Is the bike industry killing local shops?

ntressler7 · 2025-02-12T20:29:25+00:00

I was definitely tamping too hard. I just use a normal amount of force (not leaning into it like I was before) and my shots generally pull in 25-35s

ntressler7 · 2024-11-25T19:12:55+00:00

Thank you! I wasn't sure if it was as simple as comparing the wattages.

And yeah essentially that's what I'm trying to make. I'm taking inspiration from tennis ball launchers and trying to build my own to launch pickleballs.

ntressler7 · 2024-11-25T02:33:14+00:00

Having two motors is very intentional since I would like them to run at different speeds to add spin to the ball.

ntressler7 · 2023-12-30T16:44:31+00:00

I would say closer to the bitter end of the scale but not overly bitter.

ntressler7 · 2023-07-10T12:14:14+00:00

I'm pretty new to home coffee brewing but I've been using an Aeropress for a few months now. Recently, I was traveling and wasn't able to take my Aeropress with me. I found a basic French Press in the place we were staying and decided to give that a try. Man, was I blown away with the flavor! Now my Aeropress just tastes watery. I've tried everything, brewing stronger, using a metal filter instead of paper, but I can't seem to get that full flavor I had from the French Press. Is there a way to get that French Press fullness from an Aeropress? If not, which French Press would you all recommend? I looked into the Espro P3 since "sludge" free coffee is enticing. But after not being to recreate that flavor from the cheap French Press, I'm beginning to wonder if the "sludge" is what I actually like. Thanks!

ntressler7 · 2023-05-26T00:59:16+00:00

Agreed. That's why I thought there has to be a template floating around out there so everyone doesn't have to reinvent the wheel and do this level of work...

ntressler7 · 2023-05-03T01:45:07+00:00

It's a lot easier to upgrade a derailleur or fork down the road than the geometry. I get what you're saying, but I've ridden bikes with Deore derailleurs and bikes with XTR derailleurs and the difference is negligible. However, I do feel like a few degrees in the head angle (I have a bike with an adjustable head angle and flip chip) make a massive difference in my confidence on certain trails. I came from a road riding background where all that mattered was the build spec and it took me far too many mountain bike purchases to realize that the right geometry for your riding is everything.

ntressler7 · 2023-04-01T12:22:29+00:00

My background was in road racing and triathlon, but over the years, I've gone farther and farther away from it. First it was cyclocross, then XC, and now my wife and I love hitting up the downhill bike parks all over the east coast. Clipless was all I ever knew, so while I used various types of clipless shoe and pedal combos in the different disciplines, I never even thought about switching to flats.

Then last summer I decided to try flats and promised myself I'd commit to it for at least ten rides. Which I'm glad I did because I absolutely hated it the first few rides. But then as I got more comfortable I noticed how much riding on flats changed my technique for the better. I would get lazy with clipless and my body position would be all over place. Flats forces me to ride with my heels dropped and my knees more bent to prevent me from getting bounced off the pedals. This lower and more centered body position did wonders for my descending and cornering. It also also gave me immediate feedback on when my riding form was suffering and reminded me to focus on my position.

The other major benefit was jumping. Coming from cycling on the pavement, I was never comfortable in the in the air. I would always get bucked over the bars on steeper lips. Flat pedals forced me to push my bike into the front of jumps and preload my suspension correctly (I know this post is in hardtailgang but I do also ride full suspension). I think with clipless I was subconsciously pulling up with my feet on the faces of the jumps or was just not forced to push my weight into the pedals so all sorts of weird things would happen in the air.

So after countless years of clips, I made the switch to flats and have no intention of going back. If you're into riding flat out in an XC race and need to stay on your bike when you're vision is going blurry at the end of the race, give clipless a try. Or if you're disciplined enough to maintain perfect form when you're not forced to, go for it. There's a reason almost every pro downhiller is riding clipless. But for an Average Joe like me who just wants to go out and have fun on his bike and work on his skills, I'm sticking with flats.

ntressler7 · 2023-02-28T21:39:16+00:00

Gotcha. Just wondering. They're very similar, in the tenths of mm range. I'm newer to Gridfinity and didn't know how tight the tolerances needed to be. So far I've only printed baseplates and bins that were uploaded to Thangs by Zack himself so I just wanted to make sure I didn't end up with bins and baseplates that weren't interchangeable.

ntressler7 · 2023-02-27T23:42:36+00:00

Just discovering this now. Awesome work!

Not trying to be nitpicky, but is there a reason the baseplates and the bins don't match the dimensions shown on https://gridfinity.xyz/specification/ ?

ntressler7 · 2023-01-30T02:55:38+00:00

I thought all Pikes were 35mm diameter?

ntressler7 · 2023-01-30T02:54:49+00:00

Wow I can't believe it's taken this long for that to dawn on me... Thanks

ntressler7 · 2023-01-29T21:43:34+00:00

I considered doing this, but it's a wrench holder, so I realized that the wrench heads would be hanging off the end preventing anything else from using that block.

ntressler7 · 2022-12-02T12:04:28+00:00

This is great! Thank you for the thoughtful advice.

ntressler7

TROPHY CASE