Recent content by spokewrench

I've got one of those. I call it a brake caliper. I use it to see if my pads are getting thin. Some calipers are plastic, but I have the all steel kind. Many draw as much current off as on, so I remove the battery before putting it away. ;)

Thanks. I bought a couple of usb chargeable motion-detector headlamps in 2020. I decided they had too many light functions, so I bought a simpler one. After 5 years, I decided that 3 AA cells were a hassle, so I bought a couple like the ones I bought in 2020. I'd forgotten all about the motion...

I don't know if you meant my system, but here are 6 bags of ties and 2 cloths hanging on a pipe. Here's a velcro strap making a cardboard box into a tool case. I also use them on tool boxes so I can see at a glance that I can pick it up without having it open and scatter bits. These straps can...

I have ties rated at 120 pounds. I know it may take weeks for steering to stretch the housing of a rear brake cable enough to make the brake feel mushy, and lashing the brake on overnight will recompress the housing. You must be dying to know the purpose of those ex-axes. Oak sills, 12x12" and...

I'd rather store them ON a piece of 1" pipe. As it is, I pick up open plastic bags, looking for the size I want. Some ties may fall out, making the process slower. A year ago, I bought 24 of these clips. They are so useful that I immediately bought 24 more. In addition to securing things to...

78 years old and 255. I hated the 20 x 3.3 tires on my first e-bike, largely because they seemed to have a lot of drag. However, it's stretches of rough pavement that really slow me down. When I tested them against 27 x 2 tires coasting down a hill on rough pavement, the fatter tires were...

Grandfather had a straight razor and a strop. He didn't use the tools in the photo to shave his arms. Here's another hint. My uncle also had a straight razor and a strop, but he never had mules. About the time Grandfather retired, I saw one of my uncle's Poppin Johnnies set up in a way that...

These belonged to my grandfather, born in 1889. He grew up at the house and turbine-powered mill his grandfather had built in 1856 on 12x12" oak sills 30 feet long. Thinking they were axes, I used JB Weld to tighten one head, smoothed the handles, and improved the edges. Then I realized they...

It has a torque sensor, a cadence sensor, and a thumb throttle. I don't like thumb throttles. They aren't controllable enough. I know what you mean about slowing down. At the end of my street, instead of pulling out onto the highway with a blind curve close on my left, I turn right through a...

Is this a bike tool? I found it on the street. I seem to recall seeing one before.

Why vary your speed? I regulate motor torque well with a throttle to maintain speed on hills and into winds, allowing me to pedal at a constant cadence on a one-speed.

I've had two single-speed e-bikes, and they worked fine. I switched off PAS and relied on a half twist throttle. You could say I used the throttle like a gear shift. On a push bike, you shift down on a hill to get more torque. On an e-bike, if I couldn't pedal hard enough to maintain speed on a...

What is optimum body capacity? Is it maximum watts? If Olympic athletes could produce maximum watts with their heads down at butt level, that's how they would run. Setting a bike up for a posture like a runner requires keeping air drag reasonable by going slowly enough that the relative wind...

I wasn't born yesterday. The photo says March 4. About 7 PM on a Thursday in April, 1965, I was pedaling up a 10% grade 1,000 feet long on a 3-speed. Most riders got off and pushed. Some could do it in low. This time, I got impatient, shifted to high, stood, pulled up hard on the bars, and...

I rode one used BMW motorcycle 50,000 miles, including a 16,000 mile tour. I rode another used one 100,000 miles, including 8,000 miles in a two-week vacation. For all that riding, I made important modifications. In cities all over North America, I'd put a dime in the meter and walk away...