Archive for category Recumbent Bicycling
NP-BX1 Lithium Batteries: DOT-01
Posted by Ed in Electronics Workbench, Recumbent Bicycling on 2019-02-18
A quartet of DOT01 NP-BX1 batteries arrived:
The dotted lines show the results from late 2015 for a pair of then-new Wasabi NP-BX1 batteries, so the DOT-01 batteries look about the same. The F battery barely lasted to the halfway point of our most recent bike ride and the G battery now resides in the blinky-and-glowy pile.
I’d be unsurprised to discover all the myraid “different” NP-BX1 batteries all come from the same factory. Unlike the Wasabi batteries, these lack date codes, which seems like an extra-cost option you don’t get on the low end.
Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Drive-In Entrance
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-12-29
Perhaps they should just saw off the bollard in the middle of the entrance and be done with it:
Maloney Trailhead – tire tracks 2018-12-15
Some backstory may be of interest.
Tour Easy Front Fender: Redux
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-12-24
The front fender on Mary’s bike snapped loose while we were on our way for groceries, but my repair kit now once again includes a few feet of duct tape and we continued the mission:
Tour Easy front fender – duct tape FTW
The final fracture seems to be just the little gray section amid the older fractures, so the Planet Bike clip was hanging on by a thread:
Tour Easy front fender – broken clip
Our bikes being equipped as alike as I can make them, another copy of the bracket I used on my bike sufficed:
Tour Easy front fender – new bracket
Stipulated: duct tape is déclassé, but it works better than anything else I’ve tried.
Dutchess Rail Trail: Maloney Rd Trailhead Ruts
Posted by Ed in Oddities, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-12-10
It seems the DCW&WA SUV makes regular trips through the “No Motor Vehicles” bike access:
Maloney Rd Trailhead – 2018-11-07
If it’s not them, then it’s somebody following their example.
Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should … but, of course, the ordinary rules apply only to little people, not public servants.
Someone in the bike advocacy apparat once told me I’m the most cynical, bitter person they’d ever met, at least on the subject of getting along with public servants. As I see it, I came by my attitude honestly.
Badger Propel Air Fittings: DIY Rubber Washers
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-11-25
Unlike ordinary bike tubes, Michelin ProTek tubes have a square-ish cross section:
Michelin Protek Max Tube – carton
So, having a defunct Michelin ProTek tube in hand, I cut, cleaned, and dissected a few inches, then punched out a set of (flat!) washers for the Badger Propel air fittings:
Badger 260 Propel fitting seals – inner-tube version
As with the cork version, they fit fine:
Badger Propel fitting – DIY rubber seal
The picture is slightly fuzzy, because zooming a Pixel photo doesn’t magically create any new mmmm pixels.
I tested the washer with 45 psi air (the recommended maximum) and it holds the pressure fine. Better than a fouled ProTek valve, anyway.
Flushed with success, I preemptively replaced both OEM cork washers, an action which will surely come back to haunt me.
Michelin ProTek Max Tube: Autopsy
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-11-24
The Michelin ProTek Max tube I installed two years ago developed a slow leak this year, which I eventually ascribed to the valve stem, because the sealant should plug any other leak.
Cutting it open reveals the perfectly good greenish-yellow sealant:
Michelin ProTek tube – sealant
The sealant also carries black rubbery grit / shavings / dust, perhaps intended to jam inside larger gashes while the sealant coagulates and binds it together.
There’s a lot of rubber floating around in there:
Michelin ProTek tube – rubber fragments
Dismantling the Presta valve stem show the rubbery crud on and around the valve seal and seat:
Michelin ProTek tube – fouled valve seal
Whenever I pumped up the tires, I finger-tightened the nut to ensure a good seal, as you do with all Presta valves. Obviously, finger-tight can’t handle that much crud between the sealing surfaces.
I’m sorry to say I was right about the leaky valve stem, because I think all the ProTek tubes will fail in exactly the same way.
The valve has small wrench flats making it easy to remove, so I can at least attempt to de-gunk them when they develop slow leaks.
Color me unimpressed.
SRAM X.9 Grip Shift Guts
Posted by Ed in Machine Shop, Recumbent Bicycling on 2018-11-11
The guts of the failed SRAM X.9 rear shifter from my Tour Easy:
SRAM X.9 grip shifter – innards
The identical rear shifter on Mary’s bike also seems to be wearing out, as it glides between two of her favorite click stops a bit too easily. You can see the spring peeking out to the right, beyond the white tube, and the notches forming the clicks.
AFAICT, the raised section between the notches is wearing down; there’s no repair for that sort of thing. I took this one apart to see what’s inside: now we know!
We’ve agreed to not replace the shifter until the situation gets worse. An X.0 shifter should arrive shortly; it appears identical except for deeper scallops around the grip.
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Recumbent Bicycling category.
Blowback