Old 12-29-20, 01:50 PM
  #14  
scarlson 
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Medford MA
Posts: 2,089

Bikes: Ron Cooper touring, 1959 Jack Taylor 650b ladyback touring tandem, Vitus 979, Joe Bell painted Claud Butler Dalesman, Colin Laing curved tube tandem, heavily-Dilberted 1982 Trek 6xx, René Herse tandem

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Racks mounted with clamps instead of brazed on. I broke two low riders touring on racks like this. Had to mend them with spare spokes and rope from the tent, in the middle of a six month tour. We were in Wales when they cracked in half. In the dark. In the rain. On a 20% incline. I get the heebie jeebies just looking at clamp-on racks these days.

As far as black anodized components go, the main trouble I have is that I often find a black anodized component that I would like to match the silver stuff on the rest of my bike. And maybe it did come in silver, but all the used ones I can find for a decent price are black. So I remove the anodizing, but it's a huge pain, either playing with caustic chemicals or generating a dust cloud with my Scotch Brite and buffing wheels. And if you miss a spot, it will be blackly glaring back at you from a sea of perfectly polished alu. What a pain!
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Owner & co-founder, Cycles René Hubris. Unfortunately attaching questionable braze-ons to perfectly good frames since about 2015. With style.
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