Repairs

The life of a bicycle mechanic is one of constant diagnosis and figuring things out. There are simple repairs, which for a seasoned bicycle mechanic are like a school child repeating the addition of 2 + 2 and understanding the answer without a second thought. In fact, many repairs are done so quickly and with such instinct that many mechanics cannot tell you how to do what they just did where you'd understand. 

Then there are the really challenging jobs. The ones that make you cuss, but when you overcome and make a bicycle work again, you crow about it, sticking your chest out and strutting around like some greasy version of a rooster.

I was out riding around on the Honeman Flyer last week getting acquainted with these new Ergon bits I have in for review. As I pulled up to the house I heard a strange noise and I discovered a broken spoke. The sort of "everyday repair" a good mechanic can whip out done in a jiffy. 

When you work in a retail setting you must learn time saving tricks to get things done and out the door quickly. I was employing all of these as I went about trying to replace the rear spoke which had broken. 

Now one of the more important parts of this repair concerned the spoke nipple. It would be imperative to keep the nipple from backing into the rim cavity and falling inside the rim. 

And - of course - this is exactly what happened. 

Now this simple repair just became a big hassle. I would have to take the tire off, the rim tape off, and fish that nipple out of the rim cavity. And the tire is set up tubeless. So......sigh, I went to work on it. 

And when I peeled off the Ritchey SpeedMax tire, I discovered there was almost no sealant inside. So, actually, it was a good thing. But now I'd have to do the tubeless sealant injection dance later. Before that, I had to take the nipple I fished out, replace it where it belonged, thread it on the spoke, and tension it up. After truing I then fished around in my tape drawer for some tubeless tape. 

This DT Swiss tape is really nice.

I found a bit of this DT Swiss tubeless tape. I don't remember for certain how I got it. It wasn't a full roll and I know I've never used it before. I thought I'd use it up on this repair. 

It turns out it is excellent tape. Maybe the best I've used. It certainly was the easiest tape I've applied. Just stretchy enough and tacky enough. It laid down nicely with no weird folds or trapped air bubbles.  

It certainly is not cheap! But I may try some more of it since it was so impressive. I have some of the tape everyone was crowing about from U-Line which is similar to this DT Swiss tape, but it is not the same stuff at all. That tape is thicker, less pliable, and doesn't lay down as nicely. 

Anyway, after a bout of wrasslin' with my tubeless sealant injector, I was done with the job and the Honeman Flyer is ready just in time for a blizzard! Fantastic.... (Update - It wasn't a blizzard, but it did snow)

It'll be 1°F Tuesday morning here and swinging to a projected high of 50°F on Wednesday.  Welcome to Spring in Iowa. 

Breakdown: The Repair

Last week I had my crank arm come loose on me. This was on the fixed gear set up I am using on my Twin Six Standard Rando v2. You can go back and read my post about this occurrence HERE in case you missed this. 

Since those plastic pre-load bolts are scarce in my world, I had to order a new one and I got it in on Tuesday of this past week. I also somehow misplaced my Park tool "wing-nut looking" installation tool for this special bolt. So, I ordered a new tool, but this time I got a Unior tool for the install of the plastic pre-load bolt which cost a lot less than the Park Tool one. 

While I was at it I also bought two of those excellent Lezyne side-loader cages I've purchased and used before. I'll likely do a separate post on water bottle cages soon, and I'll hold off on my comments on the Lezyne cages until I post that article here. 

Ordering a plastic pre-load bolt for a Shimano crank was not as easy as I thought it could have been. I ordered from Jenson USA, and their descriptions were sorely lacking for such a part. Without my background in bicycle repair, I may have missed a choice which - as it turned out - worked for me. I can easily imagine an average rider being very disappointed in the information, or lack thereof, for such parts. 

But Jenson has a huge inventory and who cares about a part that costs a couple of bucks? Well....you cannot run a Shimano two-piece crank set without that stupid plastic bolt, so it is kind of imperative for there to be clear information for consumers. That's my take. 

Making sure the bolts are torqued properly.

Installation is pretty straightforward. I did put a thread locking compound on the plastic threads of the pre-load bolt this time, just for a little extra insurance. We will see how this goes. 

Then I torqued the pinch bolts, using an alternating tightening pattern, to 14nm. It is important to note here that HollowTech crank arms are very intolerant to loosening or tightening one bolt all at once. That is a recipe for crank failure as the uneven loading will crack the arm. It is best practice to alternate when tightening or loosening these bolts, or with other similar set ups such as stems and some other components which use pinch bolt clamping force to stay attached. 

So far, so good. I rode the bike for a good half an hour to test the parts and see if anything loosened up. Next I'll do several short rides, test everything again, and only then will I be satisfied this is good to go. 

Which brings me to another point. Testing. Shop mechanics generally do not get to test a repair, and long term, multi-situation testing? Forget about it! So, most retail bicycle mechanics have to do their repairs not only quickly, but without any real assurance the repair will hold up, in some cases. 

Obviously most mundane repairs are not part of this discussion, but there are some things which only will be proven out, or diagnosed, with time and trials. Consumers are not very tolerant of this, but the reality is that if you want a very secure and trustworthy repair, you have to pay in time and in money. 

Don't blame your mechanic if you are in a hurry, or won't pay him/her what they are worth. 

Two Things

Twisted and scarred spokes .

I've been dealing with some backlash from heat related riding over the past week and so riding has been on the down-low. Urban riding, mostly here, just to stay fit. So, I've no "Country Views" to share today, but a couple of things on my bench motivated me to write another "Two Things" post for your consideration today.

#1: Since I've taken the job at the Cedar Valley Bicycle Collective, repairs have been predictably similar in nature. I don't see a lot of things on my stand that I used to see on a regular basis. That's why when two identical wheel issues cropped up within days of each other, it made an impression on me. 

I should note that these were both off the clock, non-CVBC deals. I do get the occasional ask from friends and acquaintances for help with repairs, and this is what these two things were about. Both were related to over-shifted chains and damage to spokes as a result. I like wheel repairs, so these were nice diversions from replacing bottom brackets and stringing new cables and housings. 

I also like that I have bicycle mechanic friends and that I am able to lean on them from time to time for advice. This time I went to wheel builder Ben Witt, who is the owner of Heath Creek Cycles . He sent me in the right direction on one of my repairs and he can certainly build you a great wheel set. Check him out if you are in the market for a nice custom set of wheels. 

The other job was a much more straight forward deal and so I completed that one on my own. Now with both jobs done, who knows when I'll be breaking out the wheel tools again? But it's nice to know that I have the capability to help out friends and acquaintances when they are in need. 

Can we stop putting hardware in plastic?

#2: So, the other thing I noted was something I saw when cleaning up my bench a bit. Plastic bags, bits of shredded plastic bags, and just plastic in general. Can we, as bicycle folk, ask that brands and manufacturers quit using plastic to put their hardware bits in? 

I think we should.

The bicycle industry is a supposed "green" industry, focusing on human powered, non-fossil-fueled transportation and recreation.  The bicycle businesses have made a big deal in some cases about using less plastic in packing bicycles going to shops, but there still are all these itty-bitty plastic baggie, heat sealed packages that are ubiquitous throughout, not only the complete bicycle packaging, but within brands selling accessories as well. 

I wager that tons of these plastic baggies get thrown in the trash on a daily basis. That's criminal and totally unnecessary. I suggest we go to old-school paper envelope type hardware packaging that used to be common 60-70 years ago. Paper is easily recyclable, environmentally friendly (compared to plastic) and could easily be implemented tomorrow in our cycling world. 

So, a challenge to all bicycle businesses- Ditch plastic baggies, use paper, make our world better.

And that's "Two Things" for your Monday.

Busy

Building wheels, amongst other things.

 Well, after my ride last Monday the weather certainly took a turn for the worse. Cold, rain, and even some snow showers! Not the sort of weather I want to get out in to. 

So, in place of that bicycle riding I would have done, I have somehow landed a few jobs from local folks wanting things done. I mentioned that earlier this week as well. Anyway, the timing on getting the work has been good, considering the weather. 

The jobs have been fairly time consuming, and when I could squeeze in a moment or two to get them going again, I did. That had to be between running my two kids around, neither of which own, or even could drive, a car. They use public transportation when they can, but that is so hard to do because of the bus routes and times the buses run that I end up being "The Bus". 

Anyway, getting to do these repair/wheel building jobs I have is not as easy as you might think. Then if something needs ordering- well that's a big delay too. Like I say- I'm not trying to get jobs from the area, these folks are seeking me out. I'm not wanting to step on anyone's toes here that does bike business, and I don't have the necessary connections anymore to get stuff I might need in terms of wholesale. I have to buy the parts like any ol' person would. So, I try to patronize the local-to-me shop for those things. 

And all of this is pushing off the next phase of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off. Which, as I look outside and see everything wet, cold, and dirty, is probably okay as well. I don't want to test for dry conditions performance when it is like this out there. So, if you've been wondering where that test was at, that's what is up.

If the weather people are to be believed, this cold, damp pattern is to persist for a bit too. So, I may be putting this 'Lube-Off' for longer as well. I'm sure it will be cold and windy a week from today, at any rate. It's the Gent's Race weekend!

Busy

Building wheels, amongst other things.

 Well, after my ride last Monday the weather certainly took a turn for the worse. Cold, rain, and even some snow showers! Not the sort of weather I want to get out in to. 

So, in place of that bicycle riding I would have done, I have somehow landed a few jobs from local folks wanting things done. I mentioned that earlier this week as well. Anyway, the timing on getting the work has been good, considering the weather. 

The jobs have been fairly time consuming, and when I could squeeze in a moment or two to get them going again, I did. That had to be between running my two kids around, neither of which own, or even could drive, a car. They use public transportation when they can, but that is so hard to do because of the bus routes and times the buses run that I end up being "The Bus". 

Anyway, getting to do these repair/wheel building jobs I have is not as easy as you might think. Then if something needs ordering- well that's a big delay too. Like I say- I'm not trying to get jobs from the area, these folks are seeking me out. I'm not wanting to step on anyone's toes here that does bike business, and I don't have the necessary connections anymore to get stuff I might need in terms of wholesale. I have to buy the parts like any ol' person would. So, I try to patronize the local-to-me shop for those things. 

And all of this is pushing off the next phase of the Guitar Ted Lube-Off. Which, as I look outside and see everything wet, cold, and dirty, is probably okay as well. I don't want to test for dry conditions performance when it is like this out there. So, if you've been wondering where that test was at, that's what is up.

If the weather people are to be believed, this cold, damp pattern is to persist for a bit too. So, I may be putting this 'Lube-Off' for longer as well. I'm sure it will be cold and windy a week from today, at any rate. It's the Gent's Race weekend!

Fixin' Up Ol' J.B.

My battered and well used Topeak Joe Blow floor pump.

 It was about 2007, I'd say. Most likely over Spring break when the kids were out of school. We took a family vacation to see the relatives in El Paso, Texas. That would have been back when I was in the thick of things with "Twentynine Inches", the 29"er website I wrote and reviewed product for back then. El Paso has mountains, by the way. Real mountains. So I jumped at the chance to take a couple of test sleds down to ride in Franklin Mountain State Park. I had all the requisite gear packed up for the trip, or so I thought. One crucial piece of equipment had been left behind. 

A floor pump.

So, I searched for some bike shops in the phone book, (remember those), since Amazon wasn't a thing back then. I found a recommended shop called "Crazy Cat Cyclery". I went in, and asked about getting a floor pump. All they really had were a couple of Topeak models. I ended up with a Joe Blow model. I think it was less than 30 bucks, as I recall. 'Good enough', I thought to myself, 'I'll likely never use it again once I get back home.'

Famous last words. 

Signs of years of use.

I not only used it again, but I used it again, and again, and again! It became the defacto "Guitar Ted Productions" gauge of air pressure and I used it probably six days a week on average. Sometimes multiple times per day. I used it on tubeless set ups, on my Presta valve wheels, (most of what I have), and on my utility bikes, which are mostly Schrader valved bikes. This went on and on until I reviewed a Silca floor pump in 2018 and then that pump pretty much took over the daily pumping routine. By this time, that ol' Joe Blow had some issues.

Mostly it wasn't staying on the valve after a few pumps. The rubber gasket was shot. I figured, ya know, since it was so old, and cheap, that there would be no replacement parts available. I related this feeling to a then co-worker of mine, who happened to be the buyer for that shop. He took it upon himself to check into things, and lo and behold! there were replacement parts available for that Joe Blow pump!

Old used up gasket on the left. New bits on the right.

 The order was placed, and I received the parts, but for one reason or another, I just muddled along with ol' Joe. I'd hold the pump head on by hand, and anyway- this was just a shop pump now. Relegated to the dank darkness of the G-Ted Laboratories. (Trust me, it's dark AND dank down there!) The parts went into a drawer. I didn't even bother think about any of this until late one evening recently when Mrs. Guitar Ted insisted I find my COVID vaccination card, which I had misplaced. "Let's see, is it in THIS drawer?', I thought as I systematically removed things one by one from the drawer. 

New bits installed and another decade-plus of life injected.

 And then I came across the parts!

(By the way, I did find the vaccination card as well!) So, now I have revived ol' Joe Blow- finally - and he works good as new! A little worse for wear, but it's just cosmetic stuff anyway. Character lines! Signs of a well used life. And there will be many more days and years to come with it now. 

Fixin' Up Ol' J.B.

My battered and well used Topeak Joe Blow floor pump.

 It was about 2007, I'd say. Most likely over Spring break when the kids were out of school. We took a family vacation to see the relatives in El Paso, Texas. That would have been back when I was in the thick of things with "Twentynine Inches", the 29"er website I wrote and reviewed product for back then. El Paso has mountains, by the way. Real mountains. So I jumped at the chance to take a couple of test sleds down to ride in Franklin Mountain State Park. I had all the requisite gear packed up for the trip, or so I thought. One crucial piece of equipment had been left behind. 

A floor pump.

So, I searched for some bike shops in the phone book, (remember those), since Amazon wasn't a thing back then. I found a recommended shop called "Crazy Cat Cyclery". I went in, and asked about getting a floor pump. All they really had were a couple of Topeak models. I ended up with a Joe Blow model. I think it was less than 30 bucks, as I recall. 'Good enough', I thought to myself, 'I'll likely never use it again once I get back home.'

Famous last words. 

Signs of years of use.

I not only used it again, but I used it again, and again, and again! It became the defacto "Guitar Ted Productions" gauge of air pressure and I used it probably six days a week on average. Sometimes multiple times per day. I used it on tubeless set ups, on my Presta valve wheels, (most of what I have), and on my utility bikes, which are mostly Schrader valved bikes. This went on and on until I reviewed a Silca floor pump in 2018 and then that pump pretty much took over the daily pumping routine. By this time, that ol' Joe Blow had some issues.

Mostly it wasn't staying on the valve after a few pumps. The rubber gasket was shot. I figured, ya know, since it was so old, and cheap, that there would be no replacement parts available. I related this feeling to a then co-worker of mine, who happened to be the buyer for that shop. He took it upon himself to check into things, and lo and behold! there were replacement parts available for that Joe Blow pump!

Old used up gasket on the left. New bits on the right.

 The order was placed, and I received the parts, but for one reason or another, I just muddled along with ol' Joe. I'd hold the pump head on by hand, and anyway- this was just a shop pump now. Relegated to the dank darkness of the G-Ted Laboratories. (Trust me, it's dark AND dank down there!) The parts went into a drawer. I didn't even bother think about any of this until late one evening recently when Mrs. Guitar Ted insisted I find my COVID vaccination card, which I had misplaced. "Let's see, is it in THIS drawer?', I thought as I systematically removed things one by one from the drawer. 

New bits installed and another decade-plus of life injected.

 And then I came across the parts!

(By the way, I did find the vaccination card as well!) So, now I have revived ol' Joe Blow- finally - and he works good as new! A little worse for wear, but it's just cosmetic stuff anyway. Character lines! Signs of a well used life. And there will be many more days and years to come with it now. 

Townie Update: Part 3

The grease was like shellac!

Well, with this brutally cold weather, riding has been postponed for a bit. It was negative numbers below zero for most of the weekend, so I took refuge in 'The Lab' at G-Ted Productions headquarters and did some more maintenance work on that old Trek I've been writing about here lately. 

As I stated before, the headset, upon initial inspection, just looked really in need of a good cleaning and repacking with fresh grease. The old grease had hardened to an almost shellac-like consistency. In fact, it had leached all over the front of the bike, covering the exterior of the head set and parts of the frame with a brownish-reddish stain. I attacked this at first with WD-40, which does a decent job as a solvent which is paint-friendly. However; that proved to be marginally effective. I ended up discovering that chipping the old grease off with my thumbnail was the hot ticket to getting the stuff off. Kind of like scraping old paint off a wood sided house. The old, hardened layer of grease would chip off in sheets at times! 

This revealed a bright, smooth, shining chrome surface on the head set and a deep, metallic green where the bike frame was painted. However; the interior head set parts, especially the bearings, required another technique to get cleaned up. Here I used an old dental pick I have. You can often get these from dentist offices as they generally dispose of these after a cleaning or two. Try it next time you visit a dentist. These picks last forever and have a great many uses. The price is usually 'right' too, as many will just give them away. 

By using an old dental pick I was able to gently coerce the old grease to release from the innards of the head set.

As I gently worked the pick to remove the old, hardened grease, I was reminded that there is chrome, and then there is 'Chrome'. Older 70's and before era chrome plating was a different animal than what you get today. Obviously, newer environmental standards exist that have made chrome plating nearly a thing of the past. But back 40+ years ago, chrome plating was still a common thing, and you could get it done in many places for a reasonable price. Additionally many will tell you that the old chrome plating has a deeper, richer look. I can't say I can argue with that by looking at this head set.

The paint glows after the grime is removed.

As I continued to work the old grime off the painted areas, which was truly a 'deep cleaning' exercise, I could see the old Imron paint come back to life. I had a bike painted in Imron back in the mid-90's and I can see how this bike became so scratched and scarred. Imron is beautiful, but it isn't very resilient, and it chips and scratches much easier than a powder coat finish does. In fact, I noted something about this old Trek that reminded me of my old Tomassini road bike. 

I am almost sure that the old Tomi and this bike are the same shade! Weird! I thought this bike was a darker green, but that is only because the paint job is buried under 40 some odd years of neglect. Once the curtain of grime had been removed, only then did the resemblance to my old Tomassini come to light. Now I'll have to do a deep clean on the entire frame. Lots of work ahead! Then when I get that done I will find a suitable ladies finger nail polish shade and touch up the thing. It'll likely take two bottles too. There are a LOT of scratches and nicks on this bike's paint job. 

I have also decided that the Panaracer tires are not going to work on this bike. They are just too wide, and any deviance to true in the rear is going to result in tire/frame contact. I'll look for some good 35mm tires instead which should provide me with plenty of room in back. If I ever do decide to powder coat this beast, I may have the chain stays dimpled and that would give me room for 37's/38's easily. I'll leave these tires on as rolling stock for the time being, but eventually they have to go. 

So, that's where I am at with this project right now. I think it is going to eventually be a satisfying city glider. An errand hound. A perfect rig to jump-and-go on. I have one other thing I am going to do as a change, not a mod. The Thomson straight head seat post has to go. I'll look for something with a healthy offset to the head. So, that will be the next big change here once the head set goes back together. That and the cleaning. 

Stay tuned...

Townie Update: Part 3

The grease was like shellac!

Well, with this brutally cold weather, riding has been postponed for a bit. It was negative numbers below zero for most of the weekend, so I took refuge in 'The Lab' at G-Ted Productions headquarters and did some more maintenance work on that old Trek I've been writing about here lately. 

As I stated before, the headset, upon initial inspection, just looked really in need of a good cleaning and repacking with fresh grease. The old grease had hardened to an almost shellac-like consistency. In fact, it had leached all over the front of the bike, covering the exterior of the head set and parts of the frame with a brownish-reddish stain. I attacked this at first with WD-40, which does a decent job as a solvent which is paint-friendly. However; that proved to be marginally effective. I ended up discovering that chipping the old grease off with my thumbnail was the hot ticket to getting the stuff off. Kind of like scraping old paint off a wood sided house. The old, hardened layer of grease would chip off in sheets at times! 

This revealed a bright, smooth, shining chrome surface on the head set and a deep, metallic green where the bike frame was painted. However; the interior head set parts, especially the bearings, required another technique to get cleaned up. Here I used an old dental pick I have. You can often get these from dentist offices as they generally dispose of these after a cleaning or two. Try it next time you visit a dentist. These picks last forever and have a great many uses. The price is usually 'right' too, as many will just give them away. 

By using an old dental pick I was able to gently coerce the old grease to release from the innards of the head set.

As I gently worked the pick to remove the old, hardened grease, I was reminded that there is chrome, and then there is 'Chrome'. Older 70's and before era chrome plating was a different animal than what you get today. Obviously, newer environmental standards exist that have made chrome plating nearly a thing of the past. But back 40+ years ago, chrome plating was still a common thing, and you could get it done in many places for a reasonable price. Additionally many will tell you that the old chrome plating has a deeper, richer look. I can't say I can argue with that by looking at this head set.

The paint glows after the grime is removed.

As I continued to work the old grime off the painted areas, which was truly a 'deep cleaning' exercise, I could see the old Imron paint come back to life. I had a bike painted in Imron back in the mid-90's and I can see how this bike became so scratched and scarred. Imron is beautiful, but it isn't very resilient, and it chips and scratches much easier than a powder coat finish does. In fact, I noted something about this old Trek that reminded me of my old Tomassini road bike. 

I am almost sure that the old Tomi and this bike are the same shade! Weird! I thought this bike was a darker green, but that is only because the paint job is buried under 40 some odd years of neglect. Once the curtain of grime had been removed, only then did the resemblance to my old Tomassini come to light. Now I'll have to do a deep clean on the entire frame. Lots of work ahead! Then when I get that done I will find a suitable ladies finger nail polish shade and touch up the thing. It'll likely take two bottles too. There are a LOT of scratches and nicks on this bike's paint job. 

I have also decided that the Panaracer tires are not going to work on this bike. They are just too wide, and any deviance to true in the rear is going to result in tire/frame contact. I'll look for some good 35mm tires instead which should provide me with plenty of room in back. If I ever do decide to powder coat this beast, I may have the chain stays dimpled and that would give me room for 37's/38's easily. I'll leave these tires on as rolling stock for the time being, but eventually they have to go. 

So, that's where I am at with this project right now. I think it is going to eventually be a satisfying city glider. An errand hound. A perfect rig to jump-and-go on. I have one other thing I am going to do as a change, not a mod. The Thomson straight head seat post has to go. I'll look for something with a healthy offset to the head. So, that will be the next big change here once the head set goes back together. That and the cleaning. 

Stay tuned...

Fixing What Ya Broke: Part 2

Iowa license plate recycling project- Or in other words, fixing my bicycle part with what's at hand.

The repair of my BarYak "wings" is complete now and I thought I'd show you all what I did here. You may remember my post from a couple days ago where I give you the story on the back ground and inspiration for this repair using some old Iowa license plate I had lying around here.

So, if you reference the image here, you might be able to follow along with this. First off, the carbon fiber material you see here is simply ornamental. It serves little, if any, structural purpose for the design. The "wings", arm rests really, attach to the BarYak extensions via two bolts which pass through at the corners of the "wing" piece of the arm rest. This is what tore through when I crashed last October. The backing material here is a dense foam material which doesn't hold up well to the shearing type forces I applied to it when I endoed.

My theory for the repair was to place some sort of an "end cap" over the edges of the "wing" part and drill two holes into the cap to accommodate the bolts. The end cap would be metal, harder to tear through, and be tougher and especially be able to provide a better clamping surface. However; as I contemplated the design, I realized that the foam material the "wing" was mostly made of would want to compress much easier than the metal end cap. So, I formed a 2/3rds cap. essentially what you see here, and the separate "back plate" would allow for compression of the foam bit.

I have not field tested this yet, but I expect it to perform as I expect and the reinforced bolt holes should give my Bar Yak System new life. Stay tuned for an update later into Spring after this has been tested.

Fixing What Ya Broke: Part 2

Iowa license plate recycling project- Or in other words, fixing my bicycle part with what's at hand.

The repair of my BarYak "wings" is complete now and I thought I'd show you all what I did here. You may remember my post from a couple days ago where I give you the story on the back ground and inspiration for this repair using some old Iowa license plate I had lying around here.

So, if you reference the image here, you might be able to follow along with this. First off, the carbon fiber material you see here is simply ornamental. It serves little, if any, structural purpose for the design. The "wings", arm rests really, attach to the BarYak extensions via two bolts which pass through at the corners of the "wing" piece of the arm rest. This is what tore through when I crashed last October. The backing material here is a dense foam material which doesn't hold up well to the shearing type forces I applied to it when I endoed.

My theory for the repair was to place some sort of an "end cap" over the edges of the "wing" part and drill two holes into the cap to accommodate the bolts. The end cap would be metal, harder to tear through, and be tougher and especially be able to provide a better clamping surface. However; as I contemplated the design, I realized that the foam material the "wing" was mostly made of would want to compress much easier than the metal end cap. So, I formed a 2/3rds cap. essentially what you see here, and the separate "back plate" would allow for compression of the foam bit.

I have not field tested this yet, but I expect it to perform as I expect and the reinforced bolt holes should give my Bar Yak System new life. Stay tuned for an update later into Spring after this has been tested.