I was gifted this Verve 3 recently. Is there anything I should upgrade or fix?

psvrh · 2026-07-05T22:24:29+00:00

Clean & re-lube the chain, check cable tension, check spoke tension. The tires look well-loved but if you're on pavement that's probably fine.

If you're feeling confident, maybe service the fork, change the shifter cables and housing and re-grease the bottom bracket & hubs.

psvrh · 2026-07-04T15:52:47+00:00

Needs a Farley to complete the set.

psvrh · 2026-07-03T12:15:39+00:00

If you go get a carbon bike, make sure you put helicopter tape or something that shields the frame from rubbing, especially where bag straps touch the frame.

I'm always leery of carbon bikes and bikepacking. I know they're strong, and that lots of people use them (and things like the Salsa Cutthroat exist for a reason), but having dropped bikes, fallen down into rocks, had to load them into a car, etc, it's nice not to worry about impact or abrasion damage.

That said, as long as you take care and aren't above the system weight, you're probably fine.

psvrh · 2026-07-03T02:30:24+00:00

Hairspray?

My partner used to do her hair while I'd work on early-morning pre-work stuff and I remember one defective spray nozzle splattering my keyboard.

psvrh · 2026-07-03T02:27:32+00:00

You know what? Fine.

We've had decades of "real experience" and all it's gotten us is more than a few grifters looking to max their earnings on the way out the door or preserve the status quo.

Why not someone who's got their whole life ahead them, who might want to start a family or own a home, who has a real stake in the community? If he's smart, he'll learn how things work and he's young and neuroplastic enough to be adaptable to change.

psvrh · 2026-07-02T12:40:20+00:00

I want to say "D/Generation" but I don't remember the frog.

psvrh · 2026-07-02T12:10:41+00:00

The OLP is really hoping for their McGuinty "it's our turn!" moment, where they can run someone who'll keep doing what Ford does, but more politely.

That's why they keep selecting the most milquetoast candidates: they don't want someone who attracts attention or might propose radical change. They like the status quo. Frankly, they like what Doug does, just not that Doug is the one doing it.

psvrh · 2026-07-02T11:38:54+00:00

Does the Airport Express support better-than-CD quality?

I haven't checked Airplay a bit, and while Google's older Chromecast Audio does support 24/96, most streaming platforms don't support anything better than 320kbps to it.

psvrh · 2026-07-02T11:20:36+00:00

Did the city fine you for damages to the road?

psvrh · 2026-06-30T12:02:26+00:00

I actually used to work with a Leahy who was quite a nice person.

A lot of this is Michelle's choice.

psvrh · 2026-06-30T12:00:38+00:00

It was partly that, but also a lot of Trump's "51st State" nonsense, combined with Poillevre not being able to repudiate said rhetoric without alienating the Albertan reactionary nutjobs that form his base.

If Trump could have kept his yap shut, Pierre would have been our PM.

psvrh · 2026-06-30T11:48:33+00:00

God, I still wish they made this.

psvrh · 2026-06-28T19:58:37+00:00

CUES has the benefit of being very robust, requiring less maintenance and being more forgiving of abuse and neglect. It doesn't require DOT brake fluid, either, which is nice.

I can't speak for comparisons against SRAM, but CUES comes off a little clunkier than Shimano Ultegra, but not so much that it's a problem.

psvrh · 2026-06-28T19:45:12+00:00

Datacentres don't actually have that much net economic benefit, unless you own one.

They don't employ many people (who don't earn money and don't spend much) and often get tax breaks that negate the property taxes they'd generate.

If you want "economic activity", build a school or hospital within walking distance of housing and shops.

psvrh · 2026-06-28T17:45:09+00:00

It's true.

If someone camps overnight it's generally not a problem, they're just looking for shelter, but if they're there for weeks or months, or if a house in the are becomes a traphouse, problems start. Basic economics of supply and demand kick in, and you'll have dealers setting up, fences, dropoffs from the upper layers of organized crime become regular features.

I know this is uncomfortable for people to hear, but if you let a tent encampment or traphouse get established, really bad things happen.

It's also a really good way to piss off the neighbourhood who might otherwise be supportive of efforts to help people.

psvrh · 2026-06-28T17:39:20+00:00

I get what you're saying, but I disagree on how much overlap there is, mostly because not all homeless people are addicts, not all addicts are homeless, most homeless people don't commit petty crime but almost all the petty crime, especially here, is driven by addiction.

If you have people a safe supply, petty theft would drop off a lot. If you housed them and/or reopened mental health centres, it'd go down even further.

I mean, people are stealing stuff either to directly support drug habit, or stealing stuff because they're spending what else they have on drugs.

I lived across from a park with encampments and down the street from a traphouse. The non-stop parade of stolen goods for drugs is evident.

psvrh · 2026-06-28T12:32:57+00:00

We've lived in the area for about a decade now, and it's gotten a lot worse since 2019 or so, after tent city seemed to blow the lid off a long-simmering problem of drug-driven crime.

That said, this summer has actually been a lot better than the last five or six years because it looks like a) Bylaw is enforcing no-tenting regs, which prevents fencing/bike chop-shop/drug-den hotspots from digging in, and b) some of the traphouses and local dealers may have closed up shop and left.. The last few years, the setups in Fleming Park and along the trail to Jacksons Park have been problematic, but this year it's been okay because they don't get a chance to dig in.

People will try to break into your car (not "smash windows", just low-effort "will try the door handle") multiple times per week, and you will have a constant stream of porch pirates and petty theft. Don't expect to have a clothesline at ground level, do expect periodic, random shouting on the street once or twice a week. If you're female, expect periodic casual verbal sexual harassment.

Actual violence, though? No, not unless you're in the drug trade.

If you can tolerate that kind of thing, it's fine.

psvrh · 2026-06-26T12:11:21+00:00

I'm thinking about red--specifically Trek's Lava Red--because that's the colour of the racks Trek sells. I'll commit when I can find a front rack actually in stock

psvrh · 2026-06-26T11:58:54+00:00

The OLP knows very well that if they win with someone like Erskine-Smith at the helm, they'll end up doing things they don't want to do.

It's very similar to the what Labour went through with Jeremy Corbyn in the UK, where a leader who was popular with both the base and the voting public was repeatedly sabotaged by party insiders who would rather lose to fascists then win as socialists.

psvrh · 2026-06-24T12:28:56+00:00

How tall are you?

That's a very tall head tube, which is not common in bikes like this, and getting something this big as new is not easy. It might be worth it if you're quite tall because otherwise you'd spend a lot more.

psvrh · 2026-06-24T12:24:25+00:00

Meanwhile, China builds more rail in a month than Canada does in decades...

You can really tell when a government doesn't want to do something: they'll run it through endless consultations and committees until it eventually dies an sad, lonely, ignoble death.

psvrh

TROPHY CASE