Toshi's thread
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I went back on my word and ordered a mower, for me to use.
:facepalm:
This time it's a corded electric one. $130 on sale. 12 A, so much more powerful than the battery ones of all flavors! @syadasti reports good luck with his.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZVOLXE/?sa-no-redirect=1
Time to find an extension cord robust enough for it (12/3, 100 feet).
:facepalm:
This time it's a corded electric one. $130 on sale. 12 A, so much more powerful than the battery ones of all flavors! @syadasti reports good luck with his.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZVOLXE/?sa-no-redirect=1
Time to find an extension cord robust enough for it (12/3, 100 feet).
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Having a chord trailing you when you're moving just seems wrong.
I'm all about the manual/push mower. We used to use them as kids at my folks' place and we used to complain... but they're inexpensive, quiet and extremely easy to maintain. Bonus is you get a workout at the same time. Only catch is you don't want to let the grass get too high before you cut it... going in and trying to cut 9" down to 3" isn't going to work. Now when I go back to visit them, they have a gas mower and I hate using that thing - I reach for the manual mower that's still going strong 25 years (an a couple sharpening) later.
I'm all about the manual/push mower. We used to use them as kids at my folks' place and we used to complain... but they're inexpensive, quiet and extremely easy to maintain. Bonus is you get a workout at the same time. Only catch is you don't want to let the grass get too high before you cut it... going in and trying to cut 9" down to 3" isn't going to work. Now when I go back to visit them, they have a gas mower and I hate using that thing - I reach for the manual mower that's still going strong 25 years (an a couple sharpening) later.
People used reel mowers in the older (still post-2003!) part of this neighborhood that I used to rent in, where the lots and yards are smaller. I have too much grass to consider a reel mower (or scythe, as helpfully suggested by others 
).
).
Too much grass? There is really no such thing. It's just a question of how much of a workout you wantPeople used reel mowers in the older (still post-2003!) part of this neighborhood that I used to rent in, where the lots and yards are smaller. I have too much grass to consider a reel mower (or scythe, as helpfully suggested by others
With my advanced mowing skills... I could make short work of this patch of flat lawn in about 10 minutes. How big is the front lawn by comparison? (this is what about 1/2 of our back yard was, albeit less dense most of the year)The jungle of a yard pre-mowing (6 weeks since turf was laid without mowing):
Two 72V 2Ah batteries accomplished this much. Took 2.5? more to finish up this patch and do the front lawn as well. Unacceptable from that standpoint, not to mention the uneven cut and the clumpy mulch.
To test how the mower would do with a non-jungle setting I then mowed the front lawn again 2 height settings lower (so maybe 0.75" off?). One battery didn't even get the mower through the front lawn alone.
Front lawn is smaller but has a complex sloped shape. It's also kind of boggy at the property line on both sides as that's a lower, drainage area (still covered with turf) from the runoff supplied by the drip sprinklers for the plants higher up on all of our lawns. I'd like to see you mow that in 10 minutes . Come on down to Denver, heh
. Come on down to Denver, heh
I'm probably out of shape, but guaranteed. I used to mow by running w/ that mowerFront lawn is smaller but has a complex sloped shape. It's also kind of boggy at the property line on both sides as that's a lower, drainage area (still covered with turf) from the runoff supplied by the drip sprinklers for the plants higher up on all of our lawns. I'd like to see you mow that in 10 minutes
More reflections now that I'm on my second day of bike commuting. (The reason why I'm riding now and wasn't wasn't earlier is because I usually drop off Mariko at preschool in the mornings but she's out of school for the summer, doing camps instead.)
My current commuter bike is a 16" Jamis Durango 29er. I bought it as a 2009 model in the summer of 2010 from Jenson USA for all of $605 + $40 shipping.
Geometry is old school: 72/74 degree angles, 17.7" chainstays (!), 41.9" wheelbase, 22.4" effective top tube (!!), 12.8" BB, yet still with a tall 30" standover.
As one might expect given my proportions I found it too short and over the years have put on a layback seatpost and a longer stem. I've also swapped out its drivetrain with a Shimano XT setup (from the Turner that I bought from dan-o, built up, found was too big and unwieldy for me, and parted out). It still has the same crap stock fork on it and as I've lamented before has no eyelets for fenders or racks.
Stock it was a portly 30 lbs, reflecting its budget nature:
From those specs one can see I have 32t and 44t chainrings (I didn't want to run 165 mm cranks on this bike as on my ill-fated Turner build so sold 'em and stuck with the stock triple). I usually cruise along in cog 5, 6, or 7 (where 1 is the biggest cog) in the big ring, which is 17, 19, or 21t since I have an 11-36 XT cassette, although for one short, steep climb I drop to a 32 x 36 gear.
With 700c x 47 tires as I run at a reasonable 80 rpm cadence that works out to 16.1, 14.4, or 13.0 mph. That sounds about right given my fitness and the time it takes for me to ride my commute.
Where was I going with this? Oh yes: I don't really like commuting on my 29er. The main reason is because it forces me to wear my back-sweat-inducing waterproof Dakine backpack to carry my clothes and lunch. The other is because that wide ratio cassette is very jumpy between ratios in the middle ring, meaning that I'm oscillating between the big and middle rings quite often on flat and climbing sections.
After seeing two e-bike riders on the greenway going the other way today and yesterday I've decided I don't want to go that route. (This is separate from earlier posts' lamentation about bike routes from Mariko's preschool, which mean that I'm not getting an electric cargo/kid-carrying bike for me.) There is "no motorized vehicle" signage and the time requirement is not that bad even at my pace x 7 miles:
Although I'm cheap most of the time I'm not averse to spending money as a rule (see Tesla reservation). Therefore I see two paths forward, both of which I've posted about but will revisit:
1) Turning the 29er into more of a rack-laden commuter machine. Think new frame/fork/wheelset/cassette, with the controls, drivetrain, seat, and tires from the current machine carried forward.
2) Embracing my status as a university (assistant for now–associate next year?!) professor and riding a recumbent. This would definitely entail some sort of rental or other trial purpose, since my experiment some years back with the aero helmet on the e-bike shows that even I have a sense of shame, however little developed…
My current commuter bike is a 16" Jamis Durango 29er. I bought it as a 2009 model in the summer of 2010 from Jenson USA for all of $605 + $40 shipping.
Geometry is old school: 72/74 degree angles, 17.7" chainstays (!), 41.9" wheelbase, 22.4" effective top tube (!!), 12.8" BB, yet still with a tall 30" standover.
As one might expect given my proportions I found it too short and over the years have put on a layback seatpost and a longer stem. I've also swapped out its drivetrain with a Shimano XT setup (from the Turner that I bought from dan-o, built up, found was too big and unwieldy for me, and parted out). It still has the same crap stock fork on it and as I've lamented before has no eyelets for fenders or racks.
Stock it was a portly 30 lbs, reflecting its budget nature:
From those specs one can see I have 32t and 44t chainrings (I didn't want to run 165 mm cranks on this bike as on my ill-fated Turner build so sold 'em and stuck with the stock triple). I usually cruise along in cog 5, 6, or 7 (where 1 is the biggest cog) in the big ring, which is 17, 19, or 21t since I have an 11-36 XT cassette, although for one short, steep climb I drop to a 32 x 36 gear.
With 700c x 47 tires as I run at a reasonable 80 rpm cadence that works out to 16.1, 14.4, or 13.0 mph. That sounds about right given my fitness and the time it takes for me to ride my commute.
Where was I going with this? Oh yes: I don't really like commuting on my 29er. The main reason is because it forces me to wear my back-sweat-inducing waterproof Dakine backpack to carry my clothes and lunch. The other is because that wide ratio cassette is very jumpy between ratios in the middle ring, meaning that I'm oscillating between the big and middle rings quite often on flat and climbing sections.
After seeing two e-bike riders on the greenway going the other way today and yesterday I've decided I don't want to go that route. (This is separate from earlier posts' lamentation about bike routes from Mariko's preschool, which mean that I'm not getting an electric cargo/kid-carrying bike for me.) There is "no motorized vehicle" signage and the time requirement is not that bad even at my pace x 7 miles:
Although I'm cheap most of the time I'm not averse to spending money as a rule (see Tesla reservation). Therefore I see two paths forward, both of which I've posted about but will revisit:
1) Turning the 29er into more of a rack-laden commuter machine. Think new frame/fork/wheelset/cassette, with the controls, drivetrain, seat, and tires from the current machine carried forward.
2) Embracing my status as a university (assistant for now–associate next year?!) professor and riding a recumbent. This would definitely entail some sort of rental or other trial purpose, since my experiment some years back with the aero helmet on the e-bike shows that even I have a sense of shame, however little developed…
You got a lemon. My old B&D cordless mower is still running strong, 5 years on the same accu pack.The jungle of a yard pre-mowing (6 weeks since turf was laid without mowing):
Two 72V 2Ah batteries accomplished this much. Took 2.5? more to finish up this patch and do the front lawn as well. Unacceptable from that standpoint, not to mention the uneven cut and the clumpy mulch.
To test how the mower would do with a non-jungle setting I then mowed the front lawn again 2 height settings lower (so maybe 0.75" off?). One battery didn't even get the mower through the front lawn alone.
recumbent: absolutely fucking no. just, no.
a guy I work with commutes and just got some nice panniers on his commuter. large enough for clothes on one side, laptop on the other, and they snap on/off to their mounts so carrying into the office is easy. I'll get the brand name for you later.
a guy I work with commutes and just got some nice panniers on his commuter. large enough for clothes on one side, laptop on the other, and they snap on/off to their mounts so carrying into the office is easy. I'll get the brand name for you later.
But this could be me on my way to work!
I probably wouldn't need the bedroll, though.
http://mccraw.co.uk/challenge-furai-24-review/
Recumbents are admittedly ugly. No contest. Could they be a better way, though? My uncle swears by his, but then again he has all sorts of funny beliefs, now that I think about it...
I probably wouldn't need the bedroll, though.
http://mccraw.co.uk/challenge-furai-24-review/
Recumbents are admittedly ugly. No contest. Could they be a better way, though? My uncle swears by his, but then again he has all sorts of funny beliefs, now that I think about it...
Josh's recommended mower arrived today. 6 days since mowing last. My jungle-grass has grown tall and strong in the interim and proved to be too much for the corded mower, too. It bogged repeatedly and really couldn't handle the volume of grass with side discharge or mulching. Bagging worked marginally better but the bag was about 2/3rds full after mowing about 30 feet!I went back on my word and ordered a mower, for me to use.
:facepalm:
This time it's a corded electric one. $130 on sale. 12 A, so much more powerful than the battery ones of all flavors! @syadasti reports good luck with his.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZVOLXE/?sa-no-redirect=1
Time to find an extension cord robust enough for it (12/3, 100 feet).
I mowed two strips of the back lawn, so probably about 200 linear feet, before concluding that it sucks and should be returned to amazon.
I'm going to get a nice Honda powered gas mower (will try to find one that's CARB compliant if all aren't) and then throw in the towel if that sucks as well.
Back from Home Depot with this: Honda HRR216VKA. I would have preferred one of their nicer ones with composite deck, one lever height control, and hydrostatic drive but they don't stock those and I need to mow the lawn. If this works then problem solved. If it's still subpar then I have 90 days on their return policy to line up something else, whether another mower or a landscaping service.
I will even drive to work tomorrow so that I can make it home about 30 minutes quicker (after the walk to my office and time to change into riding clothes is accounted for) so that I can mow before dinner.
I shall be returning that Honda mower tonight. Put oil in it ("dump whole Honda labeled and provided oil bottle into it"), added gas, and then it ran for about 3 minutes with odd intermittent episodes of really lugging. Then it just stopped running and wouldn't turn over.
I pulled the spark plug and found it to look pristine. I turned the engine over with the spark plug out and nothing shot out so it wasn't flooded or at least terribly so. Air filter remained clean and dry. Oil was and is present on the dipstick as expected. After putting the spark plug and its wire back on then it'd turn over, start up, and then run anemically for about 10 or 15 seconds before dying.
I'm not sure what I could have screwed up, honestly, as these are pretty simple things, but either I screwed something up or someone in Honda's quality control department screwed the pooch.
My recollection of things is that it needs gas, air, and spark. It clearly was getting at least a bit of each but at the end only had the power to turn itself over for a few seconds at a go. Go figure. Either way it is returned now (I certainly didn't expect a 5 deep return line on a Wednesday night at HD but that's what people do, I guess) and I got a nicer/the nicest Honda that HD stocks to replace it:
No hydrostatic drive or blade brake separate from the engine shutoff but it has a composite deck, bigger motor, 10 step variation between all bagging and all mulching (instead of binary), bearings in all the wheels, etc. It's nicer as it should be for its price!
If this one doesn't work then the problem either lies with me despite the straightforward instructions (unfold handlebar, put in all of the included 12 oz of oil, put gas in, put bag on if applicable, pull handle, pull cord) or the gas itself... which is possible, I guess. I'll be able to try it out Friday after work if I don't ride in or Saturday morning.
Random joy: the mower I wanted was one I missed when I was there yesterday because it's way up high. The boxes on the bottom are for the steel decked models. I'd never had a Home Depot employee get a high box down before. Once I hunted down an employee they found a buddy who acted as a flagger, closed off both this and the next aisle over (in case they knocked something from atop the shelves the other way), and then used a cool forklift that lifted the guy in a little half-cage plus the platform with a palette all the way up there.
No hydrostatic drive or blade brake separate from the engine shutoff but it has a composite deck, bigger motor, 10 step variation between all bagging and all mulching (instead of binary), bearings in all the wheels, etc. It's nicer as it should be for its price!
If this one doesn't work then the problem either lies with me despite the straightforward instructions (unfold handlebar, put in all of the included 12 oz of oil, put gas in, put bag on if applicable, pull handle, pull cord) or the gas itself... which is possible, I guess. I'll be able to try it out Friday after work if I don't ride in or Saturday morning.
Random joy: the mower I wanted was one I missed when I was there yesterday because it's way up high. The boxes on the bottom are for the steel decked models. I'd never had a Home Depot employee get a high box down before. Once I hunted down an employee they found a buddy who acted as a flagger, closed off both this and the next aisle over (in case they knocked something from atop the shelves the other way), and then used a cool forklift that lifted the guy in a little half-cage plus the platform with a palette all the way up there.
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The kvetching in the DH/freeride forum about hub spacing standards reminded me of this:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html
CN: Spacing has always been changing. Nothing new under the sun.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html
CN: Spacing has always been changing. Nothing new under the sun.
The new fancy composite deck one works like a charm. No such issues and the setup was exactly the same: pull from box, lock handle into place, empty 12 oz bottle of Honda branded oil into it, put gas in, grab handle and pull start. No lugging, big bag for the clippings, and looked clean even when I cranked it up to 60% mulching.I got a nicer/the nicest Honda that HD stocks to replace it:
No hydrostatic drive or blade brake separate from the engine shutoff but it has a composite deck, bigger motor, 10 step variation between all bagging and all mulching (instead of binary), bearings in all the wheels, etc. It's nicer as it should be for its price!
Now I must decide if I want the 18V brushed Makita trimmer and blower, the 36V brushed, or go full hog for the 36V brushless tools. I'm tempted to do the 18V brushed trimmer and 36V brushless blower because blowing shit around is fun. I already have two batteries from my impact driver/drill/vacuum setup...
Spending all of the monies...Now I must decide if I want the 18V brushed Makita trimmer and blower, the 36V brushed, or go full hog for the 36V brushless tools. I'm tempted to do the 18V brushed trimmer and 36V brushless blower because blowing shit around is fun. I already have two batteries from my impact driver/drill/vacuum setup...
Rachio 2nd gen 8 zone
Makita 36V brushless blower
Makita 36V brushless line trimmer
At least I held off on ordering higher Ah batteries or a dual charger. I'll see what runtime is like with my current 2 x 2 Ah setup first. Perhaps I won't need extra.
At the VERY LEAST I was expecting a ride pic... your investment in lawn tools is impressive but so is team of highly motivated landscape professionals. Plus your fence is wood, it should be brick. My parents fancy new house has brick fences, everyone there has brick fences because wood is not allowed. Except for access points, they can be wood but have to be painted to match the house. Yards are complicated.
Have a kick ass ride Sunday.
Have a kick ass ride Sunday.
You have 1/6th of a acre. Allow me to suggest the following ...Spending all of the monies...
Makita 36V brushless blower
ALL of your neighbors will thank you.
In reality, nothing you do is zero carbon. You're irrigating your tiny lawn, hacking at it with a power mower, and using a blower where a broom would serve. Of course, conversation will not alter the absurd behavior.You'd also have me push a reel mower all around. At least this one's electric so won't be super obnoxious (and our power is zero carbon, too: wind credits + solar on the roof).
Rich men pick up every penney. If you're gonna talk the the talk then it would be best to sweep your walk.
See what I did there?
The ride was ridden today. White Ranch: Belcher up, Longhorn/Shorthorn/Longhorn/Belcher down.
The medium Bronson felt pretty well sized for me in terms of reach and I had tons of standover with the fancy curved plastic tube things. Suspension felt good on the descents, too, but I think I was getting bob with mashing on the way up... on the segments where I wasn't pushing the thing. I barely used the dropper, dropping things maybe an inch for the descents, but there were a few sections where in retrospect I probably could have benefited from dropping the seat all the way. The front end felt a bit distant and wander-y but most everything would feel that way in comparison with my small 29er.
Overall I'd say my first experiences with carbon/dropper posts/27.5"/1x anyhing/non-Gripshift SRAM gear/VPP were pretty positive even though I have no context.
(After the ride, beer, pizza, a drive home, and then tacos I bust out the Makita blower and string trimmer. Serious feeling gear in the hand and even though it's electric the thwap-thwap-thwap of the nylon string would have been much too loud to use given that my kids are supposedly going to sleep now.)
The medium Bronson felt pretty well sized for me in terms of reach and I had tons of standover with the fancy curved plastic tube things. Suspension felt good on the descents, too, but I think I was getting bob with mashing on the way up... on the segments where I wasn't pushing the thing. I barely used the dropper, dropping things maybe an inch for the descents, but there were a few sections where in retrospect I probably could have benefited from dropping the seat all the way. The front end felt a bit distant and wander-y but most everything would feel that way in comparison with my small 29er.
Overall I'd say my first experiences with carbon/dropper posts/27.5"/1x anyhing/non-Gripshift SRAM gear/VPP were pretty positive even though I have no context.
(After the ride, beer, pizza, a drive home, and then tacos I bust out the Makita blower and string trimmer. Serious feeling gear in the hand and even though it's electric the thwap-thwap-thwap of the nylon string would have been much too loud to use given that my kids are supposedly going to sleep now.)
Are you on Denver Water? Because they got GOBS of water rights. It's the other, smaller water districts that are gonna get the shaft primarily. At least until ALL the water runs out.
My mom's lawn mower would do the same thing, what a pain in the ass.
The thing worked fine, but the damn spark plug wire would vibrate loose the perfect amount to where the engine wouldn't stop, but it was pretty worthless at doing it's job.
The new one works great in the same conditions and with me doing the same thing. Go figure. Overkill is good--that composite mower deck should last as long as the house does, plus the whole thing has a 5 year warranty for residential use.
Rental for this weekend is now lined up:
Not the Pinkbike demo bike, of course, but it'll be a Yeti SB5C with X01. I have it from Friday night through 10 AM Sunday. That'll allow for rides early Saturday and Sunday morning.
I predict much fun from my short spin around the parking lot on the 6 which eats parking barriers and huck curbs like butter...The new one works great in the same conditions and with me doing the same thing. Go figure. Overkill is good--that composite mower deck should last as long as the house does, plus the whole thing has a 5 year warranty for residential use.
Rental for this weekend is now lined up:
Not the Pinkbike demo bike, of course, but it'll be a Yeti SB5C with X01. I have it from Friday night through 10 AM Sunday. That'll allow for rides early Saturday and Sunday morning.
3 words, visibility repeated twice plus visibility.