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The Wera tools are spendy but of extremely high quality. The silca ratchet tool is less expensive and not bad for a lot of bicycle applications between 2-8 n-m, which is most of the bolts you deal with most of the time. But not those pesky ones under 1 n-m, which you generally just make barely...

The case where you need to be really fearful with respect to torque are for small bolts on carbon-fiber frames and parts. You need to be pretty cautious with aluminum as well, though not as paranoid as with carbon fiber. With steel you don't need to worry very much. One more advantage of...

I fail to understand how so many people can spend upwards of $2000 on a bicycle and not be willing to spend $150 for a decent bike fit. Also no saddle, padded shorts, or suspension seat post is going to help you at all if the bike is already wildly out of adjustment. And the depressing fact is...

We should all remember that people make pretty silly facial expressions when they are exerting themselves. And we shouldn't read any emotions into those expressions.

Pet peeve: Helmets are a tool. You can use reasonable judgement on whether that tool is appropriate for the conditions you are riding in. If you are riding at slow speeds and/or are not interacting with motor vehicle traffic it is often reasonable to skip the helmet. So I will often not wear...

With regards to foul weather and cold temperatures. I've found there is quite a bit of overlap between cool-weather cycling clothes and clothing for cross-country skiing. At the same time, kit that keeps me warm and toasty skate skiing at -10C just barely keeps me warm enough at 0C on a bike...

Even if you aren't competitive (and I'm certainly not) those apps can be useful. Tracking your activity over time and setting goals for yourself is a great idea even if you don't care how fast or slow others are compared to you.

I don't think the app was running in a car, because even driving 1000km requires too much effort. I suspect they hacked a .GPX file somehow. Yes, stupidity is the simplest explanation. But sometimes people have to work to be as stupid as they appear to be. Back in my younger days I was part...

This.

Maybe I am very naive. I just don't get what someone thinks they are accomplishing by cheating on a fitness app. Apparently on Strava there is a whole subculture built around detecting cheaters, and there are a lot of them. What I do not understand is what anyone think they were accomplishing...

No, because typically much of where I ride looks like this (for about four months of the year) and cross-country skiing is a better way to get around:

Headwinds! https://www.relive.cc/view/veqz18GZj76

I'd say 80 percent of the e-bikers I see are just using the throttle or ghost pedaling.

Those are both good tires, but for a 25kg bike like the Ultimate I'd argue they aren't very stout. You can get the Schwalbe Hurricane in the same tire size and a lot of folks, myself included, find it to be a fine e-bike tire.

Bandon, OR to Gold Beach, OR: https://www.relive.cc/web/view/v8qV3LGyy3v Nehalem Bay State Park, OR to Pacific City, OR: https://www.relive.cc/web/view/vrqo54L2oyO

I first off have a story that you can't possibly imagine: Some years back during an ugly rainy evening in North Seattle, I saw a lady and a young girl (probably about 8 to 10) with a sign at the entrance of a Home Depot. I saw them and waved and then went to the Burger King a bit past them...

My opinion has been that with the common availability of suspension seat posts and suspension stems the remaining justification for suspension forks and full suspension really is only for riding janky terrain. If most or nearly all of your riding is on roads, even atrocious unpaved roads, you...

I'd love to see teardowns of popular e-bikes pointing out some of the shortcuts manufacturers are taking. I'd also love to see a series where they show how a DIYer can fix some of those shortcuts. But you often can't really fix a cheesy lame bottom bracket.

I agree a lot of the high-end brands (e.g. R&M and Stromer) cut corners for no good reason. Some acoustic bike brands (Surly) also cut corners, again for no clear reason. There is really no excuse at all about inadequate brakes and lame wheel builds. And on lame wheel builds, there is...

I'm an old fart and I still much prefer sleeping in the dirt. That's not me, that's Fred Beckey. Probably the greatest mountaineer that ever lived.