Wednesday, August 09, 2006
My humblest apologies for not following up with the (in)famous Tip of the Day! As promised, here are the 3 which i owe you for the past 3 days.
Tip#14: Recycled bits = equipment straps
The leftover neoprene-Velcro of Lizard Skins fork and shock boots make great makeshift straps for securing equipment such as pumps, tires, inner tubes, tools, and battery packs. Cut to the correct width and experiment. You can even combine straps to give extra-long ones for bulkier bits.
Tip#15: Sticky food
A top tip from the multisport and triathlon practitioners: cut and stick pieces of energy bar to your bike frame, aero bars, or kayak paddle. Just pluck and eat on the go as required - adhesive quality subject to weather/temperature variations and type of bar used. This has also been used with some success on fruit roll-ups and fruit bars.
Tip#16: Customised MTB wheels (1)
The tools you need for customising your tires:
- some spare time
- a sharp pair of pruning shears or heavy duty scissors
- a pair of gloves for protecting you hands (optional)
First do the research on the stock tire you wish to take to pieces. Often, most people go with heavier trail bike or free-ride treads, then shave off knobs to give better rolling resistance to give a more XC-oriented ride quality.
The key portion that most people trim down to size are the centre knobs (always a concern where rolling resistence is the enemy). Occasionally, they may take off knobs at intervals to give bigger gaps in-between each other for better mud clearance.
(To be continued...)
Tip#14: Recycled bits = equipment straps
The leftover neoprene-Velcro of Lizard Skins fork and shock boots make great makeshift straps for securing equipment such as pumps, tires, inner tubes, tools, and battery packs. Cut to the correct width and experiment. You can even combine straps to give extra-long ones for bulkier bits.
Tip#15: Sticky food
A top tip from the multisport and triathlon practitioners: cut and stick pieces of energy bar to your bike frame, aero bars, or kayak paddle. Just pluck and eat on the go as required - adhesive quality subject to weather/temperature variations and type of bar used. This has also been used with some success on fruit roll-ups and fruit bars.
Tip#16: Customised MTB wheels (1)
The tools you need for customising your tires:
- some spare time
- a sharp pair of pruning shears or heavy duty scissors
- a pair of gloves for protecting you hands (optional)
First do the research on the stock tire you wish to take to pieces. Often, most people go with heavier trail bike or free-ride treads, then shave off knobs to give better rolling resistance to give a more XC-oriented ride quality.
The key portion that most people trim down to size are the centre knobs (always a concern where rolling resistence is the enemy). Occasionally, they may take off knobs at intervals to give bigger gaps in-between each other for better mud clearance.
(To be continued...)
