Messages

16

Gear Talk / Re: SiNi balls in the pedals after 1 year and 5000 miles.

« on: April 03, 2021, 09:25:54 am »

The steel pins on my aluminum pedals wore all the way down and were getting too slick. So I transferred the SiNi balls to my new pedals. 2 of the balls have failed. By failed I mean they are running rough though I can't actually see the defects.

17

General Discussion / Pedestrian deaths up again.

« on: April 03, 2021, 09:21:50 am »

In the first half of 2020 pedestrian deaths went from 2951 to 2957 in spite of the fact that motorists drove 16.5 percent fewer miles. In addition the arrests for people driving over 100 miles an hour has increased though I don't have nation wide data. In the past year I have been hit by a suburban type vehicle. I can't see it was any thing but a murder attempt. 2 people have either tried to hit me or they thought it would be funny to try and scare me. I was in a cross walk and a driver who was on the phone made a right turn in front of me then hit the brakes. He was then rear ended by another driver who was also talking on the phone. The second driver got out and jumped up and down on his hood. I decided to leave rather than get involved in a road rage fight. I now believe cell phones are causing 20 percent of all motorist pedestrian and bicycle deaths.

18

South / Selma and central Alabama.

« on: November 09, 2020, 08:12:32 am »

I did a tour from Mobile to Birmingham in the middle of the Covid virus. First of all there are the flies. These are half the length of regular flies. They can fly 15 mph and when you stop they get in your hair in your ears and in your eyes. I had to kill them with my sock hat to be able to read my map. There were no Dragonflies and no birds to keep  them under control. I opened the lid of my coffee and them of them landed in the water before I could take a single drink. A perfect example of koyaanisqatsi. Under Alabama law a bicycle is a vehicle. It is illegal to pass a vehicle on a narrow bridge. Not a single person stopped to allow me to cross. On one bridge I stopped to look behind me and a 18 wheeler had 4 by 4 logs hanging out of the undercarriage. I ran down the hill which the driver must of thought was funny. I expected them to impact the bridge and bounce back to hit me. It seems to be some sort of status symbol to tow a trailer. Around 5 percent of the vehicles were towing a trailer with outrigger wheels most of them with nothing on them. I was not able to get on the WiFi of a single library between Chicasaw and Hoover. The land is a swamp and there are 4 wheelers riding under every bridge. I was confronted but they decided to back off after they saw my Bear spray. Of course I came across an idiot cop. He pulled me over for not having my lights on. They were on. He may have been lying about this. Along the way I picked up tools in the road and put them in a box on the back rack. The 8 inch blade ice pick was clearly visible and he failed to see it see link below. My conclusion is he has no night vision and should not be driving. Avoid the area. The limits of the flies are flies are Mobile Meridian Birmingham and Montgomery. Mississippi does not have the internet yet so you may want to avoid it also. https://flic.kr/p/2k4T9NY

19

General Discussion / Re: The high altitude body type.

« on: February 29, 2020, 08:22:01 am »

The high altitude body type is not optimized for bicycling at least not at sea level. I have short legs and a long upper body. The correct size for me would be a bicycle with the seat tube of a  24 inch frame and the top tube of a 26 inch frame. Any such frame with a 1 1/8 inch down tube is going to shimmy even when not loaded. You can only do so much with a longer stem. I spent 40 years of my life at 6 feet and 205 pounds. The medical charts tell me I am on the edge of being over weight. If I had normal proportions I would weigh 185 pounds. Upper body simply weighs more than legs. Since medical charts have not caught up with this reality I don't expect bicycle manufacturers to do so. High altitudes tend to be colder and people who live in cold climates tend to be bigger. This is not the case along the equator. There is a need for frames with seat tubes of a 21 inch bicycle and top tubes of a 23 inch bicycle. I have nothing but respect for people like Terry who design frames for women or people like Zinn who design frames for the very tall. I am advocating for 10 percent of a neglected minority.

20

General Discussion / The high altitude body type.

« on: February 28, 2020, 10:13:36 am »

I'm one of those people you see tossing telephone poles at the highland games. Having high altitude genes or growing up at high altitude changes your body. Basically you will need a longer top tube. Along with this the high altituder will be a bit heavier. This is just the opposite of bicycles designed for women. I use 4 strategies to cope with this. First of all you need to find a bicycle with as close to a stand over height as possible. If you need say a 24 inch frame using the old 10 speed standard and all you can find is a 23 inch frame then this will result in a top tube that is 1 inch shorter than an already too short top tube. Different manufacturers have different standards for frame sizes so try to find one in a shop to try to find out what the stand over height is. Second  buy a bicycle designed for fat tires and use skinny tires. The smallest tire I can use with out getting pinch flats is a 35mm or a 1 3/8 inch tire. As a practical matter 38mm or 1.5 inch tire is easier to find. This lowers the top tube by 8mm or 1/3 inch. Third try to find a bicycle with a sloping top tube. This type of frame will need a longer seat tube and possibly one with a larger diameter. Shaq broke a seat tube just by sitting on it is a bicycle shop. My current Specialized Hardrock uses a 1 1/4 seat tube which is just what I would have designed in a steel frame. After this you will need to add a longer stem. 150mm is usually the longest standard stem. Mine is 145 mm chrome molly and I transferred it from my old frame after 100000 miles. Of course the best solution is for manufactures to realize this and design frames with short regular and long top tubes. The top tubes and down tubes will need to have a larger diameter. 21 inch frames are twice as stiff as 25 inch frames which is just the opposite of what it should be. One study which I will post as soon as I find it found larger frames which were designed to be stiffer were less stiff than smaller frames. Flimsy frames shimmy. My Cannondale touring frame did this even unloaded.   I don't expect this to happen any time soon. Half the worlds population lives within an hours drive of an ocean. Before I went out and cycled 100000 miles loaded down I had a considerable amount of money in the bank. I passed up the Americano the BLT the Atlantis the Nomad the Long Haul Trucker the Safari any thing made of aluminum and several custom builders because the frames were not strong enough and stiff enough for me.

21

General Discussion / Re: Title 23 Section 109m United States Code.

« on: December 24, 2019, 05:50:21 pm »

Sorry for the delay I've been out riding my bicycle. A county a state or the federal government is allowed to move a highway. The new route must be of equal or greater quality of the original route and be within 2 miles of the original route. Any thing more that this requires an act of congress. All of this is straight forward and any highway department should have this information. This is what I mean by the US code being the Cliff notes of the Readers Digest condensed version of federal law. I'v decided to include all interstates in North Dakota to the list. They allow bicycles but not motorized bicycles. The first motorcycles were motorized bicycles and I think the federal definition includes them. The problem is some internally geared hubs look like motors from a distance and people are certainly being pulled over for this. When the technology becomes available I will be using regenerative braking. This turns a generator into a brake which dumps the power into a battery. The battery then turns the hub into a motor and allows a motorized assist. I will use this not because I'm lazy but because lithium batteries can not be overcharged. It is best to keep them under charged by using them as an assists. Of course at night you can discharge them into your lights. 

22

General Discussion / Title 23 Section 109m United States Code.

« on: December 08, 2019, 09:58:15 am »

Federal law prohibits banning non motorized traffic from a highway. A summary of these laws are (m)Protection of Nonmotorized Transportation Traffic.—
The Secretary shall not approve any project or take any regulatory action under this title that will result in the severance of an existing major route or have significant adverse impact on the safety for nonmotorized transportation traffic and light motorcycles, unless such project or regulatory action provides for a reasonable alternate route or such a route exists. Keep in mind the United states Code is not the law it is the Cliff notes to the readers digest condensed version of the law. So I'm going to offer the following with out proof. The federal government a state or a county has the authority to move a highway. The new route must be within 2 miles of the original route and be of equal or greater quality than the original route. Therefore if a detour for non motorized traffic exceeds this then it is not legal. If an interstate is built within the right of way of a pre existing highway then a state can not ban non motorized traffic on that section of the road. A state law that is in conflict with a federal law can not be enforced and may be unconstitutional. A recent ruling in Louisville is relevant here link below. Here are several roads that I think are in violation of this law. Interstate 5 on the northern California border. All interstates in Arizona. They allow bicycles but prohibit pedestrians. Interstate 25 on the northern New Mexico border. Interstate 72 on the western Illinois border. Interstate 69 where it blocks highway 57 in Indiana. Interstate 20 where it runs over highway 78 in Alabama. In addition any highway that is shut down for maintenance must provide a detour route even if such a detour route runs across private property or an interstate. The detour route then legally becomes the highway. Again non motorized traffic can't be banned on this detour. https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/louisville-judge-rules-kentucky-speed-limit-laws-unconstitutional/article_41bee7d0-db1c-11e9-90c3-4f53828e8df3.html

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Gear Talk / Re: Are there counterfeit DT spokes?

« on: October 20, 2019, 04:12:39 pm »

Here is a new photo of DT spokes removed from a set of DT Swiss 2.0 wheels. Most likely this failure caused a crash. https://flic.kr/p/2hxWcRb

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Gear Talk / Re: Are there counterfeit DT spokes?

« on: October 15, 2019, 07:50:51 am »

I have now seen the same type of failures in a set of DT 2.0 wheels. So I can now say the defective spokes exist. The defective spokes are coming from Asia in built up wheels. It looks like salt accelerates the breaks. The spokes I'm using are breaking about every 100 miles. I'm the spoke nerd. This rate of breakage fits with the formula I came up with using Wheelsmith data. You can read about it here all the typos are mine. If DT wants to sue me I am ready for them. https://www.wheelfanatyk.com/blog/for-spoke-nerds-only/

25

Gear Talk / Re: How many patches?

« on: October 05, 2019, 09:34:33 am »

You need to replace the tube when any new patch has to overlap an existing patch. These will leak. Also it is time to get a new tube if any existing patch starts to peel. 

26

General Discussion / Re: Judge rulls traffic sign unconstitutional.

« on: October 05, 2019, 09:29:28 am »

I did not expect any one here to study the case. In the case the law said the speed limit on the interstate is 65 mph. Some one posted a sign that said the speed limit is 55 mph. Police think the sign is the law it is not. The sign posted was itself illegal. Title 23 section 109m says pedestrians and bicycles can not be banned from any highway. It also says an interstate can not be built within the right of way of preexisting highway. This is the cause of 99 percent of the problems I have with the police. Some one has posted a sign in conflict with the law. Just to be clear I will show you a photo of an illegal sign. https://flic.kr/p/21P5JEu

27

General Discussion / Re: Forged vs stamp steel rear dropouts

« on: September 29, 2019, 08:13:19 am »

This depends on how heavy you are. I managed to deform a set of 4130 steel dropouts after 100000 miles. The back wheel had between 165 to 190 pounds. You are certainly better off with steel than aluminum. 

28

General Discussion / Judge rulls traffic sign unconstitutional.

« on: September 29, 2019, 08:08:38 am »

A judge in Louisville Ky has ruled people are required to obey the law and not the sign. This is a variation of the original speed trap case. This case has been expanded in courts to include all traffic control signs.  That is if some fool places a traffic sign stating bicycles are not allowed on a road we do not have to obey it if it is in conflict with the law. Here is the law                                                                                                                                      (m)Protection of Nonmotorized Transportation Traffic.—
The Secretary shall not approve any project or take any regulatory action under this title that will result in the severance of an existing major route or have significant adverse impact on the safety for nonmotorized transportation traffic and light motorcycles, unless such project or regulatory action provides for a reasonable alternate route or such a route exists. We now are able to bring constitutional charges against police officers who harass us. https://soundcloud.com/stevelehto/no-speed-limits-in-kentucky-ep-6008

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General Discussion / Australia cracking down on drivers using phones.

« on: September 23, 2019, 09:00:24 am »

In 2016 the number of people killed by drivers using phones increased by 8000 in the United States. Of course pedestrians and cyclists are much more likely to die in these events. Australia is using cameras over automobiles as well as cameras that photograph plates to issue fines to drivers. I think this is the best solution for other parts of the world. I do not advocate the ability of governments to pull a license of some one for 1 infraction. Pulling a drivers license will not stop people from driving. Also mistakes can be made and a license can be pulled from some one who is not actually driving. I was surprised to find out all of this was worked out by the trucking industry. They make a distinction between drivers who are using a phone and drivers who are using a radio to receive instructions for doing their job. Ideally some of the fines will be diverted to rebuilding the infrastructure. I willing to take a back seat to wheelchair users. Building curb ramps helps cyclists as well. We can use these when the road becomes too crowded. I caught a school bus driver doing this. I sent the school police an email stating I would be photographing this and would use deadly force against any police officer who interfered. The problem here is a school bus driver who knows they have been caught will accuse the photographer of photographing the kids. Georgia shortly changed the law after this and it is now illegal for any school bus driver to phone and drive. The police left me alone though a few of them came by to look at me while I had my coffee in McDonalds. https://techxplore.com/news/2019-09-australia-technology-drivers.html

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General Discussion / Transport Topics.

« on: September 03, 2019, 08:19:49 pm »

 I have been touring and forcing governments to obey road law for more than 20 years. Recently I came across the magazine Transport Topics. They were discussing the proposed interstate 10 toll road. I sent them an email stating the new project should include lanes for non motorized traffic which would allow the state to comply with Title 23 Section 109m United States Code should highway 90 ever need to be shut down for repairs. Of course I was ignored and the new toll road has been killed after overwhelming opposition. I think this is an excellent magazine to email if you ever come across a violation of non motorized road law. Don't sent them a I think this would be a good idea email. They claim to be a general magazine. Let's show them that all highway departments will violate the law if they think they can get away with it. https://www.ttnews.com/