December is usually a time where lots of gifts are exchanged between friends and family 
Did you receive any cool tools or gadgets last year, or maybe you gifted a few?
We’d love to seem em! Post a picture in the comments and let us know what it is 
Originally posted by D Evans
Since nobody has posted, I’ll reply.
No, I got nothing interesting but I did find something interesting.
I built my last bike, but did not do the frame or forks, as I don’t have an area to weld, or a MIG welder, or a rig to keep the parts in place. It is titanium.
So I used titanium spokes as I searched the web for problems with using them and found nothing, back in 2016. A few weeks ago a spoke broke, and I was talking to the head tech at the store I go to. He told me that it was known problem with titanium spokes.
Yes, he was right and I found an 2017 blog pointing out to things known in the 90’s. Obviously this information was not online. Damn it.
So I found a really interesting spoke technology, go to https://berdspokes.com/>. They are polymer spoke.
Now, I use a road bike, and if you look at all the reviews, they are all for mountain bikes. So I talked to the guy back at the bike store. He used a similar thing in the early 2k and on a road bike. Terrible lag and take-off but loved it on his mountain bike.
So, if you want to build your own wheels (not too hard) and you have a mountain bike, go for it.
If you have a road bike: caveat emptor (and I’ll hear your cries of angst from here)
D, thanks for sharing! Titanium spokes…no go…got it!
Originally posted by Justin R
I got a recent Kickstarter fulfilled, called the Wavelinks puzzle through Craighill and Art of Play. It has been a ton of fun to solve and share with friends and family. Solid stainless steel construction, should last forever. Highly recommend!
Justin, that’s a cool looking gadget. Have you managed to solve the puzzle yet?
Originally posted by Justin R
Peg, took about an hour, but it’s a strange thing - it is incredibly satisfying to solve over and over as it feels almost like magic how the pieces slide past one another.