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Month: September 2020

Easy Carpet Spikes for iMovR Freedom Base

Published September 30, 2020

I recently purchased an iMovR Energize corner standing desk which came with the Freedom base. It works well, but had a bit of a wobble when placed on the relatively-thick carpet in my office. Because the leveling legs are relatively wide (35mm) they’d sit on top of the carpet and the desk didn’t have great support.

To solve this I picked up four M8-1.25 x 25mm hex head screws from Home Depot and fitted them in place of the leveling feet. This resulted in ~20mm tall, narrow feet sticking down off the legs, pressing firmly through the carpet to the wood floor below, and no more wobble.

This is the same principle as carpet spikes, used to for speakers and other tall/narrow cabinets, to make them more stable on soft carpet by pressing through the carpet to the hard floor below. (Carpet spikes, for speakers, have all sorts of other acoustic isolating purposes which sometimes border on audiophile woo, but increased physical stability is an easily demonstrated effect.)

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Bontrager Line Dropper Post Failure Mode + Repair

Published September 28, 2020

The Bontrager Line Dropper Seatpost, as fitted on Kristen’s Trek Fuel EX 9.8 Women’s (mirror) is a quality dropper, and I’m particularly impressed with the way built-in sacrificial parts fail when the saddle is hit hard from the side. Over the summer Kristen has had a couple crashes which, due to hard impacts on the side of the saddle, damaged the dropper. After the first crash the saddle (and inner part of the dropper) would turn easily to one side, and after the second the saddle had a bunch of side to side play, and could be turned to the side fairly easily.

On this dropper there are two plastic keys that slide in grooves in the outer tube as the saddle moves up and down. They keep the saddle from moving to the side, are designed to fail when the saddle is hit hard from the side. By using a sacrificial part like these plastic keys, Trek/Bontrager’s designers have a dropper which works well, but only costs a few dollars to repair after a damaging crash.

The key set, part number 572184 and $5.99 MSRP, is replaced by removing the seatpost from the bike, unscrewing the bottom of the post by hand, then unscrewing the retaining ring at the top of the post with a strap wrench. Sliding off the outer tube reveals the keys, which can be popped out with a pin or a razor blade. Wiping everything down, fitting the replacement keys in the groove, lubing with Slickoleum, then putting everything back together is all that’s needed to repair the dropper to like-new condition.

The photo above shows a pair of damaged keys, along with the plastic shavings cleaned out of the dropper after a failure. The rounded edges on the keys show where they fail when overloaded, and the shavings are the remains of the once-sharp edges.

I’m really happy with this dropper. It works well, it’s overall pretty cheap, is easy to disassemble to repair after a crash, and replacing the main cylinder should be just as easy, whenever it comes time for that.

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Suggested First Rides in Marquette

Published September 24, 2020

Here’s a quick list of easy to follow mountain bike routes in the Marquette area, as Trailforks routes. Fun, accessible routes friendly to all bike types, from rigid fatbikes to squishy trail bikes, perfect for getting you started riding in the Marquette area. Each loop will take most riders an hour to and hour-and-a-half each, excluding stops, and are excellent on their own or as a basis for exploring other trails.

These trails are all built and maintained by the Noquemanon Trails Network and are constantly being improved and expanded. Without their work you wouldn’t have these great trails to ride, and without donations they can’t exist. Click here to send some money their way to keep these trails great. (Sign up for a full NTN membership here.)

Keep in mind all these trails are two way and quite popular in both directions. Be nice, say hi, yield appropriately, and let others know how many more folks are behind you.

NTN North Trails (from BLP Trailhead)

Kristen’s Favorite Loop: One of the best ways to get started with riding North Trails. An easier route than the South Trails, but by no means boring, this route includes views of the awesome Forestville Dam and Falls, Wright Street Falls, Forestville Basin, the penstock (large wood pipe). Climbing is gradual but sustained, as are the descents, with just enough rock sprinkled in to make things fun.

NTN South Trails (from South Trailhead)

Green / Morgan Creek Loop (Clockwise): Perfect intro to the South Trails, with rolling climbs and descents, riding past and over waterfalls. Scatterings of rocks and roots are all over, but nothing difficult; the perfect everything trail. Follow the green signs.

Red / Pioneer Loop (Clockwise): Begins with the Benson Grade Access Road climb, then starts with a relatively flat but slightly rocky single track before snaking it’s way along a beautiful brook and mildly rocky trails along with views of Lake Superior. A bit more technical than Green, but another great trail to get started on. Follow the red signs.

Gorge-ous to Blue: A step above the Red and Green loops, this heads downhill on the incredibly scenic Gorge-ous trail (part of the Yellow route) and loops back to the trailhead using portions of the Blue loop. Gorge-ous is mostly smooth dirt, with a handful of rocks and roots, and some decent (for Michigan) exposure. Blue, the oldest route in the system, is considerably rougher and has some challenging climbs, but is still a lot of fun. Starts by following Grom (Purple Signs) to Gorge-ous (Yellow Signs) and then continues on Forget-Me-Not (Blue Signs) after reaching the Carp River.

(If you want more information, check out my longer post, Marquette Mountain Biking for Trolls, which gives downstate Michigan folks pointers on getting started riding in the Marquette area.)

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