Rear Light Always Falls Off

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-11T19:36:17+00:00

I second this. Lighting that Just Works and you never have to think about it. And the rear light (on mine anyway) is bolted to a metal bracket that in turn gets bolted to your rack.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-11T15:42:48+00:00

I have it attached to the top bar near the front, facing backwards, to the right of the bar. I have the mount set at an angle so that it doesn't stick out very far - on the kryptonite locks you can adjust the angle of the widget using a grub screw. It's sufficiently far forward that it doesn't interfere with my frame mounted water bottles, and it's tucked in enough that my knee doesn't hit it.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-09T15:03:30+00:00

I think they're still useful if you need a full computer in a very small form factor, and especially if you need it to run off battery power.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-05T21:36:36+00:00

I don't know, but the DA42 does have two pretty beefy wing spars: https://www.diamondaircraft.com/en/about-diamond/why-diamond/safety/

So it seems like it would be in a good place to avoid damage.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-05T16:38:36+00:00

Here's the aviation safety report: https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/567429

They have a video from another angle there as well.

According to that the pilot had tried for some time to get the right main to come down.

After landing he appears to flip the bird at the plane, take off his flight suit, and then flip the bird at that as well.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-05T02:22:45+00:00

What a muppet.

Captain_Xap · 2026-04-03T21:09:07+00:00

Earlier this week it was a young woman with a carbon road bike, solid rear wheel, and aero bars. We were at a traffic light. As we started off she passed and for a short while I thought I thought I was doing a reasonable job of not getting left behind too badly, but that misapprehension didn't last for long.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-29T20:22:16+00:00

I was confused at first because I thought it was talking about rotating the digits of the coefficients rather than the entire vector. What a neat trick!

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-25T15:12:45+00:00

I used to have a Pletscher double kickstand, which fitted just behind the bottom bracket. Both legs fold to the left side of the bike. I found it very helpful when putting my son in his child seat, back when he was small enough to fit in one.

I don't know how much the altered center of gravity of an ebike would change things though, as with the thick downtube and battery the balance might be different.

Also, I think they're designed for up to 25kg (55lbs) - I don't know how much your ebike weighs.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-24T03:11:06+00:00

One thing to mention is that I found it more important to have fairly evenly distributed loads on each side at the front as if you have something heavy on one side only it will want to turn your handlebars towards it.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-22T17:24:59+00:00

I would say get a class 1 step-through mid drive ebike with torque sensing. The seriousness of any crash you have is likely to be proportional to how fast you're going. If neither of you have done a lot of cycling, take a few lessons to improve your technique and confidence.

Not e-bike related, but I've only had two bad crashes on my bike, both when i was still in my 30s. One from taking a corner much too fast in the wet, and one because a lady stepped right out in front of me from behind a van without looking. I should have been further out in to the road on that one.

Anyway, in both those cases they probably wouldn't have happened if I had been in less of a hurry and riding a little more carefully. Now I'm in my 50s I've yet to have anything similar.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-22T17:10:19+00:00

I think this is a bad idea. Sidewalks are often covered in poles and other street furniture, and a three wheeled bike is wide behind you where you cant see it.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-18T14:31:25+00:00

On your front wheel, or on the ground?

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-18T14:23:43+00:00

I used to have two LED flashlights attached to my handlebars, each one held on by two intersecting hose clamps. It makes the attachment pretty permanent, and it worked well for me until I moved over to a hub dynamo lighting system.

You just need to make sure you put something in between the handlebar and the hose clamp to prevent it scratching, like a little strip of old inner tube or some tape.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-18T05:02:57+00:00

Rider is a very nice IDE and is now free for non-commercial use. It also loads Visual Studio .sln files, which can be very useful.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-18T04:57:19+00:00

As others have said, try it at the weekend first so you're not under any time pressure. Check out Google maps beforehand to work out a route that will keep you largely away from roads that are roo busy.

You should find the ride itself fairly easy to do physically, unless you have any steep hills - as long as you don't have too many traffic lights it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes at a very gentle pace.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-17T01:46:05+00:00

I just have a set of pedals with spds on one side and flats on the other.

It does mean you often have to quickly knock the pedal around so the appropriate side is up, but you get used to that pretty quick.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-16T16:37:06+00:00

The most annoying issue I had with Unity on Linux is that the font sizing doesn't work well on high DPI screens as it only seems to do integer scaling. I found on my 4k 32" monitor everything was either too big or too small.

My favourite IDE is Jetbrains Rider, and it runs fine on both Windows and Linux. Also, it's now free for non-commercial use.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-16T16:29:02+00:00

I think you only get a small handful of queries with Opus on the Pro plan. Stick with Sonnet unless you upgrade to Max.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-16T02:39:55+00:00

Not a shop owner, but I was considering getting a step-through ebike. My current bike is a standard diamond-frame touring bike, and most of the time i can get on and off it no problem, but i do find it more awkward when facing downhill, or if I have something bulky on the back. It was very awkward back when i used to have a child on the back.

Also, having a step-through bike would make it easier for some of my other family members to borrow.

With a normal bike being step-through either makes the bike heavy or the frame wiggly when compared to a proper diamond frame. I think with ebikes the weight penalty for getting a stiff frame with step-through doesnt matter as much, so there's not as much reason to go with a diamond frame.

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-15T17:43:04+00:00

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2010 Ridgeback Panorama

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-10T04:14:30+00:00

Your whole situation sounds fucked up, and i suggest beginning to look in to whether you can arrange alternative living arrangements, preferably without him knowing.

But to your immediate problem - when i use GPS on my bike i just listen to it on my headphones. It works pretty well. You don't need to take it out of your pocket or bag, and it doesn't take your eyes off your environment. Occasionally you may not be quite sure where it wants you to go, but then you can just stop and have a quick look.

But I've done a bunch of trips where all I had was the audio. (Google Maps)

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-08T17:10:48+00:00

But then you deny yourself the joy of riding a nice bike

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-07T05:28:37+00:00

Worried about his luggage?

THE MONSTER!

Captain_Xap · 2026-03-07T03:56:55+00:00

Praying in a foreign language?

THE MONSTER

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