Silent lights

I ordered electronic fluorescent ballasts from BallastWise.com, $9 each. They arrived on Friday and I have them installed. The existing lights were very noisy (sound rating "C" - recommended for "outdoor use"). Now they're very nice; totally silent, instant start and theoretically more efficient. I don't know if that's "draws less power" or "makes more light" because I didn't think to use my Kill-A-Watt on it before/after. I have another light I will convert eventually, though right now it's not making much noise. I figured I may as well buy a 3rd ballast since they have a $10 minimum shipping amount so I wasn't going to have to pay a penny more to ship the 3rd one.

Electronics are also a win if you don't like flicker; they run the lamp at several thousand hz instead of 60, so if you see flicker with an electronic ballast, you're some kind of alien or living in a very different time stream.

Electronic ballasts at Lowes are only available for the most common light types (4 foot, 30 watt tubes in 1 / 2 or 4 tube models) and START at $29.

Anyway, if you've got a noisy fluorescent that you otherwise like, this is a good option. The place ships immediately via fedex, they have excellent prices (1/3 to 1/2 local home center prices, plus more selection) and putting a new ballast in is a trivial wiring job.

Bike maintenance-tire change

Odometer 12907; installed SPD pedals, TT2000 tires.

A couple of days ago I swapped the platform pedals (which I use in cold temps < 15*F so I can ride with heavy boots) for my SPDs.

Today I took the studded tires off, put on a pair of Continental Top Touring 2000 tires given to me by the generous erikvolson. He says they have only a dozen or two miles on them and they look new. They're only rated 75 PSI so I'm not sure how fast they'll be though of course after the studded tires they'll feel like lightning for a while.

I also powerwashed the bike (MAN was it dirty; it's been 500 miles in the winter gunk since it was washed). Also lubed the chain and the derailler, and tuned up the rear brake; the cable had gotten pretty sluggish (oiled it) and the pulloff springs weren't balanced anymore.

The odometer is at 12907, so assuming I'll only get 3 days of riding in this week, it should be rolling to 13K next Tuesday or so.

That means I only put about 660 miles on the studded tires this winter. I think the rear is about done in though. There are a dozen studs missing, and several are twisted sideways in their holes. I think I may replace it with the new Marathon Winter, which has more studs up the side. I love the Nokians, but this particular one has only center studs and they're useless for climbing out of icy ruts, which can give control problems. Nokian makes a W240 model with 240 studs, one farther out, but it's pretty knobby, looks very rough and high rolling resistance. Most of my riding is on pavement and ice. I do ride some snow so some tread is desired. The Marathon Winter looks to be about perfect, plus it's $10 cheaper than the W240, and still has 240 studs in 4 rows.

Also the Schwalbe has kevlar puncture protection belts and reflective sidewalls, so those are both bonuses.

If I only buy one, the old Nokian will go in the back, the new one up front where it's most needed.