MEATengines 2022...

Was just putting new pads in the BB7s on my wife’s commuter last night. For off-road use I’d always choose a good basic hydraulic system, but absolutely I’d take them - even with crappy brake levers - over the off-brand sh*t that’s hitting these days.

I haven’t written something for MEATengines yet (prioritizing the biggest audience) but just in case you missed it, for friends, fans, and customers of Toxik Harald, he’s going through a rough patch health wise and looking for some support. GoFundMe link and more information in this short NSMB piece for interested folks.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

You don't mention in your brief here why you're offending the road bike gods by putting your QR levers on the front side. Just going counter-culture for the sake of it? Not bothered personally, but I know folks who'd be twitching if they say this.

I didn't even know the QR levers needed to be to the front.  In my mind it makes sense for them to be at the rear on a mtb so they always "close" if knocked.

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: AndrewMajor

You don't mention in your brief here why you're offending the road bike gods by putting your QR levers on the front side. Just going counter-culture for the sake of it? Not bothered personally, but I know folks who'd be twitching if they say this.

I didn't even know the QR levers needed to be to the front.  In my mind it makes sense for them to be at the rear on a mtb so they always "close" if knocked.

Oops, i thought he meant it was wrong for having them on the drive side. Yeah, im with you, id always put them to the rear to keep them from being hit

Posted by: silverbansheebike

Oops, i thought he meant it was wrong for having them on the drive side. Yeah, im with you, id always put them to the rear to keep them from being hit

Yeah, that’s what I was saying… it’s wrong to have them on the drive side despite what some suspension fork manufacturers would have you believe.

I mean, if you care about that sort of stuff.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Yeah, that’s what I was saying… it’s wrong to have them on the drive side despite what some suspension fork manufacturers would have you believe.

I mean, if you care about that sort of stuff.

I just assumed he was from the UK. ;-)

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: silverbansheebike

Oops, i thought he meant it was wrong for having them on the drive side. Yeah, im with you, id always put them to the rear to keep them from being hit

Yeah, that’s what I was saying… it’s wrong to have them on the drive side despite what some suspension fork manufacturers would have you believe.

I mean, if you care about that sort of stuff.

I missed the context for this. Care to fill it in?

When I had QR with rim brakes I always ran the levers on the non drive side. With discs I ran them drive side front so as to avoid hitting the rotors with my hand when opening/closing. But still non drive side rear so as not to interfere with the derailleur area. Is there a physical reason to avoid this? Or is it an aesthetic thing?

Posted by: eriksg

I missed the context for this. Care to fill it in?

When I had QR with rim brakes I always ran the levers on the non drive side. With discs I ran them drive side front so as to avoid hitting the rotors with my hand when opening/closing. But still non drive side rear so as not to interfere with the derailleur area. Is there a physical reason to avoid this? Or is it an aesthetic thing?

If you scroll back you can see SBB's Frankenbike has the QR levers for both skewers on the wrong side. Which may be better or worse than your 50/50 setup depending on who you talk to?

There's no physical reason to have them on one side or another (as long as there are no contact issues with the rear derailleur). But, then there's also no physical reason not to honour tradition here, so why not just run them properly, on the non-drive side? 

I mean, for folks that care about that sort of thing.

Regarding QRs.  Most riders dismount on the left side of the bike. So if you need to do a quick wheel change in a road race or fix a flat in an old school xc race, you save time whipping your wheel off.

Less for the rider themselves and more for the team mechanic. It's the same reason tire labels are lined up to the valve stem- it makes finding the valve that much faster and more consistent across a team's worth of bikes if they're all done the same.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Was just putting new pads in the BB7s on my wife’s commuter last night. For off-road use I’d always choose a good basic hydraulic system, but absolutely I’d take them - even with crappy brake levers - over the off-brand sh*t that’s hitting these days.

For bonus town bike points, a mechanic I used to work with would wind in the pads on his BB7s with the caliper dial instead of locking his bike for quick stops. 

The bike looked like easy pickings, but the wheels wouldn't turn.

Posted by: velocipedestrian

For bonus town bike points, a mechanic I used to work with would wind in the pads on his BB7s with the caliper dial instead of locking his bike for quick stops. 

The bike looked like easy pickings, but the wheels wouldn't turn.

My favourite version of this was always shifting big-big (on a front derailleur bike) and then clicking back to small/small static. Never had anyone try but I like to think all that gears changing at once would have bought me all the time I needed in a chase.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

My favourite version of this was always shifting big-big (on a front derailleur bike) and then clicking back to small/small static. Never had anyone try but I like to think all that gears changing at once would have bought me all the time I needed in a chase.

I've done that and clipped my helmet strap through the frame/wheel. Likewise I've never had that setup tested, but seemed like it would slow down a snatch and grab thief long enough for me to close the distance before they got up to cruising speed.

Going back to the insurance article some of these issues are coming home to roost ---> https://www.cheknews.ca/victoria-e-bike-store-faces-possible-closure-due-to-insurance-issues-1048976/

A sad incident that's illustrating the problem ---> https://www.timescolonist.com/bc-news/explosion-of-e-bike-battery-caused-fire-mans-death-at-downtown-eastside-rooming-house-sro-owner-5469404

My guess is that insurance companies are going to proactively be either asking LBS about their motorized sales/service operations then charging accordingly or just explicitly excluding coverage for that part of the business unless some specific additional coverage is purchased.