Paul Southworth

@n8dmt @ai6yr I agree it does not look really serious. The thing I want to understand when I see a hole like that is whether it is part of a larger area of internal rust, in which case the tube may be worse off than the little hole would indicate. Sometimes it's a sign of a frame headed to the […]

GitHub - netbrain/zwift: Easily zwift on linux Easily zwift on linux. Contribute to netbrain/zwift development by creating an account on GitHub.

@Tribear I can't remember if we've discussed it before, but this is a convenient method people use to run Zwift on linux: https://github.com/netbrain/zwift

Downdetector screenshot showing Strava outage

@jfparis AWS means everybody's doing business continuity testing today 😊

@jfparis #Strava outage means bikes don't work

@ai6yr Next photo is the bike in 10 pieces and a guy laughing with a sawzall in one hand and a beer in the other

@dx I can recall several trips to Lost Creek Dam in a school bus! Loved it.

@mjr @ai6yr Actually, it looks like adjustable reamers are available on Amazon for not crazy prices. You might need two sizes to work through it though. I got mine 25 years ago when that wasn't available.

@mjr @ai6yr I have not tried any of those things. The one other method I have used is an adjustable reamer since the aluminum material is soft. In this particular bike you would probably need to grind a somewhat round opening in the mangled part. Mine is made by Chadwick & Trefethen, but they […]

@ai6yr Depends on how much the aluminum oxide has expanded in there, how much seat post is down in the bike, how well you can trap the ammonia solution in it vs need to keep reapplying it. Definitely a "no guarantees" type of fix, but that's the stuff that dissolves it.

@ai6yr Our approach to this at BikeX was to soak it in ammonia, sometimes for weeks. Take out the BB, turn the bike upside down, plug the hole against leaks, pour ammonia into it.

I have also used a reciprocating saw to cut some slots into the seat post and break out a piece by jamming […]

Yesterday at the Burlington #Vermont food shelf I gave away 32 pairs of used reading glasses. I wasn't sure if there would be much interest but they were pretty popular. All gone in about 2.5 hours. We set up a display by the check-in desk and people were constantly trying them on.

Passwords are a scourge foisted on elderly tech-users. :(

I just got back from a house call with a fellow who can’t remember his passwords for his email. None of his backups work. His little book of passwords, useless.

There is no support to call for […]

[Original post on mstdn.chrisalemany.ca]

@chris Locked out / lost password is one of the most common problems I deal with at the library where most of my tech help patrons are elderly. Email and Facebook are at the top of the list with iCloud not far behind. Sometimes they never provided a phone number to help with recovery, or don't […]

@mack505 Phones tend to be the most desired hardware. Even carrier-locked phones that may only be used on WiFi in a homeless shelter or by a teen asylum seeker. It may have a short lifespan in the hands of someone living outdoors but that's better than disposal IMO. I gave a phone to a guy […]

@mack505 I've been directing hardware like that, and junky old phones, to an agency that serves homeless and formerly homeless people, and another that provides support to asylum seekers. Standards are low - if it works, it gets used

@14mission The manager of the bike program at LIP, Andrew Yee, was previously the manager of BikeX. Great guy, you should meet him. I fixed a lot of bikes and did QA at BikeX before I moved away. They have a huge workshop in a warehouse with a lot of parts and many volunteers. I haven't seen the […]

@14mission Those look like the kind of bikes that would be accepted by liveinpeace.org or bikex.org, both near you

The Trek bike I repaired belonged to a young woman whose mom was there as well. I spent some time explaining what I was seeing on the bike and what to do about it. But the cool thing was afterwards she went and sat with other fixers for hours getting involved in other repairs. Her mom said she […]

Low quality bicycle in a repair stand

At the #RepairCafe in Charlotte #Vermont today. I was there for the bikes but as usual there weren't that many to work on. I made this junk bike roll again and fixed up a Trek Navigator that needed rear hub bearing service, wheel truing, and brake adjustment. I […]

[Original post on social.coop]

@dx I think of expensive cars, and even certain not so expensive cars, as desired by people who feel a need to pin their personal identity to a product because they can’t think of a better way. Nearly every type of product can be used that way. I met a young man who said he was a “BMW guy”. I […]

@ai6yr If you want to overhaul one of those bottom brackets, you might find this useful... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meErJdr_fUI

@philipncohen.com Ha as soon as I clicked on it I was already thinking "cue David Brooks" and I was not disappointed 😂

@moira @trouble That is an extremely common freewheel design, easily identifiable without seeing the splines in the freewheel body. The larger diameter splines are a lockring holding the cogs on, but even if you only see that, it's still quite apparent what it is. There are millions upon […]

@moira The pin won't slow you down at all. It will slide right off that once you remove the crank and the lockring holding the chainring on.

If you have access to Simichrome polish that will take the rust right off. It's not available everywhere due to nasty chemicals, but it does work very well.

@moira @trouble Cone wrenches will be required to tighten the cone against the locknut and get it really tight so it doesn't come loose later. They are very thin metric open-ended wrenches. 13/14/15/16mm are the most common sizes. Proper adjustment has to be done with the freewheel removed […]

@moira The chainring is not riveted to the crank arm. What you are seeing is a pin on the crank arm that prevents the chainring from rotating independently from the crank arm. The chainring can be replaced but unless it's unusable I would just ride it.

A shot from Park Tools's guide to freewheel removal tools showing tool selection and a close-up of a 23mm indicator for about the same part as what I'm looking at here

A Park Tools frame showing that this wants an FR-1.3 freewheel removal tool.

THIS.

THIS is what it needs.

Hopefully.

#BikeTooter #BikeRepair #OldSchwinn #ParkTool #FR-1.3

@moira Yes this uses a standard Shimano Uniglide freewheel tool. It's the most common type. Individual cog replacement is long out of style. Years ago shops would have cog boards with various size replacements, but it all became much more complicated when cogs with shifting ramps were introduced […]

@ai6yr Hairspray or rubbing alcohol work great but I'll admit to occasionally using spit 😉

(But not on your bike, I would not spit on your bike my friend)