Endless Sphere

The general rule of thumb is to subtract one thread pitch from the diameter. Metric fasteners make it super easy, because both those dimensions are right in the name. So the tap drill for M6x1.00 is 6mm minus 1mm. But it works just as well for inch sized fasteners, e.g. the tap drill for 3/8"-16 is ...

How much more performance you get with two motors versus one depends somewhat on how underpowered one motor is, and how close the motor's free speed is to its cruising speed. But note that doubling your top speed takes four times as much power to the ground, not two.

I don't know what situation I could be in where I'd trust an RC charger more than a full time, hard wired BMS. Maybe if I knew the battery was faulty?

Only a chump uses debt to pay for something he can buy outright instead. It might in some few cases work out in your favor, but that's just gambling.

Spoke nipple exit angle looks OK, though cross-2 lacing is excessive and unnecessary. Cross-1 would be more reliable. 13-14ga (2.3/2.0mm) spokes are a pretty good choice, but 14-15ga (2.0/1.8mm) can carry more weight before spokes go slack. In that case, something like 2.5mm stainless washers would ...

Are your mechanical discs generic cheap crap? There are good and horrible mechanical discs just like there are good and horrible hydraulics. (But if you give a hearty tug on the lines of both, you'll find that the mechanical ones work a lot better.) (Also, you'll find that touching a cable to your b...

It sounds to me like a 16 miles one way commute is the choice you've made that drives other subsequent difficult choices. I'm reminded of the time when I was in college when I moved back to my folks' house and rode 10 miles each way through suburbia and downtown on my pedal bike. (At my fastest, I c...

Your project makes me think of one of my friends who lives in pretty rudimentary conditions. I remember him saying, "I'm not going to treat my dogs better than I treat myself." Evidently that's not your style.

Try it. If it's not to your liking, or if heat is a problem, the ferrofluid won't hurt anything and you can revert to a lower voltage battery and controller. And if it meets your expectations, there you go. Just keep an eye on your bike's condition and don't let maintenance slide. I don't know wheth...

The way you deal with drivers who don't let you share the lane peacefully is... don't share the lane. Take it. Ride right down the middle if they won't be cool. They do it for construction equipment, oversized loads, horse drawn whatever-- so they can do it for you. It's your right to take the whole...

My understanding is that the Phaserunner produces a certain amount of torque for a given throttle voltage, so two different motors in different sized wheels will be producing the same torque, even if that doesn’t mean the same RPM. The same torque equals more thrust/less speed in a smaller wheel, l...

Learning is the way to improve, using what we have already. To achieve the best possible performance with the components that we have in hand to build with, is the fundamental essence of competitive building. Decades of selective hoarding surely helps. It's seemingly the only way I can afford new b...

Raised beds are ideal for gardening, if for no other reason than the stoop is shorter. Raised garden beds worked great in Seattle because drainage was always an issue. Here in Austin, they're a pretty terrible idea because they greatly increase the water required to keep plants healthy. The last ga...

If you're too broke to pay $400 for a motor, you're too broke to repair and upgrade your bike after running it at 40 mph. That's not bicycle territory, and going that fast routinely will destroy a lot of normal bike parts. Your low weight gives you an advantage, but kinetic energy (and thus the beat...

The Wings should rather be like on an airplane and going both in the same direction. An airplane's horizontal stabilizer is not set at the same angle of incidence as the wing. It is designed to cause a downward force on the aircraft's tail. But it is often able to be trimmed to different angles for...

Real bike tube patches like Rema Tip Top have tapered thickness to a feathered edge. This helps prevent chafing or wearing out the tube at the patch edge due to concentrated stress. Rema Tip Top TT02 Touring kit, $4 at my bike shop: http://www.rematiptop.com/products/trm/parts_lg/22.jpg https://imag...

Without sophisticated high power control electronics, the supercap bank would only store recoverable energy in a narrow voltage range corresponding to the battery's operating range-- but it would store useless but still hazardous energy from that voltage down to 0V, so most of its capacity. It doesn...

The nice thing about crowdfunding with pre-orders is that you don't have to take a big risk on market acceptance. You simply set your goal at the number of units that makes it worth your while, and either you make your goal or everybody's off the hook. I couldn't guess whether anybody wants to buy a...

That ridge is why patch kits come with sandpaper. Use it to scuff off the mold release and to level out inconsistencies.

The best way to "clamp overnight" is to reinstall the tire and inflate it.

Self-adhesive patches are a temporary get-home type of repair. Glued patches are permanent.

In practice, I agree it often doesn't matter whether an e-bike meets applicable technical limitations or not. But if you do have a bike that is within legal spec (such as those which major manufacturers are likely to produce), it will do more things better if it sends motor power through variable ge...

Anything motorized can draw outrage from road bicycle purists. and by-law crack down, that is what bother me here in Calgary. As long as your contraption is legal and has access rights, it doesn't really matter what others think about it, does it? I mean, I think baby strollers are inappropriate on...

[...]at the bike shop we have neither the supplies nor the tools for [installing plugs]. And to be fair, there's no reason we should. My apologies did not know that. Hey, no worries. I would still have had misgivings about installing Powerpoles and JST connectors in a location where both water and ...

You can take a generic inexpensive 1000 watt rated hub motor, put some ferro fluid in it and maybe add cooling heatsink fins , and you can now run 3000 watts into that motor, without much worry, as long as you do it wisely/intermintently. Not everybody will want to choose between getting registered...

OneWheel brand electric board with its large diameter pneumatic tire would not be affected by gravel, uneven sidewalks, would store easily at the office and home and could be taken on the train, bus, etc.. Interesting. That thing looks less like a skateboard and more like 35 percent of a Segway. Do...

I would find them quite useless in many ways, as apposed to say a electric skateboard or longboard which is much more useful. A Segway will get you there without broken wrists or collarbones or traumatic brain injury. And it won't get stopped dead or have its wheels skidded flat if it hits a piece ...