Tech Briefing: New Bikes Galore, Big Pedals, Action Cameras & More - October 2018

 Any bike part that's ribbed for your pleasure must be a win!

 Welp, after the recent toad from super mario innuendo, the ergonomics of mushroom could be anything.

 @jdeuce: inyourendo

 Do they make you last longer too? I'm taking about going down of course. Wait I mean on bikes.

 @taquitos: What do you do about the taste of the chain lube?

 As is 3/2...

 As is 3452234234789234/23847189

 key word there is "available."

 Try Orange Seal

 Finish Line sucked, possibly the worst tire sealant on the market. I went back to orange seal.

 I've had great luck with Slime Pro TTS.

 I've always Stuck with Stans just because it works, and it's what I know. For those who have used both, how does Orange Seal stack up?

 @pacificnorthwet: Orange seal is superior in every aspect to Stan's. I had problems with Stans leaking at the bead and drying out too quickly. I switched to Orange Seal and those problems are gone.

 @pacificnorthwet: Dries out a bit quicker. But is way better.

 Ive had a great season with finish line sealant weird

 I have taken 4 separate tires (2 Specialized, 1 Schwalbe, and 1 WTB) that were leaking through the sidewalls with Stans, and just by switching over to Orange Seal cleared them up. Stans turns into a booger ball, where Orange Seal actually coats the inside of your tire to seal better over time. I've had 1" tire slices that were sealed by Orange Seal, where I "just" saw Stans fail to seal a small thorn puncture the other day.

 @Thustlewhumber: That's good to know, thanks. I have a couple of specialized tires that seep Stans through the sidewalls. I might give Orange Seal a try in those tires, and see if the seeping stops.

 no doubt, that finish line stuff is pure snake oil. never had worse performance out of a sealant in my life. thank god I lost almost all of it on the side of trails in the first month of buying it.

 Orange Seal endurance is my go to, I had a tire that the LBS just had stans in it, and it wept constantly. went back to the big O and no problems. I do like most of muc offs products, Their bike wash in particular seems to work really well. Does it work better than something cheaper? Not sure. I tried their expensive ass hydrophobic chain lube and I'm kinda meh about it (on a gravel/road bike) really sticky.

 Finish line works great on tire/rim combos that actually hold air well without sealant. It’s not latex based so it won’t do much to seal it up, but stays a liquid forever so it’s low maintenance.

Stan’s is kind of between these two, still latex based, still booger’s up but it’s less viscous and doesn’t seal as well as orange.

Orange/endurance, latex based will seal up pretty much anything but booger’s up and dries out relatively quickly....for casual riding and training I like finish line as it seals up small holes but doesn’t really require maintenance. If you’re racing and want peace of mind or rip holes in your tires all the time (or have last gen continental tires) aggressive latex based stuff like orange is great, as long as you’re willing to refresh it every couple of months

 @parkourfan: with the difference that Stan's creates boogers and Orange Seal creates an evenly distributed coating. I prefer the latter.

 @Mac1987:

Orange endurance definitely boogers up as well. I've personally gone through two 1l bottles across several bikes/tires, dealing with constant tire chages for a few XC racers. I'll put up some pics the next time I run into it...I don't know whether orange or stans does it quicker, but it certainly happens to both.

Orange leaves a rapidly drying skim, stan's leaves a clotted moist layer. There's no one good sealant for everyone on the market right now, thats for sure

 @parkourfan: I use the regular formula, so they might dry up differently.
And to clarify: both Stan's and Orange dry out after a while, just the way they do is different.
The reason I prefer Orange is that it seals equal to or better than Stan's race, lasts longer than both Stan's race and regular and doesn't form balls.

 Yeah, but GoPro actually changes stuff instead of selling the same product at a mark up.

 @WAKIdesigns: No experience with their cellphone, but I do use some of the Apple components (the laptop battery charger in particular) in class as examples of bad/dangerous design/user interaction.

Not sure about the GoPro. My Sony (I think it was HDS AS20 or AS30) didn't survive a swimming session last summer so if I'd get a GoPro for free then yeah it would probably suffice. At least I don't see it being dangerous (except for people feeling encouraged to go and act stupid, of course).

 @WAKIdesigns: The computer is from work so it is their choice. I think it is decent, but I'm not too demanding. I do like Windows Ink in MS Windows as it is now for making notes in documents, drawing routes on maps (and have the software calculate how long they are) etc so I expect these Surface devices to be pretty nice. I currently use something from HP with a Wacom Bamboo drawing tablet, which does work nicely. If I'd be very demanding about drawing and want to see the lines appear where the pen is (like the Surface does and what your iPad probably does too) I'd rather have one of those advanced Wacom devices that does just that. I understand people like to have functions integrated in once single device but I personally get so torn when one or several of these functions just don't perform like I want them to. When I get another product to replace that one function, it does away with the whole point of having it all in one device. So for calling and sending text, I use a phone, internet and e-mail through a computer, photos with a photocamera. Have to add to that, I do have this disorder. I'm usually this friendly happy person, there is no way to make me mad. Except if you call me on my cellphone and ask me how I'm doing. It'd be like punching me in the face and ask me how I feel. It affects the outcome. See, I don't like phones. Too often to I have to restrain myself from smashing it to little bitty pieces. Want to chat? Come over and we'll have some tea. I'm really nice like that.

Either way, what I don't like about that Apple laptop charger is that in their effort to things "different" they just did it all wrong.

1. Other companies have a velcro strap to bundle the cables. Apple has these fragile wings to flip up and invite the customer to wrap the cable around the adaptor itself. Eventually breaking these wings and even worse, damaging the cable. Don't wrap the cable around the adaptor, don't invite your customers to do so.

2. Where the cable exits the adaptor, other companies work with these tapered ribbed sleeves to prevent the cable against sharp kinks. Apple does have a smooth (not ribbed) straight (not tapered) sleeve and inside, there is an aluminium tube to actually strangle and cut the cable.

3. Laptop adaptors are heavier than cellphone changers hence other companies don't stick the charger straight into the wall socket. Instead, there is always a power cable. Apple allows you to mount two different plugs. One with a cable, the other one is a plug that mounts directly to the adaptor. Obviously the weight of the adaptor bends the pins of the plug (at least with the round Euro plugs) so that it becomes harder to pull the plug out of the socket. Not so hard that the customer would be bothered, but hard enough for the plug to become damaged. And unlike other companies they don't cast the wiring inside the plug but just leave it in a cavity closed by the cap that holds the pins. So eventually you pull out the cap and pins, exposing these fragile wires that transmit your 220V.

I don't care if their products aren't competitive. It does bother me that they supply it with a charger this dangerous.

 @vinay: For the most part, for most pro uses, Wacom loses in comparison to IPad. Their portable device really sucks. Their Intuos and Bamboo pads are now useless, their Cintiq screen still has some usage since you can use it as a screen for a PC. But it is heavy and cumbersome to rotate. IPad works best because it is small and you can use it like a sheet of paper. the distance from the display to the tip of a pen is shortest in the industry, which makes it most natural... and usable like a piece of paper. I tested all 3 of them Wacom, Microsoft and Ipad, and the latter was better by a margin. They say that Wacom and Microsoft allow you to use actual Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. And so fricking what. Ipad allows me to save on the Icloud drive and open it immediately. The most important part, drawing/painting is the best and since sharing "artwork" in psd and ai formats on the fly is not a problem, the rest is irrelevant. Also who the hell has cash for additional licenses for Adobe programs for their pad? Ipad apps cost nothing and are fully compatible with everything

 @WAKIdesigns: If the iPad works best for you like this then that's great. My main gripe about the Apple computer I've got here is how dangerous the power adaptor is. That said, I've been using an older refurbished HP Elitebook 2740p with a pen with MS Windows Ink and I was fairly happy with how I could work on the screen. When it broke I got another refurbished HP Revolve 810 which does have a touchscreen, but it is pretty horrible. No way I could use it with a pen. Then I dug out the old Wacom and realized I really like the ergonomics of looking up at the screen and still writing/drawing on the desk (or well, the drawing tablet).

I'm no professional illustrator so I don't care much about Adobe compatibility. Coming from linux for my personal computer, the graphic software I used most is Inkscape and Krita after that (for use with the pen). I rarely even use GIMP.

 @vinay: I understand your concerns about power supply. As to wacom imtuos vs drawing on the screen with the pen, erm no... just no... that's like driving a car using Remtoe controller. You can do it... just not as good as when you sit inside. Then drawing on anything else than Wacom Cintiq Ipad pro or Microsoft Surface Pro is a waste of time for anyone who takes his drawing attempts even a bit seriously. Drawing wise all other touch screen devices are toys for children or morbidly untalented teenagers

 The guy who knows nothing @WAKIdesigns:

 Gentlemen, this is a mountain biking website

 @WAKIdesigns: wake must sit at home all day on meth with the amount of time he has to ruin the comments section with long pointless posts

 @andrew8404: waki is a classic person who says a lot and nothing at the same time

 @gtill9000: +1. And this is a discussion that disappeared up its own ass at about the second post.

 @WAKIdesigns: thanks Waki, I appreciate your input. I've been working with the Surface line for a year or so now and I love it! TBF though I don't do much drawing or interfacing with the pen, but in my limited usage I felt the Surface was superior to the iPad. Interesting to hear your take on it.

 @mkotowski1: Sorry peeps, I must have been guilty of this too here. I actually think Waki was being helpful here. Once someone links a very loosely bicycle related product (a portable camera) to an even less bicycle related product (a cellphone), this is what you get. If this hurts, conversations in real life must be even more painful.

"Dude, I just asked you what you thought of the weather was like. Why are you bringing up yesterday's soccer game?"

I probably won't invite you for tea then.

 @vinay: I would take anything from waki with a grain of salt my friend, he thinks he knows everything and will piss in your tea if you disagree

 @mkotowski1: the only problem is I worked with Wacom products professionally for years, including bike companies, now work with Ipad Pro and make over 20% of my income this way. More and more every year. nothing hurts more than when a troll actually makes more sense than you. Oh wait, there is such thing. When a troll shows up to your trail and kicks the crap out of your times. I tasted this. Delicious.

Also I was havimg an online beer chat with @vinay. What’s your business here?

@laxguy, off course everything is own preference. Ink is superior to pencil!

 @WAKIdesigns: When I want to get creative, for me there is nothing better than some good old oil pastels and smear away. It probably won't get me anywhere in the graphic design world and I haven't seen a proper digital alternative to this, but it is so much fun to do. I recall my kids got so disappointed when someone got them those cheap hard pastels which just won't blend. So yeah, I'm no pro in this department and I'm not too demanding in the digital department (as long as it is safe, I don't want my house to burn down because of this stupid stuff) but when it comes down to oil pastels, I only want the real stuff .

One more cuppa?

 @vinay: I like pastels too. But I suck at using only them. I must have outlines.

 @WAKIdesigns: apple vrs windows is like Ford verses Chevy.
As for virus and Malware.
Urban myth.
I shut down all my security on all my computers. They run much faster that way.
As for windows letting google spy on my computer all the time.
Those updates are a load of BS.
Windows and your smart phone are data mining and sending out data constantly selling your private info to corporations to help sell you more shite.
My work PC is never hooked up to the internet never had an upgrade. Works flawlessly.
My laptop that I use with internet is fast . But when windows is snooping around my hard drive I notice my computer chug.
So the only thing slowing my computer is windows ( communicating) with computer.
Windows 10 is essentially a spyware / OS in one.
I don't run Mac it's bloody expensive!
And probably now uses similar spy ware/ OS.

 @WAKIdesigns: Just use outlines in pencil to give the viewer a rough idea of where you're supposed to go. The more it allows you to mess with the pastels and they still think you know what you're doing, even if you mess up. I think once I learn not to burst in laughter when I expose my work, I can make it quite far as an artist. Too bad great artists are supposed to talk slow and look thoughtful. Like they can drop dead any second. I'm not there yet.

 then buy it...

 @milanboez: Way too expensive, still need it though.

 @IntoTheEverflow: the price doesn't seem that bad, as it includes shipping.


Way too expensive, still need it though.

Huh??

 @Captain1Eye: For one moment I thought it was a bargain, because it included shipping.
Maybe also because of how the reflections of the titanium caressed my eyes.

But I have come to my senses again, don't worry.

 Amazing?