Larrabee profile

I’ll grind mine sharper and report back. 

As I consider myself a squid (and I bought a new 1972 CZ-125 before I turned 16… only a squid would buy one of those), I just had to buy a set. They’re on the way.

One could be Über-fastidious and put Loctite 567 pipe sealant where dissimilar corrosion appears likely. 

I use it on threaded bottom brackets and pedal threads (for 22 years). It cures anaerobically. When “set” is like dried toothpaste; a little lower durometer maybe. 

It’s lower strength than purple Loctite (#222) and ideal for places with large interface areas, as it’s not a chore to disassemble parts goobered up with 567.  It contains Teflon.

Andrew,

Murmur owner back agin here. (Larry in Kingston, soon to be on southern Vancouver Is.). 

Only minutes after reading your review, I was on the Squidworx site, and a few seconds later: adding goodies to my cart. 

I ordered (4) spare plastic platforms, a pair of bearing rebuild kits and spare pins. Sideshow Bob size  

(Truly) The sharpness of the SquidPins doesn’t look very acute. Some time chucking them in the crudest of lathes (or drill chucks) and machining (read; grinder or file) should sharpen them. 

I had a few email back-and-forths w/ Rich* at SquidHQ.  Seems like a great guy. Tenacious certainly: he was all set to do business 2 weeks before the first 2020 lockdown. And yet he has kept das Squid alive. 

*Richard Bedford  

Having Canadian startups like his delight me no end. 

I hope he has good patent protection. His product seems ingenious — like not having to buy a tire fused to a rim. 

Another commenter noted: “best product review ever” and I concur — included the first part, which borders on Fringe Fedtival Gold!

Thanks a million. I never would have known…..

Thanks for this. The number of hours required to develop something like these flats and bring them into production at a competitive price must be staggering. 

Thanks to this review, I know they exist. And I’d put them high on my list for future pedals. 

Nerding out: when I built up my Starling Murmur, I chose the cheapest Crank Bros plastic Stamp pedals. 

After a year, my first pair looked like they’d been swallowed by a wood chipper. Or used in a shotgun shootout.  Now, I’m able to miss most rocks, roots, and stumps. 

An easy mod on my Stamps: replace the M3x10mm carbon steel socket head cap screws with 12mm ones. Much better grip. 

I learned by accident that grade 12.9 screws snap off although not too easily. Grade 8.8 are more ductile and fold over and/or rip a chunk right out of the pedal’s platform. For my putposes: grade 12.9 FTW. 

PS:  I learned here what “turducken” is — once I Googled that. Thanks for a great article.

Whoa!  Three cheers and 5 stars on Tripadvisor for simply _mentioning_ green Loctite.  Truly, it is the nuclear option for thread-locking. 

Suggestion: a whole tech article on thread lockers. 

Here’s one: for threaded BBs, Loctite 567 pipe-thread sealant. It hardens in an anaerobic environment as usual, and has Teflon in it. I’ve been using it for 20 years, starting on a Ti frame. It’s great at preventing dissimilar-metal corrosion. 

In its hardened state, it’s a little tougher than dried toothpaste and has a bit of pliability. I’ve never had a problem removing a threaded BB with it — always used copiously. 

Cleaning out the female threads is not a horrible job — by chasing around the thread grooves with a dental pick (or bent nail in Vise Grips).  A small, very stiff wire brush is helpful  

It may be the cat’s meow if used on pressed-in BBs as well; I’ve never tested that application.

Can’t say I’ve done it but based on other experiences:

• wrap a layer or two of paper towel around the gluey zone. 

• dampen with Goo-Gone. 

• wrap w/ aluminum foil to keep damp. Leave overnight. 

• rub carefully with green 3M kitchen scrub pad if glue is recalcitrant in the morning. Clean cotton rag might be enough.  Goo-Gone is excellent stuff!

• final cleanup: don’t be shy about acetone. Wear gloves and careful of flammability.

Try it. Twist not too tightly, then pull the twisted part FIRMLY away from the grip. Especially if you you wrap twice (2 turns around grip), you’ll create a section of untwisted wire near the grip. 

Carefully twist again to “wind up” the untwisted section. 

Repeat until the wires have sunk into the grip a little bit. Or until the wires break. Brass isn’t nearly as strong as stainless steel, so go easy. Take 2: you’ll know to stop sooner.  Wire in 3 or 4 places if your wire isn’t too strong  

Twist, pull, repeat. It’s the pulling that allows good tension w/o breaking the wires. Twisting takes up the slack and “holds” the tension you’ve created.

Andrew: excellent article. 

Monel wire is great although I’ve never found a reasonably priced source of it — not since I persuaded an aircraft mechanic to sell me a part roll of 0.032” monel (20ga) about 45 years ago. 

Stainless steel (0.032”) works great on grips.  My preference: 2 wraps in 3 places.  If the glue ever fails, the grips may move, but not much.  And slowly.

I’ve tried inner tube patching cement as Renthal Grip glue seems very, very similar.   I think the longevity is comparable.

My Kevlar push-on grips niw need regluing after nearly 2 years.

Hint to remove push-on grips w/o cutting:  sharpen a wooden chopstick (ideally bamboo) with a pencil sharpener.  Start working that under the grip.  When you gain a cm or three, squirt in Windex.  Push chopstick in at various o’clock positions, keep the Windex squirting.  

Often, the grip will come lose in a minute.  A spare pair of old worn grips is better than nothing if the “good” grips are ripped to shreds.

Keep these great tech articles flowing  

And THANKS!!!

This 2-part interview was like manna from heaven for me. I’m rockin’ an XL Starling Murmur and come from a long history of motocross (ridden slowly), being a motorcycle mechanic, Ducati 1978 900SS owner, and general nerd about physics and gadgets.  Thanks a million to NSMB and to THE MAN himself (on an equal footing with Roger DeCoster). Good luck to all.