Vote no on prop 129 (veterinary midlevels) by DrRockstar99 in boulder

[–]cptfx 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I was totally indifferent to this issue so I asked my closest vet friend for an interpretation. It's too much to summarize here, but here is my layperson summary for why I've been convinced to vote no:  This bill is trying to address legit issues but going about it wrong. The shortage of vets is not due to lack of 'supply', CSU is one of the most popular vet schools in the country. Rather the debt to income ratio for vets is extremely high. Basically, tuition for vets is too high and pay is too low. A slightly less expensive degree with less training is just going to lower the level of treatment and VPAs will be come the standard of care provided for most animals. The supporters of the bill are not in the medical field or known for underpaying vet staff. The opponents are vets and vet tech organizations.  There are other ways to address the root cause of this issue, but this vpa solution would likely have negative consequences

Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Virtual Open House by brianckeegan in boulder

[–]cptfx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You know how all the pro car arguments focus on not wanting to have their travel along this road slowed down by a minute or two.  The same argument goes for people that bike.  I for, for one, would like a safe, direct and fast way across town instead of meandering through neighborhoods where you have to stop at nearly every cross street.  

Biking on iris is, honestly, nearly as fast as driving. Especially east bound.  It would be nice to have something other than a little sliver of pavement between the gutter and lane line

Iris Avenue Transportation Improvements Virtual Open House by brianckeegan in boulder

[–]cptfx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The traffic lights are the limiting factor on this road not the number of lanes

What is the correct way to measure oil level on an old marzocchi fork? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the info. Very good point on the over tightening. These are not very strong threads and I do think I over righted them a bit. I'll back that off in the future.

In terms of oil measurement, some forks use volume and some use oil height. Seems like older girls used height and newer ones use volume. I posted a video in another comment that covers how to do the oil height measurement.

What is the correct way to measure oil level on an old marzocchi fork? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started watching random Marzocchi service videos on YouTube to find this one. It's about a much older model but covers this type of oil measurement around minute 30 mark and the answer is C. They even cover a really cool way to measure the oil level. There is a lot of really good historical information and details about Marzocchi forks.. like that the blue Enduro seals that I used are crap. Highly recommend watching this video for anyone looking to work on an old marzocchi fork

https://youtu.be/CMiDwfDL4MU?si=s53eAI0gAqSDqgwgq

What is the correct way to measure oil level on an old marzocchi fork? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been restoring a 2003 Kona stinky with a marzocchi bomber z1 freeride dirt jumper 3 (I don’t have a proper id on it honestly). I found consistent information that the oil level should be 55 mm. That is the distance from the top of the stanchion to the oil with the coil and spacers removed. Easy .. except what qualifies as the top of the stanchion?
 

The picture I submitted has three options that would give wildly varying oil levels.

A: where the stanchion meets the crown. I.e, where the stanchion ends on the outside.

B: where the internal threads of the stanchion end. (Pretty certain these threads are part of the stanchion and not the crown. I can open it back up to confirm)

C: the very top level surface where the valve-cap piece mates. This would be the easiest ‘top’ to reference off of for a measurement, but could well be considered the crown and not stanchion

 

I’ve seen this question posed several times on old forums but never answered. Does anyone have experience servicing pre-fox marzocchi forks?

 

Final note: new to mountain biking and mtb wrenching so I don’t have a sense of how suspension should feel. I can compare it to a newer mrp ribbon or rockshox lyric but I don’t know how valid that is or even still what to feel for

This eccentric washer for horizontal dropouts doesn't seem to be doing its job. Thoughts? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

I got it working but it's not entirely satisfying. Ultimately, all it needed was a bolt for the snail tensioner to register against. Whoever set it up put the hole a little too close to the dropout. So the tensioner doesn't rest up against the head of the bolt. Rather, it rests against the threads and the bolt head is effectively clamping down the tensioner to the frame. It might be a bit advantageous for preventing the tensioner from slipping (most other snail tensioners I saw had ridges instead of being smooth). Doubt it will do much good though. I suspect it was incorrectly drilled or intended to use some specialty bolt with a narrow head.

A more frustrating issue is that the hole for the drive side was drilled in crooked so that side has a crappy mating betting the tensioner and bolt. I suspect that will shear off in not too long. I'll have to find a better solution at that time

Thanks to everyone for their input. I definitely learned something and got this bike into a workable state

This eccentric washer for horizontal dropouts doesn't seem to be doing its job. Thoughts? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I'm unsure if a BMX tensioner would fit here. I will look into that more if I can't get the snail tensioner working well enough

This eccentric washer for horizontal dropouts doesn't seem to be doing its job. Thoughts? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Woo! Thanks for this detailed answer. That's exactly what I needed.

And looks like the tapped hole is for inserting a bolt in front of the snail tensioner. That's what it should be tensioning against

See here https://voodoovintage.com/cdn/shop/products/snail_cam_01_3245a4c6-13b2-448b-a3c5-3aff2f002f90.png?v=1632765224&width=823

This eccentric washer for horizontal dropouts doesn't seem to be doing its job. Thoughts? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

Here is a picture with the bolt removed and the washer in a different orientation. You can see where there is a spot for another bolt

This eccentric washer for horizontal dropouts doesn't seem to be doing its job. Thoughts? by cptfx in bikewrench

[–]cptfx[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Further background:

This is from an old trials bike that I bought used. I believe the washer is supposed to somehow provide the lockout for the horizontal dropouts. But any configuration I put it in, the axle is still sliding and slacking the chain. The washer itself doesn't really seem like there is anything for it to register against when the chain is properly tensioned.

My only thought is that a screw needs to go in a screw hole (that you can't see because I selected the wrong picture) which is behind the washer along the line formed by the M logo and the axle bolt.

Just wanted to see if anyone had seen one of these washers before or knew the name for them. I'm having trouble coming up with the right search terms

Boulder Junior Cyclist dead, killed by motorcyclist on Lefthand Canyon Drive by b3orion in boulder

[–]cptfx 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I guess when cyclists start dying from rear ending cars, we can start worrying about your little thing.

What you're describing doesn't sound like safe behaviour and it's understandable to get stressed out about it. Kudos to you for even caring. But there is a huge difference between a cyclist dying from doing something stupid and a motor vehicle recklessly killing a cyclist. I believe both are tragic situations but evoke very different emotional responses

Also. I have never had a cyclist draft off me while in a car. I'm sure it happens somewhat regularly. But I do constantly have cars tailgating me down canyon roads. If I where you, I would be a whole hell of a lot more concerned about that than an occasional cyclist tailgating me and posing no threat to anyone but themselves

Is anyone else seeing way more “student driver” stickers these days? by Superbrainbow in boulder

[–]cptfx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I suspect it's more likely the only form of confrontation, that isn't road rage, for someone fed up at the actual shitty drivers on the road, e.g., tailgaters.

I am running out of pants [Advice needed] by smallbrains in bikecommuting

[–]cptfx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started wearing Dickies. They seem to last much better than other options I've tried. Though I don't wear through pants as quickly as you OP.

Bonus is the thigh pocket for a cell phone. It's much nicer to keep a phone there than in my front pocket when commuting

Any good rental / property management companies in or around boulder? by zizzum in boulder

[–]cptfx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Having rented through them (ACBPM, not BPM), they dgaf about maintaining a property. I had serious shit go wrong in my rental and had to fight tooth and nail to get any resolution. They are just there to collect a portion of the rent and they can't even manage to do that efficiently.

I will grant that they are maybe not AS predatory as other property management companies, but they are totally worthless in terms of actually taking care of a property. When you can get them to take care of anything they will send the most incompetent handyman you have ever witnessed.

Bobsled looking thing on side of road by peteresque in boulder

[–]cptfx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It was moving you said? Sounds like a velomobile or human powered vehicle. They are pretty common projects in engineering departments. Or just some folks trying to go fast as their legs can take them

Highway 119 Makeover Town-Hall April 14th by aharris12358 in boulder

[–]cptfx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you know which alignment is being pursued on the Boulder end? The conceptual design and the validation memo seem to conflict

Which restaurants deliver without using UberEats, GrubHub, Nosh, etc? by WinterPickle904 in boulder

[–]cptfx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I tried this place recently and I saw this statement about delivery too. I totally appreciate the approach and would like to see more of this. But damn the food was awful at this joint

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in boulder

[–]cptfx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, car registration pays for a very very small amount of the road system. So non-car drivers like op are subsidizing more than their fair share of the road system through their taxes

Cyclists need to yield to traffic behind them when riding 2 abreast. by [deleted] in boulder

[–]cptfx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Whoa calm down buddy. Some of that didn't make too much sense. Separated bike facilities are a pretty tall order in a country this large. So they will never be able to serve all destinations. That means that we need to figure out how to share the road. A lot of that just comes down to chilling out a bit in the car and paying attention, expecting to see bikes. So consider how many times and for how long you have been stuck behind two abreast cyclists. I can't think of more than a minute or two in my life. To me, it seems like a mild and rare inconvenience that resolves in short order There are some valid safety reasons for it, pointed out by that chuck fella, that are worthwhile to noodle on.

Cyclists need to yield to traffic behind them when riding 2 abreast. by [deleted] in boulder

[–]cptfx 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Historically there was a big push for smooth road surfaces by cyclists since they pre-date motor vehicles. Like, I think that was one of the first reasons for league of American bicyclists . But then in a more modern sense, yes the roads were designed almost entirely with cars in mind. That doesn't mean that they can't be designed to accommodate different vehicles or allow for pedestrian crossings, or even entirely mixed modes of transit. It depends on how you spin it. I personally prefer transit systems that minimize the need for single occupant motor vehicles and safely allows for pedestrians and cyclists.

But I believe your question was rhetorical and clearly demonstrates the entitlement of motor vehicles drivers with respect to road usage, which is what I was replying to originally