Messages

31

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

32

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. 

33

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

34

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

35

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/

36

Gear Talk / Are there counterfeit DT spokes?

« on: August 22, 2019, 10:15:13 am »

I dug a wheel out of a recycle bin that had 4 broken spokes. I didn't look closely at the spokes but it looked like they were cut. I disassembled the wheel and used the spokes of a new wheel. Since then I have broken 4 spokes all of them failed in the middle. I now believe the spokes I thought were cut also broke in the middle. These are the only DT spokes I have ever broke so either the quality has gone way down or they are counterfeit. Spokes that break in the middle always have an inclusion. I bought some DT Alpine spokes several years ago. Afterwards I learned they had made a change in the design of the spokes that made them easier for machines to build the wheels. The shaft between the elbow and head was lengthened. This resulted in the heads popping off of the spokes. All of the information is on the tandem list over at Hobbes. Several tandem wheel builders will no longer use these spokes. After that stunt and a failure of DT to fix the problem I would not be surprised if DT has downgraded their quality. I have been unable to reach DT. https://flic.kr/p/2gC4GDL

37

Gear Talk / Re: Building a 45 spoke wheel.

« on: August 22, 2019, 10:02:34 am »

Santana and my self came up with formulas to calculate wheel strength based on the amount of dish these wheels have. Dish is a very old word used on wagon wheels that means the rim is not centered over the hub. Engels Coach Shop is still building these wheels. Dish was designed into these wheels though I can't find out why. The strongest wheels have zerodish. The next strongest wheels have equal spoke tension achieved by using different gauge spokes or by using more spokes on one side. The worlds greatest tourist Ian Hibell said you must use components you can get parts for. He started out with 32 spokes front and 40 spokes rear with Campagnolo hubs. Eventually 40 spoke rims became impossible to find. My 45 spoke wheels are as strong as a 54 spoke wheel of equal dish. They can be made from a standard 36 spoke wheel with a large flange hub. You can buy these wheels any where and modify them on the road which I have proved can be done. Once 48 spoke wheels become more common I will switch. 

38

Gear Talk / Re: Building a 45 spoke wheel.

« on: July 29, 2019, 08:23:06 am »

After 2 years there have been no failures of the hubs. I have broken several spokes with an R on the heads however I believe these are just bad spokes. Each of the two hubs has accumulated 4000 miles with around 165 pounds weight on the rear wheel. For more weird ideas check my flickr account under zerodish.

39

General Discussion / Motorists view cyclists as sub human.

« on: March 27, 2019, 09:08:06 am »

Read the article then we will discuss it.  https://phys.org/news/2019-03-offcyclists-human-drivers.html

40

Gear Talk / Re: Bike tour headlight recommendation needed

« on: March 25, 2019, 09:01:57 am »

I use a regular flashlight. Get a light with a narrow beam if you can. Flashlights with a slide focus are impossible to make waterproof. Get a flashlight holder if you want to mount it on the handlebars. You may want to consider a power bank flashlight which you can not only recharge with a usb cable but you can discharge into your phone.

41

General Discussion / I hit a rogue wave.

« on: March 22, 2019, 08:48:43 am »

For thousands of years sailors have reported a massive wave that comes out of nowhere on a calm day and capsizes their ship. Now days governments deploy buoys that measure wave height among other things and have proved these waves are real. Wave height is simply a matter of probability. The higher the wave the less probability it occurs. Recently I was traveling at around 20 mph on a road with newly patched pot holes. In addition there were crumbling pavement at the edges of the road and a downpour had washed mud into the road. Of course I hit the brakes but I didn't think the road was especially dangerous. This combination of rough pavement and the heavy traffic that would not allow me to use the full lane caused me to lose control and I slid into a deep pot hole full of water and crashed. As you know I have toured 100000 miles. It was only a matter of time before this happened. I bent a 4130 steel mountain bike fork and put a slight wrinkle in a 37 mm 4130 steel down tube. I replaced the fork since I'm on tour and am looking for a new bicycle. https://flic.kr/p/2dJbDdF

42

Gear Talk / Re: Best tires for touring the US

« on: January 28, 2019, 07:38:03 pm »

After more than 100000 miles I have found that tires wider than 38mm always fail at the side wall and tires narrower than 38mm fail from glass cuts through the tread. So 38mm tires are the longest lasting. Walmart Kmart Target and Academy all carry Bell Sports and a few other brands that are all made by the same company that have Kevlar belts fold and are sold folded though the bead is actually steel.  These tires are OK if you have the room for them in your frame.

43

Gear Talk / Re: Four chain ring set up

« on: January 28, 2019, 07:22:31 pm »

What is going to happen with your setup is is the chain will shift from the 22 to the 42 and never hit the 30. Frank Berto discovered this problem in the 70's. Try and make the smallest cog and the second smallest cog as close as possible to each other. I use a 2mm spacer in my setups. Also if you place 2 chainrings on a single bold puts more stress on the bolt and it is possible to shear them. Here are a few I have tried. https://flic.kr/p/WxWrEf https://flic.kr/p/bCuNDq https://flic.kr/p/bCuDZh

44

Routes / Re: Cumberland Gap closed to cyclists.

« on: November 08, 2017, 07:14:23 pm »

I filed a complaint with the office of inspector general, web site below. The thing is I do check out my routes ahead of time. Illegal route blockages are never listed on the maps. I have cycled past around 20 of these signs and chewed out the police who have bothered me. The police are backing down because they believe I know what I'm talking about. Other police department tell me they are aware of the problem and don't enforce the law. A partial list is interstate 5 on the northern California border. Interstate 75 on the northern New Mexico border. Interstate 15 through Salt Lake city. Got a nice apology from the governor on that one. Interstate 72 on the western Illinois border. Highway 90 tunnel under the Mobile river. Interstate 20 in St Claire Alabama. Interstate 69 in Bloomington Indiana. Interstate 49 around Springdale Arkansas. Interstate 64 in Illinois can't remember the county. A few others can be found on flickr under the user name bicycle hazard. https://www.oig.dot.gov/hotline

45

Routes / Cumberland Gap closed to cyclists.

« on: October 26, 2017, 08:15:59 am »

I tried this several days ago and ran into one of those interstate style signs. They have destroyed the road and built a tunnel. I went around by highway 74. Stay off this road it is the most dangerous one I have been on after more than 100000 miles. There is no shoulder and in many cases there is no road. The pavement is missing 2 feet chunks where it has simply fallen down the mountain. In addition the pavement has subsided which keeps turning your wheel off the road. If you get too fatigued to maintain a straight line you will fall down the mountain and no one will be able to see you. Now the ban is the clearest violation of Title 23 section 109m that I have ever seen. However we may not need to use this to get the highway rebuilt. The official highway department fluff piece on the road says the old 2 mile section of 25E was killing 5 people a year. If the tunnel is closed and traffic tries to divert through highway 74 there will be 5 deaths within the first hour and 5 emergency personal deaths before it is over. The roads will be jammed and the injured will have to be lifted out by helicopter. So this is also the clearest case of criminal incompetence as it pertains to motorized traffic by the federal highway department that I have ever seen.  I know nothing about the routes east of Cumberland Gap.