Lezyne Deca Drive 1500XXL Report

On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 15:03:00 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/3/2017 12:28 PM, wrote:


2 years ago I was much faster than I am today.

For some badly needed topic drift, even if its not so pleasant:

In the last two years, I've gotten suddenly slower. It could be a
combination of things, I suppose. I no longer kill myself time trialing
home from work, because I'm retired (but I've been retired for a long
time now). A medication I take has some reputation for possibly
reducing athletic performance. I'm riding with slower people, so I
don't need to push myself as much. And I just don't have the fire in my
belly anymore.

But I recall, from maybe 30 years ago, one of the great old long-time
members of our club telling me one spring, "I don't know what it is, but
I just can't seem to get in shape this year!" This was a tough guy, the
kind who led other men in calisthenics every morning. I think he was in
his 60s at the time.

Everybody slows down over time. There are no 50-year-olds winning Tour
stages. But I wonder if most people feel it happening as a big step
down now and again, as opposed to an almost imperceptible, gradual process.

Et Tu Brute?

I think two things are involved here. Firstly, the body loses muscle
mass and strength as it grows older, which is probably accelerated by
a more sedentary life style (no more chasing the girls (:-? and
secondly, the aged body cannot recover from exercise as quickly as a
younger body.

An active exercise program can alleviate this deterioration to some
extent but probably not reverse it. See:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/less...dybuilder.html

When we are in Bangkok (about half the time) I have an exercise
program that I do three days a week but very little else other than
the usual household "Honeydo" projects. When we are in Phuket I am
much more active. I ride my utility bike daily and as we live on a
steep hill half of it is up hill and I have a workshop where I'm
usually building something. In addition, I do a 20 km ride on the
roads on Wednesday and a 70 - 100 km ride on Sunday.

When we arrive in Phuket the truck has been parked for a month or
more, the house is dirty and everything is packed away, so there is a
certain amount of work that HAS TO BE DONE NOW! The next day we have
to go "shopping" which involves an 80 km round trip to town in the
pickup several hours shopping and back home. By the end of the second
day we are both Exhausted!

A few months later, when we decide to come back to Bangkok for a
while, we do essentially the same thing, in reverse, and "no problem".

So yes, the ageing body doesn't recover as quickly as it used to, it
is weaker than it used to be and inactivity is thus more detrimental.

On the other hand, my grandfather was still raising 3 - 5,000 chickens
by himself with no mechanical assistance well into his '80's. But
then, he'd been doing it for, maybe, fifty years as a daily routine.

--
Cheers,

John B.

Masterful design team really knock your socks off machinery.

ooloh lookit that ......

On Thu, 2 Mar 2017 16:14:17 -0800, sms
wrote:

It's unlikely that there's anyone else that has not ridden along a road
with low hanging branches.

I've ridden along many a road with low-lying branches, and once I had
to stop and lift my bike over a low-lying tree -- but I've never seen
a low *hanging* branch over a roadway.

Except maybe right after the derecho, when Park Avenue was full of
brush, but since there were wires tangled all through the mess, I
didn't get close enough to see whether any of the branches were
hanging.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

On 04/03/17 11:59, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 00:19:30 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/2/2017 8:28 PM, John B. wrote:


While I am not arguing the merits of any light system I would like to
comment that forgetting to charge a battery is hardly a logical
argument against battery powered lighting.

One could argue with equal logic that pants are not an effective
covering as one has to remember to put them on before going out the
door.

The big difference is, normal people notice immediately whether they are
wearing pants or not. But many people don't notice until dark that
their disposable batteries have been used to within 10% of discharge.
Or don't notice until dark that they actually forgot to plug in the
charger the previous evening. Or don't notice until too late that the
expensive old rechargeable battery now holds only a third of its stated
capacity when new.


It all sounds so logical....
I guess I must not be normal as installing a charged battery is part
of my "getting ready to ride" routine. Just like putting on my pants,
or even my shoes, or (gasp) checking the tire pressure.

Do these forgetful people also ride around on flat tires, because they
forgot to pump them up? Do they frequently arrive at the store with no
money or credit cards?


I have been known to leave home and ride up the street before realizing
that I have not put on the one piece of clothing mandated by law - a helmet.

--
JS

On 04/03/17 12:05, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 17:08:14 +1100, James
wrote:

On 03/03/17 16:55, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:03:45 +1100, James
wrote:

On 03/03/17 12:28, John B. wrote:

While I am not arguing the merits of any light system I would like
to comment that forgetting to charge a battery is hardly a logical
argument against battery powered lighting.

One could argue with equal logic that pants are not an effective
covering as one has to remember to put them on before going out the
door. -- Cheers,


However, if your wardrobe dressed you in pants without you having to
remember to put them on, as a dynamo provides your light with power
without you having to remember to charge it first...

Ah, but your wardrobe does not dress you and I wonder. Have you ever
left for work without your pants on?

About as often as I've forgotten to charge the battery in my car. Oh,
that's right, I don't have to remember because the car does that for me.

I can only assume that your wardrobe, i.e., "a tall piece of furniture
that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks
for hanging clothes", grabs you by the throat as soon as you arise,
and stuffs you into a pair of pants?

Pretty much!

--
JS

On 3/3/2017 8:05 PM, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 17:08:14 +1100, James
wrote:

On 03/03/17 16:55, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:03:45 +1100, James
wrote:

On 03/03/17 12:28, John B. wrote:

While I am not arguing the merits of any light system I would like
to comment that forgetting to charge a battery is hardly a logical
argument against battery powered lighting.

One could argue with equal logic that pants are not an effective
covering as one has to remember to put them on before going out the
door. -- Cheers,


However, if your wardrobe dressed you in pants without you having to
remember to put them on, as a dynamo provides your light with power
without you having to remember to charge it first...

Ah, but your wardrobe does not dress you and I wonder. Have you ever
left for work without your pants on?

About as often as I've forgotten to charge the battery in my car. Oh,
that's right, I don't have to remember because the car does that for me.

I can only assume that your wardrobe, i.e., "a tall piece of furniture
that provides storage space for clothes; has a door and rails or hooks
for hanging clothes", grabs you by the throat as soon as you arise,
and stuffs you into a pair of pants?

Too dangerous. You might end up in The Wrong Trousers.

http://www.wallaceandgromit.com/film...wrong-trousers



--
- Frank Krygowski

On Thu, 2 Mar 2017 08:19:07 -0800, sms
wrote:

On 3/1/2017 10:57 PM, somebody wrote:
On Wed, 1 Mar 2017 15:21:29 -0800, sms
wrote:

201 posts on this subject, not including a bunch of incoherent rantings
by datakoll that were filtered out.

Time to argue about something else.

Chain waxing. Then morph into outdated components, home tire
building, flat tires in the southwest, Donald Trump vs. Rosie O'Donnel
and finally morbid obesity in illegal immigrants on welfare.

Good times!

You forgot about helmets.

You're right!


From Australia (2016): "“Helmet use is associated with odds reductions
of 51% for head injury, 69% for serious head injury, 33% for face injury
and 65% for fatal head injury. Injuries to the neck were rare and not
associated with helmet use,” the study found."

Vlad Putin is never shown wearing a bicycle helmet. Therefore the
helmetless are part of the Russia-U.S. Republican bromance. You know,
the ones who embraced socialism as part of election hacking scandal.

On Sat, 4 Mar 2017 15:50:15 +1100, James
wrote:

On 04/03/17 11:59, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 00:19:30 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/2/2017 8:28 PM, John B. wrote:


While I am not arguing the merits of any light system I would like to
comment that forgetting to charge a battery is hardly a logical
argument against battery powered lighting.

One could argue with equal logic that pants are not an effective
covering as one has to remember to put them on before going out the
door.

The big difference is, normal people notice immediately whether they are
wearing pants or not. But many people don't notice until dark that
their disposable batteries have been used to within 10% of discharge.
Or don't notice until dark that they actually forgot to plug in the
charger the previous evening. Or don't notice until too late that the
expensive old rechargeable battery now holds only a third of its stated
capacity when new.


It all sounds so logical....
I guess I must not be normal as installing a charged battery is part
of my "getting ready to ride" routine. Just like putting on my pants,
or even my shoes, or (gasp) checking the tire pressure.

Do these forgetful people also ride around on flat tires, because they
forgot to pump them up? Do they frequently arrive at the store with no
money or credit cards?


I have been known to leave home and ride up the street before realizing
that I have not put on the one piece of clothing mandated by law - a helmet.

Goodness! And does the Court accept the excuse "No, your Honor, I just
forgot" (:-?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Fri, 03 Mar 2017 19:38:52 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 3/3/2017 7:30 PM, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:54:26 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/3/2017 2:03 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 8:01:30 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/3/2017 10:43 AM, sms wrote:
On 3/2/2017 10:08 PM, James wrote:
On 03/03/17 16:55, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 3 Mar 2017 14:03:45 +1100, James
wrote:

On 03/03/17 12:28, John B. wrote:

While I am not arguing the merits of any light system I would like
to comment that forgetting to charge a battery is hardly a logical
argument against battery powered lighting.

One could argue with equal logic that pants are not an effective
covering as one has to remember to put them on before going out the
door. -- Cheers,


However, if your wardrobe dressed you in pants without you having to
remember to put them on, as a dynamo provides your light with power
without you having to remember to charge it first...

Ah, but your wardrobe does not dress you and I wonder. Have you ever
left for work without your pants on?

About as often as I've forgotten to charge the battery in my car. Oh,
that's right, I don't have to remember because the car does that for me.

As long as you remember to put fuel in the tank. And the car reminds you
when this is necessary. Just like many modern battery powered devices
tell you the level of charge, though this is an area of improvement for
bicycle lights.

Can you imagine a car with a separate headlight battery, one that you'd
need to remember to charge before you left your house? How popular
would that be?

And what would you do if you were driving that car home from work in the
winter, and the "Charge your headlight now!" indicator came on?

Imagine having to put gas or oil into a car. That would be outrageous! Could you imagine a car that had an indicator that said "fill your gas tank now"? Pfffff.

Well, if battery-operated bike lights had an analog display showing
remaining battery capacity, it would have saved several of my riding
friends from having to borrow spare lights from me.

IIRC, the very early imported Volkswagen Beetles had no gas gauge. When
the engine started sputtering, drivers switched to "Reserve" mode and
started looking for a gas station. That system was never popular, even
though there were plenty of gas stations in most places. VW installed
gas gauges sometime in the 1960s.

Yes, and the Ford Model T, which were built from 1908 until 1927,
nearly 20 years, had no fuel gauge. Think of it, more than 15 million
cars built without a fuel gauge. At one time half of all the
automobiles in the world were Model T's (without a fuel gauge).

But maybe early 20th century Americans were more self reliant than
modern folks?


Also no fuel pump, no water pump, no battery, manual spark
advance and so on. But working on a T impresses one with the
care taken in design and execution. They're a real handful
to drive but at least I can, unlike modern
electronics-encrusted cars. YMMV as always.

Model T engines continued to be built until 1941 so there must have
been a demand for them long after the cars were no longer built.

AND, a "1925 Ford Model T Huckster, Elevtric Start, Wooden Cab, Side
Curtains, Boyce Moto Meter and Side Mount Spare." is going for a
paltry $21,500.
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 11:37:56 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/3/2017 12:32 PM, wrote:
On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 8:25:49 AM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 3/2/2017 7:14 PM, sms wrote:
You can take the lane, and not ride toward
the right, for as long as you survive doing that.

Speaking again about Stephen's apparent fear of leaving the gutter - He
and others with that fear should read this page:
http://www.bicycling.com/rides/safet...raffic/slide/1

"Your Definitive Guide to Riding your Bike in Traffic" includes things
like "when sharing the road where there is no separate bike lane or
shoulder, your first responsibility is to yourself and your own safety..
Your best bet is to ride in the lane's right wheel track so that you
have 2 to 4 feet of space from the edge of the road. This makes you more
visible to drivers, who typically will be looking for other vehicles in
that area of the road."

Also "When riding in a standard road lane, ride on the right, but not
too far right. Yes, this puts you closer to the flow of traffic, but
it's also safer because drivers will be less tempted to try to squeeze
past you. Not hugging the gutter also reduces your risk of getting
walloped when someone opens the door of a parked car. Claim the entire
lane, if that's what you need to ensure safety."

Every widely respected course or book on riding in traffic urges
cyclists to leave the gutter. But so many "expert" gutter bunnies think
they know better.

However, if you take the lane where necessary and move into the gutter to let traffic pass before assuming your lane again you'll find the drivers are a great deal more cooperative. Four years ago when I resumed riding after my head injury they were absolute murder. But by both demanding my right of way and yielding it to people who can travel faster where safe the quality of drivers around bicycles has greatly increased. On the ride I did yesterday only ONE driver was a smart ass and he was TWO lanes away from me.

I do share the lane to let motorists pass whenever that's safe to do so.
However, I'll never ride in the gutter. That's almost never really safe.

By moving into the gutter I didn't mean literally moving into the gutter but moving closer to the edge than you would normally ride in order to allow cars more room to pass. I still stay 3 feet out of the gutter since that's where all the glass is.