[Toshi]

I wonder why a rack company has never made a ladder like this that attaches to the top for those people with SUV's? I think on this bus it attaches to the rain gutter or the roof rack itself.

That way you could climb up top and someone could hand a bike up to you if you were carrying more than two.

that is an awesome idea and execution, but it might be difficult to make a universal one that wouldn't scratch up cars or put pressure on the body or windows where none should be applied.

for those curious why i've been posting relatively little to ridemonkey this week, i've started my summer research project. read about it here, or see this cool screenshot and imagine all the details of how it is derived:

http://students.washington.edu/tjclark/heartviewer.PNG

(deliberately not inlined since it's 1280x1024)

 

[Toshi]

i just dropped off the canfield's wheelset to be rebuilt with sun MTX rims (labeled as 8 tracks for extra sweetness -- they're the same thing, 8 track is the complete wheelset name), db spokes, brass nipples.

they should be done well before next weekend's whistler jaunt, which might be a two day affair this time. i am bringing some newbies up, so will have to keep them healthy one way or another...

 

[Toshi]

today i hiked halfway up mt. rainier with rabi lahiri and his girlfriend, whose name i think is spelled thais? googling for "thais microsoft" yielded much on people from thailand but not from brazil, from where she hails.

i would write a long tale as would befit a 6+ hour hike, but i'm too tired. 4:10 of climbing will do that to you. and more importantly, i'm too sunburnt. oh well, i'll live. i'll let the pictures (and their captions, see the bottom of each full size image page) speak as much as they can, and will answer questions if any are proferred:

mt. rainier, or more properly "hike to camp muir".

a teaser image:

 

[Toshi]

this is a pretty sweet tandem: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122624

 

[Toshi]

my car was broken into last night. and my C trumpet was stolen.

 

[Barbaton]

my car was broken into last night. and my C trumpet was stolen.

That sucks! Make sure you call the po-po. Insurance?

Here was my night

 

[Toshi]

yeah, i got the police out there last night, had one friend waiting with me, another running around with the building security guard looking for cameras and looking in dumpsters. insurance should cover everything: the pain is that it's a monette. so custom, 9-12 month wait time...

 

[Toshi]

the horn was recovered at a pawn shop . no word on condition etc.

 

[WTGPhoben]

In my impatience waiting for my new wheel parts to come in for the MTB, I COMPLETELY (not including oil seals) disassembled, cleaned and rebuilt my bomber. I forgot to take pics of it totally apart (as that was pretty impressive), but I'll share the two tidbits I learned:

1. Year old stale air is gross. Smells like something between farts and gasoline.

2. CHANGE YOUR OIL 2x/season. After a year of riding (granted, I rode a lot last year) the oil was barely distinguishable from driveway sealer (from all the aluminum residue).

I can't tell if the feel is better yet though. I don't have I back wheel so I can't put the bike on the ground.

Pics of the finished overhaul to come (when the parts do).

 

[Toshi]

1. Year old stale air is gross. Smells like something between farts and gasoline.

ink:

i wonder how many dimensions would be required to represent taste in a coherent fashion. there are something like 10k different smells we can recognize but i'm sure many of them must be on axes of some sort...

 

[Quadari]

On a completely different note, check this out:

stuffguppy.com

(Full disclosure, I helped make the site.)

 

[Toshi]

my ridemonkey jersey arrived a few days ago, and i finally opened it just now. it's nice

did you end up ordering one, thad?

 

[Barbaton]

my ridemonkey jersey arrived a few days ago, and i finally opened it just now. it's nice

did you end up ordering one, thad?

Yeah, we both did. BG has allegedly shipped it. Probably working its way through the University mail system

 

[WTGPhoben]

Before I go out and destroy my pretty new wheel, here's a pic:

Stats:
DT 240s Hub laced half-radial to Mavic x618 with DT Competetion (14/15) spokes and alloy nipples

new drivetrain parts too: here

Preliminary hub assessment. I wouldn't recommend it for suspended bikes. It doesn't have a true thru-axle, requiring the QR to be cranked down pretty hard to keep the wheel from being a little wiggly.

 

[Barbaton]

And in other hub news...my lengthy free-hub / hub rebuild project finally finished on Mon, after much frustration, a set of bearings, and the wrong cone provided by Wheelworks. Tho, the guy who sold me the cone was still more helpful than the surly french man who said in is surly french way "well, eh, you mus 'ave done it whong."

Moral of the story: grease is your friend; bearings should be round.

 

[Toshi]

http://www.hennigar.ca/demoreel_high400x270.mov

 

[WTGPhoben]

http://www.hennigar.ca/demoreel_high400x270.mov

cool.

 

[Barbaton]

http://www.hennigar.ca/demoreel_high400x270.mov

link no work for me.

 

[Toshi]

seattle life:

 

[Toshi]

help me out with my sedan hunt:

http://tjclark.ath.cx:2500/nerdmedia/show/SedanHunt

 

[Toshi]

help me out with my sedan hunt:

http://tjclark.ath.cx:2500/nerdmedia/show/SedanHunt

keith, given that you went through this same decision process a year ago you must have some input

 

[Quadari]

So I've been driving a Mini Cooper (non-S) around a good amount this summer. It's quite a fun drive. Even the non-S has decent pickup, it handles really well and actually has a lot more room inside then it initially seems. Plus it gets lots of points for the "cool" factor.

 

[Toshi]

So I've been driving a Mini Cooper (non-S) around a good amount this summer. It's quite a fun drive. Even the non-S has decent pickup, it handles really well and actually has a lot more room inside then it initially seems. Plus it gets lots of points for the "cool" factor.

agreed. and it has a cool factory roof rack setup even

(note updated spreadsheet-image above)

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

help me out with my sedan hunt:

http://tjclark.ath.cx:2500/nerdmedia/show/SedanHunt

hey, am gonna chip in some unrequested almost dogmatic opinion about cars that am somewhat familiar with....

right now, am also looking around for a sedan, with a similar criteria to yours.

tough am initially inclined to recommend the volvo 850, or the S70 (i love those boxy cars), which are basically what am looking for right now.

am looking for a volvo 850 T5 manual with less than 60k miles (i dont think there are manuals in the states, but even the t5 auto is a kick in the pants). the s70 gets a subtle re-style thats pretty neato. and the s80 is actually a pretty nice car, and the t6 (tough i've never driven/been in one) has to be even better,
volvos 850 thru s80 are good cars, but maybe not the ones with the most coolness points, and manuals i imagine would be hard to find in the US.

bmw series 3, am not a big fan of them.

the vw jetta 1.8t are pretty good too. they are called Bora around here, and they were also in my initial list of cars. those little engines can be chipped and take a lot of abuse.
hyundai sonata, are basically POS around here, and have no resale value. i dont how how better the new ones have gotten, but they are not "good dependable cars" in my book.

the subaru wrx, nice car, but i'd be a bit suspicious about.... most of those cars are usually owned by young fellas that have probably driven the crap out of them in the most likely case.
i've seem some wrx (the ones with the round headlights) vishnu-chipped. they are pretty fast. altough i'd never buy a modded/driven-the-crap-out-of car again.

 

[Toshi]

thanks for the suggestions, alexis . i will definitely have to look into these 850s and such. i have a bit of a prejudice against 850s since my carpooler's father had an 850 GLT when i had a 300ZX n/a, and he talked a lot of smack

about wrxes and them being abused, good point. that's one reason (besides insurance and outright cost!) i'm not looking at STis or Evos but rather the comparatively plain jane wrx model. i'd also look for completely stock cars, stock wheels even.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

thanks for the suggestions, alexis . i will definitely have to look into these 850s and such. i have a bit of a prejudice against 850s since my carpooler's father had an 850 GLT when i had a 300ZX n/a, and he talked a lot of smack

about wrxes and them being abused, good point. that's one reason (besides insurance and outright cost!) i'm not looking at STis or Evos but rather the comparatively plain jane wrx model. i'd also look for completely stock cars, stock wheels even.

with 15k in the US, i'd say you can afford almost anything from the 850/S70 up to the S80 (which is a kick ass car)...

here in Lima, the base 850s runs from 8k, and the t5 (i havent seen one for sale yet) probably would fetch 12k IMO (they sold new for 70k new)..... in the US i'd say they go for as little as 40% less...

from all i've seen in these last days, i love the peugeot 406 pininfarina i've seen one for sale here, but i want a sedan too, so its out of the question...

 

[WTGPhoben]

the subaru wrx, nice car, but i'd be a bit suspicious about.... most of those cars are usually owned by young fellas that have probably driven the crap out of them in the most likely case.
i've seem some wrx (the ones with the round headlights) vishnu-chipped. they are pretty fast. altough i'd never buy a modded/driven-the-crap-out-of car again.

As far as rock-solidness/$$, the VW's are definitely top of the list. They feel like cars that cost $20,000 more, but with fewer frills (and not as much kick). They're definitely not the fastest cars on that list, but you'll have no problem if you get a 5spd. (or if you're looking for something sporty, find a jetta GLI with the 6spd). One thing to watch out for tho, is that the 02-(to 04 I think) passats had a couple of serious issues that you want to make sure didn't cause problems, they were:

1. solenoids on (i think it was the) fuel injectors were recalled (stupid bosch). I had one go on me, and I could see how it might screw up the car pretty bad if someone tried to drive around with a busted one. It's an easy (and free) fix tho, just make sure it's been done before you buy.

2. The cars have a permanent oil sludge issue that requires you use synthetic oil (I don't know why you wouldn't anyway), but I guess bad things happened to the cars if people were using regular oil for a while and didn't get the sludge problem fixed (cars without functional oil flow don't last long), so ideally, make sure the person who had the car before you was using synth.

The wrx is also a very solid car from the drivers seat (my friend drives one), but the doors and stuff feel a little tinny. It is also quite fast (even with the auto) and very snappy. Definitely a good coast road car. The only problem, as alexis mentions, is finding one that the previous owner didn't beat up, as the car begs to be driven hard.

IS300 is fun, but I think you'd get almost as much sport and much more utility out of the wrx for less $$.

Mazdas look like they'd be nice solid cars (the newest revision.... don't know what year that happened) but I haven't driven them so I can't say much.

I'm not a cooper fan, really, and I wouldn't give the rest of the list a second look.

 

[Toshi]

thanks for the comments. i'm going to have to add the 850, its successors, and the s40 (on the suggestion of a microsoftie with good taste - he drives a G35 sedan).

any thoughts on whether 3 series are worth it, keith?

the is300 was on that list because i really like the driving position - low honda-like cowl and a large windshield make for a very go kart type experience. it's a shame that the manual transmission wasn't in the 2001 models else it'd be a more realistic option.

 

[WTGPhoben]

thanks for the comments. i'm going to have to add the 850, its successors, and the s40 (on the suggestion of a microsoftie with good taste - he drives a G35 sedan).

any thoughts on whether 3 series are worth it, keith?

the is300 was on that list because i really like the driving position - low honda-like cowl and a large windshield make for a very go kart type experience. it's a shame that the manual transmission wasn't in the 2001 models else it'd be a more realistic option.

Agreed on the go-cart feel. The wrx has a little of that, but nothing like the IS (also beware of big rims on the IS. my coworker has 17s and has had all sorts of issues related to tires and rims getting destroyed, and lexus basically said "sorry chet, it's your problem". granted, we do live in boston)

My uncle drove a 3 and was unimpressed, I don't think you're gettting anything special in a beamer until you're either buying bigger (5 ser.), more expensive, or M (which I suppose fits into the more expensive category). I also don't like the annoying way you have to shift into R on those cars. My boss's wife's 5 also has this stupid thing that readjusts the sideview when you go into reverse, the idea being that it helps you see the curb, but you can't see $hit for anything else as a result.

I would also beware of newer (read: more complicated) volvos. My dad has a 2000 V70, and it's always having annoying issues (electrical, suspension, etc. etc). The interior is also a lot more plasticy and the feel a lot softer than the VW. Everyone I know who has 850s or earlier loves them (my uncle has a T5 R that's pretty sweet). I don't know anyone who has had a 40 series for long enough to know anything about how they hold up.

 

[Toshi]

ok, the s40 and the 850 have been evaluated, and they don't make the cut: 850 is plain too old (1997 was its swan song) and the s40 doesn't come in a stick shift version as far as i can tell. vws are losing mindshare as well: jetta for its small back seat (it's no mini but it's no people mover either) and because the vastly more attractive redesign is out , and the passat because of the problems you mentioned together with a middling consumer reports reliability and a general lack of excitement on my part.

once the pathfinder sale happens, which may well be an adventure in itself, my task will be to find a good condition wrx. given that i'm willing to look all over the country this shouldn't be an impossible task.

 

[Toshi]

ah, i'd forgotten about the thread that narlus started, even tho i posted in it several times

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93610&page=2&pp=40&highlight=wrx

seems that he ended up with a honda civic. boring indeed heh

 

[Quadari]

So to change the subject back to biking, momentarily (*gasp*):

I had my first real crash on my roadbike yesterday. Fortunately I'm unharmed with the exception of scrapes on elbows, kneeds, and a nice cut on my thumb, which I think hit my front gears when I went over.

It happened right here: [Google Maps Link]

Basically Concord ave has a really fun hill right there that's decently steep and makes a nice S curve. I was coming down the hill, riding next to a line of cars that was moving about the same speed I was, and the black caddy in front of me suddenly put on his blinker and moved into the parking space in front of the police station. So I slammed on my brakes, but this of course just caused me to skid, and then just completely tumble over just before actually ramming into the car. Amazingly enough though, I and the bike were just fine.

In cool website related stuff, I don't know if you've seen this site or not:
Google maps pedometer

It lets you use Google's Map API to draw your own routes on a Google map. It then calculates the mileage, etc. Very useful for mapping bike routes.

 

[Toshi]

ouch, sorry to hear about the fall, ari. good thing you didn't t-bone that caddy!

 

[Toshi]

 

[WTGPhoben]

we don't get a caption?

 

[Toshi]

such an image speaks for itself, no? from http://images.unas.cz/radio1.htm

 

[Toshi]

i found a way to fight the man in a small way, and get title reports for $7.99 for non-ebay motors vehicles

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1651533#post1651533

 

[prophet6]

Toshi:

I'd augment your car list with some of the VW 1.8t powered cars, or if you're looking for a bit more space, a A4 1.8t... fun car to drive, all wheel drive, blah blah blah...


p6

 

[Toshi]

Toshi:

I'd augment your car list with some of the VW 1.8t powered cars, or if you're looking for a bit more space, a A4 1.8t... fun car to drive, all wheel drive, blah blah blah...

p6

please note that the jetta 1.8T was already on the list, as well as the passat on the text version. i'm leery of coilpack failures with the 1.8T, not to mention falling windows and general expensive german-car service. also they are ubiquitous here in seattle.

i'd rather buy a car with a poor interior but good mechanicals (wrx) than cough up for a name and nice interior (a4 quattro). besides the audis feel a bit dead in gran turismo 4...

 

[prophet6]

Be that as it may, I rather dislike the WRX.

Any engine that has been turbocharged without appropriate reinforcement of the block is hunk of crap, IMO.

I also find that the timing of boost in the WRX means that you have to either drive it very hard... or deal with a sluggish car. I've come to love low end torque more than high end horsepower for everyday driving.


p6