I’ve seen the television commercial, and I know that the bleached haired dude on that locally-produced travel program about Japan on OC-16 is the franchise owner, but until this Monday, I have never been there. Actually, I didn’t even know here it was. JT had mentioned it recently, so I was curious if nothing else. After the muddy Monday DH ride, Ckucke, Root, and I were in need of some nourishment, so we headed down the hill into Kapahulu to Tenkaippin. It’s located in the building on Kapahulu with the bad coffee chain store across the street from the HD&C building… okay, how about makai of Jack, and catty-corner from Snorkel Bob’s? Know where it is now? Continue reading ‘Tenkaippin Ramen’
Archive for the 'Review' Category
Page 52 of 60
Introduced this season, MRP’s new bottom-bracket mounted chainring guard is ideal for All-Mountain/Trail/Long-Travel XC bikes with triple chainrings. I had a difficult time tracking one down, but Jarrel managed to find one from one of McBike’s distributors. It wasn’t the gold I was hoping for, but it’ll still do the job. The guard is essentially an aluminum plate that mounts between the bottom bracket shell and the drive side bottom bracket bearing. In the case of external bearing type bottom brackets like current Shimano ones, the plate replaces the spacer on the drive side. On the underside of the plate is a curved section of high-impact plastic that extends past the arc of the outer chainring. It’s very similar to the e-thirteen Light Guide, but without the roller/tensioner and upper guide. If e-thirteen had produced a guide-only product similar to this, I’d be reviewing that now instead, since I prefer their products. Continue reading ‘MRP XCG Triple Bash Guard’
I got the cheapo laptop, so it didn’t come with Bluetooth built in. I was going to get the official Toshiba part, but the third party that handles all the Toshiba part/component orders has a minimum order amount well above the $35 part, and the shipping is nuts. Fabio showed me the tiny USB Bluetooth adaptor he got when it first came out over half a year ago, and I thought that would be a fair alternative. The boutique Kensington one (as opposed to the mystery PRC no-name ones that are probably from the same factory) went on sale at the red colored discount electronics store, so I picked one up. I would have rather bought it at the blue and yellow store since the red store’s politics suck, but it never went on sale there. It’ll probably go on sale next week now that I bought from the bad guys! Continue reading ‘Kensington Micro USB Bluetooth Adaptor’
Finally had the last temporary Mountain Dew flavor, the darker blue “Voltageâ€. The label calls the flavor “raspberry/citrusâ€. It’s about the same sweetness as “Revolutionâ€, so it is sweeter than “Supernovaâ€. The raspberry flavor is the predominant one, but that is more a smell than taste thing. If you pinch your nose, the citrus comes out more. There is less of that chemical aftertaste than “Supernovaâ€. Not bad. Better than “Revolutionâ€? Hmm… Definitely better than “Supernovaâ€. I’d probably pick this one as my favorite of the three if pressed to choose one. It is the most “Dew-like†since it has a citrus base flavor. Between this and a regular Dew, I’d take the real Dew!
Recommended with reservations
Got a pair of closeout Oakley shorts from Chainlove.com last week. They were cheap at $45 USD including shipping, so I gave them a shot. They were that hideous yellow-green color, which to me was a plus. These have a separate liner and outer short held together with buttons and elastic loops. The liner is meshy with a one-piece 3D stretch anti-microbial chamois. As discovered during my first ride wearing these, the chamois is thin and not particularly comfortable. Continue reading ‘Oakley Ballistic 3.7 MTB Shorts’
Tried the next temporary Mountain Dew flavor, the purple “Supernovaâ€. Supposedly is “strawberry/melon†flavor. It’s not as sweet as “Revolutionâ€. There is a muted strawberry soda taste, but the melon part gets lost. Like cheap store-brand strawberry or grape soda, it leaves a bitter chemical aftertaste in the back of the throat. Again, a lot of the experience is olfactory and not taste (pinch your nose and take a sip – you’ll see what I mean). Not bad, but not as good as Revolution, and it still isn’t Dew. One more flavor to go!
Recommended with reservations
Got thirsty at arubaito. Tried the new blue Mountain Dew. It’s the lighter blue one of the current three temporary flavors. Supposedly is “wild berry†flavor. It’s sweet and full of artificial berry goodness. A lot of the experience is olfactory and not taste. Not bad, but it isn’t Dew (and by that I don’t mean the same “isn’t Dew†as Canadian Mountain Dew either). The other two flavors are “Supernova†(purple, strawberry/melon flavor) and “Voltage†(Windex blue, raspberry/citrus flavor).
Recommended with reservations
The P60L from Surefire is an 80-lumen high-output LED replacement lamp assembly that fits any of the 6V Surefire flashlights or weaponlights that take the standard incandescent P60 bulb assembly. The LED unit has the same general size and layout as the standard unit: Outwardly they are almost indistinguishable. The difference lies where you can’t see – inside. In place of the filament bulb is a high-output LED element. Behind it, buried between the reflector and the insulator is a voltage regulator circuit. LED’s generally run at around 3V, so the regulator circuit ensures that the element only receives the required voltage. The regulator allows this unit to also work in some of Surefire’s 9V flashlights also. The aluminum reflector also acts as a heat sink. Continue reading ‘Surefire P60L LED Reflector Assembly’
I violated one of my cardinal rules last night. I knew I was violating it while I was doing it, but I figured it would be okay (just this once!). I bought a cheap bike floor pump…
Sunday found me, “The Wife†(just an FYI, sometimes when you refer to your wife as “the wife†instead of her actually name, certain fringe segments of the female gender get PISSED. So you have been warned!) and “The Kid†up at my parents house, having a cook out.
Personally, I was engaged in a personal fashion show, looking for the gaudiest cycling clothes I could find as I was finally going to start commuting to work a couple of days a week. I’m getting old and weak and it’s time to put the 8 inch hydraulic brakes on that! (nice deft cycling metaphor there, eh?) Continue reading ‘Go Play In Traffic’
The ferry back was much smoother than the ride out. After the initial motion leaving Kahului harbour, the ship was very smooth and there was no weirdness from the following sea. About half-an-hour out of Honolulu, the helmsman changed hte throttle position or something, and a fairly pronounced vibration and noise began – not sure if the engines weren’t running in their “sweet spot”, or maybe one was set slightly different from the other and the difference set up a harmonic vibration.
I must sat that the operation is well done, especially the ground crew that checks in passengers and vehicles, directs them to the appropriate waiting area, and guides them aboard into the the parking dock. Everyone we met up to the stairways leading to the passenger deck were courteous and professional, and most importantly, nice. Continue reading ‘Smooth Sailing’