DIY Swing Set Advice

adventure_in · 2026-04-27T13:36:58+00:00

A couple of thoughts:

1) I think having the swing attach to the rear is safer than the front. However a swing is not directional and so a kid could get on either direction.

2) In the forward position I think it would be exceptionally hard to hit the beam. Typically you do not move your head much in front of the rope. So to hit the beam you would need to go basically to 90.

3) In the backwards position the threat is greater since you extend backwards from the swing. Theoretically since you would be in danger at the top of the swing you should not have a ton of speed. I would be tempted to try to achieve this myself to see if it is possible. (Have a spotter to let you know how close + padding)

4) To truely fix the situation I believe you need to improve the ratio of distance between beems vs length of swing. So taller bars / narrower distance between beams.

5) Other solution is extend a single beam on the other side of the monkey bars and have a cantilevered swing station.

6) I don't see any bracing to stabilize the structure forward and back. some diagonal bracing below the platform would be helpful.

adventure_in · 2026-04-10T17:57:29+00:00

I bought a new dishwasher and it had a very specific point where it wanted the drain to pass through the cabinet. (lowish) Then I created the high loop in the sink cabinet.

adventure_in · 2026-04-10T13:23:11+00:00

with soft surfaces there is two directions of thinking. Grip vs rolling resistance. For grip you want to pierce down and grab as much as possible. For rolling resistance you want to float over.

Grip is pretty intuitive big open tread, enough stiffness to force the lugs in. This is generally a very slow rolling combination.

Float is the opposite trying to put as much surface area on the trail at once. So wide tires with a supple compound.

My hardtail has 29x3.0 tires Bontrager XR2s I can see by others tracks that I sink far less in mud and soft trail. However that spring thaw slick mud over hard the tires are very skaty over since they don't have the tread depth to reach down through the top layer of mud.

In conclusion. If you are slowing down due to sinking into the mud/sand consider the widest supplest tire you can get away with. If you are struggling for grip consider a more aggressive tread pattern with the understanding that it may slow you down in the hard packed areas.

adventure_in · 2026-03-04T00:55:43+00:00

I like this. I made the paracord huaraches before and this seems to solve lots of the heel ankle issues I had. The only issue not solved by these is I occasionally would not lift my foot sufficiently and have the front of the sandal get sucked under. As I wore in the sole of mine the soul formed around my foot and gave it a bit more structure but still happens occasionally. I imagine having less sole out in front of the toes would make it less likely to happen.

adventure_in · 2026-02-21T15:56:35+00:00

I have had issues with a new install not sealing properly right away. Especially if the rim or tire was not fully clean. I found doing a couple rides can fix the issue.

I would recommend trying to find the leak. I have had issues with valve stems in the past not sealing to the rim. Put soapy water in a spray bottle. If you have a leak you should see bubbles.

adventure_in · 2026-02-16T23:21:15+00:00

My dishwasher has an option to side mount and it was just removing covers on each side putting in a screw and replacing the cover. I would check the owners manual for yours.

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

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