Top 5 Slick Tyres

Top 5 Slick Tyres - Intro

I won't go in to detail but slick tires are one of the best upgrades you can make on an MTB that is used mostly for commuting. As well as slick tyres I have included some "semi slick" and "nearly slick" tyres in this list. Tyres with less nobbles roll easier, meaning you get to work, the pub, the shops by expending less energy.

Top 5 Slick Tyres - Things to Consider

1. Try and get the widest tyre possible - Unless you wish to alter your gearing as a side effect try and get the same sized tire that you have at the moment. Most slicks are sold right down to 1.3", but most mountain bike tyres are around 2". Try and get as close to 2" as you can. Fatter tires are a comfy ride, and they won't mess with your gearing.
2. Buy Cheap Buy Twice - What value do you place on getting to work without having to repair punctures. A cheap tire costs £10, and excellent tire costs £25, spread over 2 or 3 years is it worth buying a cheap tyre?
3. Choosing a Tread - A fully slick tyre looks great, but it is not as versatile as a nearly slick or semi slick. If you ever do any rural riding (on or off tarmac) a fully slick tire is a poor choice safety wise, a muddy corner at speed with fully slick tires  . . . not pretty.

Top 5 Slick Tyres - Semi Slick, Nearly Slick & Slick?

Slick Tyres - A slick tyre is generally devoid on any type of tread, i.e. knobbly bits. Some will have a token tread pattern continental sports contact for example (below).

"Token Tread"

Nearly Slick - A tyre such as the Schwalbe Big Apple has a little tread but not very much. This makes the tire roll well, and retains a little grip for off-road surfaces like tow paths, fire trails.

"nearly slick"

Semi Slick - A semi slick tire has a smooth crest, and knobbly sides. Apart from the slight increase in air resistance (which you will not notice) most semi slicks role just as well as slick, or semi slick cousins, with the added bonus that if you stray on to some muddy terrain you will not have to get off and walk!

"semi slick"

Top 5 Slick Tyres - The List (Best First)

1 - Schwalbe Big Apple (Nearly Slick)

Expect to Pay - £25

These tyres are the best you can get. They are tough as nails, expect to have no punctures what so ever for months on end. They roll very well and can be inflated to 70 psi. Older versions such as the tread pattern above come with "Kevlar guard" which is very good, newer variety with the newer tread pattern come with "green guard" which is also very good.

Expect the tread to last for ages, as they are very hard wearing. These tires are also very comfy to ride on, and come in very large sizes up to 2.35" meaning that if you have room in your frame you can increase the rolling circumference of your tires similar to that of a 700c wheel.

2 - Schwalbe Kojak (Slick Tyres)

Expect to Pay - £20

Notice a pattern here? Schwalbe Tires are very good.

Kojaks are completely tread less, and can be inflated to 70 psi. Which means they roll very well. They are available in sizes up to 2" which means you don't loose out on wheel circumference.

3 - continental sports contact (Slick Tyres)

Expect to Pay - £20

If you fancy french. Then these may well be the tires for you. very quiet, very smooth. These are available in sizes up to 1.9 " Puncture resistance is not as good as the tires above.

4 - Schwalbe City Jet (Slick Tyres)

Expect to Pay - £10

For £10 you can not go wrong with these tires they are very good value, from a quality manufacturer.

5 - Kenda Cross Plus (K847) (Semi Slick Tyres)

Expect to Pay - £6

These are not particularly good quality tyres. However, their price gets them on this list. For an introduction to slick tires these are a great choice.The roll very well, and you can do a bit of light off road, in comfort.

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Can you braze with a propane / butane blow torch?

Can you braze with a propane or butane blow torch? - Intro

Being stingy I thought I would try and see if I could braze with a standard propane / butane plumbers blow torch. As the one pictured below. This is the type of propane / butane torch often used by plumbers or chefs for making creme catalan etc.

I have read a very good book on the subject, and for anyone thinking of attempting some brazing I would recommend it it is called "Soldering and Brazing" in the "Work Shop Practice Series". It covers all sorts of brazing methods, and yes you can use a propane, or butane torch. 

There are different gases available which you can use, MAP gas is a slightly higher temperature gas than propane, although we are talking 2100c instead of 1900c, so I am not sure how much difference that will make.   I used sievert power gas, which seems to be fine heat wise, technique is probably more important. But for more recent projects I have used sievert ultra gas.

The torch you use will likely have a greater impact on the heat output than the gas. If you intend to buy a torch look at the heat output which can range from 0.5 to 2.5 KW or more. The book doesn't really say how much you need, so I can't comment either, like I say technique seems to be most important. 

Make sure you get the right flux to work with the solder / rods you have purchased. If in doubt buy the flux and rods together to avoid confusion. The joint will need to be well fluxed to make sure the filler material runs properly. Silver solder is good at filling very small cracks. I have bicycle frame (pictures below) which I repaired using Silverflo 55, and a patch.

Can you braze with a propane or butane blow torch? - Which Filler Material

I was not expecting to be using normal brass brazing rods, because the torch would not be hot enough, instead I was hoping to use a low temperature silver solder such as JM Silverflo 55. It turns out that with the right sort of propane torch you will be able to braze with brass rods. Using a silver solder with a lower melting temperature, however will be easier.

Write up:

M Silverflo 55 is widely recognised as the best quality general purpose silver solder with a silver content of 55%. It is suitable for use on copper, copper alloys, brasses, bronze, carbon steels, tool steels, stainless steels, nickel alloys, molybdenum and tungsten alloys. It provides a high strength joint on similar and dissimilar materials with joints as small as 0.04mm feasible. Working temperatures of between 600 and 650 degrees celsius with a high fluid state. Can be used with many heat sources such as propane, butane and oxy-acetylene.

By way of comparison standard brass filler material melts at around 800c - 900c.

 Can you braze with a propane or butane blow torch? - Results

This was my first attempt at brazing for 16 years, perhaps I have forgotten how to do it. Not enough flux perhaps. The result however ugly is very strong.

Can you braze with a propane or butane blow torch? - Next Repair

For my next repair job I purchased a chromoly bike frame with a crack in it.  Picture of frame are shown below.

I used the same solder as before (Silverflo 55) and I used a "patch" across the crack made from a plate from a bicycle chain. The result was a virtually indestructible joint, which I have ridden hard on for 100's of miles, over rough terrain.

One slight question mark, it that in order to get the work piece up to temperature you have to apply heat for quite a long time, and the heat spread through the work piece is considerable and this may have effects on the properties of the metal. But as I said it worked fine, and I am still alive.

Can you braze with a propane or butane blow torch? - Conclusion

For a ugly, unsatisfactory,  but functional braze yes you can use a propane or butane torch.

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How to Move a Piano

How to Move a Piano - Intro

On purchasing a piano on ebay for £16.47 I was well pleased. But then I began to think of going to pick it up. . . . perhaps a 200kg / 400 lb piano, which is 1.5 meters long. Quite a task. A minimum of four men (or female body builders) will be needed to move the piano, and for everyones sake invloved it may be safer to use 6 people to move the piano.

But where do you get all of these people from? OK so if you are moving the piano from a few doors down then you could ask you neighbours, our you school / colledge mates move the piano  if it was 20 minutes away, but what if like me you bought a piano that is around a 2 hour drive from where you live?

How to Move a Piano - Getting Help

So strange town 2 hours drive away, how do you get help.

Option 1 - Employment Agency. An employment agency will hire you some labourers for £8 - £10 an hour, normally for a minimum of 4 hours. Based a minimum of yourself and 3 extra guys this will work out at around £120 for a pick up.

Option 2 - If where you are going is near some pubs / bars why not walk around and offer cash / beer to drinkers in exchange for a lift. Of course the major down side to this is that you have no way of knowing it will work until you reach you destination to move the piano.

Option 3 - Road Workers / Scaffolders - These guys are as hard as nails and also love cash jobs. Moving a piano in to a van for example requires quite a high lift and a friend of mine used 3 normal chaps and 2 road workers to get the job done.

How to Move a Piano - Stuff to Take

Most vans / trailer will easily cope with 200 kg so the main thing to consider in the height and length. An open top trailer will be good that is over 1.6 metrs long.

Planks of wood to make ramps, and rope for tieing the piano down are also a good idea. Also some padding like old coats, carpet or cushions to stop the piano get scratched against the side of the trailer. 

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