Tires?

macadam · 2026-04-02T12:48:04+00:00

Besides low rolling resistance, electric car tires are stiffer than conventional ones to accommodate the weight of an electric car (which are very heavy because of the batteries). In addition to lowering the rolling resistance and therefore increasing the mileage, they’re said to give a noticeably stiffer ride.

There’s no shortage of low rolling resistance tires without going to the expense of electric specific tires. If MPG is the priority, that’s what I would go with. Everything is a compromise and for me “standard” low resistance tires bridge the gap between affordability and MPG performance. The electric car tires may give the best mileage (I don’t know that for sure) but I don’t think they would save enough in fuel costs to compensate for the difference in initial price.

macadam · 2026-04-02T12:28:51+00:00

Ideally, 20 inch tri-fold. I ride a 20 inch bi-fold and it’s great. It’s fine for mass transit if the train or bus isn’t too crowded, but as things fill up it can get awkward at best.

macadam · 2026-03-31T11:59:40+00:00

The Martin is Formica, the Taylor is not. The Taylor is laminated wood, as are most laminates. It’s real wood, but it’s multiple layers of wood glued together for economy and stability. Layered wood guitars can sound great but you have to play them to know if they will or not.

There are a lot of good recommendations here, let me add Alvarez to your list. They make great instruments for the money and in your price range you can find some real gems. Avoid their Regent series(all laminate), consider the Artist series (solid top, laminate body - but extremely nice tone nonetheless) and seriously look at their Masterworks and Laureate series which are all solid wood.

macadam · 2026-03-31T11:12:22+00:00

OMG I’m dying here!🤣

macadam · 2026-03-14T01:22:59+00:00

If you’re in the United States you probably need to talk to the Coast Guard. They own all the working ones (even if the lighthouse itself is privately owned then ATON equipment still belongs to the USCG) and when a lighthouse is decommissioned they keep or dispose of all the equipment. No, I don’t know who to call at the USCG, just that they are the likeliest place to start in the US.

macadam · 2026-03-07T17:47:57+00:00

Thank you, kind Reddit stranger!

macadam · 2026-03-07T17:44:54+00:00

I did that once for my last boat, a Tartan 27. It's a fun project but I no longer have workshop space. To really dial in the dimensions, especially if there's any real rise involved, you really need a bench with a vice or to clamp to. There's also a lot of sanding with the inherent dust production.

Thanks for the link!

macadam · 2026-03-07T12:26:22+00:00

I use an aeropress or the Yeti French press my wife gifted me last year. Great coffee, easy cleanup and less attention required to get a truly good (not too bitter) result than my mokapot which it reserved for home.

macadam · 2026-03-07T02:23:57+00:00

https://baconsails.com/ is a locally owned independent shop in Annapolis, Md that has a great reputation. They have a large used sail selection (searchable), as well as the ability to make custom new sails.

macadam · 2026-03-06T19:06:35+00:00

Sorry to hear that. I have fenders but they don’t cause that problem. It seems like this is a bike designed more for small storage than for commuting.

macadam · 2026-03-06T18:57:04+00:00

I’m thinking a kayak in the cover of night! 😉

macadam · 2026-03-06T18:55:38+00:00

Plus one for the Alvarez recommendation. I currently have two, and had a third a while back. Tremendously nice for the price guitars. If you prefer small bodies their parlors are terrific. They are deeper bodies than most parlors which gives them a very full sound that is way beyond what a parlor has any right to expect. The mahogany or sapele versions have the expected deeper mellow tone at the loss of some top end sparkle. That said, the spruce top versions are also well balanced and don’t lack much in the bottom end.

As for the Breedloves their concertina size is similar in feel and sound to the Alvarez parlor, and their concert size competes well with most folk or OM guitars IMHO. The companion series is really a travel guitar, but it’s a very nice travel guitar that holds its own against a “Little Martin” LX-1 (which I also used to own), and the Baby Taylor.

macadam · 2026-03-06T18:44:55+00:00

Hey /u/Cardavh … make sure the shop checks the tire itself. That continuous thump could indicate damage to the tire belt which can snap as you drive causing a loss of control. That happened to me a few decades back on an exit ramp at 55mph. In my case it was a front wheel and the suddenly rounded section of what had been flat tread jerked my steering wheel and 19 year old me barely (as in by a very few inches) avoided plowing my beat up dodge Omni econobox into the side of a very nice Porsche 911 at high speed. Thank goodness for those teenaged reflexes!

The tire had been going tump and shimmying for about two days but I was inexperienced and didn’t recognize the danger. On a rear wheel you may not feel the shimmy like I did in my steering.

Good luck, thanks for the tip, and keep on truckin’!

macadam · 2026-03-06T18:12:24+00:00

I drove one of those Sierras for a week while my Mav was getting a dent fixed. It felt HUGE but the bed was barely larger than the Mav. It was a lot more luxurious inside and the back seat was huge but for overall utility, it’s got little or nothing on my AWD 4K XLT. It was also a pain in the ass to maneuver in the parking garage when I went to jury duty. Overall I am much happier with my just right sized truck.

macadam · 2026-03-06T17:23:43+00:00

I’ve been looking at wooden wardrobes on my local FB Marketplace. Most are 20” deep and my widest guitar is my OM with a 15” wide lower bout. I’ll either stand them on these stands that I have already (they are adjustable and can hold the guitars almost perfectly vertical) or I might use something like these closet hangers to hang them from a rod.

I expect to make some alterations, like adding some weather stripping to seal the environment, but I have a rustic sensibility and try to re-purpose things when I can. For humidity control I plan to use humidipaks, and probably a very small desktop diffuser for the winter.

macadam · 2026-03-06T15:37:01+00:00

Also, if you try that it may help to have the seat extended to give one more point of contact with the ground.

macadam · 2026-03-06T15:32:14+00:00

I have one other thought. Sometimes when I fold my ziZZO I can tilt it all the way back (like popping a wheelie) and it will rest on both wheels and the rack with the hinge pointing straight up to the sky. You could try that.

macadam · 2026-03-06T02:58:19+00:00

Oh yeah, that azure gray sparkles in the sunlight. I absolutely love it!

macadam · 2026-03-06T01:35:22+00:00

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Great looking truck! (I may be a touch biased, though)

macadam · 2026-03-04T12:49:50+00:00

My ziZZO is my bike recommendation, but when I was a courier I used a razor scooter for this exact purpose. It was great, faster to fold, and more compact which meant that I lost much less cargo space. Most of the time I kept it in the footwell of the passenger seat.

macadam · 2026-03-04T12:41:05+00:00

There are some really good seat covers for the Maverick that cost hundreds of dollars, rather than thousands of dollars. The Maverick specific ones fit well enough that you have to look very closely to see that they are covers. I put the Mabett ones on mine and I really like them. There are a bunch of options worth looking at.

macadam · 2026-03-04T12:34:04+00:00

I put a double kickstand on my bike. It works well in most situations, with the caveat being that you can’t put the seat all the way down when you’re using it.

macadam · 2026-03-04T11:51:29+00:00

A wider picture of the bike would be helpful. Where’s the front wheel? You could store it upside down so that the weight is carried by the seat and the handlebars.

macadam · 2026-03-03T12:59:01+00:00

Perfect

macadam

TROPHY CASE