tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64710642024-03-21T06:09:57.163-04:00Letters from AmericaThings cultural, political and technology in America thru the eyes of one cast up on these shores by fate.
Site feed - http://drrw.blogspot.com/atom.xmlDRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-48475878102804880822017-05-09T15:06:00.002-04:002017-05-13T22:24:18.238-04:00Installing Ubuntu on Dell Inspiron 7559Sharing the experience of successfully installing Ubuntu on the Dell Inspiron and lessons learned. First out the box setup the Dell and let it complete the Windows 10 installation (assuming you want to dual boot both as I have done).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_rk1jhrCvVfhIGVkoI7lgsL_7xj3YlwLCiXSkIQBxPe_UPkAtZwswkltjLtiyigT4Vw6_ZNNnKxFS7zcVWAja15m1fKecgpjibJnGQRP1QsFK91EL5HsijMlNu1iFu2mB4D4/s1600/IMG_20170509_131408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr_rk1jhrCvVfhIGVkoI7lgsL_7xj3YlwLCiXSkIQBxPe_UPkAtZwswkltjLtiyigT4Vw6_ZNNnKxFS7zcVWAja15m1fKecgpjibJnGQRP1QsFK91EL5HsijMlNu1iFu2mB4D4/s640/IMG_20170509_131408.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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While that is happening prepare your install USB stick for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. Just as a note, I tried using Ubuntu 17.04 but had issues with the desktop locking up. Unity8 briefly worked but then it too froze. So I reverted back to 16.04 as the default. I suspect you can get 17.04 running if you put on the server version, and then manually install the desktop and configure the graphics and so forth and want to spend the extra time in resolving things. <br />
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Once the Windows 10 is complete (allow several hours for that) then you need to do 2 steps. First run the Windows disk defragment utility to compress down the file system. Then run the disk manager utility and shrink down the partition. I was able to shrink it to 250GB, leaving 760GB for installing Ubuntu.<br />
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Then with the Ubuntu boot USB inserted reboot and press F12 key and pick the USB boot. Choose the install Ubuntu option and the dual boot with Windows. Next connect to your network and proceed. Do not check the box that installs Third Party software, leave that out, it will interfere with the boot manager and you can manually add what you need once Ubuntu is installed.<br />
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Proceed to install Ubuntu and boot and log in.<br />
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Now you need to do these steps.<br />
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1) Set the graphics appearance so you can read and see things <br />
2) Install latest LINUX kernel<br />
3) Configure the NVidia graphics drivers<br />
4) Configure the Intel Micro Code<br />
5) Reboot and reset the graphics per 1) again. <br />
5) Disable the Nouveau driver in the kernel<br />
6) Reboot again and enjoy<br />
<br />
First thing you will notice is that desktop items are really tiny. Click on the Ubuntu settings "gear wheel and spanner" icon. Pick 'Appearance' and set the Icon size to 64. Then return to All Settings and pick Display, and set the Scale for Menu and Title bars to 1.5 - now you should be good and can read things.<br />
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Second install the latest LINUX kernel, start by opening a terminal session (Ctrl+Alt+T) and create a temporary folder to get the components into by entering the following:<br />
cd /tmp<br />
mkdir kernel<br />
cd /kernel<br />
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then follow the <a href="http://www.askmetutorials.com/2017/02/install-upgrade-to-linux-kernel-499-on.html" target="_blank">4.9.9 setup instructions here</a>.<br />
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Reboot, and what will happen is the shutdown will freeze with scrolling messages in text mode displayed. Just hard power off at that point holding the power switch down until it switches off. We are going to fix that last.<br />
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Once you are logged back into Ubuntu, in the launcher pick the Additional Drivers app. It will show you that NVidia and Micro code are missing.<br />
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To install those follow the instructions in this page for <a href="http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2016/04/switch-intel-nvidia-graphics-ubuntu-16-04/" target="_blank">switching the graphics drivers</a> and adding the micro code.<br />
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Reset your graphics again as in step 1. <br />
<br />
Now we are ready to disable the <a href="https://askubuntu.com/questions/841876/how-to-disable-nouveau-kernel-driver" target="_blank">Nouveau driver following these</a> instructions (note; use gedit instead of the vim editor).<br />
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Reboot and that should be it. Your new shiny Ubuntu is ready to roll with smooth booting and shutdown and optimized GeForce GTX graphics.<br />
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Also you will notice that the touch screen functionality works for page scrolling and selecting text and menu options, which is a nice bonus.<br />
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To round things out enhance the audio ALSA support and Bluetooth control. For the audio <a href="https://askubuntu.com/questions/689969/what-are-the-options-for-audio-equalizers-in-ubuntu-15-10" target="_blank">install the Pulse audio equalizer</a> and then from the Ubuntu Software center install the "Blue Man" Bluetooth Manager app. For more ideas see this Ubuntu <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2016/04/things-to-do-after-installing-ubuntu-1604-lts-xenial-xerus.html" target="_blank">handy list of things to install</a> and configure plus<a href="https://www.lifewire.com/things-to-do-installing-ubuntu-2200611" target="_blank"> these 38 ideas</a>.<br />
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For comparison I ran the Geekbench 4 benchmarking from the terminal to ensure everything is running optimally with 8GB of memory installed. I then installed an additional 8GB to make 16GB total and reran, the result is noticeably better, so you may want to consider adding that extra memory; see the second image below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzrOGoALv_rq2SygJ_MCX8WJcZbBk5iyTUBl4GgHYR4Ix7PHGud2-Pg7TWnzg8bdXGoQ5EqXdy5kqVg52dZ2jVZrxx1AiyT7g7M13UQfrrKf-Glbeip85Y-gpo4IvPxhKFfIk/s1600/Screenshot+from+2017-05-09+12-00-03.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzrOGoALv_rq2SygJ_MCX8WJcZbBk5iyTUBl4GgHYR4Ix7PHGud2-Pg7TWnzg8bdXGoQ5EqXdy5kqVg52dZ2jVZrxx1AiyT7g7M13UQfrrKf-Glbeip85Y-gpo4IvPxhKFfIk/s640/Screenshot+from+2017-05-09+12-00-03.png" width="409" /></a></div>
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And this is the Geekbench result for 16GB of memory installed which also tops the Multicore results for 16GB 7559 Inspirons on Geekbench overall. Kudos to Ubuntu 16.04 performance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcAmwMrzfdoJ24KWEKyUDuRjWz-IMBmZMSEtQcGdFiDG6NGDL-scJqQ2OSkFzZ4kp4wVEp3bPh3gSpM-ixMYyt2t3Ftw0HaAM67yQHzABDBBXch_LhrDnrW_pXTpLdkif8YEB/s1600/Screenshot+from+2017-05-13+14-41-55.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMcAmwMrzfdoJ24KWEKyUDuRjWz-IMBmZMSEtQcGdFiDG6NGDL-scJqQ2OSkFzZ4kp4wVEp3bPh3gSpM-ixMYyt2t3Ftw0HaAM67yQHzABDBBXch_LhrDnrW_pXTpLdkif8YEB/s640/Screenshot+from+2017-05-13+14-41-55.png" width="399" /></a></div>
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Going one better, I then installed a Samsung 250GB SSD and repeated all of the above to boot from the SSD (note: use the "Do something else" option in the Ubuntu installer - and manually configure the SSD swap space and root partition - <a href="https://www.linuxtechi.com/install-ubuntu-16-04-with-screenshots/" target="_blank">see install 16.04 example here</a>).<br />
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This gave a slightly better benchmark result as here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieom1rxb3WIecpFKlNSaa6Cq7PP3Bw5OH0Y03AQvp81MnaNGc3XviQ1_OBlmaKWZae2xu33Ip4NbXR5Jv-TTJE2UK-9PrVqNTKsdWyf2mTScwLE6uWWgYQ4brAnQpnwEzh8ID/s1600/Screenshot+from+2017-05-13+22-13-46.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieom1rxb3WIecpFKlNSaa6Cq7PP3Bw5OH0Y03AQvp81MnaNGc3XviQ1_OBlmaKWZae2xu33Ip4NbXR5Jv-TTJE2UK-9PrVqNTKsdWyf2mTScwLE6uWWgYQ4brAnQpnwEzh8ID/s640/Screenshot+from+2017-05-13+22-13-46.png" width="520" /></a></div>
<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-84915842100193238372017-04-06T11:45:00.000-04:002017-04-06T11:45:01.646-04:00Acer Chromebook 14 running GalliumOS / Ubuntu Review
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This is Part 2
having described how to <a href="http://drrw.blogspot.com/2017/04/acer-chromebook-14-dual-boot-with-linux.html" target="_blank">setup GalliumOS on a Chromebook</a>, now we
consider the overall user experience with the device and the Xfce4
desktop and applications.</div>
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Additionally by way
of comparison to a HP ProBook laptop running Microsoft Windows 7 and
equivalent experiences with common daily tasks. Including the value
proposition here in terms of the functionality enabled and the
overall cost and total ownership experience.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguK4lHz_8FetL5EHCDM0V0625hd72fwwMv99cfaK6GXUWKu7gWQEj0uueEzH_npy-Ks5QUGTNPCCpqJ7qDHZcLeB4VltjFUWn1lNETJ_f82VBTNOlHrs3Y6e2bdq8X95x1n8Qh/s1600/DSC_0189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguK4lHz_8FetL5EHCDM0V0625hd72fwwMv99cfaK6GXUWKu7gWQEj0uueEzH_npy-Ks5QUGTNPCCpqJ7qDHZcLeB4VltjFUWn1lNETJ_f82VBTNOlHrs3Y6e2bdq8X95x1n8Qh/s320/DSC_0189.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Comparing the HP
ProBook running Windows and Microsoft Office we see that the HP has a
dual core CPU 2.0GHz processor (3.0GHz burst mode) with 8GB of
memory. However with Windows loaded the available memory is 5GB. The
anti-virus software is disabled so that the significant 30% resource
drag it imposes is not a factor. The display on the HP is an older
1366x768 resolution, newer ones have 1080p displays. The battery life
is around 3.5 hours and the laptop weighs 5 pounds with battery. The
full size keyboard and touch pad give a professional typing feel.</div>
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The Chromebook with
GalliumOS and LibreOffice 5 suite has a quad core CPU 1.6GHz
processor with 4GB of memory. The processor has a burst mode of 2GHz
also. With the LINUX OS loaded there is 3.8GB of available memory.
The full HD 1080 display is professional quality device output
combined with the HDMI port. The battery life is at least 10 hours
and the device weighs 3 pounds. When using an external display
monitor battery life is significantly extended, 8 hours of use drains
only 4 to 5 hours of battery. The Chromebook keyboard is acceptable
for mobile use, I’m typing this travelling on the Metro Rail, but
for daily use an external wireless keyboard and mouse are the better
option.</div>
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For boot up time to
OS load and application menu activation then the Chromebook wins
hands down. Not only is Windows much slower to load anyway, but the
accessing for the USB 3.0 based resident OS is faster than the laptop
using the traditional disk hard drive. Similarly shutdown is
dramatically faster.</div>
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Next we move to
applications experience. For web browsing on the HP ProBook using IE
browser and a single tab it opens quickly and web sites load rapidly.
The dual code processor performs as expected. Similarly using FireFox
on the Chromebook is very comparible, quick loading and web site
navigation. When opening multiple saved tabs on both systems this
drags down performance, its not going to be an instant load, but a
wait period while all the various tabs are resolved. However, just
for dedicated web browsing one can just simply boot the Chromebook
natively into ChromeOS mode where it is optimized to provide the
fastest web experience.</div>
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The two Office
Suites are now very comparable. Microsoft Office is the industry
benchmark, but LibreOffice 5 (LO) is now almost identical. In fact
the LO Impress 5 may even be better than PowerPoint in many respects.
Similarly I recently used LO Base 5 to manage a database for 4,500
users in a government office complex. Importing and exporting data to
and from Excel spreadsheets, merging, updating and reporting. The SQL
commands in Base work well and being able to do all this from a
highly portable Chromebook in the field is ideal. LO Base also allows
data sharing across the suite to be enabled (called connection
pooling). This allows columns and rows to be seamlessly shared
between Calc and Base. This functionality is certainly on a par with
using Microsoft Access, while the SQL command option provides
significant additional power.
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There are caveats,
the LO Base is held in memory, so as to optimize performance it
should be run standalone normally. Also, make sure to save
frequently, to clean up memory and make permanent record of the
latest database content. I should probably write a separate blog
entry on the how to and tricks and tips for LO Base operations. But
this does give a sense of what can be accomplished on the Chromebook.</div>
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What about Windows
applications generally? The Wine emulator works well in allowing a
range of standard Windows programs to run on LINUX. So your favourite
Windows programs can work over in GalliumOS too.</div>
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For software
development the OxygenXML editor uses Java and works on both machines
for supporting day to day content engineering. Other Java based
solutions like MindPlane, VLC video player, PDF tools and more also
work on both.</div>
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Moving on to using
multimedia. I was able to save videos filmed on an action camera in
full HD to the Chromebook. Each video is 0.5 GB (500Mb) in size. I
then used OpenShot to edit down and produce both YouTube and
Instagram video segments. This worked surprisingly quickly and only
took a few minutes to do the final production generation. I did
notice that all 4 CPU cores were being used 100% by OpenShot to
compute that rendering. Impressive resource sharing. On the HP
ProBook this is a more mixed experience. The Microsoft video editing
software is less competent, but of course you can install OpenShot on
Windows and then use that. I did not try that, but previously when I
have I always found OpenShot performs vastly better on LINUX.</div>
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On both systems
using Skype, Zoom or Google works well. The audio quality through the
USB microphone is exceptional and of course the built-in webcam
provides acceptable video too. The resolution of the Chromebook is a
1MB video chip the same as the 1MB on the ProBook.</div>
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Using the Bluetooth
on the Chromebook to connect to Sony headphones and then streaming
Pandora using the PinHos app is superb with A2DP support enabled. The
ProBook does not have Bluetooth, but obviously you can use a USB
Bluetooth adaptor to perform the same way.
</div>
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Overall both systems
perform acceptably and are comparable in many respects. The newer
Acer Chromebook comes in ahead in display quality clearly and also
battery life where the low energy mobile chipset gives 3 times the
capability.</div>
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Value for dollars
spent gives the edge to the Chromebook for around $370 for the system
and the USB sticks, an USB + Ethernet extension hub and a simple
USB boom microphone. The HP ProBook starts at around $560 for the
older models. If I had a budget of $500 I would definitely look at
the Dell Chromebook with its superior specifications.</div>
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</div>
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To round out this
review the results of the GeekBench CPU tests:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2gR8guaukXgZjO1IM-W60v9GZOtJziTlL6D3tLNSDZlwL0w3fHZb5eDdn2DI3uf4_JbBQryAa8Z2ACMq9evXW2fjtFez52ZT5RXPme0lhTAzgWLskly0nakzf7yXsLLcnlOE/s1600/Screenshot+from+2017-04-06+00-48-56.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2gR8guaukXgZjO1IM-W60v9GZOtJziTlL6D3tLNSDZlwL0w3fHZb5eDdn2DI3uf4_JbBQryAa8Z2ACMq9evXW2fjtFez52ZT5RXPme0lhTAzgWLskly0nakzf7yXsLLcnlOE/s1600/Screenshot+from+2017-04-06+00-48-56.png" /></a>Clearly the
Chromebook is not winning any performance awards compared to full CPU
machines.
</div>
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However in class it
does well – for comparison to other Chromebooks see this review
(<a href="http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-chromebook-14">http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/acer-chromebook-14</a>).</div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What I like is the
portability, battery life and flexibility. Connecting an external
display and keyboard clearly covers off other reviewers needs. And
for commuting or classroom needs the Acer display and keyboard are
fine. Similarly running GalliumOS makes a huge difference in terms of
what can be accomplished on this machine. Hope this helps you make
informed decisions for your own needs.</div>
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DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-51088808362074511782017-04-03T22:52:00.002-04:002017-05-13T14:52:53.110-04:00Acer Chromebook 14 Dual Boot with LINUX / GalliumOS / Ubuntu<br />
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<img alt="GalliumOS" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdlbyAHhm15zoYGp_QypTKFe8BNn8QXFG4XNl0Yr_-EkSYTmUPn_8i3cpMQRuNMfFWDtakjTK_0emApPBQgmi-FHyjZhWsS2yg14nZQYzCUQ-X9fjDBWbG0pkCNm0uyVeT6Be/s320/DSC_0330.jpg" title="Acer Chromebook booting GalliumOS" width="240" /></div>
<br />
Following the success of running Ubuntu on an Intel Smart Stick, I realized I needed <a href="http://drrw.blogspot.com/2017/04/acer-chromebook-14-running-galliumos.html" target="_blank">a portable solution for travel, along with more power for daily home desk use</a>. Including developing software, editing media images and videos, and using office applications for work (including my own <a href="http://www.cameditor.org/" target="_blank">CAM Editor</a> project).<br />
<br />
After researching Chromebooks I settled on an Acer Chromebook 14 from my local MicroCenter store. The metal hard shell case, HD 1080p screen quality, light weight and
great battery life all made this impressive and then quad-core CPU, 4GB
of DRAM give it solid performance potential.<br />
<br />
Using the Acer as a simple Chromebook and ChromeOS is a delight, super fast power up and log in to browsing. Perfect for those quick needs to hop on the Internet. Flip the lid, log in to Google account, surf.<br />
<br />
Next is enabling the dual boot so you can also run serious desk applications, media tools and do software development. And of course work without being tethered to a WiFi connection.<br />
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There are several on-line resources setting out these steps (see below).<br />
<br />
Essentially the steps can be summarized as:<br />
<ul>
<li>Enable ChromeOS Developer Mode boot up<br />Modify the Chromebook BIOS<br />Enable booting from a USB stick </li>
<li>Create a GalliumOS boot image USB stick <br />Boot from USB stick</li>
<li>Install GalliumOS on to your USB 128GB stick<br />Re-boot from USB 128GB stick and your brand new GalliumOS </li>
<li>Tailor and setup your new GalliumOS home </li>
</ul>
The Acer Chromebook has 2 USB 3.0 ports that makes this straightforward. You need to purchase two sticks, an USB 3.0 128GB stick and an USB 16GB, or 8GB or 4GB stick. I went with the Samsung Ultra Fit for the 128GB and a 16GB stick for the install - since I figured I can reuse the 16GB stick for storage later too.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fascinatingcaptain.com/howto/dual-boot-chrome-os-and-linux/" target="_blank">Fascinating Captain here</a> provides the necessary overview instructions, but before you rush off to do all that, read my insights and the pitfalls to avoid. Plus use the tips and tricks and links here <b>NOT</b> those on Fascinating Captain (he is using a Toshiba not an Acer).<br />
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For the Acer Chromebook you need to install the <a href="https://galliumos.org/download" target="_blank">Braswell GalliumOS </a>which is tailored for Chromebook devices. The regular Ubuntu will not work. GalliumOS is also using the <a href="https://wiki.xfce.org/faq" target="_blank">Xfce4 desktop </a>and not Unity. Note that with Xfce4 you can make it look and use much of Unity functionality; more on that later.<br />
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Next thing to realize is that the ChromeOS is actually a parred down LINUX (GenToo) version produced by Google. What this means is that terminal mode is right there. Once you enable the developer mode, and boot to ChromeOS, you can now access command line bash, and then shell commands. This means you can download the Gallium boot ISO image and then use the Chromebook to create the bootable USB stick. The <a href="https://wiki.galliumos.org/Installing/Creating_Bootable_USB" target="_blank">GalliumOS install page</a> tells you how. It suggests the Etcher tool, but I used the LINUX dd command. It is vital you use the command exactly though e.g. <code>sudo dd bs=1M if=galliumos.iso of=/dev/sdb ; sync</code><br />
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Again this is slightly different from how Fascinating Captain has it. Notice also that to run the dd command you open the terminal window. <br />
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<li> Press [Ctrl+Alt+T] to get a ChromeOS terminal ("crosh") window</li>
<li> At the prompt, enter <code>shell</code></li>
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Then cd to your download folder where you should find the GalliumOS ISO image you downloaded. Then run the dd command.<br />
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Now you have the ISO boot stick ready, you need to enable dual booting. For dual booting on a Chromebook you should use the RW_LEGACY BIOS mod from the <a href="https://mrchromebox.tech/#fwscript" target="_blank">MrChromebox web site</a>.<br />
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The way dual booting works is, the boot screen displays, and you then use Ctrl-L to boot LINUX, or Ctrl-D for ChromeOS. If you do nothing, it will time out, beep and boot to ChromeOS by default.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNh6MK6TDXkl7ekO6p42rDRBFfeEHDqjS7YzHIbjYXlCB2GbrYHIAvsh4PhEuEoZJlwZxmtK459mwGa0wfKezQzGcUJKZ9je7vX-yUjE8fmVHwywWSx8s-j3xqMB-3sq_qId0X/s1600/DSC_0342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNh6MK6TDXkl7ekO6p42rDRBFfeEHDqjS7YzHIbjYXlCB2GbrYHIAvsh4PhEuEoZJlwZxmtK459mwGa0wfKezQzGcUJKZ9je7vX-yUjE8fmVHwywWSx8s-j3xqMB-3sq_qId0X/s320/DSC_0342.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
After pressing Ctrl-L, wait until the text appears directing you to press Esc, then pick option 2 to boot from the USB. Now the installer should boot. Insert your USB 128GB stick into the second USB slot. Fascinating Captain has good instructions for installing and setting up the LINUX partitions. Once done shutdown. Then you can remove the boot stick, place the 128GB USB in the first slot and now boot with Ctrl-L, Esc, 2 again and your brand new shiny GalliumOS should start.<br />
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I have added the USB 3.0 port extender and Ethernet connector and the external HDMI cable in the picture here. That allows me to use my HD monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse. The HDMI works well with a VGA adapter if you need that to use your monitor or a projector.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoirwbQ0yZHlSkJUX2RxafbqaMHxo7vRiCTquXym9IIUI2Tv0w44ICc5046rgk-ECHb-sTM8GzREZGtmCv9ZMKXJRP_5bPKTupaVU0PIhaSRPPaU6v_UrrkhaGNzvGeCA8OXtx/s1600/DSC_0327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoirwbQ0yZHlSkJUX2RxafbqaMHxo7vRiCTquXym9IIUI2Tv0w44ICc5046rgk-ECHb-sTM8GzREZGtmCv9ZMKXJRP_5bPKTupaVU0PIhaSRPPaU6v_UrrkhaGNzvGeCA8OXtx/s320/DSC_0327.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also have an external Samson "Go Mic" USB microphone for Skype and recording with using tools like Audacity. The Bluetooth works also with my Sony DR-BT50 headphones and Pandora and Google Play and A2DP fidelity.<br />
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So now you have things working, its time to move in and set up the "furniture and fittings" as you like it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgferlkl7HY-8OO-_7mPQBgZQ4mOUE5gyTujqINtaNtsXqBTcBn3-QUQQx5bTIck_3mU7ZeGt9sros3kiMiox70sqydKuIrldryyJI49O0aIUOkCG-WPoXXz-QT7s9zGbe5IB/s1600/DSC_0326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgferlkl7HY-8OO-_7mPQBgZQ4mOUE5gyTujqINtaNtsXqBTcBn3-QUQQx5bTIck_3mU7ZeGt9sros3kiMiox70sqydKuIrldryyJI49O0aIUOkCG-WPoXXz-QT7s9zGbe5IB/s400/DSC_0326.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I have configured the Ubuntu Unity theme look and feel following these <a href="https://www.maketecheasier.com/xfce4-desktop-themes-linux/" target="_blank">instructions for Xfce4</a>. And set Nautilus as the default file browser.<br />
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The keyboard mapping you can get to by pressing the ? search key and entering search term - keyboard. More on <a href="http://eiuitc.blogspot.com/2014/02/want-to-know-chromebook-secret-keyboard.html" target="_blank">Chromebook keyboard here</a>.<br />
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You can also setup Weather services from <a href="http://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2016/04/weather-indicator-desktop-widget-ubuntu-16-04/" target="_blank">My-Weather-Indicator here</a>. The default Weather Update in the Xfce4 panel does a nice job too.<br />
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I also added the Caffeine service from the Software library to prevent screen sleep during video play. In addition I ran the Startup app from the Settings and disabled a range of services that I do not need generally, including the timeout manager.<br />
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There's a big laundry list of software to install; naturally those are to you own preferences. Open the launcher and enter search term - software to see the software center. <br />
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Then here is my top dozen list:<br />
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1) Firefox browser. It is noticeably faster than Chromium (and do not install extensions in Chromium; it will crawl then).<br />
2) LibreOffice Suite 5<br />
3) Wine for running Windows software<br />
4) Screenshot tool<br />
5) Skype<br />
6) VLC video player<br />
7) Pithos for Pandora<br />
8) Google Play desktop<br />
9) Freeplane mindmap<br />
10) GIMP editor<br />
11) Kdiff3 compare<br />
12) Audacity audio and OpenShot video<br />
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For many more tips, see <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/GalliumOS/comments/4y3jjn/what_to_do_after_installing_gallium_os_a_noobies/" target="_blank">this what to do </a>guide. For online help see the <a href="https://wiki.galliumos.org/Community" target="_blank">GalliumOS community</a> links. And don't forget to install latest updates using launcher and run the GalliumOS Update app. Then last but not least, purchase a spare USB 128GB stick and do a <a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2-methods-to-clone-your-linux-hard-drive/" target="_blank">complete backup</a> so you have an image.<br />
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Welcome to GalliumOS on your Acer Chromebook.<br />
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Here is a desktop screen shot of the Xfce4 launcher, Ubuntu theme and nautilus file manager open.<br />
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Here is a of screen shot of several desktop items open and the system performance monitor.<br />
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<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-60672285187053690392016-06-30T00:23:00.000-04:002016-07-29T21:36:09.785-04:00Intel Compute Stick and Ubuntu review - the new wave in computing systems?My brother recently sent over an Intel Compute Stick - model STK1A32SC as a birthday gift.<br />
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<a href="http://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/boardsandkits/computestick/STK1AW32SC_STK1A32SC_TechProdSpec.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/boardsandkits/computestick/STK1AW32SC_STK1A32SC_TechProdSpec.pdf</a></div>
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Of course this is somewhat a geek toy, especially the bare stick without the OS installed.</div>
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You will need a bootable USB flash drive with the Ubuntu image installed - and the Atom CPU version. Full instructions and <a href="http://linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com/2016/04/ubuntu-1604-iso-for-intel-atom-compute.html" target="_blank">download are here</a>. ARMed (geek joke) with this - you are ready to install and enjoy Ubuntu 64bit on this system. I installed a 128Gb MicroSD card into the Compute Stick also. Along with plugging in an old USB keyboard to do the initial install. Then once Ubuntu was running, I plugged in a Logitech USB with wireless keyboard and mouse. </div>
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Everything then works wonderfully, LibreOffice 5, Skype, NetFlix (install Chrome browser) and YouTube along with Pandora. Plus Microsoft Office365 and Outlook works perfectly in FireFox. Along with my own Java based Eclipsed XML editor project (http://www.cameditor.org) Ubuntu 64bit distribution.</div>
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For Skype I setup the Logitech C320 Web Cam. There's Ubuntu community help for this, it is a little fiddly to get Skype using the microphone and video but it does and the quality to amazing (apt-get install pavucontrol and use that resolve). One caveat, the WiFi adapter is not the most powerful (although Intel improved this), so you do need a strong WiFi signal near by at home or office (it did work perfectly with my Sony Xperia phone running as a HotSpot with T-Mobile however). Also I bought a 3 foot HDMI cable so signal is not blocked by the Stick sitting behind the screen display. </div>
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Next I used the Bluetooth to connect to my Sony DR-BT50 high fidelity headphones and played Pandora - this is like having satellite XM radio for free.</div>
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I'm using a Vizio HD 19" display with HDMI port to round out the system.<br />
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Here is what the Compute Stick looks like (with mouse for size comparison), with the HDMI short cord plugged into the TV monitor. From left to right on the Compute Stick edge are USB3 with Web cam, the USB2 with Logitech micro USB wireless keyboard/mouse dome and then the micro USB power cord plug.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKMJD0sWMiuvLGYj0J17uBCsLtjoChHKPwDd56BnvaK7Ce7MmknxDPvudnLtaE-WLFXvnx2csov9orl5XPeSSsHe_H3aeqvj5VmkKUNlX5YyY0jldW6KfxyAFsP4-BVteXHhQ/s1600/DSC_1431.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKMJD0sWMiuvLGYj0J17uBCsLtjoChHKPwDd56BnvaK7Ce7MmknxDPvudnLtaE-WLFXvnx2csov9orl5XPeSSsHe_H3aeqvj5VmkKUNlX5YyY0jldW6KfxyAFsP4-BVteXHhQ/s640/DSC_1431.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbQq6O4deYTxUSxGgOjt14d1fs31VwDbiOwOG0DpAvDfUFTfrqxTxXAzd4jB6D_ZGC9_WGvTCDEgYcfClbwLrFRT8OFdzjT6Ka1F1K3x1_Bh6SeWqvH7pRPx3-tdGx8WEnPU4W/s1600/DSC_1432.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><br /></div>
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And then below is the complete system, with the monitor display, full size keyboard, Web cam and Bluetooth headphones. And best of all I had all these items already, so nothing to purchase.</div>
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When you look at this you realize that a system like this would have cost double a few years ago. The processing power in the quad core Atom CPU combined with the 2Gb of main memory is impressive. The boot up speed from the MicroSD card is a few seconds and the shutdown is instantaneous. </div>
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I am writing this blog now on the system and this has now replaced my old Dell E6410 laptop as my main daily solution and so far the performance is very comparable for daily tasks. I am adding a USB3 1TB external drive next, so I can synchronize my work Home folders, and also have movies to play, and my whole archive of work materials.</div>
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The portability is impressive. Compared to lugging around the laptop. What I like though is that this is a componentized computing solution.</div>
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When Intel come out with the next Compute Stick I can simply install the latest Ubuntu OS and plug that system into the same set of peripherals and roll forward. Or if one component fails, I simply replace that.</div>
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The folks at Intel need to do more marketing around this flexibility and power that they are enabling. Here is the system monitor showing the analytics when running FireFox browser with multiple sites open, include OutLook365, along with using the OxygenXML development IDE, a Java application, along with an open spreadsheet in Libre Office 5.<br />
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Business is also paying attention; at work they realize this is a serious option compared to giving new employees laptops. And even more so for travelling and flying around. Just plug into the business center display or room TV at the hotel, or to present to a client, their A/V system HDMI port. Then secretarial staff, e.g. in hospitals and nursing homes, this is a cheap and effective option compared to desktop computers, or even for patients rooms, the ability to stream NetFlix, Pandora and TV and Radio stations. </div>
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Plus of course for remote monitoring device systems, where you can use Ubuntu to connect to devices around the home or facility. </div>
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All around this is superb functionality; like having a Raspberry Pi on steroids.</div>
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<br />Addendum:<br />
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The USB ports are slightly wider, probably a design decision by Intel to avoid stress on the connectors on the board inside the Stick. This does make the connections looser than desirable so to solve this I install a shim snipped off the edge of a store keyring customer loyalty card as it is the right thickness. With this in the USB connection for the USB hub is tight and solid, I just leave the hub connected permanently.<br />
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Here is what the shim looks like on the USB connector.<br />
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<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-10858617666861351992015-10-21T23:44:00.003-04:002015-10-21T23:44:52.663-04:00Quick review of Schwalbe One 451 road tiresThe Schwalbe One are the replacement for the Ultremo ZX which I've ridden for 4,000+ miles and over a year now.<br />
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So how do the One tires compare? First impressions very good, very equal on weight and feel in your hand, and depth of rubber around the heel of the tire where you need it most.<br />
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The ZX side wall had a tendency to shred strands of cotton, but the new One shows no signs of that.<br />
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Schwalbe claim the rolling resistance is lower on the One tires. Certainly these One's are just as fast as the ZX, maybe a tad faster. I rode them for the first time in Richmond for the UCI event and did the Cary Street bikes group ride for 40 miles on my Bike Friday, averaging just over 20mph and several segments we were averaging in the high 25+ mph. So I am convinced there - these tires are blazing quick.<br />
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Durability seems to be improved also, I have ridden close to 350 miles now on the tires, variety of road quality and trails and they are holding up well.<br />
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I keep them at around 110psi inflation with regular 451 inner tubes and that provides a excellent ride quality.<br />
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Overall I would give these new Schwalbe One tires a firm and positive recommend. Worth the asking price, and looking forward to another 4,000 miles ridden on these tires and my Bike Friday.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-83971944683773442492015-01-04T00:01:00.002-05:002015-01-04T00:01:37.616-05:00Using OpenShot with Instagram - Guide for Loading Pre-Recorded Video to InstagramWhile uploading still pictures to Instagram from your DSLR is a straightforward process, doing the same with video clips is entirely another matter.<br />
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Video has a whole raft of parameters associated with it, and Instagram is rather picky on what it will accept. In fact it has to be precisely formatted for Instagram use.<br />
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This is a quick guide to explain how to use the OpenShot video editor to achieve reliable uploads. <br />
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You can download and install OpenShot <a href="http://www.openshot.org/download/" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also find a wealth of tutorials and how to videos. My focus here is just on using OpenShot for Instagram.<br />
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First thing is to open your video clip in OpenShot and then trim the length to be 15 seconds or less. I also add a Fade of Fast In and Fast Out - so views smoothly.<br />
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Then you are ready to Export your video. Before selecting the Export menu option however the first step is to go to "Edit / Preferences" and select the "Profiles" tab, then "Manage" and click the "+" to Add a new Profile.<br />
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Here is a screen shot of what you need to complete there:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfIyrWlNHKnmA08IjlW_CaKOH-mK61a-P-HDH1Zc3MG28b8IMiwmKm9WmyOeyEndQhbaWJRy4AuPBMogrgi19IKw-I68S8C4J3ZPCkQYV1OUmy8WUeGunfZWNqev0jmlv4xwo/s1600/Instagram-settings-OpenShot-template.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHfIyrWlNHKnmA08IjlW_CaKOH-mK61a-P-HDH1Zc3MG28b8IMiwmKm9WmyOeyEndQhbaWJRy4AuPBMogrgi19IKw-I68S8C4J3ZPCkQYV1OUmy8WUeGunfZWNqev0jmlv4xwo/s1600/Instagram-settings-OpenShot-template.png" height="310" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Notice the format is 640 x 640, 1 : 1 aspect ratio. Don't worry if your original video is not in that format, OpenShot will handle all the export formatting for you.<br />
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Next "Save" the new template, and proceed to the "File / Export" option.<br />
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Now you need to pick these options for the Video and Audio formatting:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GBUi4zJRU0xqqcyivQCDXCwvYOCR8fRK6U_Yqz1tX0fenQEdkupNOrfUhiRdaUdW88SZKFY-vS2qMNPSGA2NvhJGWv4eX7cRjPzZ1AcL9ZyoUF7B0LNzXvrgRJYux_1JmxYT/s1600/Instagram-settings-OpenShot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3GBUi4zJRU0xqqcyivQCDXCwvYOCR8fRK6U_Yqz1tX0fenQEdkupNOrfUhiRdaUdW88SZKFY-vS2qMNPSGA2NvhJGWv4eX7cRjPzZ1AcL9ZyoUF7B0LNzXvrgRJYux_1JmxYT/s1600/Instagram-settings-OpenShot.png" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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Every single setting is crucial. The only one I have found is flexible is the number of audio channels. 2 appears to work, although Instagram themselves recommend just 1 channel.<br />
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Complete the settings; save your video clip. Then you need to transfer the clip to your mobile device so you can use the Instagram App to publish it. The clips are less than 10Mb is size so I simply email it to my mobile device email account, download it there, and then open Instagram.<br />
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Then once there, click the Camera button to take a picture, switch to video mode, and then click the GRID BOX of dots to the right. This will allow you to browse and select your downloaded video. Then proceed as normal to publish to Instagram.<br />
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<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-24853199883576079722014-10-06T13:11:00.005-04:002014-10-06T13:11:56.779-04:00Understanding the Two Halves of America<span class="share-body"><span class="commentary" id="control_gen_26">The
one half is people leading their lives and working their daily way;
then there is this other half inhabited by Lewis Carroll scenarios with
legally and politically induced madness, and strangely the two are intertwined. Point in case is this law suit over the vanishing State of Louisiana -</span></span> http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/02/magazine/mag-oil-lawsuit.html - and seeing how the wheels of government are manipulated and twisted and turned. All the various interests that are conflicted.<br />
<br />
The article is long, but very well written. Portraits of the characters are delightfully drawn. Behind it all is the reality but beyond that is the sense that changing all this is desperately difficult, and that the lessons are now learned. History is repeating itself already with the frightening tar sands escapades.<br />
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The love affair and addiction to oil and everything it brings is too alluring.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-9152302650046952002013-12-31T00:07:00.001-05:002014-01-21T13:31:31.825-05:00Trek Cronus CX Pro Gary Fisher 2013 (and Ultimate) Bike ReviewSharing my initial thoughts here on the <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Trek-Cronus-CX-Pro-2013-Gary/35710338_vRDXGx" target="_blank">Trek Cronus CX Pro 2013 (Gary Fisher)</a> bike that I recently acquired through eBay. I have been doing CX racing now for two years, initially racing my <a href="http://goo.gl/3vFOPq" target="_blank">own custom build bike</a> using a cheap Nashbar frame and carbon forks along with parts from my garage and from eBay that works surprisingly well. The <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Custom-Build-X-Cross-Bike/22158470_8dCvhs#!i=2866054794&k=VBB9B7v" target="_blank">Stan's NoTubes wheels with tubeless Clement tires</a> are an essential component, however the Cronus CX is obviously in a whole another league.<br />
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Buying from eBay is clearly dependent on your knowledge of the current bike scene and confidence in using eBay. More reputable dealers and sellers provide lots of detailed pictures in high resolution and good lighting of the bike, plus history and trim of the bike. And you can gauge prices from sites like the<a href="http://www.bicyclebluebook.com/" target="_blank"> Bicycle Blue Book</a>. The listing for the <a href="http://www.bicyclebluebook.com/SearchListingDetail.aspx?id=3044438&make=750&model=71866&year=2013&priceMin=0&priceMax=20000&type=0" target="_blank">Trek Gary Fisher Cronus CX Pro 2013</a> is reflective of the current market on eBay.<br />
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So now to the bike itself. The one I have is significantly upgraded from the base CX Pro model to equivalent with the Ultimate trim. Including the Ultegra CX70 crankset, Ultegra shifters, TRP CX9 brakes and Look carbon pedals along with the Stan's NoTubes 340 wheelset and Clement tires. Then I also found a second set of NoTube 340's with DT Swiss hubs and tubeless Hutchinson 700x23 road race tires on eBay. Equipped with these wheels the Trek Cronus CX Pro weighs exactly 17 lbs kerb weight ready to ride. If you wanted sub-17lb bragging rights then swap the stock Bontrager stem with something 30 grams lighter. I am 6' 2" and the 56cm frame fits perfectly with the saddle height and angle extremely comfortable - almost embarrassingly nice - along with the reach onto the hoods and bars and cockpit overall. Note that I put the stock Bontrager wheelset and QR levers and CX0 tires back on my old Nashbar ride. The CX0 tires are actually very good, but the stock wheels are well, stock wheels, heavy and average, pushing the total kerb weight up to 18.7 lbs with the CX0 tires and tubes.<br />
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So the idea is with the way I have the Cronus CX Pro setup this is a "do it all" bike - cyclocross for three months of the year, some single trail off road riding in the winter months, and then swap the wheelsets and switch to a mean quick road machine for shorter summer rides and training runs. I've tried it on my indoor training rollers too and 80rpm and 27mph on zero resistance were effortless to spin (riding is not supposed to be this easy). Also because you can fit fenders and bottle cages, this would make an ideal commuter bike too. I have on order a 50T front chain ring also, as the stock CX70 crankset is a 46T x 36T ratio, so the 50T will give some more cruising and top speed on the road. One other thing I notice with the wide frame and clearances, this bike is super easy to wipe down and keep nicely clean from normal road use.<br />
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The most important aspect of course is how does the Cronus CX ride? This is my first Trek bike and I must say I am very impressed. I have a stable of other bikes but equipped with the tubeless Hutchinson tires this Cronus CX rides smoother than any other, including my steel framed touring bikes.The acceleration and cornering are phenomenal, this bike flat out responds and flies. Rock solid at speed in and through corners. If you are into logging rides on Strava this road setup has serious KOM potential on shorter hilly and stop go sections with turns. Plus the CX frame smooths out those rough road sections taking the jarring and bumping out. I already set one new KOM on my first ride on the Cronus where the road rattled the heck out of you on my trusty Kestrel carbon road racer but the Cronus took it in stride. Now overall of course it is a cyclocross frame and geometry so I'm not expecting to push 50 mile and 100 mile rides, but 20 to 30 miles seems very doable.<br />
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I think Trek and Gary Fisher have this spot on. If you drop this much on a bike you want to use it way more than just a few races in the fall during cyclocross season. I'm planning to put some serious miles on this bike and it definitely gets you excited to get out there on the road and see what it can do and rewards with great road feel, cornering and ability to sprint and go under power and also mix it up on varied terrain.<br />
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I will provide more updates here as time progresses and I get more experience. Overall though if you are looking at the Cronus CX as a possibility then I don't have anything bad to say at this point; put the Cronus on your check list. Here is what the <a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/us/gear/category/bikes/cyclo-cross/product/review-trek-cronus-cx-45230/" target="_blank">BikeRadar Cronus CX Pro 2012 review</a> had to say too, and then this review from the <a href="http://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/trek-cronus-cx-pro-review-3920.html" target="_blank">UK of the Cronus CX Pro 2013</a> model (and nice picture gallery views/details), but the most comprehensive review is here<a href="http://road.cc/content/review/57172-trek-cronus-cx-pro" target="_blank"> from Road.cc magazine on Cronus CX Pro 2012</a>.<br />
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<b>Addendum</b><br />
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I just did my New Years 2014 ride with the local bike fraternity and get back home to find that Trek has released the new Boone CX as the top dog badass CX race machine. See the <a href="http://www.cxmagazine.com/sven-nys-trek-boone-cyclocross-bike-profile" target="_blank">CX magazine Boone news splash</a>.<br />
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Ah well, there is always the newer model out there; however looks like they are continuing the Cronus CX as it fills a more all-round space than the Boone, and priced and equipped accordingly. <br />
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<b>Further Thoughts</b><br />
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Spent last two days charging around throwing Cronus at local ride courses and the more I spend time on this bike, the more I'm impressed. Today I rode through our local park on rough wooden bridges and trestles - usually this is a bone and teeth jarring past time on my Kestrel carbon road bike with 120psi slick tires - but the Cronus glides over these with barely a rumble - tubeless 90psi rubber and OCLV frame and consequently averages 3 mph faster with no effort. Crazy impressive. Then a couple of tough hill sections - Cat 4 romps on Strava and I better both my best times and set one KOM. The Cronus just invites you to throw the power down and then get out the saddle and crank and rewards that effort accordingly. But what about the raw sprint speed? Well I put on a 50T crank ring and so top speed is only a whisker under my Kestrel, but the overall speed is better as the climbing is so much improved and of course cornering and descending is rock solid. Quicker, smoother, more agile. Not bad at all for what is billed as a CX bike. <br />
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If the new Trek Boone is better than this then that has to be one heck of a ride.<br />
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For comparison of the bike specifications see <a href="http://coolbreezecyclery.com/products/trek-boone-cyclocross-bike-pg971.htm" target="_blank">this page on the Boone</a>. Interestingly "Compared to Cronus, Boone has a lower head tube, longer top tube,
steeper seat angle, lower BB, and shortened chainstays. This makes for a
more forward, race-oriented riding position." Probably means the Cronus is easier on the body when riding on road instead. The road.cc review link above has a good assessment of the Cronus cockpit configuration and ride setup.<br />
<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-88138820153621129772013-12-12T11:02:00.004-05:002013-12-12T11:02:50.938-05:00Biking YouTube video channel - 20,000 views and countingThe rise of modern biking continues driven by technology changes and the level of the machines now available at reasonable price points.<br />
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My little small corner and contribution to the biking world has now passed the 20,000 views milestone, something I never even thought about when I posted the first video on indoor roller riding made easier: http://www.youtube.com/user/MDBikerDude<br />
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A little tribute to sweat, toil and fun on wheels with cranks and gears.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-32124796826323311662013-10-27T19:39:00.001-04:002013-10-27T19:39:21.393-04:00Sykesville CX 2013 Psycho Cyclocross race photosFinding pictures from the Sykesville cyclocross event for 2013 has proven to be a challenge - so I've blogged this here to help Google find these for everyone.<br />
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Collection #1: http://shaungalang.smugmug.com/Sports/Cyclocross/Psycho-Cross-2013<br />
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And then Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laimmvhE0cQ<br />
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Enjoy!DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-69159095765164432992013-06-09T23:27:00.001-04:002013-06-23T21:51:46.529-04:00Nokon Brake Cabling and Bike Friday folding CrusoeI'm going to talk more about my Crusoe upgrade and more equipment recommends in another post, but for now wanted to share experiences and lessons from installing the Nokon cable set on my Bike Friday Crusoe, replacing the original brake cabling.<br />
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First important detail is that being an older build (circa 2006) the bike does not have the newer cable routing and ferrules, so this necessitated the use of a full Nokon kit and one extension kit to complete the brakes cabling.<br />
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With the Nokons the important gains are significantly better braking touch, feel and braking power; and then shedding at least three ounces in weight. The older Bike Friday brake cabling is steel clad and unbelievably heavy. Plus the stainless steel brake cable with the Nokon kit is super high quality and heavy duty; they look like they will last 100 years.<br />
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On the down side the Nokon housing casing beads do slide around in the old Bike Friday 5mm cable routing eyelets, but that is because the eyelets are really 6mm and designed to let the cable slip around when the bike is folded. To solve this I used the clear plastic cable protectors that Nokon provide in the kit. You can see this installed here (click on image to enlarge view).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoxHDmQC4aBxCYyg4nNEqoW1N0QygtgBPITD4dcWO4asr38Y-kCCyEK72vrRoFNILfa2Y2YJWTDXTQdh73SFUfOItJfo0xN20K6UuOUtPFeQBXMwaiXmo0SfmPqiiWU85eBiB/s1600/DSC02579-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoxHDmQC4aBxCYyg4nNEqoW1N0QygtgBPITD4dcWO4asr38Y-kCCyEK72vrRoFNILfa2Y2YJWTDXTQdh73SFUfOItJfo0xN20K6UuOUtPFeQBXMwaiXmo0SfmPqiiWU85eBiB/s640/DSC02579-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Notice also two protectors, the second (far left) is for when the bike is folded (there is about 4" of cable length play needed to allow this movement during folding). You can see an extra piece of protector behind the right cable eyelet, my attempt to prevent rattle and slap onto the frame on rough road sections. Notice also that the entire cable run is using the casing beads. Again because I do not have the newer cable ferrules I cannot leave the stainless steel cable run open for the section running along the frame; the whole thing has to be casing. What solved the rattling and looseness is to use two small pieces of sticky putty (the type used to put posters on walls), one on each cable eyelet. With these in place everything is firm and totally quiet riding.<br />
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I would recommend installing the front brake cable first as it is much simpler to do and once you have mastered that, proceed to the rear one. I of course did the reverse as the rear brake action was giving me issues and needed attention first.<br />
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Overall now I have it working I am pleased with the results. Firmer braking is a major plus, and predictable brake operation. I was able to leave good clearance on the Paul's brake pads on both front and back to avoid post-braking rub on wheel rims as the brake blocks settle back out and away from the rims.<br />
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The Nokon housing and cables feel and look excellent. Others have mentioned quality issues, corrosion and squeaks. I see none of that.<br />
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These two images show the front cable routing and then the full rear cable length routing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTM1_30uXrSvKsVJzz7ceIRH_DX761WExlLeH6wBk94Xr9FRm5eulXjaPYDCFT-p6UGJmuUEk9V8p9JGVqe7icY_GJXd292wBHfXyAcdWa4ESUBjoneoygTrTHJF-z28kMtkrm/s1600/DSC02573-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTM1_30uXrSvKsVJzz7ceIRH_DX761WExlLeH6wBk94Xr9FRm5eulXjaPYDCFT-p6UGJmuUEk9V8p9JGVqe7icY_GJXd292wBHfXyAcdWa4ESUBjoneoygTrTHJF-z28kMtkrm/s640/DSC02573-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The rear routing especially is much superior to the old Bike Friday provided cable.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVqpbdKcwQBNzS-lONpdeHBqQuTpC3xM070DvkCEIjd82y5kvbf_EaiL4KCVDfU6KwzciCdwVUC615xHSfn9lwoCTem4HN_X-tvfKSJfeBKSS6SRsGf65MMR0V2bPtfT5hneN/s1600/DSC02587-XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdVqpbdKcwQBNzS-lONpdeHBqQuTpC3xM070DvkCEIjd82y5kvbf_EaiL4KCVDfU6KwzciCdwVUC615xHSfn9lwoCTem4HN_X-tvfKSJfeBKSS6SRsGf65MMR0V2bPtfT5hneN/s640/DSC02587-XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Notice however that the gear shifters are using stock black Shimano shifter cables (which I replaced the old Friday cables with a couple of years ago). I have found these to be excellent and have no reason to change these. Also, having put the brake cabling on, I have my doubts that the Nokon would function with my bar end friction shifters given that I do not have the newer cable ferrules to lock the cable casing into.<br />
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Overall then I can recommend using the Nokon cabling to replace the brake cabling on your Bike Friday. If you have the newer cable routing ferrules and indexed shifters then you could also contemplate the gear cables too. The gear shifters will of course require a second Nokon kit to complete with so that adds some expense. Hunt around to find the lowest prices available online. What I paid I am happy with given the big improvement in braking performance and quality of this German solution; these should last now the lifetime of the bike.<br />
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I would have liked to have used an American made option here. The only one that looked promising was the PowerCordz system. They did not have the casing in green however, and also I was worried the casing is too stiff to use in folding along with being too thin to fit the Bike Friday old routing fittings.<br />
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Resources: <br />
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Product Reviews - <a href="http://biketestreviews.com/cablesets-part-2-nokon/" target="_blank">Bike Test Review</a> and <a href="http://bikehabit.blogspot.com/2011/12/nokon-cable-set-review.html" target="_blank">Bike Habit Blog</a><br />
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How to example videos - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejg-jMkEJG8" target="_blank">Nokon with shifters</a>; and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8I3jnayWyY" target="_blank">Nokon with brakes</a>.<br />
<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-20681261543506483272012-08-13T17:07:00.002-04:002012-08-14T10:23:50.336-04:00See what America did not from London Olympics closing ceremonyIf you watched the closing ceremony on NBC in America then you were victim to censorship by omission. Who chose what you saw and why?<br />
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Well you may be able to deduce that by seeing what you missed!<br />
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So Simon's Cowls "boy band" - IN - <a href="http://gawker.com/5934102/heres-the-kate-bush-song-that-was-cut-from-the-us-broadcast-of-the-london-olympics-closing-ceremony" target="_blank">Kate Bush</a> - OUT - go figure.<br />
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Freedom of artistic expression - what is that, who needs that?<br />
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Our advertisers and sponsors do not care for that idea at all.<br />
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Add to the list - <a href="http://gawker.com/5934199/" target="_blank">The Who, Muse, Ray Davis </a>and more segments.<br />
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You would not want American audiences being subjected to any liberal thinking and ideas from those troublesome Europeans, now would you?<br />
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Just pass out the medals, play the national anthems and we will see you in 4 years time in Rio. Now those folks really know how to put on a Carnival and TV spectacular with zero overtones or hidden themes; we hope.<br />
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But then if you need a round up of how the French, Germans and Americans viewed the games differently, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19249953" target="_blank">please see this report</a>. <br />
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<br />DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-74990323359115141962012-02-02T01:04:00.003-05:002012-02-02T10:59:53.707-05:00Sugar and the food industry again<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now <a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-societal-sugar-essential-ease-health.html" target="_blank">more research points</a> to the needs to act, as I previously noted when the Scripps research on sugar and fats in food pointed to addiction effects similar to cocaine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This time it is the report by a team at the <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) on <a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-societal-sugar-essential-ease-health.html" target="_blank">sugar levels in foods</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health, according to a team of UCSF researchers, who maintain in a new report that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The cost of this in healthcare and economic productive terms is very significant and hence this calls for the same action as with tobacco and alcohol, making the producers reflect these costs in the retail price, along with restricting </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">advertising</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">, package sizes, availability and providing clear labelling as to the potential health effects.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">The report itself notes "</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Many of the interventions that have reduced alcohol and tobacco consumption can be models for addressing the sugar problem, such as levying special sales taxes, controlling access, and tightening licensing requirements on vending machines and snack bars that sell high sugar products in schools and workplaces".</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We can expect to see the food industry aggressively fighting this of course as they want to continue to profit and externalize their costs on to society. Higher healthcare premiums, overwhelmed health services dealing with obese patients, special equipment needed, staff and </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">patient</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> injuries, and chronic long term support costs.</span></span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Notice that politicians will be particularly weak willed and ineffectual acting on this given the contributions they doubtless receive to election campaigns, manufacturers in their </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">constituencies</span><span style="line-height: 18px;"> and lobbying of farming groups. All these factors are trifling compared to the net costs society is foisted with.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Expect to see the usual pronouncements saying that government is enacting measures and researching appropriate steps and then nothing to actually happen because no funding is appropriated in the budget. Some states and cities though may act, as New York did in removing trans fats from use, or by raising local taxes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Once again people can act themselves. In the same way that you would not offer cigarettes or liquor to a child, now add to that list items like store made cup cakes, cereals like Captain Crunch and of course sodas all of which are designed to adjust behaviour at an early age. When making recipes at home, use only a quarter of the sugar amount, so you can actually taste the food itself and not overwhelming sweetness. As your Grandmother knows best, everything in moderation.</span></span></span><br />
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</span></span>DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-83567184942992773942012-01-31T22:05:00.001-05:002012-02-01T21:40:51.981-05:00Made in USA on a budgetMy focus again is bikes, but the same aspects apply to several other engineering related industries, where skills and quality matter over sheer volume and lowest price.<br />
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There was a time when the USA was a leading bike manufacturer by volume and I'm not expecting that to return. However there are a range of quality jobs particularly for small innovative companies that do make sense and should be supported here in the USA.<br />
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One popular option is to locate the design, research, sales and marketing, support, final assembly and packaging in the USA while actual manufacturing is overseas. The most well known of these is SRAM. But there are also a range of companies making components here in the USA and this is a welcome trend. Many people don't even realize that they can source almost all of the components on their bike from USA companies.<br />
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These components tend to be aimed at the serious biking community, off-roaders and commuters rather than the casual urban cyclist. However, by careful use of eBay and internet discount sites along with direct ordering from USA companies sites you can definitely equip your ride well without over reaching your budget.<br />
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Parts such as bars, stems, seat posts, brakes and headsets are all available with several choices. Then accessories such as bar tape wrap, bottle cages, bottles, hydration systems, bags and cycling computers can be found too.<br />
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My previous blog post was on lighting systems and here I feel most people will not want to skimp on price and quality. Being safe and being seen early and often clear makes sense on the road anywhere and a lot of reasonably priced lights are available from USA companies and quality suppliers such as REI.<br />
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Wheels are one area I think there is more opportunity. Right now companies assemble in USA from Taiwan components, with some USA made parts, such as hubs, but there is no entire made in USA wheelset maker.<br />
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So, what does a made in USA bike look like with a majority of USA made components that is not a boutique highend purchase from a custom builder? I've been working for the past six months via eBay and internet deals on slowly retro-fitting parts on my ride, a Bike Friday Crusoe, that I originally acquired on eBay. My cost has been a few hundred dollars total on these USA made switch out components, but the ride quality and overall improvements have been worth it. Far better brakes, new replacement headset (old Taiwan one was simply worn out), vastly improved lights, and superb seatpost being the main parts. Then accessories include a wicked stainless bottle cage, bar tape and new 130mm stem. You can see the entire<a href="http://drrw.net/bikes/Bike-Friday-Pocket-Crusoe-Specifications.pdf" target="_blank"> list of components here</a> and their sources, along with the <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe" target="_blank">bike itself here</a>.<br />
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All this was triggered in part by Bike Friday itself, I was disappointed in how many low end Taiwan parts come on their regular bikes. Well hold that thought, as part of their 20 year celebration they have produced an "almost all made in USA" bike, collectors edition, 20 bikes, sticker shock on these is $6,000 but they will be snapped up I'm sure because Bike Fridays hold their value very well. You can see this machine and the story of how they sourced the parts <a href="http://www.bikefriday.com/momentum/anniversary/" target="_blank">right here</a>. I wonder how much customer pressure they have got to not just make in the USA but source in the USA. I see encouraging signs in their new releases such as their Llama with Aerospoke wheels and the Tikit commuter with belt drive. Of course you can always buy a bare frame set and add all your own components. Clearly they can do more, without tagging you with a $6,000 sticker price!<br />
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So the message here is one of citizen power. As consumers we have choice, <a href="http://madeusafdn.org/bicycles.html" target="_blank">see this "Buy American" site</a>, and regardless of politicians and government "stimulous packages" our choices are generally much more effective and direct in influencing our lives. Read the packaging carefully on products and use the internet to make informed buying choices, and as I found recently, if unsure Google for the same item in Canada where their sites actually show you the country of origin details. Just in case you had any doubt about the power of big corporations to restrict your access to information during your buying process!?<br />
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</div>DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-64416108717575868202012-01-26T22:30:00.003-05:002012-01-26T23:25:14.961-05:00Day or Night needs - Bike lights comparison and testsAnother area of technology that has transformed is bike lighting systems and their use. The LEDs and rechargeable batteries provide industrial strength lighting while being compact and lightweight.<br />
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The most important change however is the ability to use daylight running lights with real visibility. Why is this so important? The answer is drivers perception and behaviour toward you is transformed.<br />
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I did not really believe this but having experienced this first hand, it is huge. I've ridden in all kinds of traffic in major cities around the world, and used traditional lights and then LEDs and "Blinkies". While these work OK at night on side streets, on major roads and during day time, they simply can disappear into the other lights and visual distractions.<br />
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This is not the case for these high intensity LED systems which provide light at levels usually associated with high performance cars and trucks. The bottom line is these systems make you visible and a big part of the perception system of other road users, and what that means is, they slow down, they wait, and they move around you because to their perception system you now appear 3 times larger than before.<br />
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A bonus is that these higher end systems are available from USA companies, many of whom are doing assembly here in the USA. This is spawned by demand for these lights systems by off-road users, water sports and adventure seekers and even field photographers.<br />
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I bought one of these rear lights off eBay - the Light and Motion VIS 180 - used it on my regular day time training ride - and the next day I ordered a CygoLite HotSpot for my wife's bike. This enhanced safety is well worth every last penny for these systems. I also found a used CygoLite 250 lumen front light off eBay. What these light systems can mean is that you are visible even in day light situations, such as riding into a setting or rising sun when road users may miss seeing a bike in the glare. <br />
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Check out these videos to see how this looks:<br />
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<a href="http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1580/cey.mp4">http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/1580/cey.mp4</a><br />
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Sunglare example<br />
<a href="http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2372/yec.mp4">http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/2372/yec.mp4</a><br />
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Setting sun<br />
<a href="http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1256/36i.mp4">http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/1256/36i.mp4</a><br />
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and then more details in a <a href="http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?325630-Cygolite-%20%20HotShot-Review" target="_blank">review here</a>.<br />
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A next consideration is narrow beam v wider flashers, and the VIS 180 combines both with a 35 lumen main light and a side flasher, while the CygoLite Hotspot goes for raw 65+ lumens. This is serious light output, so much so, they come with low settings so you do not blind the rider behind you if you are drafting up close. See the <a href="http://forums.mtbr.com/8329903-post17.html" target="_blank">comparison shots here</a> if you really still think your "Blinky" LED rear light with 2 AAA batteries that you paid $10 for from China meets the mark (mentioning which these lights are <a href="http://www.storyofstuff.org/tag/externalized-cost/" target="_blank">examples of externalizing costs</a>). Need to know where things are really made? Check out Canadian sites <a href="http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cycling/Lights.jsp" target="_blank">such as this one</a>.<br />
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For front systems I found this really <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn9ODQlBTsk" target="_blank">excellent test video showing</a> what these setups can do for serious commuting and night time riding even in darkness without street lighting. That is obviously the extreme end of the scale, but the bottom line is having these light systems will make you dramatically more visible in all situations. You can see a comparison sampling of <a href="http://www.modernbike.com/light-comparison.asp?%20%20gclid=CKeW2puv5a0CFYXd4AodwFHxtA" target="_blank">available systems here</a> and REI have a good product selection of<a href="http://www.rei.com/search?query=rechargeable+bike" target="_blank"> rechargeable systems</a> and then see this <a href="http://reviews.mtbr.com/category/lights-shootout" target="_blank">bike review of lights</a> plus this<a href="http://eddys.com/articles/how-bright-is-that-light-ig493/" target="_blank"> interactive review collection</a>. If you are riding on road situations day or night, then you owe it to yourself to give these systems serious consideration.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-23783817809003649552012-01-16T23:07:00.000-05:002012-01-16T23:07:57.679-05:00IEEE P1622 Election Data Standard publishedAfter almost 9 months of work the long awaited IEEE P1622 first standard for US election information processing has been published as a joint work product between IEEE/OASIS/NIST/EAC and individual contributors. The formal announcement is provided below.<br />
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This sets the stage for a significant improvement in transparency and verification of election information in the US and beyond. Several election system manufacturers are now incorporating the specification and data standards into their product offerings. This also has the potential to save costs and improve accuracy and availability of election information prior to and during elections.<br />
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In addition with the success of this initial work there are now several other use cases that are being worked on as follow-on specifications for US elections information processing including election results reporting.<br />
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While all this is not exactly earth shattering, the long term implications for better elections and election processes are significant. My good friend Dick (Richard) Johnson is sadly no longer with us to witness this achievement, but he was one who advocated for this work within IEEE at an early stage. To see this finally achieved is therefore doubly rewarding.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">On Thursday, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">January 12, 2012, the IEEE Standards Association </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">published IEEE Std 1622-2011, the IEEE Standard </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">for Electronic Distribution of Blank Ballots for </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Voting Systems. This standard specifies </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">electronic data interchange formats for blank </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">ballot distribution, primarily to assist in </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">satisfying the needs of the Uniformed and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">and Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">(MOVE) Act. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Subsequent standards may address </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">other requirements for electronic data </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">interchange formats used by components of voting </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">systems for exchange of electronic data. This </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">scope does not include return of cast ballots by </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">electronic means.</span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">This standard is available at no charge from </span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><a href="http://standards.ieee.org/getieee/1622/download/1622-2011.pdf" style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" target="_blank">http://standards.ieee.org/getieee/1622/download/1622-2011.pdf</a><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">This standard is made available for free under </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">sponsorship of the IEEE Standards Association </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">because of the IEEE's desire to support this work </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">of national interest and at the specific request </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).</span>DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-62517419784229161822012-01-15T18:49:00.003-05:002012-02-23T22:20:29.050-05:00How good are modern bike wheels?Another use for cadence and speed computer devices is allowing comparisons between different wheelsets. I recently noticed a short 2 minute <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMUGufwHn48" target="_blank">video of a Kinetix Pro 20"</a> wheel. The hubs are made by American Classic and the complete wheel assembled by them from high end components for Dahon and others folding bikes. Obviously an excellent wheel, but how does it compare to regular 20" aero wheels, or 700cc road bike wheels?<br />
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I probably need to road test a Dahon with a set of these wheels on to see truly how it compares, but since no one has shop samples of these machines in the area, tough to do. In the meantime this simple spin test is an indication of how well the wheel rolls generally. This is the spin test from 60 mph for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0AsSKuNo7U" target="_blank">SparCo 451 20" aero wheel</a>, and then the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K3MvJ7N0Vo" target="_blank"> Williams Cycling 30X wheel</a>, with ceramic hub, same approach.<br />
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Verdict is that all three wheels seem to be about 80 to 90 seconds spin time on this test. Which tends to make one think the physics here is the real limit for how smooth and friction free the hub bearings and rachet mechanisms are. Cheap wheelsets however are in the 60 seconds or less range; I tried a couple of low end Shimano hubs and budget wheel rims also. <br />
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All of this is rather moot since of course ride quality, acceleration, weight, effort, power transfer, wind cross section, cornering and myriad of other factors that make a wheel handle well on the road, not shown in this test!<br />
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There is actually a ton of very high end science, wind tunnels, computer simulations and more being thrown at <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/enve-wheels-can-aero-get-any-quicker" target="_blank">wheel development</a> - see also this <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tech-feature-the-work-of-wheel-energy" target="_blank">article on bike wheel and tire science</a>. Not surprisingly the math and science only has a limited sense of everything that is going on dynamically with a wheel as it moves under different load and wind situations. The difficulty of research can be seen from this link on<a href="http://www.discoveryride.com/human/rolling.html" target="_blank"> tire materials and sizes here</a> (see comments at bottom). Traditionally this has all been trial and error development of course, to see what just "feels better" and delivers better more consistent results on the road against the clock and other peoples equipment. For certain that today's wheels will outperform older equipment simply because of the quality and materials now available.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-15983847795814546652011-12-28T13:10:00.000-05:002011-12-28T13:10:58.310-05:00Where is the Maytag man?Remember the Maytag service repair guy advertisements? Home appliance repair has now moved to the Internet and truly replaced him. I recently had my Maytag dryer stop running - and found this superb online video resource maintained by TheApplianceMan that gives <a href="http://www.do-it-yourself-washing-machine-and-dryer-repair-help.com/" target="_blank">step by step instruction </a>on how to diagnose and repair your appliances. Over 250 videos are included. Why can't Maytag provide these resources? Also what about all major appliance manufacturers supporting their products in this way? <br />
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In traversing this thread of information it transpires that really Maytag has outsourced its entire repair and support operations, referring you to local distributors and repair. Then another facet is original parts or OEM parts - which is what TheApplianceMan wants to ship you naturally once you figure out what is needed.<br />
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What I have learned though is that Maytag make an easy to access and repair dryer from simple parts and materials. This should not be rocket science and it isn't. Maytag do a woeful job of making this easy for owners however. Clearly the next generation of home appliances will know exactly how to self-diagnose and optionally point you out to the right resources on the internet to show you how to clean and maintain them to keep them running optimally. This is also really good for the environment with less stuff ending up in landfills when a simple $15 part can get it up and running again like new.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-64918927189650650422011-10-29T00:35:00.002-04:002012-06-10T11:47:21.611-04:00Garmin Forerunner 305, Sigma, Android computer telemetry and cadence sensor.Just how many bike computers do you really need? Seems like I now have three. My original Sigma computer with heart monitor, the Android HTC myTouch, and now the Garmin Forerunner 305 and ANT+ heart monitor and cadence sensor. All of course give slightly different results and features and strengths.<br />
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The Sigma gives the most accurate speed, distance, altitude and heart rate because it is mounted on the bike and measuring directly off the wheel rotation using the wheel diameter. The Sigma has no GPS or storage and download however so its only useful for immediate riding and overall statistics. The on bike display is highly visible and provides instant diagnostics and feedback.<br />
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Next the HTC Android running Google myTracks does a terrific job. The GPS calculation accuracy is within 1% of the Sigma bike measurements primarily because of the high sampling rate every 0.5 seconds - essential for bike riding. Uploading to online tracking sites of the ride GPX files is quick and easy. However, there is no heart rate monitor or cadence and adding those devices is problematic as HTC is using Bluetooth connections. I keep the HTC in my back shirt pocket so it cannot "see" the heart rate monitor on my front chest, nor is there a cadence sensor available. This means tracking winter indoor rides on rollers or trainer is not possible.<br />
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Enter the Garmin Forerunner 305 which Walmart is now selling. How mainstream is that for a running/bike geek device?! The price varies though wildly, somehow linked to tides and moon phases. So much for Walmart's RollBack - all I've seen is roll up - going from $137.95 to $175.95 in matter of two weeks!<br />
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I purchased mine off eBay using some eBucks credit - so that meant I got a great deal. I then found the Garmin GSC 10 cadence device on Amazon for $30 with free shipping. These devices would have cost you well north of $300 together a couple of years back. Getting the GSC 10 working on my Bike Friday with 451 20" wheels however required some ingenuity to mount it successfully.<br />
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Garmin provide an additional rubber mount - and I used that one on top of the Paul brake arm, making a cut out on the inside of the rubber to accommodate the bolt on the brake pad retainer. The wheel magnet goes on the spoke nipple to reach the sensor arm on the GSC 10. Then the cadence magnet goes on the inside of the crank arm and while it is slightly ahead of the GSC 10 that still works fine.<br />
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Now to get the Garmin Forerunner 305 working optimally you have to remember the following:<br />
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1) Switch the 305 on outside and place it down away from buildings so the GPS satellite detection can work. That can take a minute or two - so go do something else while that happens.<br />
2) For better accuracy set the data sampling rate to every 1 second, and not the automatic mode.<br />
3) The cadence sensor wheel rotation is ignored when calculating speed and distance if the 305 can see GPS satellites.<br />
4) Set the pause speed to be 2mph - so if you have to stop the 305 pauses recording<br />
5) Before each ride remember to press down and hold the lap button (on left) until it does a Reset.<br />
6) Press the start activity button and then don't forget to press it again to stop activity when you are done.<br />
7) I wear the 305 with the display face down on the inside of my left wrist - that way a slight wrist rotation shows me quick glance at metrics as I'm riding. But for riding in trees or poor reception, wear it face up.<br />
8) Use the <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/">Connect.Garmin web site</a> for logging activity - it is way better than the Garmin Training Center software provided with the 305.<br />
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Some things I find annoying about the 305 -<br />
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1) You have to switch it off - it does not switch itself off after say 15 minutes of no activity<br />
2) No full GPX export capability with speed, heart rate, cadence - you can only export the GPS route track<br />
3) You cannot make it use the cadence sensor wheel speed calculator as the main distance and speed device.<br />
4) You cannot set the sampling rate to 0.5 seconds - which would be much more accurate for bike riding.<br />
5) Having to wait while it scans for satellites - it should remember home setting and offer to skip the scan.<br />
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Otherwise the 305 is awesome. For the price it provides superb features and works with all the major online tracking sites that have Garmin interfaces. Also the GPS positioning is a lot more accurate than in the Android phones. Google's myTracks software does some clever faking, but if you compare rides side by side, you see the Garmin positional accuracy to 5x more precise.<br />
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I now use just the Garmin and Strava and connect.garmin.com sites. The Sigma is still the best for on bike display and metrics. I guess we just have to accept there is no one solution for now - until someone comes out with something that is clearly better and at a price that is affordable. Still by investing in ANT+ sensor devices that should be a win-win going forward.<br />
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Last but not least DC Rainmaker here provides the <a href="http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2007/11/review-of-garmin-forerunner-305.html">fullest review and information here</a> on using the 305 for everything and more than you ever thought of. Kudos to him!DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-75051640947054136172011-09-03T19:23:00.000-04:002011-09-03T19:23:56.622-04:00Bike Chains, Wheels, Gears, Brakes and other Parts<br />
Continuing the exploration of better biking facts and the details of small wheel bicycling. Recently I was in Philadelphia for a conference and hence out there riding the streets in the evenings. The downtown streets are challenging with old trolley line rails, cobblestones and just the normal city hubris of road works, pot holes and dug over tarmac, not to mention my kerb hopping to get around obstacles and diversions. The good news is that everyone bikes in the city so traffic expects bikes everywhere. The river areas out beyond the Franklin Museum toward the boat houses and rowing clubs are better off with bike lanes and smooth road areas and jogging paths.<br />
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Certainly it is a good way to check out how good your wheels, spokes and hubs are and my latest SparCo 451 wheels passed perfectly absorbing the punishment without complaint or consequences. Not so much for my favorite Kirkland vintage aluminum water bottle cage – it split at the weld between the rails and base. Lesson learned is that solid one piece water bottle cages are needed for extended off road and rough road trips.<br />
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Then the latest configuration on my Bike Friday Crusoe held its own well with the local group ride folks doing laps on the parkway. Not least of course because it’s so flat and I’m used to having to deal with serious hills on my daily riding. However I did notice the derailleur starting to make grinding and chunking noises in certain gear settings, but I put it down to the excessive rattling and shaking at high speeds on bumpy roads.<br />
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Back to wheels and chains, on my return home I installed new Specialites TA chain rings, KMC X9-SL chain and Paul Motolite brakes. Another lesson learned, if your gear changing is off, the derailleur noisy and general road pace down – you need a new chain! Modern chains wear out quite quickly in typically 1,500 miles of use; old chains did not that much because they were near tank proof and gear systems limited to 5 or 7 cogs. Now chains are tuned for modern extended gear systems and although a 1/8th of inch stretch limit does not sound much it really effects how the chain works with the chain rings and your overall power transfer. Having installed new TA chain rings from France, and a new KMC X9 gold chain, and then adjusted the FSA front changer the effect is dramatically better. Smooth precise changing with the shifters, quieter drive train and more efficient pedalling. All is goodness with this setup so strongly recommend this combination with 54T / 42T and the Capreo cassette. Plus they look <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe/13686222_HxHBJ9#1453869338_dSKDccn">absolutely amazing on the bike</a>. Everything Specialites TA claims about their chain rings definitely I can’t fault. The changing and power transfer feels awesome, they made a believer of me, the whole ride quality and handling is now the best ever. Life is good as they say. Which also applies to the Paul linear pull brakes, these are pricey, but buy them off eBay direct from Paul Comp. No doubt that their design is the best out there when it comes to getting precise fit and alignment and stopping power on to the rims.<br />
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The travelogue with my Bike Friday doubtless continues with some more trips planned, but at least I am now very satisfied with the components and ride quality. The limiting factor at this point is truly myself and not how I have the machine optimized and setup for what I have invested in the components and frame. I will have to see how this stacks up compared to high end Dahon bikes if I get a chance to road test one of those. I highly doubt there will be much difference at this point as the gear ratios, bike weight and wheel sets appear very comparable so riding style and ride quality may be the determining factors.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-9265022147817041842011-08-07T14:45:00.001-04:002015-10-01T17:23:26.670-04:00The 406 vis 451 wheels debate and Bike Friday Crusoe<div class="MsoNormal">
The Bike Friday Crusoe is a multi-function machine with ability to mount either 406 or 451 wheelsets. So when should you use which wheelset? I’ve been riding my Crusoe for over a year now with Speedster 406 wheels equipped with Schwalbe Kojak tires. This is a great workhorse setup either on road or indoors on rollers. It also packs a solid performance punch combined with the Shimano Capreo cassette. </div>
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Now I have just installed a set of <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe/13686222_hVB94#1417410189_5kpXxwP">Spar Co 451 wheels and Schwalbe Stelvio</a> tires its time to consider the differences. First I’ll discuss general handling characteristics and “feel” on the bike, and then look at the numbers to see if they confirm those subjective opinions. And then compare the specs and performance of the two wheelsets to compare those aspects as well.</div>
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Impressions from my first ride on the Spar Co 451 wheels were overwhelmingly positive. They are beautifully made and true, the hubs are completely smooth rolling and the black aero spokes perform great. The handling and cornering is more positive and direct than the 406 wheels with faster more stable overall cornering and better retaining of momentum going into hills. Speed wise the 451 wheels are clearly faster; it feels like you have one extra top gear even though both wheelsets have identical Capreo cassettes.<br />
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<img alt="http://photos-d.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xap1/t51.2885-15/10665282_319633798246075_1837312880_n.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://photos-d.ak.instagram.com/hphotos-ak-xap1/t51.2885-15/10665282_319633798246075_1837312880_n.jpg" /> </div>
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So why ride 406 wheels? At lower speeds for touring with the extra weight hauling equipment the advantage of the 451 disappears and now the extra tire width and depth of the 406 provides better ride comfort and grip in wet or loose road conditions. The 406 sits slightly lower by 1.5 inches, so seat post reach with the 451 is another consideration and dismounting off the bike back to the ground if you have the seat mast in a high position. Also having a 406 rim opens up more space on the frame for racks and fenders or if you are packing the bike into a 29 inch sized suitcase for air travel rather than the newer 31 inch suitcase. Therefore you will pick which wheelset better fits your use needs, or just have a set of each.</div>
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Interestingly you would think that the 451 wheelset would be dramatically faster but of course you have to make it ride faster which means more effort and work and power needed. So for the average Bike Friday rider this is probably a wash, they will simply down shift on the 451 wheel to the equivalent work ratio with the 406 wheel and have that 451 top gear only for high speed downhill sections. For spirited road riders however the 451 means the ability to ride a faster pace and train harder on each ride pushing the higher gearing.</div>
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What does it take to install the 451 wheelset on the Bike Friday Crusoe? First you can simply swap out the wheels as the rear frame and front forks have clearance for either wheelset. However the brakes either require V brake extenders (see ThorUSA <a href="http://www.thorusa.com/dahon/accessories/wheels.htm">here</a>) to move the brake pads out 2 inches for the 451 rim, or installing a new 451 size brake set. The Paul Motolite linear-brakes are adjustable to easily fit either; also, these Taiwan made V-brakes from Avola 100mm long type also adjustable.<br />
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Overall the 451 rim with narrow Stelvio tires works out about 1.5 inches taller than the 406 rim with the 1.35 form factor Kojak tires. That translates to 4.5 inches further on each wheel rotation, and with the Capreo cassette top gear that means 9.4 meters travelled per pedal rotation compared to 8.7 meters, or 8% higher gear on the 451 compared to the 406 which is why it feels like one higher gear riding on the actual road. That 8% however on a 16 mph average ride pace may net around a 1 mph increase in average speed. Ride speed with cornering stability and hill climbing will be noticeably improved with the 451 rims.</div>
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Looking at the specifications the two wheelsets are highly comparable. The Spar Co Bike 451 weigh 550 grams front and 800 gram rear and the Speedster 406 weigh 575 grams front and 760 grams rear giving 1,350 grams wheelset compared to 1,335 grams. The Spar Co uses black aero spokes while the Speedster comes with stainless steel aero spokes. Both are rock solid wheels using 20 and 24 spokes on the rims. The front hubs have indivisible performance in being whisper quiet and super smooth rolling. For the rear hubs the Spar Co freewheel ratchet and hub is quieter and seems to roll a little smoother but both are excellent and both are wildly better rolling than stock Shimano hubs.</div>
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That is the roundup on 451 vice 406 wheelset rims. I’ll provide further insights as my road testing proceeds and I also intend to try road riding with the 451 setup with regular road bike folks to see how viable that is for shorter rides. There the Bike Friday at 22lbs kerb weight is giving up 5lbs to an average carbon fiber road bike while the gearing and wheel characteristics provide further differences when group riding. Probably not an issue on around a 20 mile ride, but over 30 miles is sure to be more challenging. You can check out the Crusoe with <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe/13686222_hVB94#1417409280_bfSJDZj">SparCo wheelset </a>here.<br />
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Postscript: I've just become aware of another Taiwan source for 20" wheels, Shimano hub (not Capreo) - <a href="http://www.faxsoncycle.com/" target="_blank">FAXSON Cycles</a> and <a href="http://www.bicyclehero.com/us/faxson-fa20co-20-color-wheel-set-451-6colors.html" target="_blank">reseller here</a>. Good if your drive train is setup for 10 speed Shimano gearing.</div>
DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-44239959405923428992011-07-04T00:27:00.003-04:002011-08-07T17:56:52.496-04:00Bike Friday Crusoe Touring Folding BikeThe saga continues here for bike aficionados - Bike Friday now list the <a href="http://www.bikefriday.com/bicycles/touring/768">Crusoe touring model</a> on their revamped 2011 web site - as a custom option. This all makes sense - their road models are the Pocket Rocket series - whereas the Crusoe really offers a more flexible option - in a lightweight frame - for touring and more. Actually my experience with the Crusoe is that it is a true hybrid - doubling up in its roles. The one I have started life configured by its previous owner as a cyclo-cross machine with knobby tires and cyclo-cross bars, brakes and pedals. Now it has morphed into more of a road sport bike with Capreo cassette and aero spoked lightweight 20" 406 wheels and a new SRAM Force crankset. Shaving 3 pounds off its original kerb weight. <br />
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For the summer I reinstalled the original Shimano SPD pedals and have a super comfortable pair of Keen cycling sandals with the SPD cleat insert courtesy of Sierra Trading Post. Definitely cool summer riding choice - but read the Shimano warnings carefully - I managed to slip off trying too hard on a steep hill - usual road rash hurt and more - so you can over do things! Highly recommended however - beats sweaty over heating road shoes feet down.<br />
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Next up I have a set of super aggressive 451 rims on order, and brake extenders to configure the Crusoe as a road bike on a par with the Pocket Rocket Select. This will mean the same frame can support 3 different roles in a bike. Pretty impressive. As always you can track the picture gallery of the<a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe"> Crusoe evolution here</a>.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-39349091297672070582011-04-24T18:12:00.001-04:002011-04-24T18:13:17.749-04:00Bike Friday Mystique Unravelled?Bike Friday holds an enviable place in the folding bike marketplace - so what makes it special compared to the raft of competing bicycles?<br />
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It comes down to a philosophy of simplicity, durability along with component compatibility in the marketplace and then a ride quality that is pure enjoyment on two wheels.<br />
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To be sure there are a raft of other technical factors relating to the different models offered - and about the best summary of all these - is by <a href="http://www.cs.gmu.edu/~sean/stuff/tikit/">Sean at gmu.edu </a>and while focused on the Tikit - there's a lot of general comments regarding Bike Fridays that I found insightful.<br />
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Like Sean I have migrated from a Dahon - in my case the Vitesse D8 with Nexus 7 speed hub to a Bike Friday Crusoe. Now the Dahon still gets the edge for pure city use - its small size when folded is more Metro and Train friendly - but I'm sure a Tikit would be way better - my BF Crusoe is just a different beast - a pure sports bike - with wicked fast performance - which is a blast around town - easily outpacing most cars in city traffic - but its less compact and easy to fold. The Crusoe is totally at home on weekend club rides out in the countryside.<br />
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This is part of the secret of Bike Friday success - when I first bought the Crusoe winning an auction on eBay - I had no idea what I'd bought - and neither had the seller - it was an estate auction item - and they thought is was a Friday NWT model. Whomever had originally ordered the bike back in 2002 decided on a weird setup with trail style tires knobbly and just a clunky configuration. The Crusoe is a thoroughbred while is was configured like a draft horse.<br />
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Even so it rode wildly better than my Dahon, so it took me over a year to figure everything out, and to slowly replace components. <br />
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For performance the Capreo cassette is a must have on 20" bikes. Likewise good rims and tires. So getting that right shaved 2lbs off the weight and transformed the handling. Similarly the zero offset seat post means more power to the pedals, and mentioning which I just fitted a SRAM Rival group crank set with 175 cranks, again saving 1/2lb weight and upping the power torque. End result is that the bike is now 4lbs lighter than originally at 22lbs kerb weight - and a ton faster - averaging 18mph instead of around 16mph on serious training rides. Not that I'm a hard core weight weenie - instead I've equipped this Crusoe with practical components that are bargain priced compared to high end components.<br />
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So what is the lessons learned here? Bike Friday ships mostly vanilla components on their bikes unless you order something boutique and top end priced from them. They err on side of average and reliable parts that work worldwide. Weight and performance less a concern. <br />
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What makes each Bike Friday so appealing is that you can make it your own. Standard parts fit just fine and eBay is a treasure trove of these at reasonable prices that make experimenting affordable.<br />
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So when I look at pictures of other peoples Bike Friday Crusoe bikes and other models - they are all wildly different and personal - no two bikes are the same. This reflects Bike Friday the company approach to assembling and configuring as well. Which is very cool - personalization rocks! It also explains the mystique and value of these machines. This is like the old school marque car companies where people valued the ability to customize and the high initial build quality. In the case of these bikes though they literally can last you a life time.<br />
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You can see the <a href="http://drrw.smugmug.com/Sports/Bike-Friday-Crusoe">morphing of my Crusoe here</a> - in reverse - current configuration working back to what it was when I first received it.<br />
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Enjoy and if you are considering adding a folding bike to your life I very much recommend what Bike Friday is doing and has to offer.DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-81789043716088548182010-12-28T01:17:00.002-05:002010-12-28T21:56:48.927-05:00Bikeorama - new wheels on a Bike FridaySince acquiring a Bike Friday Crusoe off eBay earlier this year I have been slowly tweaking this to optimize the ride and performance of the machine. Now I have it back in solid mechanical condition and the kinks tuned out - I decided time to change up the gearing using the Shimano Capreo rear cassette which provides 9-26 cog sizes. With the standard Shimano Deore group set the bike definitely runs under geared for road use. I had put on a SRAM 10-27 tight ratio cassette that helped and added Schwalbe Kojak tires too. But the road ride still topped out around 2 to 3 mph slower than I felt capable to ride.<br />
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So, back to eBay to find interesting set of wheels available from Taiwan. The hand built <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=fastace+20%22">Fastace 20" </a>small wheelset comes with standard hubs for Shimano 10/11/12 cassettes - but inquiring of the supplier - they shipped me a<a href="http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=speedster+20%22+capreo&_sacat=0&_odkw=speedster+20%22"> Capreo compatible hub wheelset in 406 and 20mm rims</a> for the same price and spec's (they have 451 available too). I was a little apprehensive how their Speedster hubs would compare and also the rims and wheel quality - hence this review here.<br />
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Well Christmas Eve USPS came up my driveway with a large package shipment - the wheels had arrived a week sooner than I expected! I had already ordered the regular Capreo cassette on sale and a lock ring tool - so that evening I was able to mount everything on the Crusoe. Setup was a lot smoother than I'd expected. I'd not put on my own cassette before, so I relied on Shimano's instructions. Turned out the trick was ensuring all the cogs are completely flush and down into each other, some turning and clicking down required. I did not get it completely right first time. You know when its right because the lock ring thread sits 3 or 4 turns clear above the 9 cog.<br />
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Having taken off the old Sun rim and Deore hub wheels I was in for a shock. The new rims and hubs are so much better, smoother, lighter and truer that its scary what I had been riding around on thinking the old ones were OK! Since the rims are only 20mm wide I did have to adjust the brakes inward some, but that is very simple on the Deore levers using the Alan key adjustment.<br />
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So what about actual performance? Well being winter I've been riding rollers the past two months and averaging 21 mph on 16 mile rides watching 45 minutes of video downloads; and with a top speed of 28 mph once I was good and warmed up. So up on the rollers with the Capreo straight out the gate I hit 31 mph and clearly the whole balance, acceleration and feel is better. Christmas day afternoon the weather cooperated and I was able to do a 7 mile road ride. The Capreo gearing was giving me 2 to 3 mph more speed along my usual bike route. Sharp acceleration on hills was noticeably better and top speed of 31 mph on a section I can only manage 28 mph on my 700cc road bike was especially impressive. So don't get carried away though, overall the performance on a 700cc carbon road bike will still beat the Crusoe but the gap is now probably just 0.5 mph average on my regular 15 mile ride. I like the handling of the 20" wheels though in wet and slippery weather.<br />
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Back on the rollers the next day - I was able to really start to crank pace. Because the new wheels are more stable I'm able to ride at 33 mph now for one mile - but this is about the limit of my VO max at my age - and pushes my heart rate to above 150 bpm. But it is a lot of fun and hard workout. Peak I just managed 35 mph for a brief second. Back down in the ratios I can spin 22 to 25 mph readily. One of the major reasons for the wheel change was to have a more challenging work out - so definitely achieved that goal!<br />
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Total ride was 15.68 miles in 42 minutes - average 22.25 mph when "pop" the rear wheel suddenly punctured from a rim pinch just as I was cranking a 30+ mph final segment! I'd used the old tubes from the wider Sun rims and no rim tape, so need to repair that in the morning with new parts from my friendly bike store.<br />
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So overall these new rims from Taiwan are working out to be a great deal. Quality, compatibility, weight, performance for the price cannot be beat! I think I'm finally satisfied with the setup on my Bike Friday and looking forward to the spring weather and being able to ride at solid road pace rides outside.<br />
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If you are interested in gear ratios on the Capreo - check out these online calculators:<br />
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<a href="http://www.wirewd.com/bike/hardware/calc/">http://www.wirewd.com/bike/hardware/calc/</a><br />
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then<br />
<a href="http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/">http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/</a><br />
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and for every option possible see:<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.soulbikes.com/gears/">http://www.soulbikes.com/gears/</a></div><br />
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From this seems like I'm turning 100 rpm for 33 mph on top ratio on the rollers!<br />
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Enjoy and happy cycling.<br />
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p.s. Flat repaired - rode 20 miles in 52 mins on rollers = average 23mphDRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6471064.post-26076809439032193532010-11-21T14:05:00.001-05:002010-11-21T14:11:11.196-05:00Chuck Norris, 1776, 1861 and the FairtaxIt is heartening to see prominent figures starting to speak out on the issues preventing America from sustaining a fair and balanced society with prosperity for its people.<br />
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<a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/ChuckNorris/2010/11/16/nothing_certain_except_death_and_a_fairtax">http://townhall.com/columnists/ChuckNorris/2010/11/16/nothing_certain_except_death_and_a_fairtax</a><br />
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Chuck makes three key points here. Everyone sees Chuck as a icon of course, and all those 'Norris' jokes, but they forget that those who are truly steeped in martial arts embrace the holistic and moral codes as well. And these moral aspects reach right back and mirror those of the Founding Fathers and 1776. This is clear from Chucks own writings in his post:<br />
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"First, because the Internal Revenue Service is an unconstitutional system that is <strong>totally overreaching and overpowering for our republic</strong>, as well as a <strong>bureaucratic nightmare</strong> for anyone caught in its auditing web. It has <strong>no checks or balances; it can't be held accountable</strong> by we the people.<br />
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Secondly, as it stands, the present tax code <strong>penalizes productivity and cripples entrepreneurs </strong>and our capitalist economy. As The Heritage Foundation reports, the top 10 percent of income earners pay 71 percent of income taxes, and more than a third of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all; 47 percent pay no federal taxes.<br />
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It's time we had a system through which people don't have to<strong> figure out ways to cheat in order to save their money</strong>. As my friend Mike Huckabee says, "the FairTax is a completely transparent tax system. It doesn't increase taxes. It's revenue-neutral. But here's what it will do: It will bring business back to the United States that is leaving our shores because our tax laws make it impossible for an American-based business to compete. ... The FairTax was designed by economists from Harvard and Stanford and some of the leading think tanks across the country."<br />
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Chuck I thank you for your clarity.<br />
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Today we have a tax system that is not aspiring the American Dream through hard work and application - it is the <strong>American Nightmare</strong> that involves hundreds of thousands of citizens each year through no fault on their part other than being unlucky enough to being <strong>targeted by their own government</strong>! Worse - the harder you work, the more likely you are to be targeted. It pits historically low employment areas across the country where the IRS has planted its facilities, against the other areas that are economically better off. This perpetuates the same unspoken divisions that 150 years ago caused the Civil War.<br />
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In any other country this would be viewed as a Fascist government establishment; the methods and behaviours are identical using fear and draconian methods to illicit citizen compliance. Along with pitting citizens against citizens and having bureaucratic mandarins that set their own arcane rules that are administered through obfuscation. A quote regarding IRS policy staff makes this clear. Contract legal counsel working for the IRS complained that wording for new procedures was wrong and not compliant with the law passed by Congress. The response from the IRS staff was "we know, but we're using our interpretation and our wording until someone sues us and we lose". And they know that the odds of that happening are very very slim.<br />
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For more information on the FairTax see <a href="http://www.fairtax.org/">http://www.fairtax.org/</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairtax">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairtax</a>DRRWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00601142988520298325noreply@blogger.com