Urbanus Magnus

My new Shimano-hubbed Sunrim Cr-18 wheelset arrived the other day, and to my chagrin - it's not drilled for Schrader valves, but presta valves (those tall, thin metal ones with threads). Nothing is wrong with presta valves - in fact they actually retain air better at high pressures - but the availability of tubes for wider tires is somewhat limited. So what does one do to remedy this problem, short of replacing the rims? Well, you drill the valve holes out, of course. Presta valves are 6mm wide, with a 6.4mm (1/4in) valve hole. In contrast, Schrader valves are 8mm wide, and have an 8.3mm (21/64in) valve hole. Luckily for me, the Cr-18 rims are wide enough to accommodate this wider hole; don't try drilling out thin rims, or those rims with a strongly arched profile, or you may end up weakening the rim significantly. Flat profile rims; its easily drillable.   Select a few dill bit sizes for stepped drilling - this will prevent th...

A brief follow-up: using my homemade soup-can pot stand, the lighting instructions: 1. The stove and stand are set out. In cold weather, the stove is set on a plastic soft drink lid to insulate against the ground.  2. The lid is remove, and the burner is lit. The pot stand is then carefully placed over the burner.  3. Wait approximately 30 seconds to let the burner 'bloom'; the  flame must come out of the burner's holes. Often, an audible 'pop' noise will signal that the flame has bloomed, and the stove is warmed  up. 4. Now, the stove is ready to cook food!  5. Unlike ready-made cooksets, this DIY pot stand must be removed with a pot gripper before  the stove can be extinguished. Once the hot pot stand is removed, the Trangia's lid is dropped over the flame to extinguish it. 

Lets get to the picture first: I'm on the left; O'Malley is on the right. Pay no attention to the photo-bomber in the back.  Explanation: With the parts removed from my old blue GT Vantara frame, it was simply sitting around, and with a rusted chain stay that proved troublesomely flexible on the Peugeot UE-8 frame of my friend  (the "$33 Touring Bike"  ), we thus decided to swap all of his parts over the Vantara.  I am lending the GT frame to my pal (under the condition that he guard it well), and so was stuck with figuring out how the get the Peugeot frame home with him riding on the other bike frame. Quite quickly, this freak was born. First, the front wheel was removed from the Peugeot, and the rear chainstays (which, remember, were too  flexible) were bent to fit the front hub. The front wheel was slipped onto the back of the frame, and the fork was zip-tied through its eyelets to the other bike's rack. A bungee cord was added for good m...