Sticks n Spokes

aeek said:

On my way to work and LBS (need new drivetrain) I picked up a 12" iron
rod , 1/2" maybe.
I know precisely where and when, I've only been dodging it all year,
but I didn't see it until the LBS guy spotted it. By then it was lodged
inside the spokes, across the valve cap, chording the rear rim. Can
anyone better this?
I had even stopped to check for a flat soon after because I had a
metallic rattle and a rough feel at the rear. Put it down to the
cluster and continued on.

12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.

Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

"The_Brucelle_Sprout (aka bruce, aka fred, aka freddles, aka pete)"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

aeek said:

On my way to work and LBS (need new drivetrain) I picked up a 12" iron
rod , 1/2" maybe.
I know precisely where and when, I've only been dodging it all year,
but I didn't see it until the LBS guy spotted it. By then it was lodged
inside the spokes, across the valve cap, chording the rear rim. Can
anyone better this?
I had even stopped to check for a flat soon after because I had a
metallic rattle and a rough feel at the rear. Put it down to the
cluster and continued on.

12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.

Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

If it was steel rod bar stock, it probably was actually ½".

Resound said:

"The_Brucelle_Sprout (aka bruce, aka fred, aka freddles, aka pete)"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

aeek said:

On my way to work and LBS (need new drivetrain) I picked up a 12" iron
rod , 1/2" maybe.
I know precisely where and when, I've only been dodging it all year,
but I didn't see it until the LBS guy spotted it. By then it was lodged
inside the spokes, across the valve cap, chording the rear rim. Can
anyone better this?
I had even stopped to check for a flat soon after because I had a
metallic rattle and a rough feel at the rear. Put it down to the
cluster and continued on.

12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.

Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

If it was steel rod bar stock, it probably was actually ½".

True. But I bet it would have been 30 cm long. Most mechanical people
are conversant with both units but the foot is rarely used because it's
an awkward unit to work with. In nearly all cases if you ask someone for
a bit of rod about a foot long they'll measure out 30 cm. Also,
fractions are rarely used. This is because verniers and micrometers
measure parts of inches in decimal units, like hundredths or thousandths
of an inch.
In England and America feet are probably still used because they never
really got the hang of the metric system.

Marty

Resound said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.

Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

If it was steel rod bar stock, it probably was actually ½".

This has me wondering, when metric was introduced imperial measurements were banned. But we still had british bikes, so how did they name the wheel sizes?

"aeek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Resound said:

Quoted message said:

>
> 12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.
Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

If it was steel rod bar stock, it probably was actually ½".

This has me wondering, when metric was introduced imperial measurements
were banned. But we still had british bikes, so how did they name the
wheel sizes?

--
aeek

It's weird, some things seem to just retain imperial sizing. Car rims are
still measured in inches, even in otherwise profoundly metric countries such
as Japan and France. Imperial measurement wasn't "banned" as such, it simply
became obselete and the changeover process took a very long time indeed. It
could probably be argued that it hasn't finished yet.

Resound said:

"aeek" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Resound said:

>>12" iron rod , 1/2" maybe.
>
>Means 30 cm long, 1.3cm diameter?

If it was steel rod bar stock, it probably was actually ½".

This has me wondering, when metric was introduced imperial measurements
were banned. But we still had british bikes, so how did they name the
wheel sizes?

--
aeek

It's weird, some things seem to just retain imperial sizing. Car rims are
still measured in inches, even in otherwise profoundly metric countries such
as Japan and France. Imperial measurement wasn't "banned" as such, it simply
became obselete and the changeover process took a very long time indeed. It
could probably be argued that it hasn't finished yet.

Michelin tried to change this by bringing out 390mm and 415mm wheels
that were fitted as original equipment to high end european cars. It's
cheaper nowadays to replace the tire AND rims when the metric tyres wear
out...

--
Brett

Michelin tried to change this by bringing out 390mm and 415mm wheels
that were fitted as original equipment to high end european cars. It's
cheaper nowadays to replace the tire AND rims when the metric tyres wear
out...

--
Brett[/QUOTE]
Yep, a German mate of mine (here in Perth) had a nice older 5 series BMW with flash 415mm wheels. Came time to replace the tyres, he could only find one set in Perth. And exorbitantly expensive. He sold the car (other reasons too)

SteveA