Mike Soltys, Ph.D.

Bike Frame Pack - Sewing

Posted on March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 by mrsoltys

The volume of the bag is about 3L. It's great to carry an extra layer, lunch, my wallet and keys, a change of clothes, plus my bike tools and spare tube. I love learning new skills, and we have so many amazing resources at CU. On my list for a while have been the industrial sewing machines at the ITLL....Read More

Oversized Derailleur Pulleys - 3D printing

Posted on February 11, 2022February 11, 2022 by mrsoltys

Stock 12T compared to 14T and 15T oversized pulleys Oversized derailleur pulleys are like Hansel - So hot right now. Sure the benifits of an oversized pulley are probably pretty marginal (maybe a couple of watts... according to the folks trying to sell you them), but putting an oversized pulley jockey on your bike just gives it that certain je...Read More

Dining Room Table - Woodworking

Posted on March 23, 2020March 4, 2020 by mrsoltys

I love learning through doing, and 'm trying to backfill my portfolio with some things I'm really proud of. To me, the most important piece of furniture in the house is the dining room table. It's where meals are shared with family every day, friends on special (and not so special) occasions, homework is done, and the mail gets dropped....Read More

Getting started with using the internet as a sensor

Posted on October 3, 2017 by mrsoltys

[caption id="attachment_1838" align="alignleft" width="300"] The value 1053 is my commute time, in seconds, returned to the photon.[/caption] There's a lot of data on the internet, and it can make your Arduino or Raspberry pi projects so much cooler. I have a project where my bedside lamp adjusts it's color based on the current weather and foretasted high temperature for the day....Read More

Does rotational weight matter on a bike

Posted on September 12, 2017September 12, 2017 by mrsoltys

My last post sparked some interesting discussion among some of my cycling friends: Not all weight is equal. The consensus was that weight on the wheels was more important (2x-7x more important) than weight of the frame. I'm having a hard time buying this... but wanted to clearly write out the arguments here. Acceleration and Rotational Inertia Work is the...Read More

How much does a gram matter?

Posted on September 3, 2017September 4, 2017 by mrsoltys

disclaimer: I am going to use mixed units throughout this blog post. Get over it. I'll also be rounding a lot to the nearest order of magnitude. [caption id="attachment_1814" align="alignleft" width="300"] Stickers on my rims and frame totaled to about 10 grams.[/caption] I recently peeled all of the stickers off my mountain bike. They weighed in at 10 grams. My...Read More

Some Productivity Tips

Posted on May 4, 2017August 17, 2017 by mrsoltys

I get things done. And as a boss, if there's one thing that I look for in employees, it's not intelligence or ability, but their ability to get stuff done. So here are some basic rules I have that help me be more productive day in and day out. 1) Turn off notifications More and more the research shows we...Read More

A Letter To My Brother about Finances

Posted on April 1, 2017August 3, 2017 by mrsoltys

My brother is about to finish school and start his first job. I'm writing this post to him, based on lessons and things I've learned along the way, but hopefully it's helpful to everyone! My financial goal here is to live comfortably (not excessively) and be able to retire someday! If your employer has retirement matching, max it out! This is...Read More

Weather Forecasting Smart Lamp

Posted on May 10, 2016August 3, 2017 by mrsoltys

I have this bedside lamp I got at a consignment store, and I've always thought that a lamp should be able to do more than just light up the room. There's something beautiful to me of everyday objects becoming a little smarter, and displaying information without us having to look at our screens. So I decided I wanted the lamp...Read More

Getting started with the Particle Photon

Posted on November 10, 2015August 3, 2017 by mrsoltys

I love using all flavors of Arduino in the engineering classes I teach. They're great tools, and students do some truly awesome stuff with them. More and more, students want to build connected devices. This used to require an expensive WiFi shield or Ethernet shield, or require the students to switch to developing on a Raspberry Pi. Enter the particle Photon:...Read More