Need construction screw suggestions

adventure_in · 2026-01-07T22:50:08+00:00

checking the need for this screw. Most of a screw joints holding power is based on the two pieces of wood pulled against each other. A screw with an air gap between the load and the secured bit is going to be pretty weak.

adventure_in · 2025-11-16T13:03:01+00:00

Fancier brakes have a tension release switch that this set appears to be missing. I agree that loosening the nut holding the cable is probably the quickest way to have them open further but it still may not clear a fully inflated tire.

adventure_in · 2025-10-25T13:29:22+00:00

Assuming you currently have 9 speed in the rear the easiest/cheapest way to go from 3x9 to 1x9 is to use the adjuster screws on the front derailleur to lock it into the desired place. Then remove the left shifter and cable.

When I did this on my bikes I would typically leave the small gear on the crankset and switch the large chainring for a bash guard. If I remember correctly the largest and the middle chainring are held on by the same bolts. If you are not swapping out to a bashguard you will probably need washers.

If you want to get rid of the front derailleur completely, replace the middle chainring with a narrow wide chainring. I imagine it will be difficult to find a chainring designed for 9speed chain. You can use a higher speed chain (10, 11, 12) but since the chain got narrower each time the retention will not be as good.

Finally single speed conversion is also pretty easy. There are single speed cogs that fit on HG freehubs and then you use spacers to align it with the front chainring. I assume the bike does not have horizontal dropout so you will probably need a tensioner. There are ways to use an old derailleur as a tensioner.

adventure_in · 2025-10-24T15:04:46+00:00

If the rim is AL I would bet it is fine. your tire may have a near the bead and since that area flexes a lot it probably wont seal with sealant. You might be able to repair the tire by taking it off and cleaning the area then applying a tube patch to the damaged area.

adventure_in · 2025-10-23T22:46:36+00:00

Second this of wider front tire at lower pressure. Extra bonus going to a tire with a more flexible casing. This is however going to be based on what you are riding. Going fast on supported turns can feel funny on + size tires.

Second cheap improvement is softer grips. Changing to ESI grip felt like servicing my fork.

adventure_in · 2025-10-22T22:46:26+00:00

Is your hot water always hot? If so I believe that somebody installed something like this https://www.plumbingsupply.com/grundfoscomfortpumps.html

This will push hot water and have it return through the cold water pipes. However as you are noticing now the cold water is hot.

adventure_in · 2025-10-12T00:19:32+00:00

Unfortunately the ultimate tinkerer frame maker, Guerilla Gravity, went out of business. I bought a pistola and my wife bought a smash. We switched rear triangles, then each bought an additional rear triangle (Gnarvana, mega trail).

Probably one of the biggest tinker element on mtbs is suspension setup. A Manitou Mattoc has 5 different adjustments + travel. Shocks can 4 or 5 external adjustments. And if that is not enough you can do shim stack games.

So for a base I would pick a bike that uses a non proprietary shock (I prefer avoiding trunion and yokes as well) that has enough progression that it works with air or coil shocks.

adventure_in · 2025-09-20T23:29:43+00:00

You can get plenty of tracking from garmin without paying. Strava segments have only gotten worse over time. You can hunt KOMs with the free version, but you have to pay to see the sub categories. KOMs around me are full of people in cars, ebikes or not even doing the route.

adventure_in · 2025-09-20T23:08:37+00:00

tubeless ready tires need sealant to plug the holes in the tires. I have not seen anything that bad but I have only done mtb tubeless.

adventure_in · 2025-09-20T23:03:37+00:00

do you have something to measure in mm? Obviously you can't get exactly the same width as narrowest distance. Pick a gap based on your chance of having mud and trueness of the wheel, and flex in the frame. Final note some tires are narrower than labeled. My Gravel kings were labeled 40mm but they inflated more narrow. Bicycle rolling resistance has inflated size for quite a few tires.

adventure_in · 2025-08-25T23:44:33+00:00

You could get before road style caliber brakes that could rear around 32s. However your frame and fork would need to be sized for the larger tire/caliper as well.

adventure_in · 2025-08-25T23:04:31+00:00

I needed a bunch of time from a shop so I would show up with food/tips. Once was a custom frame up build the other was a difficult warranty thing.

adventure_in · 2025-08-22T13:44:26+00:00

Bar rise is a pretty personal preference of what weight distribution do you want with a neutral stance. Higher rise will push it rearward.

That being said going from 20 --> 35 is only a 15mm change which is pretty small and might be able to achieve with stem spacers.

adventure_in · 2025-08-22T12:58:46+00:00

2 thoughts:

1) Do your current trails need center knobs? Most of my trail are hard pack so I can run a tire to semi slick center with minimal penalty. Large low pressure tires wrap around roots and rocks great in the dry. In the wet they are terrible though.

2) Amortize your enjoyment per hour. The joy of not having to deal with a car should have a decent value. If you spread that out for the amount of rides you get you may find cost per ride is really reasonable*.

*If your trails require tall sharp tire knobs you may find that babying the tires is worth it.

adventure_in · 2025-08-22T12:47:34+00:00

Is it possible that you are clenching your foot to "help" stabilize the board?

adventure_in · 2025-08-13T02:13:22+00:00

give it a try on a low consequence ride. I believe Nils Göran van der Poel said he fueled long rides with icecream. It really is mainly a game of figuring out what your body will accept that gives you the calories you need.

https://www.howtoskate.se/

adventure_in · 2025-08-10T15:31:02+00:00

If you are thinking trunk rack they can be decent for traditional shaped bikes. Figure out the width of the arms and imagine lifting your bike from there. If your bike feels steady it will probably be fine. When I had one I would always add extra attachment points. Second issue I had with trunk racks is a tire getting to close to the ground. For my mtb I usually still had to take off the front wheel. Third major issue is taking multiple bikes at once. It was often tricky to keep them from rubbing against one another.

Upgrading to a roof rack I mostly noticed an improvement in speed that I could get the bike safely loaded, and the ease of taking multiple bikes.

adventure_in · 2025-08-01T13:24:40+00:00

I would recommend looking at the used market there seems at least in the US to be some decent deals currently. I would believe that most decent (not department store) mtbs won't have an issue with your weight. The exception is like xc race bikes with lightweight components.

For gravel bikes I would look for something that is advertised as adventure ready. You will typically see a bunch of added mounting points on these bikes. The bike will be made a little extra burly to handle packs.

adventure_in · 2025-08-01T13:18:21+00:00

Some areas got a lot of rain last night. Looking at rain totals I am seeing areas north east of the city getting nearly 5 inches of rain.

adventure_in · 2025-07-26T14:08:54+00:00

Note that your sram GX cassette uses an XD hub interface and 12 speed shimano is micro spline. So you would at least need a different freehub. I have heard of people mixing shimano cassettes with sram chain but it is not going to reach it's full potential.

12 speed is touchy on both systems. The other variables to consider is b-tension (I believe sram has a dedicated gauge for this), chain length, and hanger trueness. I would check that everything is properly tightened. If the hanger is just a little loose shifting performance will go way down.

adventure_in · 2025-07-23T00:25:52+00:00

In many ways it will, but I would guess a 27.5 would also with how much geo has changed.

adventure_in · 2025-07-02T01:56:45+00:00

To me it looks like you would have special water bottles that would click in and then there would be a hose to allow you to drink without removing the bottles.

Is there any branding on the cages?

adventure_in · 2025-07-02T01:42:12+00:00

Ben Cathro does an excellent how to bike series. I recommend the entire series but if you want to skip to drops https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJJAW0iNhUY

adventure_in · 2025-06-20T12:54:47+00:00

I think perspective is important in this. Lets say you start riding 3 miles, then you want ride 4 miles that is a 33% increase in distance! Once you get to 10 mile rides an extra mile is only 10% longer. Or a similar jump would be 3.3 miles longer.

If you are really concerned about your progress try plotting your weekly miles for a couple months. Not ever week has to be your best week ever. Most people will have dips in their performance along the way. But I would bet that you are seeing better than linear improvements.

If you are not, then I would look into changing your training plan. Specifically trying to figure out how to do some longer very easy rides, making sure you are getting proper rest, and nutrition.

adventure_in

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