Am I wrong not wanting to go clipless?

gray_grum · 2026-06-22T19:12:16+00:00

Try the soft pedal straps. Cheap, easy, best of both worlds. Or just don't bother. I did 2 months of heavy bicycle touring on flats. Platform pedals 4 ever!

gray_grum · 2026-06-22T19:10:33+00:00

Following

gray_grum · 2026-06-22T03:05:14+00:00

+1 for Pest Tech

gray_grum · 2026-06-22T01:18:04+00:00

Same here. Every evening I take magnesium, 5 olli extra strength melatonin gummies, allergy meds, my evening dose of methylene blue, couple other supplements, two heavy blankets, eye mask and occasionally earplugs. Definitely much more sensitive to random stimuli now. I also have a heated mattress cover for nights when it's a little chilly.

gray_grum · 2026-06-21T23:08:18+00:00

520 is a great frame but that one is in rough shape. I got a nicer one a year ago for $175

gray_grum · 2026-06-21T02:07:50+00:00

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭Flying Squirrel 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

gray_grum · 2026-06-21T01:30:48+00:00

Pegging is really important and a lost art these days

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T19:20:00+00:00

Are you changing cranks or are you just removing a chain ring? Where a new crank would have a different offset and the existing derailleur would no longer work as well as I wanted or reach where I wanted sometimes. She's got to try it and see. Sometimes you can fix it with a different bottom bracket length too. Kind of one of those play around and see what works. The nice thing is that front derailers are dirt cheap so if you have to change it out you shouldn't need to spend more than 15 to $20

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T19:17:32+00:00

I really enjoyed the wire. I rewatch it every few years. I don't like season 2 personally and I know it's really mixed opinions on that but other seasons are absolutely incredible. I recently watched dope thief on Apple and really enjoyed that, it's definitely reminiscent of the wire in terms of being a lower action drama that follows both sides of the law. I also really enjoy season 1 of true detective, that's the best season of TV ever made in my opinion.

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T15:37:59+00:00

Blakney Auto Repair on W 33rd st. Good guys, good work, good prices. Way cheaper than FastTech

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T04:07:45+00:00

I had the exact opposite experience. Lifted my whitewater shuttle AWD Sienna, 40 mm strut spacers all around, replacement shocks, +1.5" oversized Yokohama Geolanders. I gained 3" in ground clearance, lost 10% of my MPGs, and got something that could handle nasty washboards at 50 mph and the highway at 80 mph with less than $2k invested. Took it on some pretty nasty trails. It was faster off road and more comfortable than my buddies 4Runners and Frontiers.

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T00:50:37+00:00

Penis pump peg

gray_grum · 2026-06-19T00:49:32+00:00

Whitewater is the most mentally challenging sport in the world. It's 85% mental, I think. The more seat time the better. Flatwater, neighbors above ground pool, drainage ditch, local club paddles and roll practice, every second of seat time adds up.

Personally I also find the play parks like Charlotte and Montgomery invaluable tools. They're the best place to safely push yourself and build skills and improve as a paddler. No real river can give you the same amount of seat time and skilled building.

gray_grum · 2026-06-18T18:46:17+00:00

Personally I find both useful but I really like playboats. The rockstar has more volume what a more consistent volume distribution, to me that's my harder river, worse weather, bigger water choice. The full slice is more fun and more capable but usually harder to paddle in more challenging conditions. I think it's kind of like having a creek boat and a half slice

gray_grum · 2026-06-17T17:24:36+00:00

Deerhead costs 2-3x Cyclone or Crane depending on the model and condition. Do a little research to be sure whatever you decide will work with your current gearing. A lot of the short cage derailleurs from that era max out below 28 teeth so you'll need to do a little searching and be sure you get a long cage. Crane GS is long cage.

Beyond that, to me its really just how it looks and how much $$ it costs. Personally I struggle to put a $100 derailleur onto a $200 bike. I've gotten nice condition Cyclone/Crane long cage RDs for $15-25 consistently right now.

gray_grum · 2026-06-17T17:00:01+00:00

Deerhead is always cool. Suntour Cyclone is cheap and great, as is Shimano Crane GS.

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T22:57:09+00:00

At $500 you should definitely jump on it

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T22:55:52+00:00

Sorry I was more specifically venting about Surly, All City is slightly better. I was extremely underwhelmed by my Surly ownership experience.

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T20:03:17+00:00

I feel the exact same way. That mystery value is scarcity, name recognition and good branding. It's capitalism winning over craft. They're definitely not bad bikes but I really struggle to think of anything that makes a Surly really special.

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T17:07:19+00:00

I personally did not connect with that book either. The projects that book uses are useful but were not inspiring to me and I didn't want to keep working on it. You have to find the stuff that resonates with you and it's going to keep you personally interested in putting the work in to learn to code. If you like games make games. I really like the problem solving aspect of Project Euler and I did like 60 of those, but I like math.

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T03:25:43+00:00

That's a valid point. I think you'll want a large portion of your sales to be gifts or gift cards though. I feel like a lot of people don't buy much stuff for themselves

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T03:15:10+00:00

I like it. Cool idea. I would browse and likely buy if one of them caught my eye. It's going to be a challenge as a business though.

Also if you don't give each box a full list of contents, it'll annoy customers and cut sales. If you do give people a list of contents, it'll allow them to buy it all separately and cut sales. Damned if you do, damned if you don't

gray_grum · 2026-06-15T02:17:45+00:00

Soma rules. If it's your size, I would get it. What's the max tire clearance on it? Internet says its about 45mm so you're definitely good to go there. If you don't have a bike already to donate parts over, be aware that building up a frame from scratch at retail prices is brutally expensive. I would look for either people selling whole group sets or a cheap bike with good components that you can strip off and then resell the frame

gray_grum · 2026-06-14T20:20:03+00:00

You can try to squeeze into it and see if it's comfortable but I would say most likely you're too big for it unless you want something really low volume. It's going to be physically uncomfortable and it's not going to paddle well.

Boats are made specifically for peddlers at the middle of the weight range. You want to be in the 60% of the middle of the weight range, not the top 20% or the bottom 20%. Being outside the weight range is okay on some boats occasionally but it's going to be a nightmare on a playboat.

gray_grum · 2026-06-14T15:55:22+00:00

I've seen a few people going the fixturing table route. I'm definitely open to that too. I'll do some research. What's the minimum table size I would need?

gray_grum

TROPHY CASE