General Cycling Discussion - Am I alone in this...?

Is it just me, or are there others out there like me who keeps odd bits of metal?

I've kept sawn off bits from handle bars (simply because its Easton EA70 aluminium), a set of knackered Purple Grafton cranks (because I liked the colour), old Shimano shoe cleats, bits of a titanium railed saddle, various cartridge bearings (just so that I can stick them on the end of my thumb and twirl it around)...

Please, say it's not just me...otherwise, I might have to self certify myself! :eek:

Rich

Servus!

Don't worry about it Rich, it's cool. I have yet to throw away a old piece of gear. RangerGirl really gets on me about all of this "junk stored in HER house" but I just can't bring myself to toss it in the bin. A good half I have given away to needy cyclists who had use for an old water bottle cage or a set of used bar-ends.

I think the term for us would be "pack rat"

Phew!:o

thanks for that Ranger...I could live with being a Pack Rat!

Cheers

Rich :)

Hey! I'm part of that pack too! :D

AlphaBabe owns our house too! ;)
but I have complete dominion over the workshop/shed/bike habitat!!! And it has LOTS of shelves and five bikes hanging around !!! ;)

I don't feel so bad anymore. I kept my sawn off Brodie Crowbars in the closet. I have no idea what or even if I'll ever do anything with them though. Some parts make good stencils when painting. I have a friend who uses old spokes and a vice grip to make wire art. OF course that same guy took a bike and made it into a human powered blender (http://www.cmedmonton.org/Aug2000Ravegallery/images/The_Banana_Shake.jpg) that he can pull on a bicycle trailer that he built himself too. It's really amazing what can be done some old bicycle parts.
Spockets are probably my favorite thing to keep around. Something about the teeth on a sprocket give bicycling a bloodthirsty feel. Somewhere between a big, bloody, texas chainsaw and a silent, deadly, throwing star.
Maybe I'm just a little messed up this morning. I just got my bike back from the shop last night so I'm feeling a certain buzz. I better go riding now.

I'd like to see an article on the human-powered blender.

Jonathan

Originally posted by jramsey
I'd like to see an article on the human-powered blender.

Jonathan

hey, Jonathan, you just had to ask...hehehe.... ;)

Human-Powered Blender (http://www.justsoap.com/Bicycle.htm)

Enjoy!

Bike parts become a parts of us(cyclists), and we can't simply pitch them,they derserve a long and restful retirement.

Thanks, TechnoGirl. You made my day showing me that.

As for parts, you never know when you'll need that broken metal plate, tube, chain rivet, and whatnot.

I recommend a good set of stackable, clear plastic drawers for storage.

:)

Jonathan
Packrat emeritus

Just bear in mind that you may find yourself wanting to collect more and more sets of clear plastic storage drawers....

Then you'll graduate to those big Craftsman rolling tool boxes complete with ball bearings.

Originally posted by fubar5
Bike parts become a parts of us(cyclists), and we can't simply pitch them,they derserve a long and restful retirement.

Amen brother.

Chris

I suddenly feel like such a bad wife now after reading this post. Yes, I, cruel woman that I am, have thrown away my husband's old bike parts. The deraileur that kept crapping out on him and was deservedly replaced. The brake shoes that were worn to threadbare.

I suppose it might be a different story if these parts were still functional, but they all came off the bike for a good reason and I can't see the purpose of having broken old useless bits around. Especially when he leaves them on the living room floor.

Originally posted by HillaryRose
Yes, I, cruel woman that I am, have thrown away my husband's old bike parts.

Oh, well...

THAT changes sheds a whole new light on our HillaryRose...

Originally posted by HillaryRose
I suddenly feel like such a bad wife now after reading this post. Yes, I, cruel woman that I am, have thrown away my husband's old bike parts.

We know you meant well! It's just another example of how differently men and women think sometimes... I stay perpetually confused. :confused:

Like the time I came back from college to find all my old baseball cards and my ragged army jacket thrown away. Oh, poor me. :(

I love her dearly, but I'll never understand. :confused:

I too have a collection of rare and unusable...I mean unusual old bike parts. If anyone needs a front wheel quick release safety lever or a pair of dice valve caps feel free to e-mail me with offers!

I have several segments of old inner tubes...great for...I don't know...must be great for something...

hey JonR--

back in march when i was still at school, my roomate and i got really bored one night (go figure!) and we delved into my little box of junk. from the rubble we pulled an old tube with a needle hole near the valve stem from some a**hole's attempt at vandalism, and a broken dowel and successfully made a slingshot that could launch bolts a good 20 yards down the hall, and still have power to break windows at the end. :D

needless to say, we never knew what happened to those window panes. :D

i think we hit a cat too. poor cat.

-senor tomas

Originally posted by Tomas
needless to say, we never knew what happened to those window panes. :D

i think we hit a cat too. poor cat.


For your penance, ride twenty-five miles on a 7% grade against a 30-mph headwind!

Now that I think of it, I believe the slingshots of my youth probably had inner-tube slings, too. Pretty hard to pull, and pretty powerful.

Servus!

Ahhh, old innertubes!

I have found that cutting them into rings makes a whole set of really strong rubberbands. You can customize the width to fit the application. Also, never forget to take the cores out of your Schraeder valves! Never know when one of those will go missing or Tango Uniform on you. A length of innertube is also an effective constricting band and/ or tourniquet (only trained personnel please!)

I have cut out square patches of tube to use in the event that I blow out the sidewall of my tire, I can place this temp patch to seal the tear. Weigh next to nothing....

Originally posted by JonR

For your penance, ride twenty-five miles on a 7% grade against a 30-mph headwind!


If you know where that ride is, can you please make me aware of it. I've been committing a few sins lately myself, and if not I'm sure I could rack them up pretty quickly if I had to!

:D

Chris

You know, this is a common problem with squirrels and monkeys.

I have a ton of used bike parts in my house, and keeping it away from my wife for she is a cleaning freak and would throw away this bike parts if she sees them,