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Category: acquired things

2007 Avid BB7

Published June 22, 2008

The new rear 2007 Avid BB7 disc brake mounted on my bike, replacing the BB5s that were damaged when I was rear ended.

As yesterday’s collision left me with a not-safely-rideable bike, I’m stuck at home during reasonably nice weather. Since Danielle and I were heading out to Zingerman’s Deli for lunch, I figured I’d check out some bike shops along the way to Ann Arbor and see if I could find a suitable replacement for the now-damaged BB5.

Calling around to a few bike shops (Tree Fort Bikes, who has an asinine policy regarding online† vs. in store prices and Trails Edge who was very friendly but out of stock) and stopping by Wheels In Motion (who seemed quite nice) I was unable to locate a rear set of Avid BB7 brakes for my bike. After eating a rather nice BLT, we began heading back towards my house when I thought of stopping off at REI in Northville. Thankfully we did, because sitting in the clearance bin was a brand new 2007 Avid BB7 rear disc brake set for mountain bikes, clearance priced at $49.83, which is even cheaper than Price Point sells it for.

After stopping at ‘s place to borrow his inch-pound torque wrench (to be sure everything is right) and visiting my Mom (Dad was at work) Danielle and I headed back to my house, where I spent a while fitting the brake and getting it nicely adjusted. While I haven’t ridden on it yet, I can say that this brake is so much nicer to adjust that I may very well order the matching front version from PricePoint and install it in place of the current BB5.

While looking over my bike I found that there’s a good bit of water in the frame (some ran out when I removed the rear rack to fit the rear brake), so I think tomorrow I’ll pull the bottom bracket apart and see if any more water runs out. I also found that the front wheel is not turning very well, and investigating that showed that the cone nuts (or they may just be lock nuts if they are cartridge bearing) on the front end are loose, so tomorrow I’ll look into fixing that bit up as well.

At least now I’m on my way to having a nicely rideable bike again. Maybe I will be able to make next weekend’s charity ride.

† Tree Fort Bikes lists the Avid BB7 brakes as ~$52 each on line, so I called and asked if I could come by and get them for that price. I was told that they are out of stock, but if they were in stock that the price would be higher because one has to pay for the lights and buildings and such. However, the person I talked to informed me that if I ordered online and set things up for in-store pickup, I could get the online price. This doesn’t make sense to me, as I don’t see how in-store pickup for an in-stock item should be any more expensive than in-store pickup for a special order item.

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Ultimate Support Sport-Mechianic Bicycle Repair Stand

Published June 19, 2008

I purchased this Ultimate Support Sport-Mechanic bike repair stand from REI to hold my bike while working on it. It's quite useful.

After work today I swung by REI and picked up an Ultimate Support bike stand; the Sport-Mechanic model. (Here is a mirror of their catalog PDF, as the site is changing.) I really like this company’s stands, and as mentioned before, I have one of their display / floor stands for holding my bike upright when parking it.

This stand is quite useful, as I’m able to hold my bike off the ground and actually adjust things while pedaling, which is a nice change of pace. It was a hassle before holding the back end off the ground with one hand, pedaling with the other, and trying to see what wasn’t right. That said, I’m not sure if it’s really worth its cost.

The stand was $159 (plus 6% sales tax), and while I’ve found that online I could have acquired it for $20 less, including free shipping, at least this way I had the option of returning it if I didn’t like it. I also ended up getting two Park Tool items, the FR-5 Cassette Lockring Tool and SR-1 Sprocket Remover / Chain Whip, which are needed for taking apart my rear wheel.

I’m almost tempted to return the stand, partially because I can get it for so much cheaper online, and partially because I’m not sure if I really need it. I shouldn’t be buying expensive things that I don’t need and/or won’t use enough to make them worth the money spent. I’ll decide this tomorrow or over the weekend.

I also spent a bunch of time tonight washing my bike, cleaning up the drive train, and lubricating and/or adjusting the parts that needed it. The chain was cleaned in a solvent bath then checked for wear, which showed that it’s stretched 1/32″ over 11 links. Being half worn out it looks like I’ll end up replacing the chain sometime this year if I keep riding as frequently as I have been.

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iPhone 3G In My Future?

Published June 10, 2008

With Apple’s announcement of a new 3G iPhone, I think one might be in my future.

I’ve had my old Nokia 6600 since October 2004, and it’s just starting to fail. The screen is becoming dark and blue tinted, the photos (example) just aren’t that great, and some of the buttons are starting to fail. The battery on it is also really quite bad, and I have to charge it every day else it’ll fail.

Currently I pay around $47/mo after taxes for 600 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekend, and no data via T-Mobile. If a plan via AT&T can give me ~300 anytime minutes and the same unlimited nights and weekends, along with a comparable data plan, for a somewhat similar price, I think I’ll go with an iPhone.

I need to be sure that it will work with my custom iPod setup in the car, which ties the line out into the stereo and power into the iPod for charging. I also want to be certain that when the iPhone is receiving power via the dock connector and playing that it automatically pauses when power is cut. I use this feature to ensure that the iPod automatically pauses when I turn off my car, and I’d like the iPhone to do the same thing.

I figure that I’ll probably end up getting a Bluetooth headset for use when actually talking to people while driving. I rarely do this so I’ll probably first try using my old headset first, then maybe get a new / better / longer lasting one.

Hopefully this will work out well and meet all the goals of getting a phone with a better camera, display, and battery, while at the same time providing me with a nice mobile network terminal and one less device to carry.

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Time For New Sandals

Published May 17, 2008

My old sandals, some Nike Air Deschutz from the mid 1990s.

Since the early 90s I’ve had the exact same pair of sandals, which I’d wear whenever I was out washing the car, or doing other things which sandals are appropriate for. They are the ones seen above, an old, very worn pair of Nike Air Deschutz. They would still be plenty serviceable, except that the last time I was watching Tobi she chewed part-way through one of the straps. That, and they are beyond the not-particularly-attractive stage.

When at REI last night I came across some Ahnu Tilden II sandals on clearance $49.83. The size 10 seemed to fit me well, so I picked them up. After going for a few walks around here and trying them out I think I like them, I’m just not accustomed to my toes being enclosed while not wearing socks, so they’ll take a little getting used to. Here is a photo of the sandals themselves, if you are interested.

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