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@jdd most silicon sprays are designed to stick and provide long lasting protection.
That is not good in a shifter ratchet as dust and dirt stick to it as well. Make sure you get a dry silicon spray and it won't be as cheap as regular silicone spray but good for places you don't want dust accumulating,
Dry fast Lube sounds like an oxymoron..
 
So this year has been crap in many ways, but it has shown (and forced) me to spend less, make more stuff myself and save money.

With more time on my hands I started to flip stuff I didn't really need or had had lying around for ages to online sites like Merikari and other market places.
Really cleared out some stuff and put money towards an investment portfolio, some bike stuff, coffee beans & saving for when I can finally reserve a darn PS5. Amazed how much the money I would have normally spent added up.

So now I am looking at side hustles that I can do to even make a few extra ¥万¥ per month, and keep adding to my ETFs and have more time to ride bikes.
Any ideas for making some yen on the side appreciated. Australia seems to have a ton of apps and gig economy for odd jobs. Wondering if there are digital ways with Japan experience to make money online??
 
So this year has been crap in many ways, but it has shown (and forced) me to spend less, make more stuff myself and save money.

With more time on my hands I started to flip stuff I didn't really need or had had lying around for ages to online sites like Merikari and other market places.
Really cleared out some stuff and put money towards an investment portfolio, some bike stuff, coffee beans & saving for when I can finally reserve a darn PS5. Amazed how much the money I would have normally spent added up.

So now I am looking at side hustles that I can do to even make a few extra ¥万¥ per month, and keep adding to my ETFs and have more time to ride bikes.
Any ideas for making some yen on the side appreciated. Australia seems to have a ton of apps and gig economy for odd jobs. Wondering if there are digital ways with Japan experience to make money online??
Wish I could offer advice on this.
Lacking most skills, including entrepreneurial, I've always felt like a bit of an imposter in any workplace and this year exposed that glaringly. I'd be interested to hear if others have advice on this (maybe the wrong forum?). A mate is doing Uber Eats and he swears by the system, but even he said that there's no way for delivery staff to make anything out of it.
 
Silly me, I bought winter gloves without paying any attention to the washing instructions other than to check that yes the gloves are washable.

I discovered that I can hand-wash them in cold water. I mustn't squeeze them dry, let alone wring them, but I'm not told that I can't hang them up to dry. However, whatever drying procedure I use, it mustn't be in direct sunlight.

I washed them, and carefully hung them up to dry [out a bit], of course in the shade. Hours later, I can't describe them as "damp". No, "soggy" is the word. Perhaps they'll be tolerably dry the day after tomorrow, if I'm lucky.

Any tips? (Yes, if I had a car I could attach them to the roofrack and go for a drive. But I don't have a car.)
 
@microcord are you married? If yes then be careful when you return the rice to the dispenser. Fill the gloves with uncooked rice and then put them in front of a AC set on dry mode. You can usually use the fasteners around a wire coat hanger or something. After an hour or two rotate so both sides get hit with the dry forced air. Carefully empty the rice back into the family ride dispenser (after checking you are unobserved) {Explaining that the gloves are freshly washed does not get one off the hook} easier just not having to explain. You can then use a chop stick to turn the gloves inside out (to and get all the rice out) for another hanging in front of the air. Also good not to use other family members' chopsticks.
 
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just noticed my front rotor is discolored on one side, and also pretty marked on the other. can't feel any ridge or difference in height between the braking surface and the rest of it, which would indicate a lot of wear tho. so not sure if it's done or if it's still got life in it. it's got some 6,000 km only, mostly in the city - so flat but a lot of stopping and accelerating. anyone got similar experience? I'll try a thorough clean of pads and the rotor, and bed it in again and see what happens I guess....

drivetrain side, brown discoloring
1608974887608.png

1608974910425.png

non-drivetrain side, uneven wear
1608974951631.png
 
just noticed my front rotor is discolored on one side, and also pretty marked on the other. can't feel any ridge or difference in height between the braking surface and the rest of it, which would indicate a lot of wear tho. so not sure if it's done or if it's still got life in it. it's got some 6,000 km only, mostly in the city - so flat but a lot of stopping and accelerating. anyone got similar experience? I'll try a thorough clean of pads and the rotor, and bed it in again and see what happens I guess....

drivetrain side, brown discoloring
View attachment 29104

View attachment 29105

non-drivetrain side, uneven wear
View attachment 29106

If they are Shimano Ice rotors, it maybe the steel coating has worn away and the aluminum core is exposed? Something like this?

20201226_192311.jpg

If you have access to a digital gauge, it's easy to check wear. I think Shimano recommend 1.5mm? But I check mine regularly and change after 1.6mm has been breached.

The rotor above is well out at less than 1.4mm.

20201226_192222.jpg

Anyway, best to replace rotors and pads sooner rather than later.

Andy
 
Any tips? (Yes, if I had a car I could attach them to the roofrack and go for a drive. But I don't have a car.)
Especially with the low humidity indoors this time of the year, just about anything should dry quickly when exposed to steady airflow.

I have a couple of small old computer fans that run either on 5V or 12V from a hard disk power connector or 100 V AC (depending on the model). Those are easy to set up in such a way that they force air past the gloves all night. I once rigged up a shoe box (the box a pair of shoes came in) with one of these fans as a shoe dryer, drying shoes quickly after exposure to rain. But if you have a computer that blows warm air out of the back of its power supply, hang them there.

Another approach that has worked for me for drying freshly washed socks is to lay them on top of one of my computer monitors, as it creates enough warm air that there is always some convection that will dry them reasonably quickly.
 
Thank you all for your advice.

When I threw out my last floortop computer, I pulled out the hard drives for "security" reasons (actually just self-esteem: kidding myself that somebody other than me could be sufficiently interested to take a look) but I never thought of salvaging the power supply (a large and untidy item) and fan. But this morning I remembered that I had a little fan heater, and a few hours of 600 watts (estimated) has transformed my gloves from "soggy" to "very damp". All they need is a few more kilowatt-hours.

I'm no longer as sure as I was yesterday that cycling is environmentally desirable.

Other than for special occasions, perhaps I'll wear cheapo, machine-washable, sun-dryable gloves from Workman or similar.
 
@luka
I second the suggestion that your rotors look quite worn. If you don't have a micrometer or calipers, you can use your fingers to check whether there is a lip between the scored area where the brake pads make contact and the rest. If you can, you should probably replace them. At least judging from your photos they look quite worn. Also, you should definitely replace the brake pads at the same time.
 
can't feel any ridge or difference in height between the braking surface and the rest of it, which would indicate a lot of wear tho.
@OreoCookie

no digital calipers, or I wouldn't be asking such an obvious question. I mainly use the bike for commuting, and there's not much distance each way. so I'll continue using these, as it all looks very superficial to me and not structural. if and when I see the different metal surface beneath, that will be the change time.

thanks @Cactaur for suggesting rust, I'd never thought of it, but now comes really natural as an explanation. I normally don't ride in the rain, but did get caught out in light rain some 2-3 weeks ago. the rear disk would be mostly protected by the pannier bag, so a bit of rust apparently got in there on the front one. pads were also replaced relatively recently, and only have 2000km or so. as I said above "I'll try a thorough clean of pads and the rotor, and bed it in again and see what happens I guess...." I expect the rust to be gone
 
what make are they? And rice will do the trick.
Shimano (here).

They've been hung up in front of a heater for hours and hours. One is now dry. The other is dry enough to be wearable, but definitely damp. Damp enough to go mildewy. So I'll hang it up all night.

More recently I bought a much lighter (spring/autumn) pair, also Shimano. They have as many washing/drying prohibitions, but dry a lot faster. They're also visibly starting to wear out, after very little use.

Both pairs are what Shimano calls "XL" (in Japan, anyway). I'd never thought of my hands as being large. (Actually I sometimes wish that my brifters, also Shimano, were smaller.) I'll try out gloves from Workman, or similar; and if they don't suit me then I suppose I'll be off to a notorious retail monopolist.

And yes, rice, perhaps.
 
CRT...?!?
No, even LCD. It's a 24 inch Dell that is relatively power hungry for a flat screen monitor. It will dry my socks reliably. With three screens and 4 computers active, I don't actually use any additional heating in my office in winter ;)
 
Shimano (here).

They've been hung up in front of a heater for hours and hours. One is now dry. The other is dry enough to be wearable, but definitely damp. Damp enough to go mildewy. So I'll hang it up all night.

More recently I bought a much lighter (spring/autumn) pair, also Shimano. They have as many washing/drying prohibitions, but dry a lot faster. They're also visibly starting to wear out, after very little use.

Both pairs are what Shimano calls "XL" (in Japan, anyway). I'd never thought of my hands as being large. (Actually I sometimes wish that my brifters, also Shimano, were smaller.) I'll try out gloves from Workman, or similar; and if they don't suit me then I suppose I'll be off to a notorious retail monopolist.

And yes, rice, perhaps.
FWIW I bought a pair of Shimano Windstopper Thermal Reflective gloves recently and I've put them in the washing machine (in a net) with the rest of my kit a good number of times and they've suffered no ill effects that I can see (so far). To dry them I just stick them in front of the kerosene heater (cuff end on).
(Obviously I never looked at the care instructions)
 
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