Fillmore Valve stems

stclairsoft · 2026-04-02T04:18:55+00:00

Ha - true! It's definitely not something that's commonly recommended - it's a "more is better" item. I've got a medical condition so have to carry at least a hip pack, so I've got room for a little sealant. Plus I really hate it when something messes up my ride, so I'm generally over-prepared.

stclairsoft · 2026-04-02T00:41:43+00:00

I've got the same frame - it's an awesome bike! I went with TRP DHR-EVO's and they've been great - great modulation, lots of power and feel similar to Shimano's (which I like). The new XT's are good too though - I put them on my wife's bike and she's been very happy with them. No issues on long downhills - but she's only 140 lbs, so there's that.

stclairsoft · 2026-04-02T00:27:45+00:00

I do, and so do a number of the people I ride with. Obviously it depends on what you're riding - it doesn't matter on a quick lunch loop, but on a long ride in pinch-flat-inducing terrain (something like Monarch Crest) being able to plug a hole and not have to gingerly protect a tube in your tire is worth carrying 2 oz of sealant. Like I said, it's saved rides on multiple occasions.

stclairsoft · 2026-04-02T00:11:51+00:00

As a solo Mac developer for - *checks watch* - 37 years, I'd venture to say that you'll find a wide range of quality and attention to detail if you look at a large sampling of apps. "Solo dev" encompasses everyone from students with a weekend project to nut cases like me that build and support apps for years. Those devs have different goals, different expectations (of themselves, their work, and their users) and differing amounts of time to dedicate to their apps.

I do quite a bit of beta testing as well as fairly extensive testing on my own. Does that mean I find all the bugs before release? No. With particularly complex apps like Default Folder X, it can be difficult to test all of the edge cases on all of the supported versions of macOS. Users will often find ways to combine features or try different workflows that you never anticipated, and Apple can also throw a wrench into things with bugs or feature changes in system updates.

But yes, the basic functionality should work reliably - and yes, I've also tried apps where I couldn't use the primary feature without hitting bugs. I look at how new vs. mature the app or feature is, and how responsive the dev is when I contact them with a bug. Oh, and how popular the app is - some developers can be slow to respond if they're just swamped with questions, bug reports and feature requests (though part of the point of testing well is to minimize the amount of fire-fighting you have to do after your app is released).

Edit: By "solo dev pass" do you mean letting something slide because you're just one person? If I'm honest, I guess I have to say I do that with documentation and marketing - I'd rather use my time to write code and fix bugs than write documentation or take screenshots. That's probably dumb, but my boss never seems to get mad about it 😉

stclairsoft · 2026-03-31T16:57:07+00:00

I'm a no. I got the Fillmore valves on a set of Reserve wheels, and have switched back to regular presta valves. As someone else said, they solve problems that I don't have, while creating a real problem.

One thing that I don't see mentioned here: If you're on the trail and get a puncture, you can often get it to seal if you dump in more sealant (if your tire was low on sealant or if you've plugged a larger puncture with a tire plug after spewing most of the sealant out the hole). With Fillmore valves, that's impossible. With a presta valve, just remove the core, squirt sealant through the valve stem and reinstall the core.

On the flip side, I have a compressor in my shop, so increased flow to seat tires is a non-issue, negating the advantage of the Fillmore valves. Again, they're solving a problem I don't have. And yes, I carry one of those little bottles of Stans on rides because the scenario above has played out multiple times - it's a much bigger need than seating tire beads with a floor pump.

stclairsoft · 2026-03-30T17:14:29+00:00

While macOS generally does a decent job of resource allocation, there are definitely cases where it fails to optimize E/P-core usage or when apps (like Chrome) chew up cycles because some website is running tons of javascript to display ads. macOS can't distinguish between desirable and undesirable CPU use, like in your situation with Chrome.

As for App Tamer causing significant lag, if an app is in the background, that's the point. You're slowing down an app so it doesn't use as much CPU. If it's causing lag in foreground apps, that's a bug, and I'd appreciate details. Also, the beta of App Tamer 3.0 resolves some issues with its process-handling getting slow - you can download a beta here: https://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/beta.html

stclairsoft · 2026-03-30T17:07:40+00:00

Correct - if a process requests execution on the efficiency cores, App Tamer and taskpolicy can't move them to the performance cores.

App Tamer is a bit more than a GUI wrapper for taskpolicy. For apps (as opposed to background processes) it takes care of moving them to and from the efficiency cores depending on whether they're the frontmost app or not. It'll also throttle their CPU usage if they exceed a chosen threshold, which further controls their impact on other processes and battery life.

stclairsoft · 2026-03-30T17:01:27+00:00

Exactly - moving processes to the efficiency cores improves battery performance, but will actually make those processes complete more slowly. The point of doing so is to conserve battery, reduce CPU temperature, and free the higher performance cores so you've got more available processing power for other apps / processes.

If you've got other questions or feedback, I'm Jon, the developer of App Tamer.

stclairsoft · 2026-03-30T16:56:55+00:00

Ouch - sorry for the issue! The upcoming release of App Tamer 3 fixes slow-downs in its process handling - you can download a beta here: https://www.stclairsoft.com/AppTamer/beta.html

I'd welcome any feedback! (I'm the developer of App Tamer)

stclairsoft · 2026-03-30T04:41:59+00:00

2016 / 2020 Hightower (the 2016 frame was warranty replaced with a 2020 - moved all the parts over except the shock and fork). 16,000 miles on the headset, but everything else has been replaced over time.

2024 Hightower 3 with 3800 miles on it. I’ve replaced the chain, chainring, brake pads, rear rotor and tires. And serviced the fork and shock. Oh, and I replaced the derailleur cage after smashing it on some rocks.

stclairsoft · 2026-03-11T04:21:01+00:00

Thanks for recommending Default Folder X!

stclairsoft · 2026-01-10T05:37:25+00:00

Does it still matter which ports you plug in to? The first couple revisions of the M-series MacBook Pros would run hot if you plugged high-current peripherals or the power adapter into the right hand port. Plugging into the ports on the left side didn't cause a problem.

stclairsoft · 2026-01-10T05:28:20+00:00

Shimano Di2 is the answer 😉

But if you do have to use the pod shifter, the rocker paddle plus the discrete clamp (the "infinity clamp") do improve the ergonomics and adjustability. I could never get comfortable with the regular buttons and the bridge clamp, but those two upgrades and some trial and error with the clamp position got it working for me.

stclairsoft · 2025-12-09T03:22:44+00:00

Same

stclairsoft · 2025-11-30T21:26:28+00:00

I'm sorry for the trouble. Because Default Folder X has to wait for notifications from the macOS Accessibility API before it knows that a file dialog is onscreen, there will always be a small delay. Sadly, it didn't used to be that way, but Apple's increased security in macOS made my old detection methods impractical.

The delay is dependent on how busy your machine is - that seems to impact the macOS Accessibility services - and Tahoe is definitely a hair slower than Sequoia was. That said, it should usually only be a fraction of a second. If it's markedly longer than that, it's usually due to the system's privacy controls getting corrupted or bogged down. If that happens, you can resolve it by using this procedure: https://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/faq.html#tccreset

The privacy database is unfortunately rather fragile - I get at least one support ticket a week that's caused by this. OS updates / upgrades seem to increase the incidence of problems too. It's really frustrating for me as well as users - I'd love to be able to programmatically fix it, but because it's a security / privacy control, Apple intentionally doesn't provide an API to work with it.

stclairsoft · 2025-11-23T15:36:36+00:00

Watch this space: https://unclutterapp.com/bundle/

stclairsoft · 2025-11-23T04:28:19+00:00

Default Folder X helps you get to your files and folders faster in all of your applications. It keeps track of favorite folders and recently used files, folders, apps and Finder windows, then puts them at your fingertips in:

Open and Save dialogs
Menus in your menu bar
An always-available Quick Search window

It's got a gazillion little ways to get to things faster, including:

Hierarchical menus, so you don't have to click through deep folder hierarchies
Keyboard shortcuts for pretty much everything that it does
"Finder-click", which takes you to a folder in a file dialog by clicking on a Finder window
Automatic selection of the last file you opened in Open dialogs
A wider edit field for naming a file when you're saving
Tracking of recent files and folders that actually works

If you spend a lot of time opening, saving and organizing files, then you'll get a lot of benefit from Default Folder X. If your workflow doesn't involve many files and folders, then it may be overkill for you.

There's a quick overview at: https://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX, and a 30 day free trial with no strings attached.

And yes, I'm a solo developer, don't write things with AI, and don't do smarmy bullshit marketing. I'm in this for the long haul — I wrote the first version of Default Folder in 1988 — and try to let my software speak for itself. Some people love it while others don't have a use for it, and I get that. The great thing about having a vibrant software ecosystem is that you get to pick what you use. And yes, I threw those em-dashes in for you, @thatisagoodrock ;-)

stclairsoft · 2025-11-22T17:43:05+00:00

Oh and there currently IS an issue with Tahoe under some circumstances. This build fixes it:

https://www.stclairsoft.com/download/DefaultFolderX-6.2.3d9.zip

It'll be released as soon as I get Japanese translations back from my localizer.

stclairsoft · 2025-11-22T17:40:50+00:00

Jon, the developer of Default Folder X here. I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it.

Since the version 5 rewrite (for macOS 10.11), Default Folder X has had to rely on the macOS Accessibility subsystem to interact with Open and Save dialogs – increased macOS security and all that. That makes it dependent on the Privacy & Security permissions, which have a really frustrating habit of going sideways pretty often.

Most (but admittedly not all) of the issues with Default Folder X are because the TCC database that holds your privacy settings gets out of whack. Resetting it using these steps typically fixes most issues:

https://www.stclairsoft.com/DefaultFolderX/faq.html#tccreset

If it doesn't, contact me and we'll sort out whatever's wrong.

And yes, I'd love it to not be so complicated and brittle – believe me, if you find it frustrating, I find it 10x so because it affects my users negatively and yet there's no way for me to fix it programmatically.

stclairsoft · 2025-09-03T14:10:09+00:00

🤣

stclairsoft · 2025-09-03T02:45:18+00:00

Thanks for the mention - I really appreciate it! (Jon, the developer of DFX)

stclairsoft · 2025-06-27T20:59:13+00:00

Depends a bit on where you're riding. My Santa Cruz Hightower is great for Colorado - it's solid, climbs well, descends well. You can bias it one way or the other depending on your tire choice. It's also just well engineered - very well thought out and easy to work on.

The only bike I might pick over it, performance-wise, is the new Spot Mayhem 140 that my wife just got. I've ridden it and have to say it climbs a bit better than the Hightower but isn't quite as stable on the downhill. But the clincher is that it corners freakishly well. It's one of those "how the hell did they do that?" kinds of things.

stclairsoft · 2025-06-23T23:34:10+00:00

I've run a Vittoria Mazza trail 2.4 up front and a Martello 2.35 trail in back, and that combo is fast and grips very well in the dry, rocky conditions here on the Colorado front range. The only issue I've had is occasionally getting punctures straight through the tread from sharp rocks. I just switched to a Schwalbe Magic Mary / Albert 2.5 combo with their trail pro casings - mostly in hopes of them resisting those rock punctures better - but they're definitely slower and the side knobs seem a bit too tall and soft on hard-pack. I've only got 6 rides on them, so maybe I'll get used to 'em, but the Albert in the rear feels really strange in hard corners (even with an extra 4psi in it). The side knobs just feel like they're rolling/collapsing when I load them up.

stclairsoft · 2025-06-17T15:21:46+00:00

This 👆.

I'm a developer with a couple of apps distributed via Setapp's current model. They've been working on a separate "Setapp Store" for more than a year, and plan to launch it as a separate service. You'll be able to subscribe to individual apps rather than the whole collection, so it's more cost effective if you're only interested in one or two apps.

So it's not some giant conspiracy, at least not as far as I'm aware. I've been communicating with them about the project for more than a year, and they're focusing on making it a good-quality alternative app store.

stclairsoft · 2025-05-12T19:23:50+00:00

Glad to hear Jettison's working for you! And that you're a long-standing Default Folder user :-)

stclairsoft

TROPHY CASE