Accessories that didn’t work out?

m@Robertson said:
Dang. I guess I got lucky. I'm apparently the only one who just plugged it in and it worked with minimal adjustment to its preload one time.

I have seen pictures of it worn to being paper-thin. I just pulled a wheel apart that had Tannus in for 1000 miles and it was still pretty thick. I stopped using Tuffy. Its not what it once was in decades past. Mine achieved a 0% success rate on nails and I abandoned it for sealant. FlatOut is the best. Kyle @ Bolton just did a side by side review and he shows *exactly* what Tuffy's limit is, and how head/shoulders better FlatOut is, to his surprise. I also use it for a tubeless sealant and it is way better than Stans or Orange Seal.



oh no... when you are in with 'clips and straps' and you use the cleats of the day... you are in... period. To get out you reach down to your foot and pinch the lever/buckle to loosen the strap so you can lift the cleat up and off the pedal edge its locked to. I do not miss cleats that I had to actually nail into the soles of my shoe one bit. Come to think of it, there were wooden soled shoes back then too. For stiffness. Blech.

FAILS

- Titanium crankarm bolts. One snapped which was the end of that bottom bracket. Whyyy did I think titanium would be a good thing down there? Stupid.

- A GoPro Hero5 Session. Garbage. Overheated just sitting without doing anything. Superheated when it was running. Would not connect to anything reliably. Returned it, thankfully.

- Tires. I am never satisfied. I have a stack of them with 80% tread in the garage. I've at least recognized I have a problem and am trying to go thru them and use them up.

- C/F handlebars. Only had to see one break once to know I don't need that to happen to me.

- C/F seatpost. That one did break on me. But thankfully it did so in the shop and not when I was doing a big drop or something similarly enema-like.

- Battery from a vendor I should have done more due diligence on. Turns out their batteries are made by UPP and white-labeled. The pack wore out really fast and based on how I charge and discharge it should still be perfect.

- I never should have used a seatpost rack to hold a battery. I picked a strong rack, but it was a constant PITA to keep adjusted and centered. Seatpost racks on FS bikes suck period.
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" Seatpost racks on FS bikes suck period. " Yeah if you have a dropper post you cannot even use it.
 
6zfshdb said:
+1 on the Tannus. No flats in almost 2000 miles. I agree though, they are not for everyone.
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If I had a road bike with skinny tires I would not likely bother installing Tannus and just go with a pair of Marathon Plus tires and then ride with more caution and of course always stay on the road. It is Blackberry season now however and my MTB tires are protected with Tannus, so I head fearlessly through the brambles and the bushes to get to those delectable little freebies. (-:
 
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ This is my new favorite accessory and the price is right...FREE! . Now my trips have a new focus and that is to seek the quietest spots which are likeliest to deliver my newest trophy....A capture of a song or call from a bird that I had not previously encountered.... with this Merlin Bird ID app. The only downside is that my rides are taking much longer ( 3.5 hours = about 5 now ) because I stop to listen so frequently.
 
Dallant said:
Ultimately, should I decide I have to use the bag, I‘ll figure something OTHER than electric tape to use. That stuff gets way too sticky/messy in the sun. I might try to wrap the bracket itself with something like thin handlebar tape or something.
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I like to use this style cable wraps, both for bundling cables together, and for abrasion protection. It comes in various sizes. You can uncoil it when you need to unbundle the cables.

DGZZI Spiral Cable Wrap 4mm 25m Black Spiral Wrap Cable Binding Tidy Leads for TV PC Home Cinema CCTV Wires
 
steve mercier said:
https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ This is my new favorite accessory and the price is right...FREE!
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Steve, this thread's about what didn't work. I'll have to do the griping. 😇

Following your positive comments on the Our Rides thread, I downloaded Merlin from the Apple App Store and have been using it on my iPhone for the last week. Four stars out of five. (It's good!)

What's not to like? It insists that I use my iPhone to take a photo or that I link to my Apple Photos account. The only way that I can use it to identify existing bird photos is to use my iPhone to photograph my computer (that's weird!):
  • my photo (taken 2005-05-16) on the left
  • Merlin's suggestion (more than sixteen years later) on the right.
Now, let's get back to negativity!

Merlin identifies Jackal Buzzard
 
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David Berry said:
Steve, this thread's about what didn't work. I'll have to do the griping. 😇

Following your positive comments on the Our Rides thread, I downloaded Merlin from the Apple App Store and have been using it on my iPhone for the last week. Four stars out of five. (It's good!)

What's not to like? It insists that I use my iPhone to take a photo or that I link to my Apple Photos account. The only way that I can use it to identify existing bird photos is to use my iPhone to photograph my computer (that's weird!):
  • my photo (taken 2005-05-16) on the left
  • Merlin's suggestion (more than sixteen years later) on the right.
Now, let's get back to negativity!

View attachment 95428
Click to expand...
David I only use the SOUND I.D. function. You see I ride in a great deal in forested areas where I can often only hear but not see the birds. When I hear a bird call that I do not recognize I use that " SOUND ID " function on the app to let it capture the bird call and ID the bird. It often does so within 30 seconds. Then it shows a pic of the bird and offers you matching audio files of calls and songs and if you click on "details" it shows several larger pics and offers a descriptive paragraph. I have a collection of about 45-50 now with some dozen listed as rare or uncommon. I find this function alone is very enjoyable and does not require my utmost patience. That is all I use it for so I am sorry but I do not know anything about the apps' ability in capturing and matching pics of birds . Good hunting. P.S. you sometimes may be able to attract the birds closer to you by playing the sound files out loud.
 
David Berry said:
Steve, this thread's about what didn't work. I'll have to do the griping. 😇

Following your positive comments on the Our Rides thread, I downloaded Merlin from the Apple App Store and have been using it on my iPhone for the last week. Four stars out of five. (It's good!)

What's not to like? It insists that I use my iPhone to take a photo or that I link to my Apple Photos account. The only way that I can use it to identify existing bird photos is to use my iPhone to photograph my computer (that's weird!):
  • my photo (taken 2005-05-16) on the left
  • Merlin's suggestion (more than sixteen years later) on the right.
Now, let's get back to negativity!
Click to expand...
Yes…let’s keep it on track!🤨…😉
 
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Unfortunately, my Brooks B-17 Imperial saddle didn't work out. Gave it a year. I was so disappointed. It's a thing of beauty.
Uncomfortable up front. If I could have cut the nose off, would have been perfect. My neighbor said, he'll give it a try.
The original Ergon SMC ends up being the most comfortable so far. Too bad.
Should be my biggest problem.
 
Dallant said:
Ultimately, should I decide I have to use the bag, I‘ll figure something OTHER than electric tape to use. That stuff gets way too sticky/messy in the sun. I might try to wrap the bracket itself with something like thin handlebar tape or something.
Click to expand...
I would use some heatshrink that comes with internal adhesive or just replace the line as you'll need to disconnect and bleed in either case
 
Alaskan said:
One of the things I failed to mention in my post above is that my trust in Tannus Armour was conclusively diminished when I had to fix my first flat with a tire that had it installed. It was not the fact that I had the flat. I was that the armour had become so compressed that it was only around 3 0r 4 mm thick through the tread part and it is just foam not an aramid or kevlar layer like Mr. Toughy. It was no wonder that I got another flat two months later as the level of real protection is questionable.

They recommend one deflate the tires between rides in order to lighten up the compression and let them recover closer to original thickness, but who wants to have to inflate their tires before every ride?

If the reason for using them is to defeat flat tires, then tubeless is a far more effective option and I presume that a true hardened barrier like Mr. Toughy would be as well.

If being able to ride home on a flat is the reason then they may indeed serve. However, if I can change out a tube in 15 minutes, I will likely pass you on the road on the way home while you are limping along on your flat with Tannus, unless the flat happens less than five miles from home.
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"I will likely pass you on the road on the way home while you are limping along on your flat with Tannus". Alaskan I reckon you will blow past me about once every 34.45 months. I calculate that is my flat frequency rate. I have averaged over 1,100 km per month traveled for the past 3+ years and had only one flat in that time between my two bikes which have a total of over 38,000 km. 38,000 divided by 1100 = 34.45 (-:
 
mschwett said:
i haven’t tried traditional “clips” of any kind, i’m guessing they don’t provide the kind of positive connection that makes being clipped in so satisfying. i’m actually starting to realize that one of my reasons for not always clipping in - it being hard to unclip - may be that there’s something slightly wrong with my right pedal or cleat, left one unclips much easier!
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Look at your pedal instructions. There may be a screw which makes clipping out easier or harder, depending which way you turn it. And check the bolts attaching the clips to your shoes. If they are loose, clipping out is harder. (Experience was my teacher here)
 
Atlgaga said:
Look at your pedal instructions. There may be a screw which makes clipping out easier or harder, depending which way you turn it. And check the bolts attaching the clips to your shoes. If they are loose, clipping out is harder. (Experience was my teacher here)
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i scrubbed the heck out of the cleat/springs (which are on the shoe side with speedplay) and lubed them, and wow, it’s so much easier now!
 
steve mercier said:
"I will likely pass you on the road on the way home while you are limping along on your flat with Tannus". Alaskan I reckon you will blow past me about once every 34.45 months. I calculate that is my flat frequency rate. I have averaged over 1,100 km per month traveled for the past 3+ years and had only one flat in that time between my two bikes which have a total of over 38,000 km. 38,000 divided by 1100 = 34.45 (-:
Click to expand...
How much of that riding time has been with Tannus Armour and how much without? Has the Tannus resulted in a sufficient reduction in flats to justify carrying it around all the time. For me it reduced my flat frequency from two flats the year prior to one flat during the year with Tannus.

As I said, 15 minutes to patch or replace a tube and get back on the road at full speed. I am not sure just how much faster my bike is with the reduced rotational weight of pulling the Tannus but, all added up, I am confident that it would far exceed that 15 minutes.

If one likes the ride feel that Tannus provides, that is entirely another matter.
 
As far as accessories that I never use., my surprise is the rear rack with extra taillight that I insisted on hasn't been used once since I mounted a triangle frame pack.
I do put my helmet on it when I stop, but could hang it from the handlebar. Probably should just remove the rack.
 
Alaskan said:
How much of that riding time has been with Tannus Armour and how much without? Has the Tannus resulted in a sufficient reduction in flats to justify carrying it around all the time. For me it reduced my flat frequency from two flats the year prior to one flat during the year with Tannus.

As I said, 15 minutes to patch or replace a tube and get back on the road at full speed. I am not sure just how much faster my bike is with the reduced rotational weight of pulling the Tannus but, all added up, I am confident that it would far exceed that 15 minutes.

If one likes the ride feel that Tannus provides, that is entirely another matter.
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And when you pass me in ( June 2024) 34 months I know you will stop to help me fix my flat and for that I thank you in advance amigo!
 
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