Thank you, Krev. I’m not so bad, just rueful. This is the first time I’ve busted a bone, so I’m finding this a curious experience.

@FM Ben Adrian, I’ve seen that video, and found it cute. “Where do you want us to film you?” <engineer thinks> “Next to Concorde!”

I’ve cooled on getting a new bike. We don’t have the space, and I’ve three already, including my Cherubim, which is custom and just divine - my midlife crisis-equivalent of a Porsche. I don’t like taking it out in the rain, as washing the bike properly when one lives in a fifth floor one bedroom flat is a saga.

I had a target of 10,000km this year, and before Tuesday night it looked like I would make it. Last night I calculated that I would have to ride 100km a day on average from late November to 32 December to make it… I am somewhat tempted to try.

sparky wrote: Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:18 am Thank you, Krev. I’m not so bad, just rueful. This is the first time I’ve busted a bone, so I’m finding this a curious experience.

@FM Ben Adrian, I’ve seen that video, and found it cute. “Where do you want us to film you?” <engineer thinks> “Next to Concorde!”

I’ve cooled on getting a new bike. We don’t have the space, and I’ve three already, including my Cherubim, which is custom and just divine - my midlife crisis-equivalent of a Porsche. I don’t like taking it out in the rain, as washing the bike properly when one lives in a fifth floor one bedroom flat is a saga.

I had a target of 10,000km this year, and before Tuesday night it looked like I would make it. Last night I calculated that I would have to ride 100km a day on average from late November to 32 December to make it… I am somewhat tempted to try.

You have a Cheribum?!? Fuckin' hell, man.

I once hear someone refer to the collarbone and the "human crumple zone". It's hilarious and terrible at the same time.

My dream bike from like 2005 popped up for sale locally and I couldn't say no. I've ben cruising around the city on this.

I feel like the cycling thread has died out. Maybe it seems that way to me because I live in a place that doesn't really have a winter. The rest of you people are putting your bikes away for the winter. When I lived in Indiana, the winter was REBUILD TIME!

That leads me into what I really came here to discuss. Almost all of my guitar gear tweakery has turned into bicycle tweakery. I blame this on the fact that my day job is guitar gear tweakery, AND my personal gear that I use for playing in bands is pretty damn nice and functional. I don't need to look for or fix any gear. I'm happy, and that feels nice.

So, my bikes have been my nerdy targets, and it has been very fulfilling. I've recently rebuilt all of my loose ball bearing pedals; cleaning out the old grease, repacking, and reassembling with correct bearing load. I've been rewrapping handlebars. I've been experimenting with stem lengths and heights. Any time I find myself with an hour or two in the evening unaccounted for I go to the shed and just see how I can get greasy and fine tune my stuff.

Honestly, this could partially be over in the mental health thread. I've had a shitty year, losing a number of people and creatures that I cared for deeply. Grief has compounded. Both bike maintenance as well as riding (both solo and with friends) are two things that really help with my mental health. I don't know if there is any truth to this, but it feels like every time I sole some little bike problem or make something function a bit better, I build a pathway of success and positive emotion in my brain/psychology. It pulls me out of the grief that I fall into when I either lack things to do, or am reminded of what has been lost.

Anyway... bike are awesome. Get to your winter maintenance. Share pictures. Feel the love and joy of velocity and machinery.

Here's a question - where's your go-to spot for finding parts/accessories online?

I buy almost everything from my local shop, but there have been a few things that they've said, "Yeah, we probably won't be able to get that, you're better off searching online for something." Would REALLY love to not give the money to Amazon.

four_oclocker_2.2 wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 2:30 pm Here's a question - where's your go-to spot for finding parts/accessories online?

I buy almost everything from my local shop, but there have been a few things that they've said, "Yeah, we probably won't be able to get that, you're better off searching online for something." Would REALLY love to not give the money to Amazon.

I really like to get as much stuff used as I can. So many bikes exist in the world. So many are under used. If I want a component, I can usually find something used within a week or two. ALSO, I'm slowly finding local and regional bike shops who sell things online.

There are some big mail order places, but I'm usually underwhelmed with their offerings. Also, I don't think it's technically allowed to sell major SHimano / Sram components new from dealer online.

So, having said that, here's where I go digging for bike parts.

http://forums.thepaceline.net
http://www.bikeforums.net
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/
http://wwwincycle.com
http://www.aroundthecycle.com
https://store.bicycleczar.com/

That's all I can think of for now. Good luck!

Here's a recent photo of the Cherubim, which I've been mercilessly hammering.
My collarbone healed quickly, luckily. It has an impressive dent in it, like a fender that has hugged a lamppost, but I seem to have regained full movement. For the past couple of weeks, I've been riding 100km most days, generally getting the miles in very early or late, mostly around the nearby Olympic park, especially on the road circuit, which is just magnificent, smooth tarmac, banked curves and floodlights, atmospheric and fast. At this rate, I hope to make my arbitrary target of 10,000km this year, though rain and tired legs will be a problem.
Next year, I'll take a friend's offer to try out a bunch of fancy, aero spare wheels he has, and see if I enjoy riding with them. I'm still quite slow, and would like to be faster so I can go further. Back in June, I cycled to Wells-next-the-Sea in Norfolk, a 217km ride from London, which was a glorious day. Extending my range to 300km would be super.

benadrian wrote:Honestly, this could partially be over in the mental health thread. I've had a shitty year, losing a number of people and creatures that I cared for deeply. Grief has compounded. Both bike maintenance as well as riding (both solo and with friends) are two things that really help with my mental health. I don't know if there is any truth to this, but it feels like every time I sole some little bike problem or make something function a bit better, I build a pathway of success and positive emotion in my brain/psychology. It pulls me out of the grief that I fall into when I either lack things to do, or am reminded of what has been lost.

This mechanical primitive salutes you. Making stuff work is a virtue, and I'm happy it is working for you.

I've mentioned elsewhere the club my wife and I belong to, the only club I've been a member of in fact, a bunch of lovely people fixated on classic steel lightweights. We had a Christmas dinner last weekend, and I shifted uncomfortably during the awards. I managed to get away with just a special mention in the "unscheduled dismount" category, but when surreptitiously-taken photos of a filthy hub and a mud-caked old Campag calliper were projected onto the screen to pantomime groans and boos, my wife helpfully turned and exclaimed, "That's your bike!" just before the reveal of me on the Swinnerton. My face was apparently a picture, and I took the short walk of shame to collect this beautifully-wrought award:
[edit: you can glimpse me on the Swinnerton at 1:22 on this video, and again at 2:59 straightening the wheel back on its stays; I'm also pap'd with two scoops of ice cream somewhere in the middle]

The real star of the show was a friend's recent acquisition, a track bike that his beloved Fausto Coppi rode for several years, finally here in London at the Herne Hill concrete velodrome, a near-mythic event for Coppi/Bianchi nerds. This machine is gorgeous:
A niche interest, but if you're curious, some friends made this video on the occasion and the bike. "Nuff bike?

bishopdante wrote: Fri Dec 03, 2021 1:55 pm Chase your threads, face your faces... the fact is that professional bike mechanics are not to be found in most bike shops... do it yourself or find a community workshop is the best idea.

Is there anyone or anywhere you’d recommend in London? I’m pretty awful at servicing my bike, partly because I don’t live somewhere with the space to do it properly, and partly because I’m busy, slapdash, and a disgraceful dilettante.

Catching up with lost kilometres I fear I’m wrecking my bike in this weather.

Last night I changed my first inner tube, by myself, I mean.
For an extreme novice mechanic such as myself this was a big deal.

Anyway, does anybody repair their punctured inner tubes or is this a fool's errand?
I know they're cheap to replace but I hate wasting stuff and making garbage, and I enjoy repairing things.

I've seen those cheap little "repair kits" -- do those actually work?

I keep several of those repair kits on my bike at all times - they work great - I wouldn't plan a long ride while rocking one, but I've also forgotten I've done a repair and had them last months.

First time on the weekend I had a tube blow up at 60psi while filling - no pinch, nothing I could tell - huge 6-inch tear where it blew directly beside my ear. That sucked.


I don't have anything that I should invest a ton of money in (just a few nishiki olympics) - but if anyone has a frame that needs painting, my friend's dad's shop is low key legendary and does amazing work, and they post their price list which is a lost art unto itself https://www.joebell.net/

Teacher's Pet wrote: Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:15 am Last night I changed my first inner tube, by myself, I mean.
For an extreme novice mechanic such as myself this was a big deal.

Know what you're getting at. Did this on my rear tire a year back and it was taxing keeping the chain taught while putting the wheel back in place. Definitely one way to get sweaty and sullied and frustrated. Getting the tube in place, also involved.