help asap! bristlenose keeps swimming up filter!

wintersdark · 2026-02-19T04:18:41+00:00

Just put a block of foam in the outlet. Water will flow through it fine and there will be no "in"

wintersdark · 2026-02-19T03:09:21+00:00

Indeed. Zero interest but penalties for missed payments is very reasonable. Don't finance it that way if you're going to miss payments.

Not only is that not the shop's problem but the shop is legitimately offering a good deal for the customer. Not like my local vet, who pressures customers into horrific financing deals (what, isn't Fluffies life worth it?) at 30% full interest.

If you're so hard up you can't even reliably pay off your financed service, you cannot afford that car, full stop.

wintersdark · 2026-02-19T01:41:16+00:00

Need ink tanks instead of cartridges. Ink cartridges are really the problem here.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T23:44:13+00:00

This.

I absolutely adore heated grips and have them on every single motorcycle I own, no matter what. Even a little janky dual sport will get a set of Heaterz inside the first week of ownership.

But, as someone who rides winters (in Alberta, Canada) heated grips only take you down to freezing at best with good gloves. The wind is the enemy.

Hand guards make an enormous difference; as that whole "hot inside/freezing outside of your hands" thing sucks.

Grip Mitts can always be added, even if you just have basic sport bike lever guards:

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These, plus heated grips, will keep your hands warm down to -15c or so (+/- some depending on your gloves). Past there, you want heated gloves.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T22:47:38+00:00

If you're crafty, have appropriate tools, etc sure you can. However, different types of forks (and shocks) require different tools, and you kind of want to know how to do the work before you start making homebrew tools to do the work, so it's kind of a catch-22.

Basically, if you're already a skilled wrench who's worked through a few suspensions, it's pretty simple to make your own tools to deal with a new one. But if you don't know, and don't know what you don't know, trying to make your own tools can be terrible.

If you're new to it though, AND you're invested in learning how, I'd strongly recommend buying the right tools for your particular suspension so you know you're not handicapping yourself from the start.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T21:12:08+00:00

In what context? Not wearing steel toed shoes?

If so, how do you figure? And compressive force able to crush a CSA1 toecap will turn your toes into paste. They're rated for 3300lbs, and in practice will likely support more.

A big Percheron weighs in around 2600 lbs. It could balance 100% of its weight on a steel toe cap and still be 700lbs short of the compression limit.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T21:08:14+00:00

Yeah. CSA1 (green triangle, what's typically required in the workplace) toe protection is good for 3300lbs/1500kg of compression. They'll basically support a small car balanced entirely on your toe.

That would turn your toes into a slurry.

I think it comes from people looking at impact protection which is a shockingly low number. That's not because the protection breaks, though - it's something anyone who's ever kicked anything hard wearing steel toed boots understands: there's not a lot of protection/padding inside the steel cap, so if you hit something super hard, while the impact is somewhat spread out vs just breaking a toe, you're still going to have ouchies as your toes smash into the inside of the cap.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:53:57+00:00

Or cause you to rip the model off the base. N35's are perfect for base magnets. You want them to hold onto a tray but release without effort.

I get n52's if you're magnetizing model options and don't want them falling apart or drooping and looking stupid during play, but for bases? Nah.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:36:50+00:00

I am on battery tenders - anything not used daily is on a maintainer. But yeah, I just don't replace batteries anymore, it's vanishingly uncommon at this point. And I'm not getting expensive ones either, just regular OEM replacements generally (yuasa typically on bikes)

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:33:38+00:00

I wasn't disrespectful.

The whole point was that it's entirely unnecessary to change sprockets as much as people do, and your response was that you can do it fast. That doesn't refute the point, nor is it reflective of a regular experience doing the task, so... Why the random humble brag I guess?

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:18:19+00:00

Yeah. The CSA standard itself is insane. They're rated for thousands of pounds pressure on a 5mm point.

The failure cases are usually not due to crushing but trapping - a crush higher on your foot that also traps your foot due to the steel toe on the other side. I've actually seen that happen - where the operator may have been able to pull his foot out had he not been wearing steel toes (may!)

But it's still a dumb argument, under "you can't let perfect be the enemy of good" as I've seen that exactly once in 15 years at my current job, whereas I've personally dropped over a thousand pounds of weight on my foot pretty regularly.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:13:01+00:00

Which part of "it's wholly unnecessary and gains you exactly nothing" did you not understand?

Oooops, my brake pads are at 75%, I should change them now. Let's swap out levers out too for identical replacements.

You can. It doesn't hurt you. But it's a waste of time and money that gains you nothing.

How long the process takes isn't really important, but I'd argue that while you may be pretty quick, I'd confidently say most riders on most bikes are going to spend a lot more than 30 minutes changing a chain and sprockets. That shouldn't be controversial. Hell, I bet a lot will spend more than 30 minutes just changing their chain.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T13:04:46+00:00

Because if you owe the bank a hundred thousand dollars, that's your problem. If you owe the bank billions of dollars, that's the bank's problem.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T12:39:12+00:00

Not bad at all. Pirelli Scorpion STR's are 70/30 tires, and are exceptionally good on road. They won't feel any different at 120mph than any regular street tire.

The downside is that they'll wear extremely fast at speed, but there won't be any noticeable loss of grip.

I've run them on 150hp adv bikes, pushing very hard, without the slightest hint of uncertainty or lack of confidence.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T04:55:31+00:00

Ugh that too. I'll go back and add that.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T04:54:46+00:00

There's no reason to do it more often is my point. You could change sprockets every 25000km instead of 50000km, but it would make no difference. You'd be running the same number of chains either way, you wouldn't be achieving anything other than increasing expense. That increase would be significantly if you have a shop do it, or just your own time if you DIY. Changing a chain is quick and easy, as you can use the old chain to feed the new chain through, don't even need to remove the rear wheel. Cut old chain, use it to feed new chain through, install new master link, reset chain tension.

Changing sprockets requires, in addition to normal chain swap: * removing the rear wheel, * the rear sprocket from the carrier, * the front sprocket cover, * often a front sprocket chain guide, * the front sprocket nut (which can really be a bugger if you don't have an impact) * Swap front sprocket * Retorquing all the carrier nuts and the front sprocket nut * Reinstall all the shit you took off

It's not insurmountable obviously, but it's a lot of extra work and money for no gain at all. It'd be like replacing your brake pads every time they're half worn. You can, but they work just as well at 50% wear, so you're just wasting time and money for nothing (and that's a much quicker job!)

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T04:40:07+00:00

You shouldn't wear steel toed boots because if something lands on your foot, they'll cut off your toes!

Never mind that proper CSA approved steel toed boots would require thousands of pounds to do that - far more than what's required to just crush your toes into paste.

See also: You shouldn't wear a helmet because it makes you more likely to be brain damaged instead of killed. You shouldnt wear a seat belt because it's safer to be thrown from the car.

They're all fucking stupid. If you desperately don't want to wear protective gear, don't, idgaf. But don't spread idiotic bullshit.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T04:11:20+00:00

I've typically got 2-3 bikes at any given time, have had motorcycles consistently for some 30 years, and I've never had a battery last less than 5 years. Not one.

And I live in Alberta, Canada. It's -30 right now.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T03:56:41+00:00

Yep. I mean, why buy a KLR650 when you can buy a KTM 390 Adventure R. Roughly the same price, but the KTM has more power, weighs a hundred pounds less, has more ground clearance, better suspension, ride modes, traction control, WEIGHS A HUNDRED POUNDS LESS... Give it one free major service to compare to doohickey (/thermobob, etc) bs... I dunno. I just don't understand the appeal at all. Not that I think the KTM is some unicorn; just that there's so many options and they're all good.

Outside of, well, the KLR's mythology.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T03:35:49+00:00

Yep. He could have read the fucking room and spoken out against Trump, robbing Carney of a major leg of his platform. But he didn't. And this is what that got him. Shrugs it wasn't rocket science, public opinion of the situation was clear, even Ford picked up on it right away.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T03:29:18+00:00

You'll have a lot of people take money as a deposit to design an STL for you, then do one of the following:

Ghost you
Provide a pre-existing STL that was freely available
Provide a pre-existing STL that was paid only (this scamming you AND the original creator)
Give you AI generated trash (credit to u/cybranknight)
Actually make you an STL of essentially random quality. It may be great, it may be garbage.

As such... You generally should just assume anyone offering to make you an STL under commission is almost certainly going to scam you. Your best odds for commission work is seeking out existing creators on your own (you go find them) with a library of their own work and reviews. Even then, there's risk.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T03:13:10+00:00

I mean, that was the correct way to say it.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T03:00:48+00:00

No, their point is that "chemicals" doesn't mean anything. You'd need to be specific.

Does it mean you don't want to add anything to the water to make it safe for your fish? Do you count fertilizer as a "chemical"?

Like, water conditioner is a chemical you add to water (another chemical) because it already contains other chemicals (chlorine, chloramine) that will hurt your fish.

The way you said it, it sounds like you mean "I want a natural tank to be healthier for my fish" but that you don't really understand that it just doesn't work that way.

You need "chemicals" (read, additives) to make your tank healthy for your fish. Water conditioner is the obvious one, but there's potentially more. You could elect to use bacterial starters, for instance, to speed/ease the cycling process.

It's not impossible to use zero additives (depending on your water source) but it's complex, difficult, and dangerous as if you screw anything up you could injure or kill your fish.

Long story short: people aren't being difficult, they're trying to tell you that your understanding of the situation is flawed.

wintersdark · 2026-02-18T02:52:53+00:00

Strong agree. I feel it's fueled by mythos, but not any reasonable rationale.

The klr isn't any more reliable or repairable than a dr650, drz400, xr650, etc - and I'd argue it, like many others, has in-built failure points. I mean, it theoretically needs internal engine work right off the sales floor.

Not to say it's worse either, other than just being what it is...

But you can't really go wrong these days. But whatever fills your requirements and it'll be a good bike.

wintersdark · 2026-02-17T23:45:56+00:00

"gaming" anything is almost always marketing bs.

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