Helmet Laws

Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic Brain Injury

I am not against wearing a helmet, but I am against mandatory helmet laws. I think it should be up to the individual rider to evaluate the risk of injury for their own personal circumstances. Its one thing if you’re riding mountain bike trials on steep jagged rocks and quite another if you’re riding in a neighborhood where the speed limit is 25 mph, with low traffic, and practically zero risk of head injury.

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How to adjust linear pull brake calipers and brake pads

Linear Pull Calipers

Linear Pull Calipers

Linear pull calipers are a rim style braking system, which requires periodic maintenance in order to function properly. There are primarily 4 areas that should be checked and adjusted on a linear pull brake system, and they are:

1) Caliper arm adjustment
2) Brake pad alignment
3) Centering caliper arms
4) Adjust brake pad to rim gap

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How to assemble a Walmart Bicycle – Roadmaster Granite Peak 24″

Roadmaster Granite Peak 24" Girls Bicycle

Roadmaster Granite Peak 24″ Girls Bicycle

The Roadmaster Granite Peak 24 inch girls mountain bike is only sold at Walmart. If you purchase the bicycle and it is not assembled by a Walmart employee, than you are given a partially assembled bicycle in a box. Roadmaster says the components of the bicycle that come assembled are tuned at the factory. The parts you need to assemble are: install the seat and seat post, install the handle bar and steering stem, install the front wheel and install the pedals.

 

 

 

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Bontrager Ion 700 R Head light and Bontrager Flare R Tail light

Bontrager Ion 700 R Side View

Bontrager Ion 700 R Side View

So here’s my bicycle light story. Most of my commute is on back roads in a rural area during day light hours. The total trip is between 12 and 15 miles depending on my destination and stops. For about 2 miles I am forced to ride on a 2-lane hightway with all traffic going in the same direction. My biggest safety concern is being hit from behind on this highway, so I ride with a tail light and no headlight.

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inStep Pronto bicycle trailer converted to a flat bed trailer

Bicycle Trailer with wood 2I found a used inStep bicycle trailer called Pronto that was on its way to the trash. This particular model trailer is no longer manufactured and has been replaced by the inStep Take 2 trailer. These trailers are designed to haul kids around using a bicycle, and are available new online and at big box department stores. The trailers are built on a steel frame with a canvas floor, sides and top. Since i don’t have people to haul around, I decided to turn the trailer into a flatbed, and use it for other tasks. The canvas top, sides and floor are secured to the frame using 4 bolts and a few phillip screws. I removed the four bolts, unscewed the screws and removed the canvas top, sides and floor. I was left with a steel rectangular frame. I went down to my local Home Depot and purchased a sheet of stainless steel sheet metal, which just happened to be slightly larger, but very close to the frame dimensions. I than used a Kawasaki 4.5 inch angle grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut the sheet metal down to size to fit on top of the frame. I had some spare rivets, so I drilled some holes around the perimeter of the frame, and riveted the sheet metal to the frame. I than drilled some more holes and added some eye bolts to the frame perimeter to help secure hauled items to the frame, and also to keep them from sliding off. The build was pretty simple and maybe took an hour or two to complete.

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