Great Lakes - Chronometro is next week, who's in?

Kreitler 4.5" rollers. Da intrawebs says they're good. You in?

I'm in. Campy freehub wheel for rollers. Yay.

[QUOTE=sekaijin;8143860]Wiswell - you lurker! ;) So you'll be there?

QUOTE]

You caught me. I won't be there. I don't really need anything, except perhaps a new DA chain for a 9 spd, and a Specialized 700x23 tire that more or less matches the Specialized tire I have as a spare (came with my bike in 2005, rear one got slashed within 100 miles, and replaced both so "they matched").

I'd like new wheels and a new crank. But I don't need them, and they won't make me a better rider.

I do have some shrader tubes for a 700 x 35 that I am willing to give away for free if anyone is interested. I don't have a bike with those tubes anymore. Maybe I'll show up outside the hall and hand them out.

I don't need anything, but I am thinking of possibly heading up just for something to do. I usually bring the family. Still might go. May not. Depends. Racing on Sunday. Wife might not want cycling related activities on both days.

My plans are messed up, I can't go, plus we have 10 inches of snow expected in Michigan. So, not going. I don't really need anything, but I did want to start to meet you guys. Maybe a ride in teh spring or summer.

Road Fan

Due to a mis-plan on my part I won't make it, sorry guys.

Soo . . . . any great finds? Stories from the meet-ups? Us poor suckers stuck doing other things want to know!

Pretty much the same old same old.

I didn't buy a 1959 Brooks (although it would have been a good deal).

I did get a chainwhip, freewheel spanner, Cinelli bar tape, balaclava for a total of $17.

sekaijin and jbmadtown had the best booth at the show. I would guess they cleared at least $50,000.

I met Jose Perez and went to Yellow Jersey (got some Panaracer cement) and we ate at Wasabi. It was very good.

After lunch, we went to Chez recursive. He got some rollers with a broken band and I got a bullet-proof rear wheel. :thumb:

Then, I took a nap.

Soo . . . . any great finds? Stories from the meet-ups? Us poor suckers stuck doing other things want to know!

In all honesty, my primary reason for going to this event every year is not to buy anything, but instead to provide me a much needed bike fix in the midst of yet another miserable winter. I don't do any winter specific activities so this is my fix until Spring rolls around.

That being said it was worth the trip. I spent about $18-20 and came back with a SRAM cable set (housings and cables), a key chain, a pint glass, a pair of bottle holders, a few packets of the Clif recovery drink powder, and a t-shirt, Almost picked up a nice looking ExteOndo jacket, but hesitated and someone else snagged it.

All that plus some sushi, Sapporo beer, and good conversation about a myriad of topics, come even including bikes.

In all honesty, my primary reason for going to this event every year is not to buy anything, but instead to provide me a much needed bike fix in the midst of yet another miserable winter.

I hear you on that - it was about as good a cycling rush as I could get, off a bike and in the off-season deep freeze of January.

Let me guess about the pint glass - A Dairyland Dare glass from Stew Schilling?

sekaijin and jbmadtown had the best booth at the show. I would guess they cleared at least $50,000.

HA! Not quite 50,000, but I did sell enough to cover my share of the table fee, a hot dog and a gently used Fizik Arione ($40!). Sorry I didn't join you and Jose Perez for lunch, but I wanted to stay and sell as much as I could before leaving for the day.

My swap report:

It was great to be a vendor and share a table with jbmadtown and Earle. I got to show up early, park for free and enter with my stuff through the back loading bay, an hour ahead of the doorbuster crowds.

I had barely found our table when iab stopped by, on his hunt for the early-bird finds. I forgot to ask him how he got in so early. (Slipped in with the vendors?) We saw him and Galoot again later.

I had made a “Vintage Parts Here” sign to draw traffic to our table, which was silly since almost every small-vendor table looked just like ours – piles of old parts to pick over, a jumble of trash and treasures.

Our first hot item was Earle’s 1976 Nervex-lugged PX-10 frame. It turned heads, got some price inquiries in the first few minutes, and I was surprised he let it go for rather a steal. I had several vintage French parts to pitch as add-ons to Earle’s frame, which is how a 70s Pivo stem became my first sale of the morning.

Earle’s frame reappeared at our table a couple hours later, in the hands of a new buyer. It had been resold twice.

Earle was also selling a Litespeed saddle with ti rails. I was tempted but I waited and of course someone bought it. I don’t really need a saddle but I’m kind of wishing I’d bought it just because it was feather light, and a crazy good deal.

Turnout was great – by late morning the crush of people made it hard to move around the halls.

I hadn’t brought much to sell, and only sold a few of my things. But I did sell one of my few items of actual value – an NOS Simplex Super-LJ FD. That accounted for most of my take for the day.

I had a great time staffing our table with jbmadtown and Earle, but I wish I’d had more time to browse the tables and tables of cheap used bike stuff. In a couple of brief forays I got a few things I don’t urgently need, but at deals I couldn’t pass up: a Zefal hp pump for $3, a blinky commuting light for $1, and some clothing (two jerseys and two pair cycling shorts) all for $8.

Overall I loved the swap. It was a good time with biking friends, in an inspiringly huge crowd of cyclists and vintage bike enthusiasts. I came home few new things and some money in my pocket. Count me in for next year!

I had a good time. It was good to meet a few BF'ers, and I picked up a few things I needed. I went ahead and spent $45 on a pair of Bike Mitts, which I'm going to try out this week, and see if I can break my cold-weather riding record (-10F so far, and it is supposed to be -15F on Wednesday).

I also got a nice Trek helmet for $15, a couple of hubs for $5 each (including an old Phil Wood front hub). I bought a pair of aero clip-ons that probably won't fit my bars, oh well. And I picked up a couple of touring rims, so once I order some spokes I can build up a touring front wheel and a commuter front wheel for the old Trek 520.

I was very tempted by several nice vintage steel bikes, including an '86 Trek 700 "Tri model". That Waterford 1200 frame also was sweet, but I think it was a bit small for me. Good thing, since I have no business spending anywhere near the $595 that he was asking!

Let me guess about the pint glass - A Dairyland Dare glass from Stew Schilling?

I don't know who Stew Schilling is but yes you are correct on the pint glass.

I don't know who Stew Schilling is but yes you are correct on the pint glass.

He's the gentlemen that puts on the Dairyland Dare.

He also runs the Quadrupedal Century (http://www.ichs.net/quadrupedal.html), which I'm thinking of doing. It's May 3.

This weekend was the only one that worked for me to get back to KS this winter to see my parents, so I regretfully have never been to this swap meet. For a virgin swapper, do you think it is better to go as a vendor or strictly as a buyer?

This weekend was the only one that worked for me to get back to KS this winter to see my parents, so I regretfully have never been to this swap meet. For a virgin swapper, do you think it is better to go as a vendor or strictly as a buyer?

I'd say that depends on whether you have more stuff you're looking for, or more stuff you're looking to get rid of.

I thought going as a vendor was great fun. It did take some time to sort though my bike parts, clean up and tag what I wanted to sell, and get it to the swap. The only downside was limited time to shop. Teaming up as a vendor with friends helped.