Tires Pneumatic Modern tires allow cyclists to ride pavements, gravel, trails, dirt, mud, and other surfaces. Tires are pneumatically inflated with compressed air. Pneumatic tires have inspired the invention of tire materials, wheel rims, valves, pumps, tire levers, tools, patches, and adhesives. The newer tubeless tires have led to tire sealant in inspired tire plugs, …
Wax Not dripped Paraffin is a wax, a dry solid, which is melted down into a low viscosity (thin) liquid, and applied to a chain immersed in the hot wax. The liquid fills the spaces around the pins and along the edges of the rollers. When the chain is removed from the liquid paraffin cools …
The title of Tim Spector’s 2015 book The Diet Myth refers to one “myth”. The book begans with an Introduction that discusses the author’s midlife health crisis when his blood pressure rose suddenly, and present an overview of his research into the modern diet. The Introduction identifies the problems of deciding “what is good or …
My project to learn enough about bike chains and lubrication to replace my chain, change my use of lubricants, and maintain my bike better is nearly complete, subject to corrections and second thoughts: Finding Chain Wear – Introduction; internet research; trustworthy information, some basics of working with chains; Roller chain – Modern roller chain for …
Lessons – an endless post These are lessons from playing with lubricants and bike chains. I have posted what I have written to date. This post will become an endlessly updated post. Satisficing At one time, the problem of what was good enough could be answered with a slogan such as “close enough for government …
Prices Motor Oil & Gear Oil Motor oil, the lubricating oil distilled and sold for use (4 stroke) internal combustion engines, was sold in quart containers for decades. For decades the containers were cardboard cylinders with metal end caps. Automotive service centers, once known as garages, issued workers spouts that could both puncture an end …
Bike Chains 4 – Lubricant prices, testing, innovation Read More »
The Way We Eat Now, a 2019 book by British writer Bee Wilson discusses paradoxes of food in the modern world: the success of farmers in growing enough food to feed the world, the inequalities of access to food, and the prevalence of unhealthy eating. Ms. Wilson does not identify herself as a chef, biologist, …
Introduction/Resources Most of a bike has solid two dimensional surfaces, protected with paint – like an automobile or motorcycle. The solid parts can be hosed off or gently scrubbed. Cleaning the bike exposes the joints and the open parts, including the chain, to dirt, water and detergents. Cleaning a chain is necessary to use the …
Bikes Other Drive Systems The Sturmey-Archer 3-speed AW internal gear hub system was used on Raleigh bicycles for many years. There are articles and resources at Bicycle Technical Information (“BTI” – the Sheldon Brown site), such as “Servicing Sturmey-Archer 3-Speed Hubs“, and other manuals and support resources. There is a BTI article on Internal-Gear Hubs. …
The London Review of Books (“LRB”) published “Too Specific and Too Vague“, a review by the English culinary writer Bee Wilson of two recent books that refer to the ways that Asian cooking met tastes in England. One book is about the work of 7 women presenting immigrant dishes in British and American restaurants and …