pws

@pws@social.coop

Former bicycle mechanic, retired tech worker, repairer of things. Tell me about your bike and I'll try to help you fix it.

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georgetakei, to random

I figure many owners feel this way.

pws,

@SallyStrange This is Musk's Full Self Axe Grinding feature. (And let's not forget the appalling racist abuse of Tesla factory workers, union busting, long hours, low pay, unsafe conditions, etc.)

pws, to accessibility

I got an email from a Fortune 500 company. Naturally images were suppressed in my mail client, so I saw their #AltText instead... ๐Ÿ˜†
#Accessibility

pws, to FiberArts

'Repair is the new cool'
#Mending #RepairCafe https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/oct/11/repair-is-the-new-cool-how-amsterdam-started-a-fashion-revolution

pws, to random

I went to a new #RepairCafe today, operated by Sustainable Charlotte. It's a great scene with lots of fixers, a big space, all sorts of home-cooked food, kids running around. Very busy, with a huge list of people waiting for knife sharpening. Too bad I don't do knife sharpening. ๐Ÿ˜€ I fixed two bicycles, one that needed brake work and a tire re-seated, and another that needed the shifters cleaned. Then no more bikes so I fixed two lamps. #Vermont

pws, to art

Free art print from Bread & Puppet
#art #vermont

pws, to random

Today's free tech support session at the South Burlington Library was busy. People love free #TechSupport. (1) patron needed to transfer data from old to new laptop, (2) patron wanted help getting started with an iPhone, (3) patron wanted to learn about organizing photos and music on mac/iPhone, (4) patron wanted info about online donation systems, (5) patron was locked out of Yahoo and Google email, (6) patron needed to transfer data from Android phone to PC. #Vermont #Libraries

pws, to random

Highlights from the #RepairCafe in Burlington #Vermont at @LabB

Fixed: bike with squealing brakes, 2 bad zippers, solar lights, head phone ear pads, broken walking stick, toaster oven

Not fixed: boot resoling, broken rings, carpet cleaner

I can't wait to find out if the waffle iron in progress when I left survived surgery

pws, to random

The Yates Family Orchard in Hinesburg #Vermont is open for early season apples. You pick. Currently mostly Honeycrisp and they are BIG. Other varieties emerging soon. The rainy summer was good for their early season crop, not so good for the late season varieties. Donuts made to order. We stopped by on a meandering gravel ride today. Will return prepared to haul apples. https://yatesfamilyorchard.com/

Picture of another flower bed in front of an old barn

pws, to cycling

Anyone thinking about equipment for running #Zwift should understand that the advice in this article is quite poor. If you want information about the trade offs of different hardware for running the game, reply here and I will help. #Cycling https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/best-computers-and-tablets-for-zwift/

pws, to cycling

Does your bicycle need a hug? I'm a retired bicycle mechanic ready to answer mechanical questions about most bicycles. I last worked in a bike shop in the 1990s and more recently I do charity work on bikes, so I am pretty good at coaching people through low cost repairs. I also know some things about indoor smart trainers. #RepairCafe #Cycling #BikeTooter #Zwift

pws,

@jnbhlr I also use a steel ruler to check if the steer tube is bent just above the fork crown. If it is I would usually replace the fork. Having one fork blade slightly longer than the other is also a fairly common manufacturing defect. If the difference is small enough I would file the inside of the dropout to correct it.

pws,

@jnbhlr I use the Park Tool FT-4 to check alignment and securely hold the fork. It only supports 1" steer tubes. As long as the damage is minor then it should be safe to align it. Whatever method you use, you'll need to check if one blade is ahead of the other, lateral alignment in relation to the steer tube, spacing between the dropouts, and dropout alignment. A gauge or fork building jig helps limit the amount of bending and re-bending you do. https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/fork-clamp-and-gauge-ft-4

pws,

@jnbhlr Here's an example of a crude gauge that might give you some ideas. Also if the steerer is bent at the crown you can usually see that the crown race is not perfectly flat in the headset. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx7BGBD0OdA

pws, to random

Wondering what will happen to B&J employees as a result of this... #Vermont https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/business/unilever-ben-jerrys-job-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.d00.KavV.xX23guQQnJOt&smid=url-share

pws, to random

Volunteering at the Hinesburg food shelf today. Low traffic due to it being the end of the month so we swept and scrubbed the sinks, wiped the carts and desks, bagged coffee and cat food, processed donations, and mounted a paper towel holder on the wall. We got so much surplus bread that we asked people to take as much as they could possibly eat or freeze. Extra bounty of eggs as well. #Vermont #FoodShelf #FoodInsecurity

ascentale, to random
@ascentale@sfba.social avatar

A question about riding in the dark from @ai6yr:

Q4. The road bike I am now riding around town (1985 Dave Scott Ironman) has no reflectors or lights, and though I don't current go anywhere when it's dark, I am wondering what kind of additions the experienced here would recommend to improve safety on that front (or how to make it usable in darker conditions?) I'm using the bicycle for running errands...

pws,

@ai6yr Looks a lot like the 1986 groupset

pws,

@ai6yr Is that a Centurion Le Mans? Very stylish.

pws,

@ai6yr Maybe 1987? That would have had the 1986 groupset as well. https://www.vintage-centurion.com/models/competition/ironman/87-89_expert.shtml

moira, (edited ) to cycling
@moira@mastodon.murkworks.net avatar

hey mastodonians!

should I put grease in these bearings? theyโ€™re not sealed. I have some pretty heavy silicone grease, is that good?

(Thereโ€™s a little rust, itโ€™s not bad, Iโ€™ll treat it.)

eta: I put in some silicone through the gaps and now I give the wheels a spin and they goes for like 30 seconds before I get bored and stop it by hand so that's pretty good I think. Thanks replyers!

#biketooter #maker

pws,

@moira They look like sealed bearings to me, just not rubber seals. Grease is always a good idea when you can get at the bearings. If not just ride them until they fail or you get tired of the friction, and install new bearings. The surface rust is irrelevant.

seachanger, to random
@seachanger@alaskan.social avatar

a month ago i went to a volunteer fair in my town and learned about a free community dinner and i've been cooking dishes for it every monday since. it's served outside where people live, not at a church, and i've really enjoyed incorporating it into my weekly routine. it's not that hard to cook an extra dish one night a week

pws,

@seachanger Which dishes are most successful for you and the diners?

moira, to cycling
@moira@mastodon.murkworks.net avatar

Hey s!

Is there magic to taking this pedal off? I need to so I can remove the shield and look at the front gear. My chain came off and I mayโ€™ve lost a tooth.

(also I donโ€™t think I have a hex driver that big but I might)

pws,

@moira I haven't worked on that crank before but based on a tiny amount of research I think it's an ISIS drive crank that does not have a self-extracting bolt, so you would need an 8mm allen key and a crank extractor that works with the ISIS standard. https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/crank-puller-for-splined-cranks-ccp-44

cdamian, to cycling
@cdamian@rls.social avatar

My Garmin decided mid ride that it's just too cold and shut down.
I guess it's the battery. It wasn't even below zero!
#cycling #Garmin

pws,

@cdamian The battery will drain faster as it gets colder. This is normal for lithium ion batteries.

Crell, to random
@Crell@phpc.social avatar

I have a series of DVD-Rs from my dad. He says he recorded movies to them several years ago. Now they won't play in anything but the DVD player where they were created.

Sure enough, stick it into my laptop, it says it's blank.

What are my options here to extract data from it and into a video file? (Either Mac or Linux tooling available, Linux preferred.)

#FediTechSupoort #TechSupport

pws,

@Crell I wonder if they were recorded without being finalized. That would mean they were left in a state where more data could be added, but finalizing them later is possible in that case. wodim -fix might do it on linux. It's been a while since I've messed with DVD burning so I'm not sure if you should expect to see data on it without doing that but maybe someone else here knows. Best to try it on one that you don't care about very much.

forteller, to cycling
@forteller@tutoteket.no avatar

I just learned that you can use a bicycle in the games Lisa: The painful and Yume Nikki.

What other games lets you use a bicycle?

#BikeTooter #Bicycle #gaming #CanYouRideTheBike

pws,

@forteller GT Bike V https://www.gtbikev.com/

pws, to random

These big food service cans were donated to a food shelf I volunteer at, but there's no chance our clients will take them, so I'm shifting them to another food shelf that operates a kitchen. Hopefully they won't go to waste, though using > 30 pounds of water chestnuts is going to be a challenge!

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