Charging 8.4V Li-Ion packs for front lights

On 15/11/14 06:32, Joerg wrote:
Clive George wrote:
On 14/11/2014 15:29, Joerg wrote:

Of course I do. I just consider it poor design. Something like that
would never pass certification in aerospace and probably not even in
automotive.

It's actually good design. Simple, easy to assemble. It's a variation on
the pinch bolt as used on car suspension in various places, and I'd not
be suprised to find similar on a plane.


If I'd found that on a car suspension I'd blacklist that car for my
purchase list. On mine it is all nicely bolted, as it should be.


But, doesn't matter, people have developed aftermarket bolt systems
which correct this design flaw.

No, they're to avoid having to use a star nut for other reasons. They're
not to prevent your stem slipping - that's still the stem's job.


I am quite sure it'll prevent slippage, it's some serious bolt:

http://www.jensonusa.com/!mddAp-iQ0I...c-Head-Lock-II


That bolt probably allows for enough elongation that the clamp could
still slip if not properly tightened.

Again, if you are having problems, change to a stem with a better clamp
(longer and with 3 bolts perhaps) and use some friction paste.

--
JS

Joe Riel wrote:
Joerg writes:

Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, November 14, 2014 4:38:55 PM UTC-5, Joerg wrote:
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Friday, November 14, 2014 2:32:34 PM UTC-5, Joerg wrote:
Clive George wrote:
On 14/11/2014 15:29, Joerg wrote:

Of course I do. I just consider it poor design. Something
like that would never pass certification in aerospace and
probably not even in automotive.
It's actually good design. Simple, easy to assemble. It's a
variation on the pinch bolt as used on car suspension in
various places, and I'd not be suprised to find similar on a
plane.

If I'd found that on a car suspension I'd blacklist that car
for my purchase list. On mine it is all nicely bolted, as it
should be.


But, doesn't matter, people have developed aftermarket bolt
systems which correct this design flaw.
No, they're to avoid having to use a star nut for other
reasons. They're not to prevent your stem slipping - that's
still the stem's job.

I am quite sure it'll prevent slippage, it's some serious bolt:


http://www.jensonusa.com/!mddAp-iQ0I...c-Head-Lock-II



-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Ironic that you need a quill stem type bolt to improve/keep the
threadless headset adjustment.

Man's got to do what man's got to do.

(John Wayne)

:-)

That's not the only thing needing improvement. The 6" disc in back
also had to be replaced some day. I go through one set of pads in
less than 500 miles and the regular ones cost over $15. Sintered
pads wear just as fast as organic.

-- Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
A number of years ago a friend of mine bought a $1,500.00 NORCO MTB
with adjustable front suspension and disc brakes and no rear
suspension. He bought the bike for very light rail-trail riding and
mostly paved road riding. He had so much trouble with the discs
wearing out very quickly (within a week or two) that I decided not to
go with discs and am still unconvinced of any benefit, and he swapped
the disc compatible wheels for rim brake ones. He then had another
shop install brake mounts into the areas that were there on the front
fork. fortunately for him there were already brake bosdses on the
rear. He had V-brakes installed and is quite happy with his braking
and very happy that he doesn't have to replace pads weekly, bi-weekly
or monthly.

He probably never rides steep trails in muddy conditions. All it takes
is forgetting about one deep puddle right before a sharp bent. Like the
one that wasn't there yesterday before the rain. Because afterwards a
hard reach into the front brake will produce ... nothing. Only a major
"Oh s..t!" feeling.

That scenario sounds a bit far fetched. I am familar with the temporary
brake loss when the rim is wet, but am skeptical that a single puddle
will cause that, and yet be invisible to the rider (otherwise he could
have begun braking beforehand).


Happened to me several times. It's not invisible but unexpected. The
worst was one a couple weeks ago. I had forgotten that it had rained,
happily barreled down a trail ... *SSSSLOSHHH* ... stopped the bike
really quickly, thanks to disc brakes. With rim brakes I'd have gone in
all the way. That one wasn't dangerous but I'd have looked like I came
out of a mud slinging contest.


... The more realistic scenario is that the
rider gets the rims wet, but forgets to dry them (by braking) before
needing them. I think this is a more serious issue on the road, in the
rain, since it isn't practical to constantly dry the brakes.


I found that when rim brakes are caked in wet mud they can become very
sluggish. The other problem was fine decomposed granite piece in the mud
that buried themselves in the rubbers. That makes a horrid sound when
braking. You still have some stopping power but not as much, and the
rims will age really fast. The front rim on my old MTB is half shot
after just 1000mi. The discs on my new MTB are now also 1000mi old and
other than having a slight blueish tint from some tougher hills they
show no signifcant wear. That alone is worth it.

A pain with disc brakes is the stupid weight craze in the bike industry.
They are full of holes and I often have stuff slipping in there and
(literally) gumming up the works. So I had to start carrying a Swiss
army knife along. Once a rock piece got in, pushed the disc aside hard,
a pad came out partially and this resulted in an instantly blocked rear
wheel at 15mph on a trail. That was a scare. So when these discs are
gone I'll have some custom-made without holes.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

James wrote:
On 15/11/14 06:32, Joerg wrote:
Clive George wrote:
On 14/11/2014 15:29, Joerg wrote:

Of course I do. I just consider it poor design. Something like that
would never pass certification in aerospace and probably not even in
automotive.

It's actually good design. Simple, easy to assemble. It's a variation on
the pinch bolt as used on car suspension in various places, and I'd not
be suprised to find similar on a plane.


If I'd found that on a car suspension I'd blacklist that car for my
purchase list. On mine it is all nicely bolted, as it should be.


But, doesn't matter, people have developed aftermarket bolt systems
which correct this design flaw.

No, they're to avoid having to use a star nut for other reasons. They're
not to prevent your stem slipping - that's still the stem's job.


I am quite sure it'll prevent slippage, it's some serious bolt:

http://www.jensonusa.com/!mddAp-iQ0I...c-Head-Lock-II


That bolt probably allows for enough elongation that the clamp could
still slip if not properly tightened.


I'll probably have to build my own anyhow because (so far) I have only
found them for 1-1/8" bearing diameter and I've got a much larger
tapered steerer. Then I can provide a serious bolt. 3/8" or something
like that. I don't care one bit about weight. I want a tank for a bike.


Again, if you are having problems, change to a stem with a better clamp
(longer and with 3 bolts perhaps) and use some friction paste.


I could try various stems until one works but the big bolts seems like
the obvious fix. I am by far not the only one with a loosening steerer.
Often I asked other riders where I heard the tell-tale clacka-di-clack
on gnarly trail sections if I could check their steerer. Sure enough it
had lots of play. You can also hear that sound in Youtube MTB videos.
Many people simply keep on riding with a loose steerer.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On Friday, November 14, 2014 3:36:37 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
Joe Riel wrote:
snip

That scenario sounds a bit far fetched. I am familar with the temporary
brake loss when the rim is wet, but am skeptical that a single puddle
will cause that, and yet be invisible to the rider (otherwise he could
have begun braking beforehand).


Happened to me several times. It's not invisible but unexpected. The
worst was one a couple weeks ago. I had forgotten that it had rained,
happily barreled down a trail ... *SSSSLOSHHH* ... stopped the bike
really quickly, thanks to disc brakes. With rim brakes I'd have gone in
all the way. That one wasn't dangerous but I'd have looked like I came
out of a mud slinging contest.

Hmm. I'm amazed to be alive after all these years of riding in the rain with rim brakes. Actually, I am amazed to be alive after riding in on sheet ice this morning, but that's another issue.

Discs are better in the rain, and yes, cantilevers suck with STI levers, but people have been riding cantilever equipped CX bikes for decades. http://pedalmag.com/wp-content/uploa...4-608I8361.jpg And even on steep trail (or road or wall), a rim brake is fine -- at least for some.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0 Back in the day, some manly men used rim brakes on trails. http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...49d1e59a98.jpg Like Ned Overend (over end). Rim brakes work fairly well in mud -- and actually less well in wet road grit. I don't know why that is -- probably because of the oils on the road.



-- Jay Beattie.

jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, November 14, 2014 3:36:37 PM UTC-8, Joerg wrote:
Joe Riel wrote:
snip

That scenario sounds a bit far fetched. I am familar with the
temporary brake loss when the rim is wet, but am skeptical that a
single puddle will cause that, and yet be invisible to the rider
(otherwise he could have begun braking beforehand).

Happened to me several times. It's not invisible but unexpected.
The worst was one a couple weeks ago. I had forgotten that it had
rained, happily barreled down a trail ... *SSSSLOSHHH* ... stopped
the bike really quickly, thanks to disc brakes. With rim brakes I'd
have gone in all the way. That one wasn't dangerous but I'd have
looked like I came out of a mud slinging contest.

Hmm. I'm amazed to be alive after all these years of riding in the
rain with rim brakes. Actually, I am amazed to be alive after riding
in on sheet ice this morning, but that's another issue.

Discs are better in the rain, and yes, cantilevers suck with STI
levers, but people have been riding cantilever equipped CX bikes for
decades.
http://pedalmag.com/wp-content/uploa...4-608I8361.jpg
And even on steep trail (or road or wall), a rim brake is fine -- at
least for some. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0


Very cool. I wonder how much stuff he breaks on the bike (and his
bones). Sometimes it doesn't exactly go per plan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee54EP-nho4


... Back in the day, some manly men used rim brakes on trails.


Sure. So did I. They are just not as good as disc brakes. I use trails
during commutes and there are sections I would never barrel down at
15-20mph if the bike didn't have disc brakes. Except maybe on sunny days.


http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...49d1e59a98.jpg
Like Ned Overend (over end). Rim brakes work fairly well in mud --
and actually less well in wet road grit. I don't know why that is --
probably because of the oils on the road.


My main gripe is that the rims are ruined so quickly when using rim
brakes in dirt. It all looks cool in the links but what they don't show
you is a rim after 1000 miles of this stuff.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

On 11/14/2014 7:35 PM, jbeattie wrote:


Hmm. I'm amazed to be alive after all these years of riding in the
rain with rim brakes. Actually, I am amazed to be alive after riding
in on sheet ice this morning, but that's another issue.

Discs are better in the rain, and yes, cantilevers suck with STI levers,
but people have been riding cantilever equipped CX bikes for decades.
http://pedalmag.com/wp-content/uploa...4-608I8361.jpg
And even on steep trail (or road or wall), a rim brake is fine -- at
least for some. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmJtYaUTa0 Back in the
day, some manly men used rim brakes on trails.
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/73...49d1e59a98.jpg

Like Ned Overend (over end).

But you don't understand. Joerg is _really_ tough! He rides places
that those guys would never ride! ;-)


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Saturday, November 15, 2014 4:17:14 AM UTC, Frank Krygowski wrote:

But you don't understand. Joerg is _really_ tough! He rides places
that those guys would never ride! ;-)

- Frank Krygowski

Clearly, in places where you can never ride.

Andre Jute