Matthew Botos

Building up my “new” singles speed bike wasn’t quite as easy as stripping it down. A few snags earned it a difficulty rating of 1, as measured by unplanned trips to Home Depot.

Running just a 32-tooth chain ring and bash guard on the front meant cutting down some bolts with a Dremel, and getting the chain tensioner screwed in required a bigger bolt to re-cut the stripped threads. The tensioner itself was a bit confusing; after taking it apart to swap bolts, I couldn’t get all the pieces together again, but found it worked fine without one. The final product isn’t as light as a purpose-built single speed, but it’s still quite respectable and a bit more meaningful to have my old frame under me again.

Single speeds are all the rage these days; I finally gave in and decided to build one out of my old purple Trek hardtail. It’s been imprisoned in a trainer in the basement since I put a fatal bend in the derailleur hanger three years ago. Now it’s being reborn with a cheap conversion project.

It’s nice to be able to wrench on a bike again, and fun stripping off all the “extraneous” shifters and chainrings. It was also a welcome excuse to buy more tools and parts. Shopping for single speed bits is a real grab bag, too: all kinds of things have evolved in the varied single speed ecosystem. When it’s done, it should be a fun ride for more mellow trails and for messier winter weather.

Owning a home is a constant learning experience. When I replaced my furnace, I learned to always get multiple quotes. Now that I’m dealing with the water heater, I’m amazed at the range of quotes, from $600 to $2000! A better value has been the free opinions, including the suggestion that the water heater is fine and the expansion tank is broken.

This small tank on the cold water side has air on one side of a rubber diaphragm to absorb water pressure and keep the blow-off valve from opening and dumping water on the floor. A replacement tank was just $30, and installation took only half an hour and included the usual small shower that accompanies any amateur plumbing project. It’s reduced the amount of water released by the blow-off valve, but I’ve still got to dial in the tank’s air pressure, which is supposed to be equal to that of the incoming water.

This Wall Street Journal article on ski resort deals includes some interesting facts on the changing face of the sport:

The average resort visitor last season was 35.1 years old, up from 33.2 in the 1997-98 season, according to the NSAA. About 30% were 45 or over.

Over the past two decades, competition has pushed hundreds of smaller resorts out of business because the areas couldn’t afford upgrades or snowmaking equipment to weather lean snow years. There were 478 ski areas in the U.S. last year, compared with 735 in 1984, according to the NSAA.