(Image courtesy of Northern Tool)

We had a dealer ask us, "what makes a good vise for your workshop?" He'd been looking around and just found too many options. Personally, I only ever use a vice for my steerer cutting guide and the occasional freewheel removal. Aren't they just big hunks of metal anyways? So I asked around the office, and this is what the folks had to say:

Features:

• Minimum 6" capacity
• Minumum 2 screw locks on the swivel locking base (otherwise the vise can knock side-to-side
• V-Jaws are ideal for holding steerers and bars
• Rotating heads are a bonus
• Replaceable inserts/jaw covers are especially handy to avoid damaging parts
• Getting a machinist vise is probably overkill

Brands:

• Wilton was the name heard most often, highly regarded as the best
• Snap-On is apparently for tool snobs
• Craftsman/Sears: less expensive, solid. More than adequate for the bike shop. 

Eccentricity from Problem Solvers on Vimeo.
 

Full instructions here. 

I love me some generator hubs and lights. I wanted to use my Alfine hub and Planet Bike headlight with our new(ish) QR Nut Light Mount, but the close proximity of light to hub left me with a boatload of excess wire (apologies for the fuzzy phone pics):

I could've zip tied the excess to the fork blade, but that would've been mucho feo. Also, I was liking the idea of being able to take the wheel out without disconnecting the light from the hub. So, putting caution to the wind, I cut:

Did some rewiring:

And voila:

Admittedly, I probably went a little too short. When I pop the wheel out, the light causes the QR axle to spin in the hub, putting a little stress on the wire. I'll strengthen with a little electrical tape. But otherwise, I'm putting this project in the "win" column. 

Sometimes it's almost as if we know what we're doing. We recently updated our braze-on front derailleur adapters from a single bolt-hole to a slotted version for greater adjustability. Not more than a few weeks after we got them into stock, Ed emailed us:

"I am upgrading to Dura Ace 7900 components with a compact crankset. Problem: the clamp band of the Dura Ace 31.8mm front derailleur will be on top of the lower water bottle boss when it is anchored in the correct position. I cannot tighten the clamp in this position for fear of cracking my carbon fiber frame. If I raise the front derailleur above the boss, it will be too high to function properly.Will your Braze on Front Derailleur Adapter allow me to attach a braze on derailleur higher on the down tube (avoiding the water bottle boss)?"

In short, the answer was yes:

Enjoy your new ride, Ed!

A couple Friday's ago it was my privilege to visit Minneapolis' Calhoun Cycle. They specialize in bikes for transportation—folding bikes, commuters and cargo bikes. While there, the owner Luke pointed out a custom display one of the mechanics had made:

This mini bike showcases how a dynamo front hub system works.

The cranks drive the front wheel of the display. At first I thought it was silly—all anyone had to do to power the lights was give the front wheel a spin. Luke explained that pedaling while turning the lights on and off gives tangible feedback about how much pedal-power the dynamo uses. Smart. 

When I took a closer look at the front wheel drive, I spotted a Problem Solvers Center-Lock Rotor Adapter.

Kind of hard to see what's going on here, but from left to right: the freewheel is mounted to a hub body that's been chopped off at the flange, which has been drilled to that it can be bolted to the Center-Lock adapter (complete with Presta valve nut spacers), which is mounted to the dynamo hub. Ingenious! 

Thanks to Luke for the good pictures (the poorly composed, out-of-focus picture is mine, of course), which he's also put into a brief slideshow on YouTube: http://youtu.be/zycR_dDc5zs

Bike Tinker made an animated .gif of the below image that's kinda mezmerizing. It drives me nuts when I try to recreate the fit of a bike I love on a new frame of the same size and can't get it quite right. This helps to explain why:

Thanks to JimmytheFly for creating this. 

Our Handlebar Accessory Mount for all those folks out there who love their computers, GPS, lights and mp3 players:

We've added a new Center-Lock Rotor Adapter for converting your Shimano-compatible hubs for 6-bolt rotors:

Alloy BrakeBoss Plugs:

And my personal favorite, the QR Nut Light Mount, which I've gotten a lot of great feedback about:

All are available now from you local bicycle retailer.

with this:

and one of these: