Category: gear

Silver Shifter Bump Caps

For some of us the friction shifter has never lost favor.  There was a lean time for a while where you had to keep your old stuff alive, then Rivendell and Dia-Compe brought back the Suntour ratcheting shifter from the ashes.  Silky smooth, easy to trim out, and pretty to boot.  The only downside I have ever been able to find is the pionty’ish end when they are set up on bar ends.  My solution has been to just use my older Suntour barcons.  I have seen everything from electrical tape to kickstand end caps employed to blunt the ends.  For the most part this can be a non issue, with the exception of trail use, knee caps and aesthetics. 

I recently came across a NOS Suntour solution that while not perfect has been pretty far on the plus side of acceptable. 

The fit is close to perfect.  These were designed to fit the non-ratcheting suntour downtube and stem shifters of long ago.  They have some stretch and give to help slide them on.  The end is just a little big.  I solved this by putting a little squirt of shoe goo in the cap before sliding it on.  They stay on fine without the glue, but are just more squishy at the tip.  These are easy on the hands and knees, squishy enough to prevent poking problems, and if my older shifters are an indication these should outlive the cockroaches. 

I have a decent supply of these to offer for sale.  $3 will get you a pair, plus $2 flat rate shipping and handling in the continental US.  Overseas shipping will be at cost, contact me before you buy.

 


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Pay pal works best for me, but if you want these and are paypal adverse feel free to contact me and we can work something out. 

Thanks for taking a look!

First Panda Poles for Sale

I think many of you are familiar with the shots I am able to get with my pole and GoPro set up.  Almost every fish eye shot of me on my Roadeo in the last 6 months was taken with one of these combinations.

I have started to make these by hand in small batches, and am offering them for sale. 

This example shows the one I use almost daily, with the first two that are available.

They are about 15″ long, custom lengths are available by request.  The handles are 1″ Diameter by 6″ long with shellac to seal them.  The all-thread is 1/4″ 20 and will fit most common camera tripod lugs and or Micro ball head mounts for greater angle control.  I cover the thread with shrink-wrap to protect you and your gear while leaving the end exposed for the jam nut and camera to mount.  Please note that the GoPro housing is there for example and not included.

I would only recommend these for use with light cameras like the GoPro or smaller point and shoot models.  I have tried it with my 3 pound GF1 and it did not go well.  With a little creativity you can capture a variety of angles:

  • Hand held of course
  • The shrink-wrap allows you to hold it in your teeth if needed
  • Stab it into the sand on the side of the road
  • Prop it up in the top of a pole or sign post
  • Stoker on the tandem
  • Toe strap to hold it to a pole or tree

As for how to carry them?  Mine fits well into the frame bag or saddle bag.  For shorter rides I leave it sticking out of my handlebar bag or lay it across the hoods of the brake levers.

Starting price on these is $25 shipped in the US.  Please use the contact page to purchase on while I am getting my shopping cart sorted out.

Thanks – Rob

P.S. I am also starting to re-populate the yard sale page a bit each day.

Sneak Preview

Photo shoot for the next phase of clean out.

Tomorrow night the auctions will start for my Rawland, some saddles, cranks, a king headset, A Tange Switchblades fork, and whatever else I can get done in time.

 

Reaching Out – PC Down – Updated

It has been a crazy week or so, two birthdays (one mine),Family visiting from Philly, one new frame bag out the door, the county fair started a block away this morning and probably more if I really put my mind to it.  I thought I would catch up with a post today but fate has been otherwise.

I post-process my RAW photo files in Adobe Lightroom, and have been really happy with it for the most part.  The downside was the toll it was taking on my 2-year-old PC laptop, it actually would get hot enough to keep my coffee warm.  Today it took its final swing while I was in the kitchen cooking lunch.  With everything in the oven and the little girl down for her nap I went back to find my computer out.  Nothing, power off, cold and lifeless with no response to my prodding.

I am working off of my wife’s iMac at the moment and not finding it all that bad after decades of being a PC guy.  It looks like I am in the market for something new, unless the dissection of the laptop ends well in the next day or two .

Any input from the mac owners out there on how to find the best value when hunting down a mac is greatly appreciated.

UPDATE – While I am still thinking about an apple, I appear to be back up and running at the moment.  I am not sure what actually fixed it though.  After repeated unplugging, battery removals etc. with no luck I headed down to the work bench.  Pulled the top off to see what I may have melted, all looked good at first glance, blew some dust out looked for loose wires, put it all back together and it started up, slow but started.  Kind of like when you could fix an Atari by blowing on the cartridge.   Another re-boot and things are running as well as before.  While happy that I am up and running again, it does not leave me feeling warm and fuzzy, time to increase backup frequency and save some pennies for a new machine.