Kaz

239 reputation

bio	website	kylheku.com
	location	Vancouver, Canada
	age
visits	member for	8 months
	seen	May 8 at 16:33
stats	profile views	9

Check out the TXR language http://www.nongnu.org/txr

	239 reputation	bio	website	kylheku.com	visits	member for	8 months
5 badges		location	Vancouver, Canada		seen	May 8 at 16:33

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Mar 1	answered	What subtle factors affect performance in unsubtle ways?
Mar 1	comment	What subtle factors affect performance in unsubtle ways? Are you kidding? Tail wind can provide a stupendous boost in speed. With even a moderately brisk tail wind, I'm keeping up with cars. At least until the next hill. Also, I've tried drafting behind the tail gate of a large truck. Boy, what a difference that makes. Air drag is the culprit in cycling, make no mistake. There are few losses elsewhere. You've got your tires well pumped up for very little rolling resistance and the machine has lubricated bearings.
Mar 1	awarded	Editor
Mar 1	revised	BMX stem slipping; how to stop? added 415 characters in body
Mar 1	answered	BMX stem slipping; how to stop?
Mar 1	comment	BMX stem slipping; how to stop? Indeed, if things are slipping in spite of correct bolt tension, it's some other problem. Maybe a shim is needed.
Mar 1	comment	Is it possible/sensible to add a suspension fork to an old mountain bike? You should not compare the cost of upgrades to a new bike but to buying a bike of comparable age, grade and condition which has the feature you want. How much would it cost to get a 1993 bike similar to yours with an original or retrofit suspension fork. Subtract from that how much you could get for your bike if you sold it. The result is likely close to zero. So the upgrade path is actually free. Of course, the good thing about your used bike versus someone else's is that it's the proverbial "devil you know".
Oct 27	comment	Is it really going to damage a bike to wash it with a hose? "Water under pressure" probably does not refer to tap water from a hose, but 1500+ p.s.i. pressure washing. It is possible to use pressurized water, and not simply not aim it in such a way that it either directly hits sealed bearings or ricochets off something else and then hits the bearings. Just like when you cut food with a knife, you keep the knife away from your fingers. Pressure washing can get grit out of a bike chain and clean parts of the bike that are far away from any bearing, so if you have access to this tool, why not use it.
Oct 27	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? Weight only matters if you're climbing a hill, and you get back that energy when you go down. Oh, and it also matters in that you build up a certain kinetic energy related to your mass and speed (1/2 mv^2). So the more m, the more energy you put in to get moving, and so the more energy you waste when you brake. But you are not putting in much mass-related energy when you're cruising on level pavement. The principal advantage of the road bike is less air drag.
Oct 27	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? Oh, and how much will the lock weigh for that few thousand dollar bike? Ah right, that is some $500 unit made of specially annealed unobtainium. Indestructible, but weighing only 100 grams.
Oct 27	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? A few thousand dollars on a carbon road bike is well beyond diminishing returns. That's like buying a $200 "cryogenically treated" power cord with gold-plated contacts to get better sound out of your sound system. It's for situations where fractions of a second make difference between first and second place, or shattering a world record.
Oct 27	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? It may be like going from a tractor to a Ferrari, but while retaining the tractor's engine and transmission.
Oct 26	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? You can get tires without knobs for a mountain bike, overcoming the problem of the knobs, while retaining most of the advantages of the mountain bike. It's the thin profile of the road bike that reduces drag, not the lower mass.
Oct 26	comment	How much of a difference will I notice going from a Mountain bike to a road bike? Less suspension means more precise braking and steering? Do motorbike and car manufacturers know about this astonishing idea?
Oct 10	comment	Are Z-shaped cranks a good idea? If I were forced to choose between using these cranks and having "I am gullible" tattooed on my forehead, I'd choose the cranks, although the effect of the two is similar.
Oct 9	comment	Why would one ever buy a 12-25 cassette when an 11-25 is available? With this many cogs in the back, do you still have a front derailleur?
Oct 9	comment	Why would one ever buy a 12-25 cassette when an 11-25 is available? And of course they know their optimum cadence down to three significant figures.
Oct 7	answered	Effective 'equipment minimal' leg strength training for cycling?'
Oct 7	comment	Effective 'equipment minimal' leg strength training for cycling?' What you're missing in this answer is that fast twitch muscle (what you develop in strength training) can be conditioned for endurance, so that it mimics slow-twitch. That's one reason to periodize training: go through a period of strength training and then switch to endurance. If you have more muscle that is endurance-trained, you perform better. Less effort at the same speed, or more speed for the same effort.
Oct 7	comment	Effective 'equipment minimal' leg strength training for cycling?' Even most otherwise healthy non-athletes can leg press around 4x their weight at "1RM" (for "one rep max"). Really? From a position where heels almost touch butt?