Author Topic: is he here yet.  (Read 9690 times)

Andre Jute

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #15 on: December 25, 2012, 09:52:46 PM »
I also got a set of mechanic's longshaft ball-ended T-handle Allen keys, big things 12 inches long in a case with a handle, so I don't have to skin my knuckles in the tight places on my bike. From the T sticks a short, non-ball he of the same size. Very useful around the busy frame ends of my bike, even if I use each only once or twice a year when I check the bike over for tightness. Some of the smaller ones, still about six inches long, do things that I couldn't do at all before without major contortions, like adjust my Magura rim hydraulics. (You won't believe this, but the adjuster is on inside of the handle, at the short end, so you cannot get to it with any kind of travelling or normal short tool, unless you want to take it out and reposition it about every 32nd of a turn... Frustrating, to say the least. By itself, the stupidly unergonomic adjuster on the HS11 is a good reason to buy the HS33 instead, because the more expensive model has a no-tools thumb adjuster on the outside. I hesitate to replace my brakes though because my bike is so large and most of what I can buy has tube cut down to mickey mountain bikes. I have a tube kit standing by but I don't want the bother of trying to recharge tubes that are supposed to be sealed for life, zero maintenance.)

jags

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #16 on: December 25, 2012, 10:20:01 PM »
 ;) cheers Andre .

Danneaux

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #17 on: December 25, 2012, 11:02:24 PM »
Quote
...supposed to be sealed for life, zero maintenance
Andre, I am finding a "lifetime" is sometimes only until the irritations build to the point where one must do something about it. I've used more backstock of parts to fix irritations than I have failures. 'S'truth!

So glad you got the ball-headed Allens. I've had my eye on a set for awhile now, but always managed to get by without thanks to careful fiddling when needs be. I'm uh, "careful" (tight) with money, so I usually put off buying the tool that is functionally identical but far more convenient until I can't take it anymore ad purchase it *just* before I'll never need it again!  :-\

By the way, Andre, I saw something in tools this weekend I meant to tell you about. This season, the stores here are flooded with some nice "attachable" torque-meters that go between any square-drive fittings in standard (1/4", 3/8", 1/2") sizes. They either come in two quality levels, or the expensive ones are just the cheap ones in better packaging. There's an LCD display, and it reads out in Newton-meters or foot-pounds or inch-pounds or cm-kg at the touch of a switch. If they really worked, I can see one being a very useful gauge of applied torque. Imagine one of those on a small breaker bar, T-handle bar, screwdriver-style socket driver, palm driver, or standard socket wrench. I use allen and torx bits in sockets with my beam and click-type torque wrenches, but there's times when it would be nice to have something with a shorter handle than my torkers. Nice in concept, would be fun to try.

J'get any more bikie-nifty stuff? The art supplies were great, and now the Allens.... I'm looking at brazing a fitting on one of my older vise-grip (mole-grip) pliers so I can fit a flexible snake mount for a dial runout gauge. Also looking at my wheelbulding stand and promising myself this is the year I'll mill some Preci-Ray style runout amplifiers for it.

Best,

Dan.

Andre Jute

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #18 on: December 25, 2012, 11:59:15 PM »
The "attachable" torque-meters sound like something every gadget freak should know about. Do you have a URL? The only ones I found in a cursory search of the net cost thousands...

About ball-head Allen's, get a good set or they will ruin your screws. I had a cheap set, shorter, and chucked them for that very reason. Ball head Allens need to be very precisely made by a tool company that knows its business. I in fact received two sets, one shorter than the big clearly "automobile" set, packed in a folding clip with loops, folded about the height of my pilot's ali case that I use for a toolbox, though still not short or light enough by a long way to be an on-board bike tool, both sets German, very nice. They go into the socket with a satisfying click and fit with zero wriggle, then come out cleanly, none of that twist needed with a mismatched or rough ballhead.

Andre Jute

Danneaux

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #19 on: December 26, 2012, 01:03:02 AM »
Quote
The "attachable" torque-meters sound like something every gadget freak should know about. Do you have a URL? The only ones I found in a cursory search of the net cost thousands...
Tools catch my eye and things come in at the holiday season that aren't available at other times, so I noticed these.

The first was at Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-torue-adapter-68283.html
$30 and they have weekly 20% off coupons that can be stacked, so that puts it down to $24. Good only for higher torque loads, but a nice-looking unit, against all expectations. I rang a friend who says his checks out against his freshly calibrated click-type torque wrench.

The second I saw was an Eastwood someone I know bought for a gift: http://www.eastwood.com/electronic-torque-adapter.html
Eastwood is a great place for automotive-related tools, and I've gotten some of my unusual bodywork supplies from them. Their panel hammer-and-dolly sets are nice for expanding/shrinking sheet metal. It is really nice to take a sheet of steel and cold-form it to shape at will in your own hands. Nothing more satisfying. On the other hand, it is probably a good part of the reason my handwriting is now illegible.

Amazon has a similar looking unit: http://www.amazon.com/Alltrade-940759-Powerbuilt-Digital-Adaptor/dp/B0031QPJZG

This is the most likely type you would want for most bicycle work (1/4" drive): http://www.pneutrend.com.tw/product.aspx?productid=2217#aaa

Basically, these are all strain gauges; if you get a good one with steel innards, it will hold up and remain accurate. The strain causes a change in electrical resistance which is then converted to a torque reading. Most spin with the fastener/socket.

These are either cool or hot, depending on your age cohort.

These things seem to also be the hot gift of the season, showing up at auto parts stores, DIY shops, online, everywhere in several case variations and (I suspect) very similar internals.

Haven't tried one myself. I find myself still relying on my high-end beam-type torque wrenches. I've always found even the high-end (sometimes really high-end) click-types have gone "off" unexpectedly even though I took great care to always release tension prior to storage.

Andre, more and more fastener torque settings are incorporating an angle component in the form of a removable torque degree wheel ("torque to angle" settings) used after the bolts are equalized at a lower level using standard methods. This is established automotive practice (I just finished torquing-to-angle some cylinder head bolts and rod end-caps), and is now appearing in other settings and applications. I expect they will appear on bicycle components soon, as it compensated for surface friction when an accurate measure of bolt tension is needed. It makes a good deal of sense with higher-torque applications like bottom brackets or things that are fastener tension-sensitive, like carbon fiber. See: http://www.extremetoolshack.com/2010/08/torquetoangle/

Oh! Just before the stores closed, Santa added a high-contour, body-mapped low-profile automotive creeper to his bag for me. It is a wonderful thing, skimming just above the pavement and gaining an inch or so of needed clearance for a transaxle removal I have on my to-do list. It is 90% of a complete street luge. I can't help looking at it and thinking, "This needs to go down Green Hill's 16%+ slopes...". About 35 years ago, I would have added "...with me on it", and admit the thought still crossed my mind, but only in passing. Still....

All the best,

Dan. (...who knows torque er, tension is sometimes just a matter of degree)

Danneaux

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #20 on: December 26, 2012, 01:16:42 AM »
Andre,

The tools we all really need (yes!) are here:
www.flutterby.com/images/2012/10/01/hf_tool_sale.pdf

 ;D

Best,

Dan.

Andre Jute

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2012, 03:47:41 AM »
The tools we all really need (yes!) are here:
www.flutterby.com/images/2012/10/01/hf_tool_sale.pdf

Thank you so much, Dan! You don't know how many years I've been searcing for a proper hydraulic nail straightener.

Andre Jute

Andre Jute

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #22 on: December 26, 2012, 03:50:16 AM »
I'll leave torque angle to the guys with the plastic bikes, who need it badly. A real man's bicycle has fastenings that can take a handy twist with the four or five inch bar of a small torque wrench.

Andre Jute

bikepacker

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #23 on: December 26, 2012, 11:31:56 AM »
Got a Click Stand
Einstein and the Art of Mindful Cycling
and Senior Railcard.
Plus some of the usual stuff like socks etc.
If you want to be happy learn to be alone without being lonely.
If you want to enjoy the world see it from the saddle of a bike.
If you want to experience beauty camp alone in a spectacular place.
If you want release your anxieties cease excuses and take actions.

jags

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #24 on: December 26, 2012, 12:08:38 PM »
only one cycling related pressie shimano dynamo front wheel is on order from the wife.
jumper ::)
box set of dvd ;)
jeff wayne war or the world cd  ;)
blue tooth thingy for computer no idea how it works.
so all in all not a bad christmas..

geocycle

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #25 on: December 26, 2012, 04:27:14 PM »
New thorn multitool!
 

Danneaux

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #26 on: December 26, 2012, 04:31:26 PM »
Ooh! Niiiiiice!  ;D

Would that be this one?: http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-cycles-20-function-multi-tool-and-cordura-case-with-t20-tool-ideal-for-rohloff-prod11827/

Congratulations! Looking forward to reports of it in-use...

Glad your Christmas was a good one.

Best,

Dan.

geocycle

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #27 on: December 26, 2012, 05:13:56 PM »
Ooh! Niiiiiice!  ;D

Would that be this one?: http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-cycles-20-function-multi-tool-and-cordura-case-with-t20-tool-ideal-for-rohloff-prod11827/

Congratulations! Looking forward to reports of it in-use...

Glad your Christmas was a good one.

Best,

Dan.

That's the one! Looks very nice and will save carrying a rag bag of tools.
 

Andre Jute

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #28 on: December 26, 2012, 07:09:59 PM »
only one cycling related pressie shimano dynamo front wheel is on order from the wife.

My offer of a BUMM halogen lamp is open. Just send a snailmail address to andrejute at coolmainpress with the commercial extension. -- Andre Jute

jags

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Re: is he here yet.
« Reply #29 on: December 26, 2012, 07:18:57 PM »
Thanks Andre i;ll gladly take that off your hands now that my wife bought me the wheel ,
wont have it until january  .
so do you want any money off me will you except an IOU  ::) ::)

cheers
 jags.