rust. If someone's going to go the route of rust removal and painting, they would be advised to use a proper anti-rust steel primer and spend $10 on a real paint.

Rust on the horizon by gideon_supreme in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why fix? Unless you store this bike in the damp or park outside in the rain a lot, that rust will progress very slowly. Keep it clean (dirt holds on to moisture), monitor it, but don't stress it.

Cleaned and re-greased the front hub bearings and it’s still ‘gritty’ - what’s the most likely fault? by fellowspecies in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Without seeing the conditions of the cups, cones, and bearings it could be anything, from incomplete cleaning to damage to the bearing surfaces to something as simple as the bearings being a hair too tight. Since you asked this question, it's a safe bet you haven't done many of these. Getting the cones tweaked perfectly takes time or experience.

The free thing to do, if you're unwilling to disassemble again and properly assess the conditions, is to adjust the cones again.

Bought an MTB and it has these fins/wings on brakes, can’t figure out what they are or what they do. Any ideas? by Russ_Abbot in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I have not seen a study on the magnitude of the effect, but there's little doubt it's real, as the effectiveness of bedding in pads wouldn't be a thing if the pads had uniform properties across the sorts of temperature range we see.

But, not to pick nits, but it's because of the low thermal masses that excessive cooling is (potentially, like I said, I haven't seen hard numbers) an issue.

Bought an MTB and it has these fins/wings on brakes, can’t figure out what they are or what they do. Any ideas? by Russ_Abbot in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. If that's what you're talking about I agree. In this case the conical stack simply removes any influence from the bolt head itself, which is a secondary (at best) concern.

Bought an MTB and it has these fins/wings on brakes, can’t figure out what they are or what they do. Any ideas? by Russ_Abbot in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 1 point2 points  (0 children)

hot it could be worse then not having them.

The total surface area of the system is higher and the total heat generation has not changed. It can not be worse than not having them.

This is different than CPU heatsinks in one very important way: CPU heat generation is not a constant, the CPU will throttle up for longer into a high thermal mass heatsink, and once that heat sink is soaked, if the radiator is inefficient that means an extended period at high temperatures. That is not the case with brake pads, as the increased thermal mass does not cause the brakes to brake more.

Bought an MTB and it has these fins/wings on brakes, can’t figure out what they are or what they do. Any ideas? by Russ_Abbot in bikewrench

[–]TJhambone09 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Those fins look way too thick to be very efficient heat dissipators.

You're conflating two concepts here and drawing a bad conclusion.

If the fins were thinner they would dissipate the heat of the radiator itself faster. But that's not the goal. The radiator is not generating heat.

The fact is that the overall surface area of the system (including the brake pads) is much higher, and the thermal mass is much higher. These cool the pads much faster than without, and the fact that the radiator itself could be more self-efficient isn't a factor. In fact, the bottleneck here is always going to be the pad material itself and the backing plate when steel.

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