I used to weigh over 300lbs in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Wheelsmith in Palo Alto built wheels up for my Miata 1000LT that never went out of true. I used to build wheels and some knowledge of the physics of this, and I believe that if you get well tensioned spokes you're distributing the forces over more spokes more evenly. In High School I build wheels for tubular rims that were light and tough via that.

Just give the shop a call and we will order those tires in kevlar. We should at least have the steel bead version of the Schwalbe and Panaracer in the shop if you just want to test the sizing. I'm nut sure about the pricing, I'm not at work right now and I will be out of town until Thursday. Alex and Moose can help you out though.

Came across this article on CyclingNews.com where a lab has tested how rolling resistance is impacted by variables such as:

Tire width
Wheel diameter
Thread count
Thread pattern

The tests deliver some surprising conclusions that go contrary to conventional wisdom.

Just got my Lumotec Headlamp to go with my Alfine dynamo hub.

Cable is too short. What precautions do I need to take when I extend it?

Also, any suggestions on connecting it to the Alfine would be appreciated.

As long as you use appropiate wire and solder the cables together with shrink wrap over the joint you'll be fine.

Got the Lumotec connected to the Alfine with a moles connector for the Biologic accessory charging system. Very impressive headlamp.

That light (Lumotec) is worth it. Really lights up the road. Doesn't flicker until I get to <4mph, and even then ,,,, it's GREAT!

Depending on what shifters you have I probably have one of those D rings for you.

To prevent this happening check for tightness once in a while or add very very very light loctite to the threads. Maybe even just spoke prep to the threads. You can just swing by and use a drop of it if you like. That would be a good time for you to see if we have a D-ring for you too. We have probably 100 or more down tube shifters in a drawer.

The Schmidt is the best but the most expensive too. It is bright, reliable, low rolling resistance and has the least amount of vibration. The Lumotec is pretty good too and quite a bit cheaper. I carry all the different styles out there. For commuting and such the Lumotec is fine but for Brevet's and racing where you need the best and absolutely most reliable Schmidt is the way to go.

Your definitive source for information is Peter White


I just bought myself a Schmidt setup but have not finished the bike it's going on yet. Soon I hope to be commuting on it.

I'll probably use the Alfine setup for my wifes bike when I start building it back up. I get it back from paint this week.

I really like my Planet Bike rear Blinky. Do they make a version I can connect to the Dynamo?

I'm also thinking of re-wiring my GINORMOUS rear tailight to the Dynamo as well. It's a 18 LED affair that runs on 4 AA batteries.

billd:When rewiring the tail light, you'll want to have some sort of reserve power to keep it on while stopped at stop lights. For that monster, that might take a lot of reserve.

In flash mode, the batteries last months. The Lumotec Sensor has power-out for the rear light, and it controls the rear light as well.

Maybe I can put in a capacitor into the lamp as well...

Sigurd:My downtube shifter bolts come loose due do vibrations from riding, which cause the derailers to slip down to their default sprocket/chainwheel and shifters to become nonoperable. How do I prevent such slippage?

This problem hasn't gone away after having applied spoke prep as per advice: After having operated the D/T shift levers a few times, the shifter bolts come loose and the derailer drops onto default (and takes the chain with it, of course) chainring/sprocket.

What would be the next step up in order to lock down those bolts? I don't mind if the fix is fairly permanent - it sure beats having the bolt come loose all the time.

Thanks.

William.:...a bit of plumber's tape on the bolt?

That's a great thought -- will try that!

The problem is for this particular bolt you can't run anything too strong. Whatever you use needs to be really light.

I have not seen this bike yet myself but it makes me wonder if a washer is missing somewhere. if there's a piece missing every time you pull back on the lever it will loosen a hair. After several pulls on it it will loosen up enough to have the derailleur fall with the pull of the spring. Is it just with one side and if so are the guts the same?

Something is making terrible screeching noises in my drivetrain. Basically, constant twittering. I just oiled the chain (I thought I may have done it too lightly so I topped added a little more oil and wiped it down again). It happens only during pedaling and back pedaling so it has to involve the chain. I tried spinning the BB when I had the chain off & it wasn't noisy. I tried only using one pedal at a time and the noise continued. Does that mean it has to be the jockey wheels?

Caught it, looking at the jockey wheels. I noticed that, when I took my to lube it the first time, I put it back on wrong & had it on the wrong side of one of those steel tabs on the cage, so it did a lot of rubbing. Hopefully I didn't wear anything out too much in the 70 miles or so I had the chain on like that. I had to relube the chain again because I applied the lube thicker after the first ride I heard it squeaking like that, assuming it was underlubricated. That just got it really dirty today.

William.:Tires: my new rim requires a minimum of a 25. So, I'm thinking of going with what's been good: Conti Ultra Gators.. anyone have others they love?

Schwalbe Marathon Supreme---love em.

Love my Marathon Plus tires. Didn't seem to slow me down on Saturday's Pub Crawl either.

We have setup bikes with it. It's pretty cool setup. It's reliable enough but you you need to use brakes on both wheels being extremely careful to never skid the back wheel as this will launch you over the handlebars. You don't want to you your legs to back pedal too hard or skid, it's not designed for that. Use it as it's meant to be used and it's a pretty awesome thing. I'm going to build up a bike for myself with that hub soon. Here's one we built up for Chris Kostman recently.

http://www.velocult.com/blog/post/raleigh_competition_rivendell_roadeo

yoshi:What are my options for a set of hoods for these shimano 600 "arabesque" era brake levers?

Cane creek makes some nice hoods in a few different colors. I used the black and the brown. The black seemed to hold up better.

The Cane Creek ones are pretty standard for the cable-out-the-top style levers. I've put them on 600's and Suntours. They might not fit like a glove, but it's still better than the aluminum.

Nobody reproduces these with the proper "Superbe" (or whatever) logo, then? That would be insanely great.

First impressions on the Panaracer Pasela Tourguard 700x35's:

The bead is amazingly tight. I thought racing tires I'd tried were tough. These are really tough to get on. I pinched a tube for the first time in maybe 10 years or more. I'm not sure. I don't remember the last time I pinched a tube when mounting a tire. I had to be a lot more strong arm with the levers than I'm used to.

After I got them on the wheel and pumped up, they seemed narrower than I expected them to be, but this was apparently an optical illusion. They really are a full centimeter wider than my other tires.

I put them on the bike and I couldn't get the fenders adjusted with enough clearance. They were rubbing up by the brake, where I can't make more clearance. I removed the fenders. I really chose the wrong fenders. I liked the way that they looked but they're too narrow for these tires.

I have front facing rear dropouts. I was barely able to get the wheel in while inflated due to this. The brakes had plenty of room when disengaged.

These still have a recommended pressure of 90psi, so they're not that soft. Sure, they're softer than that 115-125psi tires that I'm used to, but you still feel the cracks in the road pretty good.

I can skid the rear wheel a lot more easily than with the 700x25 slicks I'm used to. This is the opposite of what I expected. I'm thinking it may be due to the patterned tread. So far I've felt a little less confident in cornering.

They are better than the 700x25's on a dirt road, but still not great.

Only commuted one day so far. The time was roughly inline with a normal commute. It was a little slower than normal on the way home.

When you put tires that are 1cm wider on your bike, you need to remember that the wheel diameter is around 2cm larger, and you need to adjust your bike computer accordingly. Each rotation of the wheel is worth almost 2.5 inches more travel than before. Hopefully this occurs to you before you ride 10 miles at the wrong setting. :face-plain: