u/straddotjs

I am building out a vinyl set up for my small collection that I am interested in growing. I'm starting with a modest set up to see how much the collection grows, so for now it will be Audio Technica LP70X -> powered Vanatoo T1E. In the short term and after I have some listening hours I might upgrade the stylus to their microlinear option, which I'm told is a substantial upgrade even on this turntable and something I could carry forward to a nicer turn table. Eventually I'm thinking ~$1000 table (assuming this all sticks and I feel limited) -> Schiit Mani 2 phono amp -> Vanatoo + sub.

From what I have read the Vanatoo perform shockingly well for their price, so if I want to make a meaningful upgrade I'd need to budget for $1500 - 2000 passive speakers and a solid amp to power them. I'm not willing to make that jump just yet, but I've read that they also really benefit from a subwoofer: they implement low pass filtering to free up their woofers and tweeters to focus on the mid bass frequencies and up, and just generally sound better with more bass.

I'd like to buy something that pairs well with them and in my current set up and ideally gives some room to grow. A compelling option I've found is the Speedwoofer 10S MkII. Assuming that is about my budget for now, are there other options worth looking at for this setup? I'm in the US, but unfortunately there aren't many high end audio stores in my neck of the woods, so listening to a lot is tough.

Many thanks for advice and options worth considering!

Hi there. I’m in Minneapolis and just purchased a house with a tankless water heater (to the best of my knowledge a 2008 Rheem RTH-66DVN). Hydronic heat is new to me, so sorry if this is confusing. The water heater also supplies my primary heat. There’s a water line from the heater to an air exchanger that passes air over the hydronic heat exchanger to heat my house similar to a furnace. I’m told it’s a pleasant and effective system. Note that at least as far as my home inspector and I could tell this is not a dedicated heat line and eventually mixed with my potable water. The rheem is not a combi boiler. I can try to provide pictures to verify this if anything sounds way off.

My concern is mostly around the age. 18 years is pushing to the outer edge of the expected life, and as I didn’t install it I don’t know how well it was maintained. It was descaled prior to purchase, but I didn’t get any other data (condition of the heat exchanger or error codes). It seems to be working great for dhw, but come heating season in Minnesota a failure could be a genuine emergency, so I’m trying to figure out of it’s worth proactively replacing.

Any thoughts on this given the age, model, and use? If I did replace it can I leave the blower/heat exchanger alone? Would it be worth upgrading to a combi boiler given the use? Tankless is brand new to me, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Hi there. I’m looking at buying a new house in Minneapolis, MN. The heating system isn’t something I’ve seen before, but Google tells me is efficient and effective. I wanted to see what you all think before making an offer.

It uses a tankless hot water heater to provide domestic hot water as well as heat a “heat exchanger”/radiator inside of an air handler. I believe this is a combi-boiler and hydronic forced air system? I may have the nomenclature wrong. From Navien’s site it’s not a hydronic furnace with its own dedicated heating system.

Are these set ups reliable, efficient to run (and maintain), and effective in very cold climates! It’s pretty new (less than 8 years), and also has central ac served by the same air handler, if that changes anything. Someday (most likely when the ac dies, it’s less than 5 years old) I’d love the option of installing a heat pump and doing a dual fuel system if that is practical with this set up.

I’m newer to tubeless tires. I love them on my mountain bike after I ran over an earring and they took care of themselves (well, also the ability to run much lower pressures), so I decided to do it on my gravel bike.

Since I end up far from home I’d like to try to be self-sufficient if I get a bad enough puncture that the sealant can’t handle it. Am I correct that I’d need something to seal the hole and some kind of pump?

I’ve read the Dynaracer Pro is among the easiest to use and most effective, so I was going to pick one up and one of the Cycplus mini pumps that are well reviewed. Would that cover all but the most extreme situations (e.g. a sidewall cut that requires a boot)? Are those something most people carry every ride, or are most comfortable with plugs and a pump?

Hi all,

I've ridden a fixed gear for a long time, so I know Mpls/St. Paul routes pretty well. I just got a new gravel bike and I'd like to do more longer rides around the entire metro area (I'm told both East and West have good stuff).

Between Strava, Komoot, or Ride With GPS (RWGPS) does anyone know if one is significantly better than the other for finding popular/good routes around here? A lot of the group rides from e.g. ACF share RWGPS routes, but when I look into it that seems more like a tool for creating routes than discovering them. I'm sure that is great at some point, but right now I'd worry I'd inadvertently pick a terribly busy road when there is a much better biking route nearby.

My ideal experience would be something like "give me a route between 50 - 60 miles, mostly paved/on gravel" and then seeing the options around here. Does anyone know which apps or resources might be best for finding this data and syncing it to a cycling computer for navigation? I'm willing to subscribe to one if its the best way to unlock what I'm looking for.

Thanks, and happy riding out there!

Hi all. I’ve done a bit of research, and am pretty convinced that for my uses waxing my chain is the best move for drive train longevity and cleanliness. I’m going to get a second chain to wax from factory and rotate between when one is due for a refresh.

My first chain has about 200 miles of mixed terrain on it, so I can’t just do a strip chip or something. I’ve read mineral spirits and isopropyl alcohol are the gold standard for cleaning a used chain, and if I need to get them I will. But for a one time project I’d rather not buy a bunch of solvents. Is there a viable alternative? I’m told some shops will do an ultrasonic cleaning so I was going to look into that, but wanted to check if I could do anything else myself if that isn’t an option besides. Keep a bunch of solvents on hand that I rarely (if ever) use.

Hi all. I just got a new bike (titled). I splurged a bit on the Rival AXS build to try electronic shifters, and especially for the upgraded wheel set.

While n+1 would be the ideal solution, it isn't in the cards right now (fiance is pregnant!) so I was hoping to use the Ortlieb Quick Rack to make this a solid commuter (~12 miles each way) that can do more spirited rides by taking off the rack. However, despite having mounting spots for a rack, it doesn't seem like the quick rack and cam are going to fit with the AXS derailleur and the shape of the frame by the axles.

Does anyone have suggestions I might try to make this fit, or are my best bets going to be to buy the seat stay mounts or a lightweight and permanent rack? If I do the seat stay mounts will that make this less compelling for commuting/potentially bike packing?

Hi all. I just got a new bike (Wilde Rambler SL) that I’m very stoked to ride. I want to commute on it (about 12 miles each way) but try to do a lot of fun riding with it until I can make n+1 true, so longer all day rides and some up tempo group rides too.

Hard to find a rack that supports all of that. I was eyeing the Tubus airy, but it seems like it’s small enough that full size panniers (e.g. the ortleib back roll) will be a pain. Wanting to pretend the weight matters for going fast I found the ortlieb quick racks, which I could take off for group rides et cet. Does anyone know if they’re still good for commuting and possibly light touring, or am I going to get a jack of all trades that doesn’t do either task very well?

If the latter does the Tubus fit back rollers, or are there other racks worth considering?

Gallery in a comment as there is a filter preventing them from being included in text posts!

Hi all! My fiance is pregnant, so partly in celebration (and partly because it will be hard to splurge quite like this once a baby is on the scene!!) I'm looking for a luxury statement frame. I know where my heart is at, but I wanted to get some feedback in case there is somewhere else I should look or I'm not realizing how something looks on my face and not getting the feedback from friends/family or there is something else I should consider entirely (for example, I also love the look of the Chrome Hearts Cuntvoluted for the temple details, but the round semi panto shape I think brings it very close to my Hisao).

I currently own a JMM Hisao in Havana, Chrome Hearts Smoke Show (first 4 pictures in the album), and a Matsuda 3151, but these are dedicated sunglasses so I'm keeping them somewhat separate.

Yesterday I looked at a Vagillionaire (photos 5 - 6), Pen 15 (7 - 8), and a Maybach model (9 - 10).

The Vagillionaire most pulls at me right now, but I'm a little torn on the color. My optician will try to get me one of the diamond embellished models if I'd like. I think that gives me black and gold or green and silver as options from casually perusing the internet, but he has only seen the black and gold. I think either would look great, but with my complexion and seeing how well the clear Smoke Shows work for me (I get compliments all the time) I really think the green or honestly even the Ary (a dark/olive green) color way would be the best fit: the clear smoke show are low contrast and that really looks good, and I am told blends into my face very well--if my JMMs are "these are an exquisite object" the smoke show creates a "he has exquisite taste in eyeglasses" vibe. However, I worry that gets too close to my Smoke Show especially with the shape, and I'm ok with this being a distinct piece, which leads me to black and gold: these are classic, timeless colors. On this frame I loooove the temple detailing and wirecores, so whichever color I do I'd want to show those off.

The Pen 15 offers a lot of the same in the black and gold, and some distinction from my Smoke Show in that it is vertically smaller than the Smoke Show or Vagillionaire. However, I definitely prefer the size of the Vagillionaire and the temple design. Not saying no to the Pen 15 as they do look great in the black and gold, I just think right now I'd prefer to swing for the Vagillionaire: it ticks the statement luxury box and gets at "showy wirecore" that I've wanted to pick up for a while better than the Pen 15 (which does look good on me, imo).

The Maybach is an exquisite frame with exquisite horn, and someday I'd love to have a rimless frame like this. I think this would be a fantastic piece that is very distinct from what I already own. However, as much as I appreciate it right now I think its just not where my heart is. I think the rimless design tries to disappear in a way that isn't bad, but I've had some people in my life tell me that I wear the chunky acetate very, very well. First impression was that while these are cool they aren't for me, and I think that is where I land emotionally.

TLDR: currently own a JMM Hisao, Chrome Hearts Smoke Show. Considering a Vagillionaire (in black and gold, green and silver, or possibly ary), Pen 15 (black and gold?), or Maybach. Thoughts on which looks best for a statement piece on me?